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

A/N: Thank you guys so much, the reviews on my last chapter were amazing on here and AO3! I nearly melted, I was so happy! Thank you all for the support!

Chapter Sixteen

.

"They beat him?!" Draco snarled the moment Sirius closed the door behind him.

"Keep your voice down!" Sirius growled, quickly throwing up a 'Silencio!' at the door so Harry wouldn't be disturbed by the shouting. He turned his attention back to his seething cousin and squared his shoulders. "You have no idea what that boy has been through."

"And he went back to those muggles, those filth, every summer? Dumbledore let that happen?!"

Sirius' eyes darkened. "Do you honestly think I was happy about any of this? If I'd had it my way, I'd have whisked Harry away from here as soon as I'd mounted my bike." Every muscle inside him was being wound tighter and tight. His hands were shaking, with anger or anguish he couldn't tell. "It wasn't how Dumbledore wanted it to play out."

"Who gives a shit what the old bastard wanted!" Emotions were choking Draco's words and the ugly pink tinge to his skin was making him look frantic. His hair, usually immaculate, even now, was starting to fray out of place. A china teacup on the mantelpiece shattered, the shards scattering all over the tiled floor. "Nothing he ever planned went the way it was supposed to!"

Sirius ran a hand down his face. "I felt as helpless as you do, Draco."

The blonde scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Plates vibrated in the cabinets as volatile magic rippled through the air.

"I was tossed in Azkaban mere hours after seeing my friends dead bodies and having my godson, the one thing left to cling to, whisked away by Hagrid. I don't even know where Remus was that night, but by the morning he'd lost all faith in me."

Draco felt the emotions hit him like a cruciatus curse, but he refused to calm down. Not when Potter had been beaten about like a common house elf. "And what about after, eh? You were on the run from the entire wizarding world! How do you think that made him feel? You may as well have just been back in Azkaban for all the good it did anyone!"

A shadow passed over Sirius' face. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

Draco knew, even in his irrational rage, when to reign himself in. He drew in a few deep breaths, the anger still quaking his muscles, and gripped the back of the kitchen chair. "I'm sorry," he ground out. Hot angry tears danced on his lashes and would probably fall without him noticing. He was too angry, too disgusted with everything. "I cannot help but feel sick about it all. It's disgusting! Every year he went back to that scum, and had to come back, learn brand new magic AS WELL AS TRYING TO DEFEAT A MANIAC!"

"Now you see how petty your little rivalry was?"

Oh.

He hadn't even thought about that.

The wind went out of his sails. "Fuck. I was a complete arsehole to him that first day. Such a snobbish little prick!"

Sirius raised his eyebrows but didn't comment.

"Then of course, there I was making fun of the sodding Weasley's to him! As if that was going to make him my best friend!" He slammed his fist against the stone wall. "What the fuck was wrong with me? What did I do?! For all I know Potter and I could have been a great fucking team! But instead I went around trying to get him into trouble and bullying him and his friends and being such a little goblin! I mean I'm no fucking better than his -"

He stopped dead.

Oh, that was an ugly thought. An ugly, ugly thought.

But it still rang true.

A hollow pit opened up inside Draco's chest and yawned open, swallowing any good, bad and sadistic feeling burning inside him. In an instant he felt cold, so desperately cold and empty. His hands quaked, but he couldn't tell why anymore.

Sirius came to stand in front of him, arms still crossed over his chest. "Draco, talk to me. What're you thinking?" His voice was a low level rumble, yet somehow it was comforting. He guided Draco into the chair and winced as the teen slumped heavily into it, his glassy grey eyes staring off into the middle distance.

"I er ... was just thinking ..."

"About?"

"How I'm no better than those bastard muggle relatives of his."

"What makes you say that?"

Draco wanted to scoff but his mouth wouldn't oblige. "Can you honestly ask me that after all you must have heard about me?"

"You'd be surprised how tight-lipped Harry can be. What I hear is mostly from Ron swearing or cursing your family. Harry, oddly, doesn't say much."

