Why hello there. Welcome back.

Ok, all joking aside. Wow guys. I like.. I woke up from a nightmare this afternoon as was just.. made happy by all the reviews, story alerts, and favorites this story got in the manner of 8 hours. You all make me and Star so happy. Thank you!

Now if anyone could kill this annoying fly buzzing around in my room, I think we'd all be happy.

Some thanks we'd like to give out to Bambi4ever, ladychris07 (also known as blakkatt on dA), LIGHTNSHADOWS, lilz54, JuMiKu, fireflyinc, jessirose85, samusrocks1, Zorpox, Fortheloveofadoctor, Sexiluv, Alicedavidhatter, MaxximusPrime, tesetilaro, CurlyD, didydid, and StarShineDC because she felt the need to review and favorite her own story. xD That butt- arse.

Thank you all again, so so so much! From the bottom of our little Seamus filled hearts~ We can't wait for you to read on, so go on! Shoo!

And soon have you Becoming Obsessed~

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

"Listen, Hermione, it's important."

"Harry, the last time you said that I went into early labor."

"You aren't pregnant this time," the wizard argued and the look Hermione sent him had him sighing. "Not as pregnant."

She turned to the side, showing off a rather obvious baby bump. "Harry."

"Hermione," he returned. And ignored her sigh, plowing on. "He's five, almost six," he began, knowing that would get her. He was the same age as Hugo.

"Go on," she murmured, finally stopping fully to pay attention to him.

"They've been to a few healers, but none of them have been helpful in the slightest. They say he's a squib with magic, but the magic isn't taking. It's turned on him, it's wearing him down. And no one can say why or how. The father's been to libraries all over the world trying to find something. There's nothing, no explanation."

Hermione frowned. "There's always an explanation."

"I know there is, but no one else has been able to find it and no one else will look. No other healers will see them. Come on, Hermione. He's a single father who very obviously loves his son."

She sighed. "Harry, you say no other healers will see them and I haven't heard of this phenomena when I do my necessary rounds at St. Mungo's. This sort of thing is medical gold. You're either being lied to or they were on the wrong side of the war."

Harry opened his mouth and closed it a few times before he shrugged. "I'm not being lied to."

"For Godric's sake, Harry! If it's Nott again-"

"It isn't." He was going through another stint in Azkaban as far as Harry knew. "It... it's Draco Malfoy."

"No."

"Hermione. Medical gold."

"No."

"A five year old boy who loves apples and has a stuffed unicorn named Perry."

Hermione looked over her shoulder, nibbling on her bottom lip. "He named his stuffed unicorn?" Harry nodded and she sighed heavily, nodding. "Alright, Harry, you win. Let me finish up here and then we'll head there straightaway."

"Thanks, Hermione. You're the best."

"You're going to owe me one," she informed him, but she was smiling.

-8-8-

Harry was the first through the floo in order to give Malfoy some warning. He looked around the living room of the flat he'd just entered, smiling slightly. It was... very clean, yet somehow managed to remain inviting. A difficult balance. "Malfoy?" he called.

There was a dull thud from within the apartment and a squeal of laughter as a dorm slammed open and there was a padding of feed against the wooden floor.
"Oh no, you don't!" Draco's voice called out, laughter evident in his tone.

A few seconds later, Scorpius came running in to the living room, his towel clutched to the front of his body, his naked bum in the air as he ran around giggling. "But daddy! I don' wanna bath!" The little blonde boy raced around the couch, giggling and hiding before giving a shrill cry of "Harry!" and running up to him, clinging to his leg and hiding behind him, giggling quietly as his dad came rushing in to the living room.

Draco's hair was wet at the tips, his simple black shirt rolled up at the elbows. He was dressed in a pair of plain black sweats, his shirt soaked against his skin revealing lean muscles and broad shoulders. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," he chided, a small smile on his face as he brushed some hair from his face, the locks choosing to just fall back in the way of his mercury grey eyes.

