Draco was telling the boys about his first Quidditch tryouts when Harry came home. He was worried Harry would withdraw from him again after tell him about Theo the night before, but that didn't seem to be the case. Harry had joined them at breakfast and talked happily with them before heading off to the Ministry.
Draco grinned up at him from his back on the floor with Teddy and Reggie when he noticed the stocky redhead behind him. Scrambling, he jumped and started to reach for Reggie. Harry had said that no one knew about him, that the boy stayed hidden. Before he could grab the boy, he ran toward the redhead and threw his arms around his waist.
"Charlie!" he cried. Ah, this was one of the older Weasleys, the dragonologist who lived on the Continent. Draco looked toward Harry in confusion.
"Reggie's godfather," he explained. "The Weasleys always do something for my birthday at the Burrow. Charlie came in a day early and caught me at the Ministry for a chance to see Reggie again." He shrugged.
Reggie and Teddy chattered happily at Charlie all through dinner, bringing a rare smile of content to Harry's face. Draco studied him out of the corner of his eye. Harry's face relaxed when his sons were truly happy. It made him look younger, full of life. It was a huge change from the haunted, tired expression he'd had the night before, when he talked about Theo.
Draco was still trying to come to turns with everything Harry had told him the night before. Theo had been faithful to the Death Eaters, then turned against them. Theo had died at his own father's hand.
Theo and Harry had loved each other.
That bit of information messed with his head the most, though he didn't know why. Was it because that meant Theo had liked guys? Because Potter liked guys? Because Harry Potter, of all people, had fallen in love with a Marked Death Eater?
Because he had a chance with Harry now? Was he jealous of Theo for having a place in Harry's heart, a mark on his skin?
Draco shook those thoughts away and applied himself to his roast. He couldn't think about Harry that way. Potter was his jailer, his guardian, nothing more. Sure, the boys liked him, but that didn't mean he was about to become their other father. He didn't even want that.
Did he?
Harry's knee nudged him under the table, startling Draco out of his thoughts. He looked up into Harry's green eyes, blushing at being caught lost in his head. He firmly told himself that no part of his embarrassment came from his thoughts about Harry.
And it definitely wasn't because of the way Harry licked his lips to catch a stray drop of gravy.
Draco shook his head in response to Potter's raised eyebrow, turning to watch Teddy try to make his hair look like Charlie's. The boy managed a shade of fluorescent orange that made everyone laugh.
-0-
After dinner, Teddy and Reggie went out to the garden with Draco to play. Harry and Charlie moved to the sitting room to catch up. Harry only really saw Charlie once a year, and a lot had happened in the last year.
"So, Lord Potter," the dragonologist smirked, "I hear you're quite the big deal in the Wizengamot." Harry smacked him lightly on the arm, laughing.
"Yeah, well, when have I not been a spanner in the works? Honestly, though, I've got all these titles and mass amounts of money, why shouldn't I use them to change what needs changing? Wizarding Britain's incredibly old-fashioned." Charlie nodded.
"I get that. But, believe it or not, I didn't come here to talk about stuffy old nobles and politicians! I've got a birthday present for you. I figured it's probably best to give you this one in private." Harry raised an eyebrow as Charlie dug in his pockets. He produced a miniaturized leather harness. "It's a dragon harness! I've got it charmed to stay with your dragon form when you shift back, kind of like Animagi keep their clothes with them even when shift back and forth."
Harry took the little harness with a smile. Charlie was the only person outside his little family (besides Draco now) that knew about his Animagus form. He was right, giving him the harness in front of all the Weasleys would have brought awkward questions, especially from Hermione.
"Merlin, Charlie…thank you," he whispered, touched. Charlie grinned.
"I can help you put it on later." He paused, thoughtful. "Does…does Malfoy know? I can tell he knows about Reggie, obviously, but how much else…?"
"Most of it, I guess," Harry shrugged. "He's living here for the next two years, and I hate keeping secrets in my own home. He's taking it all really well. The boys love him. For all he says he's had no experience with children, he's great with them." He smiled. Charlie smirked at him.
"Why, Lord Potter! If I didn't know better, I'd someone had a soft spot for a certain blond Slytherin," he teased. Harry blushed hotly and smacked Charlie again.
"Shut up," he mumbled, "I do not." Charlie just raised an eyebrow, and Harry sighed. "Fine. Maybe a little. It's just…he's not one of those young blokes in the Wizengamot falling over themselves and bowing whenever they see me, or those women who drown themselves in perfume and simper at me, you know? He's…" he trailed off, but Charlie nodded in understanding.
"He's real. I get it, Harry. There's not many out there who see you as Harry, instead of Lord Potter or the Savior or the Boy-Who-Lived. There's nothing wrong with wanting that." He slung a comforting arm around Harry's shoulders. "There aren't many people who would like it, but if you want him, go after him, yeah? It's not about them, it's about you." Harry hugged him.
"Thank you, Charlie."
-0-
Draco stopped dead with his mouth open, words stuck in his throat.
