Having three kids had never been something that Oliver thought he would ever have. Especially not after he discovered that he liked blokes more than ladies. He was prepared to spend the majority of his life focused on Quidditch and not worried about having a family of his own. Now, here he was ready for bed with three children in his bed curled into his body.
Sure, they were not his biological children, but they felt like his. It was tragic what had happened to their mother.
Ginny Weasley had just given birth to Lily when she had a bad Quidditch accident that left her three children motherless and her husband a widow. Oliver still remembers the awful day and remembers the months that followed, of everyone trying to spot Harry or one of his children. Hell, even some of the Weasley family. That Rita Skeeter harlot had even brought up Fred's death in hopes of getting them to come out. It was a horrible period and Oliver tried his best to keep up with the news to ensure Harry was still okay. He hadn't stay as close as he should have with Harry, but he was still worried about his friend.
Running into Harry had been an accident that Oliver hadn't expected. Granted, he ran into little James, the four year old lost in Flourish and Blotts and had run into Oliver's legs. The quidditch player had quickly scooped up the teary toddler and begun looking for the unruly hair of his friend.
"Hey James, you remember me?" He tried to calm the toddler, bouncing him on his hip. He hadn't spent much time around Harry's children, but he had been around the Burrow a lot and was close with George's children so James must have seen him around and known he was safe. James bobbed his head, emerald eyes wet with tears as they stared into Oliver's soul. The older man nodded, rubbing the toddler's back as he searched for Harry or one of the Weasleys.
It took him less than ten minutes to spot George's red hair across the shop and he was quickly making his way over.
"Harry, mate, it isn't your fault," Ron's voice met Oliver's ears as he drew closer, the younger red head rubbing someone's shoulder. Oliver assumed it was Harry's.
"How could I let him not hold my hand? He is my first child and I just let him go," Harry's voice met Oliver's ears next and he could feel his heart clench at the very obvious heartbreak in his tone. Harry had lost everything, his parents, his godfather, his wife, and now he thought he lost his son. Oliver wanted nothing more than to wrap Harry in his arms and keep him safe from the world.
"I reckon' James is just as scared Harry," Oliver made his presence known, nudging George to the side so Harry could see him and his son.
"Jamie!" Harry practically dove at Oliver, pulling his son into his arms and holding him close. James held his father with the same ferocity and Oliver stood there, smiling softly. Ron and George seemed to have accompanied Harry to the book shop, Ron holding Albus and Rose's little hands at his side and George had his own children nestled into his side.
"Uncle Oli!" Fred cheered, removing himself from his father's leg to latch onto Oliver's. The quidditch player smiled at the young boy and ran his fingers through his dark hair lovingly. Oliver had a soft spot for all the Weasley children, the closest he would ever get to having his own.
"Hey buddy," Oliver grinned, nodding at George and Ron. The both looked weary, like they did after the war, but Oliver wasn't going to hold it against them. They had lost their sister recently and Oliver couldn't imagine the pain they were going through.
"Thank you so much!" Oliver barely had any warning before Harry had flung his arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Oliver hugged the younger man back, letting his calloused hands rub soothingly up his back. He could feel Harry trembling and he wanted nothing more than to hold him and remind him that everything is okay.
"Anytime Harry," Oliver promised, patting the savior's back once more before pulling away from him. He turned his attention to James and tilted the toddler's head up to get his attention.
"You stay with daddy now, okay?" He said sternly, letting his thumb rub at James' cheek to show him he wasn't really mad with him. The toddler nodded, cuddling closer to Harry and the quidditch player smiled. After a few minutes of catching up, small talk really nothing about Ginny, Oliver bid them goodbye and went on with his shopping.
The next time he saw Harry, Oliver had been invited to the Weasley home for Christmas Eve. He did not know why, but he had a feeling it had something to do with Oliver being all alone for the holidays this year and Mrs. Weasley wasn't having any of it.
Just like every time he arrived at the Burrow, Oliver was met with chaos as he stepped through the floo. Only this time it was chaos in the form of children crying and shouting from further in the home. Oliver glanced at Charlie, the unfortunate one who was left with the crying children and then towards the kitchen where Hermione and Mrs. Weasley seemed to be in a screaming match.
"What in Merlin's name is going on?" Oliver gasped, dusting himself off before he scooped one of the crying children into his arms. It was Lily, the little girl wanting to just be held and given attention. Oliver also took notice that James was there, hugging his younger brother protectively as Albus whimpered into his chest. What in the hell happened?
