Disclaimer: I do not own any characters created by J.K. Rowling.
A/N: To clear up some points people on here and Archive of Our Own STILL are not grasping with this story (yes, these are all true);
1. I do not, and have never, condoned the fact that Draco used Unforgivable curses on Katie Bell and Rosmerta as well as accidentally poisoning Ron.
2. This is a slow build story, so Draco will NOT be having wet-dreams and shagging a CHILD HARRY POTTER. Any and all reviews based on this will continue being deleted.
3. Draco will be allowed back at Hogwarts once a week to hand in assignments and eventually, sit his exams. Each and every time he will be escorted by Aurors and / or Remus and Sirius. He is still on probation and has had his magic suppressed and his wand confiscated. He has no immediate means for performing magic or harming anyone.
4. Draco was a bully. Sad, but yes he was. He tormented Harry and his friends for years. He no doubt learned that from his father, who was also a bully.
5. I do not condemn Draco, who was sixteen, for doing everything in his power to help protect his family, even if that meant becoming a Death Eater. However, he did not want to kill, all his attempts were shoddy at best. Draco is really smart so if he had wanted to kill Dumbledore I have no doubt he could have managed easily enough. His heart simply wasn't in it; he may have been a bully but he isn't a murderer.
6. Ron may have been a victim of Draco's, by mistake, but at this moment, he was the one who launched an unprovoked attack on a defenceless wizard in his own home. Bit of a dick move, regardless of history.
7. Sirius is not defending Death Eaters, he is defending DRACO, as his own, lone person. As his estranged cousin who needs help. Sirius followed the trial and accepted custody. The man has been through two wars and barely has family left. He saw a chance to help, to make a bit of a difference, a home when Draco had nothing else, and gave it. Just like the Potters gave to him when he ran away from home. He is helping a young boy with nowhere else to go.
Chapter Twelve
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~ September ~
.
As September first crept up on them, Sirius and Remus attempted to get the occupants of Number Twelve into a more stable routine in order to allow both of them to work a set number of lessons during the week, and have enough time at home. It seemed to go well for the most part. They would rotate who would cook on what night, which meant Draco had to learn how to use the muggle cooker, there was just no way around it. Remus had even devised a system on a black board in the kitchen; everyone would cook at least two nights in the week, with one take-away on the Saturday night.
It was unanimously decided that, on the weeks of the full moon, Sirius and Draco would take over Remus' duties, fifty-fifty.
That also meant, getting Potter into some idea of a routine, too.
This was the part Draco detested. He shouldn't really be expected to help Potter toddle to the bathroom before his bedtime, or to make sure he brushed his teeth properly. That was all Sirius, hands down.
Draco just about remembered to brush his own teeth before bed, let alone be responsible for another person.
As the days wore on, there was another subject that Draco had been keenly avoiding; shopping for his new school supplies, the lack of money to pay for it that wasn't in his own name, and the fact that at least once a week he was to floo into the school in order to hand in his assignments to the respective professors was enough to make him heave. He had wanted to simply owl them in, however McGonagall had been insistent that he do it in person.
He'd gritted his teeth when he'd agreed to that.
.
They had just one week left before term started before Sirius finally sauntered into the kitchen, slapped down the list of books Draco had secreted in his sock drawer on the table and crossed his arms over his chest. Before he could open his mouth to argue, Sirius held a hand up, silencing him. "No excuses. I want you up, dressed like a human being and by the floo in ten minutes. We're getting those supplies whether you liked it or not, Draco Malfoy."
Gritting his teeth, the blonde teen shoved himself to his feet. "Have I ever told you I despise you?" he sneered over his shoulder as he walked towards the kitchen door.
"Countless times," Sirius deadpanned. "It's like my five-a-day."
Draco flipped him off, which earned him a bark of laughter.
He stomped up to his room and flung his wardrobe open, looking for one of the few respectable outfits he had left. He was just fastening the buttons up around his throat when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Someone was in the room.
Whipping around, his hand reached for a wand that was nowhere to be seen. His sudden movement had startled Potter, who gasped and ducked back around the door frame. Scowling, both at himself and the bug-eyed brat, Draco straightened his shirt forcefully and yanked the bedroom door open. Toddler Potter practically yelped in surprise.
