As soon as the two of them stepped out of the Floo and into the waiting room, a medi witch approached them. Her face was stern and she had an air of business about her. Harry's hand was clenching Draco's tightly, but Draco didn't mind. There was too much else to worry about that took precedence over lost blood circulation.

"I'm glad you came as quickly as you did, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy," said the medi witch, nodding to them both respectfully. Then, looking at Harry alone, she said, "My name is Agatha, I'm one of the healers assigned to Mrs. Tonks and the one who wrote you the letter requesting your presence. Before I take you to Teddy I'll need to know when the last time you both were in contact with Mrs. Tonks was." Draco's eyes widened.

"Just yesterday," he told the healer.

"Then you'll both need to be screened before we can allow you contact with Teddy." Healer Agatha used her wand to summon an oxygen filter for her mouth and nose along with a pair of gloves. "I apologise, but I'll need you both to keep a distance, and please refrain from touching anything. Follow me." Her white gloves made sharp snaps against her wrist as she finished putting them on. Draco thought it sounded much louder than it probably had been, which led him to believe that he was more terrified than he was allowing himself to feel, if his brain was exaggerating something small like that.

Harry led the way behind the hurried woman. Draco never thought he would thank his father again for the ability to mask his inner feelings, but he was doing it then. If he didn't have the ability he would probably be a hyperventilating mess, and from the looks of Harry, he couldn't let that happen. It was obvious to Draco that Harry was not taking this situation very well, understandably so. He was keeping his thoughts to himself, but there were waves of foreboding rippling off of him.

They were brought to a very white, very bare room nearby the waiting area. Agatha cast several spells on herself that Draco was unfamiliar with, but he assumed they were meant to protect her from any germs they could pass on to her if they were infected.

"I need to see Teddy," Harry said through clenched teeth. Draco squeezed his hand and pleaded with his eyes for Harry to just calm down so they could get the screening over with. Harry wasn't paying attention, however, so Draco could only offer his silent support through his hand.

"I realise that, Mr. Potter, but it could be lethal to him if we were to let you handle him before we know for certain that you and Mr. Malfoy aren't infected. If you don't already know, Spattergroit is no matter to be taken lightly, especially not when it concerns an infant. Teddy is in safe hands and can wait, if it means he will stay healthy." Harry said nothing, but Draco could feel through his hand that his body was tensed, wound tighter than Draco had seen him in a long time.

Finally Harry nodded his cooperation. Agatha's evaluative gaze moved over the two wizards standing before her. Draco was fully dressed, but as she began casting spells on him he felt more naked than clothed. Her lips moved, barely noticeably, over unheard words and her wrists made soft curving movements. There was nothing coming from the tip of her wand, but Draco could feel very well the magic that caressed his still form like tentacles.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked nervously. He thought that maybe it would calm him to know what was going on.

"Augury prognosis charms," the medi witch replied shortly. "They detect any illnesses that you have and that are developing within you." Her tone implied that Draco should be quiet if he wanted this to go quickly.

Several moments passed before Draco could physically feel the charms being directed at Harry instead of him. His heart began pumping expeditiously in his chest as he awaited the results of the augury prognosis charms. It took just as long for Agatha to screen Harry, and in the time it took her Draco's angst only built. Finally, after what seemed like at least fifteen minutes from when they first entered the room, Agatha ended her incanting and replaced her wand in her robes.

"Well, boys, you're both very lucky." Draco let out an audible breath of relief, though he was still worried about his aunt and cousin. "It looks as though you're both clear of any illnesses and diseases, including Spattergroit."

"Then can I please see my godson?" Harry asked, a new level of impatience staining his words. Agatha's eyebrows tilted together in the middle and her reply came in the form of a curt nod before she opened the door to the room and let them out.

Down several corridors they went, and up as many flights of stairs, until they reached an incredibly secure looking iron door. Agatha took her wand from her robes and cast a few unlocking charms that were as unfamiliar to Draco as the prognosis charms she'd used on him.

