Well, here we are. Thank you for getting here with me! This is the first fic I've ever finished, and I am so pleased with how it turned up. If there are any loose ends I haven't tied up, or just things you have questions about, drop me a comment, and I will get back to you!
Shout out to my Betas, Amber1015 and ShadowHeart175!
The characters and universe in this work are property of J.K Rowling.
The potions room, nestled deep down in the dungeons of Hogwarts, was spacious and well lit, the warm light of the lanterns constantly battling with stone walls as its orange shadows danced along them. The jars of ingredients and grotesque souvenirs that were once out on display were now tucked away in cabinets painted a rich emerald green. Several of the shelves around the room were lined by a hotchpotch of leafy magical plants, making the room seem truly alive, filled with growing things. All in all, it looked very different from the room Severus had occupied in his years of teaching. It was one of Draco's favourite places to be.
It was also unbearably silent as Draco stood at his chalkboard. Despite his affection for the place he worked, he still glanced longingly towards the door of his classroom, the desire to walk out through it strong. Draco looked out over his first year students, all clumped in groups of three or four and bent over their papers to scribble down the recipe on the board. The scratching of their quills on parchment was the only source of sound in the room, and it was threatening to drive Draco mad.
He loathed notes days—there was nothing he could do but lecture and wait for them to take it all down—but Draco also recognized the importance of such lessons with a grudging sort of acceptance. Turning his head back toward the board, Draco read over the instructions written there while a battle waged in his mind. It was a simple potion, one he knew they would master come Monday, and it was with that certainty that Draco made his decision. Smiling to himself, Draco suddenly clapped his hands together, startling several of the students closest to him.
"Right then, what do you all say we end class now and start the weekend early?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
This suggestion was met with a chorus of cheers and within seconds his students were dumping parchment and quills carelessly into their bags and throwing them over their shoulders. Draco fastened his traveling cloak around his neck as his last student scampered out the door, calling for him to have a good weekend. He knew he likely wouldn't need it as the warm fall days dragged themselves out, but it would only be a short walk down to Hogsmeade before he was home, and he could always shed the extra layer if it became too hot.
Draco would have liked to say that this was a rare occurrence, but the Potions Master had a strong affinity for his Friday afternoons, and released his students early more often than he kept them. In his humble opinion, a day off was much more important to growing minds and tired professors than dragging through to the end of class just because they should. That thought in mind, Draco slipped the last of his things into his brown messenger bag, glanced around the classroom to be sure he hadn't left anything out of place, and swept out the door with a bounce in his step.
"Professor Malfoy," the stern voice of Headmistress McGonagall came from behind him, and Draco stopped in his tracks, cursing his luck.
"Why, Headmistress," he answered cheerfully, turning to greet her. "What brings you down to my potions room this fine day?"
"You let your students out early, Professor Malfoy."
"Yes, about that-"
"Again."
Draco let out a soft sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry, Minerva," even after five years, he wasn't used to calling her that, "but it's such a lovely afternoon, don't you think? They were practically wilting in their seats."
"How could you know how lovely it is?" she asked, incredulous. "Your classroom is in the dungeons. It could be raining for all you know!"
"All the better reason for me to get home quickly, wouldn't you agree?" Draco answered, but gave her the most repentant smile he could manage. "I'm sorry again, Headmistress, but they're exactly where they should be! They won't fall behind; you have my word."
"Give your family my love!" Minerva called after him, abandoning her stern façade to an indulgent smile as she waved him down the hall.
A smile lit Draco's face as he hurried out of the castle and into the sunlight. His prediction had been correct—there was no need for the cloak, but it wasn't a particularly hot day either, so Draco left it on. The fallen leaves crunched pleasantly beneath Draco's feet and looked beautiful against the stark green of the lawn, making his walks home one of the best parts of his day. Hagrid, as Draco discovered, truly was a wonderful groundskeeper. He waved to Draco from his hut as he passed by, and Draco raised his hand to return the greeting before strolling down the path to Hogsmeade.
As he grew closer to the sleepy town, a light breeze kicked up the air around him, and the sweet smell of Honeyduke's put a spring in his step. Draco could not help but stop and visit the small candy store as he walked by, picking up two Chocolate Frogs, a Pumpkin Pasty, and a box of Pixie Puffs before he bade Ambrosius Flume and his wife goodbye. Draco set back out on his way with a grin on his lips and warm anticipation in his stomach.
Just on the outskirts of the small village Draco stopped in front of a charming Tudor cottage, where the green garden in front made a striking display against the white of the walls, and pulled his wand out to unlock the door. He shrugged off his cloak and hung it up on a peg by the window, shutting the door firmly behind him. Draco paused in the empty foyer and listened for signs of life in his typically noisy home, a curious frown pulling at his lips.