The empty feeling was growing inside him, slowly but surely, like a stain.

Two hands rested on his shoulders. They were warm and heavy and felt wonderful. "Come on, kid, I think you need an early night."

A quick glance at the clock above the fireplace made him frown. "It's not even eight o'clock."

"Doesn't matter. It's been a long, exhausting day and you need to process all of this. Come on."

Draco let himself be gently guided out of the chair and towards the stairs. He was grateful that Sirius didn't let go of his shoulders and even more so when his cousin didn't comment on it. He kicked off his shirt and trousers and changed into warmer pyjamas like a zombie, almost jumping out of his skin when Sirius lit the fire with a flick of his wand, cast a warming charm on the bed and pulled the covers back for the teen to slide under.

At least it was nice and warm in his bedroom now.

Sirius tucked the covers in around Draco's body and made to leave. The teen reached out and snagged his cousin's sleeve. "Sirius can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Draco, what's up?"

"Do you think Potter actually thought of me as ... like his cousin?"

Sirius' gaze softened. He twisted his arm and took Draco's hand in his and squeezed. "Maybe it didn't bring up the right sort of feelings for him at the time. From what I know, his Uncle was a horrid fat bastard and his son was quickly following in his footsteps. Like father like son, and all that."

"How do you know?"

"I check in on them from time to time. Keep them on their toes. They don't need to know I was cleared of all murder charges. Bullies the lot of them."

Draco winced. "Is that why he didn't shake my hand?"

"It probably didn't help."

"I just wanted him to be my friend," Draco murmured towards the fire, his eyes shining as his wrist went limp in his cousin's hand. "I wanted my father to be proud of me for once. Befriending Harry Potter."

"Maybe," Sirius agreed. "It wouldn't have lasted, Draco. Not when Harry got closer to you. But things are different now, you'll see."

"What if they don't get better?"

"They will."

"What if he hates me all over again?" Draco asked, his voice cracking a little. "I could deal with it when we were teenagers. We grew up with it. But now I have to see it all war inside his head. What if it doesn't change? What if he still hates me?"

"He never hated you, Draco. He wanted to stop bad things from happening, sure, but he saved you. He took your hand that day and he saved you in that infernal room."

Draco winced, turning his gaze away from the fire in the grate.

"Get some sleep, Draco."

"Can you stay with me? Until I drift off?"

Sirius nodded, "Of course. I'm not going anywhere."

When Draco eventually fell asleep, still softly clinging to his cousin's hand, he dreamed of that day in the fiendfyre, how the heat licked his skin, how he was clinging for dear life and pleading with every tear running down his face that Potter would just turn back on that fucking broom, reach out his hand and ...

.

~0~

.

Sirius watched over his glasses -yes, he needed glasses now like some old man! -as Remus rocked a fussing Teddy back and forth whilst pacing the room. It seemed so natural for Remus to come to his room now, with Teddy in tow. If he found it odd that Sirius never turned the cot back into the old coffee table it had once been, he never mentioned it. Sirius wasn't about to object to Remus' company in his bed, even if it was completely platonic. He just wanted his werewolf friend close and safe. Once Teddy was settled down in his cot, Remus slid easily into the bed beside Sirius, not close enough to touch but enough to feel the heat radiating from the other side of the bed.

"Did you boys have fun today?" Remus teased, shooting a tired smile Sirius' way as he reached for a tome about magical creatures.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," sighed the older man, setting his own book to one side. "I think Harry's starting to remember."

"Really? It's a bit soon for that isn't it?" Remus frowned.

"I think they're hazy memories at best, but he definitely remembers being picked on and bullied." Sirius felt his throat close tight. Suddenly it was too hard to get the words out.

Remus took his hand and squeezed.

"I just ... I didn't think they'd be so cruel to him at such a young age."

"We always knew they were horrible people."

"That doesn't make it right!"

"No," Remus agreed softly, "No, it doesn't make any of it right. Least of all that Dumbledore continued to send him back there, even after it came to light."

