In the two weeks between Harry's speech and Andromeda's hospital release, he'd done another two speeches. To Draco's satisfaction, these speeches had much better security and there were wards put up around Harry at all times, from the moment he arrived to his locations until the moment he'd left. Hermione was still taking the time from her weekends to attend the speeches and organise them for him, which Harry couldn't thank her enough for. Ron had started Auror training the Monday following Harry's speech and, since they didn't get much time to chat and catch up as friends at work, they had decided to pick two evenings each week that they got together and did something fun. Twice Draco came with them, twice he opted to stay home with Teddy. Harry noticed that the more public the outing was, the less likely Draco was to tag along, but he was beginning to open up to the prospect of going into public a bit more than he had in a long time. That had to be an improvement, Harry thought.

Ron was starting to be a lot friendlier to Draco and it made Harry feel great to see that the two of them were finally getting along, as much as they could with their histories. They weren't as close as Ron and Harry were, and he wasn't sure if they ever would be, but it was a huge step in their relationship either way.

During the two weeks it had taken for Andromeda's pustules to go away completely, Harry and Draco had written to her about Teddy's guardianship and offered for her to move in with them until she was able to find a new house. Since hers had been contaminated, she'd been forced to basically abandon it. Anything of sentimental value that was in the house was being duplicated for her by a hazmat team from the Ministry, but the rest was being left behind. Harry and Draco both felt horrible about the fact that she was giving up the home she'd raised her only— and now deceased— daughter in, but there was no helping it aside from offering their own home up to her.

Andromeda had graciously accepted their invitation to live with them and had thanked them so many times that Harry didn't think he could stand to receive another thank you for at least a year. There had been no definite plans as far as Teddy's guardianship went, but Andromeda had seemed sort of hesitant to leave things the way they were. Draco had stormed out of the room when they'd first gotten the letter containing that bit, and Harry had given him time to handle his emotions. When he went to find Draco, hours later, he found him curled up in a nest of blankets on the floor of Teddy's nursery, snuggling Teddy and snoring lightly. Harry didn't have the heart to wake him up, and instead found himself entering the room quietly and laying down on Teddy's other side. Though he'd kept it more to himself than Draco had, Harry was also not looking forward to the prospect of giving Teddy up. He felt emotionally robbed; he'd become so used to having Teddy to look forward to every day and saw the way Draco's mood had improved so much for being around him. It would take a lot of adjustment to get used to having a baby-less house. He supposed there was nothing for it, though; Andromeda was Teddy's rightful guardian, Ministry records be damned. She was his last remaining connection to his mother and she deserved to be the one to raise him. It was just going to be difficult.

It was officially Andromeda's hospital release date and she was due to arrive at any moment. Draco and Harry were putting the finishing touches on what was going to be her room when the Floo chime Harry had set up down in the kitchen alerted them to the presence of a guest. Taking a deep breath and picking Teddy up off the floor of Andromeda's room, he led the way down to the kitchen.

"Welcome home!" Harry enthused as he wrapped Andromeda in a hug, making sure not to squeeze too tightly in case she was still feeling frail. He took in her appearance when he let her go and saw that she looked almost like she had before she'd been hospitalised, though she did look a lot thinner and had many rounded, raised scars covering her exposed flesh from the pustules that had covered her body.

"Thank you, Harry," she said, and Harry did his best not to cringe.

"It's fine, really. No need to thank me. Draco was the one who came up with the idea, really."

"Is that so?" She turned to Draco, but her eyes immediately went to Teddy and filled with tears. "Oh, how I've missed you, my sweet, sweet Teddy!" She scooped Teddy out of Draco's arms and Harry watched as he held back his desire to keep Teddy. It looked as though Draco thought that this moment was the one he'd be losing Teddy, and Harry wished he could understand that it wasn't.

"He has four teeth now and another feels like it's coming in already," Draco told her in a thick, emotional voice. "He's started cruising along the furniture, too. I think he'll be walking soon. He loves turkey pies." Andromeda was holding Teddy close to her chest, but Teddy seemed very uncomfortable, like he couldn't remember who she was anymore.

