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

Author's Note: I am very sorry for the lateness of this update. My health issues still haven't gotten sorted (or answers) and to that one prick who said I had got an STD; do you even know how they work? Why not use the internet to research it, you troll. Other said trolls and flamers will be reported and / or deleted.

I hope you guys enjoy the update!

B x

Chapter Twenty-Four

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~January~

The first month of the year disappeared in a flash of muggle shops having brightly coloured sales to get rid of any of the rubbish that hadn't sold before Christmas. Lessons were back in session and Draco begrudgingly pocketed his wand each week when he went in for the weekly handing-in of assignments. McGonagall had spoken to him at the end of the first week assuring him that he could easily use after of the empty classrooms to practice his wand work. He assured her that he kept it in mind, yet never took advantage of it.

Despite the threats of Remus leaving and staying at Andromeda's house, the teacher remained at Grimmauld place. Draco tried not to openly stare at the pair whenever Sirius let his hand linger on Remus' back a little longer than necessary, or that they sat especially close on the sofa when Harry was watching his cartoons after lunch.

Andromeda and Narcissa had kept to their promise and were exchanging letters back and forth. Things were terse at times, when one of them brought up a subject that the other didn't appreciate, however the open communication was cathartic to both women and Draco was pleased to note that the worry seemed to be easing from his mother's features when he fire-called her.

Harry had grown another inch. Sirius was so proud when he swiped another mark on the doorframe, earning a chuckle from Remus. The constant appointments for Harry's eyesight kept Sirius rather busy whenever it wasn't his week teaching. Draco couldn't help but wonder why Harry had never gotten his eyesight corrected after the war.

And so, Draco began researching through old medical tomes and reading the Malady Monthly pamphlet that often circulated in the Daily Prophet. He made a note of some recent medical journals available at Diagon Alley and asked if Remus could grab him a copy or two. He couldn't help but wonder how harmful or complex vision repair via potions was and needed to answer a few questions of his own.

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As the month drew to a close the first batch of Polyjuice potion was ready.

It was on a cold, wet Saturday when they decided to try the first 'Harry Potter' sighting in Hogsmeade. True to his word, Sirius had gotten a bunch of Harry's old hair from a hairbrush and had bottled up the hairs into several phials so as to keep some in reserve. For the first sighting, Hermione was going to be 'Harry'.

The hairs fizzled and dissolved into the potion and she grimaced as the smell hit her nose. Holding her breath, she glanced between Draco and Ron before downing as much of the potion as she could muster. She choked and gagged.

"Merlin, it really is as bad as I remember!"

As the potion sank into her belly, her skin began to bubble as she felt her features contort. Blinking her eyes open she frowned at how blurred everything was. "Hand me his glasses," she grabbed aimlessly at the two blobs before her. Once on her nose, she sighed and glanced down at herself. "Did it work? Am I Harry?"

"Yes, it worked perfectly," Draco nodded appreciatively.

"Thank goodness."

"Now you just need to find some of Harry's old clothes, and you should be fine."

"It's so weird how long it's been since I've seen grown-up Harry," Ron commented. "It's gonna be awkward for the next hour at Hogsmeade."

"We only need to make an appearance," Hermione shrugged.

"Perhaps one of you should set an alarm for fifty minutes time?" Draco suggested. "You don't want to be caught changing in the middle of Zonko's."

"Let's hope there's enough people at Hogsmeade for this to work," Hermione muttered. Turning to Draco she smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "Thank you for helping us with this."

"Anytime," Draco said tightly. It was so strange to see adult Potter's face smiling up at him in such an endearing way. 'No,' he shook his head as the pair turned to head up to Harry's room. 'Harry wouldn't look at me like we were friends. Not when he is grown up.'

He heard the faint 'pop' of apparition in the hallway five minutes later.

To distract himself from the image of Harry smiling at him, Draco cleared up the cellar and then went up to his room to do his homework for the week. His hand itched for his wand to begin practising the spells, but his gut sank whenever the thought consciously crossed his mind. As he worked quietly, he couldn't help but wonder if this little stunt was going to be enough to convince people that Harry Potter was just fine and dandy and had been keeping a low profile for the last six months?

The following morning a photo of 'Harry Potter' and Ron Weasley laughing as they came out of the three broomsticks, was on the front page of the Daily Prophet. That morning at breakfast everyone congratulated Draco on a job well done.

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~February~

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It had been an incredibly long day.

