Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR, of course. Just puttering about in her world.
A/N: Another chapter quickly on the heels of the last! I can officially say that the story is completed as of last night. There's one more official chapter, which is a bit shorter than most, and then an epilogue chapter set 20 years in the future. I hope you all enjoy.
{{Parselmouth}}
Harry shivered in the winter air, for once missing the layers of wizarding clothing that made the winter outdoors less frigid back home. He knelt in the snow, brushing it away from the grave site carefully. He could have charmed the snow away, since no one was in the cemetery, but it would stand out too vividly in a Muggle area. Besides, there was solace in doing the work himself.
Thankfully the groundskeeper at this cemetery took pride in his work. The months Harry had been at Hogwarts hadn't allowed neglect to curl around Jessie and Jamie's graves. There was no debris under the snow, and the stone urns that had held purple tulips been cleared out for the winter. He'd paid extra to have that done, since the bulbs would die in a container over the harsh winters here. The only charms he'd allowed himself were those that made the headstones and urns unbreakable, with an addition that anyone trying would grow distracted and leave the area entirely. He'd seen too many damaged monuments to resist that much.
He held the photo frame he'd brought with him for a long moment, the Muggle picture of Richard amidst all his Christmas wrapping paper making his heart ache that neither Jessie nor Jamie would ever see the boy grow up. The frame was larger than the photo, and Harry had filled the rest with handwritten little notes about Richard's milestones during the year. Figuring the groundskeeper would assume he'd cemented the frame in place, he risked a wandless Sticking Charm to affix the frame to the base that ran under both headstones.
That done, he began to speak, at first haltingly, with unshed tears choking his voice, but then the words came easier as he imagined himself filling his lost family in on Richard's deeds throughout the year. Finally he'd said all he'd wanted about the baby, but he remained kneeling on the frozen ground.
"I'm getting married again," he admitted softly at last. "He loves our son like his own, and Richard adores him. I know it's only been a year you've been gone, but losing you proved to me all over again just how damned uncertain life can be. I don't think I could live with myself if I had stuck some sort of artificial waiting period on being with him and then lost him before that deadline passed."
He took a deep, steading breath and managed a smile. "Funny thing is, I think if you met him, you'd adore him too. I wish I'd taken you home just once, so you'd know everyone, not just the few who came over for visits." With an effort due to the cold that had seeped into his lower legs, Harry stood. "I think you'd be happy to know that Richard and I aren't alone."
As Harry stepped back to begin the trek back to where he'd parked his rental car, he felt a warming charm wash over him. Startled, he turned, expecting to see Severus had realized his plans for the day and tagged along. But instead there was Draco, standing solemnly a few feet back. Before he could speak, the blond's wand flicked, causing a wealth of large yellow wildflowers to cover the bared soil of the graves.
"Adonis. It stands for sorrowful remembrance." Another flick and trailings of green ivy wove around the stems of the yellow flowers. "Ivy, for wedded love and friendship."
"It's a Muggle area, Draco. Flowers in winter are a bit odd."
Draco only studied his work solemnly. "It's a charm only wizards can see the results of. Bit like a notice-me-not, I suppose, or maybe because it's pure magic Muggles naturally ignore it." He met Harry's gaze. "They deserve something beautiful even in winter, and any wizards who notice will know they are important in both worlds to someone."
Something about the last statement made the tears he'd managed not to shed earlier start falling, and Harry made a single choking sound before strong arms circled him and drew him close. The tears didn't last long, but when he drew away, Draco's shoulder was damp.
"I can understand why you'd want to do this on your own, Harry, but I wanted to pay my respects too," the blond explained.
"How did you know where to go?"
"Severus and Arthur. Severus even had the portkey ready for me. They considered coming with me but thought you'd prefer not having a crowd."
Harry took Draco's hand, glad neither of them were sensible and wearing gloves. "I'm glad you came."
"Do you truly think he'd have liked me?"
Surprised by the uncertainty in the other man's voice, Harry nodded. "They both would have, actually, and Jamie would have gotten along famously with your mother."
The walk to the car was a quiet one, with neither seeming to need further conversation. Draco slid into the passenger seat, waiting until Harry had started the car before asking if they were heading back to the wizarding area or if he had more to do before they returned.
The dark-haired man hesitated a moment. "I was thinking about going by the house. It hasn't sold yet, and I wanted to check up on things."
"Alright. I'd like to see where you lived, actually, if you still want to go."