"Sounds like you've been a wonderful guardian," she said, and proceeded to kiss Teddy all over his cheeks.

"I've tried," Draco whispered, voice weak. Andromeda didn't hear him.

"Well, can I get the grand tour, then?" Andromeda asked, smiling hugely. "I really can't thank you both enough. My things from home will be delivered any day now, so at least I'll have some sort of reminder of how things were before." There was a bitterness to her last statement, but she quickly resumed her cheerful disposition with a shake of her long curls.

"That'll be nice, won't it?" Harry said as he let the way upstairs to the third floor. He pointed out rooms that she might be interested in knowing the locations of, such as Teddy's nursery, which she poked her head into.

"Wow, you two really buckled down, didn't you?" She sounded almost forlorn as she looked around the nursery. It was filled with toys and books and other baby things, as a nursery should be, in Harry's opinion. "I didn't expect so much…"

Harry glanced at Draco and saw that he his lips had drawn into a tight line, like they always did when he was holding something back. Andromeda schooled her face into an uneasy smile and asked to be shown to her room, kissing Teddy's cheek again. Teddy still looked unsure in her arms, but he wasn't crying. That was good, wasn't it?

They showed her to her room and she glanced around appreciatively. "You boys don't do things half way, do you?"

"We wanted you to be comfortable," Harry explained, feeling sheepish for having put so much effort into her bedroom.

"I'm sure I will be." Andromeda carried Teddy over to her new bed and set him down on top, then sat down beside him. She stared at him for awhile, an indiscernible look on her face. Harry was about to pull Draco out of the room when she looked over at them and said, "I don't think he remembers who I am," very quietly.

Harry had no idea what to do in this circumstance and was beginning to feel panic take over. Draco was hardly speaking and was obviously unhappy about something, though Harry couldn't sure what it was. And now Andromeda looked as though she were going to cry because her grandson didn't recognise her. Harry's breathing picked up speed and he tried to think of something, anything, to say that could make this situation less uncomfortable when Draco took that moment to cross the room and carefully sit down on the other side of Teddy. Harry watched as he rubbed Teddy's back and began to speak.

"This is your grandmother. She raised you almost from the time you were born, Teddy, until you came to live with me and your godfather, Harry. Your mother trusted you with her. She loves you very much, but she got sick and couldn't be around anyone for a while. She's family." Draco looked up at Andromeda at the end and put on a small smile.

"Ba bo," Teddy said, looking at Andromeda as well. Harry thought it was probably the soothing tone Draco had spoken in, and the fact that Teddy trusted Draco very much, that let him know that he was safe with this 'stranger.' It couldn't have been that he'd actually understood the words spoken to him. Babies didn't understand that much, did they?

"You sound just like Dora used to at your age," Andromeda told Teddy. "She was your mother, and she loved you just as much as I do."

"I'm going to go help Kreacher with dinner," Harry told the three of them before he left and wandered downstairs.

It was going to take time for everyone to adjust to the way things were. Andromeda probably had a feeling of regret about giving Teddy up and Harry knew for a fact that Draco was dreading the day Andromeda said she wanted Teddy back. Harry wasn't sure how to feel about any of it. On the one hand, he didn't want to lose Teddy. It was strange, but he felt as though they had a family and Harry had always wanted that. On the other hand, he didn't want Andromeda to suffer the loss of yet another relative, and the last living memory of her daughter. Clearly he had a lot to mull over in his mind, and he hoped that inviting Andromeda to stay here wouldn't cause any extra drama in his life. Like he needed any extra. He was Harry Potter, remember?

"I found the perfect place," Draco said as soon as Harry popped into the kitchen from the Floo. He'd been house hunting in his spare time, and thanks to Cosmos he hadn't even had to leave the house to do it. He'd paid for a subscription to a homebuyers paper and had an entire list of places to look through.

"Have you?" Harry toed his boots off and kicked them under the table, a habit Draco hoped wouldn't travel with them to their new house. "What about… you know?"

"Yes, I happen to know exactly what you're referring to, even though you've said nothing to hint at what it could be," he drawled. Harry rolled his eyes and sat down next to him at the table. Draco gave him a kiss and summoned the crisps from the pantry, letting the bag drop unceremoniously in front of Harry on the table.

