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The Rise of the Drackens	By : StarLightMassacre Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 769457 -:- Recommendations : 72 -:- Currently Reading : 220
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All rights for the creation of the Harry Potter novels go to J. K. Rowling. I make no money from this piece of fictional writing

Chapter List
- 120
- 121
- 122
Last Time

This year would be better, much better than their last, Harry knew it. He would work with his mates to ensure it. They would be fine, their family was growing, they were learning, and they would be perfectly fine together because everything would work out. That thought made Harry smile, even as he rolled his hips as much as he could and tugged on someone’s hair. They were going to be just fine, and he’d damn well prove it in any way that he could to anyone who doubted him.

Chapter One Hundred-Twenty-One – New Year Nest Building

More things from around the house were going missing. They started to really notice it in the second week of January because four pillows from their bed had gone missing, and everyone insisted that they didn’t know where they had gone, who had taken them or why, but it was very telling that Harry was the only one who still had his pillow and none of the rest of them did.

“Alright, fine.” Max forced out a deep breath. “They’ve gotten up and wandered off on their own, I’ll go and buy some more.”

“Is anywhere open at this time of…?” Blaise started to ask, but Max was in no mood.

“The supermarket up the road is twenty-four hours.” He snapped as he pulled his jeans back on and left the bedroom.

“Is he going to be okay?” Harry asked, visibly fretting. Both hands were placed protectively over his large bump. He only had three weeks left until his due date and it was only a week until their twin girls turned a full year old.

“He’ll be fine, Caru.” Nasta told him gently. “He doesn’t mean to snap and I don’t believe he’s angry at any of us, but he had an argument with his manager in work today. He told me, but not the rest of you because he doesn’t want you to worry.”

“What about?” Draco asked, still getting ready for bed, despite the fact that they had no pillows.

“Paternity leave. His manager has told him that if the baby is his, then Max can’t have any more time off because he took paternity leave for the twins last year.”

“He’s legally entitled to it if the baby is his.” Blaise said with a frown.

“Which is exactly what Max said, but he got so frustrated and angry that he’s shouted that even if the baby isn’t his, he’ll take any time off that he wants to support his family.” Nasta sighed.

“Can he do that?” Draco asked.

“He’s technically not allowed to.” Nasta said carefully. “But he runs that company off of his own back, if he left then they’d be fucking lost without him.”

Harry stared as Nasta’s anger showed through clearly. Nasta rarely got so angry at anyone.

“So they owe him?” Blaise questioned.

“They owe him big.” Nasta agreed. “If they can’t make preparations to give him a few weeks off to help with a newborn baby in the family, after everything he does for them, then I don’t think he should be working there anymore. They’ve started taking him, and everything that he does off of his own back for them, for granted. I keep telling him that he’d earn more if he went freelance and he’d be better respected for it too.”

“Freelance work is a less reliable source of income.” Draco said immediately, and he sounded so much like Lucius that Harry had to turn to look at him.

“He’s one of the only fully qualified Potion’s Masters in the country, Draco.” Nasta pointed out. “It would make his working life much more flexible and he could charge whatever the hell he wanted for his services, and he would never be short of work, there’s too much demand for what he can do.”

“Besides, we could support him.” Harry put in.

“Only Max and Nasta have stable jobs.” Draco fretted.

“Draco, love, between me and you we have more in savings than Max and Nasta have made in their lives.” Harry pointed out.

“Don’t forget my savings.” Blaise put in. “My Father left me and my Mother near enough everything that he had and she’s never touched any of it. She kept it for me.”

“If Max wants to go freelance, if it’ll take the pressure and stress from him, that’s better than worrying about finances. I know your Dad drilled it into you to worry about them, to always keep track of them, and I am glad that at least one of us is doing that, I just don’t think it’ll have such a big impact on our daily living costs. Truthfully I think having Max at home more will help, especially once the new baby comes.”

“It’ll be up to Max if that’s what he wants, if his manager doesn’t take his head from his arse. He can’t afford to lose Max, it’ll be the biggest mistake of his life if he doesn’t realise that and do something about it. It’s not as if Max is taking advantage or asking for the damn world! He’s asking for a few weeks off to spend with his newborn son, to help his family!”

“His manager is a prick.” Harry declared. “Of course I’m happy that Max wants to help out, I don’t want him so angry though.”

“He’s only angry because of his manager. No one cares that the pillows have gone missing. I wonder if it was Caesar again. He took them the last time.” Nasta mused.

Harry just hummed in a very non-committal manner, then they had known that he would. He was nest building, and until he actually climbed into his nest and stayed there, he wouldn’t tell them about it. Submissives were terribly secretive about their nests, and with their nesting instincts, and Harry was no different in that regard. If they let on that they knew things were going missing, or questioned him about his nest, then he would either fly at their throats, or rush to dismantle his nest and start building a new one, and none of them wanted to put that amount of stress on their heavily pregnant mate.
Max came back with six brand new pillows, and he seemed to be in a better mood at least as he tore open the plastic and threw the pillows to Nasta, who put them in spare pillowcases before throwing them on the bed.

“Why did you get so many?” Draco asked.

“Just in case someone wants two, or Harry wants a new one as well.” Max smiled as Harry blushed, already pressing his face to a new pillow. “You carry on, love.”

Harry was the only one in the bed, because his back had been aching all day, and he was already snuggled up with his body pillow, and with a new, clean pillow under his head, he felt himself dozing off.

“He’s adorable.” Blaise chuckled. “How are you feeling now, Max? Nas filled us in.”

“Nas, I told you I didn’t want to worry them, Harry especially. His Dracken won’t like the thought that I could lose my job right before he gives birth.”

“They’re all fine. Harry cared more for your stress levels than he did about the money.” Nasta said. “We’ll support you, no matter what you decide.”

“Should go freelance.” Harry murmured sleepily. “No more evil managers stressing you out.”

Max snorted and bent over Harry to kiss his cheek. “Get some sleep, dearest.”

