Chapter 5: The Birthday Boy

The next day, Malfoy was already up earlier than the sun and was seated on the long black dining table in the manor. He had been up for hours trying to devise what to do. His usual white, tidy hair was messy and ruffled.

Padded feet murmured into the dining room, and Astoria stood in the doorway, peeking curiously at her troubled husband.

"Draco, dear. Why don't you come to bed for just a few more hours before the morning? I am sure you would feel better with some rest." She spoke softly as she walked over to him and began to pet his hair.

"I don't want rest, Astoria. I want… I want that blasted Potter dead already." He grunted, swatting her away. Surely enough, he wanted Harry dead like usual, but his words from the previous night in the little cottage house made him think a bit more.

"Well then, tell me what's got your head now," Astoria demanded, pulling a chair beside him.

He looked at her, trying to gather his words, juggling the idea of whether or not he should tell her. He believed the whole situation was cowardly and made him look weak. He shouldn't let anyone give him ultimatums, especially not a Potter. He shouldn't be falling under some love spell with a child that is "once removed" from his family generation.

However, he stared at her. His beautiful wife's porcelain skin reflected in the morning light as her bright blue eyes peered into him. Her dark hair gleamed from the fire. She was perfect. So he told her everything.


"Teddy changed back! Teddy changed back Ginny, come quick!" Harry hollered after his girlfriend as he swooped up the boy and spun him around excitedly.

The smokey grey eyes and bright blond hair that used to possess the little boy were now gone. One of his little eyes was green, the other was blue, and his hair had changed to light brown, almost like his father's.

Ginny came hopping down the stairs, ready for work. Her gorgeous red hair was braided nicely to the side, and she wore a green jumper with the words "Holyhead Harpies" on it.

"He what now, Harry?" She asked, looking at the young boy.

"He finally changed back. Back to old Teddy, isn't that right?" Harry expressed proudly as he cuddled him. "No more of that stinky Draco Malfoy on you. I believe he has probably forgotten all about him."

Ginny gave him a doubtful eye as she picked up Teddy's diaper bag and backpack. "Now Harry, as much as I know you hope, do you believe he should? Look, we are giving Malfoy a chance like we promised his grandmother. Maybe he will come around to it, maybe not. In the meantime, maybe you should also work on coming to terms with it as well."

"But-"

"Now let's go drop off Teddy to Andromeda's; that way we won't be late for work."

As much as Harry didn't want to agree, Ginny was right. How was he supposed to give someone with such a foul soul like Draco the benefit of the doubt?


It was a busy morning already in Diagon Alley. Children of all ages were scurrying around to find their Hogwarts supplies early for the year. Families bickered with each other out of buying owls and unnecessary Bertie bot beans as Draco and Astoria made their way down the alleyway.

"Now, Draco darling, how exactly are we going to find a gift for a boy about to be three? I mean, none of this seems child-safe anyway. Dumbombs, lizards, bludgers? What are we going to find here?" Astoria frowned exhaustedly, staying close to her husband in the light crowd.

"Well, look at who has lack faith, eh? There are plenty of things to get at Diagon Alley. Heck, I would even buy from Knocturn Alley. That's where my father would get my birthday gifts like the cursed quills or my favourite, enchanted underwear."

Astoria gave her husband a worried look as they continued down the alley. The smell of Bertie Bot's all-flavoured beans and butterbeer filled the air every time the door to Honedukes opened.

"Oh darling, let's hop in here. Perhaps we could get Teddy some child-friendly sweets."

The black and white checkered flooring of the sweets shop littered the floor. The ugly green colour of the shelves and registers popped with the other dozens of colourful wrapped candies displayed on the shelves.

"Oh, look here, Draco chocolate frogs. Oh, I used to love these. We should get a few of these for Teddy, right? Oh, I will go on and grab a basket." Astoria said excitedly as she hurried off to find one.

Astoria and Draco had been trying for a child for a little while now and have, so far, failed. She was particularly eager for him to come home and tell her about the boy when Draco visited Teddy. If anything, Astoria seemed more enthusiastic about shopping for Teddy's birthday than he was. Draco was anxious and eager thinking about it. He thought things like-

"What if Teddy doesn't like it?