"Thanks." He grabbed a handful and Draco was going to kill Ron Weasley because Harry then spoke through a mouthful of crisps. "You know what I mean, what about Teddy?"

"Firstly, never do that again. Secondly, I'll be having a talk with Ron about what'll happen if he continues to destroy the few good manners you actually possess. Third and lastly, I have… no fucking idea." Where first he'd sounded firm and a bit agitated, he finished off his list in a rather dejected tone, his misery regarding the Teddy/Andromeda situation seeping back to the forefront of his mind.

"I think we all need to sit down and talk about this." It probably saved Ron's life that Harry waited to swallow before responding.

"Probably," Draco sighed. "But that sounds like a horrible experience and I already feel like sleeping for the next decade over it."

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't go into a coma."

"Who's going into a coma?" Andromeda came strutting into the room with Teddy on her hip. It seemed she was everywhere Draco was, and always hogging Teddy. Draco could understand it for the first couple of weeks since his aunt had moved in, but he was starting to get jealous that he didn't seem to get much quality time with Teddy anymore. When he'd expressed these things to Harry he'd been reminded that it had been half a year, give or take, since Andromeda had seen her grandson and it was only natural she'd want to spend as much time with his as possible. Still, it didn't seem fair that the only real time Draco got with Teddy was while Andromeda was doing physical therapy at St. Mungo's.

"No one, and I'd like it to stay that way." Harry shot a covert glare in Draco's direction.

"Good. A coma would be pretty boring, wouldn't it?" Andromeda took a seat at the table after placing Teddy in his high chair. He'd certainly become more comfortable with her and Draco couldn't help but feel she was steadily becoming the favourite.

"Boring, yes, but not painful," he sighed. Andromeda's brows creased as she gathered that something was off.

"What's going on, Draco? Is something wrong?"

"We were thinking of having a family meeting," Harry started, leaving Draco no choice but to face the problems at hand. "I know you basically just got back from the hospital, but Draco and I have been wondering what it is you plan to do about Teddy's guardianship. Draco told me he's found a house, and we're planning on moving soon."

"Oh… I didn't know you'd be leaving. I haven't found a place to live that's within my means to purchase." Andromeda appeared fretful at this news, but Harry and Draco had discussed what would happen with the house, at least.

"We actually wanted to give this house to you," Harry told her. "I'm not going to sell it, and it'll just sit here with no one living in it once we move. If you want it, it's yours. Kreacher will hate coming with us, but it'll probably be better if he does." Kreacher had not been happy to see Andromeda and it took an immense amount of persuasion to get him to serve her in any way. Once he'd seen that she was nice to him, however, he had begun treating her nearly as well as he treated Harry and Draco. Still, Harry didn't think it would be wise to leave Kreacher behind, and Draco agreed.

"I couldn't accept that," Andromeda said, shaking her head fiercely. "You boys have already done enough taking care of Teddy and offering me a place to stay while I find another home."

"Well, then you're welcome to live here until you do find a place, even after we move out. This house was in your family before it was ever given to me, and Draco and I have no desire to live here much longer. Again, if you want it…"

"I'll have to think on that. I don't have many fond memories of this place as a child," she muttered. "As for Teddy… Well, I'm not sure what I'd like to do yet. You both have custody over him, and reversing that would require standing before the Wizengamot. I was hoping we could all work something out without going through that whole process. If I'd known I wasn't going to die I wouldn't have made things so complicated, but there was no way of knowing my health would return, especially with how bad it had gotten."

Draco's stomach dropped. So she really did intend to take Teddy back. His heart wanted to break as he looked at Teddy in his highchair, sitting there and having probably no clue as to what was being discussed. Sooner than Draco could've foreseen— and honestly he hadn't thought Andromeda would survive, therefore hadn't foreseen it at all — Teddy would go back to living with his grandmother. His breath caught in his throat as he pictured saying a last goodbye to Teddy before they moved into their new house. Without him.

"Are you alright, Draco?" Andromeda asked, interrupting his pity party. Or misery party, rather.