“Need sleep.” Harry murmured.

Max shook his head and stripped himself off yet again. He had kicked himself in the car as he drove to the supermarket. He shouldn’t have reacted so badly to the missing pillows. Of course it was Harry who had taken them. Things had been going missing now for a few weeks, including his favourite jumper, six bath towels, and for a very odd reason, their welcome mat, though Draco still believed that that was the work of the neighbourhood kids and not Harry. Remembering his oven gloves in Braiden’s nest, Max wasn’t too sure. It would be just like Harry to take a welcome mat to ‘welcome’ a new baby into the world.
They hadn’t let on that they knew anything was going missing of course, sometimes they saw Harry side-eyeing them, as if mentally questioning why they hadn’t noticed their stuff going missing, but if they couldn’t find anything these days, they didn’t make any fuss, or ask one another if anyone had seen it, they just assumed that Harry had taken it for his nest and kept silent so as not to stress him out.
Of course they noticed Harry slipping off more too. Like today for example when he had presumably taken four pillows out to wherever his nest was located. At least Max had been right, Harry had been gone too long for a simple bathroom break, heavily pregnant or not.
Then there had been that time four days ago too, when he’d caught sight of Harry in the back garden, slipping slowly, and carefully, between the trees back towards the house. Max had abandoned the tea he had been making and had rushed back into the living room, before Harry had caught sight of him, and explained what was happening to the others. He had resumed the tea after Harry had come back into the room, a little shifty, but otherwise normal, and he had made a point of asking everyone if they wanted tea and made a show of forcing himself to his feet with a groan, making it seem like he hadn’t moved in a while. Harry had relaxed more then and had settled, believing himself to have gotten away with whatever he’d ‘stolen’ for his nest this time.
So they knew that Harry was definitely nest building, and if he was still taking ‘supplies’ like the four pillows, then he wasn’t done just yet, which was a good indication that the baby was doing well and wanted to stay put for a while longer.
Max forced his brain to shut up and he turned carefully to his other side, slipping an arm under Draco’s neck and cuddling into the back of the blond. He laid still, but his brain was still active, and that was the only reason that he was awake when he felt the bed dipping.
He stilled completely as he felt eyes on the back of him, and then Harry let out a soft grunt as he eased off the bed. It seemed that he wasn’t done for the day at all as he slipped out of the bedroom to get more supplies.
Blaise snickered from the other side of Draco and Max shushed him.

“Oh, you’re awake too?” Blaise whispered.

“My brain won’t shut up.” Max grumbled. “Or I would have been asleep. You?”

“Nasta’s beard is itchy.”

Max snorted a laugh and then tried to hush himself. “Just push him away.”

Blaise shifted around a little bit and Nasta growled lowly, but a soothing rumble from Max and he settled easily without waking up.

“Better?” Max asked.

“Yeah.”

Max heard Blaise yawn and he automatically followed suit.

“Get some sleep. Harry will freak if he thinks we we’re awake.”

“I’m worried about him. It’s freezing out there tonight.” Blaise whispered. “What if he falls and can’t get back up?”

“He’ll distress call us.” Max soothed gently. “He wouldn’t risk the baby.”

“He’s going to get sick.”

“Then we’ll look after him. He’s going to be fine, Blaise. He’s doing what he needs to and he’ll be fine.”

Despite this assurance, Max laid awake, unable to sleep, until Harry finally padded back into the bedroom and Max could almost see him staring at them, making sure they were all still asleep and in the same positions.
He padded almost soundlessly across the carpet, only the rustle of his pyjamas marking his progress through the room, and then the bed dipped again as Harry carefully climbed back into it. He sniffed hard and Max frowned against Draco’s head. Maybe Harry was sick? He’d be sure to check in the morning, the last thing Harry needed at the moment, on top of the baby getting bigger and squashing up more of his organs, was a damn cold.
Max gasped as icy feet were pushed into his back and he rolled over to face Harry, who had stilled in fear.

“You okay?” Max asked, making his voice gruff as if he’d just woken up. “You’re freezing.”

“Needed the bathroom.” Harry lied smoothly. Max had noticed that Harry was only an amazing liar when he was nesting, and he and the others reasoned it was his Dracken’s influence because without it, Harry was a hopeless liar. “The floor is ice cold in there.”

Max hummed sleepily and he reached under the blanket and took Harry’s feet into his hands. Harry’s feet were so cold that Max could almost imagine them bloodless and pale blue and he wanted to check so badly, but he controlled the urge, he couldn’t let onto anything suspicious.

“Damn, Harry. Wear your slippers the next time you go to the bathroom.” He chastised. “Your feet are icy and my nice warm back doesn’t appreciate it.”

Harry just hummed, the little bastard was already drifting off and he buried his ice cold nose into Max’s neck, waking him up further. Harry was fast asleep by the time Max had sufficiently warmed him back up and he shook his head as he tucked Harry in against his body pillow more securely. It was gone midnight now, and as he laid down and snuggled back up to Draco, he made a mental note to inform the oblivious Nasta of what had happened in the night, and of Harry possibly being sick on top of everything else too. Max really hoped that it was just because he’d been out in the cold and not because he actually did have a cold. Harry would be even more miserable if he was sick as well as heavily pregnant.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