What if Potter doesn't approve?

What if stinkin' Potter and his girlfriend decide I am not good enough for Teddy?"

How was he going to make this up?

Moments later, Astoria returned with a basket filled with precisely one chocolate frog.

Malfoy winced at the item in the basket and looked closer, trying to conceive his eyes that it was true what he saw.

"Wh-what is this Astoria? One little puny chocolate frog? Not for my cousin. Don't be shy! Let's get him more because that's exactly what he deserves." Malfoy beckoned unexpectedly, walking over to the old green shelves.

He impulsively grabbed at least ten pentagon boxes of chocolate frogs and hastily threw them into the basket. He plucked out several different colour liquorice wands from the large glass jars on top of pink shelves. Then he went over to rows of fizzing whizbees, black pepper imps, sugar quills, blood pops, and jelly slugs. Malfoy was about to make his way over to the "No Melt Ice Cream" stand before packs of lollipops began to fall from his arms.

Astoria stood curiously concerned about her husband as she watched him squirm, trying to hold everything in his hands. She walked over, held the basket up and let Draco release his arms of the glorious goodies. Looking down, the basket was almost full and pretty soon wouldn't be able to hold the weight.

Malfoy continued down the aisle, grabbing everything in sight. Astoria thought about stopping him out of concern, but she remembered this was Draco's way of showing love, and who was she to stop him?


Harry busted through an old wooden door on its last hinges and shuffled into the aged house and the sitting room. He threw a large bag heavily decorated with paper mache onto a dark grey sofa with various unmatched pillows and throw blankets. The sun glistened outside into the lovely home, shining onto the old, dusted, arbitrary furniture.

The smell of pot roast, freshly cut vegetables and soup filled the house and reached Harry's nose. A blue and yellow grandfather clock rustled with its hands and moved one of them from the word "work" all away around the clock dial to "home". Harry's face spun around on the hand until it stopped next to Mrs Weasley.

The Weasley Clock.

It had always made Harry so grateful that the Weasleys were so welcoming to him. He was practically a part of the family if he were added to the Weasley clock.

Moments later, Mrs. Weasley came marching downstairs with a big smile.

"Harry, dear! Oh my, when did you get in? Come here, darling." She yelled, almost shouting as she threw her arms out and walked towards Harry. "Oh, my dear boy, you don't eat! Well, we will fix that right up, shall we?" Mrs Weasley said in shock as she felt Harry's arms briefly before hurrying to the kitchen.

She had barely given him time to breathe, and already, it felt like Harry had said it all. He nervously made his way to the kitchen to assist Mrs Weasley.

"So when will the others be arriving?" Harry asked awkwardly, attempting to tidy the messy kitchen.

"Oh well, dear, Arthur should be coming home straight after work, and I believe Ron and Hermione will be on their way shortly as well." She continued to flick her wand and dance around the drawers, finding the ingredients for the upcoming meal.

Feeling useless, Harry stood and jittered at his jacket, pondering about Malfoy and their previous argument.

"I will just be waiting for the others then. I'm going for a walk." Harry finally said, running out of the burrow for fresh air. He swung the door open and quickly closed it without slamming.

He marched around the garden, staring at the scattered roots and patches of dead grass surrounding the burrow. He was anxious for his two best friends to arrive finally; that way, they all could gawk at his situation together.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and allowed the warm April breeze to bristle his dark hair. Harry continued to pace outside the front grass, kicking at the Earth below him. He waited for the sound of apparition to reach his ears.

Minutes passed, and then the noise of a sudden whirl whistled in the lonely scenery. Harry pivoted around anxiously, meeting the bodies of his two former classmates. Hermione and Ron landed on the grass, hand in hand, laughing at each other as they trollied their way together towards the burrow.

This made Harry roll his eyes in irritation; as much as he loved his best friends, he was a little over the continuous snogging and cuddling since their marriage began two years ago.

"Oi?" Harry bellowed, walking towards them and throwing his hands out of his pockets. "You guys are going to want to hear this."

