Disclaimer: I do not own any characters created by J.K. Rowling.
A/N: Sorry it's been a while since my last update!
Chapter Thirty-Nine
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Remus wasn't entirely sure what had woken him up so early, a few days later, but he felt his heart sink in his chest at a familiar sight. Padfoot was curled up close to his body, his head tucked in between his front paws with his tail curled in around his legs. He was breathing deeply, his ears drooping gently as he dreamed. Remus rolled over onto his side and curled a protective arm over the dog's body, cuddling in close. It was a strange coping mechanism Sirius had adopted within a month or two after having completed the animagus transformation. Whenever he was feeling low or couldn't deal with things on a human level, he would climb into Remus' bed, as Padfoot, and fall asleep. From what either of them could understand, the dreams were rare -nightmares even rarer -when he was in his animagus form. Even though Remus insisted that he could talk to him, Sirius needed to take things at his own pace.
At least he was able to do something that made him able to face the day a little easier, even if Remus still maintained, after all these years, that it wasn't the healthiest solution.
Still, Padfoot was a heavy sleeper in his animagus form and Remus had found comfort in cuddling up to him in this manner, when these troubling times plagued Sirius' mind. Curling in a little tighter, he draped a thin blanket over the lower half of the dog's body, easy to kick off if he got too hot, and rested his head back on the pillow. The floating orbs above the bed dimmed down to the lowest setting -almost going out entirely -allowing Remus to drift off to sleep for another few hours.
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Elsewhere in the house, Harry was excited. Today was the big day and he had barely managed to keep himself in his bed until the first birdsong of the day. He tiptoed down into the kitchen, cast a silencing charm on the door, and then proceeded to make a huge breakfast to properly start celebrating Draco's birthday. The smell of bacon and eggs filled the air as they sizzled in the frying pan, toast was browning in the toaster, and the sausages were soon added into the mix, making his gut grumble furiously. He snagged a sausage for himself, chewing while he ate. Finally, all those mornings cooking for the Dursley's and their appalling appetite was working in his favour.
Once all the food was ready, he set everything out on the kitchen table and cast a stasis charm over it.
Satisfied, he turned his attention to decorating the kitchen with muggle balloons and streamers he'd found in a box in one of the empty rooms. It still amazed him that Grimmauld place had rooms that no one entered, considering the extensive remodelling Sirius had done in the two months after the war. Apparently smashing down walls the muggle way was 'cathartic' or something. Opening up several rooms, knocking down walls -especially the one with Walburga on it -and repainting the place in any colour other than black, had definitely changed the feel of the place. It felt more like a home rather than a torture chamber.
Still, a few rooms had had auror's taking out any cursed objects, a lot of 'incendio!' charms and boggarts removed and then had the doors locked and not entered since.
As soon as everything is set-up just the way he wanted it, he beamed at the room, at his efforts, and felt himself puff up with pride. He had charmed the balloons to change colour and the streamers seemed to writhe through the air like snakes. He really hoped Draco liked it.
With a glance at the clock, he noted that it wasn't even 7AM yet. He suddenly felt drained and opted to drag himself back up to bed for another hour or two for a kip.
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Later that morning, having been woken up by the front door slamming shut and Remus and Draco's low voices echoing from the street outside, Harry grumbled as he shuffled out of his bed and peered through the curtains. As soon as he saw Remus and Draco jog off around the corner, he hurried from his room and down the hall to Sirius' childhood bedroom that Harry had claimed as his own since the end of the war. He shuffled under the bed and pried up the loose floorboards from under the bed and searched blindly in the dark crevice. His fingertips brushed a box and, excited, he pulled it out. Dust clung to his hair and t-shirt, but he barely noticed as he brushed his palm over the lid.
'PROPERTY OF S.O.B. FOR TOP SECRET MARAUDING. PISS OFF MUM!'
