It took Draco three full weeks of hours-long, daily practice to cast a successful Patronus. It was just as much of a shock to him as it was to Molly, who he had started inviting over for tea almost daily. Sometimes Weasley came with her, though Draco had a feeling that it was more Molly's idea than his own. This time, however, Weasley was not there and Draco found himself laughing with glee at the sight of the hippogriff that flew around the sitting room.

Molly cried out in excitement and Teddy ooo'ed. Draco wasn't sure how he felt about having a hippogriff as his Patronus and found it a bit ironic, since the only other one he'd encountered had attacked him.

"That's a very rare Patronus, Draco," Molly said in awe, still watching the hippogriff. "And the fact that you managed to cast one in such a short time… incredible. Brilliant, simply brilliant."

"What does it mean?" Draco tried very hard to ignore the swell of pride bubbling up inside him at that point. It would do no good to smirk in satisfaction; he doubted he'd get compliments like that from Molly often.

"It goes right along with who you are," she said with a smile. Obviously. "You're very proud. That's no mystery, but sometimes it can translate to others as arrogance." Draco felt his lip curl and Molly laughed at him. "You are extremely loyal, but sometimes it can take you time to truly trust someone. Once you do, however, you will fight until the end to protect the people you love. And that's another thing, your big heart. Though you may like to think of yourself as cold and distant, there is a soft side to you that is rarely seen by others because you protect that heart of yours so fiercely."

"A load of rubbish," Draco countered her definitely inaccurate information with snark, his usual method.

"You know it isn't."

"I don't know that, actually." Molly rolled her eyes, and Draco thought it was the first time he'd seen her do that. Regardless, Draco wasn't going to admit that she was right.

"You are so proud," Molly mumbled, not low enough for Draco to not hear. "Anyway, how about we try sending a message with your hippogriff?" Glad for the subject change, Draco agreed. The hippogriff had disappeared by then, but Draco felt confident that he could produce another one.

"Expecto patronum!" Draco called, thinking on the memory of Harry and him playing piano. Another hippogriff formed from the end of his wand.

"Alright, now have it stand before you," Molly instructed.

"Come here," Draco commanded. The hippogriff didn't seem to hear him, or at least it didn't care. "Heel!" he shouted, but was rewarded with the same response form the hippogriff. Vague tidbits of memory regarding his last and only encounter with a hippogriff swarmed to the forefront of his mind, and he wondered if maybe patronuses were meant to be treated in the same manner as their real-life counterparts.

"That's no way to do it. You have to think it over to you."

Draco thought hard that he wanted the Patronus to come to him and, for good measure, bowed to the apparition. At first he didn't think it would come, but Draco focused harder and could feel some sort of stringy connection between himself and his Patronus. As though the hippogriff had heard Draco belatedly, it turned from near the piano, quickly bowed back, and came straight to Draco, stopping at his feet. Draco peered up at the large moonbeam coloured beast, not breaking eye contact just in case.

"Now tell it what you'd like to say and who you'd like to say it to," Molly said softly.

"Tell Harry━ Harry Potter, that is━ that I've managed to conjure a Patronus thanks to Molly's help. I'm certain this will be a better means of communication in an emergency. But also tell him that there is no emergency right now," Draco rushed to finish. Then, as though the Patronus were a sentient being, it bowed its head to Draco once more and dashed through the drawing room wall.

"You've done it!" Molly said, hugging Draco to her. "Well done, well done!"

"Thanks," Draco said, trying to keep the heat in his neck from spreading any further up. "I don't think I could've done it without your help, honestly."

"Oh, I doubt that. You would've figured it out eventually. I do have to say that I'm surprised you could manage sending a message along with your hippogriff on the first try. It took me three before I could do it." Draco felt another pride swell in his chest, only this one was harder to keep from reflecting in his facial features.

"In any case," he said, trying to distract himself from the bubbling happiness he could feel, "You helped. A lot. And I'm very thankful."

"So then you'll do a favour for me, won't you?" Molly asked sweetly, innocently. Draco was taken aback; he hadn't realised that Molly would ask for a favor in return. He had assumed she'd helped him out of the kindness of her heart with no need for compensation. Draco suddenly felt very hesitant and suspicious.

"What favour?" He could at least find out before he was forced to agree to it.

"You'll come to the Burrow for Christmas this year." It wasn't a question or a request, it was a demand. That certainly hadn't been what Draco had expected from her.

"That's it?"

"That's it. And you'll at the very least write your name on whatever Harry gives to Ron." Draco scoffed. "I'm very serious," Molly stated firmly. "Ron still hasn't gotten an acceptance letter from the Auror Department and he's feeling very left out from Harry's life. I think if you two were to become less hostile towards each other maybe Ron wouldn't feel so distanced from Harry."