"I'm home early, my love!" he called out into the emptiness, starting for the kitchen when a loud roar came from behind him and made him drop the treats he held in his arms.
"Oh, Merlin's shaggy beard!" Draco swore and whipped around to find Gregory laughing with delight, a young brown-eyed boy giggling in his arms with just as much joy. Gregory set the toddler on the floor, and he tottered over to Draco on eager but unsteady legs. Draco scooped him up once he was close enough and began pressing noisy kisses to his nose and cheeks, delighting in the laughter that bubbled from the boy in his arms.
"You rascals!" he scolded light-heartedly. "You scared me half to death! How are my boys today?" Draco cooed to the boy as he set him on his hip.
"We're well," Gregory answered. "Orion took his nap today like a champ."
"Oh, excellent job, love!" Draco praised, giving Orion's cheek another kiss before kneeling to recover his treats. "Daddy has something special for you today."
"What's it?" Orion piped up, voice sweet, wrapping his arms around Draco's neck and trying to get a better look at what he was holding.
His high voice became a squeal of joy as Draco presented the pasty to him, and Orion's tiny hands reached for it until Draco relented and wandered into the kitchen. He dropped Orion into his highchair and put the treat down in front of him with the instruction to be careful and a fond kiss to the top of his head.
"Are there any treats for me?" Gregory asked with a coy smile before taking Draco by the waist and pulling him close to kiss him sweetly.
"Of course there are," he answered breathlessly, offering him one of the Chocolate Frogs in his hands. "Was he really good, or are you just telling me that? I know our mothers don't mind watching him for us, but if he's too much of a handful-"
"Draco, love, he's fine," Gregory reassured him, unwrapping the frog and pulling a leg off for Orion, who fell upon it with unadulterated glee. "They adore having him around. Do you honestly think they'd let him walk all over them?"
Draco turned toward his son and considered his features carefully. Dimples, sweet brown curls, and beautiful brown doe eyes stared back at him before he turned back to his husband with a sceptical expression. Gregory only laughed and pulled Draco against his chest, one arm wrapped loosely around his waist whilst the other held his snack. Draco was content to rest there, his cheek pressed against Gregory's shoulder and his eyes closed.
"I suppose you're right," Draco conceded after a moment. "They'll have to find a way to hold their own against him somehow."
"I don't know, Draco, somehow changing his diapers manages to break the spell for me."
…
Only a few hours later, Draco was sitting on the couch with Orion fast asleep against his chest and Gregory's arm around him. They had finished their dinner some time ago, and put on one of Orion's favourite movies, only for him to drop off to sleep before the end of the opening credits. Draco passed him off to Gregory with a twinge of sadness, but as Gregory put their son to bed, their orange tabby, Mira, jumped up to fill the empty space on Draco's lap. He closed his eyes and laid his head back against the cushion as he waited for his husband, Draco's hand idly caressing Mira's fur until a weight sunk down into the couch next to him. Draco opened his eyes then and twisted until he was half laying in Gregory's lap, the latter running his fingers through Draco's hair.
"Did you remember to respond to Ginny's baby shower invitation?" Gregory asked him lightly, and Draco nodded, cheek rubbing against his thigh.
"I did. We're to be there next Saturday at two, and it's to be a surprise. We're going to have to go into Diagon Alley either tomorrow or Sunday to pick out a gift, though. I won't have time during the week," Draco answered softly, his mind wandering back to the string of weddings they had attended.
Considering the passion that radiated between them, their friends were all certain that Hermione and Ron would be the first ones married, but both Draco and Gregory and Harry and Ginny had beaten them to it while she and Ron were waiting for Hermione to become Minister of Magic. The day she was sworn into office, Ron had her sign the papers, and they had a proper ceremony later that week.
Harry and Ginny had been married two years out of Hogwarts in order to finish out their couple's counselling, something Draco was pleased they'd done. As brash as he thought Ginny could be, Draco grew to love her very dearly. She balanced Harry out, and they made a great team.
Their wedding was a rustic affair, and Draco remembered it fondly. He and Gregory had been in the process of adopting Orion for months leading up to it, and they had received the letter confirming he was theirs the morning of the wedding. Draco could remember only a few days he had been as happy as that day.
In comparison to the rest of them, Draco and Gregory's wedding must have seemed rather shotgun, as they had gotten married only a month after leaving Hogwarts, but they didn't care. Their wedding didn't carry out the Malfoy Opulence people had come to expect from them, but instead was small and intimate and only included one pure white peacock, as opposed to the hundred that were present at his mother's wedding. An affair for friends and family where Draco danced with his husband until he couldn't stand any longer, it was all Draco had dreamed of and more.