Smirking, Harry dug out one of the notebooks crammed inside. He remembered seeing a few pranks that he thought were hilarious, trying to picture them happening at Hogwarts, and thought that they would be great use at a birthday party. When he found the page he was looking for, he earmarked the page and crawled back onto his stomach to replace everything as he'd found it. It was only when he was trying to wedge the loose floorboards back into place that he saw it. A small engraving carved out, almost as dark as the wood itself. How had he missed that when he was so close to it. Bringing the plank out into the daylight streaming in through his window, he felt himself melt.
S.B + R.L
To think how long that etching had been there. How long had Sirius sat there on the floor, digging those letters out across the grain of the wood? Had he used a knife or his wand?
'If it was his wand it would have been smoother,' Harry mused to himself, tracing over the initials. 'He carved this the muggle way, by hand. He was dedicated from the get-go'.
The thought made his stomach fizz pleasantly. From what he remembered; he hadn't had any inkling about permanently marking his affections for anyone. Cho was his first proper crush; the memories still made him blush and feel somewhat giddy, but those feelings had definitely become dampened when he was in the presence of a certain birthday boy.
Gripping the book in his hands, he replaced everything as he found it and scurried from the room in search of Sirius.
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Sirius looked a little rough around the edges when Harry skidded into his room; his jaw was unshaven, his eyes looked a little sunken and red and his hair hung in a grizzly, greasy mane around his shoulders. Harry was jolted for a moment, the memory of Sirius fresh out of Azkaban jarring with his wonderful godfather slumped over his knees on the edge of his bed, as though willing the energy to stand up. He bit his bottom lip, debating on disturbing him and deciding that -fuck it -he wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing.
"Hey Dad," he smiled coming into the room and sitting down on the bed with an energetic bounce. He nudged Sirius with his shoulder, "I made breakfast. It's downstairs waiting for all of us to head down."
Sirius' mouth twitched. "Sounds good, pup. I'll be down in a sec. Moony's in the shower if you want to harass him."
"Nah, I'll leave that to you," Harry joked. Damn, barely even a smile! Harry frowned and tired to force his voice to be cheery. "Do you want to come and help me wake Draco up for this birthday breakfast? I think he's going to go running with Moony after."
Sirius looked at his godson and felt the dark knot inside him unravel just a little. He reached out and took Harry's hand in both of his own and pressed a rough kiss to his knuckles. "Give me five minutes to hop upstairs and have a quick wash, then I'm all yours, okay?"
Harry beamed, "Okay! Mind if I hang out in here?"
"Knock yourself out, pup," Sirius dropped a kiss to Harry's forehead, right on his scar, and then stood up and stretched his aching, creaking joints. "Eurgh, I hate getting old," he grunted, shaking his head.
Harry snorted, momentarily relieved, as he watched his godfather grab his velvet robe from the back of the door and sling it over his arm. He didn't bother to take a change of clothes.
Hopping up from the bed, Harry lazily walked around the room, noting all the changes that had occurred since Remus had officially moved himself in. He had been living with Andromeda after Tonks' death, and although he was grateful of the help, he felt as though he had been taking advantage of her kindness. Then again, he'd also felt the same thing of Sirius when he'd been moved into one of the many spare rooms, but that was just how the man was.
The bookcase on one end of the room was now heaving with books that seemed to overflow onto the floor, on top of the bookcase, stacked in a neat pile on the side of the bed. Harry chuckled; Remus was such a nerd even when he was nearing forty. Opening up the large wardrobe, he felt his grin getting even bigger; Remus' slowly-growing wardrobe was on the left, whilst Sirius had managed to condense his clothes to the right. Granted the wardrobe itself was a huge ebony beast with intricate carvings and had a key to lock the doors with, but it was also beautiful and had a lot of space inside. There was a hum of magic around it. Extension charms maybe?
Sirius had done them all a favour over the course of the last few months and had insisted on Remus replacing all of his threadbare clothing and holey shoes. He was a working man now, with a partner who was both rich in his own right, and also working with a house that was owned; he had every right to splurge on himself and replace anything that was falling apart with new things.