"Right through here," she said, holding the door open for them. As the door shut once more, she told them, "Teddy is in the healer's station. He's been inconsolable for a while now, and I think it would do him some good to see a friendly face." Though Agatha sounded cross and strict, her eyes softened at her mention of Teddy's bad mood. "Mrs. Tonks and her grandson have been here since early this morning. I'm sure he's feeling just as distraught as you two must be." Harry nodded, but kept silent.

"Why wasn't Harry contacted sooner?" Draco found himself asking, his voice on the brink of irritation. "If Teddy has been inconsolable for a while, why were we just informed that we need to come get him?"

"Mrs. Tonks' scanning took much longer than yours did due to the simple fact that we now know what we're looking for, and didn't then," Agatha explained. She sounded to Draco as though her patience was wearing thin. "Being scanned for illnesses is a very draining process, and by the time we discovered what was going on Mrs. Tonks was thoroughly exhausted. It was only right that we let her rest before asking her what she'd like done with her grandson.

"As soon as she recovered from her exhaustion we healers asked her who she preferred to take responsibility for her grandson, and only then did we contact you." Agatha narrowed her eyes, only slightly. "My apologies if this was not satisfactory action on our parts. We healers do the very best that we can to ensure our patients' rights are not infringed upon and that they are taken care of well." Her eyes remained on both Harry and Draco, flicking back and forth, as if she could watch her words sink into them. Draco found himself feeling oddly the same as he had every time he'd thought he'd gotten away with something as a child, only for his mother to scold him later on. "Now, let's take you to Teddy."

Just as they began walking once more a medi wizard came into the corridor from one of the adjacent doors, holding a wailing Teddy. Harry let go of Draco's hand and rushed forward to take Teddy from the wizard's arms. Draco stood where he was, watching as Teddy clung desperately to Harry's shirt. Teddy's piercing cry turned into a more tired sounding pout, but he was by no means untroubled.

"Shh, Teddy," Harry soothed. "It's alright, I'm here with you. Everything is okay." Harry held Teddy close to his chest and walked back over to Draco and Agatha. "He's hungry," Harry told the witch. "When was the last time he ate?"

"Just an hour ago. He should be━"

"Can someone please go get him a bottle? I don't have anything for him. I didn't think to stop by Andromeda's first."

"Yes, well that's probably a good thing. Had you gone there you would've been at even more risk of getting infected. I will go and warm him some formula. Healer Julian, here, can explain what's going on to you." The surly healer strutted away quickly, only for the medi wizard, presumably Julian, to take her place.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your evening," Healer Julian said with a sad smile.

"When was the last time Teddy's nappy was changed?" Harry asked flatly.

"I actually just did that," the healer explained patiently, topping it off with a warm smile. Already Draco could tell this healer was more people-friendly than the other. Harry visibly relaxed, but not much. "By now I'm sure you're aware that Mrs. Tonks has contracted Spattergroit somehow. It's contractible due to fungus, but our science teams haven't been able to deduce which kind. We aren't even sure if there are multiple strains of fungus that cause it, or just one, really. This makes it very imperative that you do not return to her home, as it's highly possible that that is where the infection began, not to mention anything she may have gotten bodily fluids on is likely to spread the disease.

"All our tests are conclusive. Mrs. Tonks is very ill. She's been quarantined in room E27, just down this hall. I would let you have a peek at her, but in the short time since she was diagnosed her condition has gotten worse. I'm afraid she's looking a bit worse for the wear."

"I want to see her," Draco said. "She's my aunt, she's family. I need to see if she's alright." Julian looked apprehensive, but nodded anyway.

Teddy was still fussing, and Harry seemed more concerned about him at the moment, so they stayed behind. Draco and Julian walked side by side down the hall and Draco nodded to Agatha, who was coming back with a bottle for Teddy. Not too far down the hall they stopped in front of door E27. Draco looked through the thick glass pane in the door and nearly gasped.

