A/N: Thank you guys for being patient with me. Thank you to Fanofbellaandedward for proof-reading this for me!

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters created by J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Three

A weight pressed down on the edge of the bed. It startled Draco awake, his brain still sluggish as he rolled over onto his side and rubbed a hand down over his mouth and nose, trying to get some life back into himself. The room gradually got lighter. Something heavy shifted against his shoulder. He frowned.

Cracking an eye open he was startled to see Sirius sat in a chair that had been pulled up to the side of the bed. "Don't do that," he grimaced as he shifted up on the pillows. "It's creepy."

Sirius arched an eyebrow but didn't comment. Something shifted against Draco's arm again. Glancing down, he scrambled away at the sight of baby-Potter perched against the pillows. Sirius leaned forward and adjusted the baby's position but didn't scowl at the blonde teen for his reaction. "You must be hungry," he said instead. "You didn't come back down for breakfast."

"You seemed busy," Draco stated darkly, eyeing the baby warily. "With all the yelling."

"Don't pay any mind to Remus," Sirius said. "He gets a bit of a hot temper when it's near a full-moon."

Cold dread dropped into Draco's stomach. He drew his knees against his chest and shook a little. "Just -get that thing off my bed!" He hadn't meant to sound rude, it was just all too much. He still hadn't given much thought to Potter being a child, let alone interacting with him.

Sirius complied, but not without pursing his lips. "I only put him there because he was whimpering a lot being on my lap," he intoned. Potter was settled back into his guardian's lap and scrunched his small lips up in distaste. He didn't cry though. That was always a bonus.

"I don't even know what to do -how to deal with all this." A tremor entered the blonde's voice as he tried not to focus on anything in the room. "I don't even know how mother is, I have no future prospects, no work prospects, I -I -I'm like the bottom rung of society!"

Sirius nodded but didn't interject.

"I feel -I feel like I have all this energy inside me but -but nothing can come out! I don't even have a sodding wand!"

"Doing magic doesn't always require a wand," Sirius said.

"I'm not powerful enough for anything else," Draco sneered bitterly. "Besides, they'd probably put a dampner on that too."

"Being bitter will get you nowhere, Draco. Trust me, I know that only too well."

Biting the inside of his cheek, Draco drew a blanket around his shoulders. Why was he so cold all the time? It was summer for Merlin's sake! "Why did you come here?" he asked.

"To check up on you. That's my job."

"Your job is to not kill me before society does," Draco snapped. "That's hardly a feat in itself."

"With the way you're acting right now I'd say I'm doing a good job restraining myself."

Draco glared at his new guardian but didn't rise to the bait. The weight of everything dropped onto him again and made him feel physically sick. He hadn't really eaten much in the last few weeks. His stomach growled in hunger but it just made him feel worse.

"Do you want to come down for something to eat?" Sirius asked, tenderly smoothing his hand over baby-Potter's tuft of jet-black hair. It threw Draco a little, seeing a man originally wanted for mass-murder being gentle and caring for Potter. Or maybe it was seeing a man coming from money, dressed in said money, and being affectionate was something that Draco wasn't too used to from any purebloods in the wizarding world.

Not in his world, anyway.

"I don't think I'm up to racing anyone."

"It's just me and Harry," Sirius said. "Remus left about an hour ago to put Teddy to bed."

"Teddy?"

"Your other cousin. Remus' son."

"Ah ..." Draco frowned at the windows. The sun was low in the sky, sending dull shades of dark orange over the neighbourhood. "What time is it?"

Sirius flicked his wand and muttered 'Tempus'. "It's nearly 8PM."

"I slept all day?!"

"You've had a long few days, Draco. It'll take a while for your body to recover from the emotional exhaustion. Don't fret, you have time for all of that." Draco didn't respond. "Come downstairs. We can have something to eat, drink and talk."

"I don't want to talk."

"Fine," Sirius shrugged, scooping baby-Potter into his arms. "I'll talk. You can just eat to your hearts content."

"You're not going to leave me alone unless I come downstairs, are you?"

"No."

"Fine."