Remus had conceded on this on the sole condition that they also went to some muggle charity shops as well. Sirius had readily agreed, always excited to go traipsing around muggle London. Harry remembered that Saturday fondly. They'd gone together as a little family excursion, starting off in Oxford Street and fumbling around on the underground to get to Charing Cross and Trafalgar Square. Despite Remus' protests, they had all gone into branded clothes shops while making a few detours to hole-in-the-wall charity shops along the less crowded streets. It had been a blast, and everyone had gotten home that evening with something.
Granted, the two men did fight and argue. Usually, it was when they thought the boys were all tucked up in bed and didn't need to bother with a silencing charm. Harry knew no one was perfect though, but he saw how deeply Remus and Sirius cared for one another. He ached to feel like he belonged with someone. He knew he definitely didn't feel that way, about Cho or Ginny.
"Harry, you okay? You look a little lost."
Harry jumped and spun around to see Remus standing in the doorway, his floppy fringe damp and drooping into his eyes. He blushed, realising he'd been caught red-handed with the doors to the wardrobe spread wide before him. "I … uh … I wasn't -I didn't -"
Remus chuckled, "You weren't snooping through my clothes?"
"I … n-no?"
The tall man smiled and ruffled Harry's already messy hair. "Where's Sirius?" he asked, reaching easily over Harry's head and plucking a muggle sports hoodie from one of the embedded drawers.
"He went to have a shower before we go and wake Draco for his birthday."
"Was that you pottering around earlier?" Remus asked.
"I … yes -how could you tell? I used a silencing charm!" Harry gawped.
"I heard some shuffling and it felt as though someone was moving around the house. Plus, I smelled chocolate when I woke up." At Harry's gobsmacked expression, Remus smirked and tapped his nose. "Werewolf heightened senses are the only perk to this BS. Well, one of them."
Harry felt his eyes bulge and his face flare up. "If you mean what I think you mean -GROSS, GROSS, GROSS!"
Remus smacked him jokingly upside the head. "Get your mind out of the gutter, pup!" he laughed. "I was going to say the height and boost of magic! Honestly, you teenagers and your filthy minds."
Harry groaned and banged his head against the wardrobe door.
"Oh Moony, what have you done to our son?" Sirius chided from the doorway, his curls dark and voluminous, his velvet robe cinched at the waist and gaping slightly across his chest, exposing all his tattoos.
"Before chocolate chip muffins, he's your son," Remus quipped back with an appreciate look over at his lover. "Aren't you going to change before we wake up Draco?"
Sirius shrugged, his body seeming too heavy for him to work properly. "What does it matter?"
Remus looked at his lover with a steady eye. Sirius glanced up but quickly looked away, fiddling with the ties of his robe. 'At least he managed to get washed today,' Remus thought idly as he closed the wardrobe and turned to Harry.
"Right, young man. What do you want us to do?"
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Draco's eyelids snapped open, and he immediately shut them again, groaning as consciousness crashed into his body like a lead weight. He'd been so comfortable, why did he need to wake up at all?
'Because you have to go running with Remus,' his brain supplied.
He groaned again.
It was too early for this. Probably. He didn't know what time it was, but he was exhausted already. It was definitely too hot for this. He could feel the thick summer air pressing in around the house, like water against the wall of a dam, pressing and pressing, just waiting to burst through. He yawned and rolled onto his back; the duvet twisted around his long legs. Maybe he should get up? It was his birthday after-all, he couldn't just sleep a perfectly fine day away.
A soft draught whispered over his skin and it calmed his agitated brain for all of two seconds.
Wait … why was there a draught …?
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRACO!"
"ARGH!" he screamed out as a large black wall of fur collided with his body, followed by a rough, wet tongue lapping at his face. "GET OFF ME, GET OFF!"
Bright colours sprang out from every direction and Draco pushed himself upright, the large black dog lying across his lap with its tail wagging vigorously, to see Harry and Remus standing at the foot of his bed with brightly coloured hats on their heads and blowing little paper trumpets. It was too much for his senses to take in all at once. The dog seemed to sense his unease, and so gave a quiet whimper before nuzzling him under his chin, the soft, black fur immediately calming Draco's erratic heartbeat.
