******** ******** Chapter 21 ******** ********

Draco showed him many watercolors and landscape paintings as they walked through the hallways. "The dining-room is down this way, but first, you have to see another painting. This is an important one, Harry; it's not just a painting. He's a portrait of Abraxas Malfoy… You'll like him, I think." Draco straightened up and placed his hand gently in the crook of Harry's arm. "Hello, Grandfather…"

"Eh? What's this, then?" A gruff older gentleman sat on a wing-backed chair inside the large frame. "Oh… You're Lucius' boy, Draconis, aren't you?"

Draco smiled politely. "Yes, Grandfather. I've someone to introduce you to. This is my husband, Harry James Malfoy-Potter."

"Malfoy-Potter? Husband…oh, right, there's that potion that allows men to have children…absurd idea – but whatever will continue the line. Well, let's get a good look at you, boys." The man said with his eyes going back and forth between the two living men. "I'm Abraxas Gilbert Malfoy, young man. It's clear that you are the dominant of the pair… and it's good to see that the future of my family seems in good hands."

"Yes, sir; I promise you it is. I'll take good care of him." Harry patted Draco's hand.

Abraxas nodded at the sight. "Should've known Lucius' boy would be the sub…Well, Mr. Malfoy-Potter; you take good care of my grandson!"

Harry smiled at the portrait. "I will, sir. You needn't fear for him."

"Draconis, last I heard, there was a war going on. Has it finished? What happened? Who won?" The man demanded.

"The war is definitely over, Grandfather." Draco said softly. "Voldemort is dead and gone. My Harry was actually the winner."

Abraxas' eyes widened and he looked dreadfully angry. "Tell the truth, boy! Were you spoils of war?"

"Oh no, sir." Draco protested.

"Lucius supported that Voldemort person, though!" He looked at Harry. "That's why I haven't been to my portrait at the Manor in several years. I've never approved of a Malfoy bowing down to anyone!"

"And I swear to bow down to no-one except my husband, Grandfather." Draco said firmly to the man in the painting.

The man in the painting narrowed his eyes and scrutinized both boys. "Good. Now, tell me about this war."

In the end, Harry told the portrait a vague version of events and promised him a much longer talk later. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but we must join the others for dinner, sir. Draco is carrying the next generation of Malfoys and Potters, you see. He must keep up his strength."

"Why didn't you say so before?! Indeed, the boy looks half-starved!" Abraxas commented. "Go on, now, Harry …but do come back to visit with me. I must have the details!"

"Yes, sir; it was wonderful meeting you." Harry bowed to him.

"And you, young man…" Abraxas nodded and relaxed into his chair.

"Dray, where is the dining-room from here?" Harry asked.

The blond smirked and pointed to a door just behind them. They entered and were unsurprised to see the rest of the family already seated. What did surprise them was the patient look on all of their faces.

"I became impatient and checked the hallway only to see you speaking with my father. I knew you would be a while but didn't wish to have a confrontation with a painting of a dead man so I left you to it." Lucius informed them.

"How did you get away from that chatterbox, Harry?" Narcissa asked. "He loves to talk, that one…well, only with some people, really."

"I pointed out that Draco was pregnant and needed dinner to keep up his strength. Abraxas agreed that the health of the future generation of Malfoys and Potters was too important to wait on the discussion of the war and bade me come back for a chat when I could." He grinned innocently over at his father-in-law while masking his knowledge of the irony. "Your father is a very nice man, Lucius."

The elder blond simply stared at him.

Narcissa looked at him strangely, as if she could see the mockery in his words, and patted her husband's hand. "We should call for the elves to bring dinner, Luc."

He cleared his throat and did so. A large dinner of turkey, gravy, stuffing, rice, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes was served almost instantly.

When Harry saw that there was no apple sauce, he quickly called for Dinki but he wasn't quick enough.

"Where's the apple sauce? Will someone please pass the apple sauce?" Draco called out looking up and down the table. "I…I need my apple sauce!"

Lucius' eyes widened in dismay. Pansy bit her lip.

Harry patted his husband's hand. "Calm down, Dray. The elves will get it for you. Dinki, you'll get Master Draco his apple sauce, won't you?"

Dinki didn't waste time answering, she just popped out and back in again. This time she seemed almost in tears. "Dinki looked in the pantry, Master Harry, sir. There's no apple sauce in the house."

Draco looked at his mother and then at Harry. "W-What does she mean?"

Harry glanced contemptuously at his father-in-law. "She means that they're out, Draco." He pulled out several galleons from his pocket. "Dinki, I want you to check the pantry and ice box for the other items that Master Draco enjoys and then go to the store and buy whatever we don't have. You remember the list, don't you?"

"Yes, Master Harry, sir; Dinki will be right back!" She nodded, took the galleons and popped out again.

"Lucius, may I speak with you in the hall for a moment?" Harry said calmly.

"As you wish." The older man said nothing as he stood and regally began to walk toward the door.

"You said they didn't need anything special, Lucius…" Narcissa spoke in a mild voice as she placed warming charms on the food.

"I may have been mistaken…" He said walking out of the room briskly.

Harry motioned for Pansy to help calm Draco. Then he excused himself and went to speak with his husband's father. Before speaking, he set up silencing spells and fixed the other man with a glare. "I wrote out a list, Lucius… I specifically told you he wouldn't eat at all if something on that list was missing from the table! Why didn't you listen to me?"

Lucius waved his hand. "Frivolous trivialities!"

