Chapter 12: Decorations

Unlike what they had expected, the boy did not sleep in from his frightful night. In fact, Harry had shot up from the middle of their large bed and started to jump up and down as soon as he realized that his fathers were still slumbering.

Wide smile the child shook Severus by the shoulder, his bright green eyes sparkling in excitement. "Daddy!" He cried, "Daddy! Wake up!"

The Potions master groaned, refusing to get up. He was only shaken harder when he gave an indication that he was awake. "Tom, get your son," he grumbled softly.

A mild chuckle came from the dark lord, "before sunrise he's your son." Which only received a half snort half groan from Severus.

"If you can get your Papa up, I'll get up," Severus bargained.

There was a slight pause in the shaking as Harry processed what his daddy had offered. In the next second he was jumping on top of Tom with a battle cry, now calling for his papa to get up. With the precision that normally scared common wizards, the man struck. His hands wrapped around Harry's waist and threw the child against his chest. The covers served as a prison as Tom curled the both of them underneath, hands tickling the shrieking child.

When he finally stopped, Harry was still giggling. His little hands had come up to press against his Papa's chest, now firmly holding his sleeping robes. "What's got you up so early?" Red eyes peered down at the content child.

"Lights! Me want to put up lights!" Harry explained.

"It's I want to put up lights Harry," Tom corrected gently.

Harry scrunched up his little face but didn't comment. Instead starting to move again in excitement. "Pwease get up! Please!" The slight change in letters was encouraging, but they wanted his grammar to improve as he grew.

With a fake sigh, Tom looked down at the little boy and sat up. His hands wrapped softly around Harry, the dark lord slid his legs from the bed. "We'll go put up the lights, but you need to get Draco and Hermione up. And ask the house elves for coffee," he explained gently.

In the span of a minute Harry had wiggled out of the bed with an excited squeal and screamed for Ixy to get breakfast ready. His little legs pumping as he sprinted from the room to go bombard his cousin down the hall.

Severus had slightly sat up, his eyes following the excited child with a raised brow. "He has too much energy in the morning."

Tom laughed, turning and leaning down to plant a solid kiss on the man's mouth. His body shifted, easily bringing him to tower over his husband. Both hands rested next to Severus' head, lower body resting against the man's own hips. Tom grinned at his husband, who still looked grouchy despite obviously being invited to one of their favorite activities.

"I can share some of my energy with you if you'd like," Tom murmured. He loved the way a light blush colored the man's face, the way he fought to hide just how turned on he was.

"The door's open, he could be back at any moment," Severus groaned.

"You forget," with a flick of his hand Tom performed wandless magic, the door gently shutting and locking. Wards instantly covered the room.

"But he needs to be watched, last night-" Severus was cut off by a high-pitched yelp down the hall, followed by the full belly laugh from Hermione.

"He's with his cousins, he'll be fine." Tom leaned down and planted a kiss on his husband's chin. Another wave of his hand set silencing charms up around the room. He grinned, wicked.

"Any more arguments?" His hips moved in a downward motion, getting the instant reaction from the body beneath him. Tom looked positively like the dark lord as he gained exactly what he wanted. "I didn't think so."

"But daddy and papa are awake!" Harry protested for the tenth time, pouting in the high chair Hermione had placed him in. His hair was wild from sleep, still sticking in every which direction. His pajamas and big green eyes making the child extremely huggable. He looked more like a upset kitten than the full grown wizard he once was.

"I know Harry, but they may be getting… dressed," Hermione explained, looking down at the little child. She wore her hair in a bun, pajamas a little more eloquent than the child. Unlike the rest of the household, whom had grown partial to green, she wore a deep red and gold. Her pajamas were stripped, the Gryffindor logo displayed proudly as a patch just above her heart. The only green had been the slippers she'd permanently stolen from Draco that kept her feet nice and warm.