Fuck, maybe he did need a therapy dog.
"What -um -what's all this?" he croaked out; his voice still rough with sleep.
"We are here to escort you to your birthday breakfast!" Harry beamed.
"More like brunch, now," Remus offered with a quirk of his eyebrow. "So, get up, kid, we have pancakes and toast and muffins that need eating!"
Padfoot barked cheerfully, his tail thumping against Draco's thigh.
"Okay, okay, give me a minute to get decent and I'll be down."
"Right-o," Remus steered Harry towards the door, with a lot of effort. Harry was resisting as much as possible. "I'm grabbing as much of that chocolate as I can before Sirius starts on it."
"You can't eat without the birthday boy!" Harry exclaimed as Remus side-stepped him and made for the stairs, in an obvious ploy for Harry to follow him. "Come on, Moony, that's not cool!"
Draco huffed in amusement as he listened to Harry thundering down the stairs after Remus. "I guess I can forget about a quiet day to myself, hm?"
Padfoot gave a small whine before shaking his shaggy coat. Sirius stretched up from his hunched position and adjusted his robe. He gave a wan smile to the blonde. "Don't be too hard on them, Draco," he said. "I think they're both just trying to distract us all from the issues we have."
"We're having issues?"
Sirius rubbed a hand over his face. "My nightmares are starting to come back," he murmured. "Remus can sense is and it's affecting him. Harry is going to remember so many bad things from now on … it breaks my heart that he has to relive any of this."
Draco reached out and tentatively gave his cousin's shoulder a squeeze. "We'll help each other. That's what we do, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah, we do." A heavy sigh and a shake of his curls later, Sirius stood up with some determination. "Come on, I was promised a full English and I'll be damned if I don't get it because you want to fix your hair."
"What do you mean 'fix my hair'?" Draco groused indignantly. "It's naturally slick."
Sirius snorted dryly. "Come on, princess, up and out. I need a lot of coffee and sugar if I'm going to get through the day."
"Isn't that Remus' attitude?" Draco asked as he got out of bed and slid his feet into a pair of thin slippers.
"I have a good teacher. Now move!"
Draco led the way downstairs, his mind now sleep-free and eager to see what had been planned for his birthday. Any excitement he could take away from this day was going to have to overcompensate for his theory exams due to be taken at the end of the week.
When Draco and Sirius entered the kitchen, both were floored by the sheer number of twirling streamers, balloons and paper lanterns floated and hovered around the room. The table was laden with dishes overflowing with crispy bacon, friend eggs, racks of toast, chocolate chip pancakes, assorted muffins, crumpets and little pots of jam, marmalade and chocolate spread.
"Holy shit, Remus you didn't have to go through all this trouble," Draco said, feeling so touched and stunned.
"Oh er … no, it wasn't me," Remus stated from where he was grabbing four mugs down from the cupboard. "If I was up that early, do you really think I wouldn't have gone to get my son back from Andromeda?"
"I … then who?"
"It was me," Harry said boldly, though his averted his gaze as soon as Draco looked at him.
Draco turned to him. His heart stuttered in his chest, as he re-examined the hoard of decorations and food. "You cooked all of this? For me?"
Harry nodded, biting on his bottom lip.
His face split into a grin. No one had ever made this sort of effort for him before. Anything that had been done at the manor was more down to the house elves getting everything organised. His parents hadn't even needed to lift their wands.
Spreading his arms, he cocked an eyebrow at the brunette. "So I don't get a birthday hug?"
Harry's expression turned mischievous. He launched himself at Draco, throwing his arms around his neck. It took Draco completely by surprise and he just about managed to grab Harry's waist, staggering slightly at the onslaught. Sirius snorted into his coffee and Remus watched with barely concealed amusement as Draco indulged in the hug, desperate to absorb all of the effortless affection from the younger boy.