"No, not really." What was the point of lying, when the truth was written all over his face? His blasted Malfoy mask was so difficult to put in place these days, and he didn't really feel like trying to put it back on, anyway. It wasn't a crime, how he felt, and he didn't think he was required to pretend he was okay with what was going to happen.

"Are… are you upset with me?" Her hand outstretched across the table, but she seemed to think better of placing it on top of Draco's and withdrew it, placing both her hands beneath the table in her lap instead.

"Not with you, exactly, but with the circumstances. You can probably tell how attached I've become to my cousin, and I'm having a very hard time coming to terms with letting him go. As much as I tried not to, I've grown to think of him as… as my child. I know he's not," he said hurriedly, hoping his aunt wouldn't get the idea he was attempting to replace Lupin and Nymphadora. "I know he has parents and that they would've given anything to be able to raise him themselves, but I just— I really love him.

"He's your grandson, and you have every right to be the one to raise him. I know this, too. Regardless of how many times I tell myself that he belongs with you and not me, I can't make myself believe it. It's selfish and probably offensive to you, hearing me say all this, but it's how I feel. I'll understand if you do want to keep him, but I won't pretend it isn't going to hurt me."

As Andromeda blinked in surprise and her brows creased in the centre, Harry's hand found Draco's knee beneath the table and rested there. The contact was comforting, but it did nothing to ease the new nervousness Draco felt at having told his aunt his deepest current fear. After becoming closer to her and seeing her as a real relative to him when all his other family was dead, imprisoned, or estranged, he didn't want this to be the thing that separated them again. He decided to tell her so, since she hadn't spoken yet.

"I feel the same toward you, Draco." Her voice wavered a bit and Draco was afraid he'd made her cry with his honesty, but thankfully no tears were shed. "I have no desire to ruin the family you've made, and I do see how you've all become a little family. You've impressed and astounded me with the transformation you've made since I saw you last. Both of you, but more specifically Draco. I had no idea things would come to this.

"Part of me wants to keep Teddy for my own, but… honestly, it was really hard being a single person raising a child. I'd never had to do it before, obviously, as Dora was grown by the time my husband died. Harry, you've witnessed how difficult it was for me and you helped me a lot before the Spattergroit. Now, with how weak I've become and how perpetually exhausted I am, I'm sure it'll only be more difficult than ever."

"I really enjoyed helping you, so it was no trouble." Harry smiled comfortingly at Andromeda and she returned it, though her smile was tinged with sadness.

"I'm still working through the grief of losing both my husband and daughter, and while Teddy helps me cope with the pain, sometimes it's very difficult to even get out of bed in the morning," she admitted, not meeting their eyes. "I think… I think we could arrange a sort of shared-custody. You two could probably use breaks to just be a couple, and I know that, realistically, I will need breaks in the future, just like I did before. Right now I'm just so happy to be alive that I want all the cuddles and kisses I can get from him. But as things get back to normal, and as he gets older, life will become more difficult for whoever is raising him. Believe me, if he's anything like his mother, we'll need all the help we can get." Harry chuckled a bit, though Draco was still waiting to find out what that would mean for them. He would take whatever he could get, as far as being Teddy's guardian went, but he wanted to know precisely what Andromeda had in mind when she spoke of shared-custody.

"What do you think would be ideal, then?" he asked her.

"Would three days at each person's house work for you two? Say I drop him off on Sunday evening and get him back Thursday morning? That way you two have weekends for yourselves. I don't go out much, so I wouldn't mind." Draco nodded, his mood lifting by quite a lot. That sounded like something he could deal with. "I think you and I are feeling pretty similarly about all of this," she went on. "Neither of us wants to give him up, but neither of us wants to upset the other by saying so."

"That about sums it up," Draco agreed. "But your idea sounds like a compromise that will benefit everyone, including Teddy. It'll probably be a bit odd for him, going back and forth between households when he's a bit older, but before school starts I think it'll be another way our family can become even closer." At his last statement Draco was reminded of what his mother had told him at the hospital, about wanting to reconnect with her sister. Hesitantly, he asked her, "Has Mother talked to you at all, recently?"