Harry's mouth had gone completely dry at the sight of him. He hadn't really thought there was a body underneath all those clothes. He cleared his throat, tearing his gaze away and looking down at Scorpius. And then his breath caught. Merlin, he was tiny. Harry could practically see his bones. "Cor," he whispered, shocked that anyone would refuse to see these two because of a war that was long since in the past. He shook himself out of it, squatted down to the child's level and smiled at him. "Why don't you want a bath?"

Scorpius pouted, crossing his arms over his little chest. "Because baths make me dizzy."

Draco gave a small sigh from across the room, approaching the youngster slowly and kneeling down. "Scor, you have to. I made the water slightly colder this time, so no dizziness okay?" Draco look at the child with a small, patient smile, but anyone could see there was almost a pleading gesture in his eyes. Draco had gotten no sleep for the past few days, it seemed.

"Draco, why don't you go lie down? I can get Scorpius ready." Harry glanced Draco's way, then looked at Scorpius with a smile. "You've got a visitor coming over, after all. You don't want to smell bad for her, do you?"

The little child blinked his wide, silver eyes. "Visitor?" he questioned, glancing back up at Harry before nodding his head. "O-Okay." Scorpius walked over, wrapping his little arms around Draco's leg and giving a small smile. "I'll take a bath now, daddy! You sleep!"

Draco smiled gently, running his fingers through Scorpius' slightly wet hair, "Okay, Scor, daddy will sleep." He gave Harry a grateful look. "As long as you be nice for Mr. Potter, okay?"

"I think Scorp and I'll get along fine." Harry smiled. "Go ahead."

The blonde nodded, standing and quickly shuffling Scorpius off his leg who ran towards the bathroom with renewed abandon. "Thanks... Harry." Draco smiled slightly, patting him on the shoulder before walking down the hallway, stripping his shirt of in the process. Inwardly though, Draco gave a small start, a slight tingle working its way up his fingers and through his arm. What the...?

Harry tried not to stare at the newly bared back, removing his robes and laying them on the back of the chair before following the excitable child, but it was a losing battle.

Draco stripped off his water soaked pants as he shut his bedroom door at the end of the hallway, dropping them on the floor and flopping on his bed with a small, blissful sigh. He was out in minutes.

Scorpius was trying to climb into the bathtub when Harry walked in, his rubber ducky already floating about, charmed with magic to squeak every once in a while and squirt water.

Harry smiled, sweeping Scorpius up and settling him in the tub. "So your daddy didn't tell you that you've got a visitor coming over?"

Scorpius shook his little blonde head, big silver eyes were full of laughter as he grabbed the rubber ducky and gave it a squeeze, water coming out of its beak and hitting him in the shoulder. The waters temperature was slightly cold but still warm enough to not get the child sick.

Laughing, Harry rolled up his sleeves and prepared himself to get soaked to the skin. He dipped his fingers in the water, testing it, and flicked it teasingly at the boy. "Shall I tell you all about her, then?"

The boy nodded his head, spending the next few minutes listening to Harry's words avidly as the Boy-Who-Lived gently combed his fingers through Scorpius's platinum locks.

Harry carefully worked the shampoo in, tilting Scorpius's head back and letting water flow from his wand to rinse it out. "For someone who doesn't like baths," he remarked, "you're behaving wonderfully."

The little boy giggled, grabbing Harry's hand and using it to poke the ducky who scooted across the tub, bubbles from the soap parting to make way. "Thank you!" He gave Harry a missing-tooth grin, squealing happily as he saw something behind Harry's shoulder. "Daddy!"

Harry turned, smiling. "Have a good nap?"

Draco chuckled, hair disheveled and falling in to his eyes, a plain grey shirt gripped in his fingers as he walked in to the bathroom and sat on the toilet, coming a hand through Scorpius's hair. He yawned, giving a quick nod before pulling the shirt over his head. "Yeah..." he muttered hesitantly. "Thanks, Potter."

"It wasn't hard. You could've slept a bit longer," he offered.

Draco shook his head, leaning back against the plain piece of linoleum and gazing at his son, arms coming to cross over his chest. He wouldn't bother telling Potter that he was awoken by a pesky owl with an "urgent" message telling him that Scorpius' Healers appointment for tomorrow had been cancelled as something "urgent" had come up- Which just, in fact, meant that the Healer that would be overseeing Scorpius that day didn't want to deal with the Malfoy name. He gave a small sigh.