Harry woke up slowly and groggily, rolling against his body pillow and trying to get comfortable again. He’d had a bad night and as he woke up with a blocked nose and a tickly throat, he understood why he’d had such a bad night. He had a damn cold.
He moaned to himself and buried his face back in his pillow. His head felt heavy and achy and he breathed out through his nose in aggravation. He barely managed to do that with how blocked it was and that frustrated him more. This is the very last thing that he needed right now.
At least he didn’t think his mates had realised that everything that had been going missing was down to him. Logically he knew that they had to know that he was nest building, and he cursed his Dracken side for demanding the pillows from the bed. Of course his mates would notice the damn pillows going missing, and it didn’t take a genius to notice that the only pillow left was his own. At least the other things hadn’t been discovered yet, like Max’s favourite jumper. He’d fretted that Max would immediately notice it missing and demand to know where it was, but so far he hadn’t noticed and he’d been wearing his red and green jumpers, still in the festive mood despite it being almost a month now after Christmas. Harry was just glad that his mates weren’t ripping apart the house, or worse, the garden, looking for the stuff that Harry had taken, because surely they had noticed, at the very least, that they had half the amount of bath towels that they usually did.
But they weren’t causing a fuss, which wasn’t upsetting his Dracken, which meant he would get to keep his nest where it was. Which he was grateful for as he didn’t think he had the time now to dismantle it and build a new one from scratch, especially as he would need to scout out the area first. He only had three weeks left until his due date, and that was if he didn’t go early, as he usually did. He just wanted to get the twins’ birthday out of the way, it was only five days away now. Surely he and his baby thunderer could hold on until then. He didn’t care if he went the day after, or even that night, just as long as he saw them on their birthday and he was here for their party, which wasn’t asking a lot, as they had a lunchtime party planned. He really hoped that it went better than the quintuplets second birthday had.
He rolled out of bed and padded straight to the bathroom. He didn’t feel like showering, or even getting out of his pyjamas. He was cold and his head hurt, so he went and used the toilet, washed his hands and then left the bedroom. He wanted a headache reliever and the only one who would get him one of those was Max. He really wanted Max in that moment.
He made it downstairs and saw Max in the kitchen and he hurriedly padded towards him.

“Max!” He called out beseechingly.

Max turned immediately and put the jug of squash he was holding down on the counter.

“Are you alright? What is it?”

“I’m sick. I need soup.” Harry said pathetically, his voice thick.

Max couldn’t help the small chuckle he let out. “Told you to wear your damn slippers to the bathroom. Come on, let’s get you wrapped up and I’ll start making some soup. I’ll have to do a store run though. Anything else you want?”

“Mango.”

“Okay, love. Come on, let’s get you sat down and wrapped up.”

Max picked him up and carried him to the smaller living room. The doors weren’t open and Harry frowned.

“Ah, don’t give me that look. You need to rest without being swamped by kids, and Leolin is next door.”

Max took the throw from the back of the settee and Harry was wrapped up in it securely, until he was almost swaddled like their newborns.

“I want cwtches.”

“I’ll throw you Nasta now, give me a sec.” Max said distractedly as he made sure that Harry was covered and he laid a hand on his head. “Hmm, no fever, so maybe just a cold. I’ll make you some chicken soup, but first, I’ll get you a headache reliever, you must have a headache.”

“I do.”

Max nodded and bent to kiss his forehead. “I’ll be right back, baby.”

Harry laid on the settee, sniffling and rubbing his itchy eyes. His head was pounding and he regretted his many trips out to his nest at night to get supplies to his nesting site. He would join on the bandwagon that his mates were on to give him more babies outside of winter. He’d never had this trouble when he was nesting with Braiden, in the nice, bright summer sunshine.
A hand touched his face and Harry opened his eyes to see a concerned Nasta hunched in front of him.

“Max said that you were sick?”

Harry nodded. “A cold.”

“Headache, blocked nose and sore throat?”

“Itchy eyes too.” Harry added, even as he lifted a hand to rub at them again.

“Don’t rub at them, you’ll make them sore. Hold on.”

Nasta was up and jogging away again, and before he could come back Max was back with a headache reliever and Harry’s jar of imported honey, the manu…mana…something like that.

“It will soothe your throat.” Max answered Harry’s unasked question of why the honey was there without tea. “Come here, sit up for me.”

Harry eased up with Max’s help and was propped against the back of the settee. He downed the headache reliever in one go, but Max was watching him closely, likely to see if he vomited from the taste. He held out a teaspoon of honey, almost like a peace offering, or a bribe to keep him from throwing up.
Harry liked taking that a lot more than he had the potion, and opened his mouth for a second spoonful, like a baby bird begging for another caterpillar.
Max just chuckled and gave him another spoonful before lying him back down and tucking him back in.

“Here, place this over his eyes. It’ll stop them itching.” Nasta’s said as he handed over what looked like a folded up, damp flannel.

“It’s cold, Nas.” Max said worriedly.

“It has to be. Hold on, let me get the fire burning.”

Harry inhaled deeply through his mouth when Max took the cold, damp flannel and laid it over Harry’s eyes. The itching subsided almost immediately, which is the only reason Harry left the damn thing on.
The warm wave of heat from the fire, which had been lit with a simple wave of Nasta’s wand, felt like absolute heaven to Harry and he settled down and yawned.

“If you need more sleep, love, that’s fine, sleep will help you heal. I’ll call you when your soup is done.”

“Had a bad night tossing and turning. It’s getting harder to find a comfortable position, even with the body pillow.” Harry slurred quietly.

“Not long left, though.” Max soothed him, laying a large hand on Harry’s belly. “Three weeks, if that.”

Harry hummed, drifting off. He felt a kiss being pressed to his cheek and he smiled, what was probably a very goofy, half asleep smile, but he didn’t care.

“You mentioned running to the shop?” Nasta asked Max quietly.

Max broke off his staring and looked at Nasta. “Yeah, Harry wants soup and he’d probably benefit from bone broth. I’ll write a quick list and make a run. Is there anything we’re running low on?”

“Rusks. I’m sure Farren has found a way to get at them. I’ve counted up how many we have, to how many their food diaries say they’ve all had, and there are a dozen missing. So unless someone is giving them rusks and not putting it in those diaries, we’ve got a nibbler somewhere in the house.”

“After two years, I don’t think any of us forget to put anything in those diaries anymore.” Max shook his head. “Maybe accidental magic? Perhaps we should ward all of the cupboards and see what happens.”

“Keep a closer eye on all of them.” Nasta grumbled.

“There are six two year olds in this house now, lover, five of them up on their feet and very mobile, keeping an eye on all of them at the same time is now impossible.”