"It's very fast acting," Julian said quietly. "If she hadn't come to us this morning for her scheduled physical her condition probably would've gone unnoticed, putting her grandson at higher risk. It's amazing to me that he didn't already contract it." Draco had to agree that it was incredibly lucky that Teddy hadn't been infected as well. He was more thankful than he could say, about that; who knows how bad it could've been had Teddy fallen ill as well?

"So… those swells on her face…"

"Pustules," Julian answered. "The liquid inside of them is likely infectious, though we can't be sure, and if they burst they'll scar. We've done all we can to try and keep them from popping up, but there's only so much we can do."

"So there's no cure." It wasn't a question. He knew there was no cure. If nobody had found a cause for it yet, they most likely had not found a remedy.

"There isn't one, no. There are certain treatments, though they've shown to do little in the way of helping."

"How long will she be sick?" Draco's eyes roamed her sleeping form. Her eyes were closed, her face relaxed. If not for the purple pustules on her face and the green tint to her complexion, Draco wouldn't have believed her ill.

"There's no way of knowing. It could take months, it could take a year, it could take weeks…" Julian paused before speaking again. "I'm not telling you this next piece of information to worry you; I only want you to have a realistic view on the circumstances. This is a disease that people die from. While Mrs. Tonks has proven to be very strong and healthy in the past, this is an illness that can steal the strength from people. That is not to say that she will die, but I need you to understand how serious this is. As a healer I cannot lie to you and tell you that things will most definitely be fine."

Draco nodded, though his head suddenly felt five kilograms heavier. He took one last look at his aunt, who he had just begun to know, and turned from the window. Down the hall he could see Harry leaning against the wall of the corridor, cradling Teddy and feeding him from a bottle.

"Is there any way we can talk to her while she's here?" Draco asked softly.

"You can write to her. There is no guarantee that the infection won't spread to her uvula and take away her ability to speak, though. This would make it impossible for us to write down her responses," Julian informed him as the two of them began walking slowly back toward Harry and Teddy. "It's very common for that to happen. I do suggest writing to her, still. Were I in her position I would want any form of communication possible. Quarantine is never easy. She will feel very alone, I'm sure, and would probably like very much to hear from her family and friends."

"I'll write," Draco promised. Even if she didn't have the ability to speak, to have the medi witches or wizards write her response, Draco would write to her. After the kindness she showed him the day before he felt he owed her that much, at least.

"Then we'll make sure your letters get to her." Draco nodded solemnly before returning to Harry.

"Are you ready to go home?" Harry didn't take his eyes off of the nearly sleeping infant in his arms.

"Yes, I am," he said softly.

"There's a fireplace in the healer's station that I would be glad to let the three of you use," Julian informed them. "I'll show you to it."

Upon arriving home, Harry remembered that they had no place for Teddy to sleep, no nappies or bum wipes, no bottles aside from the one Julian said they could take with them━ which was close to empty━ and nothing to refill it with. Harry knew he could Transfigure Teddy a decent crib, but he wasn't sure it would be sanitary to Transfigure bottles. It was clear to him that they needed to go shopping.

"Draco," Harry began as he sat on his favorite sofa in the drawing room. "One of us needs to stay here with Teddy while the other goes shopping for him." Draco sat down beside him and placed a warm hand on his thigh. "I think I'll have a better idea of what he needs, but I want to know if you'll be comfortable here alone with him." Harry was aware that Draco had only met his cousin once, and though he knew to burp him and how to hold him, he wasn't sure Draco would feel confident being alone with Teddy.

"I can stay here with him," Draco said, sounding sure of himself. Harry had faith in him, but was still hesitant.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Well, he's sleeping, so I'm fairly sure it won't take a whole lot of effort to care for him. Are you sure there's anywhere open right now?" Harry checked his watch.

"It's still early enough that some muggle stores will be open," he replied. "I'll try to be quick, but if you need help with anything please firecall Molly. I'm sure she'd be over in an instant if she knew you needed her."

"I'll call her if I need to." Draco spread his arms and Harry reluctantly handed the sleeping infant over to him. "He's so small," Draco whispered.