When Harry pulled away his cheeks were pink, and he couldn't meet Draco's gaze.
They took their seats at the table and started piling food onto their plates. The post had already been and gone, so Draco opened his few birthday cards -honestly, he was surprised he'd gotten any at all, while breaking up a muffin with his fingers and eating it with his free hand. Six months ago, he probably would have insisted on eating it with a damned knife and fork.
As they ate, Sirius' mood seemed to have alleviated itself a little. Remus gave the man a firm, kneading squeeze on his shoulder. The way he felt the man sag gratefully under his hand was all the confirmation Remus needed to know that they weren't out of the woods yet, but he appreciated Sirius making the effort to appear cheerful for his cousin's birthday.
By the time they'd finished eating, everyone groaning in satisfaction, it was gone midday and Remus was getting agitated to get outside and run through Islington with Draco. He had barely left the house since the full moon, except for the one instance that he dropped off Teddy to Andromeda's. He needed fresh air, sunshine and exercise. He was kind enough to wait for their food to digest for all of twenty minutes before he was on his feet again.
"Right, Draco, you ready for our run?"
"You must see that I'm not," Draco deadpanned. He was still dressed in his shorts and a t-shirt.
"Hurry and sort yourself out then. Come on, at the door in fifteen minutes!"
Draco shot his cousin a helpless look, to which Sirius merely smirked and raised his mug of coffee in a salute. He then looked at Harry, silently pleading with him for help.
Harry bit his lip to suppress a grin and ducked behind his fringe. "Sorry, Sirius is helping me with a project. It's a surprise!" he added hastily, when he saw Draco open his mouth to argue.
Draco looked heavenward and groaned loudly. "Fine! I guess I'll go out running and take the dog for a walk!" he groused, pushing himself up. "Although it is my birthday so I should decide what I get to do for it!"
"And you will princess," Sirius sniggered. "Right after you come back from your run with Remus."
"You guys suck," were his parting words.
Sirius watched the blonde duck out of the kitchen and strained his ears until he heard the familiar tread climbing the stairs. Once he'd determined that Draco was in his room, he turned his attention to his godson and cocked an eyebrow at him. "So, what's this great amazing surprise you had in mind and how exactly can I help you?" he grinned wickedly.
Harry took the notebook from the seat beside him and placed it on the table with a matching smirk. "I'm sure you can help me decide which one would be perfect for Draco's birthday."
Sirius' eyes lit up for the first time all week as he traced his hand over the worn cover. "Oh, pup, we are going to have so much fun!"
~0~
Draco skidded to a stop beside Remus, doubled over and almost heaved his breakfast all over the pavement. He wheezed a little, the scorching air barely touching his lungs as he panted desperately. Beside him, leaning on a tree for support, Remus was in a slightly better state; bronze hair sticking to his face, everything sheened with sweat, his cheeks ruddy from the exposure to the sun as well as exertion. Draco, on the other hand, was drenched in sweat. He grimaced at how slippery and sticky he felt. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so gross from physical exercise.
Remus had pushed him surprisingly hard today. He didn't know what it was; the man had barely had the energy to eat or drink the first few days after the full moon, but now he seemed to have the energy of ten men. Draco had struggled as gallantly as possible to keep up, but finally had to admit defeat; how the fuck was he meant to out-run a bloody werewolf anyway?
"You alright there?" Remus asked, straightening up.
Draco glanced at him through his wet hair. He could feel how red his face was. So unattractive. He gave a shaky nod and keeled forward over his knees. "Just dying. Don't -don't worry -bout me …"
Remus gave a raspy laugh. "Have a drink, kid. Small sips. We don't want you throwing up now."
Draco swallowed, over and over, his throat growing dryer. A bottle of water appeared before him. He took it and gently eased himself upright. His view felt discoloured, bleached by the sunlight. His hands shook as he unscrewed the bottle and took small sips, letting a shiver run through him. He drew in deep breaths through his nose as he sipped.
"Better?"
"Yeah -yeah thanks."