The two of them shared a look and snorted. Harry shifted and they both watched him closely before standing up and leaving the smaller living room and going to the larger family room, before they accidentally woke their sick, sleeping lover.

“How is he?” Draco demanded.

“Is he going to be okay?” Blaise added.

“It’s a cold, guys. He’s going to be fine.” Nasta soothed. “We’ll just have to keep an eye on him for a few days, but colds rarely last longer than a few days.”

“Will it affect the pregnancy?” Blaise asked.

Nasta shook his head. “No. Harry will be even more miserable and uncomfortable, but we’ll look after him.”

“I told you he’d get sick wandering around outside at night.” Blaise huffed.

“It’s not as if we could have stopped him, Blaise. He’s nest building and with only three weeks left before his actual due date, without factoring in his needed nesting time, he’s actually behind schedule and should have had that nest finished by now.” Max pointed out.

“I just didn’t want him to get sick.”

“None of us did, Blaise, but now that he is, we’ll look after him. Max is going to the store now to pick up some things to help Harry.” Nasta said.

“So is there anything you need?” Max asked, even as he jotted down a few more things on his list.

“Rusks.” Draco added.

Max laughed. “Already covered that one, love.”

“Are you taking any kids with you?” Blaise asked.

“I’ll take the twins.” Max said. “Grab their shoes, coats and the car seats for me?”

“Sure.”

Max finished off the list and stood up.

“Let me brush their hair before you take them out.” Draco insisted.

“Okay, but you have until I’m ready to go, Draco.” Max said. “I need to start that soup as soon as possible to have it ready for Harry.”

“We’d all benefit from that soup, if Harry is sick, it’ll be better to boost our own immune systems to prevent us from catching it as well.” Nasta said.

Draco was quickly dragging a brush gently through Eva’s hair while Max made sure he’d put everything down on his list and went looking for his wallet, car keys and his trainers. He grabbed his own coat and stuffed his arms in.

“Make sure that Harry has plenty to drink, Nas. His usual tea will be perfect, as the honey will help his throat and the heat will help the congestion.” Max reminded as he walked back into the living room. Blaise was just closing the nappy bag while Draco was making sure that both girls had their shoes on.

“I’ll look after him. I’ll make sure his headache has gone and that he doesn’t start running a fever.” Nasta assured Max, who was naturally worried about a sick family member as he was their main first aider.

“Are those girls ready?”

“Their coats.” Draco said, reaching for the one pink, puffy coat.

“No, don’t put their coats on in the car, Draco.” Nasta reminded firmly. “The straps of their car seats need to be tight to their body.”

“Oh, of course, I remember.” Draco nodded.

Max picked up Ave and sat her in the one seat, while Blaise was already strapping in Eva.

“I shouldn’t be longer than an hour.” Max told Nasta, even as he picked up the handle of the car seat and made his way to the front door.

“Drive safe and watch out for black ice on the roads.”

“Got it, come on girls.”

“Daddy, I come too.” Braiden told him.

Max blinked down at him, even as Braiden ran to get his shoes, trying to pull them on.

“Well, okay, it seems he’s coming as well. Grab his coat for me?” Max directed at Blaise.

Nasta just laughed as he hunched down and ‘helped’ Braiden get his shoes on.

“I’d love to see the day where they all want to go with you.”

“You can laugh, you’d all be coming with me!” Max grinned.

“Here’s his coat and car seat, Max.” Blaise said. “You want me to go and secure it in the car?”

“Yes, please, love.” Max said, even as he handed over the twins’ coats and picked up the abandoned Eva.

He went out into the bitter cold and shivered. He lengthened his stride and hurried to the car before the girls got too cold, and he settled them down on their own seats facing the rear of the car before starting to secure them in.

“There, is that done properly?” Blaise asked.

Max finished off the girls and then yanked on Braiden’s seat and checked all the straps.

“Yep, well done, Blaise. Now go get inside before you catch a chill too.”

Max cast a warming charm on the car, just to make it more comfortable for all of them travelling and caught Braiden as he came running out, screeching happily.

“Come on, little man. In your seat.” He encouraged, setting Braiden down inside the car and watching him clamber into his seat. He even tried to do the buckles by himself, but Max took over and got him belted in securely.

He tugged on all of their straps, just to be sure and then he shut the door on them. He waved to Nasta on the doorstep and got into the driver’s side.

“Let’s go on a shopping adventure, shall we?” He said cheerily as he started the car and eased them out of the driveway.

It took him ten minutes to reach the supermarket by car and it took longer than that to get the girls into their coats and sitting in the trolley, Braiden into his coat and holding his hand, with the nappy bag hanging on the trolley.

“Okay, that was an ordeal, why did I bring you all again?” He joked.

They finally managed to make it into the store and Max pulled out his list, thankful that he hadn’t bloody forgotten it, because there was no way he was going back home just to get it.

“Right, first things first, baby aisle.” He said, talking to his children as he walked through the store, making sure to slow his steps enough for Braiden to keep up.

He picked up two boxes of rusks, laughing as all three babies lit up at the sight.

“You can have some later.” He laughed. “Let’s just get the shopping done first.”

He went from the baby aisle to the fruit and veg and he picked up all the things he needed for the soup, making sure to get four mangos for Harry and Nasta while also throwing in some citrus fruits.

“Daddy, anana.”

Max looked down at Braiden and then to where he was pointing, to the bananas.

“Bananas, Braiden. Good boy. Do you want one?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Max went to where he knew the free fruit for kids was kept and he picked up two bananas. He peeled the one and handed it to Braiden and then peeled the other and tore it in half for the twins. He put the peels in the little bin provided by the store.

He had to let go of Braiden’s hand because his son was eating with both, trotting next to him with his eyes all for his banana, but Max made sure to walk slowly enough that Braiden could easily keep up and not get lost.

“Down here, honey.” He said, placing a hand on Braiden’s head to direct him.

