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 Eight

~ August ~

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Harry turned two during the first week of August.

In order to celebrate that, and to officially kick-off the summer as a family, Sirius and Remus made the decision to go to the seaside for the weekend. They invited Draco to come along with them, even stating that they can get permission granted for him to go from his parole officer, however the blonde scrunched his nose up. He didn't understand what the hype was to go to the seaside. He'd never been a fan of such things. An unbearably muggle thing, in his opinion.

Remus and Sirius had rolled their eyes at one another and proceeded to pack whatever they may need in a trunk to take to a small, sleep town on the coast.

It was the Thursday before everyone else was due to leave for their 'long weekend' –another ridiculous muggle thing –when Draco had to reason that perhaps a change of scenery would do him good, on a mental level. Not to mention, days upon days of being cramped up in the musty old house with the hot sun baking the walls and setting cobwebs on fire wasn't doing him any favours.

Not that he'd admit it to anyone, but he'd never actually gone to the beach before.

He stood at the foot of his bed, arms crossed tightly over his chest. His skin was clammy to the touch and his head felt hot. He was staring down at his own drawers, their meagre innards taunting him. He didn't even really own anything similar to what he'd seen Sirius packing the day before.

What ever were shorts?

He felt itchy, as though he wanted to run and beg to go along with them, but couldn't find the words.

There was no way he'd get permission from his parole officer granted within a day, anyway. They claimed to need at least a weeks notice before he ventured off anywhere for longer than a second.

Was he just being paranoid? It wouldn't really hurt him to ask, would it?

In the end, he sighed and made his way down to the kitchen for lunch.

Since the weather was getting increasingly stifling, lunch usually consisted of cold cuts of meat in sandwiches and patatoe salad, as well as anything else that could be served room temperature, or colder. Draco munched idly through his food, not really tasting anything and feeling the hairs all over his body, prickle in anticipation. Toddler Potter sat across from him in a booster seat, ladling creamy mush into his pumpkin juice. Now that the thing could run head first into things and babble utter nonsense, Draco was beginning to loathe the brat even more. It was one thing to be an annoying baby, but an entirely different thing to be an annoying toddler.

It could even talk now … sort of.

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Remus was the one who broached the subject of their little holiday. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Draco? I'm sure it won't be a problem."

He wanted to leap on the invitation, but sheer stubbornness and pride stopped him. "I … no, I think I'll be just fine here."

Sirius frowned and clapped his younger cousin on the shoulder. "Come on, Draco. Get out of your comfort zone for a little while. It will be fun."

Peering up through his blonde fringe –bloody hell he really needed a haircut –he frowned at Sirius. "What if it isn't? What if I don't enjoy any of it?"

A sympathetic glint appeared in those blue-grey eyes. "Then I promise we won't stop trying until we find something that you can enjoy, too."

Draco looked down at his plate. He didn't have much of an appetite, not since the end of the war. He wasn't enjoying any food like he used to, not even dessert. He let out a long, weary sigh. "Will this be a completely muggle holiday then?" he asked, unable to keep the bitterness from creeping into his words.

Like two grown adults, Remus and Sirius chose to ignore the tone of his voice. "It will be, yes. Except for the portkey."

"What would I …um … What would I need to take with me?"

"Well, some light weight clothes, a book maybe. Anything else you might need, really. Oh, and definitely sunglasses!"

Draco scrunched his nose up, "I don't need to wear glasses."

"They protect you from the sun," Sirius grinned. "I have a very swish pair, don't I, Remy?"

"Sure, Paddy," Remus rolled his eyes.

Sirius turned back to Draco, "If you like, we can go out to the shops after lunch and find you some more clothes to take with us. How does that sound?"

Licking his lips, the blonde nodded mutely. Across the table, Toddler Potter clapped his small hands in excitement. "Beach! Going swimming!"

Sirius chuckled. "That's right, Harry. We're going to go swimming as well."

"Guess what else we can do?" Remus joined in, as though divulging the best kept secret ever. "We can build sandcastles!"

"Sandcastles?!"