All Draco wanted to do was have a hot bath and forget that his Auror escort had been less than useless at defending him against three stinging hexes. The git probably thought Draco deserved to be attacked on school premises. Suffice to say, McGonagall gave the sod an earful and stated that he would be reported to his superiors. As often as they didn't see eye-to-eye, Draco was grateful for this woman being the headmistress. If she was able to take four stunning spells to the chest and survive the rest of the war, then she could very easily take on a newbie Auror and his petty revenge.

Regardless of the days events, Draco just wanted the day to hurry up and end. Next week was Valentines day and he just didn't have the energy to deal with it.

As he slid into the hot water and tipped his head back against the rim of the bathtub, images of how Gilderoy Lockhart had decorated the castle throughout Valentines week was enough to nauseate him. Some of the traditions continued now after the war, and Draco had no desire to have a dwarf of a troll corner him and wax lyrical about how he should be dead or in prison with his father.

Pushing all those negative thoughts aside, he washed his hair and lie in the water until he could feel his fingers and toes pruning.

Drying himself with a towel, watching as the soap bubbles drained away, Draco felt a lot more at ease as he tied his bathrobe at the waist and dried his hair manually with the muggle hair-dryer. It left his hair looking especially silky and soft as he studied his reflection in the mirror.

A tentative knock on the door distracted him.

"Yes?"

"Draco? Are you still having a bath?" came Harry's voice through the door. It still took some getting used to, hearing Potter's voice without the harder edge to it.

"No, I've finished. Did you want to use the toilet?"

"Actually um … I w-was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie with me?"

With a sigh, Draco turned from the mirror, unlocked the door, and opened it. Harry stood there, his lanky frame looking a little more filled out. He was still only average height for his age, and barely reached Draco's elbows. "You came all the way up here to ask me if I want to watch a movie with you?"

Wringing his hands, Harry nodded sheepishly.

Draco grinned and stepped out of the bathroom. "Very well. Why don't you go and set it up while I get dressed?"

"No, that's okay. I'll wait for you." Without waiting for Draco to respond, the young brunette descended the two steps to the landing and made his way along the hall to Draco's door.

Draco cocked an eyebrow at the kid's arrogance but shook his head in amusement as he followed Harry through and into his bedroom. Harry hopped up onto the four-poster bed, his feet nowhere near touching the floor as his wide green eyes looked around the room as though it was the first time he'd seen it.

Draco busied himself with getting out some of his casual muggle clothes. It wasn't as though he had anywhere to go for the rest of the day. Glancing over his shoulder he was amused to see Harry watching him with rapt attention. "Close your eyes, Harry," he ordered.

Harry covered both his eyes with his hands. Draco waited for a moment, before getting dressed as quickly as possible.

"Okay, you can look now."

Harry grinned up at him as he hung his robe on the back of his door. "Your hair looks so soft!"

"Thank you."

"My hair is useless. It always sticks up everywhere."

"It always does that," Draco chuckled. "I'm not sure you could ever keep it brushed properly."

Harry cocked his head. "What does that mean?"

"Uh … nothing." Draco swallowed thickly. "So, have you and Sirius been practicing those spells?"

Harry nodded. "Oh yes it's so much fun! I even made his hair turn purple! It was wicked!"

"I hope you don't do that to me," Draco frowned comically. "I don't think I would suit purple hair."

"No, I wouldn't do that to you. Your hair is very nice and soft."

For some reason Draco felt his insides flush a little warmer. Brushing the thought aside, he gestured towards the door. "Shall we go and watch a movie before Sirius and Remus get home?"

Harry frowned. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Call my Daddy by his first name."

"Because … that's his name."

"Well he's 'daddy' to me."

"I … I'm aware." Draco looked down at the child for a moment before running a hand down the back of his neck. "Harry you are aware that Sirius … isn't your real dad, right?"

Harry clenched his jaw but nodded. "He's the only daddy I've got so it shouldn't matter what I call him."

"I know, Harry, I know," Draco placated, crossing the room and gingerly sitting on the edge of the bed beside the young boy. "It's just important to remember your other dad too. The one who's in Heaven with your mum."

Harry's shoulders slumped and he nodded. "I know he's up there and that he loves me. But … but he can't come back, can he?"

"No … No, he can't. I'm sorry Harry."

"It's okay. I don't remember them. But Siri-Sirius is my Daddy. He's alive and he takes care of me. That's what a daddy does."