Sirius snorted, "Yeah Draco said much the same thing."

Remus reached out and threaded his fingers through Sirius' dark curls. They bounced and snagged around his fingers, as though they had a life of their own. It always made him smile. Taking a deep breath he said, "You knew he wasn't going to have a completely blank slate, Paddy. We knew this was bound to happen sooner or later."

Heaving a sigh, as though the weight of the world were on his shoulders, Sirius nodded. "I guess I'd hoped it would take a little longer before this all came up."

"It might be," Remus placated. "For all you know this is the one memory he'll have kept at this age. You just need to be better prepared for it in the coming months."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sirius squeezed his eyes shut. "Not sure I'm ready for that, Remmy."

"Not sure you have a choice, Paddy."

Sirius huffed a small laugh, the exhaustion washing over him. He leaned sideways, so that his head was tucked against Remus' chest. He smelled like fresh linen and a sharp musk that seemed to cling to the lycan's skin no matter what. It smelled wonderful. The tension eased out of his muscles as Remus rubbed soothing circles into his back, comforting him in a way where words would fail. He felt his eyelids growing a little heavy.

"It'll be okay. You just need to focus on doing what's best for him day-to-day. Things will sort themselves out as long as you're there for him."

"You have to be there too!" Sirius hissed urgently, his fingers clenching into the folds of Remus' shirt.

Remus chuckled. "Of course, Paddy, I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," he nodded in a decisive manner, resuming his place half-cradled to the lycan's chest. "Every boy needs his Mummy."

"Oi!" Remus swatted him upside the head. "Who's to say you're not the Mummy?"

"Am not!"

"You have the longest hair!"

"Oh yeah? Well I also have the biggest -MPH!"

"Don't say that in front of the baby!" Remus snapped under his breath, his hand clamped hard over Sirius' face. The curly-haired man laughed, his whole body trembling with the effort of trying to keep quiet. "You're such a tosser, Paddy."

Before he could second guess himself, Sirius smacked a kiss to Remus' cheek. "Love yah too, Moony!" he grinned, before burrowing down into his pillows, the blankets pulled tight over his head.

Remus sat there, too stunned to react. He raised a hand to his cheek feeling the slight damp spot before shaking the thoughts away. "Tosser," he mumbled before picking his book back up and tried to finish the chapter he'd been reading.

He did not succeed.

.

~0~

.

Starting a few days later, the world had seemed to adjust itself and yet certain things were amplified.

Draco couldn't tell if it was just that he was seeing things with a clearer perspective or just that a barrier in his head and been shattered and now the world wasn't all doom, gloom and death threads in the post. Even though the weather outside seemed content to be as grey and miserable as possible. He seemed to notice that Potter preferred runny eggs to dip his toast in instead of fried eggs. He found himself feeling warm inside when Sirius had Potter stand against the doorframe and mark his height each month. He hadn't noticed, until that morning, that Sirius had gotten Potter's original height measurements as well.

He was comparing the difference from Potter's actual childhood to now.

When he was sure no one else had been looking, Draco had crouched down to have a peek; there was barely half a centimeter difference but it could become even more drastic when Potter hit his growth spurts for the second time.

'Oh Merlin!' he thought as he finished off his muggle cereal. 'What if Potter becomes taller than me?!'

The thought made his insides twist, though he wasn't sure why.

Whenever either of them were at home, Remus and Sirius made sure to make use of their camera to take photos of all of Potter's milestones. When he had some time to himself, Draco would go down into the kitchen and look at the numerous photos in their newly hung frames on the walls and feel his insides burn a little brighter. Such innocent memories; Potter learning to brush his teeth over the sink whilst on a small plastic footstool, Potter learning to write his name with a backwards 'r' in the middle, and an up-close photo of Sirius, Potter and Remus with Teddy cradled against his shoulder all smooshed into the frame. The most recent photo, developed just the previous evening, was Potter holding baby Teddy for the first time all by himself. Remus was right beside him in the frame, of course, but Potter's beaming face at the camera and the way he pressed a big kiss to Teddy's forehead was too perfect for words.