Draco watched them interacting so easily. He didn't know what a beach was, really, and even less clue as to the purpose of function of a sandcastle. He doubted it'd be a very impressive castle, if it needed constructing by the sea of all places. However … Regardless of what any of it meant, it felt exciting. Or, at least, on the cusp of excitement. Draco didn't really know how to feel, only that he was definitely feeling left out of the 'family' atmosphere that seemed to strike up so easily between the two men and their offspring. Draco could very well have made a crude joke about mutts and their packs, but decided it'd be in bad taste.

"Right!" Sirius clapped his hands, leaping from his chair. Draco startled at the sudden sound and glared up at his cousin. "Let's go shopping!"

~0~

First thing on the Friday morning, just after 6AM, Draco was roused from his sleep by the low thumping of something bouncing around. With a groan he rolled out of his sticky bed and stretching his creaking joints. He raked a hand through his hair and then stood up to make his way to the bathroom. As he was walking along the landing, he heard Remus and Sirius' voices from the lower level, talking as they arranged all the essentials by the front door to shrink and take with them. Draco shuffled along to the bathroom, his feet barely walking in a straight line.

Once he'd brushed his teeth and arranged his hair to sit neatly, he left the bathroom feeling a little more alert. He just needed to change into some of the lighter, muggle clothing he'd bought the previous day. Rather, Sirius had bought it and Draco assured the man he'd pay him back.

Just as he was passing by the nursery, he heard the bouncing sound again. He groaned to himself. He could just ignore it. Then again, Sirius was busy and Remus was over-looking everything with his own infant strapped to his chest.

Pushing the door open, he saw Potter standing upright in his cot, his chubby fists wrapped around the bars and his wide green eyes alert and excited. As soon as he saw Draco, he grinned and starting bouncing again, grizzling as the blonde neared the cot. Draco stood with his arms folded against his chest and almost smiled. Almost.

"I'm not picking you up, you know?" he stated with a wry smirk. "Not everyone's gonna bend to your will, you soggy thing."

Potter beamed. He raised his arms and opened and closed his fists. "Draco, up!"

"It's not happening, kid," Draco shook his head. "You can wait for Sirius to come and get you."

That was the wrong thing to say. Potter's lips wobbled as he hung over the railings of his cot, his eyes glossing over.

Draco groaned, "Don't do that, scarhead. What, can't you be alone for two minutes?"

The toddler whined and awkwardly wiped at his nose.

Rolling his eyes, Draco grimaced as he went up to the cot and bent down to lift the child up. He cursed all his ancestors as he awkwardly held the kid at arms length. What did he do now? How did he hold it right? As stiff and rigid as he felt, Draco managed to shift the toddler onto his hip. He wriggled about until Potter seemed to sit comfortably in the crook of his body.

"Right," he grunted under the kids' weight. "I need to get my shit together. You'd better not snot on anything."

For the most part, Potter had been really well-behaved as Draco settled the kid in the nest of his pillows and blankets, still unmade, on his bed. Potter seemed to have a knack for touching anything within arms reach, clearly a trait he'd never grow out of. Whilst he busied himself with chewing on an old belt of Draco's, the blonde teen set about packing his trunk. He didn't need to take a whole lot, just his new muggle clothes as far as Sirius had told him. However, he didn't have any other means of transporting said clothes. He hoped it would be enough clothes to see him over the next four days. He wasn't entirely sure how muggles and their fashion, worked.

Sirius was hardly a role-model in that department.

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By 8AM everything was packed, shrunken down and packed into a muggle rucksack that Sirius was going to carry. Not that Draco minded.

The portkey was due to go off at 8:20AM, and when they finally reached their destination, Draco felt like puking on the pavements.

They place they'd ended up in, was a coastal town called Margate. Draco couldn't recall ever hearing of it before. Remus had been the one to book the 'Bed and Breakfast' they'd be staying at. They had to walk for about ten minutes, squinting into the sunlight as Draco trailed behind the group, taking in all the bleached buildings, the gold sand and the luscious sea that stretched on for miles.

"There's plenty of time for that, Draco!" Remus called over his shoulder.