Braiden didn’t mind in the slightest and went where he was directed easily enough, still eating his banana. Max made a mental note to put the banana into the food diaries, especially after he’d told Nasta that no one forgot to use them.
Max picked up milk and three, kilo buckets of natural yoghurt, so that he could use the lemons and oranges to make his own yoghurts for the kids, before moving on. He noticed the looks he was getting, the looks his kids were getting, but they already knew that the girls were very striking with their curly hair and huge blue eyes. Braiden’s indigo eyes were also rather unusual and got him a lot of attention. He himself also cast an imposing figure at six foot ten, he was towering over everyone else in the store by a good several inches. So they all stood out, but Max tried to ignore it.

“Here, baby, hold this for Daddy.” He said, handing Eva, who had mushed her banana to nothing and was now finished, the shopping list.

“Dada.” She declared a heartbeat before Ave said “Daddy.”

“I love you both.” He said, bending down to give them both a kiss…they both tasted of banana.

Max heard the ‘awws’ from behind him and affected not to notice. He loved his kids, adored them, and he would show them love and affection no matter where they were. Even if people did coo at him for doing so.

“Me too.” Braiden piped up from down by his knees. “Love you too!”

Max chuckled. “I love you too, little man. Come on, we need to get a chicken for Mummy.”

“Mummy poorly.” Braiden said sadly.

Max blinked at him as he realised that he must have heard, and understood, him when he’d told the others that Harry was sick.

“Yeah, but it’s alright, we’ll make Mummy all better with soup and love.”

Max moved them on before the customers behind them died of cuteness overload thanks to his children and he got them to the fresh meat aisle where he selected the largest, plumpest chicken he could find.

“Right, we need to start wrapping this up or we’ll be late home. Braiden, you want up on my shoulders?”

Braiden gasped and clapped his hands. “Yes, yes, yes, yes.”

Max chuckled but picked him up and settled him safely on his shoulders. He pushed the trolley with one hand, while the other held tight to a little leg, just in case Braiden fell. He could walk normally now, at a much faster pace, and the rest of what he needed was thrown into the trolley quickly and easily, and Max made it to a free checkout. He was thankful that he didn’t need to wait in line.

“Hello up there.” The cashier grinned at Braiden.

“Hi!” Braiden chirped back.

“How old is he?” The cashier asked, making small talk as he rang through the items Max was putting on the belt one handed.

“He turned two in August.” Max said. “These two girls are turning one in five days.”

“Really? Have you got a big party planned?”

“We have a lot of extended family, so every party is big.” Max chuckled. “My other five, quintuplets, turned two a few weeks ago. That was a disaster! They got cake over everything, and started throwing it at people, so we had to cut it short.”

“You have five others?” The cashier asked, his eyes going huge.

“Yeah, another one on the way too. A little boy who’s due in February.”

“Damn, that’s a lot of kids!”

“Nine of them.” Max nodded.

“Mummy’s poorly, so we make soup.” Braiden added.

“That’s right, we’re making Mummy some soup.” Max told him.

“I help.” Braiden insisted, tugging on Max’s hair.

“Okay, you can help.”

Max put the plastic divider after his stuff and he picked Braiden up and put him in the actual trolley.

“Stay in there while I bag all of this up!” He chuckled.

Of course his girls turned around immediately to see Braiden behind them and they all started babbling to one another as he packed up the shopping.

“They are just too cute.” The woman who pulled up behind him complimented.

“Thank you.” Max said with a smile.

“How old are they?”

“The twins are turning a year old on the eighteenth and this little man turned two in August.”

“Mummy’s having a new baby!” Braiden told the woman.

“Is she?” The woman cooed, and immediately Braiden frowned.

“Yes, our ninth child. A boy.” Max cut in smoothly.

“Ninth?!” The woman cried.

“We have two year old quintuplets too. They were born in December.”

“How do you cope?”

Max thought this was rather rude, though it probably wasn’t meant to come across as such. He understood that normal families didn’t consider nine children to be at all normal, and that it could be rather shocking. On the other hand though he didn’t believe that there was any need to show such visible shock at the news. What really got his hackles up though was that he caught the woman scanning what he was buying.

“There are five of us.” Max said, loving the look of shock on the woman’s face, and the cashier’s.

“Whatever do you mean?” The woman asked, faking a little laugh.

“I’m in a relationship with four other people.” He said, shrugging. “It’s why we have so many kids.”

“All women?” The cashier asked, almost eagerly, and Max laughed at the eagerness of youth.

“All men.” He said. “How much is that?”

The cashier picked his jaw up, blinked, and checked the total while the woman mouthed wordlessly.

“Oh, it’s thirty-one pounds eighty-nine, Sir.”

Max opened his wallet and found the two notes he needed and handed them over.

“You’re all men?”

Max blinked and looked over to woman.

“Yes, all five of us.”

“How can their Mother be pregnant then?”

“You’re being unduly nosy now, but if you must know we use a very trusted surrogate.”

“But she’s not a part of your…group?”

“Relationship. And no, she’s not.”

“But the children…they won’t know what’s normal!”

Max shot a glare at the woman. “This is normal and it’s none of your business.”

Max accepted the change handed to him with the receipt and he put the bags in the trolley with Braiden and strode off towards the carpark. He couldn’t get over the rudeness of some people, but sometimes people surprised him by being accepting and even genuinely curious of their home life. That woman had not been one of them.
He breathed out and pushed it aside. He refused to allow it to ruin his day. He refused to dwell on it. He forced a smile to his three babies and he put the shopping away first, keeping the trolley close by him, grinning as Braiden ran from one end of the trolley to the other, which made the twin girls shriek with laughter.
The three of them brightened him right back up and he chuckled at them, as he closed the boot and went to the back of the car to settle them into their seats, remembering to take off their puffy winter coats. He tugged on the straps of Eva’s seat, then Ave’s. Then he had to undo Eva again once he registered the smell. He sighed and grabbed the nappy bag, took her coat back off and then changed her in the passenger side of the car.

“Daddy, poo.” Eva told him.