Her fiancé, on the other hand, sat at the table cradling a cup of coffee. His silver blue eyes not once looking away from the glorious caffeine as he tried to wake himself. Unlike the two with him (whose hair had at least a few wisps loose if not completely messy) his hair was already fixed up. The male wore striped green pajamas, his feet bare as he refused to wear Gryffindor colors. The man could easily be dignified in his attire.

"I no dressed!" Harry argued again. "I here!" He threw a little fist down, the table jumping only slightly.

"It's I'm not dressed and I'm here, Harry." Hermione corrected gently. She placed some toast in front of Draco as the house elves started to fill the table with breakfast. "Your parents will be here soon, why don't you eat and be a good boy?"

"No!" Harry shrieked, arms crossing over his little chest as his lower lip trembled in a pout. "No, I want daddy!" His bright green eyes were turning bright, he was going to start bawling.

"Harry," Hermione tried to reason. Her tone had Draco sitting up, his eyes finally lifting from his drink to look at the little child. "Harry, you're okay. They're going to come down soon."

The tears finally fell, dripping in big rivers down the little boy's face. His mouth opened, and the wail came quickly, his face turning red as he screamed and cried. Hermione couldn't calm him down, no matter how much she tried. Draco had stood and lifted the child into his arms, not getting any reward for his efforts as the little boy wouldn't stop.

He threw a helpless look at Hermione, realizing that this wasn't one of the child's regular fits. Something was wrong. "Harry, they're coming," he repeated Hermione's words. The little boy only shook his head and continued to wail.

"Bad man scary! Daddy! I want Daddy!" He started to shake, his entire body trembling.

"Get my godfather, go!" Draco urged Hermione, rocking Harry as he realized the child was having such a panic that he was having a hard time breathing through his cries. Draco prayed Hermione would be quick, speaking soothing words that seemed to have no effect on the child.

"Harry," Severus appeared in the door, seemingly out of breath as he marched forward. He only wore his pants, as if he hadn't had time to dress before he had come to see his son. The man held out his arms, Harry practically jumping into the open invitation as his little hands grasped the man tightly in front of him.

"Daddy!" he buried his face in Severus' shoulder. His body still trembling although the fit was quickly dying down upon seeing his father in the room. Whatever had spooked Harry was easily soothed by the presence of his parent.

"It's okay," Severus brushed a hand over the child's crazy hair, repeating the motion over and over until Harry finally calmed down. His little body slumping as he relaxed against his father's soothing presence.

"Daddy not here, bad man come back," the child murmured. Instantly Severus' eyes shifted up, his body stiffening as he glanced at the two others in the kitchen. His fury was evident, so much so that Tom paused as he walked into the room to look at everyone in curiosity.

"Where was the bad man Harry?" His voice was soft, but there was a deadly undertone that only the adult could detect.

"No daddy, bad man come back with no daddy!" The child explained incoherently, moving up to look at the man in the face. "Daddy stay!"

Hermione stepped forward, clearing her throat to catch everyone's eyes. She only shifted a little to show she was uncomfortable with all eyes on her, but she thought she understood the child's explanation. "I think he's saying the bad man will come if you're not around…. Isn't that right Harry?" She smiled when the child nodded quickly in agreement.

Instantly it seemed like the room was breathing again, the explosion didn't happen as Severus started towards the table. "The bad man won't come into this house again," Severus explained. "He will stay away from you all. You don't have to be scared."

Harry only pouted and shook his head, holding onto his father harder. When Severus moved to put him in the high chair, it became clear that it wasn't going to be an option. Settling the boy on his lap, everyone took their seats. Tom had managed to throw on a dark green jumper with black slacks, looking handsome as he took a seat next to his husband.

"How about we eat now, hm?" He suggested to the child.

Draco had already moved back to his chair, sipping his coffee once again. His eyes focused over the cup to glance at the little boy, who had finally given up on his tears to settle down and relax in his father's lap. It was sad to see how scared Harry had become, that not even he could calm him down.