"What're you doing here?" Draco sneered, eyeing the brat's attire of cheap muggle shorts and a basic printed t-shirt.
"Are we going out today?" Potter asked, ignoring Draco's question.
Scowling deeper, he replied, "Yes."
"Where are we going?"
"Shopping."
"What for?"
"Books."
"Why do you need books for?"
"To study magic."
"Oh." Potter was silent for a moment, his little eyebrows furrowing together. "I thought magic wasn't real."
Draco felt something inside him twitch as the sheer absurdity of that comment, child or not. "Of course magic is real. Who on earth told you otherwise?"
Toddler Potter seemed to shrink in on himself, his small shoulders hunching as he fiddled with the strings on his shorts. "Uncle Vernon," was the mumbled reply.
A tirade of insults was at the very tip of his tongue. It was only when the side of the child before him sunk in, did he swallow the words and try to calm the anger inside him. Whom he was angry at, he didn't know. Clearing his throat he felt himself crouching down. "Well you know what that makes your uncle, don't you?"
Potter shook his head, still not looking up.
"That makes him wrong and very, very st-silly."
Large, green eyes looked up at him in awe. It was unsettling seeing an entire world tipped on its head in the toddler's expression. His mouth dropped open and Draco was jolted back to the first time he'd seen Potter enter the Great Hall at Hogwarts; his whole life had been transformed and he relished the thought.
Yet, with a few simple words, he had done the same for Potter.
He suddenly felt very hot and uncomfortable. Why did that make him feel … good?
Shaking the thought aside, he stepped out of his room and closed the door behind him. He barely waited for the brat as he made his way towards the staircase, "Come on, scarhead, we're going."
.
Diagon Alley was just as he remembered it, both the good and the bad.
Draco suddenly felt a rush of vertigo as he passed by the bank and the neighbouring shops; the place had been rebuilt in the long months after the war, but there were still empty shop windows, still that weird black scorch mark along some walls. Nothing got rid of curse marks, he knew that all too well.
His forearm itched under the long sleeve of his shirt.
Sirius clapped him on the shoulder and leaned in to murmur in his ear, "We only need to go to a few shops. Then we can have a drink in the Leaky after, if you're up for it?"
"Yeah, sure," Draco swallowed. He wasn't ready for this. He was almost certain Fenrir Greyback was going to lurch out of the shadowy alleyway and slice his claws through his chest.
"Let's just get to Flourish and Blotts before the crowds get bad," Sirius advised. "Come on, Harry. You know the rule, you have to hold my hand."
Harry was distracted, but his hand obligingly shot out and sought Sirius'. His eyes were wide, taking in all the strange and wonderful things that whizzed about in shop windows or drifted overhead.
They made it into Flourish and Blotts without incident, although a few people had shot curious glances down at Potter. Perhaps they were just surprised to see Sirius Black with a toddler in tow.
The smell of parchment and ink hit him with a deep longing unfurling inside him, like being welcomed home after a long journey to a place you hadn't even realised had been missed in the first place. He felt like he was in a trance as he watched books levitate from one shelf to another. It caused an aching chasm to open within his chest. He really missed being able to do magic. While he could study it and pass his theory and written exams, that didn't mean not being able to do the practical side, until after his probation, was like a noose around his neck gradually growing tighter and tighter.
"Don't let it panic you," Sirius murmured as he nudged Draco further into the shop. "We'll get what we came for and back out again, okay?"
Draco nodded, mutely.
It was the tensest fifteen minutes of his life, having to stay near the corners and alcoves while Sirius asked where to find his books. Regardless of the outcome of the trial, Draco was aware of hundreds of eyes passing over him. It was the hair that gave him away before anything else. It made his insides cold as he hunched his shoulders and fingered his lip, pretending to read the spines of the books stacked before him.
"Got them," Sirius announced with a neatly wrapped brown parcel containing –from the feel of it –the ten tomes Draco required for the school year. Anything else could be ordered via owl, but these ones were only available in bookstores. Sirius flicked his wand, shrinking the parcel down to tuck into his pocket. "Where to next?"