'Since when have I thought Potter was, in any way, perfect?' he cringed at the thought, turning away from the mounted frames. He couldn't help but feel disheartened that he wasn't in any of those photos.

Perhaps he'd been too standoffish with the brat?

Rubbing the back of his neck, he steered away from the main door and traipsed down into the cellar. After he had helped clear the place out and aided in the cleaning Draco was a little surprised to see that pristine, elegantly carved work counters had been moved into the large space; they were pressed up along the wall beneath the window, another long 'L' shaped one across the other room, and a small 'U' shaped island in the middle with a space to fit a large cauldron neatly inside. There was even a neat, brick fireplace at the far end of the room. Despite every shelf being empty, Draco regarded every nook and cranny as though they already had glistening crystal and glass vials inside, or small earthenware pots for various herbs.

His heart swelled with so much gratitude it felt took big for his chest. Any moment he was going to have a panic attack.

When had Sirius and Remus arranged all of this for him? He was in the house all day, every day, how did he not notice?

Walking around the room, he let his fingertips brush over the woodwork, feeling the tickle of protective charms against his skin. The small window had been enlarged to let more natural light in, but also had a black-out blind for curing ingredients that would disintegrate in sunlight. It was a magnificent space, one he could only ever dream of having. Now he had it, right in front of him, and he was almost too emotional to think properly.

'I need to thank them,' he thought, spinning on his heels and hurrying from the cellar.

As soon as he slid into the entrance hall, he was dimly aware of noises from upstairs. One of them was always home. Tearing up the stairs, Draco tossed open so many doors on the first floor before finding Sirius and Potter in Potter's room. The door banged a little too loudly as he opened it, causing his cousin and Potter to startle.

"Draco what's wr-OOF!" Sirius was nearly bowled over as Draco threw his arms around his cousin and hugged him tight.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Draco gasped in a rush, squeezing Sirius as tight as he could. "You didn't have to do this for me, I can't even begin to -"

"What're you talking about, Draco?" Sirius asked, managing to ease the blonde a few inches away.

Draco slackened his hold and looked up at his cousin's grey eyes. "The cellar. All those counters and the fireplace. It's amazing! It's t-too much though, I can't -I shouldn't -"

"Oh! I hadn't realized everything had arrived!" Sirius grinned, showing all his teeth. "I bet Remus saw to it when it arrived and didn't tell me."

Draco unwound himself from his cousin, flushing with embarrassment. "Remus did all that? For me?"

"Well, we both poured over several catalogs to see where to get the best pieces, but I didn't realise Remus had gone ahead with the order. He must have wanted it to be a surprise."

Draco ducked his head. "He didn't need to do all of that for me. I mean -after everything -I just -"

"Draco." He only flinched a little when Sirius took him by the shoulders and bent his head so they were looking each other in the eyes. "Enough of that. You deserve to better yourself. It's what Harry and all of us fought the war for."

Speaking of Potter, Draco suddenly remembered that the brat was in the room, staring up at them with wide, green eyes, a finger hooked in his mouth.

"Er ... right. Well. I'll need to thank Remus when he gets home tonight."

Sirius chuckled. "Sounds good. Are you hungry?"

Draco shrugged.

"Alright, well once Harry managed to dress himself, we'll join you downstairs."

"Sure, I'll go and put the kettle on." He cringed as he left the room. Merlin, his father would have a heart attack at Draco making his own tea ... like a muggle!

'Perhaps I should write him a letter?' Draco mused as he went downstairs to the kitchen

.

Potter and Sirius joined him in the kitchen ten minutes later. Potter was very proud of himself for dressing himself, even if his kiddie jeans were on backwards. Draco shot his cousin a pointed look but Sirius shrugged. He'd deal with it later. They ate breakfast, toast and bacon for the men and cereal for Potter, and waited for the post to arrive. Thanks to various wards, the Daily Prophet was filtered out of the equation altogether, although somehow a howler or two still managed to sneak inside. Sirius often tossed the red envelopes straight into the fire without opening them.

