Disclaimer; I do not own either the Harry Potter series or characters neither do I own the X-Men series or characters.
Logan watched as the last group of the day left the Danger Room, most bearing bruises, if not a bruised ego. At least this way they learned to control their cockiness, especially since none of them had any field training.
Grabbing the gym bag he'd brought along, he pulled out his towel and removed the sweat from his face, heading up to his room for a much needed shower.
Arriving on the second floor, he wasn't quite ready to step out and almost be run over by three little ones, the eldest easily recognizable as Teddy as his hair changed from purple to green as he laughed, then orange as he was turning the next corner.
Rogue came from around the opposite corner, a little child with two colored eyes in her arms.
"Logan! Have ya seen Teddy?" she asked, smile wide on her face with the two-year-old giggling in her arms.
"Guess his dad arrived, eh? He went around that corner," pointed out Logan, smiling as Rogue started back her run, the child's laughter bouncing off the walls.
Shaking his head in amusement, he kept on going towards his room, making sure to lock his door behind him before heading for the adjoining bathroom. He quickly rinsed off the soap he applied on and was dressed in seconds, in a pair of worn jeans with a white wife beater shirt, heading down to the main floor to see how the chasing game was going.
He found Bobby with his eyes closed counting down from twenty, a green eyed, blond haired toddler at his feet.
"Having fun, Iceman?" Logan found himself asking.
The ice user opened his eyes and grinned widely.
"John got charged with bringing the kids back together and we all decided to join in a small game of hide and seek chase tag game. Those kids sure know how to hide!"
Logan gave a chuckle as he knelt down and looked at the toddler, this one showing no signs of fear as he reached out for the Feral mutant with both arms.
"He's the birthday boy, Caiden," supplied Bobby as Logan picked up the child and stood.
"Birthday boy? A year-old, I'm guessing?"
Bobby nodded.
"Keep an eye on him while I round up the rest? Teddy's showing his sister and cousin all the little hiding holes they can fit into! Believe me, there are a lot of them."
"Sure, so long as you tell me where their father is."
"Kitchen with Jean," replied Bobby before he took off, saying 'Here I come!' as soon as he stepped out of the recreational room.
Logan peered down at the one-year-old in his arms and gave a small grin.
"Let's go see what Jeanie and your daddy are up to, eh?"
Before they even got to the kitchen door, Logan could hear Jean and a soft spoken man chatting and cooking tools clattering about. They mostly seemed to be talking about the children.
"They're quite different, you just have to let them act out. Caleb gets all clingy while Tyler goes to do his own thing, but never too far from each other. If they start to feel uneasy, they start acting like copies. It can get really interesting; I had friends like that in high school and they didn't have alternate eye colors. Their goal in school was to confuse as many people as they could. We can't even be sure if their notes were exactly the same because they scored the same or because the teachers couldn't tell their writing apart!"
Jean's laughter made Logan smile. While everyone got along well inside of the mansion most of the time, sometimes they needed an outside source to just help them relax. Logan left for searches; Scott played with the motorcycles and other vehicles if he didn't go ride them; Ororo went to Africa at least twice a year to visit her village if not more often; Charles visited people he was long acquainted with; Hank went out to research different medical or scientific theories.
Everyone had a little something for themselves, but Jean was rarely out except on missions or on dates with Scott, which Logan didn't count at all as an outside distraction.
"So, Tyler has the green eye on the left side and Caleb is the right one?"
"Exactly! Even if they tell you differently, stick with that, otherwise they'll think they can pass more under your nose."
Logan entered the kitchen and was actually surprised by the look of their guest. The man was rather on the short size, with messy black hair that was pulled back, barely being held by an elastic band. He had a scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt and intense green eyes behind elegant glasses. He wore loose jeans and a long sleeved shirt that had three buttons at the collar, all undone. Fingerless gloves were hanging out from his back pocket, bringing attention to his hands, his right one having scars on the back of it, but Logan wasn't close enough to see if he could guess as to what made them.
"Da!" eventually called the child in his arms, bouncing slightly on himself.
Jean and Harry looked over to them, both smiling.
"Hey there Caiden. Having fun?" asked Harry, wiping his hands on a towel and going over to Logan to retrieve the child.
Logan didn't say a word, catching the amused look Jean had on her face.
"That's a good look for you, Logan," she teased. "Almost looks like you've had children before with the way you were holding him."
"Just your imagination, Red. I can assure you I've not had a kid in the past sixteen years and if I did before that? I can't remember, so they'll have to find me first," grunted Logan, going to fetch himself a beer in the 'grown-up' fridge.
Jean rolled her eyes while Harry tilted his head slightly to the side, a small smile on his lips.
"You're the Logan Teddy keeps on talking about, correct? You've made quite an impression on Draco, and that's a hard one to do. It took a common enemy for us to talk without being at each other's throat and then a common family duty to let us actually get along and enjoy each other's presence. I'm impressed."