"Mum has lose it!" Charlie exclaimed, bouncing Lucy on his hip to keep her calm. Teddy and Victoire, the oldest of the children were also helping to wrangle the ones that were not being held yet.
"She brought all of us together for the holidays as normal and bloody well insisted that Harry needed to move on from Gin and 'get those children a mother', like honestly!" Charlie continued to rave, something dark twisting in Oliver's chest. He had known how much Harry loved his wife and Ginny would not be easily forgotten.
"So she invited Cho Chang, Cho Chang! Out of all the birds, Cho Chang was the one that my mum picked for Harry. Poor bloke practically spilled pumpkin juice all over himself when she came through the floo! And that's not even the worse part! Apparently Chang is engaged and was coming to tell Harry that she was flattered, but she didn't want to be with him!" The dragon tamer was red in the face, redder than Oliver has ever seen his brother. Oliver couldn't believe Mrs. Weasley hadn't respected Harry or her own daughter enough!
"Where's Harry now?" Oliver asked, cooing at Lily as she slowly fell asleep. He would pass her to Teddy once she fully was under. The 9 year old would know how to hold her at least.
"Lock himself away in one of the rooms, its already hard having Christmas without your wife, let alone three children who ask where mummy is," Charlie informed, looking sadly over at his motherless nephews. It was truly sad. Oliver nodded and carefully handed Lily to Teddy before making his way towards the stairs. Hermione and Mrs. Weasley seemed to have been split apart, Ron whispering soothingly to Hermione in the kitchen. Oliver caught the youngest Weasley's eye and Ron jerked his head upwards.
"Upstairs, all the way at the top," Ron called, Hermione jerking around to see who he was talking to and smiled sadly at him. Oliver nodded his head, already making his way towards the stairs.
"Please don't make him more upset," Hermione begged, something strange in her eyes, but Oliver was not unsettled by it. He knew how close the golden trio was and knew that Hermione and Ron were very protective of him.
"Never," Oliver promised, making his way up the stairs. He could hear Ron mention something about "George is always right" before he was too high to hear them anymore. Oliver did not dwell on what Ron could have meant by that since George was very perceptive and it could have been about anything.
"Harry," Oliver called tentatively when he reached the final platform, his heart clenching at the sound of crying met his ears. He carefully followed the anguished sound and bit his lip at the sight. Harry was sat on the edge of the bed, his Weasley sweater hanging off his skinny shoulders and his face covered in stubble. His fingers were trembling and he looked as if one more thing went wrong he would just disappear into the floor. Oliver wouldn't blame him.
"Merry Christmas," Oliver said softly, coming to sit at his side and gently nudge him with his shoulder. Harry snorted bitterly and rubbed his face with his hands.
"Doesn't feel merry or like Christmas," he muttered, glancing over at Oliver. The quidditch player twitched his lips at Harry and playfully scowled at him.
"Wednesday then?" Oliver suggested, feeling his heart swell when Harry let out another surprise laugh at his awful joke.
"Wednesday." Harry agreed, nodding his head. His small smile drifted off his face as he turned to look at Oliver again.
"Here to give me one of your bloody pep talks?" Oliver quirked his lips and shook his head.
"I mean unless you want one?" Harry snickered and shook his head. The two say there in silence for a second just enjoying each other's presence.
"You got a gorgeous baby girl down there, just wanted to tell you," Oliver broke the silence, watching a small smile spread on Harry's lips once more.
"She's stunning, looks just like her mummy," Harry whispered, looking towards his feet and letting his tears fall once more. Oliver cautiously wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders and rubbed them gently.
"Ginny was brilliant mate, and she wouldn't want you to be sad on the holidays cause of her," Oliver murmured, letting Harry bury his face into his side.
"Not upset about her," Harry mumbled, moving closer to Oliver. Whether it was the protective nature of Oliver that Harry experienced in Hogwarts or the time they spent together after the war, Harry did not know why he felt safer with Oliver's arms around him.
"What then?" Oliver prodded, holding the younger man closer and trying to keep his attention to his hug and not kissing him. The older man did not know when it changed from brotherly, teammate love to romantic love, but he wasn't upset about it. Harry was an attractive man and a good father. You would be a nutter not to think so.