"Hostile?" Draco sputtered. "I haven't been hostile to him since he and Harry made up!" Molly raised an auburn eyebrow. "Alright, so I haven't exactly been friendly, either, but that doesn't mean I've been threatening him."

"You haven't been threatening, but you've made almost no effort to try and bridge the gap between you." No effort? Draco thought that he'd made every effort he possibly could! He hadn't called him Weaselbee to his face, or pranked him, or really even talked to him. Then again, maybe that last one was what Molly was referring to.

Sighing, Draco said, "Fine. I'll talk to him."

"In your own time," Molly said, standing up. "I've got to get home and start preparing for dinner. It was lovely visiting with you, as always. Tell Harry I said hello."

Draco nodded and waved goodbye. Teddy would be about ready for another bottle, too. As Draco summoned the fixings for Teddy's bottle, he thought back on the last letter from St. Mungo's. It hadn't sounded very good. Andromeda had finally lost her ability to speak and while the healers weren't giving a time frame for how long Andromeda had left, they were making it very clear that she was only getting worse as the days passed.

Draco shook the warm liquid in the bottle until he could see no more chunks of powder within and retrieved Teddy from his tummy on the floor. As he placed the nipple of the bottle in Teddy's mouth he noticed that the front of his outfit was covered in dust. Feeling absolutely guilty he did his best to clean the adorable outfit with a charm, but he knew that the rug would need to be replaced. Perhaps when Harry got home for the weekend they could go shopping together for new furniture. His vault was accessible, he was steadily building his wealth each week, and it was necessary. The house may have been bettered by Harry's original attempts to fix it up, but it was nowhere near what Draco deemed liveable. For an infant… Draco shivered thinking about how dirty and dusty everything here was.

It didn't take long for Draco to decide that that was exactly what they'd do when Harry got home. He wouldn't stand by and let Teddy get allergies, or worse, Spattergroit, because there was some unknown virus or fungus in the house. It was intolerable. Where this paternal rage had come from, Draco couldn't say, but he wasn't about to ignore it.

Harry was startled when, in the middle of training, a Patronus of a hippogriff came soaring through the walls of his training room and halted in front of him. Harry was hit by several spells before the room realised he'd given up for the moment and stopped.

'Tell Harry━ Harry Potter, that is━ that I've managed to conjure a Patronus thanks to Molly's help. I'm certain this will be a better means of communication in an emergency. But also tell him that there is no emergency right now,' Draco's voice said from the hippogriff's mouth. Harry gathered that this was probably the first Patronus message Draco had ever sent, as it was worded strangely. Harry smiled at the hippogriff before it dissipated into thin air. He couldn't help but feel proud of Draco in that moment, nor could he ignore the hilarity of the form that Draco's patronus happened to take.

That smile was wiped off his face in the next second, when Dawlish came strutting angrily into the room.

"What's the meaning of this, Potter?" Dawlish shouted from across the large space. "Who sent that thing in here? I demand to know why your training is being shrugged off, and not for the first time!" Harry took what he meant to be a calming deep breath. It didn't do as much to calm him as it gave him time to find a witty retort.

"My apologies, sir. I'll just let Draco know not to contact me again when my infant godson might be in life-threatening danger. Wouldn't want to interrupt work when the life of a baby's at stake, would we?" Harry wasn't sure if it was Draco rubbing off on him or whether he was just getting better at handling Dawlish, but he liked the staggering expression that hit his boss' face.

"Your… your infant godson?" Dawlish asked. Harry lifted one eyebrow slightly in a challenging way, something he knew he'd learned and stolen from Draco. "Is he alright?"

"He is this time, but chances are that the next time you see that hippogriff in here he won't be. That was Draco's first test run of sending a message through a Patronus. I'm sure he had no idea I was in the middle of something so important," Harry added for effect.

"It's quite alright," Dawlish said with what sounded like a hidden apology. "Back to work, then."

And with that he left Harry to resume training. Harry couldn't wait until this part of training was over so he could stop having to look at Dawlish' ugly mug every day. For the longest time it felt like the only thing Harry saw anymore aside from Dawlish' permanent scowl were grey walls and blasts of different coloured curses, hexes, and jinxes— at least at work.

By the time Harry was finished with work that day he almost longed for the time he'd been able to spend sitting behind a desk. Draco was waiting for Harry in the kitchen when he got home that evening. Teddy reached out to him from his swing, which sat near where Draco was at the table.

"Hey, you two," Harry said with a bright smile. He immediately went to Teddy and took him from his swing, feeling the last irritation from work fade when he received a tiny, high pitched giggle from his godson in return. He kissed Draco's cheek and gladly accepted the slow, soft kiss Draco offered him in return.