"Yes, we will help you decorate in a minute, Harry." Hermione shushed, still giggling with Ron.

Despite Harry's desperation, they eventually managed to sit on the sofa together. They all whipped out their wands and helped to put up paper banners, and Hermione mostly enchanted paper dragons and brooms to fly around. As they did that, Harry vented to them about everything.


"Draco!? I can't believe that blimey bastard is even capable of making an effort." Hermione gasped, sipping a cup of hot chocolate.

"Bloody hell with him." Ron agreed, joining his wife.

Everyone had almost shown up at the burrow. Virtually all the Weasleys were there to celebrate Teddy's birthday; however, some were more convinced by the food, and the only people they seemed to be waiting for were Ginny, Andromeda, and the birthday boy himself, Teddy. The meet-up time was twenty past five, a reasonable time with a house full of adults who work with the Ministry of Magic. As time inched closer, Harry looked around bitterly for Draco. Some part of Harry, leaving out the anger portion, had made Harry have some bit of hope or longing that Malfoy would show up. He hated him with all his might, but not all of him was convinced that Draco didn't have it in him to show up at a boy's bloody birthday party.

Moments later, the door to the unstable burrow opened, revealing a striking female figure with light brown hair and dark eyes. She wore a dark-coloured dress, and in her arms was Teddy. Harry strode from around the corner when he stopped in his tracks after seeing the woman. She ultimately looked like her older sister, Bellatrix Lestrange, whom he hated dearly since the night she took his beloved godfather. Harry bore a long, deep breath, reminding himself it was Andromeda. Ginny stood smiling behind her shoulder as she looked up to examine the now colourful decorated burrow.

"Surprise!" Several voices filled the room after they all noticed who walked in.

The bright colours of wrapping paper, little enchanted dragons and brooms all made Teddy laugh.

He was just adorable, Harry thought, walking over to steal the boy from Andromeda's arms.

"Oh wow, this is just lovely, everyone," Ginny said with a laugh, walking into the sitting room to greet her family and friends.

As Harry carried Teddy proudly, the guests tickled and patted the boy's arm and head as they walked by. Andromeda walked over to them, and she managed to say over the music,

"His mother and father would have been so happy to know that this family is making such an effort to take great care of him." She gave Harry an exhausted smile as her eyes saddened.

And Harry knew it. Remus and Tonks would have been so happy indeed.


It was forty minutes past five, and the sun began to hide behind thin clouds of white, making the world dim. Malfoy was rushing out of the black manor door with several bags and poorly wrapped items. He would be late and knew he couldn't; it would prove Potter right that perhaps he didn't care about Teddy or show that he didn't want to make any effort.

Malfoy grudgingly shook his head free of his worried thoughts as he groaned, trying to make it out the door. Astoria quickly followed behind him, assisting in carrying any loose items.

Draco whipped around, hearing the tiny footsteps in the gravel.

"What? What are you doing, Astoria?" He demanded, allowing small boxes of candy to fall to the ground. "I thought I said I didn't want you to come."

"Well, you thought wrong then because I am coming." She whipped out her wand, ignoring the grimacing face her husband made, and with a quick swish and flick, she levitated the many presents. "Now come now, Draco dear, before we are extremely late."

With a defeated attitude, he reluctantly obeyed, marching with her.


The time was nearing six as Draco and Astoria apparated to the location given by Weasley. The couple examined the tall, precarious house. Malfoy had never seen anything like it before and felt disgusted consume his body.

"What the bloody hell? How can anyone live in this joint? And would you look at it? Potter must be stupider than I thought; this place is nowhere safe for a child." Malfoy spat angrily, pacing in the grass.

Astoria didn't respond; she was put up with her husband's harsh comments and snide attitude.

"I think it looks lovely. We should go inside before it's too late."

"Go inside? There? But Astoria–"

"You will carry the gifts on your own…coward." The wife told him, saying the last part under her breath.

She marched up the wooden steps, knocked, and entered the burrow.