"Oh yes, we've been writing back and forth," she said, visibly cheering up. "I'm amazed at how different she appears to be. I have hope for our relationship; she seems like someone I'd actually want to have as a sister, these days." Hearing that made Draco's heart feel lighter, and it was necessary in that exact moment. After getting so upset it was good to hear some pleasant news. "She even apologised for the things she'd done in the past, though I find myself having a harder time letting all that go, when I think too long about it."

"She's apologised to everyone, pretty much," Harry told her, and explained about what had happened between Narcissa and the Weasleys in his hospital room weeks ago. "It was really weird, but I think it's good that she's making so much progress."

"I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one she's trying to make amends with. It's about time she got around to making up for disowning you, Draco."

"Among other things," Draco grumbled, still a bit sore over the whole poisoning thing.

"Yes, she's discussed many of the things I missed while I was in quarantine." Andromeda sounded just as disapproving as Draco felt. Perhaps even moreso. "It sounds to me as though she had a bit of a mental breakdown, but it also sounds like she's doing much better. Perhaps it was necessary for her to go a bit mad before she could understand just how bad she'd gotten."

"Maybe, but I really do think she could've taken it down a notch," Harry added. "And now we've got a ridiculous fountain sitting on top of the house that I never would've picked out for decor had I even wanted a fountain."

"That's what you're still hung up on?" Draco thought there were many other things that were more upsetting than the fountain; he'd gotten so used to it that he'd nearly forgotten it was there at all. Not to mention, other things had come up that were definitely a lot more important to him than his mother's poorly chosen apology gift.

"It's not left my mind once since we got it," Harry frowned. "I mean, at first it was sort of funny, but what are we going to do with it when we move?"

"Speaking of moving, Harry, how do you feel about us sharing Teddy amongst the three of us?" Andromeda asked, drawing their eyes back to her. "You didn't really say anything about it."

"I'm fine with it. Honestly, I was pretty devastated to think we'd have to completely give up taking care of Teddy, but I didn't think there could be a compromise, so I'd sort of… resigned myself to the fact that we wouldn't have him in our home anymore." Draco could understand why; after losing so much of his family over the years Harry probably resigned himself to lots of awful things and kept it to himself. It was something they were working on together, but apparently he needed a reminder. "I'm glad we could reach a decision that we're all happy with, and that it didn't cause any chaos to do so." Andromeda smiled hugely at his remark and laughed a bit.

"Go on, then, Draco, what will you two be doing with the fountain when you move?" she asked. "I'm curious about it, myself."

"I was hoping we could leave it here…"

"Why do you two dislike it so much, anyway?"

"It's hideous," Draco said at the same time that Harry said, "It's hilarious, but gaudy," causing Andromeda to outrightly laugh at them. It was a sound that Draco had loved and was very glad to have the chance to hear again, especially now that he felt no hidden resentment toward her. Teddy began laughing as well at the sound of his grandmother's amusement.

"They're quite the duo, aren't they, Teddy?" She grinned at him, gently elbowing him as though they were sharing an inside joke. "Can I see this hideous, hilarious, and gaudy fountain that my sister so graciously bestowed upon you?" Draco and Harry shared a look, but had two different expressions on their faces; Harry looked slyly amused and Draco simply raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, why not?"

Silently asking Andromeda if it was alright that he carry Teddy, Draco stood up from the table and approached the highchair. Andromeda nodded her head and he picked his cousin up, then led the way, yet again, to the horrible reminder of his mother's disturbing present on the roof terrace. On the way up Andromeda kept asking if it was really all that bad. Draco and Harry answered yes each time, because really it was.

"Here it is," Draco said as he opened the door to the roof and held it open for his two followers.

"Oh my…" Coming to a startled stop upon leaving the stairway, Andromeda's eyes popped wide open at the sight before her. "It's certainly, erm… grand, isn't it?"

"You could call it that," Draco replied, trying to hold back his titters as her eyes were drawn to the mermaid's chest. Whoever had sculpted her had certainly been fond of breasts, though Draco was of the opinion that they could've made the statue less surreal.