"How was work?" Draco asked. He took a sip from his mug of tea and motioned for Harry to sit by him.

"Not great, though your Patronus allowed me to check Dawlish for once," Harry said. "It's really cool that you learned to do that, by the way."

"It's all thanks to Molly. I'm glad you got to put Dawlish in his place finally. The bastard deserves it with all he puts you through every day." There was a bite to Draco's words, as if he'd like to put Dawlish in his place in his own way.

"How was your day?" Harry didn't really feel like discussing work.

"Long, but good. I cast my first Patronus and Molly had some ridiculous things to say about what it meant that mine is a hippogriff."

"Oh? What did she tell you?" Draco recounted what Molly had said with the sneer that Harry was coming to adore. "Well, that sounds accurate to me."

"Rubbish."

"If you say so," Harry said with a shrug.

"Anyway…" Draco sipped his tea and rolled his eyes. "We need to go shopping."

"What for? I thought Teddy was alright with the things I bought him already."

"Yes, well he's not. This house is still filthy. The rugs need to be disposed of, along with all the furniture with fabric. Even some of the wooden furniture could use replacement. The ceiling still chips paint in a lot of places, which is dangerous. What if he eats some of it?" Harry hadn't thought of any of this before, though he knew Draco was right.

"Oh… right. I guess that would be really bad," Harry admitted.

"Understatement. This is no condition for a baby to live in."

"You're right. We'll go shopping." Draco stood up from his stool and Harry gave him a confused look as he crossed over to the fireplace. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to see if Molly can take Teddy for a few hours." Harry was somewhat taken aback by Draco's urge to get started straight away, but he supposed that now was as good a time as any.

Harry sat back and watched happily as his boyfriend and the closest thing he'd have to a mother chatted amicably. Draco apologised for asking her to watch Teddy so soon after she'd left, but Molly said she had no problem watching him. After summoning some baby things, Draco used the Floo to drop Teddy off with Molly. While Draco did that Harry took a large sum of money from his dresser and then waited on the main floor. The two of them, thankful for some time alone, then Apparated to Diagon Alley.

During their shopping trip Draco took on an attitude that Harry thought stemmed very much from his upbringing. He didn't seem to care at all whether or not Harry liked the furniture they looked at and several times told the store clerk they'd buy something without even asking if Harry wanted it too. Draco's behaviour made Harry feel ignored and shoved aside emotionally. It took Draco a long time to even notice that Harry was feeling put-off, and by that point Harry was wishing he'd not come with Draco at all. Number 12 was now, in Harry's mind, also Draco's home, but he felt he should have at least some say in what they used to furnish it. Harry was about to leave and wait outside for Draco— he didn't think he'd be missed— when Draco finally asked what was bothering him.

"Nothing," Harry had said, with a childish air. He didn't really care if he came off as childish, though from the look on Draco's face he wasn't buying it.

"It's obviously not nothing. What's going on?"

"You're completely disregarding me," Harry said honestly. "I feel like I'm just your wallet, walking around with you while you make purchases." Draco's eyes widened and guilt caused his eyebrows to rise.

"I-I didn't mean to make you feel that way… I'm so sorry, Harry. Have I really been that much of a prat?"

"You have, actually. But I'll forgive you━ if you stop acting like one." Draco smirked and touched Harry's cheek lightly.

"I'll stop." He paused before asking, "What did you think of that drawing room furniture over there? Did you like it?"

And from there the outing was much more pleasant for the both of them. In the end they bought furniture for the kitchen, dining room— a much smaller table was required, since Harry knew he'd never need a table large enough to seat twenty or more people— drawing room, a nursery for Teddy, and what was now decidedly both Draco and Harry's bedroom. They'd even bought a new mattress, which was charmed to form to the curves of one's body, adjusting as one slept through the night to ensure no pain in the morning. They also bought enough wallpaper and paint to redo all the walls in the place. It was a new concept to Harry, wallpaper that adjusted to the needs of the person applying it, but he thought it would be easier than buying multiple rolls. There were many more rooms in the house than they'd bought furniture for, but as they didn't really go into the other rooms often they didn't think it important to refurnish them. Harry told himself that he would eventually refurnish the entire house, or maybe buy another house, but at the moment he wasn't too concerned about it.

As Draco was finishing getting Teddy's room situated, Harry was working on unshrinking the other furniture they'd purchased and placing them in their proper rooms. Kreacher, meanwhile, was begrudgingly moving the old furniture into the attic, mumbling all the while about how disrespectful it was to hide such valuable Black belongings. Harry had had to tell Kreacher that he could spend as much time in the attic as he pleased, checking on the furniture they were moving to ensure no harm was done to them, which had been the only way he could get Kreacher to agree to help in the first place.