Draco hastened to catch up.

Their 'Bed and Breakfast' was a cosy set-up in a tall building with a large oak door at the front. The house itself was painted a strange, peachy colour. Draco noted that it looked nice in the sunny weather, but would probably resemble a rotten fruit as soon as the skies turned grey. He kept the opinion to himself, however, as they were shown up to their room.

They had a set of adjoining rooms, both with two double beds in each. It was at the very top of the building, and Remus insisted that it was worth the money. Nowhere else would have such a room available, unless they'd gone to a luxurious hotel ten miles from the sea.

"How do you want to do sleeping arrangements?" Sirius asked as he settled Harry down on the edge of the bed, and took his little cap off. His black hair stood up in all directions as he swivelled around on his butt, taking in his new environment.

"Well, Teddy and I can sleep in the other room," Remus suggested. "Or Draco, maybe you'd like to have the room to yourself? To have some privacy?"

Draco was stunned for a brief moment. "Er … I don't mind. Maybe it'd make sense for all the kids to be in the same room."

Sirius hummed, "Well that's true. Less hassle." Turning to Draco, he frowned. "Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't see why not. It'll hardly be any different than at Grimmauld place."

Remus eased Teddy out of the chest harness and rocked the little thing against his shoulder. "Why don't we all freshen up a little, put some sun cream on and head out for some lunch? I'm starved."

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Sounds good." Crouching down in front of the bed, he tweaked Harry's knee until he squealed with laughter. "Is that a 'yes' little man? Are you hungry?"

"Sandwiches!"

Around the corner from their B&B, they came across a little café across the road from the waterfront. The pavements were baked, Draco could feel the heat radiating off of them. His skin felt slimy as they settled down at a table under a striped awning. Sirius had insisted he be slathered in some strange-smelling white cream because apparently it 'protects him from the sun' or something bullshit. He'd gone along with it purely to appease his guardian.

They sat at a white metal table with metal chairs that had striped cushions on them. It wasn't the most comfortable he'd ever been, but then this was hardly a five star place. Still, he sat with a vaguely disgruntled look on his face. Potter was perched on Sirius' lap. Remus had his own son nestled back against his torso, his hand continuously brushing the tuft of blue hair without thinking.

A young woman with brown hair pulled back into a bun came out, chewing gum and handed them menus. Draco grimaced down at his menu, noting it even looked sticky. Sirius must have noticed, as he placed a hand on the teens shoulder. "Don't look so daunted. What do you want to eat? We'll see if we can get you sorted."

Draco frowned down, noting the unmoving pictures of the food. None of it looked particularly appetising but his gut was already cramping with hunger. He hadn't eaten before they'd left. "Um … I don't really know."

"How about a full English?" Remus suggested, before glancing up at the waitress. "Are you still able to make that?"

"Sure," she smacked her lips. "All-day breakfast, if you fancy it."

"I'll have one of those, with double sausages, if you please," he smiled up at her. "How about you, Paddy?"

"I'll have a full English as well," he grinned, flashing his teeth. He turned his attention down, as Potter grabbed for his curls. "What're you after, kid? You fancy a sausage?"

Draco's head shot up as Potter grinned, flashing his baby teeth. "Sausage sandwich!"

Sirius grinned back at the young woman. "Is a sausage sandwich possible? He's addicted to his sandwiches at the moment."

The woman smiled for the first time, her eyes landing on Potter. "Oh, he's precious! Yeah, sure, sausage sandwich is fine. I can bring a Ribenna for him as well, if you want? Can even stick the straw in himself!"

"I like straws!" Potter beamed.

"One Ribenna is it then," she turned to Draco and cocked an eyebrow, "What about you, darling? Anything you fancy?"

Despite his hunger, Draco really have the energy to chew. Since arriving to stay with his cousin, he'd only taken to eating small meals. "Er … Yeah, just a sausage sandwich for me, thanks."

Remus ordered some drinks too, and after she'd written everything down, she walked back intot he building. Turning his amber eyes onto the blonde teen beside him, Remus frowned. "Are you sure that's going to be enough for you Draco? You didn't eat this morning."