“I can see that you’ve pooed.” He said, chuckling. “Of course you’d go right as I’ve strapped you into the car seat. Though thankfully it didn’t leak from your nappy and end up in your tights.”

Max cleaned his little girl up and put the used wipes in the nappy sack with the soiled nappy. He got a clean nappy out and made a sweep of the car, the trolley and the car park, just in case. Braiden was trying to climb out of the trolley.

“Braiden, honey, stay in there a moment.” He ordered firmly.

“I want come out now.” Braiden argued.

“No, stay there.” He said more sternly, even as he rushed to get the nappy onto Eva and get her dressed again.

“What are you doing, monkey?” An elderly man asked Braiden, as he pushed a trolley to the car that was parked beside theirs.

“I come out now.” Braiden told the man.

“I think you should stay in there. There are cars going past.” The old man told him.

“Car.” Braiden said and he watched as a red car went crawling past.

“Yes, and cars can be very dangerous.”

Max watched Braiden, making sure the man didn’t come any closer, even as he deemed the man not a threat, he was still cautious as he redressed Eva and got her back into her coat. He stood and gave the man a smile, watching him for a moment, but he was only loading up the boot of his car with his own shopping.
He ducked back into the car and got Eva back into her seat and buckled her back in. He tested her straps and then stood back up one he was satisfied.

“Now, do either of you two want to potty?” He asked, faux-sternly, hands on hips, but he was smiling.

“No, Daddy. I come out now.” Braiden said, holding his arms up.

“Come on then, love, climb into your seat.” Max said, picking up his son and putting him into the car.

Braiden clambered up and sat in his seat right between the girls, facing the back of the car, and again he tried to do the straps by himself.

Max snorted and reached over to help. He tugged on the straps to make sure that they were secure and then stood back and looked at the three babies. The girls looked about ready to drop now that they were in the car and he reckoned that he would have a nice, easy ride back and the girls would drop off to sleep and would get their afternoon naps early.
He closed the door and locked the car as he walked the short distance to the trolley bay, taking the tied up nappy sack to pop it into the bin. His Dracken side didn’t like that he was moving away from his defenceless children and rumbled warningly as he got further away, but Max kept the car in sight at all times, automatically scanning for dangers, even as he jogged back to the car and unlocked it again to climb into the driver’s seat. He gave a wave to the elderly man still putting his shopping away and he got a jaunty wave back as he eased back out of the space and onto the road.
He had been wrong about the girls getting to sleep in the car, Braiden had started singing in the back, and they babbled along with him, and he had never wished so hard that he had the camcorder with him than he did at that very moment. Not that he could record them as he was driving, but still, his mates deserved to see the adorable cuteness that was the three kids singing in the back of the car.
He made it home and even as he unstrapped Braiden and hefted him over his shoulder, his son was still singing and it made him smile. He unbuckled the girls’ seats and slipped his arm through both handles.

“Come on, babies, let us go and get you some snacks.”

He set the girls down and dug out his keys. He unlocked the door and picked the girls back up. He carried the three of them down the corridor and into the kitchen, and then through to the family room.

“Hey, hey.” He greeted with a grin.

“You’re home, any problems?” Nasta asked.

“Only from some bi…witch at the checkouts.” He said. “Nothing that wasn’t handled by shocking her speechless and then walking away. I also promised our babies a rusk each when they saw me putting the boxes in the trolley.”

“How was Braiden? You never took the reins.”

“He was perfectly well behaved, he didn’t run off, not even once, and he stayed right by my legs. It helped that I distracted him with a banana, which I will put in their diaries now, just give me a chance to get the shopping in.”

“I’ll come and help you.” Draco said, handing a sleeping Leolin to Blaise.

“How has Harry been?” Max asked.

“Quiet.” Nasta said. “He’s been asleep since you left. I’ve been checking on him every fifteen minutes, but he’s resting.”

Nasta took the girls and started unbuckling them from their seats and Max went out to grab the bags with Draco, and to lock the car back up.

“Where do you want them, Max?” Draco asked.

“Dump them in the kitchen, lover. I need to dig out all the stuff I need for the soup and I need to get the kids’ lunches on.”

Max dug the chicken out first and preheated the oven. It needed to be cooking as soon as possible so that he could strip it of meat and get the bones boiling.

“Does this mean we’re getting chicken for dinner?” Blaise asked, coming into the kitchen from where he’d put the car seats back under the stairs.

“Yeah, I’m going to do chicken risotto for the kids and coq au vin for us.”

“Go easy on the wine, for Harry’s sake.”

“It burns off anyway.” Max whined.

“I know, but Nasta will string you up if you add wine to Harry’s food.”

Max grumbled, but he already knew he couldn’t add wine to anything. His Dracken wouldn’t let him, and he was more obsessive about what he added to Harry’s food now after that fiasco with the chili. His body went cold as he remembered that long ago misjudgement on his part. He’d almost thrown away his entire family, for petty revenge at that. He cheered himself up by thinking of his and Harry’s reconciliation, thinking of the rough, quick sex against an alleyway wall always cheered him right back up. He’d have to get Harry drunk again, once he wasn’t pregnant of course, and see if that dominant trait in his drunk mate came back out to play.
He prepared everything while the chicken was roasting, all the vegetables he needed for the soup, what he needed for the kids’ lunches and he went to check on Harry.

“Oh, you’re awake, why didn’t you call?” Max asked as he hunched beside Harry.

“Didn’t need anything.” Harry said, his voice scratchy with sickness.

“It sounds like you could use a drink and another spoon of honey.”

Harry smiled at him. “Can I have tea and a sit up?”

“Of course, love.” Max helped Harry to sit up and gave his forehead a kiss. His hair was all over his head and the famous scar was showing through. “I’ll be right back.”

“Want more cwtches.”

Max laughed. “I’ll send Nasta back in then. His cwtches are the absolute best though, I’ll give him that. The man knows how to hug.”

“How are the kids?”