Harry stood up carefully, making sure not to jostle the sofa too much, then kissed Draco softly on his forehead. Draco smiled up at him and shooed Harry out with his free hand. Harry sighed, gave one last look at Teddy, and left the drawing room. He made a detour to his room to collect some money, making sure to Transfigure it to muggle money before pocketing it. Part of him felt guilty for not getting it exchanged as true muggle money, and he told himself he needed to have some set aside for situations such as this. As he walked down the creaking stairs of Grimmauld Place Harry made a mental list of the things he would need for Teddy. He hoped he'd brought along enough money, but it would be okay if he had to make another trip tomorrow in case he forgot something.

The store he'd Apparated to was a large muggle chain, one that Harry knew was open twenty four hours. It didn't seem very busy as he walked out from behind the dumpster near the entrance, which was for the better. Waiting in line was usually what took longest at stores like these, if his memories served him correctly. Harry started a bit when the automatic door opened for him, but he played it off as though he had a sudden itch on the back of his neck. Nobody was watching him anyway.

Following signs through the store━ and forcing himself not to cast a silencing charm on the squeaky wheel of his cart━ Harry finally found the baby section of it. His eyes widened at all the things a baby might need. Was Teddy old enough for a toothbrush? He couldn't remember Andromeda brushing his gums, so perhaps not. Then again, he'd rarely been over to see them early or late enough to see their morning and night routines, so he grabbed one just in case. Harry knew Teddy didn't need baby food, but he took ten cans of formula for sensitive stomachs off the nearby shelf. It crossed his mind that ten was probably too much, but, not knowing how much Teddy would need or how long they'd have him, he wanted to be prepared. He didn't think Teddy had a sensitive stomach, but he also didn't know what kind Andromeda gave him.

"What is this?" Harry mumbled to himself. There was a small, strange, bulbous object that looked as though it was meant to baste a turkey. Reading the package he saw that it was a nasal aspirator, meant to clear snot from a baby's nose. Did Teddy need that? Harry had never felt more lost in his life, and that was saying something.

Deciding that Teddy didn't really need a nasal aspirator, Harry continued down the aisle. There were so many sizes of nappies, but the packaging thankfully had the weight of the child in mind per size. Teddy couldn't be more than seven or eight kilograms, so he grabbed a box of one hundred and ninety eight diapers in size one as well as a bulk box of bum wipes. Again, he thought that might be too many, but he couldn't know for sure.

Moving on, Harry grabbed two double packs of bottles and a bottle scrubber, a pack of five towels, several plush baby blankets and some swaddle cloths. He didn't get much further before he also tossed in sharp edge covers, electrical outlet covers (even though he didn't think Number 12 had outlets), a kit with a thermometer, nail clippers, and other hygiene tools, and finally bath soap and a rubber duck.

Then he happened upon the clothing section. It was huge, and from a first glance he could see already that there were several outfits he'd love to see on Teddy. He had to admit that the baby girl clothes were often times cuter than the ones meant for boys, but there was enough of a selection of both that it didn't really matter to him. Checking to make sure the sizes were correct, Harry tossed in outfit after outfit, not really counting. They were just so little and cute, how could he not buy them all?

"These shoes!" Harry couldn't stop himself from exclaiming when he saw the miniscule baby shoes at the end of one rack of clothes. Were babies' feet really that small? How had he not noticed? He wasn't sure if Teddy would need shoes, but he grabbed several pairs anyway, along with four packs of socks.

As he was getting ready to head towards the checkouts he noticed an aisle of toys and wandered down that lane, too. Teddy probably wouldn't have much to play with at home. After stocking up on toys labeled three to six months he decided he'd bought enough and forced himself to go to the checkout.

The woman scanning his items looked confused by the quantity of things he was buying, but she kept any thoughts or questions to herself, which Harry was thankful for. He didn't really know how to explain why he'd bought so much anyway. She rang his items up and bagged them all, and Harry placed the many bags back into his cart. He hadn't realised how much he'd actually bought until the total was in his face in neon green numbers.

"It looks like you found everything alright," the cashier said with a lighthearted chuckle.