There was no such drama this morning.

There was, however, a new glossy catalog with an illustration of a bubbling cauldron on the front. Interest piqued, Draco leaned a little closer to see it. "What's this?" he asked.

"A catalog with all the alchemists in the country," Sirius stated, glancing briefly at the cover. "I was thinking you could look through that and see what ingredients you may want to help with your studies. Remus and I may order some basics as well just to keep Pepper-Up and general pain remedies in stock. It's not going to be pretty when a certain someone goes through growing pains."

Draco glanced down at Potter as he smashed a spoonful of mushy cereal into his mouth.

The things that went on in his life ... If he could have told himself, three years ago, where his life after the war would take him, he'd have Crucio-ed himself.

"Sure," he said, "I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it," Sirius smirked. "Everyone needs a hobby, Draco. If this helps you in your studies, then even better." Sirius took a swig from his mug. "When do you have to go back to the school? Friday?"

Draco nodded sullenly.

"I can't imagine it'll be fun for you. You can invite someone over if you like."

"Like who?"

"Hermione?"

Draco pulled a face, "Just because she's Potter's friend, doesn't mean she's going to be mine."

Sirius shrugged, "I figured it'd do you some good to converse with someone your own age that doesn't want to hex me."

"Granger would never hex me," he replied, haughtily. "She's rather punch me in the nose instead."

"Daddy says that hitting people is wrong," Potter piped up from his chair.

Draco nodded, "That's right. Hitting is very bad, so you shouldn't do it."

"I don't like hitting," Potter vehemently shook his head. "I don't hit Dudley, not even when he kicks me on the floor."

It was said so innocently but the gut-wrenching agony those words left behind was enough to make Draco shrink into himself and want to die. Or, at the very least, put him off his breakfast.

Swallowing the last lump of toast, Draco mumbled, "Maybe I will write to Granger. See if she's free."

"How about Ron?"

"I'm not that desperate yet."

Sirius laughed, the sound instantly making Draco's frayed nerves calmer.

.

It was almost dinner time and Draco was looking forward to just getting back to his room and finish reading the catalog Sirius had gotten him. He'd already written a list as long as his arm, but there was still at least a third of the catalog left. Unfortunately, this was also the night that Teddy refused to settle down after he'd been fed. Instead, his hair went a hideous shade of green and his face turned red as he screamed his lungs out.

"Draco, do you mind cooking for you and Harry?" Sirius had practically yelled to be heard over the infant in his arms. The screams were piercing. "I need to get Teddy settled down."

"Sure ... er ... yeah I'm sure I can handle that."

Smiling gratefully at his little cousin, Sirius adjusted his grip on Teddy and practically ran back up to their floor and into their room. The instant silence as the door closed and silencing charms were erected, was eerie. Ignoring the tremor going down his spine, Draco sighed and went into the lounge in search of Potter. He found the kid sprawled out on the rug, paper and pens spread out before him. Curious as to what the Golden Boy thought about as a child, Draco edged closer, peering over the mop of black hair.

There seemed to be a lot of pictures of green squiggly lines with red tongues poking out.

Snakes.

All thoughts of Potter being a parsletongue during their second year made the hairs all over Draco's body stand on end.

He couldn't know to talk to snakes so young, surely? Then again, he'd been surprised by Potter's own prowess and stupidity too many now.

Clearing his throat he said, "Hey Pot-uh-Harry. Sirius said we need to have dinner now."

"Oh, what are we having?" Potter asked, rolling onto his back, his black hair fanning out around his face.

It was odd how green his eyes looked without glasses.

Snapping back to reality, Draco clenched his teeth. "How about pasta?"

"Yummy!"

Draco inwardly sighed with relief. Pasta was easy. Remus had taught him that one in an evening and thankfully the few times Draco had attempted it since, had all been successes. "Okay. I'll give you ten minutes before you need to pack all this away."

"How long is ten minutes?"

Draco frowned.