“They’re all fine. I’ll get you some tea and tell you all about my trip to the shop with Braiden and the twins!”

Harry grinned at that, but he also had to turn and stifle a barrage of coughs into his hand.

“I bought tissues as well, I’ll grab those for you.”

Max hefted himself up and went to the kitchen to boil the kettle. The others would want tea too. He grabbed the box of tissues from the counter, opened them and took them back to Harry.

“Do you need the bathroom?”

Harry shook his head. “No.”

Max frowned. “Have you been drinking?”

Harry shook his head. “I’ve been sleeping.”

Max nodded. “I’ll get you a glass of juice too. You need to stay hydrated.”

Max went to do just that, and he hurried back to Harry with a pint glass of juice. Harry started sipping, then gulping between desperate gasps of breath because he could only breathe through his mouth, and he drank nearly the entire pint in one go. He gave Max a sheepish look and Max just rolled his eyes.

“I guess I was a little thirsty.”

“You’re impossible sometimes.”

“Only sometimes?” Harry grinned.

Max rolled his eyes again. “Let me go and get you tea and Nasta, so you can actually have a proper cwtch this time. There’s bound to be something on the TV for you to watch too, so you aren’t bored.”

Harry shook his head. “I want to read more of those books I got for Christmas.”

“Alright, I’ll go and grab that from our bedside table. Give me five minutes.”

“Nasta first.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll grab your favourite mate now.” Max teased, then wished he hadn’t as Harry stilled and sent him a horrified look.

“That’s not why I want…I don’t have a favourite mate!” Harry said angrily. Or as angrily as his thick voice and sore throat allowed him.

“I know. I’m sorry, love.” Max said, genuinely sorry that he’d upset his heavily pregnant, sick mate. “Anyone would want Nasta’s cwtches when they feel sick. We all know that, I was just teasing. Besides, we all know that your favourite mate is me!”

That made Harry chuckle and he held his arms out for a hug. Max squashed him tight, but remained aware of the large, rounded belly.

“I love you.” Harry whispered into his ear.

Max pulled back and kissed Harry’s cheek. “I love you too, dearest. Now, let me go so I can kick Nasta in here and get you that tea.”

Max went into the kitchen and made up four cups of tea, and a secret cup of coffee for Blaise. Secret because with Harry occasionally retching at certain smells still Blaise had sworn off of coffee until the baby was born, but with Harry being in the other room, Max didn’t see why Blaise couldn’t have a treat too.
He took his and Draco’s tea, and Blaise’s coffee, into the family room and handed them out. Blaise looked at him like he’d made all of his dreams come true.

“Harry’s in the other room, and staying in the other room, he can’t smell anything in there.” Max explained.

“Mummy’s a boy!” Braiden told him, running over as soon as he saw him.

“I know, honey, but Muggles don’t understand.” Max explained.

“What happened?” Nasta asked with a furrowed brow.

“Someone at the supermarket referred to Braiden’s Mummy as a she. He understood immediately and wasn’t happy. Did the whole frowny face thing usually reserved by Leolin. I have no idea how to handle that sort of situation now that the kids are getting older.”

“Harry doesn’t care about being called Mummy.” Blaise pointed out. “It doesn’t emasculate him at all and he has called himself Mummy in front of Muggles before. I think honesty will be better, and easier for the kids. Just tell the damn Muggles that we’re with four other men and that the kids’ Mummy is a man. Harry certainly will.”

“It was awkward, because Harry’s pregnant.” Max explained. “We can’t tell the Muggles that Harry is their Mummy, and a man, but he’s pregnant. I went with the usual surrogate story we usually use. It’s none of their business anyway.”

“Mummy’s a boy.” Braiden repeated firmly.

“That’s right, love. Well done.” Max praised. “Do you still want to help me with the soup?”

Braiden nodded, cheered right back up at the prospect of helping in the kitchen. “Yes, Daddy.”

“Right, I’ll get on with that when the chicken is done. He can help me throw the chopped veg into the saucepan when its time.”

“Has Harry woken up at all?” Blaise asked.

“Yes, he has.” Max replied then turned to Nasta. “Nas, his and your teas are on the counter, he wants a cwtch.”

“He’s alright?” Nasta asked, standing immediately.

“Yeah, he’s groggy as he’s only just woken up, but he’s as well as he can be. He needed a drink, and some tea. Give him a spoon of honey too, his throat could use it.”

“Has he eaten anything yet?” Draco asked concernedly.

“Not yet, but give him time, Draco, his stomach is the size of a pea at the minute. He’ll eat when he’s hungry.” Nasta soothed before making his way to the kitchen.

“Nasta’s right, we have just a few weeks to go before we have our little boy here, after a bit of recovery, he’ll be right back to normal and eating us under the table.”

“Daddy, play with me.” Calix demanded, tugging at Max’s trouser leg.

Max laughed and slipped easily onto the floor. It was only as he went out into the kitchen half an hour later to take the cooked chicken from the oven that he remembered that he hadn’t told Harry about his trip to the supermarket, and he made a mental note to do just that over a bowl of soup as soon as it was ready.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

Harry was insanely happy as he had actually managed to hold on until his little girls’ first birthday, as he sat on the settee, a cup of tea in hand, and he watched as Max helped the girls unwrap their gifts.
They were sat in the playpen, which was keeping the other kids out, and away from opening their baby sisters’ presents, and Harry didn’t know what was better, Max’s enthusiasm, or the twins’ complete lack of it.
He was two weeks from his due date, and he was feeling each and every inch of his baby, from his little feet, to his tiny hands, each of them digging into a separate area of his body at all times of the day. He’d all but stopped eating, and he noticed the worry in his mates, particularly Draco, who had even asked Healer Almus at his last scan a few days ago, about what they could do to help him. The answer had not satisfied his mates at all, as they were told to keep tempting him with things, but to basically butt out and leave Harry to eat as he saw fit, in whatever quantity he could manage, which is what Harry had been telling them all along. They’d also been told that nothing could be done about the baby squashing up Harry’s organs, but they’d been assured that it wouldn’t cause anything more harmful than a bruised feeling, or at worst, a fractured or broken rib, which Harry didn’t have yet, but it would be monitored if he did get one and then easily healed once the baby was born.
He had gotten over his cold quickly, much quicker than he thought he would, and he put it down to Max’s wonderful healing soup, with a side of Dracken genes.