"Yes, that's right. Everyone needs a daddy to take care of them."

"Where's your daddy, Draco?"

It was out of nowhere, like a slab of concrete colliding with his chest. The impact of those words crushed the air from his lungs and made it hard to speak. He felt the white noise beginning to buzz in his ears. He didn't want that to happen, not now, not in front of Harry.

"Draco?"

The voice cut through the buzzing and slowly the silence bloomed through his mind. Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath Draco replied, "My Dad is in prison. Do you know what that means?"

"Yeah, that's where cat-burglars go and people who rob banks go," Harry bit his lip. "Did your Dad rob a bank?"

"Not exactly, but he was helping a very bad man do very bad things."

"Oh. So, the police arrested him."

"The auror's did, yes."

"Did they take away his magic?"

"Yes. Sort of. They do that with a lot of bad people."

"Is that why you don't really do magic? Did you do something bad as well?"

Draco hesitated for a moment, wetting his lips. "Not as bad as my dad, but yes. "He turned to look at Harry, waiting for his reaction. The kid looked deep in thought as he picked at a plaster on his knee. The kid really was accident-prone no matter how you looked at it.

"But you're not in prison …" Harry said slowly. "So, what you did wasn't that bad, right?"

"A lot of people would disagree. But yes, that's why I haven't been able to do magic until now."

Another sage little nod. "Draco?"

"Yes Harry?"

"You wouldn't do anything bad to me … would you?"

"No of course not!" Draco hadn't meant the words to come out as harsh as they did. He needed Harry to understand how much he had changed. "Harry, I promise I will never do anything bad to you."

"Pinkie promise?"

"I … what's that?"

Harry rolled his eyes before taking his pinkie and hooking it through Draco's. He bounced their hands together, fingers linked and grinned. "There! You pinkie promised, so now you can't take it back!"

Draco gave a small smile, "I am serious Harry. I don't want to be the reason anything bad happens to you."

"Then that's okay," Harry shrugged and smiled. His cheeks were a little pink as he gazed up at Draco. "You're a good guy, Draco. Good guys shouldn't go to prison for no reason."

"I wish it was that simple Harry," Draco sighed. How had their conversation gotten so heavy? Shaking the dark thoughts from his mind, he gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze. "Come on, let's go watch a movie before your Dad gets home."

Harry slid off the bed and followed Draco closely as they went downstairs to the lounge.

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~0~

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Sirius almost sighed with relief as the bell rang out for the end of the day. As soon as the classroom door slammed shut, he sank into his chair with relief. He loathed fifth years; he had a newfound sympathy for McGonagall having to deal with his and his mates bullshit for seven long years. Groaning he swept his curls out of his eyes, grabbed the stack of homework he had to mark over the weekend, and hurried up the stone steps to the office.

Clutching his briefcase with the homework and class-notes he'd written up on his lunch hour, he threw a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace and announced his address before stepping into the green flames.

"DADDY!"

A harry-shaped ball of energy launched against his abdomen, the bespectacled boy burrowing his face into Sirius' robes. Chuckling, Sirius set down his briefcase, picked Harry up and squeezed his tightly. He smelled of something sugary and minty. Setting the child down, Sirius winced as his muscles protested.

"You'll have to watch out for that, pup. You're getting too big to lift up."

Harry's face fell. "Oh …" was all he said as he rubbed awkwardly at his forearms.

Sirius mentally kicked himself. Raking a hand through the black hair, Sirius looked into Harry's eyes. "Now, now, don't pull out the puppy-dog eyes. I invented that look."

Harry pouted and didn't protest when Sirius bent down to hug him again.

"So, what did you get up to today?" he asked as he went to the fridge to get them both some juice.

"Nothing much," Harry shrugged, taking a seat at the table. He beamed as Sirius set a plate of chocolate biscuits on the table between them. "Draco said he was studying and Moony looked sad so I went to sit with him for a little while."

"Oh? Why was Moony sad?"

"He said that Teddy is going to be one soon, and that it's not fair that Teddy's mummy isn't around." Harry took a large gulp of juice before wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "I asked where Teddy's mummy was and if she was in Heaven with my mummy."

"And what did Re-er-Moony say about that?"

"He said that yes, Teddy's mummy is in Heaven, so I said that's not so bad because she can be friends with my mummy and daddy and then she won't be alone or sad like Moony gets sometimes."

"Ahh, I see," Sirius felt his heart drop into his stomach. "Did you do anything else?"