"The apothecary?"
"Perfect. That's only three shops down."
The apothecary shop was dimly lit, crowded and gloomy, the scent of various unpleasant ingredients mingling in the stale air. Yet, there was something homey and familiar about it all that set Draco's frantic mind at ease, even just for a few minutes. He eyed the bottles containing eyeballs or twitching fingers, and barely batted an eyelash at the dragon's tongues thrashing about in a jar. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Potter stare up at a jar of eyes and jump out of his skin when all the eyes turned to look at him.
His mouth smirked before he realised what was happening. Forcing the expression off his face, he sighed and strode over to Potter. "Are you scaring the eyeballs, Potter?"
"They scare me."
"I'm sure anything looking at your face would be scared." Looking down, he saw that Potter's puny brain didn't grasp the sarcasm. That made Draco feel … bad? He frowned at the idea. Perhaps it just wasn't fun to throw tons of insults at Potter and get nothing back? He did always like their repertoire after all. It was oddly refreshing, even if the dunderhead never thought of anything creative to throw at him. Another sigh escaped him. He reached out a hand and steered the child away from the jar towards a large cage filled with pixies. Their shredded wings cluttered the bottom of the cage and gleamed a brilliant blue. Potter was in awe with them. "Do you like these?"
"What are they?"
"Pixies."
"They sound funny."
Draco smirked, "Yes, they do."
"I've ordered everything you need and it'll be delivered by Friday," Sirius' voice sounded loud and booming in the hushed atmosphere of the shop. Draco flinched a little but tried to show that he wasn't on edge, that he could handle this. Sirius frowned, "What's wrong with Harry?"
It was only then that Draco realised his hand was still on the brat's shoulder. He jerked it away. "Nothing, he's fine. He just wanted to look at the pixies."
A studious expression glimmered in Sirius' eyes but he didn't press the matter. Draco was grateful for that. They made their way out of the shop and into the bustling throng of people rushing from shop to shop to buy their children brand new essentials for their first year at Hogwarts. Draco tried not to feel hot shame as they bustled past.
As they walked towards the bank, Draco felt a weight on the back of his neck. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a group of teens around his age stood to one side, eyes openly staring at him. They didn't even try to hide how they leaned in and murmured things to one another. He swallowed tightly and hurried to catch up to his cousin.
"Where else do we need to go?" he asked, keeping his head down, eyes averted.
Sirius adjusted his grip on Potter, having insisted he carry the child in a crowded street now, and glanced up at the bank. "I did need to speak to a goblin about some money transfers, but it's not wholly important."
"Please, don't let me stop you."
Sirius took in Draco's hunched, tense appearance and frowned. He'd known this wouldn't have been easy for the teen but he had also known that being holed away all summer wasn't helping things either. It probably didn't help that the dark mouth of Knockturn alley was just within view. Draco needed to face some of the demons lurking in his mind. He'd done well so far. "Maybe we should grab something to eat at the Leaky, how does that sound?"
Draco's expression remained stoic but the relief shone bright in his grey eyes. With a curt nod, they turned and made their way back up the alley towards the brick wall at the back of the Leaky Cauldron.
The more distance Draco put between himself and Knockturn alley, the more his father's voice receded in his head. It never went away completely, though.
Later that evening, Draco stared at the calendar pinned to the kitchen wall. It was such a muggle thing that it made his teeth itch, but Sirius insisted that sometimes it was good to have reminders glaring you in the face. He didn't appreciate how his therapy sessions had been marked in red on Thursdays. Dr. Lisa had been insisting he'd made some 'progress' but he didn't see how. He thought she was just humouring him, she got paid either way. There were only three days left before the autumn term started up.
Three days left until Potter turned three.
Three days left until he would be left to take care of the brat, all day long.
He ground his teeth and sighed, wishing nothing more than to unearth Black's secret stash of alcohol –he knew the man had one –and drown his sorrows in the cellar. He settled for pumpkin juice.