Just as Harry was finishing up with his and Draco's bedroom, Molly came into the room, her robes swishing softly around her. Teddy was barely keeping his eyes open as he lay cradled in the fold of Molly's comfortable arms. Harry smiled at the sight of his godson and pseudo-mum, unable to stop thoughts containing words like 'grandma' and 'grandson' from flitting through his head.

"I'm terribly sorry, Harry, but it's nearly time for bed and Teddy's nearly asleep. I━" Molly cut herself off as she took in the new headboard, bed frame, and room furnishings in place. It was very different than how the room had looked when she and Arthur had stayed in it. "My, my, you two have been shopping."

"We have," Harry said as he took Teddy from her arms and sat him on his hip. "It was all necessary, though. Thank you so much for watching him. I didn't realise how late it'd gotten."

"It's quite alright, dear. I would've watched him longer, but Ginny and Hermione are due home from school tomorrow and I've got to get up rather early to collect them from King's Cross." Harry's brows furrowed at this bit of information.

"The winter holliday's starting already?"

"It's started the same day every year, as far as I can remember," she replied with a chuckle. It certainly hadn't taken long for Harry to forget the school's holiday break dates. "Draco has agreed to come to Christmas dinner, and I expect you there as well, obviously. Come by whenever you've finished your Christmas here, but do come."

"I━ Draco said he would come?"

"It was part of a bargain, but do you really think I'd invite you and not him?" Molly gave Harry a look, as if to say 'I dare you to say yes.' Harry stifled a snigger for fear of getting his arm slapped and shook his head.

"We'll be there, probably after lunch."

"I'll hold you to it." She gave him a huge, motherly smile and then hugged him snuggly against her chest. "You just call on me anytime you need help, understand? I didn't have so many children because I can't stand being around babies. Quite the opposite in fact..." Molly looked wistfully down at Teddy in Harry's arms, her expression speaking of all the love she carried for children. It shouldn't have surprised Harry that she could look at someone else's child that way━ Harry looked at Teddy in such a way frequently and he was definitely not the infant's father━ but for some reason it did.

"Thank you, Molly," Harry said, hugging her with one arm in return. When she released him he glanced down at Teddy to make sure he wasn't upset by the tight embrace.

Molly called waved goodbye to Draco, who called back from somewhere else in the large house. Then, of course, Mrs. Black's portrait began screaming at the top of her lungs, which caused Teddy to cry.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Harry could hear Draco curse Mrs. Black's portrait on his way to shut the curtain and laughed as Molly's reprimand for use of foul language reached his ears as well.

"Shhh," Harry said as he bounced Teddy in his arms. "It's alright, it's just your awful great-grandmother. She's not too fond of the Weasleys… or me. But she's shut up now, hear?" As if Teddy could understand him, he stopped crying, but his large eyes sparkled with unshed tears and his tiny, pink bottom lip quivered with fear. Harry couldn't help but smile and kiss Teddy's smooth forehead.

Up the stairs he went, to the second floor where he and Draco had agreed Teddy's nursery would be. There was an extra room on that floor, though it had been incredibly filthy. It had taken Draco over an hour after their shopping trip to clean the room of all its dust and grime. Now, however, as Harry walked into the medium sized room, he was taken aback at how utterly spotless it was. Draco had placed all of Teddy's nursery furniture into the room, a matching bamboo set that had been on sale, and had replaced the wallpaper. The pale green and yellow shades of the paper matched wonderfully with the furniture and Harry second-guessed his wish to have any say in the things they'd bought; Draco clearly had a much better eye for interior design than he did, and this was a perfect example of it.

"What do you think?" Draco asked. He had silently come up behind Harry in the doorway, causing Harry to jump slightly with alarm, jostling Teddy in the process.

"First of all," Harry said, turning around, "don't sneak up on me like that. Secondly, you did a spectacular job, Draco." He kissed his boyfriend tenderly and smiled at the way Draco's eyes seemed to soften in response.

"Sorry, I thought you heard me," Draco replied. "I didn't do too badly, did I?"

"Not at all, it looks like we hired a professional." Harry noticed Draco's face express the fact that he did consider himself a professional and laughed lightly. "Could you change Teddy into a clean nappy and pyjamas while I make his bed?" Draco nodded and took Teddy from him. Harry had the pleasure of seeing Draco caress Teddy's auburn hair back from his face lovingly before he turned away to put sheets on the crib mattress.