"Point to the clock!"

Glancing at the small clock above the fireplace, Draco pointed to the number '4'. "When it gets to here, you need to tidy up, okay?"

"Okay!"

Feeling more in control than he had in ages, Draco went into the kitchen and started preparing dinner. He decided to make a lot extra, so that Remus and Sirius didn't need to scramble about making a late-night dinner for themselves. Remus would be home soon anyway. 'At least I can do some small thing to help,' Draco thought, as he sliced up the onions and garlic.

.

Remus came through the large fireplace in the lounge at 7PM. It had taken a lot longer to sort out the detention group he'd been landed with, and trying to mark assignments whilst kids tried to hex one another under their desks, was never going to end well for him. At least he came home to a clean house; Harry's drawings were all neatly stacked on the side table with his colouring pens, and there was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen.

He was a little disappointed that no one was eating with him. A note on the lid of the saucepan read;

'Glad you're home, Moony. Draco made dinner for everyone. I've kept it on a stasis charm so you can have a home-cooked meal after a long day. -S x'

Remus smiled, the warm glow encompassing him. He didn't rush that evening; he took his time eating the delicious food, putting any left overs in the fridge for tomorrow, and made himself a cup of tea to take up to bed with him. He left all his paperwork on the kitchen table; he didn't want to look at the case anymore that night.

He was too tired tonight. Ordinarily, he'd pester Sirius to watch some muggle show on TV, but he didn't have the energy. As he got to the first landing, a sound caught his attention. Draco was still awake, naturally, but his voice was coming from ... Harry's room? Curious, he crossed the landing and peered in through the gap in the door; Draco was sat in the rocking chair beside Harry's bed, leaning his chin on his hands, elbows on his knees, and staring intently at the book Harry was holding up.

Harry's voice snapped him out of his musings.

"Then the witch flicked her wand and con -conj -Draco what does that word say?"

A brief pause. "Conjured."

"Conjured?"

"That's right."

"What does 'conjured' mean?"

"It means ... made it appear."

"Oh. Does Daddy conjured stuff?"

"Conjure. Yes he does. All the time."

"Oh." Harry glanced down at the book. "Like what?"

"Like ..." Draco hedged, biting on his lip. "Like when he clicks his fingers and a tissue appears."

"But Daddy has a wand too?"

"Yes, he does."

"Do you have a wand?"

"Somewhere."

"Will I get a wand?"

"One day, when you're old enough."

"That'll take forever!" Harry whined. "Can I borrow your one?"

Draco looked torn between amusement and distress. "First you need to learn big words. Then you can play with a wand. Deal?"

Harry twisted his face up in thought. "How many big words?"

"I don't know. What's the highest number you can count to?"

"A HUNDRED!"

"Then you need to learn one hundred big words, before you get to play with my wand."

Harry pouted.

Unperturbed, Draco tapped the page of the book. "Come on, two more pages and then bed."

"Is Daddy going to come and give me another kiss?"

Draco frowned, "I think your Daddy is looking after Teddy."

"Oh. That's okay."

They settled back into reading the children's book. Remus was almost floored by the entire interaction; he felt as though he was walking on air.

When he got to his room he noticed that it was quiet and cold. A shiver ran through him. Of course, Teddy was sleeping in Sirius' room. Fighting back a smile, the weary man changed into a pair of warm pyjamas before walking quietly along the corridor to Sirius' room. The glow from the orbs floating overhead was dim and relaxing. Sirius was snoring quietly on his side of the bed, his messy curls spread out across the pillow. Teddy was sleeping soundly in his cot. His tiny hands were so small and soft, it made Remus' heart ache.

Sliding into the bed, Remus was about to curl up and go to sleep when Sirius shifted, burrowing deeper into his pillows.

Allowing himself one guilty pleasure, Remus leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to Sirius' forehead. "You're far too good for me," he murmured, before lying down on the pillows and letting the days events wash through him and coax him to sleep.

A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait in updates. Costume orders and general life seem to be getting in the way again :( much love! X