"I did, yeah," Harry said smiling, his cheeks betraying him with heat. He paid the woman the proper amount and was walking away when she called out to him.

"Congratulations to you and your wife on the baby!"

Harry stopped in his tracks, blinked several times, and continued out of the store without responding. He replaced his cart and collected the heavy bags— which weighed down his arms severely— walked out of the store, hid behind the dumpster, and Disapparated home.

Harry hadn't realised how long it had taken him to find all of Teddy's things. By the time he made his way back to the drawing room, both Teddy and Draco were asleep on the couch. Draco had his back turned away from the back of the sofa with Teddy tucked in his arms on the inside, right against his chest. Harry could've cried from the attack of adorableness on his senses. He was in half a mind to leave them there just like they were, but he knew that Draco was bound to have a horrible backache in the morning if he didn't move. Aside from that, even the slight angle of the couch seat had Harry worried that Draco might roll forward and accidently crush Teddy. It was as Draco said: he was so tiny. At that point he knew he needed a camera, not only to keep these instances documented to look back on fondly, but also to show Andromeda when she was healthy again. Harry pushed away the 'if' his brain tried to add to that thought. He'd handled enough heavy emotions for one night and decided not to let himself go back there just yet.

With the feeling of interrupting a very special moment, Harry shook Draco's shoulder gently. Instead of twitching violently awake, as Harry had half expected him to do, Draco woke slowly, blinking in a sluggish way and inhaling as though he'd been holding his breath.

"Is it morning already?" Draco asked in a sleep fogged voice. Harry tried desperately not to grin, but it couldn't really be helped. Half-asleep Draco was probably the cutest Draco he'd seen so far.

"No, but you can't sleep on the sofa," Harry told him in a whisper. "I've bought all of the things Teddy will need… and probably more than he needs, I'll admit. I may have swayed a little too far toward the cautious side."

"What all did you buy?" Draco began the slow and careful process of sitting up, doing his best not to wake Teddy in the process.

"Erm…" Harry decided to let Draco see for himself. He'd set the many bags down around him and there was no way possible that Draco could miss them.

"Really, Harry?" Draco said with a flat stare.

"I didn't know what he'd need!" Harry defended quickly. "Who knows how long we'll have him. I want him to have everything he could need while he's with us."

"Don't you think this is a bit overboard, though?" Draco thumbed open one of the bags near his feet and counted under his breath. "Ten cans of formula. Again I ask, really, Harry?"

"Overboard," Harry laughed. "Says the bloke who spent his childhood in a manor and was probably given anything he looked at for too long in the market."

"My parents rarely took me to market. They didn't want me exposed to people they didn't approve of."

"Is that supposed to be a counter-argument?" Harry was in a teasing mood, perhaps because of how disheveled Draco's appearance was, and how he'd found him and Teddy. His hair was tousled from sleep and his shirt was crooked. It was almost too much for Harry. The fact that Draco was holding the sweetest sleeping infant he'd seen didn't help matters much, either. In fact, he found his heart clenching at the sight of Draco holding Teddy in a way it hadn't when they'd been visiting Andromeda the day before. Maybe it was that they were in their home, or how relaxed and natural Draco looked holding Teddy.

"My point is… You know what? You're right, it's probably best that we're overprepared. We aren't parents, so we couldn't possibly know all the ins and outs of having a baby."

"That's an interesting way to phrase it," Harry said with an amused snort. Draco leveled him with a glare.

"You know what I meant."

Harry merely smirked, took his wand from his pocket, and levitated the bags. "I'm going to make Teddy's crib in my room." Catching the unspoken suggestion, Draco gently stood up and followed Harry and the floating bags to his bedroom.

"You can lay Teddy in the middle of my bed, for now," Harry said as he searched his room for something he could turn into a crib.

"I don't want to put him down," Draco admitted shyly. Harry turned and gave Draco a strange half smile that probably expressed the mixture of surprise and pride he felt.

"You're going to have to eventually. He's used to sleeping in a crib by now."