Draco rubbed his face and sighed as he read over the letter that had come from the hospital. It wasn't good news, but it wasn't anything he hadn't already expected. Andromeda was only getting worse as the days passed. The update on her health didn't hit Draco as hard as he thought it would, probably because he had already foreseen this coming. The healers and medi witches had been surprised that she had remained as healthy as she had for so long, something Draco had originally hoped was a good sign of her overall condition. The part of the letter that had caused major concern for Draco was the very last bit of news. Andromeda was so weak from her illness that she couldn't move without assistance. The disease had spread to her muscles and tendons, wreaking havoc on her to the point where more often than not she refused to get out of her bed even with assistance.

Clenching his eyes shut, Draco took a deep breath and did his best to compose himself before he had to hand the letter over to Harry. Of course, Harry was only perceptive at moments when Draco wished he wasn't and had noticed the change in Draco's demeanor.

"Nothing good, then?" The low notes in Harry's voice expressed his anxiety about the situation. Draco shook his head and gave Harry the letter before he resumed playing with Teddy on the floor of his nursery.

Doing his best to keep his mind off of the situation at hand, Draco cast a charm on the plastic dog Teddy had in his hands, causing it to bark and wag its tail. Teddy squealed with delight and Draco felt his heart tighten at the incredible sound. Was there a creature who felt emotions more purely than a baby? If there was, he hadn't found one yet.

"Did you read the back of the page?" Harry asked. Draco turned around immediately at the sound of Harry's fear.

"No? I didn't realise there was anything written on the back side." His brows knitted together as he recalled the signature at the bottom of the page. That typically signified the end of a letter, didn't it?

"It looks like they added it as an afterthought, but…" Harry trailed off and handed the letter back to Draco.

Another moment later, Draco's eyes were widening in shock. "That… why would they…?"

"She must not be as well as they thought," Harry explained with a grimace. "Why else would Andromeda put Teddy into our custody legally?"

"They don't think she'll live through this." Draco shook his head and read through the post script a second time. "This can't be right. The Ministry rarely grants someone custody of a child when the original guardian is still alive."

"But if they think she won't be for much longer they would. Andromeda's dying, Draco." There was no emotion in Harry's tone as he spoke the words that Draco had begged not to be spoken.

There was no appropriate response to something like that. If there was, Draco couldn't think of it at that moment. He looked down at Teddy, smiling and cooing to the toy dog in his hands. This infant, this new human life, had lost too many people already in his short existence. It didn't seem fair that he should lose another. It wasn't fair.

Arms wrapped around Draco from behind and he leaned into them without issue. Draco's eyes stung, but refused to release the tears that threatened to build up. Harry's face pressed against his neck, his warm breaths comforting in a way he couldn't describe. Neither wizard spoke as they offered each other what sympathy they could through actions alone. In a way, that was better. Whatever could be spoken in response news like this would mean very little. 'It's going to be okay' meant nothing to Draco. Of course it would, for them. For Andromeda… No, there was nothing to be said about something like this.

"Maaaiiii!" Teddy shouted in his cherub voice. The sound of plastic against hardwood made Draco move out of Harry's embrace.

"Did you throw the dog?" Draco asked Teddy, feigning a playfulness he absolutely couldn't feel genuinely. "Is that any way to treat an animal? Silly goose, you pet it— like this."

"You've got to be one of the strongest people I know," Harry whispered. Draco glanced over his shoulder at Harry and smirked.

"Not strong, just good at hiding." Harry shook his head sadly.

"Maybe, but I don't think that's it."

Shutting his eyes momentarily, Draco turned back to Teddy and showed the small boy how to treat a dog properly, his happy facade back in place. Behind that mask, however, Draco was a mix of emotions, none stronger than the others. How was he supposed to be a parental figure to Teddy? Sure, he and Harry had been playing 'house' for the past month or so, but there was always the assumption that it wasn't permanent, that Teddy would eventually be going back to live with his grandmother. Now that assumption was showing nearly every sign of being false, aside from Andromeda's being dead already. Andromeda's dying… That was another thing Draco had refused to acknowledge in the past. Though he knew the severity and dangers of Spattergroit, he didn't think it could possibly mean the same for Andromeda. Even thinking about the possibilities, he hadn't truly allowed himself to register the risks. He had just gotten to know her, just been able to see a side to his family that wasn't all blood purity and lineage. Andromeda had cared about Draco because of who he was, not because he was the Malfoy heir. Well, I'm not exactly that anymore, am I?

And now Teddy would be raised by a distant cousin, who knew nothing at all about raising children, and his godfather, who probably knew only a bit more. His parents were dead, his grandfather was dead, and his last living direct relative was dying. There were two things only which could offer Draco some comfort on the matter: that Harry had lost his parents, too, and would be able to talk to Teddy once he was old enough to understand, and that, at this point, Teddy was too young to grieve the loss of his grandmother. Those two things alone made it possible for Draco to pick up the dog toy and kiss its nose in an effort to show Teddy━ who wasn't comprehending what appropriate treatment of animals was━ how to handle a dog.