On the sofa, Charlie Weasley was wrapped around Harry, with Potter's head buried in his chest, talking quietly. Draco felt something in his chest pinch and nearly slapped himself.
'Stupid! He's always like the Weasleys better than you! What chance did you have against a dragonologist for a dragon Animagus?'
Charlie spotted him and pulled away from Harry quickly, flushing lightly. Draco held back a growl, and the redhead said something in a low voice to Harry that had him whipping his head around and blushing. Draco decided he was better off not knowing.
"I, um…just, the boys wanted to know if you guys are coming out to play with them or not," he stuttered out, then turned on his heel and fled.
Merlin, he was such an idiot! Generations of Malfoys would be ashamed by his lack of composure, and lusting after Potter! What was wrong with him? He returned to the garden, seating himself (not hiding, thank you very much!) on a bench in a semi-dark corner.
Clearly his not-hiding place wasn't very good, since Potter found him instantly.
"Something wrong tonight, Draco?" he asked, sitting beside him. Rather close beside him, actually.
"No, nothing." Everything. He didn't know.
"Charlie brought his gift with him tonight," Harry explained quietly. "Look, I had planned to have you stay with Reggie tomorrow night but,…do you want to come to dinner at the Burrow?" Draco was caught off-guard by the question. Normally he would want nothing to do with Weasleys, but to show up by Harry's side…?
"Oh! Um, I don't…" he stuttered again, groaning internally at himself.
"I'd like you to come," Harry said seriously, and didn't Draco just lose himself in those eyes?
"They'll yell at you," he argued weakly. "I don't want to ruin your birthday." Harry gave one of those heart-melting lopsided smiles.
"Nonsense! I'll tell them they're not allowed to yell. It is my birthday, after all." Draco laughed.
"Alright, then. But don't say I never warned you!" Harry joined his laughter.
"Great! Now c'mon, I've got something you'll want to see." He rose and grabbed Draco's hand, tugging him off the bench and toward the other three. "Charlie's gift, it's a dragon harness," he explained. "He's going to help me put it on tonight. Remember that dragon I had to fight in the Triwizard Tournament? Well, I'm about to show you something even better!"
Draco laughed at his excitement.
-0-
Harry liked hearing Draco laugh. It was different now, a real laugh, not the mocking one he'd had in school. He felt Draco's hand tighten around his, soft and warm against his callused fingers. This was the kind of moment he could live in forever.
Harry brought there joined hands to rest on the crystal pendant Charlie held out. When both boys had their hands on it, Charlie said the keyword and the portkey whisked them all away.
"Oops, meant to warn you about that," Harry mumbled, ducking his head at Draco's glare.
"Where are we?" he asked, looking around the empty, open hillside.
"Scottish highlands. This is a deserted moor where Harry can change," Charlie answered, removing the Shrinking Charm on the harness. "It's too crowded in London, too many eyes."
"Are you gonna show Draco your dragon, Daddy?" asked Reggie excitedly. Teddy was bouncing around. Both boys thought it was just the coolest thing ever that their Daddy could turn into a dragon.
"I sure am!" He answered with a smile. "Now, you two take Draco and get out of the way, alright?" Teddy immediately grabbed a wide-eyed Draco's hand and started tugging him backwards. Harry chuckled and turned to Charlie.
"Ready?" the redhead asked. Harry nodded.
Reaching down into his core, he pulled up his magic. He wrapped himself in the feelings and instincts of his inner dragon. Magic flowed across his skin, and he felt the tickle as soft flesh shifted into hard scales. The magical fire began to burn in his chest as his bones shifted and grew. He dropped to four legs just as his hands became paws with long, wickedly sharp claws. The top of Charlie's head grew farther away as he reached his final height of twenty-five feet. A shiver ran through him as the change ended and he roared, stretching his wings and blasting a column of fire into the night sky.
He could see Draco staring at him with his head craned back. Reggie and Teddy squealed and laughed, running to climb on his tail. Charlie walked around him, the dragonologist inspecting joints and muscles, touching scales as he went.
"Still in good form, Harry," he decided. "Let's get this thing on you, shall we?"
Harry dipped his head low, crouching so Charlie could levitate the harness over his back. The leather straps expanded to fit as the stocky redhead clambered around, buckling and tightening. At last, he seemed to decide it was perfect, telling Harry to roll his shoulders and rotate his wings. The harness fit snuggly, but didn't pinch anywhere.
"Great! All that's left is a test run," he said. Then he smirked rather evilly. "Malfoy! Ever ridden a dragon?"
Draco went white and started stuttering again. Harry let a growling laugh rumble in his chest. He nudged at the backs of Draco's knees with his tail, making him come closer. Charlie ignored the blond's excuses, heaving him onto Harry's back and tightening the straps on his legs and around his waist. He put the reins in Draco's hands and slapped Harry on the side.
"Off you go!" he shouted, scrambling out of the way as Harry stretched out massive wings and took off, Draco screaming the whole way up.