"Mrs. Weasley trying to set me up," Harry mumbled, shrugging his shoulders against Oliver, "I know Gin would like me to move on, but I'm not really into girls like Cho Chang," Oliver scrunched his eyebrows at Harry's words. He remembered hearing about how much Harry had a crush on the Ravenclaw and now he didn't? Granted Ginny and Cho were almost virtually different besides the fact they played quidditch.
"What girls do you fancy then?" Oliver asked, even though this conversation was leaving a bad taste in his throat and he wanted nothing more than to kiss the man before him, but he couldn't do anything like that. This was Harry, not some bloke at a pub.
"The ones that are actually men," Harry shrugged, shocking Oliver. Harry liked blokes?
"But Ginny?" Oliver was puzzled and wanted to ensure he heard Harry correctly.
"She knew, we were going to get a divorce after Lily was born… The 'spark' was gone and we realized that while we have beautiful children, we did not want to be in an unromantic marriage. Ginny deserved to have a husband who could come home and kiss her and care for her, not one that was spending a little bit too much time eyeing up the other aurors in training," Harry explained, biting his lip. He was surprisingly nervous about what Oliver would say about his confession.
Being kissed was not what he expected from the quidditch player. However, that didn't stop Harry from reciprocating the kiss fully. He reached up tentatively and ran his fingers over Oliver's scratchy jaw and smiled when the quidditch player wrapped his arm around him to pull him closer.
Oliver was scared to pull away from the kiss, worried about seeing regret in Harry's eyes. His fear was not a reality however as when Harry broke the kiss, the younger was beaming at him like he did when he caught the snitch for the first time.
Oliver couldn't help, but return the wide grin. Even when they went downstairs and were met with Ron's annoyed groan and George's whoop of happiness as the younger brother handed over a couple galleons. No this was their new beginning and nothing could ruin that for them.
Though Oliver would never have thought that the silly little kiss in Ron's bedroom would lead to Oliver in the bed he shared with Harry, his fiancée, with their (Merlin, Harry was adamant about them being his as well) children cuddled up to him. James and Albus curled up around his stomach, thankfully he had clothing on when the three children decided they wanted to sleep in the adults' bed. Lily was on his chest, red head tucked under his chin. All in all, Oliver was overheated and feeling suffocated, but he wouldn't change it for the world.
"You look rather happy there, Wood," Oliver looked up at Harry's voice, sticking his tongue out at him since it would be hard to talk with the six-year-old on his chest. Harry chuckled at him, getting ready for bed and slipping behind James in the bed, running his fingers through his unruly hair. Harry leaned up to peck Oliver's lips before laying his head down on him.
"Like I expected, you're much comfier than my pillow." Harry teased, smiling wide when Oliver rolled his eyes at him. The older carefully shifted around until he could wrap his arm around Harry, his fingers joining Harry's on the James' head.
"He's worried about Hogwarts," Oliver whispered, gently tapping Harry's hand on top of James' head. "Wants to play quidditch as well, for Gryffindor house," Oliver beamed proudly, knowing he'd cancel all his practices to see his son play for Gryffindor. Hell, he was sure all of his teammates would be there with him, grown wizards hollering over a children's game.
"He'll be fine, he is a lion all the way through," Harry said, stroking James' head and cuddling closer to Oliver. The quidditch player smiled happily, pressing his lips into Lily's hair when she stirred on him. Albus was the deepest sleeper of them all. Even an earthquake couldn't wake him up.
"Hey Oli?" Oliver hummed, already half asleep, the comforting weight of his family around him.
"I love you," Harry whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Oliver's chest. The quidditch player squeezed Harry closer and leaned over to kiss his messy hair.
"Love ya too, Harry," Oliver murmured back, stiffening slightly when Lily whined against his neck. He stared at her when she sat up slightly, her sleepy eyes narrowed at him.
"Quiet papa, trying to sleep," she huffed, already rolling over to go back to sleep. Oliver's eyes welled slightly and he looked over at Harry in surprise. The younger wizard was just as surprised, but he was beaming proudly.
"Papa Oliver, I like that," Harry grinned, rubbing Oliver's stomach to try and relax him. Oliver laid there for a few minutes, willing his tears away. He had never been this happy, not even when he was accepted into the big league quidditch teams. In the six years that he and Harry had been together, none of the kids had ever call him daddy or papa. He was always Oliver or Oli to them. But Harry was right, papa had a nice ring to it.
Oliver carefully lifted Harry's glasses off his face and placed them on the bedside table before settling down to sleep. Him and his little family that he never thought he would have in the first place.
I hope you guys enjoy this one! See you guys next week!