Harry decided that the chair to his writing desk would work best for the moment and tried his best to match his Transfigured version of a crib to the one in Teddy's nursery at Andromeda's house. It looked pretty close. He tested the side bars, wiggling them back and forth, to make sure it was sturdy before taking one of his pillows and turning it into a mattress for the crib .

"Damn, I forgot sheets," Harry mumbled.

Shrugging, he searched the bags of baby things until he found the pack of blankets, then Transfigured one into a crib sheet. It was probably the softest fabric Harry had ever felt in his life, and for a moment he found himself envying Teddy's luxurious bed. Babies got the best things, it seemed. Sighing, Harry levitated the crib towards the back of his room and smiled in satisfaction at how normal it looked there. He supposed that was simply because any piece of furniture would've looked nice in that spot, only he hadn't noticed until now.

"Should I lay him in there, then?" Draco whispered. "Are you sure it's sturdy?"

"Want to climb in and test it yourself?" Draco sent another glare his way, but went over to the crib anyway and placed Teddy lightly onto his back, then covered him with one of the blankets. Teddy's eyes opened briefly, but closed again a second later. He'd had a very long and tiring day, too, and Harry hoped he would sleep through the night.

For a while Harry and Draco just stood there staring at Teddy's sleeping form. It didn't feel as strange as Harry had thought it would, having Teddy here with them. Not that he'd had much time to think on it. It was all rather sudden, he knew, but it still seemed to fit. Teddy seemed to fit.

Draco glanced back at Harry over his shoulder and came to stand beside him, wrapping his arm around Harry's waist and leaning into him. Harry welcomed this gesture; it was more comforting than Draco probably understood.

"He looks so peaceful," Draco whispered.

"He does," Harry agreed just as quietly. He had to wonder if Draco had the strange feeling that they were playing house, and when Draco spoke next he thought he did.

"Are we a family now? I mean, it's temporary, of course, but still. It feels… right. Aside from how it came to happen, that is," he added sullenly.

"I think so, too. Maybe we are a family now. Or at least, we can pretend until Andromeda gets out of the hospital." No, not if. When. Because she would. She had to.

"Harry…" Draco trailed off, as though he was struggling to say what was on his mind. "I don't mean to sound cryptic, and I do think we should stay positive, but… there is the chance that she won't get better."

"Can we please not?" Harry stepped away from Draco and went over to the group of bags on the floor near his bed. It reminded him of the time he and Draco had gone clothes shopping, except now there were at least twice as many bags sitting there.

"I'm sorry," Draco murmured. "Julian told me━"

"Please, Draco," Harry interrupted, throwing a sharp look over his shoulder. "Please not now. I don't want to think about what Julian said, I don't want to think about 'if.' I just want to let this be for now. I know what could happen just as well as you do. I'd really like to not think about it." Draco came to kneel beside Harry.

"I understand. Do you want help sorting this stuff out?" The smile Draco gave Harry was full of warmth and tenderness, and Harry knew that part of Draco must be glad not to discuss what could happen in the future when it came to Andromeda's health.

"I'd really like that," Harry said, sending Draco a smile he hoped was matching.

Draco grabbed one of the bags of clothes and began taking them off their hangers and folding them. Harry took the bag of bath time things and told Draco he'd be back in a moment, then brought it to the loo. Once he'd put the towels in the cabinet there, and the soap on the edge of the tub next to the duck, he went back to the bedroom. Draco had folded the second and third bag of clothes already, probably with magic.

"There's an empty drawer at the bottom of my dresser. I think his clothes should all fit there," Harry said. He took one of the piles and put them in that drawer and Draco shortly followed his actions.

"How long do you expect him to be here?" Draco asked teasingly. "He'll probably grow out of this size before he can wear all of these outfits."

"I couldn't decide what to get, so I got one of each outfit in his size," Harry said bashfully. He really hadn't intended to buy so much for Teddy, and he knew he'd gotten carried away. Next time he'd make Draco come with him, if he thought he could control his urge to buy every dinosaur print stretch and grow in sight. Harry had the suspicion that it wouldn't be that easy for Draco either.