Harry smiled, glad Draco wasn't uncomfortable with the idea. If he were honest, the idea of stepping foot back there after so long away was daunting, more than visiting the cemetery had been. He put the car in gear, making the short ten minute trip with small comments to point out significant places in the neighborhood to the blond. He fell quiet as he pulled into the driveway of the sprawling Victorian he'd purchased when he'd first moved to the area after graduating from college and getting his teaching degree.
"Harry, it's absolutely beautiful."
"Really?" It surprised him a bit, considering the Manor Draco called home. He knew the historical property was considered handsome and sprawling, especially by Harry's terms.
"Yeah." Draco had his door open, emerging from the car to study the house. Harry shut off the car and followed him. "It's large enough for a family, but still small enough to be cozy."
Harry laughed at that. "It was a bit of a mess when I bought it, but worth the effort to make repairs, although I rattled around in it until I met Jessie." He offered his hand to Draco and led the other man to the door. His keys were with the estate agent, but that was easily bypassed with an unlocking charm. He braced himself as they stepped into the foyer, taking in the furniture he'd left behind.
"I can't believe it hasn't sold." Draco squeezed Harry's hand, tugging him along as he began to explore the ground floor.
"The Muggle economy's fairly depressed here, especially for selling a restored house this size. I've thought about lowering the price, but the estate agent tells me to just be patient."
Draco was looking thoughtful, especially as they discovered the modernized kitchen. Harry was certain he didn't know what most of the appliances were, but the other man explored them all thoughtfully, trailing fingers along the granite countertops. "How many bedrooms does it have?"
"Seven. Jessie teased me I was planning for a small army of children when I bought the place." He stepped to the kitchen, enjoying the view of the river at the edge of the property. "The bedrooms are a bit scattered. Three on the second floor, two on the third, one on the ground floor, and one on the basement level. That one's a self-contained flat, with its own bath and kitchen. Third floor has a big playroom too."
Reaching the dining area off the kitchen, Draco was now exploring the smooth wood of the dining chairs. "What if you didn't sell it, Harry?"
Green eyes met grey as Harry turned from the window. "It's rather far away from home."
Draco scoffed. "We both own properties all over Europe. Why not a family home in America? We can bring the children here during the summer holiday, and it's big enough that my parents or Severus and Andromeda can visit. We can hook up the fireplace in the front room to the floo network, and then it's just a slightly longer period of dizziness to get here anytime we like."
"You wouldn't mind living here?" While Harry knew Draco had lived at both Hogwarts and Malfoy Manor with his former wife, both places were so much more than a home in his eyes that it didn't occur to him to see anything of the woman around. But here, the ghost of Jessie would always linger, and Jamie too, since she'd lived in the basement flat.
Crossing the room to take Harry's hand in his, Draco ghosted a kiss across his lips. "I love you, and you obviously love this house, Harry. Knowing you had a happy marriage here only makes me like the place more, not less."
Harry smiled. "If you're absolutely certain, then I'd love to keep the house. I did so much of the work with my own hands it feels like the house is part of me."
"It's settled then." Draco's own smile was so content that Harry couldn't resist. He pressed the other man into the counter, hands seeking the silken blond hair as he kissed him with all the love and gratitude he could muster. When they parted at last for breath, Harry leaned his forehead against Draco's. "I've said it before, but I don't know how I got so lucky twice in one lifetime. I love you beyond words."
"I love you too. All parts of you, including the one that will always love Jessie." Draco's hands were gentle as they stroked his back. "Now let's go find that estate agent and cancel the idea she's selling this place."
That was a plan Harry couldn't object to, and he knew neither of them wanted to remain half the world away from their children for very long.
As Harry and Draco approached the playroom, they were surprised to see Narcissa and Andromeda giggling at the playroom door. Since the occupants they could see didn't seem to hear the women's laughter, Harry assumed a silencing spell was in place. "What's so funny?" he asked as he and Draco joined them at the door.
"Just look," Andromeda said, leaning against her sister as they giggled. It reminded Harry that he was glad the two sisters had overcome the years of blood politics that had driven them apart.
Inside the room, the simple Muggle dollhouse had been transfigured into something resembling a miniature Malfoy Manor. Lucius appeared to be redecorating the rooms and rearranging the small furniture with flicks of his wand at Allie's solemn direction. Beside him, next to where Richard sat sucking his thumb, Severus was busy transfiguring small bits of cloth into wizarding garments for Allie's now immense collection of Barbie dolls.
"How in the world did they get drawn into doing this instead of you two?" Draco asked.
"We left the children with them to go to a meeting for the children's charity," Narcissa explained. "When we returned, we found this going on. Lucius has already had to expand the dollhouse once, to add a dressing room for all the robes and such Severus has been making for the dolls."