"Is it bad that I sort of love it?" Andromeda stepped closer to the monstrously huge fountain and sat down on the edge of the basin. She dipped her hand in and swept it through the golden water, creating waves of her own amongst the others. "It's strange, but also beautiful, I think."

"Are you sure the Spattergroit didn't mess with your brain a bit?" It was rude, but Draco couldn't help but ask, he was so shocked. Thankfully, Andromeda sputtered and laughed at his blunt questioning of her sanity.

"It may have, but either way I think this fountain is charming, in a way. If you two want to leave it here that's quite alright with me. I'll enjoy it for myself, if you don't."

"Well at least someone likes it," Harry muttered, sharing another look with Draco. "Does that mean you're going to stay here after we leave?" Andromeda continued to stare at the mermaid statue and stroke the water as she responded.

"I don't see what else I can do. I won't intrude on your new home; you deserve to experience that as a family. It'll take me awhile to figure out where I can go and what I can afford, so yes. I'll have to stay here." She didn't sound upset that she had to stay at Number 12, but she didn't seem very enthusiastic about the prospect.

Their nightly, before-bed conversation came to an end as they both removed their clothes and practically attacked each other with their excitement. There was a lot to be celebrating, including, but not limited to, the fact that they'd been approved for buying the house Draco had picked out. It was gorgeous and Harry had fallen in love with it half way through their tour of it. The rooms were large and spacious with lots of windows looking out on an actual front yard. There were four bedrooms— they'd already picked theirs out; it was the one with a bench seat in the large bay window, which looked out over the backyard— two bathrooms, a sitting and drawing room, a modest kitchen with room for walking around, and more storage space than Harry knew what to do with. It was definitely a lot smaller than Number 12, but Harry was glad of it. There really was too much house compared to the number of people living within, and it would be a nice change only having two stories as opposed to seven and a terrace. Even the backyard was beautiful, with its fish pond and garden area. Though Harry had never gardened before, he thought he wouldn't mind taking it up as a hobby. Draco had his cello, Harry needed something too.

"I fucking love it when you do that," Harry moaned as Draco thrusted into him, hitting his prostate and effectively bringing Harry to the edge of his orgasm. His arse tightened with every raise of his hips as he worked in time with Draco's quickening rhythm.

No further compliments were made, however, after Draco roughly pressed his lips to Harry's and dug his nails into his shoulders. Harry could feel Draco getting closer, too, and heard it in the way his lover's deep whimpers became more frequent beside from behind him. They'd both discovered, as they explored their sex life, that their preferred position was having one or the other of them bent over the edge of the bed while the other slammed into them from behind. It was the best way they'd found to hit the bent-over person's prostate and also one of the only positions that allowed for the deepness of penetration desired by both of them.

"Oh, fuck— Draco," Harry cried just before he felt his orgasm take over all senses. A shaking, satisfied sigh escaped his lips while his body seemed to vibrate with pleasure, and Draco was not far behind him, if his deep, quick plunges were anything to go by.

Draco didn't say anything when he finally found release, but his gratified groan said everything. It always amazed Harry that they could find such intense pleasure through each other, and as they both collapsed side-by-side on the bed he sighed and sank into the afterglow of another good shag.

"You're so loud," Draco commented, out of breath. "Thank Merlin for silencing charms."

"Oh, I didn't realise he'd invented them," Harry retorted sarcastically. "You're just as loud as I am, if not louder. I just express myself with words instead of grunts and sobs." Draco gasped in feigned outrage.

"I do not sob, I…" He paused, attempting to come up with a better term for what was definitely sobbing, though not in turmoil by any means. "I can't think of anything. Pretty sure you've just shagged me senseless."

"I'll cross that off my bucket list, then," Harry smirked. "I can't wait to move into our new house."

"Me either, it'll be nice to not have to cast scent-masking charms every time I walk into a room."

"It's not that stinky here…" But his defence sounded weak, even to him. "Well, maybe a little."

"It's definitely stinky, and embarrassing. I'll be glad to have a house that won't mortify me when guests come over. And I'm converting one of those bedrooms into a library, I hope you know."

"I figured you would. Hermione will be glad to hear that."