Orion had come into their lives three years after their wedding. The orphaned son of an auror Gregory had known well, they could not deny their need to take him in. Draco considered it to be the best decision he'd ever made, next to marrying Gregory, as Orion instantly became a fixture in their family. Full of joy and love, he was adored by his fathers and spoiled absolutely rotten. Draco opened his eyes to find Gregory staring down at him, a smile gracing his lips.
"Gregory?" he asked softly, not wanting to disturb the peace that came with silence.
"Yes, love?" Gregory answered just as quietly as his thumb brushed against Draco's cheek.
"How would you feel about another baby?"
Gregory glanced behind the couch and under the coffee table.
"You haven't got one hidden somewhere around here, have you?"
Draco laughed and gently hit his shoulder, pushing himself into a sitting position.
"I'm serious! You and I both know how lonely it is growing up when it's just you. Even if Orion has the best parents in the world, I think he's going to need that extra support. Besides, can't you just see them now? They'd be best friends, and we could put them in matching outfits!"
Gregory rubbed a hand across his mouth, looking as if he were thinking incredibly hard before he nodded.
"Sure, alright."
"Wait," Draco paused, confused. "Really? Just like that?"
"Why not?" Gregory asked, and Draco grinned as he leaned over to kiss him. "I've been thinking about it too. I'd love to raise another child with you."
Draco felt as though he were made of light as he crawled on top of his husband, their lips connecting once more.
…
"We're making a lot of reforms at the Ministry these days. We've got a lot of great minds at work. If I'm not drowning in new legislature, my hand feels like it'll fall off from signing off on most of it."
"Yes, I feel like I've gone fully arthritic! Writing all of those letters makes my fingers cramp terribly, and they don't even use most of what I say!"
Sitting between Hermione and Ginny, Draco sipped at the tea in his cup and listened to them talk about their jobs as he thrummed with excitement over the news he was carrying. Ginny had to take a leave of absence from the Holyhead Harpies for her pregnancy, but she was still corresponding with the Prophet's Quidditch column weekly to relay how they were doing in the practices leading up to their season. Ginny looked lovely in her sundress, her bump barely showing under the material, and Hermione was occasionally reaching over to touch it. When Hermione turned to Draco and asked him what was new in their lives, he leaned forward excitedly, the secret threatening to burst from him.
"I think Gregory and I are going to adopt another baby." Draco glanced over to where Gregory sat, bouncing Orion on a knee while he talked with Harry and Ron. "Orion doesn't know yet, because we don't want to tell him until it's settled, but we're in discussions with an agent now. Things are looking very promising."
"Congratulations, Draco!" Ginny said, giving him a hug.
"That's so lovely, we'll all have babies around the same time!" Hermione added, and both Ginny and Draco turned to her with mouths agape.
"You're having a baby?!" Draco asked in a whisper.
"Oh!" Hermione threw her hands over her mouth, but she was grinning when she pulled them away. "I promised Ron I'd wait to tell anyone until we saw Molly. You two won't say anything, though! We've only just found out a week ago, it's all still fresh."
Draco and Ginny wrapped her up in a hug, and Draco thought his heart may burst.
…
Draco was grinning, Orion's tiny hands in his own as he spun his son around the kitchen to Celestina Warbeck's "Hot Cauldron of Love", Cassiopeia laughing like mad from her highchair. Her wispy blond hair was gathered to the top of her head in a sort of bun and secured by a tiny green clip in the shape of a bow. Draco paused his spinning to boop her nose, setting off another round of raucous giggles. Two tiny teeth revealed themselves in her smile, and Draco's heart melted as her owlish grey eyes sparkled back at him.
Draco swayed his hips to the rhythm of the music and used the spatula in his hand as a microphone as he spread some more Cheerio's on Cassie's tray, a development she was apparently pleased with as she shoved fistfuls of them into her mouth. Turning back to the cake batter he was working on, he scraped a bit up with a spoon which he then offered to Orion.
"How's that taste, baby?" he asked, ruffling his hair.
Orion simply grinned and resumed dancing with the spoon in his mouth, bouncing across the hardwood.
"Yes!" Orion cried, using his most recent favourite word as he took up Draco's free hand and pulled at him until Draco left the mixing bowl to dance once more.