Remus offered him a friendly clap on the back. "You ready to head back?"
Draco blanched. "We're not running back, are we?"
Remus chuckled and shook his head. "No, but we can walk if you like? Better before we cool down too much."
Draco drew in a deep breath, his heart finally calming down. "Yes, that sounds good."
As they strolled through the large parks and long roads near Islington, Draco couldn't help but observe his surroundings; the young families basking in the sunshine even in the middle of the week, some teenagers dressed similarly to him, walking their dog and laughing with one another. People lounging in the grass, soaking up the suns rays and having picnics, their faces hidden behind large sunglasses. It reminded him of the previous summer when he had followed the little makeshift family to the beach. A lightness of his chest caught him off-guard, and he stopped, holding onto the wrought iron fence of the park to steady himself.
"Draco, are you okay?" Remus asked.
He gave a dazed nod. "Yeah, yeah I was just thinking about when we went to the beach my first summer with you guys. I … I can't believe it's nearly been a year …"
Remus nodded, looking out over the fence and across the park. "It certainly has been a remarkable year, hasn't it? Hard to believe any of this mundanity was even possible during the war."
"I didn't even think I was going to get a second chance," Draco sighed. He picked at the peeling black paint on the fence, bowing his head. "I'm -I'm worried about Harry getting his memories back."
"You mean other than the dragons, mermaids and murder?" Remus asked dryly.
"Yeah … other than those things."
"You're not alone in that, Draco, believe me. If I'm being honest, I wish he could just be eighteen again and deal with the trauma but … I understand the desperate need he had to have a second chance at a childhood."
"Not the most conventional family, are we?" Draco gave a wry smile.
"Believe it or not, I've seen worse," Remus sighed. "Be thankful you never had to deal with Sirius' mother."
Draco snorted. "I'm rather glad of that, from what I've been told."
Remus clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get on home. I need a shower and some ice cream before I go and pick-up Teddy."
Allowing himself to be steered away from the park gates, Draco fell into step with the tawny-haired man and together they walked back to Grimmauld place.
.
It was mid-afternoon by the time they read the address out from the parchment in Remus' pocket. Number Twelve forced its way into existence with the familiar sound of stone grating against stone, setting their teeth on edge. As soon as the iron gates sprang up through the pavement, they stepped up through the wards and hurried inside –
"FUCK!"
"Draco wha-MERLIN'S BALLS! SIRIUS! HARRY! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!"
"Moony?! Hey, you're just in time!"
"In time for what?!" Remus snapped, "Where's Harry?"
"It wasn't my fault!" Harry's voice echoed out over the squeaking.
Finally, wrestling into view from down the inflated rubber hallway, Harry's messy head of black hair appeared, glasses askew and cheeks pink. The sound of something bouncing drew everyone's attention to the main staircase where Sirius was bouncing down five steps at a time. Remus was rising and falling in place, gripping onto the picture rail for support. Draco was clinging to the coat rack, unwilling to relax or move at all as Sirius bounced to a stop in the entrance hall.
Remus turned his glare to Sirius, "Explain yourself. Now."
"Don't look at me," Sirius grinned toothily, raising his hands in surrender. "This was all Harry's idea."
"It was NOT!" Harry snapped indignantly, trying and failing to manoeuvre his way towards them. "This is what happens when you put him-" he pointed at his godfather, "-in charge!"
Sirius turned with a mocking raised eyebrow at his godson, who blushed and averted his gaze.
"Uh … no offence."
Sirius let out a bark of laughter, "Oh, no, none taken at all!"
Harry managed to make it to the bannister and gripped onto it, despite how it squeaked and bent under pressure. "All I said, was that we should find a way to make one of the rooms into a bouncy castle sort of deal and … it spiralled from there."
"What in the name of Merlin's left nut is a bouncy castle?!" Draco demanded shrilly.
"It's like this, except a much smaller version," Sirius beamed arcing his arm towards the house behind him.
"This is a muggle thing isn't it? Damn, I knew you lot were trying to kill me with all this muggle nonsense!"