Harry's eyes narrowed a fraction as he wondered just what was going on in the blonde's mind. "Right," he said quietly and then flicked his attention back to the boy. "Ready to get out of here?"

Scorpius nodded, hair flicking in to his face as he held his arms up, making grabby hands for the brunette wizard. "Up! Up!" Draco chuckled, patting Harry's shoulder, once again ignoring the odd feeling that crept through his arm as he walked into the kitchen to get Scorpius his vitamins for the night. The elder Malfoy made sure that his son was up to date on all vitamins, hoping that it would help his son in some way. If you were to tell Draco Malfoy ten years ago that he would have a son who would need to be put on Muggle vitamins for fear he might die, Draco would have hexed you, charmed you to a wall, and hexed you again just for good measure.

Grinning, Harry swept Scorpius up into his arms. "I think we've kept Hermione waiting long enough, haven't we?" He lifted his wand, casting a drying spell on them both and then a warming charm on the boy. "Now let's get you into your pajamas."

Scorpius giggled, bobbing his little head before wrapping his lithe, frail arms around Harry's neck. "Okay! Snitchy! Snitchy!"
Draco called over from the kitchen, a small smile on his lips. "Snitches, Scorpius!" He always tried to get his son to try and speak full sentences, but at that age he didn't seem to mind. Draco shut one of the cabinets, grabbing the small cup of pills and a bottle of warm milk and walked his way down the hallway to Scorpius's room, his heart warming at the sight.

Harry was just zipping up the blue, snitch-dotted onesie when he caught sight of Draco in the doorway. He grinned, getting to his feet and bringing Scorpius with him. He didn't ask what the cup was full of, making a note to ask later. "I'll let you take it from here, Draco. I'll floo-call Hermione and let her know she can come by now."

The blonde gave a small, grateful smile, gathering the tired-eyed boy in to his arms and holding a small cup up to him. "You know the drill, Scorp." He walked further in to the room, sitting on the edge of the bright blue comforter, cradling his son against his chest.

Harry was back a few minutes later, watching for a few quiet moments. "Draco? She's in the living room."

Draco jerked his head up from coming his fingers through Scorpius' hair, nodding his head. "Okay... Come on, Scorp." He glanced in to the cup that sat on the dark wood dresser. "All taken?" He muttered as he glanced back at Scorpius, standing up and stretching with a yawn.

"Yes, daddy!"

"Ok, let's go Scorp!" He picked Scorpius up, hands under his arms as he spun the boy around, blowing a raspberry against his stomach and laughing warmly at the boy's excitable giggles.

Harry smiled slowly, watching. This was, he realized, a very solid little unit and Harry wasn't sure what Draco would do if they couldn't find a cure... It just firmed his resolve. They had to find a cure.

"Well, come on then, Scor." He chuckled, tucking the boys head under his chin as he reached down, grabbing a small white unicorn off the fluffy white pillows that sat against the wall and the bed. He held it up, the little child taking it with exhausted glee.

"Perry!" Scorpius waved the animal at Harry. "'Arry! 'Arry! T'is is Perry!" He giggled, cuddling the white unicorn to his chest, it's bright blue horn poking himself gently in the shoulder.

"He seems to be a very lovely unicorn," Harry praised, laughing softly. "Come on, kiddo. Let's go meet Hermione. I'm sure she'd like to meet Perry there, too."

Scorpius nodded enthusiastically, curling back up against Draco's chest as the elder Malfoy followed Harry on the way out of his bedroom, Harry shutting the light off with a flick of his wand.

Hermione smiled coolly when she saw Draco, but the expression warmed considerably when she took notice of the child he carried. "Hello. You must be Scorpius."

The little boy buried his face against his fathers shoulder, Draco nodding his head politely. "Granger. You look well." He took notice of the hand resting against her stomach and offered her a place to sit. "Scorpius, say hi," he chided lightly, a small sense of laughter in his tone.
"H-Hello!" Draco chuckled, kissing his head.