"I'm not doing it for her, but you're right, she will be."

Until they were too tired to go on, they discussed their big plans for the new house. Draco intended to have an arts room and a library, something Harry only agreed to if he was able to use the shed in the backyard as a broom and gardening tool storage area and was able to plant whatever he wanted in the garden. It wasn't hard to agree to, as Draco would be the one at home with Teddy more often than Harry would be home at all. When Harry had asked what Draco wanted with an arts room he'd replied ambiguously that Harry would find out in due time. Harry had joked and asked if Draco was suddenly a painter or something, but Draco had only frowned at him and kept silent. It was a mystery that Harry was excited to figure out.

The more Harry thought about having shared guardianship with Andromeda the more he liked the idea, and Draco had agreed when he'd expressed this to him. They were both feeling somewhat distanced from each other with how much Harry worked and with the speeches he'd been doing. Draco had said he wasn't going to bring it up because what Harry was doing was important, but he really did miss their one-on-one time. Having three days every week, and the weekend at that, to spend with each other seemed like something they'd need if they didn't plan on winding up as roommates who shagged regularly and raised a kid together. What had wound up keeping them both up later than they'd wanted to was Draco bringing up the topic of adoption.

"My mother mentioned it a while back and I've been thinking about it a lot. I'm not sure if it's something we should do, but I wanted to see how you felt about it," he'd elaborated.

"To be honest, I haven't thought about that at all," Harry admitted. "But it doesn't sound like something I'd be against. What made you bring it up?" He had a suspicion that Draco actually did want to adopt and was only saying he wasn't sure because he didn't know how Harry would react.

"I already told you, I was curious about what you'd say." The lack of defensiveness in his voice made Harry believe he meant that. "In any case, I don't think it would be a good idea for at least a few years. You know, give us time to see what it's like to have one toddler running around before we decide we want to add another child to the family." Harry laughed and agreed that that would probably be smart.

"Would you want to adopt a baby or a kid?" Harry wondered. Since they were discussing hypotheticals he didn't feel uncomfortable asking.

"Probably a kid. Mum told me that a lot of people only want babies and so most orphanages have a bunch of kids running around, not getting adopted." Draco pulled a face that told Harry how much that thought bothered him.

"That works for me, then. Would you want to be a stay-at-home dad, or would you want to work eventually?" That had been something he'd been pondering lately. It wasn't like they couldn't afford to have Draco stay at home, especially now that he had his Malfoy money back, but Harry did have to wonder how Draco felt about being home all the time. If it were him, he'd go crazy if he didn't get out of the house.

"I think I'd like to work, but I'm not sure what I should do."

"Well, you've got lots of time to figure it out, don't you?"

"Do you want to get married?" Harry had been staring up at the ceiling until that question popped, without warning, out of Draco's mouth. His head whipped over and he stared at Draco with his surprise plain on his face.

"Are you proposing we do?" Draco snickered at what must've been a ridiculous expression on Harry's face, because Harry wasn't sure what else could be funny.

"I don't know. I kind of like calling you my boyfriend, but…" He sighed, and Harry knew this conversation was about to get more serious. "Mother pointed out to me, the day she apologised, that me not wanting to marry you because marriage was what she and father wanted was just an act of rebellion."

"Your mother's been putting lots of thoughts into your head, hasn't she?" Draco groaned as Harry laughed at him, but then said, "She mentioned something about marriage to me, too. Do you think you're just trying to be rebellious by refraining?"

"I didn't want to think so at first, but the more I think about it the more I've been asking myself if she had a point. I don't feel like we have to get married in order to have a family, or to really be a couple, but I've been trying to put aside my prejudice against my parents and figure out if marriage is something I want. Just because I want it."

"And have you come to a conclusion yet?" Harry tried very hard not to react to the bubble of hope that was growing somewhere near his kidneys because it was making it hard to breathe.

"Not quite, but I've been leaning more towards liking the idea of marrying you."

"I thought you said marriage was stupid."

"I never said it was stupid, I just thought it was another way for my parents to hold me down. Mother pointed out to me, also, that I've already rebelled in the most extreme ways I could've, so there's really no point in rebelling further."