Draco found he was unable to accomplish any real cooking until Orion and Cassie were down for their daily naps. It was only then that Draco was able to get the cake in the oven and finish preparing dinner. Gregory wouldn't be home for another hour or so, and Draco was determined to have everything ready by the time he walked through the door. Setting the timer on the counter, Draco crept off to the living room to (finally) sit down. The children had woken him up at five that morning, so as Draco slumped back against the couch, his head falling to rest against the cushion behind him, it was no surprise that his eyes eventually fluttered shut.
When they opened again, it was to the smell of smoke. Draco leapt up from the couch and burst into the kitchen, throwing the oven door open, but it was too late. The cake was scorched, and the casserole he had prepared was burnt beyond salvaging. It was then that Orion bounded down the steps and into the kitchen, wrinkling his nose at the smell.
"What's that? What happened, daddy?"
"Daddy fell asleep and burnt dinner, baby," Draco sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.
As if his luck couldn't get any worse, the front door opened, and Orion ran to greet Gregory with a cry of joy.
"What's that smell?" Draco could hear Gregory asking from the front door.
"Daddy fell asleep, and now dinner's on fire!" Orion cried, and Draco heard his tiny feet running back up the steps to his bedroom.
Gregory found Draco in the same position Orion had left him in, his nose pinched tightly between his fingers. Draco could hear the little sigh that left his lips and prepared himself for disappointment when he felt Gregory's arms slip around him and pull him against his chest. Draco's shoulders relaxed as Gregory's nose pushed into his hair and left a kiss at the crown of his head before travelling down to his ear.
"So, takeout?"
...
It was a hot July night as Draco sat down at the dinner table to wait for Gregory. He had put on the black turtleneck and dark muggle jeans he knew Gregory liked so much on him and set the table with their favourite meal, a bottle of wine centred between them. There would be no stomp of tiny feet, nor the cry of too loud voices, nor tugging of small hands on shirts that night as Cassie and Orion had an often-begged-for sleepover at Nan's. Narcissa was only too happy to oblige them, and had practically kidnapped the now four and six year olds. Draco missed his children a little bit already, but anticipation for the night to come kept the worry at bay.
After a while, Draco glanced down at his pocket watch. It was six, Gregory was a half hour late. Draco shrugged it off.
Seven. Draco had a glass of wine.
Eight. Draco had another.
Nine. And another.
Ten. Draco packed up the food and swapped the wine for Firewhiskey.
Eleven. Draco was scratching his fingernail idly against a spot on the table and holding back tears.
It was nearly midnight when Draco finally heard Gregory push open the door. Disappointment and anger sat heavily in his throat, crushing his windpipe, and as his husband entered the kitchen to find Draco sitting at the table, it did not dissipate.
"You're late," Draco choked out around his feelings. "Six hours late. Where have you been?"
"There was a hard case at the office today. I meant to send you an owl, but I guess I forgot."
Despite his heroic efforts until that point, angry tears sprang into Draco's eyes, and he was glad for a different reason this time that he had sent Orion and Cassie to stay the night with his mother.
"You forgot? Seems like you've forgotten a lot today," Draco answered bitterly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gregory shot back.
"It's the thirtieth," he said, the tears finally spilling from his eyes.
Gregory's face fell, his shoulders sagging as he realized the weight of that day. He had forgotten their anniversary.
"Draco, I'm so sorry-"
"I've been expecting you since six," Draco threw back at him. "I kept waiting for you to walk through the door. I thought that something must be wrong, there was no way you could have stood me up, but I suppose in a way I was right about that."
Gregory was quiet, too quiet, and it gave Draco time to stew even further in the thoughts he'd had all evening.
"Do you even love me anymore?"
Draco knew the words were unfair, and he regretted them the moment he saw the pain on Gregory's face, but it was too late.
"Of course I do. How could you say that?" Gregory asked, shellshocked.
Draco tried to rein in the irrational voice in his ear, but as the tears came from his eyes, he could no longer hold it back.
"How could I not?" he yelled, gesticulating wildly between them. "You're rarely home anymore, and when you are, you've got your nose in a file, or you come in after we've all gone to bed! You haven't touched me in months, Gregory, not since Christmas. We knew two kids were going to be hard with our jobs, and I'm sorry that I'm so gross when you get home every day. But I thought this was what you signed up for-" the tears came faster as Draco sobbed around his words, "I thought this was what you wanted, but am I wrong? Because if I am, and you don't love me, I need you to tell me—oomph!"
Gregory threw himself across the space between them and cut Draco off with a deep kiss, holding him in a tight embrace as Draco cried. Draco shut his eyes tightly and threw his arms around Gregory's neck with fervour, as if he thought he'd lose hold of him forever if he released him now. Gregory eventually broke away from Draco's lips, and Draco buried his face in his husband's chest, realizing as his head felt damp that Gregory was crying too.