As he made his way back to his bedroom, he listened in at Potter's nursery door; Sirius was in there, his low voice reading a bedtime story as he gently rocked the toddler to and fro in his lap in the rocking chair. Draco moved on to his own room before he was caught again.
.
~0~
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Potter turned three on a Tuesday night.
He'd been as moody as child could be without any root-cause, but that didn't mean any of it was pleasant to watch. He started to get really hot and restless at about 6pm. Remus had just settled Teddy down for the night and had helped Sirius to bathe Potter in the bathroom before transfiguring his pyjama's to be bigger. They'd dressed him and taken him into the main bedroom. He hadn't eaten any supper.
Draco had watched all this in mute horror as Potter had grown paler by the minute.
The growing-pains starting with gut-wrenching sobs and weeping. Even through the walls, it struck every nerve in Draco's body. It was a wonder he didn't fly from the comfort of his room and into the main bedroom just to see that they weren't actually torturing the kid. He'd laid in the dark, eyes clamped shut and his breathing hard in his ears as Potter's whimpering pierced through his brain.
'Stop snivelling like that, you brat! Malfoy's don't snot down their clothes!'
'No, Daddy, not the cane! Not the cane! I won't do it again, I promise!'
'This'll teach you to mind your manners!'
"It's not real, it's not real!" Draco hissed through gritted teeth, groping at the clammy sheets sticking to his skin. "I'm not at the manor. I'm not with him."
'Draco, what's this I hear about you getting attacked by a hippogriff?'
'It was an accident, father. I was proving a point that the oaf didn't deserve to teach.'
'You let yourself get attacked in the process.'
'It justifies my point!'
"Don't do it, don't do it, please don't do it …"
'Needlessly. Let me see the damage.'
'M-Madame Pomphrey already did, father. It's just a few scratches, easily fixed. No scarring.'
'I'll be the judge of that.'
"No, no, no, no, no …"
'FUCK! SHIT! YOU BROKE MY FUCKING ARM!'
'Maybe next time you won't be so careless as to jeopardise my position at the school, boy.'
Draco scrambled over the edge of the bed, barely thinking in his actions as he slid across the wooden floorboards. He hyperventilated as he pressed against a wall, clawing at his hair, his skin, his clothes, making sure everything was real. He as real, he was here and not at the manor. His father was in prison, he couldn't touch him here.
He took in the dark shadows of his room and a fresh wave of fear overwhelmed him. Hot tears ran down his cheeks. Cupping his hands over his mouth, he choked on rough, wet breaths as he listened to his heart drumming away.
"It's not real! It's not real!" he ground out through gritted teeth. He could hear the bone crunching together in his jaw. "It's not fucking real!"
His left arm felt prickly, where the mark had been. Was. It was never going away, not even if it had discoloured and scabbed over.
Raising his arm to his mouth, he bit deep into the flesh, relishing in the sparks of pain shooting up his arm. His head banged against the wall, a steady thumping rhythm that eventually drew Remus to his doorway.
The light was like a solar flare in his eyes.
"Draco what're you doing?!"
"Leave me alone!"
His arm was yanked away from his face. He tasted blood. He kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see the damage. "Oh, Draco …" The tip of a wand pressed against his flesh. Remus murmured something and drew patterns with the wand. His skin stung, earning a gasp from his raw throat, but when Draco opened his eyes, the scabbed scar was exactly as it had been yesterday.
No blood and no bite marks to be seen.
"Do you want to tell me what this was about?"
Draco tensed. "I had a nightmare."
"About what?"
"My father."
Remus was silent for a moment but didn't press. Instead, he took Draco's arm and lifted him to his feet. The motion made the blonde's head spin, but he staggered against Remus for support as they made their way out of the room and down the landing towards Sirius' room. Draco only realised where they were when the dim golden light glowed in his face. He shied away from it, recoiling into himself.
Sirius watched them from his position half-propped up on his elbow and a pillow, his left hand gently rubbing circles over Potter's tummy. It looked so tender and soothing that fresh tears sprang to Draco's eyes. Why had no one ever rubbed his tummy when he was poorly?
He rubbed roughly at his face, trying to stifle any sobs that threatened to come out. Remus touched his shoulder to see if he was okay, but he shoved off the comforting hand, despite aching to make a grab for it.