"I was right to call her manipulative," Harry sighed. "Are you sure that you like the idea of marriage? We don't have to get married, Draco. I'll love you either way." Since Harry had said he'd loved Draco the first time it was much easier to repeat it. At the speech he'd had this overpowering urge to tell Draco how he felt, and though it was probably cheesy and cliche, he thought he'd timed it out rather well. It was obvious how good it had made Draco feel, and he liked making Draco feel good.

"I know we don't have to get married, and I'm still not sure I want to yet. I've just been thinking about it."

"I've been thinking about it, too," Harry said quietly. "On my lunch break, when I don't eat at the Ministry, I always walk past this one jewelry shop and a few times…"

"A few times, what?"

"Well, there's a ring that's been catching my eye."

"You didn't buy it, did you?" Draco groaned. "I swear if you spend another galleon on me before my birthday I will—"

"Oh, calm down," Harry chortled, loving how riled up Draco got at the thought of Harry spending large amounts of money on him. "I didn't buy it, okay? It just caught my eye. Several times."

"You've already given me one ring, and this one will do perfectly fine— if we even decide to get married. Please don't buy me another one."

"But that's not an engagement ring."

"It might as well be," Draco muttered.

"What do you mean?" Harry knew exactly what Draco meant, but what he was curious about was how Draco had figured it out.

"Mum told me what it means, Harry. Did you honestly believe that my mother, one of the most traditional purebloods, would overlook something like that?"

"Uppity bitch," Harry sighed.

"Self-proclaimed, yes," Draco agreed. "Which still boggles my mind to this day."

"So she told you about what the ring means…" Harry sighed and decided he owed Draco a bit of an explanation. "I promise that I didn't have any ulterior motives for it, really. I just thought… since you're a pureblood and were raised around pureblood traditions…"

"It was very thoughtful of you, and I do really love this ring, but I think I'm all done with pureblood traditions, after that bloody fountain."

"Can't say I blame you, there. It is weird, how much Andromeda likes it, isn't it?"

"I definitely think so, but hey, I'm not going to stop her from keeping it here. We're not taking it with us, either way. I refuse."

"No need, I don't want it, either."

"I want to buy her a house," Draco said, again startling Harry with his random thoughts.

"Are you serious? Can you even afford to do that? We're about to be buying one, too, and you know I won't be able to afford it on my own. Can your vaults handle that?" Draco turned his head on his pillow and raised a single blond brow.

"At this very second, even after the war reparations— which were not small fines— I could purchase two manor homes the size of my mother's and still afford to live comfortably for the rest of my days. Oh, and leave Teddy enough for a generous inheritance."

"So you're serious," Harry replied, trying to wrap his mind around how much money that could be. More money than he had, apparently, though it hadn't been a secret that the Malfoys were loaded.

"Yes. I want to buy her a house. Mother told me that Andromeda wasn't very well off to begin with, and with the hospital bills she's racked up she's going to be destitute before she manages to get another place. Helping you buy our house, which I'm assuming I'll pay half of, will not even begin to break my bank, let alone bend it. My coffers are overflowing, I'd like to do something good with it."

"Your mother doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut, does she?"

"Well, she used to, but it seems recently she's been going with an honesty policy so severe she's transparent. She never was that way, but it's sort of refreshing."

"So," Harry said, making a mental list of all the things on their growing to do list. "We've got to buy our house, pack up our things— but probably leave Teddy's stuff here so Andromeda doesn't have to buy him everything new— unpack our things, buy Andromeda a house, throw a housewarming party for both households, and… I feel like I'm forgetting something."

"Birthdays."

"Right, birthdays. Why do they all have to be so close together?"

"I don't know, but Teddy's is next month. I have no idea what to get him." Harry's brain was beginning to hurt with the thought of all they had to do in a short period of time.

"We can think about that tomorrow."

Deciding to put an end to the talking, Harry rolled over and wrapped an arm around Draco's waist, tugging him closer to his chest. Inhaling the clean scent of Draco's hair— something he thought was equal parts creepy and comforting— he managed to get a decent night's sleep.