Logan didn't know what to say at all, Jean barely keeping in her laughter at the expression on his face. Harry gave a rather disarming smile before moving back to the island counter.
"Anyways, I'm sure Caiden's going to turn up being a real hellion, what with the twins being rather restless and Lily being up to no good at her best behavior. I'd need Teddy at home to balance them out and maybe Scorpius also, but Lily's got a corruptive streak a mile long!" joked Harry.
"One would think Scorpius would be best behaved, with a father as strict as Mr. Malfoy," pointed out Jean, placing the cheese on top of the macaroni.
Harry just laughed.
"Draco's a big softy! Sure, he has a few standards, but if Scorpius really pulls out the puppy eyes, that man's in trouble! If Ted's got a hint of a bellyache, he'll be bending himself backwards to find something to sooth it! Shit, when there was a hint of complication at the twins' birth, Draco was breathing down the neck of the doctor so hard I had to leave the room!"
That surprised Jean greatly. While the man had shown a few times how much he adored his son and little cousin, she wouldn't have pegged him as a complete softy.
"How do your children act around Draco?" she had to ask.
Harry rolled his eye, sitting down with Caiden cuddled against his chest, the child closing his eyes and relaxing down for a short nap.
"It has officially turned into a contest as to whom will make Draco pull out his own hair, and believe me, that bloke is especially proud of his hair! He almost didn't get his acceptance ceremony because he didn't want to cut some of it when it came time for him to get his accomplishment markings."
"You mean to tell me that that tattoo on his face is a recognition of passing?" asked a befuddled Jean.
Harry nodded with a large grin on his face.
"Absolutely! From a tribe in Indonesia, one of the little island close to Australia. He's one of the few that got accepted as an outsider to learn their medical healing methods. I think he mentioned he's the fifth in the last four hundred years. A lot of people weren't pleased with him once he came back to England, but I think it fits him properly."
"What about the piercing?"
"To absolutely piss off his father. The man deserved it, if you ask me. Never could be happy about his own son's accomplishments; nothing but critiques. We all breathe easier since he passed away, especially Draco."
Jean could now connect the dots in her head. Draco's behavior came from childhood expectances, high ones that he wanted to protect his son from but couldn't quite get rid of himself.
"Daddy!" called Lily as she came through the door.
"Don't yell inside Lily, please," scolded slightly Harry, gently shifting Caiden in his grip. "What is it?"
The little blonde girl bit her bottom lip at the reprimand but then smiled widely.
"Marie said she really likes my hair! And she wants to do braids in it. Can she?"
Harry considered his daughter for a few seconds, the girl shifting with all her pent up energy.
"If she promises not to tangle them. Took me an hour to get all the knots out the last time someone else played with your hair, love."
Lily rolled her eyes.
"Aunt 'Mione said she was sorry!"
"Yeah, but I still had to fix it all up. If it starts to tangle, tell her to stop, got me?"
"Yes daddy!"
The little blonde was gone as fast as she'd come, Harry letting out a sigh. The three adults sat down quietly around the table, Caiden's loud breathing the only real noise inside the room.
"Is Mione your sister?" asked Jean.
"Childhood friend, actually. I'm an orphan and my only relatives are my aunt and cousin back in the UK. I never got along with them, much less my aunt's husband."
"And Victoria? Does she have siblings?"
"A half-brother I've never met, but their parents also died when they were little. They lost touch years ago…I think Vic misses him more than we believe. He was Vic's whole world from teenage-hood to adulthood."
Jean felt her heart clench as it was clear Harry was saddened by his mate's situation.
"Have you tried finding him?"
Harry tilted his head forward slightly.
"We know where James is, it's just…very complicated. They didn't leave on good terms and Vic was less than civil last they saw of each other. I'd rather they not argue around my children at the moment."
Jean nodded with a smile, understanding that arguing was most likely fighting. And with little children always in your legs, that could turn dangerous fast for them, especially if the two siblings happened to be mutants.
"When's the next baby for?" asked Jean to change the mood, Harry letting out a groan.
"Please, don't ask! My friends are all harassing me about it! My best friend, who's married to 'Mione, whose full name is Hermione, is the sixth of seven children. He keeps on telling me I got the order wrong!"
Jean laughed.
"What's the order supposed to be then?" asked with a grunt Logan.
"Three boys, twin boys, a sixth boy and 'then' the girl. I just think his mother wanted a daughter and wouldn't give up until she had one."
"Strong woman," said Jean.
"Oh yeah! Believe me, the daughters-in-law have a lot of work cut out for them to gain her approval. Even Hermione had her difficulties and Molly already liked her before they started dating!"
"What about the son-in-law?"
Harry looked away, smile faltering. He shifted Caiden once more, the child giving a slight whine.
"The first son-in-law didn't cut out and the future-son-in-law is doing alright so far, but the problem wasn't really with the mother-in-law."
Logan sat up a bit straighter in his chair, remembering what Draco had said about Harry being married previously. But Harry shook his head slightly and smiled once more, giving a slight shake to Caiden on the way to wake him up.