"Draco, come and sleep in here with us tonight," Sirius kept his voice low so that Potter didn't stir.
"No," he choked out. "I'm fine."
This time Remus managed to get an arm around his shoulders and Draco gave-in. He let himself be guided to the side of the bed facing the window. Sirius was in the middle with Potter on the side Draco was expected to climb into. He froze at the thought. Another nudge from Remus made him swallow what dregs he had left of his pride and climb in under the sheet.
He listened to Remus pad around the bed and slip in on Sirius' other side, giving him easy access for when Teddy fussed during the night.
Draco made a point of lying on his side, facing away from the others. He didn't want to talk, no good would come of his talking. His throat was sore, his eyes ached and every muscle was quivering with adrenaline. A shiver ran through him and he drew the bed sheet up around his shoulders.
"Did he tell you what happened?" Sirius' low voice caught his attention a little while later. He strained to hear what the older man was saying without being too obvious.
"He said he was having a nightmare about his father," Remus replied softly. "I don't know what triggered it. Maybe Harry being ill? I don't know for sure."
"Do you think Harry and Draco will be okay together when we're working?"
"One of us will always be at home, Paddy."
"I know, I know," the older man sighed. "I just worry. They weren't exactly friends to begin with."
"Are you letting what Ron and Hermione said, get to you?"
"Not that specifically. I wanted to be there for Harry, to give him a better childhood away from that abusive family." Sirius paused, choosing his words carefully, "That maybe some of these memories could give him a better foundation for dealing with memories of the war."
"You know it could always go the other way, though," Remus sighed, shuffling about under the sheets. Maybe they were facing each other now? "Harry might so get confused about all these memories. He might become paranoid, trying to figure out which memories are real and which are fake."
"They'd all be real."
"Precisely my point."
Sirius hummed in thought. "I'm hoping some of the good memories we make now, will show Harry that he deserved much more than just being a pawn in the game of war. That he has so much to keep living for. That he didn't need to just accept death like that …"
"I know, Paddy, I know. I suppose we all wish we could have a different childhood, one way or the other."
Another shuffle. "You wouldn't know you'd get bitten."
"True," Remus murmured. "It's a part of me now, for better or for worse. Tonks was able to see past it, just like you and James were able to."
There was a latch in his voice that Draco hadn't heard before. It made his heart clench in his chest.
"Remy, if I'm making this too hard for you –"
"The alternative is to be alone with a baby who looks so much like his mother that sometimes it pains me too much to even look at him, let alone hold him."
There was a heavy silence hanging over the bed.
Potter huffed and fidgeted in his sleep, rolling awkwardly so that a chubby arm or leg nudged against Draco's back. He froze, refusing to feel grateful for the small limb of warmth.
He stayed awake, long after the floating orbs dulled to a deep burning glow, like that of a dying ember, straining his ears to see if Sirius and Remus would talk anymore about the issues that plagued them. At some point Potter starting fussing again, making little mewling noises as he fidgeted in the bed. Sirius grunted and curled the kid closer against him, stroking his hand and pressing kisses to his flushed hands and cheeks.
Draco felt a bead of envy turning over and over inside him, until all the emotions caught up with him and he fell asleep.
.
The following morning Draco was awoken by the sound of strange music coming from downstairs in the kitchen. He huffed and rolled onto his back, taking a moment to trace his fingers down his left forearm and frowning. Had he really tried to bite the mark from his arm? He grimaced at the thought.
Glancing over at the other side of the bed, he was surprised to see that Remus, Sirius and even Teddy had disappeared from the room, leaving only Draco and Harry sound asleep in the king sized bed.
Draco reached instinctively for a wand to cast 'tempus' and felt jilted when his hand closed around air.
"Shit," he grunted, rolling back over.
He almost yelped when something tugged at his shirt.
Glancing down he saw that Potter had edged closer to the only thing providing any warmth in that moment; him. He tried to pry the little hand off of his shirt, but Potter frowned in his sleep and held on tighter.
"You little git, let go!" Draco hissed.
Potter, as always, ignored him.