Remus, having found some semblance of balance, released the picture rail and sunk ankle-deep into the inflatable floor. He had to admit, it felt easier on his sore legs to not have to exert himself going up two flights of stairs to his bedroom to change into less sweaty clothes. Turning his attention to the blonde, he chuckled. "Draco you can let go of the rack now, this isn't going to kill you."
"I'll take my chances. I refuse to let go and … bounce," he sneered. "It's most unbecoming of a Malfoy."
Sirius arched an eyebrow.
Harry waddled over to the coat rack and grabbed onto Draco's arm, "You can let go now, I've got you."
Draco peered down at Harry before shaking his head, his lips pressed into a thin line.
"Come on, Draco. You can survive falling off your broom in front of the whole school, but you can't survive bouncing around? Who else is going to see? Besides, you can't fuck yourself up much on this."
Shaking his head again, Draco barely had a moment to breathe before he felt a strong pair of arms grabbing him around the middle. "What the f-ARGH!" He felt the air knock out of his lungs as his head collided with the floor -and spring back up a few times. He groaned, the motion making him nauseated. Opening his eyes wide, he felt stunned to see his cousin grinning down at him, arms tight on his waist. "-the hell?" he croaked.
"Have some fun, blondie, it's your birthday!" he crowed in Draco's face before heaving himself up and giving an almighty bounce. Draco lurched about a foot in the air, another strangled protest escaping his mouth, before he landed on the pliable floor.
"I can have fun without bouncing!"
"No, you can't!" this came from a grinning Remus as he jumped about three inches away from Draco, sending the blonde flying even higher. "Oh, Sirius, do you know what we should do?"
"What?" Grey eyes sparkled with mischief.
Remus cocked an eyebrow at the stairs. Both men grinned maniacally at one another. Draco blanched and reached behind him from something to grip. His stomach somersaulted as he realised it was Harry's bare shin that he'd wrapped an arm around, absently noting the fine dark hairs starting to sprout.
"I should be scared of them looking like that … shouldn't I?" he croaked.
Harry hummed above him. "Oh yes, this is going to be something insane or wonderful. Knowing them -both."
Both teenagers watched as Remus and Sirius hurried to the top of the staircase, jostling one another as they balanced on the top step and laughing, before leaping down the stairs, landing about five up from the bottom, and bouncing high enough to touch the cavernous ceiling of the hallway. Harry burst out laughing, cheering as the two men managed to land gracelessly at the bottom of the stairs.
"My turn, my turn!" Harry grinned, hurrying up to the top. "Do you think I could do a cannon ball off this?"
"Give it a go!" Sirius cheered. For once Remus cheered alongside him, rather than admonishing him.
Draco jerked, wanting to grab for his wand -which he had left in his room -and stop Harry from leaping off the top step. He held his breath as he watched the idiot curl into a ball and bounce off one of the steps halfway down the staircase and launch back up into the air, his arms and legs springing out as though he'd had a miraculous growth spurt. He landed next to Draco, bouncing them both up into the air before settling down.
"Come on, Draco! This is brilliant! Come to the top with me!"
Draco cast the stairs an uncertain look, before his gaze was dragged towards Harry's bright green eyes. Would he always have been this carefree if he hadn't had a madman riding his arse every year? Gingerly, he reached up and took Harry's offered hand, gripping onto the shorter teens arm for support as they clumsily climbed the stairs rather than bouncing up them.
He decided to ignore Remus and Sirius sniggering from the hallway.
At the top of the stairs, Draco felt his stomach sink. It really was a long way down to jump. An arm slid through his own. He forced himself to cock an eyebrow down at his cousin, who tossed his dark curls in an aristocratic way.
"On three," he heard himself say. "One … two … three!"
Intentionally jumping and bouncing around was a lot more fun than being bounced, Draco decided once he'd regained his balance at the bottom of the staircase. They each took turns making solo jumps and jumping off the top step in pairs. At some point Sirius grabbed his camera and they spent the whole afternoon into early evening taking photos of each other jumping around. Remus had to bow out for a little while as he needed to collect Teddy from Andromeda's house.