"Food should be ready now. I'll go get my little ones."
Harry left the kitchen while Jean went to pull out the pans from the oven, where the cheese had been left to melt atop the macaroni.
"Do you think he was…" trailed off Jean, not wanting to voice out her suspicions.
"Ain't our business Jeanie. Leave it be."
XD|DX
There was a definite change in Scorpius' manners from the last month. He'd been very proper, using his fork elegantly and not taking too big of bites. Now he was talking, laughing and plain being a child as he ate, even trying to steal some of Lily's cheese from her plate which caused her to hit him with her spoon.
"Ow! Uncle Har~ry!"
"Not with the spoon Lily, please," replied absently Harry as he did his best to keep Caiden from making a real big mess while eating himself.
"But daddy! He's in my plate!"
"I know, but you don't need to hit him with a spoon. You could just tell me."
Lily rolled her eyes, glaring at the younger blonde and showing him the fork she wasn't using as a warning. Scorpius gave a glare before he turned to his other side and gave Teddy puppy eyes, this one placing his arms around his plate to protect his food.
"Don't even think about it!"
"Aw, poor little guy! Want my cheese?" Rogue offered.
Scorpius looked at her with wide eyes, a big smile on his lips as he nodded his head vigorously.
"Yes please!"
The girl easily leaned over the table to move the cheese from her plate to his, the four-year-old eating it with gusto. Harry looked at it all from the corner of his eye, rolling them when Rogue was back in her seat.
"Telling me the fast food don't fill up your tummy too, Scorpius?" he asked back at the platinum blond.
"Nope!" chirped the child.
Harry looked towards the ceiling, as if sending a silent prayer to the 'man' upstairs.
"Never mind getting you married to Lily, I'll convince Draco to change her for Cal and Ty," sighed Harry.
Scorpius looked from Lily to the twins before smiling widely.
"Okay!"
"Urgh!" let out Teddy, slapping a hand to his forehead.
Harry looked like he wanted to do the same thing.
"So, you're okay to marry the twins but not Lily? Why is that?" Bobby asked, everyone either befuddled or amused at the table.
They saw a slight shift in Scorpius as he sat up straighter, turning back to mini-Draco instead of the child they'd seen for the past few hours.
"Father says ejucated gurls are only trouble! Liliann goes to school, so she's ejucated. She's only going to be trouble! Plus, she's got cooties!" he pointed out, very proud of himself.
Harry did slap his hand to his forehead this time, Caiden imitating him with both of his. Lily's eyes narrowed, understanding what Scorpius was accusing her of. She leaned closer to him, Scorpius having gone back to his cheese.
Only Scorpius didn't seem to realize Lily was now right besides his face, the tension in the room being of anticipation. Even Harry had turned to be able to see what would happen.
As fast as a snake, Liliann struck out, her tongue coming out of her mouth and licking Scorpius' chin to his cheek bone before she returned to her previous sitting position, big smile on her face.
Scorpius leaned away from her towards Teddy at the first contact of her tongue, but the damage was already done. He had saliva and a tiny bit of sauce on his cheek. But most of all, he had-
"Cooties! Ew! Uncle Harry! Liliann gave me cooties!" shrieked with a high pitch tone Scorpius.
Harry looked like he wanted to sink under the table, blushing deeply as everyone laughed, which made Lily raise her chin with pride.
"Lily, tongue in your mouth until you're sixteen!" scolded Harry as he gained back some composure. "Scorpius, cooties do not exist! If you don't stop with them, I'll tell Draco and you know what that means."
Scorpius pouted, taking a napkin to clean his cheek.
"Why sixteen daddy?" asked the twin with the right yellow eye and the left green.
"Because that's when I'll allow for a boyfriend, Tyler. Same for girlfriends for you guys; no tongue on anyone until sixteen."
"What about ice-cream?" asked the other twin.
"Ice-cream isn't a person Caleb," sighed Harry.
John gave a sudden laugh, people turning to him only to see a blushing Bobby besides him. It wasn't hard to see that Pyro had made a joke on Iceman's mutant name.
"John behave!" scolded Rogue, but she couldn't quite keep her giggles in.
"Daddy?" asked Caleb, frowning.
Harry turned to him, looking unsure if he wanted to answer his child.
"Yes?" he asked hesitantly.
"What's a boyfriend?" asked instead Tyler.
"And girlfriend?" added Caleb.
The whole of the dining room burst out laughing, Harry really sinking down in his chair this time.
"I'll tell you when you're four, alright? Now finish your plates if you want cake."
Properly distracted, the Potter children and Malfoy heir hurried to eat their macaroni. Jean could see why Harry would be hesitant to leave the bunch with a babysitter. Each demanded for his own brand of attention, and they didn't have the patience yet to wait for their turn. It was a miracle that Harry could juggle them so logically in their chaotic nature.
And by Harry's smile as he 'inspected' each bowl presented to him, he adored every minute of it.
A/N: And here's another part! Enjoy!