Sirius allowed him some privacy to get dressed, choosing to take Potter down into the kitchen and get him settled down. As he walked down the stairs he babbled to Potter in a very father-like fashion. An ache spasmed in Draco's chest as he threw open his trunk -he really needed to unpack -and changed into loose fitting clothes. He really was losing weight fast. He never did handle stress well. Trying to make himself look more presentable in the dresser mirror, Draco checked his teeth for debris, before deciding to face the music, so to speak, and go down to the kitchen.

Like earlier it was warmed thanks to the stove, Kreacher was already cooking and Sirius was -of all things -feeding mush into baby-Potter's mouth. Even for a baby, the git had piss-poor co-ordination. Could you call a baby a git? Well, it didn't matter, it's not like he'd understand either way.

"Come on, kid, this isn't hard!" Sirius sighed, leaning down so that he was eye-level with baby-Potter. "If you don't eat this, then I'm going to feed you to Moony! You wouldn't like that, would you?"

Baby-Potter blew a spit bubble, erupting into giggles when it popped.

Draco rolled his eyes as he came down the steps into the kitchen. "So what's for dinner?" he asked as he slid into the chair opposite Sirius and the spit-puddle.

"Whatever Kreacher decides on is usually okay," Sirius shrugged. "Plus, there'll be dessert."

Draco suppressed a groan. He hadn't had anything sweet in months!

Within five minutes, Potter had finished whatever mushy crap Sirius was feeding him and was left to play with some sort of chew-toy as Kreacher came to set the main meal on the table. Roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables. It made Draco insides cramp with want. Sirius plated for himself and then reached for Draco's plate and dished up a healthy portion for the blonde. Draco blanched a little at the amount of food, but reasoned that he probably looked a little ghostly. He took the plate and willed his stomach to accept as much food as he could manage. The last thing he needed was to only eat a quarter of it, and throw-up.

They ate in silence and almost got to the end of the main meal before Draco spoke up. "So why did Potter decide to do something so recklessly stupid -again?"

Sirius raised his eyebrows but smiled a little. "Honestly? He was upset."

"I've been upset for years, too. You don't see me doing this."

"We all handle emotional turmoil in different ways, not that this is any excuse."

Draco frowned heavily. "So then ... why a child? Why not go into a medically induced coma? Or a magical one?"

"Too risky," Sirius shrugged. "He wanted to have some level of control."

"You call shitting himself all hours of the night 'some level of control'?"

A bark of laughter made the blonde jump. "I'll grant you that. Despite what you may or may not know, his childhood wasn't the best."

"I should imagine living with muggles wasn't great," he sneered.

Sirius furrowed his brow. "Not all muggles are bad, Draco. Just like not all wizards are good. The last few years have seen to that."

"That still doesn't justify -" Potter shrieked with laughter when he threw the chew-toy and it bounced back up onto his high chair. "-That."

Sirius shot Potter an affectionate look before returning his grey gaze to Draco. "I think he just wanted to go back to a time where things were simpler for him. The original was simple but harsh; now he has a chance for simple, easy and calm. I'm more than happy to do whatever I can to help ease him through this."

Draco accepted the plate of food from Kreacher. Sirius accepted his with a tight smile before and poured himself a drink before wrinkling his nose. "You know what," he grimaced down at his goblet. "I think we need something stronger."

Draco glanced at baby Potter. He was happily grizzling in his high-chair. Sirius waved his wand and the high-chair transfigured into a play area with a high railing around it. Soft squishie things cushioned the floor and the lower edges so stop baby-Potter from cracking his head open on the tiles. Returning to the table with two glasses and a dark green glass bottle, Sirius pulled the stopper and poured two fingers in each glass of -what smelled like -firewhiskey. Draco raised his glass in silent thanks.

They drank as they ate, the conversation falling off every so often.

A pleasant, warm buzz spread through the blonde man's extremities. His mind was softening at the edges and his limbs were feeling looser. "So why did you agree to help Potter in this?" he asked, his words slurring ever-so-slightly. "What made you think he was thinking properly?"

"Believe me, Draco, I know he wasn't," Sirius stated, a dark look in his eyes as he pushed the almost-empty plate to one side. He swirled the whiskey before taking another sip. "However, I also know he didn't have an easy time of it when he was a child."

"In what way?" Draco frowned heavily. "I can't imagine he wash-wash-wasn't worshipped."

"What do you think you know of his childhood, Draco?" the older man asked. "What did the rumours say about Harry Potter's childhood?"

Ah, that was a good question.

Draco tried to sift through his memories, squeezing his eyes shut with his head tipped back. There had been tons of stories throughout his childhood about how Potter had been spoiled rotten. That by being the only wizard in a muggle household, he practically dominated the muggles and got them to do his bidding! Draco remembered been green with envy at the very thought of dominating over any adult, especially at such a young age. Blinking his eyes open, he saw Sirius gazing at him with bright grey eyes.

"Oh right ..." he licked his lips. "That he had the muggles at his mercy, that he -that he -that he did great things with his magic and terrified them all!" He let out a laugh.

Sirius huffed a smile but didn't interject.

"My father practically idolised him -he didn't even know Potter but I could never measure up!" Taking on an idiotic voice, Draco sat upright in his chair, "'Oh Draco, did you know the Great Harry Potter always eats his greens!' and 'Goodness Draco, didn't you know that Great Harry Potter never says 'no' to his elders?!' On and on that's all I heard ... Nothing was ever good enough compared to the Great Harry Sodding Potter ..."

"Is that why you resented him so much?" Sirius asked, his voice calm and soothing.

"I guess," Draco shrugged, downing the last of his drink. "It's hard not to hate someone who basically got everything right the first time he ever tried it. Sometimes I had to do things over and over before they were good enough to show anyone."

"That's nothing to feel bad about," Sirius insisted. "Do you know how long it took me to get my patronus to come out? Almost a whole year!"

Draco wasn't sure how long it usually took the average wizard to learn how to conjure a patronus, but 'almost a year' must be a long time for any sort of spell. "Well at least you can do one ..." he remarked.

"You never tried?"

"You need to have a happy memory."

"And?"

"I don't have any."

"You must have a few tucked away in there, Draco," Sirius assured, pouring another measure of firewhiskey. "It just needs to be strong enough."

Draco gave a bitter little laugh, "Can't help it if I don't have any. Pleasant memories? Of course I have those. Good memories? I have some of those, too. Great, strong, powerful memories? Memories that can ward off evil and help protect me?" There were no words -just the solemn shake of his head as he knocked back the next glass of whiskey.

"Easy there, kid."

"Just give me another."

Sirius didn't argue. "You need to look at this as a new chapter in your life. If you give up now, then you're going to have a good eighty years of regret and misery ahead of you."

"How do you think my father feels?" he sneered. "Or my mother? Even Potter couldn't handle it. Look what he's done to himself! He's a BABY!"

Sirius dropped his head into his hands and clawed his fingers through his dark curls. "I'm such an idiot for agreeing to it ... " he bemoaned. "He just made such a convincing argument for it that I could hardly say 'no'. He sh-sh-said he'd researched it ... That he knew what to do ..." A shudder ran through the older man as he hunched over the table. "He never had a father -I thought -I thought I owed it to James -t-t-to be one for him ..."

Draco blinked. He felt as though he were trapped behind glass, the world around him slightly muffled and oddly picturesque. "Why did you not have kids?" he found himself asking, his mouth feeling fluffy, like he'd just eaten burning hot cotton wool.

"Didn't have anyone at the time," Sirius shrugged. Was he pouting? "Lily and James married about a year after graduation. Within another three years they had everything; they got married, bought a house and had a baby! Then went into hiding! Then obviously there was the whole 'framed for murder' thing ..."

"Lupin likes you well enough."

Sirius snorted. "I'm surprised he's my friend at all," he stated, ruffling his curls into a messy mass on his head. "You know for the twelve years I was in Azkaban, he'd thought I was a murderer? He hadn't trusted me ... Hadn't wanted anything to do with me ..."

"How did he change his mind?"

"We had this map ..." Sirius waved his hand, at a loss for the words. "It c-c-can never lies ..."

"So ... how's that help?"

"It showed Pettigrew was alive ... Remus -Remus figured out I was inno-inno- shit -not guilty."

"He didn't want you to be guilty," Draco mumbled.

"What was that?"

Looking up, Draco leaned over on the table, his chin almost touching the wood as he stared up at his guardian. "Lupin! He d-didn't want you to be guilty! Th-that's why he forgives you."

"Maybe you're right," Sirius grinned like a dopey idiot. Amusement and something else gleamed in his glossy grey eyes, and Draco had a far-off thought that maybe, someday soon, he could have something good come out of this new chapter of his life? It'd be unlikely to happen, but there was no reason he had to settle for being a completely pathetic bastard.

Somewhere in the house a clock chimed.

Sirius leapt to his feet. "Merlin's balls! We need to go to sleep!"

Draco staggered awkwardly to his feet, "Yes, we need to do that ... Let's go to bed ..."

~0~

Sunlight poured in through the open curtains.

Draco sat bolt upright, the bright lights and sudden movements shattering through his skull. He let out a loud cry of pain as he clutched his head and dropped back onto the pillows. He tossed and turned in agony, trying to twist away from the pain to no avail. . "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he cursed to himself, as he hid under the blankets, not ready to face the blazing hot day just yet. Pressing his arms tight over his head, he shuddered violently. He didn't want to throw-up, but his stomach was whirling in turmoil.

Floorboards creaked from somewhere downstairs.

How was Sirius functioning at all after all that firewhiskey? Had they nearly finished the entire bottle? Bile tickled the back of his throat and he barely made it to the bathroom in time to vomit. Once he'd brushed the taste from his mouth, he changed into non-sweaty clothes and traipsed down into the kitchen.

"You're finally awake then?"

Draco yelped when he noticed Lupin's worn-out, scraggly appearance bent over the stove. In the centre of the kitchen, there was a play-pen like the previous evening filled with squishie things. Inside the play-pen there were two children rolling around and dribbling on teething-rings. One was obviously baby-Potter but -who was the other kid with the bright blue hair? And why did the baby have bright blue hair?

"Sit down," Lupin instructed, already carrying a plate laden with food towards the table. "You look a little unsteady."

He set the food down. Draco dropped heavily into his seat. "Thanks," he muttered, reaching gingerly for a knife and fork. "When did you get here? And how did you get in here?"

"Spare key," Lupin stated with a wry smile. "Good thing I did, too. Kreacher can only babysit a child for so long. He's old, after-all."

Draco cast a glance toward the stove, where Kreacher was perched on a footstool polishing some shoes. Guilt wriggled in his stomach. "It was an accident, I didn't mean -"

"Don't you apologise," Lupin cut across. "I doubt it was your idea to drink, anyway."

Feeling awkward, Draco decided to turn his attention to the food in front of him. Despite his stomach's initial protests, he started to eat. Lupin brought his own plate over to the table, sat down and started tucking in too. As they ate the babies grizzled and squeaked from the play-pen, clearly having the time of their lives.

"Do they need feeding?" Draco asked with a frown.

Lupin glanced over at the play-pen and beamed. "I've already fed them. They're enjoying themselves now."

Draco sat there, watching the babies squabbling, rolling around and gurgling. They seemed so carefree. It was adorable. "Are you still mad at Sirius?" he couldn't help but ask. The alcohol had stripped him of his filters. Any other reservation had been thrown-up into the toilet bowl.

"Of course I am," Lupin sighed. "Sadly, what's done is done. I can only give him a hand when he asks."

Draco snorted into his juice but said nothing.

"How are you finding things here?" Lupin asked. "Have you settled in?"

"I ... uh ... still need to unpack."

"You had all of yesterday."

The blonde bristled. "I'm aware," he replied tightly. "I've also just been through a pretty shit trial."

Turning to him, dish-towel in hand, Lupin arched a scarred eyebrow. "Draco, I go through a full moon and shatter my entire body, mentally and physically, every single month. Let's not split hairs on whose been having it harder, okay?"

"I suppose I can't argue with that."

Lupin smiled thinly. "You can try. You won't win."

Draco was keenly aware that he wasn't all that good at making a good first impression. Not even if said person was an ex-professor.

Gurgling drew his gaze down towards the play-pen. For a three-month-old baby, the blue-haired thing certainly was rolling around a lot, content to put anything in its drooling mouth. Draco grimaced a little as the brat blew a spit bubble and blinked in confusion when baby-Potter popped it with his toe as he, too, wriggled around like a tortoise stranded on its shell.

"What's your kids name?" he found himself asking.

Lupin blinked in surprise. "He's named after his grandfather. He's Edward Lupin. Teddy for short."

"Teddy," Draco murmured. "Better than 'Draco' at least."

"Remus is no better, I assure you."

"Where do you think Sirius is?"

"If I know Sirius, he's got his head bent over one of the toilets and spewing his brains out."

"Why are you always so mean to me, Remy?" Sirius' gravelly voice growled from behind Draco.

The blonde jumped a little, watching with a guarded expression as the curly-haired man slumped heavily into a chair beside Remus and dragged a plate of food towards him. His eyes were red-rimmed and he had rough shadow across his jaw. The way Lupin rolled his eyes and tried to bite back a smile told Draco that this was a more regular occurrence than he'd been led to believe. He watched as Lupin poured a mug of strong, black coffee and slid it over to Sirius before excusing himself to check on the babies.

"Eat your food and stop whining," the ex-professor bit out good-naturedly as he played with his sons' tiny fist. "You're meant to be an adult for goodness sake. Besides, what sort of adult leaves a baby unattended whilst he gets pissed with his cousin?"

"I wasn't pissed," Sirius groused. "Just tipsy."

"So much better."

"I made a mistake."

"Sirius, you cannot make a mistake when Harry is vulnerable like this. You get that, right?"

Sirius bowed his head in resignation, much like a dog being told-off for chewing on the furniture. Draco was almost certain the man's ears drooped. His insides squirmed. They both should have known better. He didn't even like Potter, but for the saviour of the wizarding world to get injured from bumping his soft-spot on something -well, that was just going to be Hell when the papers found out.

Their squabbling was interrupted by the pecking of two owls at the kitchen window.

Remus got up and opened the window, took the packages from both owls and paid them a couple of knuts each. Returning to the table, he sifted through the letters and packets that had come through. Returning to the table, he sifted through the letters and packets that had come through. Two were addressed to Sirius, there was a copy of the prophet, and a letter for Draco in his mother's delicate hand-writing. He tore it open, his chest feeling tight as he unfolded the parchment.

'My sweet dragon,

I arrived in Paris yesterday afternoon and had to go through the upmost ridiculous security measures. It took me hours just to be allowed to leave the premises and be escorted to our summer estate. Honestly, you'd think I'd been the Dark Lord the way these ministry imbeciles go on.

I have settled in, which is why I'm finally getting to write to you. I have not been appointed any form of help, so I shall have to be rather manual in my up-keep henceforth. It's going to take some adjustment, but we are resourceful people if nothing else. This is the lesser of challenges we have yet to face.

I hope you have settled in with our cousin. He may be a strange fellow, however I cannot deny the power that he holds, nor the brains to aid himself. They may not align all the time, however he tends to do his best, from what I've gathered. I would not leave you in his care if I didn't trust him at all, Draco. Understand that.

Tell me all about what you get up to. With very little company over here, I'm sure I'd love any news you have to share.

All my love,

Mother.'

His hands trembled as he read over the letter two more times, letting the reality of the situation hit home. It burrowed into his heart and swelled up, making him choke on air. He was aware of the two men looking at him from across the table. He drew in a deep breath, steeled himself, and forced the tears back.

"Mother's settled in," he managed to say, voice strained. "She said she's going to have to get used to cooking manually."

"It's not a bad skill to have," Lupin stated. "Growing up with muggles taught me a lot. You should've seen how this lot reacted when I showed them how to cook macaroni and cheese for the first time."

Draco felt his lip twitch a little.

"Holy Merlin's balls ..." Sirius groaned. "They've finally lost their minds."

Lupin frowned. "What's wrong now?"

"Old Moggie sent me a letter. She's stark-raving mad! People will never go for this."

Exasperated, Lupin snagged the letter out of his friend's hands and scanned the letter. His scarred eyebrows twitched upwards in surprise. "Wow. I didn't expect this from her of all people."

Draco frowned, "What's happened?"

Sirius wrinkled his nose in distaste, pushing his food around with his fork. "McGonagal has asked me to come and teach at Hogwart's. As the defence against the dark arts teacher of ALL THINGS!"

"Sirius it's not that bad," Lupin stated. "What else are you going to be doing? Besides looking after Harry?"

"Exactly. I need to be looking after Harry, not -not -not -WORKING!"

Lupin adjusted his position in his seat. "Why not talk to Minerva about this? We might be able to work something out if did decide to teach."

Sirius raked a hand through his curls. "I just don't know. Maybe it would have been good if -you know -Harry had been going back to study. He could have just shared my quarters or something, less invasive. I can't have a child at the school!"

Draco watched a muscle tick in Lupin's jaw. The cogs were clearly turning in his head. The silence stretched on leaving Draco feel on edge. "Just calm down," Lupin murmured off-handedly, "I may have a solution but I want to talk with Minerva to see if it's even possible, okay?"

Sirius narrowed his eyes. There was a hint of a Slytherin inside this man, Draco found himself thinking, arms folded tightly across his chest. He hadn't realised he'd been holding his breath until Sirius nodded and returned to his breakfast.

Lupin took the letter and left the kitchen. His footsteps echoed down the hallway towards the front parlour. Draco watched in silence, feeling very much like an outsider -an unwanted guest -as Sirius stood from the kitchen table, put the empty plates into the sink, flicked his wand for them to clean themselves, before bending down into the play-pen and swiping baby-Potter up into his arms. Teddy was sleeping calmly in the little soft nest area.

"Why do you not want to teach?" Draco asked, simply to shatter the silence. If there was silence, then his thoughts could manifest and he didn't want to let that happen.

"It's not my idea of how to spend my free time," Sirius remarked as he got some mushed-food ready for Potter.

"At least it'd keep you occupied. Most teacher's only stayed a year, remember?"

"That was because they all, in some way or another, had a dark affiliation. Normally with Voldemort."

Draco flinched at the name. Echoes of his aunt's mad cackling, the sound of bodies dropping to the floor -it left him feeling hollow and shattered.

Sirius watched him carefully. "You ever think about going back to school? Finishing your seventh year?"

"Didn't really think beyond the trial," Draco admitted.

"Do you think you might want?"

Draco chewed on the inside of his cheek before sighing and shaking his head. "Somehow I don't think anyone will appreciate my presence there."

"That's not really for them to decide," Sirius said pragmatically. "You can ask Minerva and if she says it's okay, then everyone else can just deal with it."

Regarding the older man with a glare, Draco said, "With all due respect, Sirius, I know what shit I got up to at school. I'm sure you did some unsavoury stuff too. The way those gits deal with it, it will hardly be humane."

Sirius snorted as baby-Potter tried to take the spoon for himself. "That may be true, but if I were to take up the position, then you'd have somewhere safer to go."

Draco snorted. "It barely helped when Severus was there, I doubt you could do much better."

"Well old Snivellus always did like to play both sides of the coin." Draco furrowed his brow. Sirius ignored the look and went back to feeding Potter. Apparently, Potter's body may have shrunk, but his appetite hadn't. "Besides, like you said, it'll give you a year to focus on something else and figure out what you want to do next with yourself."

He had a point. Draco loathed having his own words echoed back to him. However -he glanced down at the letter from his mother -it would probably make his mother proud. To continue studying, to push himself forward and try to have a second chance at life. It'd also give him something interesting to report back to her every week. Malfoy's, for all their faults, were a proud family. Draco didn't want to be the weak-link again, to have the name and pride die on his shoulders. He needed to be stronger than that.

Could he do it, though?

"Maybe it's something to think about," the blonde finally said, folding his own letter up and tucking it into his pocket.

Baby-Potter burped then giggled in agreement.

A/N: Well I hope you guys like this update! I'm being nice and updating on my birthday so yey for everyone! :D x