Draco did his best to keep his mind on what, and who, was in front of him. Teddy was, of course, much too young to understand his words, his lame jokes, or his instructions on caring for his toys, but that was fine. He didn't need to understand, and Draco didn't expect him to. Talking nonsense to a baby was better than crying over things that hadn't happened yet. It was Christmas Eve and the last thing Draco wanted was to be in a bad mood.

"Are you ready for Christmas with the Weasleys?" Harry asked, bringing Draco out of his explanation of what fingers are. Teddy wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention, anyway. He was more interested in the swirling colours of the rug they'd purchased two days before.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Draco responded, shrugging his shoulders. "Do you think they'll like the gifts?"

"Even if they don't, they'll tell us they love them anyway." Harry chuckled. "I can't tell you how many times they all opened up books from Hermione on Christmas day and said how sweet a gift she'd picked out."

"I'll be able to tell if they don't," Draco pointed out. "I can always tell." Draco thought about how his father had always reacted to gifts Draco had given him which weren't up to par. The 'thank you' didn't mean much when he could see the slight sneer on his father's thin lips.

"It'll be fun, I think. It definitely won't be as grand as the Christmases you're used to, but I think you'll have a good time even so."

"I don't need piles of presents to have a good Christmas," Draco said defensively.

"You got piles of presents?" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry, my parents are incredibly wealthy. Of course I got piles of presents. Not that that matters…" Draco trailed off, sounding more miserable than he had intended to. He'd never really cared about the dozens of gifts he'd received every Christmas. It would've been much better if his parents had actually expressed their love for him with actions and words, rather than lavish, expensive gifts.

"I remember how much of a fit Dudley would throw if he'd gotten less presents than he had the year before. My aunt and uncle always had to outdo the previous Christmas or birthday if they didn't want a temper tantrum on their hands."

"You're joking." Draco felt his mouth twist into a frown as he wondered how many presents Harry would get in comparison to his spoiled cousin.

"Not even. I wish I was."

"What did you get from your relatives for Christmas?" he couldn't help but ask. With the way Harry had been treated as a child, Draco wondered if he'd gotten anything for Christmas from his relatives.

"Sometimes an old sock. A clothes hanger, other times. Once they gave me a toilet plunger. It was the one they always kept in the bathroom anyway, and I think the only reason they gave it to me was so I could take care of the mess Dudley made in the bathroom that year… Though, after a few years at Hogwarts they never sent anything much. I preferred that, to be honest."

"You're lying," Draco accused him, his mouth agape in disgust. "There's no way they gave you a toilet plunger━ or any of those other awful gifts."

"I'm not lying." Harry looked away from Draco, but not before he saw the pink staining his face.

"How could they give your cousin all sorts of presents and only give you worthless shite like that?" Outrage replaced Draco's disgust then, his promise to stay in a good mood forgotten.

"Because they didn't like me. Why would they spend money on someone they can't stand?"

"That's what Christmas is all about!" Harry burst out laughing at Draco's poorly thought out statement.

"Is that right? I thought it was about love and cheer."

"You know what I meant…"

"No, I don't think I do. Please explain," Harry teased. Draco exhaled sharply in exasperation.

"I just don't understand how they could treat you like that," he grumbled.

"Only last year you would've loved hearing that I'd received a plunger for Christmas," Harry laughed in response.

"Things change, I guess. This year, I most certainly don't love hearing it." Draco paused and smirked at the wonderful joke he'd thought up. "And now I have to return one of the gifts I bought you." His witty remark had the desired effect, and soon both he and Harry were laughing ridiculously. Teddy even joined in after a moment, though Draco was positive he couldn't understand what was funny.

"If I open up a plunger on Christmas morning I'm going to toss it at your skull," Harry sniggered, though his threat was probably an empty one at best.

"I just said I'd be returning it, so no worries there."

"You're a bugger, you know?"

"Yes, yes. Now, onto an important subject. What did you get me for Christmas?" His attempt to hide his grin went badly and Harry rolled his eyes in response.

"I can't tell you, or it won't be a surprise. Suffice it to say you won't expect what I've got you."

"That's no hint."

"It isn't supposed to be a hint," Harry said, grinning in a way that made Draco feel very suspicious. As Draco opened his mouth to question Harry, he was interrupted before he could speak. "No, don't even ask. I'm not telling you, I'm not even going to hint, so don't bother asking."