"Well it seems like he'll be stocked up on clothes and nappies for the next month at least."

"Better to over-prepare than under-prepare." Harry shrugged.

"Alright, but does he really need all of these toys?" The bag in Draco's hand was not the only one full of toys meant for infants Teddy's age.

"How many toys did you have as a child?" Draco rolled his eyes at Harry's question.

"I'll just drop it, then."

"That's what I thought." Harry took his wand from his pocket once more and Transfigured one of the plastic bags into a large chest to store Teddy's toys in, then quietly placed the contents of both toy-filled bags into it.

"What do I do with these?" Harry turned and saw that Draco was holding the packages of swaddling cloths.

"Er, just set them on my writing desk for now."

"And these?" The outlet plugs and sharp corner covers.

"Those can go…" Harry looked around his room again, which was starting to feel too small for everything he'd bought. He remembered there was a closet in the hall near his room and thought that would be a decent spot for them. "In the closet down the hall." Draco nodded and left the room only to come back a moment later.

"I'm assuming these can go in the kitchen," Draco said, referring to the bottles and formula.

"I'd like to keep one can and bottle in here in case he gets hungry in the middle of the night, but the rest can go down to the kitchen. Again Draco replied with a nod and took the bags of formula and bottles downstairs, leaving one of each behind on Harry's writing desk.

As soon as Harry couldn't hear Draco's footsteps anymore fear hit him like a tidal wave, shaking him to his core. How was he going to handle taking care of Teddy? He had no idea what babies needed, even after the month he'd spent visiting Andromeda and helping with Teddy. There were so many things he was beginning to realise he was clueless about. If there was some sort of emergency, he knew he could go to St. Mungo's, but not every situation would require the hospital. What would he do when he needed to go back to work? Without much thought on it, he'd already decided to take off a week in order to adjust. Kingsley wouldn't mind if he knew what was going on. But when he went back? How would Draco feel about being at home alone with Teddy for up to twelve hours every day? He could always call on Molly, but what if something happened and Harry wasn't there to help?

Worries and fears flooded Harry's mind to the point where he felt he needed to sit down. Walking backwards, he found the edge of his bed with the backs of his thighs and stumbled into a sitting position on his mattress.

When Draco came back to Harry's bedroom he found his boyfriend sitting on the edge of his bed, a look of panic painting his face. Draco's eyebrows furrowed. He'd been fine when Draco had gone downstairs. What had happened in the time it had taken him to put the formula in the pantry?

Walking towards Harry he asked, "Are you okay?" Harry nodded, but it was obvious he wasn't. Draco glanced at Teddy long enough to see the subtle rise and fall of his chest and knew he was fine. Draco sat beside Harry and took his hand. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I'm scared." That much was clear.

"Of what? Teddy's sleeping, he's safe, we're both here together." Harry's face turned slowly to Draco, which was when he noticed the moisture pooling in his eyes. The bright green that usually met his gaze was murkey, reminding Draco of the thick lake water seen through the Slytherin common room windows.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Harry whispered in a shaking breath. "I don't know how to take care of a baby. What if━ what if Teddy hates it here? What if he can't get used to it? He's spent almost every day of his life with Andromeda, how is he going to deal with being away from her? What if something happens and we don't know what to do?" Harry's voice was frantic and one tear had escaped the corner of his left eye.

"Harry," Draco said, trying to sound as calm as he could when he was beginning to realise Harry was right to be worried. "We'll take this one day━ no, one moment━ at a time. We have no way of knowing what will happen, but we have people who can help us. Molly's had enough children that I'd think her mad if she couldn't offer some decent advice. And, though I hate to admit it, Granger… Hermione has a good eye for logic. If she can't offer advice, perhaps she can find us a book on parenting, or babies in general." Draco had thought using Granger's first name would help distract Harry from his fears. He had thought correctly. "You're not alone in this. I'm right here with you, and I promise that I will do whatever I can to help. I'll be fine here with Teddy while you work. He'll keep me from being bored, I think." It had crossed Draco's mind just as quickly as he'd denied the thought, that Andromeda would be able to write to them and offer advice. He wasn't sure how long she'd be able to speak in order to have letters written, so it was best not to bring that up. But that thought also reminded him that he needed to write to her before he went to bed, something he was eager to do after the exhaustion he'd settled into by sleeping on the sofa earlier.