"Of course I love you, Draco, of course I do. Every day I am so lucky to be with you and our perfect, beautiful family. You are my husband, and I love you with every breath in me. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry that I forgot today. There's no excuse, but if you never believe anything I say to you again, believe that I love you."
Draco pushed himself up to Gregory's lips once more, locking them in a kiss that said all of the things Draco didn't have to. They didn't break apart even as Gregory dropped his briefcase in favour of picking Draco up and retreating to their room.
When Draco woke up the next morning, head resting on Gregory's chest, he knew they would be okay.
…
Cassie and Orion, eight and ten now, were running after James and Albus, Rose and Hugo in their wake as they made their mad dash for the sea. Draco sat under the large umbrella he and Gregory had brought to shield his fair skin from the sun, his back against a lounge chair and a book in his lap. Gregory sat in the camping chair next to him, holding Draco's hand as if it were something precious and chatting with Harry about Ginny's season with the Harpies as she and Hermione fussed over tiny Lily.
Draco watched with a small smile as Lily whinged and tried to break free of Ginny's grasp, her mother simply trying to put sunscreen on her before she could send her off to join their horde of children. Draco mused on the problem before him before he spotted a particularly pretty shell in the sand next to him. Draco bent down and retrieved it before he held it up for Lily to see, and she reached for it immediately with a tiny fist.
"Gimme, Uncle Draco," she demanded without a hint of shame, pulling a laugh from him.
"You can have this once your mum's done, alright? I'll keep it safe for you."
At that, Lily reluctantly stood still long enough for Ginny to slather her in sunscreen, her tiny fists snatching the shell offered to her before she toddled off down the beach after her brothers and cousins. Draco watched with a sense of peace while they all played together in the surf., shrieks of delight carrying as the waves buffeted them.
They ate hot dogs over a fire once it got dark, and cautious hands pulled children away from the fire more often than not. Woodsmoke clung to Draco's clothes and hair for long after they returned to the house on the beach to put the children to bed, and once Orion and Cassie were asleep, Draco took his husband's hand in his own and led him idly down the beach under the light of a full moon.
The moonlight reflected beautifully off the ocean and illuminated the path before them, chilly water washing up over Draco's bare feet as the tide rolled in. Gregory spun him as they sloshed through the waves, kicking water up onto their trousers, and Draco laughed as he pulled his husband in for a long kiss, longing to capture this moment in his mind. Just him and Gregory and the moonlight forever.
…
The Malfoy-Goyles stood quietly on Platform 9 ¾ on September 1st, 2013. Cassie gripped Orion's hand as tightly as Draco did Gregory's, all of them struggling to fight back the tears. It wasn't as though Draco wouldn't see his son often, but the thought of returning home every evening to a house without Orion in it was unheard of. It had been a difficult discussion between Draco and Gregory to even bring him to King's Cross when they could have just sent him up the hill to the castle and spent a few more short, precious hours with him, but Gregory had insisted that Orion needed to experience everything his classmates did if he were to assimilate successfully.
When the time finally came for Cassie to let go of her brother's hand, she wailed and buried her face in Gregory's cloak, leaving Draco to gather a panicked looking Orion in his arms.
"You're going to be fantastic, love," Draco murmured, resisting the urge to press a kiss to the top of his head. "You'll make lots of new friends, and I'll see you every day for potions. You just let me know whether you want your friends to know I'm your dad, and I'll play along, alright?" Draco teased, pulling him back to look at him and fighting tears of his own. "I'll be at your Sorting, and I'll tell Papa and Cassie what house you're in, or I can wait if you want to write and tell them yourself."
Orion nodded, pulling a brave face as he brushed the tears off his cheeks and straightened his shoulders.
"I don't mind if you tell them," he answered bravely, but his face fell into anxiety once more as the train whistle blew. "I guess it's time then?"
Draco mustered the bravest smile he could and nodded, cupping his son's cheeks between his hands and pressing their foreheads together.
"You'll be wonderful. Just be you," he whispered, just for him, and pulled away to push him gently toward the train. "Now get going before it leaves you behind!"
Orion gave his family a shaky smile before he turned and ran for the train, pulling himself into a car just as the second whistle blew. Draco searched the windows for him until he found his son peering out of one nearby and waving madly. Cassie and Gregory waved back at him, calling their goodbyes, but as the train began moving, Draco kept pace with it the best he could until he ran out of platform to run on. He stayed there until the train turned into a small dot in the countryside, and Gregory's hand slipped into his own. Cassie ran around to his side to hold on to the other, and as they left the train station hand-in-hand, Draco was struck by how lucky he was. It was more than he could have ever dreamed for.