"Not really," Harry frowned as he nibbled on a biscuit. "Draco came down and played lego's with me for a while, but he didn't build the castle right because he never had lego's! Can you imagine anyone who hasn't had lego's?"

"Wizards don't have lego's, love."

"Oooooh," Harry's eyes went wide. "Is that why Moony is sad? Did he not have lego's either?"

"No, Harry, Moony is sad because he has very bad luck sometimes."

"Really? Like how?"

"Well when he was young, he was bitten by a werewolf. Do you know what that means?"

"Yeah!" Harry gushed. "It means when the moon comes up, he turns into a wolf and howls all night long."

Sirius smiled, "Yes, love. That's why I can turn into a dog. So, I can keep him company, so he doesn't feel lonely."

Harry giggle. "When I grow up can you teach me to turn into a dog?"

"I don't know if you can turn into a dog," Sirius placated. "But yes, I can teach you all sorts of things when you're older."

"That would be good. Aunt Petunia says that as soon as I'm tall enough to see over the stove, she'll teach me how to make breakfast."

The words had slipped out so easily that it took Sirius a moment to register what had been said. Harry's small body had tensed up and his jaw was clenched tightly. Slowly, those bright green eyes looked up too look at Sirius.

"You're not going to send me back there because I'm not tall enough to cook, are you?" he asked in a meek voice. "I'll be tall enough soon!"

"No, love," Sirius cupped the child's small face in his hands. He could feel Harry's small muscles trembling. "It's the adult's job to cook all the meals. The children only have to worry about what's for dessert."

A stray tear raced down Harry's cheeks and Sirius brushed it away with the pad of his thumb. "I'm scared …" Harry mumbled.

"Oh love, what about?"

Harry scrunched his face up, cuffing another tear away. Sirius lifted the child up onto his lap, supporting Harry in his arm. Harry wriggled a little to get comfortable before leaning sideways against Sirius' chest.

"I just … I don't want anyone to shout at me," Harry mumbled, his face bent toward his chest.

Sirius fought back the anger that bubbled in his blood. He took deep breaths through his nose while he rubbed Harry soothingly on the back. "No one here shouts at you, Harry. Not unless you've done something wrong."

"I just want to help."

"And you can," Sirius reassured. "When you're a little bit older, then you can help. For now, I just want you to have fun, okay? Enjoy playing games and watching cartoons and playing with your toys. You have the rest of your life to be an adult."

Harry hummed but didn't seem as easily placated as he would have been a few months ago. Sirius tried not to show his own anxiety about Harry's troubled childhood creeping to the surface. It plagued his mind whenever Harry brought something up that resonated with his time at the Dursley's. Sirius really needed to go and have a word with those damned muggles.

"Will you still help me turn into an animal like you?" Harry mumbled, his green eyes wide and fearful behind his glasses. "Even if I can't help cook?"

Sirius laughed, the relief rushing out of him and plastered a dopey grin on his face. "Absolutely, I would love to teach you that."

"Oh, what are you going to teach him?" Draco asked, pushing the kitchen door open and stepping down onto the tiles.

"Daddy says when I get older, he can help me turn into an animal like him!" Harry chirruped, his bad mood seeming to vanish the moment Draco spoke.

Draco's mouth quirked up at the corner. "That sounds fun to watch."

Sirius smirked, "Would you like to try, Draco?"

"No thanks, knowing my luck I'll turn into a ferret. I don't need to go through that again."

Sirius chuckled as he set Harry back down on his own two feet. "Right you two. I'm going to see what Moony's up to. Have a think about what you fancy for dinner, okay?"

Both boys agreed. Sirius ruffled Harry's hair and clapped Draco on the shoulder before stepping up and out of the kitchen. He took the stairs two at a time and looked through a few rooms before he found Remus lounging on the sofa in their office. He grinned upon seeing the lycan stretched out, an arm bent back over his head and his eyes flickered over the words on the book in his hands. He only looked up when Sirius closed the door.

"Hey Pads, how was it today?"

Sirius rolled his eyes as he crossed the room and lifted Remus' legs. He sat down on the sofa and laid the man's legs across his own. Remus rested the book against his chest and cocked an eyebrow.

"Well? Either it was dreadful, and you don't want to talk about it, or it was good in which case why aren't you talking about it?"

Sirius smiled and shook his head, a thoughtful look in his grey eyes. "It's still just … surreal."