Just as they finally settled down, even the little boy agreeing to eat the food that Severus spooned into his mouth, a loud bang made a few of the occupants of the room jump. Remus stepped into the kitchen, shaking his head as he was followed by a grinning Sirius. The two seemed dressed comfortably, ready to spend a day lazing away.

"How's my little Prongslet?" Sirius asked, unaware of what had happened earlier.

"Paddy!" The little child cried in excitement, clapping his hands although he made no motion to go to the man. It was clear the fright from the former night had affected Harry more than they had originally suspected.

Remus, ever the observant one, threw a look at Severus who subtly shook his head. Later, they would speak of what had happened to the child. That was clear.

"We're here to help with the decorations for Christmas," Remus explained, taking an open seat next to Hermione as breakfast popped up in front of him. Sirius quickly joining when he realized he'd be getting fed.

"Lights!" Harry cheered, his back practically plastered to Severus' front.

The two men nodded, grinning broadly at the enthusiasm coming from the little boy. The only thing that distracted Harry was when Tom placed a toast with spread jam in front of him. "Something sweet," he suggested gently.

"Thank you, Papa!" The little boy chirped, learning manners from his constant guardians. The dark lord merely nodded, he wasn't as warm in front of the uncles. However, with everything that had happened he didn't want his child to be so scared.

Severus drank a cup of coffee over his son's head, knowing that he wouldn't be able to focus on his own breakfast until he was sure that his child was okay. He also made sure to place the cup far enough away from Harry so that the little boy wouldn't try to take a sip of the liquid.

They all silently wondered if the child would allow himself to be separated from his fathers. Life would be difficult otherwise.

The tree had to be put up by magic, Harry having squealed in excitement from Hermione's arms as he squirmed to get free. They had chopped it down from outside, Sirius having turned into his dog Animagus to animate the scared child.

Meanwhile, the house elves had taken it upon themselves to find every decoration they could possibly think of. It was only because of Harry's insistence that the family put up the ornaments together that everything wasn't done by magic.

Hermione had taken the task of showing the little one how to handle the ornaments, handing Harry the less fragile ones while the others took control of the glass balls. Tom had disappeared to get some hot chocolate for them all, and Severus sat on the ground going through various decorations.

"Harry," Sirius took the opportunity while Remus and Draco were distracted to slink over towards the child. "Want to pull a prank on your daddy?" He whispered.

Green eyes focused on the man, lips pouting. "Prank mean."

"It'll make your daddy laugh, want to do it?" Sirius grinned, still never truly letting go of the old school rivalry, even if the two men weren't trying to kill each other.

"Daddy laugh?" Harry looked intrigued, lifting himself up and away from Hermione, whom was trying to perfect the placement of each ornament on the tree. Sirius grinned, leaning down to whisper in the child's ear.

From his pocket, Sirius pulled out a small tube, a string attached to the side. It was a muggle confetti popper that the man had used magic to change. He held the object to Harry after instructing the boy not to pull the string until he was aiming the other end at his father.

He then pushed the toddler forward towards the man still sitting next to an open cardboard box. Trying his best to look innocent when Severus glanced up and noticed his proximity to Harry.

"Daddy!" Harry cried, smiling as he moved towards his father. His big green eyes glowed at the thought of making his dad laugh. He stumbled as he moved over a string of garland and fell into Snape's lap.

He gave a surprised shout, Severus moving to pick him up. The man flipped him to set him against his chest, and without thinking Harry accidently pulled the string on the object, aiming it directly at Sirius.

A huge popping sound filled the room before glitter and confetti flew from the object, painting the man who hadn't been able to dodge in bright pink. It was silent for only a moment, Harry shocked at the sound and curling so close to his father he may as well have not been there at all. But then Severus began to laugh. And it was contagious.

Sirius laughed. Hermione laughed. And Harry relaxed in the safety of his father's arms.