"Yes, I can see just how trivial they are when I look at the tears rolling down your pregnant son's face! He has cravings, as every pregnant person does." Harry snapped, eyes flashing with emerald fire. "You said before the wedding that you'd be there for us – both of us. You seem to be going back on that promise and more, Lucius. Narcissa asked if there was anything she could get to provide a comfortable stay over the holiday and I told you that he needs salsa mixed with his scrambled eggs for breakfast. Pickles are his favorite lunchtime treat. As a snack and with dinner he always asks for apple sauce and for dessert he will cry unless he sees Tin Roof Sundae ice cream with whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles and a cherry on top. Will Dinki have to buy any more of our trivialities, Lucius?"

"Yes, all of them, I'm afraid…" Lucius sighed. "The only salsa I know of is the dance… we've never eaten it as food and I don't know how Draco even knows of it… Pickles… they're too salty and we didn't want his blood pressure to get too high so we kept him away from them for his health. The apple sauce…Well, I didn't think you were serious about that and the ice cream…Will he really cry?"

Harry took a deep breath and said, "No…because Dinki will come back very soon with everything that she was sent for." He dismissed the silencing spells and counted backward from ten before going back into the dining-room while Lucius stared after him.

"Harry," Narcissa began as he sat down. "Did you and Draco get the letter I sent you – the one asking about anything we could get to accommodate both of your needs during your stay?"

Harry nodded slowly. This could be a dangerous minefield unless he was careful because he didn't want to antagonize Lucius by getting him in trouble. "Yes…"

"Did you answer it?" She asked, casual curiosity ringing in her voice.

"Yes, Ma'am…with a list of specifics for Draco only…I have no food allergies, nor cravings to account for." The brunette smiled tightly at her. "Lucius must've misplaced it or perhaps he didn't receive it at all."

"It's far more likely that he dismissed it as trivial and didn't tell me or the elves anything about it." Narcissa scoffed. "But thank you for not just throwing him under the Knight Bus."

Lucius chose that moment to return, but he was in a foul mood. "My father's portrait was inside the spells you put up, Harry. He has demanded that I apologize to both you and my son. I'm very sorry to have misjudged the importance of the items you requested in the letter, Harry. My only excuse is that it's been over seventeen years since I've dealt with a pregnant person's cravings. Draco, I'm very sorry I didn't think of your feelings in this. Can we eat yet?"

Dinki suddenly popped in with a bowl of apple sauce and placed it in front of Draco who sighed softly as he scooped some up and placed it in his mouth with a moan.

Harry nodded to Lucius as Pansy sighed in relief and moved back to her own place at the table. The whole family dug into their meals but nobody really relaxed until Draco finished his bowl of Tin Roof Sundae ice cream.

After dessert, Narcissa invited everyone into the drawing room. Lucius and Draco played chess while Pansy spoke softly with Narcissa. Harry was at a loss until he saw Abraxas poke his head into another painting. He smirked and nodded politely to Draco's grandfather as he made his way over to sit in a comfy chair next to the painting. "Is this another of your portraits, Sir?"

"No, no, this one belongs to my brother. He must be in one of his other portraits." The older man told him. "I hope you'll indulge me in that discussion, now, Harry."

"Of course, sir; where shall I start?" Harry asked.

They spoke at length until Draco began to yawn.

Harry's eyes snapped to his husband's face. "I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy. Anything further will have to wait. I need to get Draco to bed. He's very tired."

"Yes, yes; of course! My grandson must be well rested!" Abraxas said enthusiastically. "Those babies of yours must be taking it out of him! Oh, and Harry...you may call me Rax."

Narcissa's eyes widened as she glanced over at them.

"Thank you, Rax. I count it an honor to do so." Harry smiled at the portrait as he bowed slightly and turned to get Draco's attention. "Come on, love. It's time for bed."

Draco sighed. "But I'm not tired, Harry."

"Sure, you're not. I just watched you yawn so widely that tears formed in your eyes. You know the babies are going to make you tired earlier. Just give in to what you need, love." Harry spoke in a tone that made his words sound like a suggestion.

"We're almost done with this game, Harry. Please just let us finish this game?" The blond asked.

Harry suppressed a sigh and gave in. "Fine, but Lucius, can you make it quick? Draco really needs his rest."

Narcissa and Pansy went to bed soon after that while Harry watched Draco and his father play it out. Lucius had three moves that he could make but only one of them would result in a checkmate to end the game. Though Harry begged silently, Lucius chose to make one of the others and the game that should've taken only seconds longer to finish, ended an hour later with the same result: he won and Draco lost.

Harry had to carry the blond all the way back to their suite with Dinki guiding him through the halls. Would Lucius ever learn to trust him when it came to taking care of Draco? He knew his husband would be out of it for half the day tomorrow and bitchy to boot. Harry swore to himself that, next time, he'd put his foot down and take Draco to bed the moment he began yawning.

Well, there you have it! Dinner with the Malfoys! LOL! I love a good L/H altercation, don't you? Power struggles have a way of creating such drama in the lives of the people involved. Well, I've decided on the names of most of the babies! Here's a few I won't be using:

Boys:

Ace, Herod, Hermes, Loki, Robin, Hippolyte,Eoforwine, Clement, Cain, Clotaire, Polux, Stanislas, Stanton, Ugolino, Xander, Flynn, Ferdinand, Hercules, Zeus, Cygnus, Corvus, James, Sirius, Remus, Alastor, David, Thomas, Martin, Ian

Girls:
Athenais, Eponine, Florestine, Sheridan Rayleen, Lilyan Harlow, Willow Annalise, Hero Isabella, Koli, Ribbon, Lacy, Loxy, Blythe, Centauri, Sagitta, Vela, Carina, Amaryllis, Briony/Bryony, Leilani, Linnea, Evanthia, Marguerite, Malvina, Ophiuchus

Thanks for ALL your help! – Lori