“Come on, Princess, open this one.” Max encouraged Eva, who ignored him and reached out for her sister’s hair.

“I’m sure you wanted to do this because you get to open all of their presents yourself.” Blaise grinned, as he watched Max open the pink paper.

“Shut up, dearest.” Max declared.

“Why have you started calling us all dearest, anyway? Where did you hear it?”

Max shrugged. “I don’t know, I just wanted to.” He said as he revealed a new little rag doll that was personalised with Eva’s name. Ave had a matching one, with her own name stitched into it.

“I like it.” Harry grinned, a little tired and worn down, but he was so happy.

“I love you too, dearest.” Max shot him a grin, and Harry giggled.

“How are you feeling?” Nasta asked him quietly.

“Tired, but that’s nothing new.” Harry answered. “He’s the longest I’ve ever carried a baby. I am sorry though, but I think I’ll sleep for a week once he’s born.”

“So you should.” Nasta declared.

“I’ll still have a pouch, but it’ll be so much more comfortable once he’s out and I can sleep.”

“Almost there. You’ve done so well and I’m so proud of you.” Nasta told him, throwing an arm around him and pulling him into a kiss.

Of course that made Harry swell up with pride and throw his chest out. Nasta smiled at him, kissed him again, and went back to watching Max open up Eva and Ave’s remaining gifts.

“Mama.”

His attention diverted in an instant, Harry turned to look at Regan, holding his arms up, asking for a cuddle.
Nasta picked Regan up, but their little boy squirmed and cried out, putting a hand to Nasta’s chin to push him away while reaching out with his other hand for Harry.

“Hold on.” Nasta chuckled, trying to get Regan over to Harry safely.

“Come here, baby.” Harry said, taking Regan and sitting him on his bump, but reclining back so that Regan rested on his chest. “Was he awake early?” He asked his mates.

“Yeah, he was awake before me this morning.” Max said.

“He needs a nap then.” Harry said, stroking Regan’s back as his son snuggled into his neck, arms wrapped around his neck and holding the back of Harry’s head.

Harry started humming, stroking Regan’s back and rocking him as much as he was able. He was asleep by the time Max had finished opening all of the gifts, with the girls only giving a passing interest in the wrapping paper. Ave was taken with a large rubber ball and Eva was playing with the ragdoll. Harry noticed that it was the doll with Ave’s name stitched into it. Bloody typical.

“I’ll get on with their birthday lunch.” Max said. “We’ll be having guests soon. Let’s hope the cake goes in their mouths this time, and not over everything else.”

Harry snickered. “I made pink, Princess fairy cakes. The kids all get one each, so if they do decide to throw them, it’ll be less mess and less damage done.”

“You should have let me make them.” Max grumbled. “You weren’t feeling well yesterday.”

“Oh shut it, I’m fine.” Harry rolled his eyes.

What he didn’t tell them was that his nest had been completed for a few days now, and he had been worried about missing his girls’ birthday, so making the little cakes, even though he hadn’t felt well and it had almost killed him to do it, was his way of making sure he had a hand in the birthday party, because he hadn’t been sure that he would be here for it.
He’d already wrapped his card and present for Nasta, and given both to Max with strict instructions to not let Nasta find them, and to give them to him on the third of February, for his birthday. It was his fortieth, one of the big milestones that normal people celebrated, and Harry was likely to miss it. He hated the thought, but their thunderer wasn’t due until the fifth, so he would likely be nesting for Nasta’s birthday.
The rest of the morning was spent watching the kids play, while Harry held a sleeping Regan on his chest, ignoring his acrobatic thunderer who had literally no room to spare in Harry’s sac, so was kicking out into Harry’s ribs and occasionally stretching a hand out to punch Harry’s bladder, while Max started laying the kitchen table for the simple birthday party, including a pink, disposable tablecloth and paper plates. Nothing that could be used as a weapon or would harm anyone overly much if it was thrown at them. The quintuplets were never going to live that second birthday down, they would be reminded of it at their own fortieth birthday party, probably by Max. That thought made Harry chuckle quietly to himself.
They started getting guests at half eleven and all the kids were being fussed over, well except for Regan, who was still asleep on Harry’s chest, and Leolin, who was sleeping in Draco’s arms.

“How are you feeling?” Aneirin asked him, sitting beside him and laying a hand on Regan’s head.

“Fit to burst.” Harry grimaced. “Tired too, but I’m almost there.”

“I was expecting to come today to find that you were nesting.”

Harry flinched at that word and his Dracken forced a snarl from his throat.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Harry. I’ve been so long without a submissive that I forgot that that was a forbidden topic. I won’t go outside, and I won’t tell anyone else I brought it up. Our little secret, I promise.”

Harry settled back down again and his Dracken gave a last ruffle, almost like a bird resettling their feathers, and he relaxed his shoulders.

“It’ll be soon.” Harry forced himself to say. “They’ve been storing their blood for a week now, I made cakes because I thought I wouldn’t be here too and it was my way of trying to include myself, in case I wasn’t here. I’m already upset that I’ll probably miss Nasta’s fortieth.”

“The man I raised will not care more for his birthday than he would about his mate and child.”

“He doesn’t. He keeps taking me aside to assure me of that too, but I didn’t want to miss it. I love him, and I want to be here for his birthday.”

“He knows that, but he also knows why you won’t be here. If he were your submissive…”

Harry giggled immediately and Aneirin gave him a grin.

“A little unbelievable, I know, but if he was your submissive, would you hold it against him if he were giving birth and he missed your birthday?”

“No, but…”

“No buts.” