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 Seven

.

Draco was up and ready by half six in the morning. He hadn't slept too well, not with his impending therapy lesson hanging over his head. He felt irritable as he sat at the kitchen table, straining his ears for the first sign that his cousin was awake. He could hear Potter grizzling away without a care in the world. He'd had a single, harrowing moment, where he actually thought that Potter had the right idea in de-aging himself.

It was a good thing he was going to see a therapist.

He was worried that he was going to have someone who slipped under the radar and wasn't a 'neutral party' as he'd been assured they were.

Remus came through the floo in the front parlour. The noise was so sudden it made Draco leap out of his chair, sweat breaking out over his flushed skin. As soon as he saw that it was Remus, his heart settled down, although he still felt wound tighter that a spring.

"You wouldn't have an iced tea would you?" Remus asked, rubbing a hand down his face. "I thought I was going to be late."

"No, it's fine," Draco stated, his jaw tense. "I don't even know if Sirius is awake yet."

Remus rolled his eyes as he went over to the fridge and poured himself an iced tea. "Would you like one?" he asked, his hand hovering over a second glass. Draco was about to refuse, however the blooming heat of the day suddenly rendered him parched. He swallowed drily and gave a stiff nod.

"Thanks," he said as Remus handed him the glass.

He cast a sideways glance at the amber-eyed man and couldn't help but think that, if it wasn't for his sheer shabbiness and the scars, he'd be an attractive man. The thought made his insides twist violently. The taste of the tea was suddenly acrid on his tongue.

Footsteps thundered down the stairs, a welcome distraction.

"Look who's here, Harry! It's Uncle Moony!" Sirius exclaimed as he threw open the kitchen door, bouncing the baby in his arms.

Draco looked up at his cousin and barely suppressed a sneer. Today he'd dressed in pressed slacks and a beige shirt with a caramel brocade waistcoat over the top. The suggestion of a pocket-watch chain glinted in his pocket. Potter, for his part, was dressed in a pair of berry red dungarees and a bright blue t-shirt. The dungarees has a little fuzzy snitch embroidered on the front pocket.

"I didn't think you two were awake yet," Remus stated as he took a drink from his glass. He looked especially muggle in a pair of threadbare jeans fastened with a shabby leather belt. He had a striped shirt on underneath a thin knit cardigan.

"Why are you too so dressed up?" Draco croaked. "It's one of the hottest summer's we've ever had and you two are wearing layers!"

Remus and Sirius shared a bemused look at his outburst. Remus reached out and took Harry from his guardian, easily balancing him on his hip and pulling faces to make the silly brat laugh. Sirius slid into the chair adjacent to Draco and levelled his gaze on him.

"You know if you ever get uncomfortable with the heat, Draco, you can ask either one of us to put a cooling charm on you."

Draco felt his cheeks flush an uglier shade of pink. "I just don't understand why you'd walk around dressed like that at all!" he gestured at his cousin's clothes. "Aren't we going to have to walk through muggle London?"

"A little, yes."

"So what's wrong with those weird clothes you bought me the other week?"

"If you feel better in those, you can wear whatever you like. I'm only wearing this because I needed to go to the bank afterwards and those goblins get very funny when someone walks in wearing denim."

Draco averted his gaze, humiliation staining his ears red.

Truthfully, the basic cotton t-shirts and cut-off 'jeans' did feel better to wear than his stiff slacks and high collared shirts. Especially considering the heat was getting worse and worse.

"When is your appointment today?" Remus asked conversationally.

"At midday," Draco grumbled.

"We'd best be making a move, Remy," Sirius stated, standing up from the table. "Are you sure you'll be okay with Harry?"

Remus shot his friend a deadpan look before rolling his eyes. "Yes, sir Padfoot, I do think I can manage to not kill an infant."

Sirius grinned, "Excellent. Hopefully we'll be back by 2 o'clock the latest."

"Send a patronus if you're running late."

"Will do!"

Draco offered Remus a tight-lipped expression as he followed his cousin out of the kitchen. In the entrance hall there was a side-table beside the elephant-foot umbrella stand. On the table there was a single, battered coin purse. The threads spiralled out of the seams like spiders legs. Just looking at it made Draco's skin crawl.

"Right, the portkey is set to activate in two minutes," Sirius said as he patted down his pockets. "I'm sure I have everything I need. I may pop to the bank whilst you're in your session if you don't mind?"

Draco shook his head. "That sounds better than waiting for me to finish."

Sirius frowned. "Are you okay, Draco? You seem edgier than usual."

There was so many things, oh so many things, that Draco wanted to say was wrong.

He didn't want to sit in a room with a stranger for an hour.

He didn't want to tell said stranger anything about his failings, his time during the war and his non-existent plans for the future.

He didn't want to tell a stranger anything about his family.

Or his old friends.

Or Potter.

Instead, he just stared straight ahead and murmured, "I'm fine."

If Sirius was about to say something else, he didn't get a chance. The portkey vibrated as it activated in his palm. Draco reached out and grabbed it. With a sickly tug on his navel, they disappeared from Grimmauld place with a 'pop'.

~0~

The office was brightly lit with the sun filtering in through the large windows. It reminded him of the French balcony windows that were in their summer villa in France. The villa his mother was currently staying at.

Sat on the beige, leather sofa, Draco eyed as much of the room as possible without actively moving his head. He was hunched over, hands clasped together in his lap. The therapist –Lisa, because she insisted on being called by their first names –sat patiently across from him in a matching armchair. She was in her late thirties at least and looked as though she wouldn't even know what magic smelled like. Yet, according to Sirius, she was a pureblood. He didn't know of any pureblood's that used such a common name for their children, but it wasn't his place to question it.

She hadn't said a word.

They'd been sat like that for the better part of fifteen minutes.

If she wasn't going to start asking questions, what was the point of him even being here?

"How are you finding living with your cousin?"

The question startled Draco. He hadn't been expecting her to break the silence at all, however she wasn't being paid just to sit there and watch him brood. They stared at one another, but when it became apparent that she wasn't going to elaborate on her questioning, Draco sighed.

"It's … interesting."

"In what way?"

"He seems to have a strange way of getting through the days."

"You mean his personality isn't the sort that you're used to?" He nodded. "Is that generally, or from someone who is meant to be 'older and wiser'?"

Again, Draco fell silent.

He wasn't sure on the answer to that question. He knew Sirius had had a very troublesome past, some that most still couldn't disconnect from the man before their very eyes. Yes, in some ways being surrounded by Dementor's for thirteen odd years had driven his mentality into regions barely any man could comprehend, however he had fared better than most. Of course, he had his bad days. Draco could only imagine they weren't as prominent as when Potter had being his normal age.

He bit down on his bottom lip in thought. What would happen if Sirius had a manic episode? Or if he went into a depressive state like Draco had been upon first arriving at Grimmauld place?

Who would look after Potter then?

Remus wouldn't be able to cope with two children under his feet all day, least of all at a full moon.

"Draco?"

He looked up at the woman sitting across from him. His shoulder's stiffened at being caught worrying. Forcing himself to sit a little straighter, he glared straight up into the doctor's eyes and bit out, "Living with my cousin is fine. We each have our ways and are getting used to one another. That's it."

She noted something down. Draco couldn't tell what it was.

"Has he taken you into muggle London yet?"

"Once," Draco said. "I didn't like it."

"Really? Why not?"

"They're muggles," he curled his lip in distaste. "They're so primitive."

Cocking an eyebrow at him, Lisa leaned back in her chair. "Is that really the attitude you should be having, Draco? Right now your magic is restricted so surely that makes you realise how easy wizards have it?"

"Yes," he snapped. "That doesn't mean I like it."

"Your cousin was disowned at the age of sixteen by his own family. He lived with his best friend and was often out and about in muggle London."

"Great," Draco drawled. "And?"

"He learned to appreciate that they have things harder than we do. He still uses his own magic, doesn't he?"

"Exclusively."

"So what harm was done?"

"That he has adapted muggle things in his house that look … odd."

"Learning about them will make them seem less daunting," Lisa placated.

Draco rolled his eyes.

"I feel as though this time is a good learning curve for you," she went on. "Learn from the mistakes that brought you to this point."

"I didn't make mistakes!" he snapped, blood rushing to his head.

Lisa fixed him with a cool stare. "Are you honestly telling me that all the decisions you made that led up to the war and through it, are ones that you're proud of?"

He clenched his jaw and fists tightly, the flesh flashing white against the strain.

"No," he ground out. "I am not proud of what I did. What I was made to do. I live with that guilt burning through me every day."

"I'm almost surprised you're admitting to it during our first session."

"What's the point in lying?" he sneered. "Everyone knows what I did regardless of the motives. I've heard what they say about me."

"It makes you angry, doesn't it?"

"Yes."

"And how do you think your cousin will react if you have an emotional outburst because of your anger?" Lisa asked, her eyes sharp behind her glasses. "Do you think he'd beat it out of you? Torture you?"

Draco snorted. "He's a Gryffindor. He wouldn't."

"He was arrest for murdering twelve people, Draco. Clearly some people deemed him capable. I daresay his years in Azkaban haven't helped his triggers."

A muscle ticked in Draco's jaw. Was that true? Was his cousin balancing on the precipice of insanity, with a baby-sized-Potter in toe?

A chirruping sound broke the silence.

"I'm afraid that's all we have time for today," Lisa smiled, uncrossing her legs and setting her quill on the table. "I'm impressed. You're a hard one to crack, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco didn't know what to do or say to that comment. Her smile was even worse. Shifting to the edge of his seat he cast his eyes down towards his lap and asked, "May I leave now?"

"Of course. I'll see you next week."

He didn't reply.

He just left the room.

True to his word, Sirius was outside waiting for him, having already completed his errands in the hour Draco had been in session. He must have sensed that Draco didn't wish to speak, so they merely exited the building, side-by-side, and took the portkey back to Grimmauld place.

~0~

Sirius opened the door and allowed Draco to head inside first. The blonde teen hadn't spoken at all since he'd been picked up from his therapy session. Sirius wanted to ask, like any rational concerned adult, however the tightness of Draco's jaw made it clear that he was in no mood to talk.

He watched the kid hurry up the stairs, his shoulders hunched and his face downcast. His bedroom door slammed shut within moments of him vanishing from view.

Sirius sighed and ran a hand down his face.

He was just heading into the kitchen when the roar of the floo in the front lounge made him tense. He knew he was being foolish, but he couldn't help himself. Years of training himself to react to the slightest whisper, always put him on high alert.

Remus noticed his expression as soon as he came out into the hallway, Teddy strapped to his chest and Harry asleep in a muggle-styled carrier. "What's with the face?" he asked, keeping his voice low so that he didn't wake the children.

Sirius sighed, letting his shoulders sag. "I really want to make a joke about moody teenagers but … I think the therapy hit him a little harder than he expected."

"Ah, I see." Remus cast a look up the staircase. "I wouldn't worry too much. He probably just needs to take some time."

"Hmmm."

"Tea?"

"Right, sorry. I'll make us some. Would you mind settling the kids in the playpen?"

"They're sleeping, Padfoot."

"You can transfigure into a cot just by sneezing and you know it."

Remus rolled his eyes but smirked smugly as he followed the brunette man down into the kitchen. It was pleasantly cool compared to the sticky heat outside. Remus was already only wearing a loose button down shirt and linen slacks. Whilst Sirius busied himself making some iced tea, Remus flicked his wand at the playpen and transfigured it into a cot. Settling both infants inside and making sure they were comfortable and dry before he, too, sank down into a chair and dropped his head back with a sigh.

"So how did therapy go?" he asked as soon as he was handed a blissfully cool drink.

Sirius shrugged, hunched over the table. "It went, as far as I know. He didn't say a word the whole way home."

"Does that worry you?"

"A little. I'd prefer to know what the kid's thinking. After all, we've just come out of a war. Some of us for the second time," he shot his friend a pointed look. "I'd rather no one have any mishaps because no one knew how to help."

"You mean like how I thought you'd killed all those muggles?"

Sirius choked on his tea. He turned bewildered eyes to his friend, who calmly sipped at the frosty drink. "How can you say it so casually?"

"If it weren't for the map, Sirius, our map –I don't know if I'd have believed you otherwise."

Sirius ground his teeth together but allowed the matter to drop. Truthfully, he would have blindly believed anyone –even Pettigrew –if they'd said they'd been innocent. Remus wasn't as trusting as that. He'd had a whole lifetime of not being trusted for his condition, so it made him naturally cautious around others.

It still stung a little, though.

A hand rested on his forearm. Remus' eyes were concerned and open as he offered a smile. "I'm glad I was wrong," he said.

Sirius grasped the hand on his arm and squeezed it. He looked up into his best friend's eyes and couldn't deny how easy it felt, talking about such hard topics with one of the only people he trusted in the world. He don't know if it was the mixture of hot and cold air in the house or if Remus was just a magnetic human being, but Sirius saw rather than felt that he was leaning closer.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

"Fuck!" he hissed, nails digging into Remus' hand. He stood up so fast the chair clattered. "Fuck these fucking owls!" he cursed.

"Yes … Fuck the owls," Remus echoed as he drew his hand back and rubbed the small pink marks away. Quirking an eyebrow at Sirius' silence he asked, "Who's it from?"

"Old Moggie," Sirius murmured, still reading the letter. The owl hadn't bothered to wait for a reply.

"What does Minerva want?"

"She's offering us a contract."

"Us?" Remus frowned, standing up to read the letter. Sirius let him take it, leaning back against the cool stone counter as he waited. Remus frowned a little as he mouthed the words on the letter. "Well this certainly complicates matters," he said once he'd reached the end.

"Yes it does. We both have children, Remus. There's no way we can both teach!"

"Perhaps, if we were to both take positions, we should have our offices linked to the floo network here. That way on our free period's one of us can come back and help Draco take care of the children."

"What if Draco doesn't want to do that?" Sirius countered. "Not to mention he has therapy session's once a week. And what if he wants to study and complete his final year?"

"We'll have to discuss it with him, obviously."

"I don't see how this is going to work."

Remus raked a hand through his hair. It didn't sound like the most feasible plan. There were too many practicality issues that would be unavoidable. "We're going to have to tell her about Harry," he finally said.

"Nooo!" Sirius groaned. "What'll that do?"

"It'll show her the predicament that we're in. That we'll either need a schedule arranged in a certain way, or that only one of accepts the position."

Sirius glowered at his friend. "I'm not going to be the one telling her."

"Oh yes you are!" Remus retorted. "You're the one who let Harry get himself into this mess, so you can fix it with 'Old Moggie' and make it work."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Why do you always have to be right?"

"Because I'm good at it. Now, go and firecall Minerva before you lose your edge."

Sirius barred his teeth but stalked out of the kitchen regardless. Remus smirked to himself when he heard the front lounge door slam closed.

A hesitant knock came at the door.

Remus frowned over his glass of ice tea. "Yes?"

Draco peered around the door frame, looking stiff and awkward. Muggle clothes really were a strange look on him. "I heard a door slam," he offered lamely. "I haven't cause an argument with Sirius have I?"

Remus' eyebrows shot up. He shook his head, "No, no. He's just talking to Minerva about a possible teaching job."

"She offered him one?"

"Both of us actually."

Draco frowned as he went over to the counter and poured himself some iced tea. Manually. The very muscles seemed to scream in protest as he brought the glass over to the table and sat down. "How is that going to work?" he asked. "Between you two and the brats?"

"That's what they're figuring out," Remus said,

Draco hummed. He toyed with his glass before taking a small sip.

Remus watched the teenager for a little while. His skin looked sallow, like he'd avoided daylight as much as physically possible. He had so much potential. Even when he was thirteen he'd been almost too ambitious for his own good. He hadn't been able to produce a patronus, either, a fact that Remus found rather upsetting. Perhaps he'd just missed it?

"Draco, have you ever thought about redoing your seventh year?" he asked.

The blonde head snapped up. Grey eyes narrowed. "No. Why?"

"It just seems a waste that you have all this free time on your hands. You may not be able to do the magic, but you could easily pass the written exams and master the theory behind it all."

Draco huffed. "No thanks. I know what they'd all say about me. I'd be an outcast."

Remus inclined his head. "True, but you wouldn't have to be ashamed of anything. You've been cleared of most charges, you're doing some time for it and I don't see why your future should be hindered by your past."

He shook his head, "No offence, Lupin, but I'm a sitting target. I can't do magic. No one's going to forget I'm a Death Eater."

"Were."

"What?"

"You were a Death Eater. You no longer are. You barely were to begin with."

Draco bristled, though he wasn't sure why. "I don't think it's a good idea right now."

Remus nodded in understanding. "What if I were to teach you privately?"

Draco scoffed. "You're going to teach, help look after two kids and try to teach me in your mythical free time? I don't think so."

Remus was about to argue when the door swung open.

Sirius stepped down into the kitchen and raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner. "Am I interrupting?"

"No."

"No."

"Right. Well, I just spoke with Minerva about our situation and she still wants both of us to teach. So much so that she's reconfiguring the timetables so we can both teach Defence Against the Dark Arts on rotation. She said to see how things go and then after Christmas we can evaluate things."

Remus sighed, letting the information sink in. "What about not living at the castle? Did she agree to link our offices to here?"

Sirius nodded, "She did, but she did also offer a private chamber as well in case we got too caught up with work and needed to stay the night."

"I doubt that'll be necessary, but I won't complain."

"So, are we agreed? She said she wants our answers by next Monday the latest."

"I'll have to think about it and see how Andromeda feels about it all. I'm sure she'd be happy to pop in and look after Harry and Teddy, if we needed her to."

Turning to Draco, Sirius clapped him on the shoulder and asked, "What about you, Draco? How do you feel about all this? I know it's a bit sudden considering that you've only just settled in here, but you wouldn't need to come to the castle unless it was an emergency."

"What sort of emergency?"

"I don't know –in case Harry ate some soap or something."

"I'd hurry to you as soon as Potter started farting bubbles."

Remus bit back a smile, "Sirius, I think we all just need to weigh up the pros and cons. We can discuss it later on, perhaps over dinner or something. You can't ask Draco to make this agreement on a whim."

"Do whatever you want," the blonde teen shrugged as he downed the last of his tea. "Don't let me hold you two back from getting on with your lives."

"Draco, this is to be a new start for all of us," Remus said, placating him.

Draco was already mounting the stairs out of the kitchen as he huffed, "Obviously."

Sirius sighed as soon as he was sure Draco was out of earshot. Both men sank back down into their chairs as Teddy grizzled in his sleep. "What are we going to do with that boy?" Remus asked, staring at the doorway as though willing the teenager to reappear.

"Just give him some time," Sirius said. "He'll come around."

A/N: Draco really does like to bottle it all up, doesn't he? What do we think of Dr. Lisa? x