Hermione sank gratefully onto the couch, rubbing a hand over her belly in slow circles. "Hi," she replied and let the smile go to Draco. "It's Weasley now, or Hermione if you prefer. If I could see the boy? We can get started and I can get out of your hair."

Draco gave a small nod, storing the information for a later date. "Okay, Gra- Hermione." He placed Scorpius on the ground gently, motioning for him to shuffle over to Hermione. "Go on, Scorpius. She's going to take care of you." The little boy's eyes were wide as he shuffled over, Perry crushed in his arms as he stood in front of the older witch-lady with wobbly knees.

Since Hermione couldn't do it, Harry went over and scooped Scorpius up, settling him in his lap as he sat beside the witch. "You'll be just fine," Harry assured him while Hermione drew her wand. She drew it over the boy, casting a soft, blue light that hummed over him without necessarily touching. In some places, the blue began to flicker other colors. Pale purples, angry reds, warm yellows.

"Mm," was all she said, leaning back and picking up quill and parchment to jot down several notes.

Scorpius looked up at Harry worriedly, his big silver eyes wide as his lower lip quivered. "H-Harry- what's wrong?" He clutched Perry even tighter, glancing back at Her-mi-ninny with a scared expression. "Am I sick again?"

Hermione paused, glancing up at Draco. Harry hadn't told her that Scorpius was unaware of the extent of his condition. Harry jiggled the boy carefully. "You're okay, Scorpius. She's a healer; she just wants to make sure everything's perfectly alright with you. Your dad and I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you, would we?"

Draco stood, moving to kneel in front of Harry's legs, rubbing a soothing hand over Scorpius' back. "We're just trying to figure out what is wrong, okay, Scorp? Harry's right, we wouldn't let anything bad happen."

Scorpius turned around, burrowing in to Harry's arms. "Anything?" he hiccuped.
"Nothing," he murmured reassuringly.

Hermione set aside the parchment, vanishing the colors with another flick of her wand. She reached out, offered a smile. "May I see your hand, Scorpius?"

The little boy nodded after an encouraging smile from both Harry and Draco, holding out a little, pale hand. He liked Harry... he thought as Hermione grasped his hand gently. Harry protected him just like Daddy. Maybe Harry would figure out what was wrong with him so he could get all better and so his daddy would be happier. His daddy has been very sad since Scorpius got sick, he just wanted it all to go away. His arm tightened around the unicorn. He wanted to get better, to make his daddy happy.

Hermione took in the sight of the bandages, murmured a spell that healed the little scrapes that covered him. "Thank you." With a satisfied nod, she carefully laid her wand against the center of the child's palm and watched as a new blue light shimmied erratically. There was nothing normal about any of these readings; these were patterns and colors she'd never seen nor heard of before. Hermione gazed at the child, searching for any ill-effects from the use of her magic near him. There didn't seem to be any sort of issue.

She released his hand after a gentle squeeze before returning to her parchment. "Draco, I'd like to see your wand, if you don't mind."

"M-My wand?" Draco swallowed, hands suddenly clammy. He could handle Potter falling in to his life, dragging Gran-Weasley (that would take some getting used to, he told himself) in as well but asking about his wand was something personal. "I don't have it." His voice was calm, clipped, his expression instantly falling back into the Malfoy sneer he harboured years ago.

Hermione, rather stunned by this, was about to ask, but Harry beat her to it. "Why in the world don't you have your wand? Did someone take it?" His auror instincts kicked in, his hold on Scorpius becoming a bit more protective.

There was a pregnant pause, the tension in the room becoming tangible as Draco sighed in defeat. His shoulders slumped, his expression falling as his head came to thunk down against Potter's knee. "If you consider the Ministry confiscating it for 'protective purposes,' and limited my magic to that of a first year, then yes. Yes. My wand was taken from me." His voice was low, a terrible pain evident in his voice. Withdrawing Draco's magic, binding it inside of him and forcing to live almost to the notion of being a Squib was painful for him. But having to do it, while the Ministry knew full well that his son was dying was something Draco wasn't able to stomach for the first few months after Scorpius fell ill.
"It's been this way since Scorpius fell s-sick."