"Come on, Potter, this isn't funny. Let me go."
Still nothing.
Draco licked his lips feeling tense all over. "H-Harry, please let go."
To his surprise and disappointment, Potter released the hold on his shirt. That didn't stop him from waking up though. He rolled against the pillow, his lanky small limbs looking swamped in the pyjamas that should have fit him. Draco frowned; maybe Remus and Sirius needed to focus more on feeding Potter? He'd always looked half-starved when he returned from his summer holidays.
Were the muggles really to blame for it all?
"Draco?"
He flinched at the voice. It was high-pitched but unmistakably Potter's.
Potter was awake, his sleepy eyes peering up at Draco as though trying to focus properly on him. He kept his voice in a childish stage-whisper when he asked, "Where is everyone?"
"Downstairs," he replied tightly.
"Oh." Green eyes dropped down. "Can I sleep some more?"
"Do what you want."
Draco made a protesting sound when Potter wriggled closer and curled himself against Draco's chest, his arms winding their way around the teen's arm. He burrowed into Draco's pillow and was out like a light before Draco could tell him to bugger off!
Now he was trapped.
What had happened? Why was Potter hugging him? What the hell were Sirius and Remus doing that they weren't coming in to check on them? Glancing towards the window, Draco frowned at how dark it was beyond the curtains. It was probably barely even 6am. Everyone was awake and Potter, whom he'd always assumed was an early riser, was content to curl up against his childhood bully and sleep some more?
The idea was ludicrous!
However, if Weasley could see them now –Draco grinned at the thought. So, Potter liked him now? That was interesting. The Weasley would probably implode with jealousy if he knew how much Potter liked to cuddle.
~0~
"Draco?"
The teens head jerked up at the sound of his name being called. He'd been so engrossed in his new potions book that he hadn't heard Remus' approaching footsteps. He relaxed a little, marking his place in the book and straightening up on the sofa in the 'study'. He hadn't understood why it was called a 'study' and not an 'office' since that's what the room clearly was, but he didn't want to show how ignorant he was of all things muggle.
"Yes?"
"Would you be okay to watch Harry for a little while?"
He blanched and tensed instantly as the thought. Potter had last been seen colouring nonsense pictures at the kitchen table while Remus had fed his own spawn mushed carrots.
"Why?"
"I want Andromeda to take Teddy for the evening to get him settled since I'm on rota for tomorrow. I thought it'd be easier to go now rather than wake him up later."
"Okay. When will you be back?"
"In an hour or two. If you like, you can start getting dinner ready?"
Draco knew the man was teasing, but he still felt himself bristle. "No, thank you. I think we can wait until you get back."
Remus smirked at him before inclining his head. "Very well, you can help me when I do."
Draco didn't bother to reply. Instead, he turned his attention back to his book, making it clear to Remus that he wanted to be left alone. He felt tense and flustered as the werewolf lingered in the doorway for a moment, his left arm prickling with the scrutiny. Finally, Remus made his way back downstairs, humming to himself.
Sometime later, there was the distant sound of the floo activating.
Draco let a sigh escape, reclining back on the sofa and crossing his legs as he resumed reading. His peace and quiet didn't last long, however, as Potter decided that was the moment he wanted to bug the living shit out of him.
"Draco!"
The blonde flinched, but didn't look away from his book.
"Draco! Do you want to play with me?"
"No."
"Please? Only a little one?"
"I said 'no' snot-face." Since he couldn't swear in front of Potter, he needed to put a little bit more thought into the insults he came up with.
Two large green eyes peered up over the top of his book. If he twitched his leg just a little, he could knock Potter aside with his knee. He bit back a sigh and raised his eyes to Potter's.
"What game?"
"You pick!"
Draco felt a muscle tic. "How about one where I don't have to look at your face?"
Potter screwed his little face up in concentration. The idea went off like a 'lumos' on his face. "How about hide and seek? I'm really good at that one! Dudley never finds me."
Just like that, the light went out.
Draco frowned at the sudden silence.
In a small voice Potter whispered, "Dudley isn't going to play with me, is he?"
