Severus sat upon a park bench, Draco seated atop a warm blanket in front of him. The freshly turned one-year old sat upright, occupying himself with a small pile of colored blocks. Banging them together, he babbled a few words along with a long string of incoherent nonsense. Having just had his first birthday party a week ago, the muggle blocks Severus had bought for him were Draco's current obsession.
"Sevus?" Draco waved a red block at him. "Pway?"
Unable to ignore such a request, Severus set aside his book and lowered himself atop the blanket. Grabbing a yellow square, and then a black one, he made a small tower for the boy. Grinning, Draco carefully placed his red block atop the stack with Severus's help.
"Big." Draco smiled, wide enough to reveal the few teeth he possessed.
"That is a big tower, isn't it?" Severus agreed, always eager to expand Draco's vocabulary.
"Boom!" Draco yelled, collapsing the tower with a swipe of his hand.
"Did the tower fall down?" Severus asked, stressing the word down.
"Down." Draco slurred the unfamiliar word, looking cautiously to Severus for approval.
"Clever boy." Severus purred, patting him atop his blonde head.
Draco tapped his chin a few times in response, before turning back to his blocks. Favoring the color red lately, he focused on the toy painted the same color, waving it through the air wildly. Stopping every now and then, to make sure his stuffed dragon was still where he'd left it, Draco continued to babble on without a care.
All went well for the next twenty minutes, until Draco decided to start a game of fetch with Severus. Tossing a purple block a few feet away, he whimpered pathetically until Severus retrieved it and dropped it back in the pile. Unfortunately for Severus, his Godson had decided one round was nowhere near enough to satiate him. As soon as Severus sat back down, the blonde boy tossed a yellow block off into the grass.
Sighing, Severus again fetched the wooden toy. But before he placed it back besides Draco, he looked the boy straight in his large, blue eyes.
"No, Draco." He said firmly. "No throwing."
The future Slytherin narrowed his eyes, appearing to debate the sincerity of his Godfather's words. Challenging Severus, he jerked his chin upward in a defiant manner and plucked a pink block up.
"Don't do it." Severus warned, sitting back down.
Draco, in a manner most like Lucius, sniffed haughtily. Severus simply smirked, understanding that it was perfectly natural for toddlers to push their boundaries. It came as absolutely no surprise to him when the little Malfoy rebelliously tossed his toy.
"Sevus!" Draco whined, when Severus made no move to collect it.
"Sevus!" Draco barked, when Severus remained seated after a long minute.
"SEVUS!" Draco wailed despondently, looking sincerely remorseful for his actions.
"You got yourself into this situation." Severus lectured. "Play with another block."
His Godson growled, actually growled, and crossed his arms. Severus thought nothing of it, until he saw the all too familiar Slytherin gleam shine in Draco's eyes. Clearly the toddler had some sort of plan concocted, and that was enough to slightly worry Severus. The last time that gleam had appeared, Bellatrix Lestrange wound up stuck to a wall for a half a day, having enraged Draco by pinching his cheeks.
"Mine." Draco coldly informed Severus, pulling himself into a standing position by using the bench.
Severus held his breath, wondering if sheer stubbornness was going to be the motivator behind Draco taking his fist steps.
"Go on, Draco." Severus prodded. "Go get it."
Draco made no reply, clearly pouting about Severus's noncompliance. It was with one wobbly step that his Godson moved forward, taking both hands of the bench. Waiting until he'd regained his balance, Draco made another step.
Unfortunately, after his fifth step, Draco face-planted into the quilt after tripping over a block. Growling angrily, his little face turned as red as Molly Weasley's hair. Sensing an impending tantrum, one that one surely involve accidental magic, Severus hurried to his feet and scooped up the block Draco had been in pursuit of.
Kneeling down a just a couple of feet away from Draco, he waggled the toy at his future students face. At first, the Slytherin-in-training looked furious, but then a look of determination crossed his face. Clearly eager to prove to Severus he could do what he wanted, Draco climbed back to his feet after a long three minutes of struggling.
"Come on, Dragon." Severus coaxed. "Come on."
Draco babbled something angrily, no doubt cursing Severus for forcing him into working for what he wanted, and stumbled forward as gracelessly as a drunkard. Nearly toppling over after just a couple steps, Draco took the time to rebalance before pressing onward. It was only once he was a few steps away from Severus that a grin graced his face, and a look of pride erased his frustration.
Severus held his arms out, and grinned brightly when Draco fell into them. Smiling brightly as Draco giggled happily at his newly acquired skill, Severus jumped upward and squeezed him in a tight hug.
"Clever boy, Dragon!" Severus praised. "You're first steps!"