The two Gryffindors exchanged looks, communicating in a way that betrayed just how close they were. Hermione nodded. "I'll have Ron mention something to Percy tomorrow. We'll try and get that reversed. It's possible that being so close to bound magic is negatively affecting Scorpius's condition." Whatever that may be. She looked at her notes, frowning. The only thing she could see for absolute certainty at this moment was that his body seemed to be collapsing in on himself. At the current rate, she estimated a year, but less time wasn't impossible.

"Why would they think it was a good idea to take your magic?" Harry asked quietly, trying to hide the venom in his tone. Draco had been raised pure-blood, for Merlin's sake. He didn't have the experience in raising a child without magic, so forcing such a thing on him was irresponsible and potentially even dangerous.

Draco gave a small, meager shrug, a little smile coming to his face and brightening his eyes as Scorpius climbed down from Harry's lap and plopped in to Draco's, cuddling up to him. "Oof!"
Scorpius hiccuped, his eyes watering as he clung to his father. "I still love you daddy! W-Wif or wif out magic! Don't hate me because I'm sick, please! I-I didn't mean to make you los-lose your magic!" The little blonde was stuttering, his words jumbled and lisped as he sobbed quietly against his fathers chest.
"O-Oh Scorpius..."

Hermione sighed quietly. "Draco, if you don't mind, I'd like to take over Scorpius's case. I'll need you to sign a few things so I can have full access to his medical records, but I think I've done everything I can tonight otherwise."

Harry reached out and laid a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder. "Take Scorpius on to bed, alright? We can deal with the fine details after that."

Draco gave an audible swallow, giving a small nod to Hermione before picking the sniffling child up gently. "W-Wait-!" Scorpius called, motioning to Hermione. Draco blinked, taking a few cautious steps over to the witch. The blonde boy instantly latched his arms around Hermione's neck. "T-Thank you." He sniffled softly before unlatching his arms and snuggling back up against his daddy. "F-For trying to make my daddy happier and m-making me better."

Draco's heart warmed immediately, kissing his son's head softly. "Come on, Scor," he whispered, walking out of the room quietly, Scorpius tucked in his arms with Perry tucked in his own.

Hermione blinked back tears, watching them go. She looked at Harry once they'd rounded the corner, voice lowered to a whisper. "Oh, Harry, this isn't good at all."

He'd been terrified of hearing those words. "Do you think you can help, though?"

"I... I hope so. He doesn't have a lot of time, and it's just going to get worse." She lifted her parchment, tapped at the shorthand that Harry couldn't even half-read. "His lungs are already glowing purple, and I can't estimate the exact time he has left until I can establish the rate of decay better. Right now I'd assume a year, perhaps less."

Only a year. An unseen hand reached into Harry's chest and tightly squeezed his heart. That child only being around another year, getting worse as he went, was painful to think about. "Hermione..."

"I'm going to do everything I can," she whispered. "I really will."

"M-My s-son has o-one year left?" Draco stood at the entrance to the hallway, his expression one of the utmost heartbreak, his arms around his stomach as if he were going to be sick. His grey eyes were swimming with tears. His face already looking hagged and exhausted but now coupled with the tears, Draco Malfoy looked as if his world was ending, falling down around him.

Hermione started to rise, but found herself rather stuck. Harry took the cue of her wordless gesture and rose in her stead, going towards the blonde. "None of the other healers have given you a time frame?" he asked quietly.

Draco was shaking violently, his eyes unblinking. He had just set Scorpius to bed, his little blonde child... one year... He couldn't seem to wrap his head around it. "W-We were only able to see a handful of healers... And they just..." tears poured down his cheeks.

Hermione immediately looked irritated and muttered something about lazy, ignorant fools. Harry ignored her and reached out hesitantly. He placed his hands on Draco's shoulders, giving them a squeeze. "We're going to do everything we can, alright? Come on. Sign the things Hermione needs you to sign and we'll get started. You've got a real healer on your side now; everything'll be alright."

"W-What will I do, Potter? What will I do once Scorpius is gone?" His arms slowly wound around his stomach, hunching over as if to be sick, tears dripping down his neck. "What will I tell him? C-Can I even tell him? Oh not my baby boy... H-he's the only thing I have left..."