Frowning even deeper, Draco said, "No, Dudley won't be here. Do you not like playing with him?"
"No," Potter shook his head, hands twisting together and his eyes darting everywhere but at Draco. "He likes to sit on me."
Something stabbed at Draco's heart. Potter looked twitchy, his eyes had a lost, far-off look that children shouldn't have. His insides twisted up even more and before he knew it, he'd set his book aside and leaned over on the sofa so that he was almost eye-level with Potter.
"Okay," he conceded. "I'll count, you go and hide somewhere."
Potter beamed up at him. "Okay! You have to count to one hundred. That's the rules!"
Draco rolled his eyes, "I know the rules, brat. Now go and hide."
Potter spun in a circle and hurried out the door. Draco counted loudly and got all the way up to thirteen before he got distracted by his book again. He had every intention of going to look for Potter. As soon as he got to one hundred.
.
.
When Remus returned to Grimmauld place that evening, it was to find Draco at the kitchen table with a glass of pumpkin juice and a half-eaten tart on the table in front of him. His pointed nose was almost buried in the potions book he was reading and Harry was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Harry?"
Draco jumped in his seat, spinning around to glare at Remus. "Knock for Merlin's sake!" he snapped.
Remus smirked and cocked an eyebrow. "I see you've kept yourself entertained," he commented drily. "Now would you like to tell me where my child's infant godfather is?"
Draco frowned, "You made Potter your kids' godfather?" Remus nodded. "Well, good luck with that."
Rolling his eyes, Remus flicked his wand at the kettle on the hob. The fire sparked up instantly. He walked around to snag a few biscuits from the tin on the counter and turned to repeat his question to Draco, when he spotted a little figure crouched under the kitchen table. Harry raised a finger to his lips and let a soft 'shh' float into the air. Remus bit back a smile and returned his gaze to the blonde teen. Either he was completely aware that Harry was right at his feet and was skilled at keeping emotions off his face, or he was about to get the fright of his life.
"Is Sirius back yet?"
"No, but he did say he might not be back before seven."
Remus hummed to himself and began flicking his wand at pots and pans, and a string of utensils from the drawers. "Better make ourselves useful then and get dinner started."
Draco rolled his eyes but got up regardless. As he was passing by the table, Harry sprung up and yelled "BOO!"
"Ah! You scared me, Potter!" Draco exclaimed in mock-despair, even going as far as to 'swoon'. "You gave me a heart attack."
Harry bounced and laughed. "That serves you right for not finding me!"
Remus tried to control his laughter, but it was so damned difficult, watching Draco smile wryly at his school nemesis. Grabbing Harry under his arms, Remus hoisted him up and rested him on his hip. "Alright young man, Paddy will be home soon. We're going to make dinner, so why don't you get cleaned up and put your jammies on?"
Harry nodded eagerly. Remus set him down and watched as he scurried out of the kitchen on clumsy legs chanting, "Daddy's coming home! Daddy's coming home!"
Remus felt a shameful flush creep up the back of his neck.
"You know that's going to be a problem in a few months' time, right?" Draco broke through the heavy silence.
"We'll deal with that when we come to it," he sighed. "For now let's focus on making Bolognese."
Draco grabbed a knife and resigned himself to chopping onions. He tried to think of it as prepping for potions. It made the task a little easier to stomach.
"So, did you really not find him?"
Draco shrugged, chopping away. "I got distracted the first time and he came and told me off after twenty minutes. After that, he insisted I hid first," Draco rolled his eyes. "I didn't even really hide, I just sort of stood behind the bookcase a little."
Remus chuckled. "What about just now?"
"I saw him under the table as soon as I walked in. Thought I'd let him have his fun."
The older man hummed thoughtfully as he let the water boil in the saucepan. "Did you ever think that, after the war, you'd be playing hide-and-seek with Harry?"
The way Draco's shoulders tensed was enough to make Remus go on the defensive. However, Draco merely let out a strained, "No," before continuing to chop up the onions. They continued to work in relative silence until the roar of the floo resounded from the fireplace.
Sirius was home.
A/N: So I hope you guys liked the update, lots of drama as you can see! If you loved it, please R&R x