Gone. Consumed by the love of the Weasleys and their friends, like a niffler snatching up shiny things. How would he survive the irritating kindness and laughter of the annoying redheads?

After a minute, feeling defeated again, Malfoy snatched up the multiple boxes and bags of presents and made his way to the door. He could feel his hand shaking as he reached to knock. He waited, worrying his lip and concentrating on ensuring he didn't drop anything else when the door finally opened. The colour felt as if it had drained from his face when Harry stood opening the door, locking eyes with his nemesis.

"M-malfoy?" Harry said with a confused and half-relieved look.

"Potter," Malfoy replied, breaking eye contact.

Cheerful music flowed out of the house as the warm smell of pumpkin pastries and pot roast flooded the air. Warm, orange light gleamed on everything in the place, giving it a warm feel.

"Well, are you just going to stand there, or will you come in?" Harry finally said, still uneasy.

"Oh, shut it, Potter. Where do you want me to put these?" Malfoy asked, stepping into the burrow.

Unlike Harry had expected, Malfoy didn't go easy on the gifts. Instead, it seemed as if Draco had bought the entire Diagon Alley. He held pink bags with the Honeydukes logo, filled to the brim with boxes of candy, and bags with stuffed toys and animals. A miniature dark brown broom poorly wrapped with daily prophets had also caught Harry's eye. Little wooden bristles of the broom poked out from the bottom of it, and the string meant to tie the new's paper together barely held on.

"Let me help you with that," Harry replied, taking a sizeable round box from the top of the stack.

Harry tried to hide the surprised look he made on his face as he shuffled his way through the kitchen to the dining room counter. Malfoy followed, noting all the people who had shown up for Teddy's party. Draco scanned the room when he spotted Astoria. She was talking to Luna Lovegood, who wore a sage dress with moving flowers on it. They seemed to all have been having a good time. Even Malfoy felt a warm sensation in his stomach.

As Harry was setting down the large box, it started to move. Harry jumped back and dropped the box onto the dining table.

"What exactly is that Malfoy?" Harry asked anxiously as he put his hand over his wand that was in his pocket. "What did you buy?"

"What's it to you, Potter? It's not for you it's for the boy." Malfoy rolled his eyes at him as he put the rest of the presents on the table.

Harry slowly unwrapped the brown paper covering the box. Ginny and a few other guests had circled, curious about what was inside. As he peeled back the paper, it revealed a cage. Inside the cage was a purple little ball-like creature. It squeaked and shuddered as the light exposed itself.

"What is that?" Harry demanded, peering into the cage in a confused daze.

"Oh my, well, that's a pygmy puff," said a soft voice from the back of the crowd. Kindly pushing past people came Luna. She smiled as she opened the cage and reached for the little creature. "They are quite fascinating creatures, wouldn't you say so, Harry?" Luna asked, cradling the creature in her arms.

"Er…are you kidding me, Malfoy? A pygmy? He is only three. Besides, I would have thought that you would have fancied ferrets more." Harry smirked, letting down his guard.

"Oh, sod off, Potter. The boy is going to love my amazing gifts. Where is the little one anyway? I want him to try out the broom." Draco said, glancing around for him.

After cake and presents, Teddy remained restless. He flew back and forth around the house for a good twenty minutes. Ron was chasing him around, stressing that Teddy wouldn't fall. Most of the house guests have left, and the remaining ones are Andromeda, Astoria, Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione and…Draco.

The memory of Harry being chased around by his dad on his tiny broom returned to him. He still had a photograph of the moment, making Harry feel enormous Deja Vu.

"You know, Malfoy. I am impressed. You came through, not just for me but for Teddy." Harry spoke admittingly.

"Yeah, whatever, Potter. It still surprises me that you think I can do so little." Malfoy replied with a yawn.

The moment between the two of them was awkward but unlike both of them. Being in the same room was just as weird, but it felt good not to want to kill each other for once.


Author's Note: Hi. If you have any recommendations of what I should do I would love to hear it. Also, I am still a little new to this; sorry I may suck...btw I am sorry I have not been publishing a lot school for me has just started again and yet again I am stressed out. LOL.