Working on instinct, Harry sighed and wrapped his arms around the man. "We're going to do everything we can, Draco. We're not going to let him go. He's your baby. We'll take care of it."

Draco instantly leaned in to Harry's arm, his tears dripping against Harry's shirt as his arms wrapped around the Quidditch-toned waist. "P-Please Potter- Harry- please."

"Harry," came Hermione's voice. She'd finally managed to stand. "I'm leaving the pages here. Just bring them to me in the morning."

"I will," Harry assured her and tucked Draco closer as she floo'd home. "We're not just going to let him die," he murmured, lips brushing the blonde's ear as he spoke.

Draco gave a small shudder, his breathing short and shallow. He tried opening his mouth, tried speaking some form of any word but only small whimpers came past his lips as he cried his heart out on Harry's shoulder. For the first time in a long time, Draco Malfoy cried. Not when his wife divorced him to go off with some wizard man across the world, not when his father was found dead in his cell in Azkaban, and not when his mother disappeared off the face of the earth. But, now that his son had a death day already marked on his too-short life, Draco Malfoy let the sobs wrack his chest, clutching to Harry bloody Potter as if he were the last thing he had left in this pathetic little world.

The auror rocked gently, stroking the blonde's back in careful, soothing motions. Otherwise, he let the sobs fill the silence, let Draco cry and cry and didn't stop his easy motions even as the sobs began to subside to sniffles.

Soon, Draco calmed, slowly but surely. He wiped at his eyes, rubbing his already red nose with the back of his hand. "Y-You can l-let go now, Potter..." He kept his head low, embarrassment flooding his cheeks at the current predicament of being practically cuddled like a two-year in Harry Potter's lap. He tried, and failed, to tell himself that he didn't like the feeling of the younger man's arms wrapped securely around his shoulders.

Harry didn't let go, a hand slipping into Draco's hair. "I'm sorry you found out like that."

Draco gave a small sniff, moving to sit up, one of his arms still locked around Harry's waist. "I would of had to find out sooner or later."

"I know; I'm still sorry. He's a great kid, y'know. You've managed to do one hell of a job raising him."

He let out a long sigh, his head dropping down against Harry's shoulder- personal space be damned. He was a man in need. "Y-Yeah... I tried my hardest, but having no magic certainly made it an unpleasant experience at times."

"I don't doubt that." Harry stroked his fingers lightly down Draco's back. "We'll get your magic back, alright? It's not fair that they cage it up inside of you. You were definitely never a weak wizard."

He gave a haughty smirk, leaning in to Harry's touch just slightly as he removed his head from the others chest. He paused, trying to form a sentence that was just on the tip of his tongue. "I..." A deep breath later, and Draco mumbled quietly, "Thanks again, Potter."

"Seeing how you just cried all over me, you may as well call me Harry. Scorp does."

A blush slowly spread its way across the elder Malfoy's cheeks as he pushed away from the brunette and stood, albeit on wobbly legs. "Y-Yes well, what my child does and what I do are very different."

"Still, though." Harry rose, ran a hand through his hair and then gestured to the papers on the coffee table. "Here. Sign those and I'll pick them up in the morning. You should get some sleep."

The blonde nodded, walking over to the small brown coffee table and sitting down on the couch a few feet away, the red upholstery a bright contrast to his black pajama bottoms. "Okay... Okay." He took a deep breath, eyes slipping closed as he ran a hand through his disheveled locks.

"Draco..." Harry sighed, tucking his hands in his pockets. "I know this is probably a ridiculous question, so don't take it the wrong way. But do you want me to stay here tonight? I can take care of Scorpius in the morning for you. You can't tell me you're not exhausted."

Draco let out a breath, nodding his head. "Okay... okay. Fine Potter, you can stay the night." He reached over, grabbing the semi-large stack of papers before realizing that he didn't have a quill. He didn't even make a move to conjure one, standing up and marching over to the small bookshelf in the corner of the room. He grabbed a quill and a well of ink and walked back to the couch, plopping down unceremoniously with his feet tucked under him. "Blankets are in the cupboard at the end of the hallway and you can use my bedroom if you so wish." The 'it's not like I'm going to be getting much sleep anyway' went unsaid.