"What is?"

"This. Coming home to you. Sitting down next to you reading a book, your feet in my lap. The boys downstairs debating on dinner," he let out a little laugh. "I just … I feel like I don't deserve this."

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Remus quipped. Leaning up a little, he ran a hand through Sirius' curls. "If it makes you feel any better, I can't exactly believe this is all really happening either. I'm worried it will backfire but … I'm willing to do whatever I can to ensure that doesn't happen."

"It's silly how relieved I am to hear you say that," Sirius tipped his head onto the back of the sofa and let out a huge sigh. "I've been thinking."

"Always a sign of trouble."

Sirius smacked Remus' legs, "I'm trying to say something, Moony!"

"My apologies," Remus grinned. "Do continue."

"I was thinking that maybe we should put in a little more time into helping Draco rehabilitated into using his magic."

"Do you not think he's been practising?" Remus frowned.

"I'd like to believe he is," Sirius shrugged. "That doesn't mean he does it often. Who's to say he's even practised at all?"

Remus placed his bookmark between the pages of his book and set it aside on the coffee table. "Draco is easily put-off by these things since his trial. I don't think it would hurt us in paying him a little more attention, academically. Maybe we could bring him along to our Friday lessons? Get him used to performing magic on command."

"Or we can teach him some things he has an interest in, here?" Sirius hummed. "Do you think he's able to cast a patronus?"

"I doubt it. He's not had the happiest of lives."

"Harry managed quite well," Sirius quirked a grin. "I'm just saying that it's an option. Then by the time Harry is old enough to use his wand again, we can help them both outside of lessons."

Remus grimaced as the thought of all those extra hours on his feet and 'teaching' when it was meant to be their time-off. "Let's not overwork the boy. Let's start small and ask him to accompany us to our Friday lessons and go from there."

"You're a wise man, Professor Lupin," Sirius winked. He felt unbearably giddy when Remus blushed at the remark.

"Shut up, you soppy sod!"

Letting out a bark of laughter, Sirius shook his head. "Absolutely not! You'd miss my constant badgering!"

Remus rolled his eyes, "Not bloody likely, Black."

Sirius smirked at his tawny-haired companion. He reached out and skimmed his fingers through said hair, trying not to let his heart sink when Remus stiffened at the gesture. Clearing his throat, he said, "I hear Harry brought up Tonks today."

"Yes," Remus replied, his voice strained. "It's … It's strange to think that it's almost a year since she died."

Sirius pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Are you scared about Teddy turning one?"

"I suppose," Remus sighed, rubbing his hand over his tired face. "I feel like I'm not here for any of the milestones. He crawled for you, he babbles for you, with me he just sleeps."

"I'm pretty sure he was trying to crawl away from me."

Remus tried to smile but it didn't quite follow through.

"He sleeps with you because that's where he feels the safest," Sirius gave a shrug. "He's still a baby and this has been a volatile time for all of us."

"Volatile?" Remus cocked an eyebrow. "Have you been having tea with Minerva again?"

Sirius feigned a hurt expression. "I'll have you know; I can use big words when I feel the need to."

"Which is never!"

Rolling his eyes, Sirius shoved Remus' shoulder. They sobered up fairly quickly. "I know it's going to be a rough couple of months for you. You know I'm here if you want to talk, right?"

Remus nodded. "I do know," he leaned back in the sofa, his arm brushing against Sirius. Neither man moved away.

Looping an arm around the taller man's shoulders, Sirius hugged him close and hesitated a moment before threading his fingers through the thick, greying locks. "Oh Moony, when will you learn you cannot conquer the world?"

"Eh, seems worth the fight," Remus shrugged awkwardly, relaxing into the soft touch. He could already feel his eyelids getting heavy. Sirius hummed, his fingers working their magic. Drawing in a deep breath, Remus pushed himself upright and rubbed some life back into his face. "Come on, let's tend to our boys. Can't leave Draco with Harry and Teddy all evening."

He stood up and stretched but frowned when he realised Sirius wasn't doing the same.

"What?"

"You just called them 'our boys'," Sirius teased, though the gleam in his grey eyes belied his warring emotions.

Remus scoffed and rolled his eyes but couldn't help the smile that crept onto his lips. Helping Sirius to his feet, the two men descended to the lower level of Grimmauld Place to make sure that Draco wasn't tied to a chair with Harry chanting the 'pirate song'.

A/N: Please leave some lovely reviews!

B x