Harry's attention was drawn to another dollhouse expansion, watching as Lucius added a tiny conservatory filled with minuscule plants. "Is he magicking the house too?"
Narcissa nodded. "The kitchen has an oven that makes tiny edible cakes, and the sink washes dishes if you put them in. He made shrunken copies of all Allie's books for the library. Each room has some tiny bit of magic to it, including a tiny potions lab that Severus added."
The men could only shake their heads ruefully at the older males' antics for the children's amusement. Harry turned his attention to Richard, who was intent on watching but held a plush dragon cuddled to his chest. He saw Allie's cornsnake, Lavender, who'd obviously decided to join the quartet at the dollhouse. But instead of going to her mistress, Lavender slithered into Richard's lap, causing the toddler to smile happily as he reached out to carefully touch the snake as he'd been taught.
The snake hissed a happy thank you to the boy, and everyone in the room and hallway froze when Richard hissed back in reply.
Before Harry could voice his own surprised question about what he'd heard, Allie exclaimed happily, "Richard's talking to my snake, Granddad!"
All thoughts of spying on the men forgotten, Harry entered the room, going to his son's side. He touched the cornsnake's scaly head and spoke. Snake
The toddler studied him for a moment, and then solemnly repeated the sound. {{Snake}}
Hoping it wasn't a coincidence, Harry tried again, touching his own chest. {{Father}} Then he touched Richard's chest. {{Son}} Parseltongue didn't really have words for English given names.
Richard seemed to love the game, and quickly hissed the words, repeating them with touching their chests. Harry gave the boy a delighted hug and then turned to Severus with apprehension.
"How is it possible for him to be hearing parseltongue?" he asked.
The dark-haired wizard looked pensive as he mulled over an answer. "There are two options I'd consider. The simplest would be that it's a magical talent and therefore bypasses any physiology to tap into his magical core. The more complex one would be that parseltongue works exactly like a snake's hearing does, using the jaw bones as a sound conductor, and thus Richard can 'hear' due to getting the vibrations he doesn't pick up on with his ears."
Narcissa gave a startled cry, drawing everyone's attention. "But if it's the second, then can't they do more to help him hear?" she asked. "My sign language tutor gave me all sorts of papers, when I told him I wanted to know everything about hearing loss from the Muggle point of view." She summoned a house-elf and directed the little creature to retrieve her 'special papers' off the desk in her study. It returned in an instant with a handful of shiny pamphlets, and Narcissa sorted through it quickly and shoved one into Harry's hands.
"What Severus described, isn't that what this hearing device does?" she asked.
Harry skimmed the pamphlet, remembering the type of hearing aid from the time spent at the children's hospital in America. "They weren't sure it would work, and I didn't want him to have surgery to install the post if they weren't more certain it would."
"Oh, but there's a special one." Narcissa guided him to flip the pamphlet and pointed at the device mounted on a headband. "Perhaps we could try this one? Now that his magic is manifesting, maybe it would work with this?"
She looked so delighted with the prospect that Harry couldn't help drawing her into a hug with Richard squished between them. "Thank you," he whispered softly into her shoulder.
As she drew away at last, the Malfoy matriarch stroked his cheek gently. "That is what family does, my dear. We find ways to help each other no matter what."
The words reminded him that this was a woman who'd lied to the most powerful dark wizard of their lifetimes, all for the love of her only son. For the second time that day, Harry found himself telling a Malfoy just how much he loved them.
A/N:
For anyone curious about it, the hearing aid Narcissa is referring to is called a BAHA. The bone-anchored version requires implanting a titanium post into the skull behind the ear, and then the device is attached to the mount. It is generally used for conducive hearing loss where there is damage to the outer or middle ear, but a still functional inner ear, or when someone has lost hearing in only one ear. I improvise a bit by comparing it to how a snake hears and combining it with Richard's magical talent instead of how it would normally work.
attagrl – Greg was a bit of a surprise, sneaking into the end of the tale, but I'm glad he demanded his time in the story too. I'm glad you liked the surrogacy offers. Luna is one of my all-time favorite characters, and this story hasn't really shown enough of her. And thanks for the wishes about finals. They did go well, and I actually managed to raise my GPA slightly this semester. :)
JaylaCaine – I'm glad you liked the last chapter. And I like to see their little family/friends group as having learned to accept love in all its aspects after the horrors of the war they survived.
Lientjuhh, Lupinesence, PyroFyre1214 – glad you liked the chapter!