"I'm not taking your bedroom. The couch is fine." He could just transfigure it into a bed if he wanted.

The blonde just shook his head, waving a hand with a muttered, "Whatever you wish, Potter." He went back to staring at the parchment in his lap, fingers creasing the tips of the paper in a nervous habit.

"You know what the papers are for, right? She wants to take over Scorpius's case entirely, so she needs access to his medical history. And once she gets her teeth into something, she doesn't let go. If anyone can cure him, it'll be her."

He gave a small smile, a small flash of white as his teeth showed. "I know, I went to school with you lot, remember? Hermione Granger." He waved a hand dramatically before it found its way back in to his hair. "The brightest witch of our age."

Harry sank down beside the blonde. "Yeah. I'll... help you as much as I can," he offered.

Draco nodded his head, sinking back against the back of the couch and rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand. "Okay. Can you remember a few things for if I'm not up in the morning?" He gave a small chuckle, the sound not so much humorous as it was emotionally drained. "I think the Gryffindor Golden Boy can remember what a five year old boy needs in the morning." Even if he is on his d-death bed...

"I think I can manage, yeah." Harry smiled slightly.

Draco gave another small grin, shaking his head. What was he? A Hufflepuff? The thought had him cringing. "Okay, Scorpius needs his vitamins in the morning. They're already together in a small cup near the sink. He'll probably ask for apple pancakes or something along those lines. That's fine, as long as he has a small glass of milk with them. Nothing too large or he'll get violently sick. Make sure you both wash your hands before then since his immune system is... practically non-existent." He gave a small sigh, his shoulders slumping. "And don't even bother changing him out of his pajamas... Just... let him relax. He'll need to be up before nine am or he won't sleep the next night and..." he paused, slumping back against the couch. "I really should just take care of this; it's too much to remember."

"Wash my hands before making him pancakes, give him a glass of milk with it, give him his vitamins, and have him up by nine. There are more things to remember in the middle of an arrest," Harry assured him. "I can handle it."

He rubbed a hand slowly over his face, nodding his head ever so slowly, as if he needed to encourage himself to give a response. "Okay then, Potter..." He went back to gazing at the papers in his lap; his 'thanks' didn't need to be said.

Harry looked down at his hands a moment before hesitantly wrapping an arm around the blonde and giving him a gentle squeeze. "I'll, ah, be back. I just need to go and get a few things from my flat."

Draco nodded, going back to the parchments with a renewed vigour. If there was anyone that could help Scorpius, it was Hermione Weasley. He didn't even look up as Harry floo'd away, the scratching of his quill sounding loud and almost relaxing in the dark flat.

When Harry returned, he set his bag on a chair and just watched the man for a few moments. He'd managed to convince himself at home that being attracted to Draco Malfoy wasn't the best of ideas, but now that he was back and looking at the slim, golden-haired man he was back at square one. Emotional attachments were bad ideas, but... It wasn't as though he were on a case.

Having been gone the better half of an hour, Harry came back to the sight of Draco curled up at the edge of the couch, his arms cushioning his head as he slept deeply. His hair fell in to his eyes, his lips slightly parted as his chest rose and fell with gently breaths. The parchments and quill lay forgotten on the coffee table.

Sighing, Harry stepped forward and gathered him up. He couldn't very well leave him on the couch all night and have to tiptoe around him when morning came. He carefully lifted Draco, pausing when the man murmured something unintelligible and turned his face into Harry's shirt. The brunette smiled slightly, starting down the hall.

As Draco was laid gently on top of the covers of his bed, his hand came to grasp at Harry's hand. "Potter..." he mumbled, eyes cracking open just slightly to reveal swimming pools of silver. "Thank you." The hand fell back to the bed, Draco sleeping soundly for the first time in a long time with reassurance that his child would be taken care of. Maybe everything was finally looking up for the Slytherin.

"You're welcome," Harry murmured, getting the blonde under the covers with as little disturbance as possible before striding out.

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Review? Thank you! [smooches]

-Becoming Obsessed and StarShineDC