"I'm fine."

"Well we can always get some chips on the pier, can't we?" Sirius shrugged as he adjusted Potter on his lap. "Or an ice cream? Either way, this won't be our only meal of the day."

Remus pursed his lips but opted not to say anything.

The food arrived and they ate. Potter was kept quiet as he munched his way clumsily through his sandwich, the ketchup smearing over his cheeks. Sirius had to keep stopping to use a damp napkin to gently clean the toddlers face, despite Potter's protests and squirming. As Remus and Sirius demolished their portions, Draco was very much reminded of their canine attributes.

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Once the food was eaten, Remus insisted that they put a little more cream on their faces. Even Draco. The blonde did it automatically, watching as Potter also squirmed and protested, batting Sirius' hands with a chubby fist. Once sufficiently protested by the suns evilness, they walked out from under the shade and crossed the street towards the beach.

Draco was stunned as his shoes sank into the soft, gold sand.

He hasn't felt something so soft in who knew how long. Any memory of such softness was from another lifetime ago. He had to hurry to catch up with the rest of the group as they walked lazily down a wooden walkway, drawing closer and closer to the sea. It hushed and frothed as the waves broke across the damp sand. It fizzed and was absorbed, dragged back to the depths, before another wave rushed up to them.

Potter squealed in delight as he tugged Sirius' hand, forcing the older man to stoop down and follow towards the waters edge. Draco crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Sirius popped each of Potter's kiddie shoes off and grabbed both his hands. His insides did a funny sommersault as he watched Potter being held by his arms and swung out over the waves, being dipped so that his feet skimmed the cool water. Every time his feet vanished from sight, Potter's laughter filled the air.

Beside him, Remus chuckled. "I remember the one and only time we took Harry to the beach. He was just as excited about it then as he is now."

Draco frowned and shrugged, the heat of the sun slowly baking him from behind. "I don't see what all the fuss was about."

Remus watched as Sirius picked up Harry and spun him around in circles before dunking his legs back into the frothy waves. Harry squealed and kicked about in delight. Shielding Teddy's face from the sun, he turned to Draco and nodded towards a bench in a shaded spot by some large rocks. Draco followed, almost like he was a puppet. They settled down on the worn wooden and Remus rolled his shoulders, sighing softly as knots were released.

"My wife died in the war."

Draco's head snapped around, his eyes wide. He hadn't been expecting that. He watched Remus' face for any sign of a cruel joke, but found nothing. His insides turned cold, making his skin break out in goosepimples, despite the heat. His eyes dropped down to where Teddy was grizzling in his harness, his bright eyes taking in all the sunny splendour.

"I … I'm sorry," Draco choked out. It terrified him that anyone could say such a statement so casually.

"She had her whole life in front of her," Remus sighed. "She was younger than me by a good few years. For some reason she settled for me. I should have forced her to stay home, but she wouldn't have it. She was killed –I survived."

Draco swallowed, his throat dry.

He didn't know what to say, what could be said, over something so harrowing.

"I should be glad that one of us lived," the older man sighed, the bags and lines around his eyes suddenly more pronounced than ever. It aged him terribly. "So that Teddy wasn't an orphan. I just wish to Merlin it wasn't me."

Despite the sickness that pooled in his stomach, Draco couldn't ignore all the times he'd felt the exact same way. Still did, in fact.

"I know things are dismal right now," Remus continued. "I don't know the right answers for everything, but you are in as good position as any right now. You can control where you go from this point forward. You're not in Azkaban. You don't need to suffer like Sirius did. The man … He may be stunted, emotionally, and on more mental levels than either of us can count. However, the one thing that Azkaban could never kill inside him, was the love and determination he felt for getting back to Harry, to his family. He's a good man, Draco. Just like I know you are."

Draco blinked, stunned by the words. He cast his eyes over to wear Sirius had thrown caution to the wind and was sat right in the sand, hunched over and grinning as Potter smashed a sandy mound with his fists. His insides twisted again, as Sirius ruffled the snot-buckets mop of black hair.

A hand rested on his knee, squeezing.