"You're a rude, mean man, Harry," Draco said with a mirthful frown. "I don't know why I put up with you."

"Because you love me," Harry responded easily. "And you're going to love me even more when you open the best gift I've bought for you." Draco gasped in irritation.

"You can't keep saying things like that if you won't tell me what you've got me! It isn't fair."

"Haaab!" Teddy shouted a second later. Again, the toy dog was thrown. Teddy made to crawl after it, but Draco was faster and scooped him up, holding the now eight-month-old child to his chest.

"Yeah, what he said! Teddy and I are teaming up against you. There's two of us and one of you, I'd watch myself if I were you, Potter."

"Oh I'm shaking in my trainers," Harry deadpanned. "What a fierce team the two of you make, Malfoy."

"The fiercest. Isn't that right, Teddy?"

"Booo."

"See, even Teddy thinks you make a bad team," Harry laughed, shaking his head.

That night, after dinner was eaten and Teddy lay in bed asleep, Harry debated with himself whether he should give Draco his biggest present now or after Christmas with the Weasleys. There was no pros or cons to either scenario, but Harry was so excited and couldn't wait to see Draco's reaction. And, after all the negative things that had happened since Draco had moved in, Harry thought he deserved some reprieve. There was no guarantee that the gift Harry had in mind would soothe all of Draco's fears and upset, but he had a very strong feeling that it would help in a big way.

Unable to decide which route was best to take, he asked Draco, "Do you want to wait until tomorrow night to open your biggest present, or do you want to do it now?" Draco set down the book he'd been reading on the new sofa they'd picked out together, not hesitating to respond.

"Now."

"Are you sure you don't want to wait?" Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry's question.

"You can't offer something like that and expect me to change my mind. I'd like to open it now." Draco appeared thoughtful for a moment and then said, "And you can open a gift of mine tonight as well. We could make a tradition of it, even. Every year we could open one present of the other's."

Harry grinned largely at the prospect of spending future Christmases with Draco, and at the fact that Draco seemed to have every intention of spending his holidays with him. He nodded and got up from the sofa to retrieve the gift he had in mind.

It hadn't been easy to hide such a large object, but to Harry's satisfaction, Draco hadn't discovered its hiding spot. In Sirius' room, Harry had hidden it, in the dusty closet. He'd had a difficult time persuading himself to use that particular room to hide the presents he'd bought for Draco, but he knew that there was no likelihood of Draco searching that room if he did have the urge to find them.

Harry hauled the large, but surprisingly light, box out of the closet and carried it back down the stairs to the drawing room, his smile stretching nearly from ear to ear. Upon entering the drawing room and looking around the box to Draco, he saw his lover's jaw drop open and his eyes pop wide.

"Bloody hell, what did you get me?" Draco breathed.

"You're about to find out, aren't you?" He set the box down in the middle of the room and watched Draco slowly stand and walk over to the chest-high present.

"I can already tell that you shouldn't have done this."

"I know, I've never been very good at wrapping presents," Harry explained, knowing full well that Draco hadn't been remarking on his wrapping skills. The look he was given in response confirmed that.

"Harry, I didn't get you anything this big━"

"And you didn't need to," Harry interrupted, "so just open it already."

Draco shook his head, but began unwrapping the box. Harry's excitement climbed higher as Draco came closer to discovering the surprise. The box was taped all over, in a way that would make it incredibly challenging to open if one didn't possess a wand.

"Was this really necessary?" Draco complained, though there was no feeling behind his quip. Brandishing his wand, he wordlessly removed the tape from the box and lifted the top flaps. "What…?" Silver eyes flashed up at Harry. "No. No you didn't."

"I did."

Draco removed the cello from its cardboard encasement and began breathing heavily. His mouth opened time and again, as though he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Harry's cheeks were starting to hurt from the permagrin he now wore in response to Draco's utter bewilderment.

"You fucking didn't!" Draco set the cello down gently before hurling himself into Harry, wrapping his arms around him so tightly that the wind nearly got knocked out of his lungs. "Harry, you have no idea how much this means to me!" Draco began kissing Harry's face all over, pausing to speak singular words. "You absolutely wonderful, perfect, brilliant man!"

Harry returned the embrace, as well as the kisses that had migrated to his lips from other places on his face. Draco's gratitude continued to be translated through a marvelous snog, one that left Harry's lips swollen and pink from overuse.

"I can't…" Draco inhaled a shuddering breath. "I don't know how I can thank you." Harry kissed the tip of Draco's nose and released him from his arms.

"You can start by playing me something," he said as he gestured towards the cello, still enclosed in its hard case. Draco's face lit up and he quickly went to open the case. "I know it isn't as nice as your old cello, but I was assured by the music store manager that this is the best they offer." And it better be, for how much it cost me, Harry silently grumbled.