"Thank you, Draco."

Draco had been about to reply when he found himself being pulled into a tighter embrace than they'd shared before. He could almost feel Harry's desperation, his fear, his need for comfort. Draco was more than willing to offer the comfort, chase away the fear, and ease that desperation. He returned the hug with a fierce need to protect Harry and forced every bit of compassion as he could into it. It wasn't difficult to feel the lifting and falling of Harry's shoulders as he let his grief from the day out into the space where Draco's neck and shoulder met. What was difficult was forcing himself not to kiss every one of those tears away and keep on hugging Harry. That was what he needed, and at that moment Draco thought that he would be willing to give Harry whatever he needed, as long as he kept clinging to him like this, like he was the only person in the world he could go to for comfort.

"I love you, Harry," Draco whispered.

Harry's soft and strained gasps and exhales paused only momentarily before resuming again. It didn't go unnoticed that Harry's arms tightened around him. Draco didn't need to hear Harry say those words back to him; in his heart he had a feeling Harry felt the same. If he needed to take time before admitting it, Draco would wait. As long as it took, he would wait for Harry.

Eventually Harry had calmed down enough to release Draco and wipe his wet face on his sleeve. It was an action that Draco's parents would've condemned, had they been there to see it. They weren't, and Draco didn't care if Harry's tears ruined a nice shirt. He wasn't his parents, and for the first time in months that revelation felt wonderful to admit.

"Are you alright for now?" Draco asked gently. Harry nodded, and this time Draco believed him. "I'm going to use your parchment to write to Andromeda, if you don't mind. I want to keep her as updated as we can."

"That's fine." Harry's words were rough nettles, scraping against his throat, by the sounds of it.

Draco could feel Harry's eyes on his back as he crossed the room to the writing desk. In the drawer there he found parchment, inkpot, and quill, and set to work writing to his aunt. It wasn't a long letter, but not much had happened. He supposed that was a good thing, in the end, since it hadn't been very much time that they'd had Teddy with them. When he finished the letter he replaced the quill and inkpot, then moved to leave the room.

"I'll see you in the morning," Draco said to Harry. "If you need me at any point between now and then, come get me." Harry didn't say anything, which Draco took as answer enough and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Harry called out after him. Draco turned back around and held the door frame, raising his eyebrows in question. "Can you… Please don't go." Harry's mouth opened and shut, reminding Draco of a very melancholy fish. It would be wrong to laugh at a time like this, though, so he banished the image in his mind. "I don't want to be alone." His eyes flickered to Teddy's crib and Draco understood.

"I'll stay," he said. Draco summoned his favorite pyjamas from his room and was selfishly thankful that Harry wasn't in a joking mood. For some reason Harry really liked to tease him for wearing the shirt he'd forced Draco to get in the first place.

Without caring who saw what, the two of them changed into their sleep wear. Harry climbed easily into his own bed, but Draco felt strange and stood beside the bed feeling gawky. When Harry rolled towards him and gave him a pleading look Draco was lost to it. Since when had he bent to the will of Harry's gaze? He blamed being around Teddy for making him soft, but somewhere in his mind he knew that this had been coming on much longer than he'd been around Teddy.

Draco extinguished the lights in the room with a small flick of his wand and decided it didn't matter. Of course it didn't, once he lay beside Harry and curled his arm over his waist, pulling him close. Not many of his previous standards mattered these days, it seemed. Where once he would've spit in the faces of those who'd spoken Harry's name fondly, he now felt he'd spit in the faces of those who didn't. Or maybe he wouldn't spit at all. Maybe he was beyond that sort of childish behaviour. Maybe it didn't matter, he thought as he fell asleep listening to the thump of Harry's heart against his rib cage.