"You've been given a second chance, Draco. I know we're far from the family unit you'd always imagined, but a mis-matched family is better than no family. It's hard on all of us, in different ways," the older man said, his amber eyes turning and lingering on where Sirius sat. "We have to deal with what's been forced upon us and learn to enjoy what the next chapter of our lives has to offer."

"You say it like it's so easy," Draco accused, his voice latching.

A short laugh. "Trust me, Draco, there are days I can't even get out of bed. It hurts me to be such a failure in front of my son, but one day I hope he will understand."

"So you're just going on blind faith that your son will be forgiving? That he'll want to stick around, waiting for a change that may never happen?"

Remus inclined his head. "I have to trust that I'll love him enough for him to understand what we went through."

"And what about …?" he let the question hang in the air between them. He shifted on the bench, the sun burning at his ankles.

"You have us. We're not going anywhere. The one thing I can count on, is that Sirius Black is like a damned bad penny; he's always showing up when you don't want him."

Draco almost smiled.

"Besides, he juggled taking care of me so I could take care of Teddy, as well as keeping Harry from self-imploding after the war. He's come so far since Azkaban. If he can come through that, there's nothing that you and I can't do, too."

Draco hummed in thought. His eyes strayed back to Sirius as he rolled up his trousers, toed off his shoes and held out his hand for Potter to hold on to. Together, they strolled towards the water and waded in ankle-deep. Whenever a wave came, they tried to jump over it. Potter got soaked from his toes to his chin!

It looked … fun.

Remus followed his gaze and smiled. "Go and join them," he said, nudging the blonde gently.

"What if they'd rather I wasn't there?" he asked, almost too quietly.

"You won't know until you try."

Draco huffed in annoyance. Damned self-righteous werewolves and their spawn.

After a few moments just sitting there, making as much a point as he could, Draco eventually peeled himself off the wooden bench and stepped out into the blazing sunlight. He felt as though his skin was being set on fire as he walked down the wooden walkway towards the waters edge. Padding awkwardly over the last leg of sand, he squirmed. Did he call out of just go straight in for it? He cast a look over his shoulder as Remus, but could barely see the man thanks to the glare of the sun.

With great anxiety thrumming through his veins, he wriggled his feet out of his shoes and hurried across the hot sand until his feet came to the waters edge. It was cool, damp and gritty. He wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Draco!" Potter cried out gleefully. "Come jump! Come jump!"

The teen grimaced at being spotted, but now he didn't have a way out of it. With dread in his belly, he waded into the water. He gasped at how cool it was compared to the heat of the sun. Walking out to where Sirius stood, grinning like an idiot, Draco squinted back at him. The water felt refreshing but his skin was on fire.

He almost attacked when he felt Potter grab ahold of his hand.

"Jump, Draco!" Potter insisted, bobbing his knees. "Jump over the waves!"

"Alright you bossy git," Draco grunted, more to himself than the toddler.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter, a noise that still set Draco on edge.

Each holding a hand of Potter's over his head Sirius asked, "You ready, squirt? On three we're going to jump okay?" He eyed Draco pointedly over Potter's head, jiggling the little arm.

Draco frowned.

"One … Two … Three … JUMP!"

He felt so foolish at jumping over a wave that barely reached his knees. Potter, on the other hand was thrilled –even if he did spit out some sea water.

"Shit!" Draco hissed. "I didn't mean –"

Sirius waved him off, "It's fine, just need to lift him higher on the next one, okay?"

Draco nodded. It wasn't okay. It really wasn't okay.

Still, the next wave was brewing and he only had a few seconds before –

"JUMP!"

He jumped whilst hoisting Potter as high as he could manage. The brat cleared the wave entirely, laughing loudly as he splashed back down into the shallow water. "Again!" he cried out, bouncing so hard Draco was sure his arm was about to free itself from its socket. "Again, again, again!"

Apparently he had no choice.

There would be many wave jumps that afternoon.

A/N: If none of you guys fell in love with beach-fun Harry, then I can't even LOOK AT YOU! *snape-swishes my bathrobe*