"Harry." Draco held the cello in his hand by the neck, gingerly stroking the strings with his other hand. "Do you know what you've given me?"

"A cello, I hope," Harry chuckled.

"No, I mean… Do you realise what sort of cello you've bought me?" Draco looked serious, disregarding Harry's joke completely.

"Erm, well the shopkeep said it was from Los Angeles, I think."

"This… This is an Ivan Zgradic cello, Harry. 1886, if I'm not mistaken,"

"Alright. Is that good, then? How do you know so much about cellos?"

"I had a lot of time on my hands growing up. And yes, that's very good. I can't believe this, Harry… I can't believe… This must have cost so much! How did you afford this?"

"That's not your concern, actually. Now, how about you show off those cello skills you're always bragging about?" Draco scoffed.

"Always bragging━"

"Oh, just play the damned thing!" Harry said with a snigger.

"Alright, alright…"

With a look on his face of pure concentration, Draco began by removing the bow from its secure spot in the case. For a moment he simply inspected it, as if looking for some form of blemish. Harry hoped he wouldn't find one and was glad when Draco moved on to tightening the bow and powdering it with rosin. He replaced the rosin in the cello case and cast some sort of charm on the instrument. Harry thought maybe it was a tuning charm, by the way the pegs began twisting of their own accord.

"I'm probably a bit rusty, so bear with me," Draco said, almost beneath his breath. Harry waited quietly for him to start playing.

Draco's bow moved, and suddenly the drawing room was filled with the thick, caramel sound of the strings' vibrations. Harry had never heard a cello on its own before that he could remember and was surprised at how beautiful a sound it could make. The melody was one Harry was unfamiliar with, but he longed to hear it stretch on and on, it was so beautiful. Draco's eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted, eyebrows raised as if in pain as his fingers moved agiley over the strings. For a moment, Draco's bowing slowed, coming to a crawl as he played some low notes at length. Then the song abruptly picked up in momentum, causing Draco's entire body to move along with it, so very in tune with the song was he. Harry felt his stomach flipping at the sight of Draco in this music-induced trance. He'd never seen Draco look so utterly involved in something, so passionate and enthralled. The quicker the bow and Draco's fingers moved, the more intense his expression became and the tighter Harry's heart felt it was being squeezed.

Then the song began to slow once more and Draco's head tilted to the side, seemingly yearning to hear the quieter notes being played, even though he was in full control of their volume. His eyebrows quivered slightly and Harry saw that there were tears in the corners of his eyes. Frozen to the spot, Harry watched as Draco bowed out the final, haunting note of the song. For a moment, the whole house was silent. It was as though, with the finishing of Draco's song, Harry's ears refused to pick up the sounds of anything half as lovely as what he'd just heard.

Draco opened his eyes and met Harry's wide stare, a half-smile playing on his lips. Harry began clapping, suddenly, unable to stop himself.

"That was incredible, Draco!" He struggled to keep his voice low so as not to wake the sleeping infant on the same floor. "Rusty my arse, that was gorgeous!"

"It's a favourite of mine," Draco said, not bothering to hide his prideful blush. "Franz Liszt's Liebestraum."

"I have no clue who or what that is, but my god that was… I have no more words for what that was, it was that good." Draco smiled and laughed quietly.

"I really missed playing." His fingers ran down the side of the wooden body between his legs, as though there he held a lover. Harry thought that this was the only circumstance in which he would imagine that and not be jealous.

"Would you… that is, I'd really like to hear another song, if you don't mind."

"Of course! I didn't plan to play a single piece and be done with it. It's been so long. Too long."

Harry leaned back in his chair and watched as Draco began sliding his bow across the strings of his new cello. For what felt like hours, Harry listened while Draco poured his heart, his soul, his entire being, into his music. Rusty, Harry thought with a shake of his head. As if this could ever be described in such a way. Draco had a talent here that was indescribable, and Harry could hardly believe that the wizard had gone so long without a way to express it. There was no doubt in Harry's mind that this had been a smart choice for a gift to give Draco. He didn't even bother pressing to open the one Draco had offered for him earlier. Listening to the heart-flutter inducing sounds he was privy to now was more than a enough for him.

Harry struggled to think of a Christmas Eve that had been as nice as this one, finally admitting to himself that he hadn't had one this pleasant yet. Maybe tomorrow would be a disaster, having his boyfriend and ex-girlfriend in the same room— although she said she was over what had happened between them, Harry was skeptical— but that didn't matter; at that moment, with the elegant, spine tingling melody of Draco's music swirling through his head, he couldn't care about later.