While he was gone, Sirius decided to at least change the upper floors back to normal, leaving one of the many spare bedrooms as a bouncy room so that Teddy would be able to have some fun as well another day.
Remus returned through the floo with Teddy cradled to his chest. Rubbing soot from their cheeks, he set Teddy down and gripped his little hand before they made their way down into the kitchen so that Draco could have his birthday cake. Despite his protests at being too old for birthday cake, Draco had gotten swatted across the head by Remus who scolded him for saying such blasphemy in the presence of children.
"Your son isn't old enough to be bitter about a lack of birthday cake," Draco remarked, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head.
"I wasn't talking about my son," Remus sniffed. "I was referring to those two," he jerked his head towards the pantry door, where Sirius and Harry were busy lighting the candles of the birthday cake they'd made earlier that day.
"Dim the lights!" Sirius called.
Remus pointed his wand at the lights and them dimmed down to a dull glow.
"HA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-APPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR BLONDIE –"
"-DRACO!"
"-DAC!"
"-HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-U!"
Draco chuckled, hiding his blushing face behind his hands despite the low lights. "Really, Sirius? Howling?" Remus remarked.
Sirius chuckled, "Lighten up, Moony."
Draco snorted, dropping his hands and looking down at the huge chocolate monstrosity of a cake before him. It had three bulging layers, chocolate whorls of different flavours as well as chocolate shavings and flakes and a glaze that shone, making his mouth water. It looked far too decadent to eat, but the sugary sweetness that hit his senses was too much to handle.
On the top layer, there were nineteen fat candles. He glanced at them warily, remembering all the Weasley's merchandise that was known to blow-up. Surely, they weren't going to blow up such a beautiful cake? He decided to take his chances and bent over to draw in a deep breath.
"Wait!" Harry cried, "Don't just blow them out, Draco, you have to make a wish."
"A wish?"
"Muggle tradition," Harry grinned. "You get to make a wish on your birthday and then blow out the candles."
"Fine," he huffed and squeezed his eyes shut, pretending to think. When he opened his eyes, he felt his chest tighten at the teasing smile on Harry's lips, his pale skin glowing gold amid the candlelight and the dimmed lights of the kitchen. Draco swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. He inhaled sharply and blew out all the candles at once. The others cheered and the lights were turned back on.
Remus cut the cake and set a chunky slice in front of everyone, even a small slice in front of Teddy who was perched up in his highchair. Settling down with mugs of tea and the thick, rich cake, they talked about all the pranks that the marauders had gotten up to during their time at Hogwarts and how it was a wonder James had ever been made Head Boy.
Draco watched from across the table, idly eating his cake, as Harry listened with rapt attention to Sirius describing some ludicrous display he and James had put on at one of the Quidditch try-outs during their third year. Harry had his chin propped up in his hand and staring wide-eyed at his godfather. That easy smile, carefree laughter and relaxed attitude were all things Harry had rarely had before, especially not before Hogwarts. Draco liked it when Harry laughed. He hoped he got to hear it more, before …
"So, what did you wish for?" Remus asked, his low voice dropping so that only the two of them could hear.
"Can't tell you," Draco shrugged, his eyes drawn back over to Harry as he threw his head back and laughed. "Otherwise, it won't come true. That's that the muggles say, right?"
"Right," Remus winked at him, before turning to wipe chocolate frosting from Teddy's chin.
The toddler gabbled as his face was wiped, before slamming a fist into his cake, giggled and turned his hair to bright blonde, making everyone else at the table chuckle. Draco smiled as reached over and pinched Teddy's chubby cheek, and grinning when the blonde hair flashed to bright blue and back again. Even though it wasn't a grandiose affair at the manor, this was somehow a million times better, eating in a narrow kitchen, tea and cake and laughter.
This was turning out to be his best birthday ever.
A/N: Please leave some lovely reviews! I hope you liked the update!
B x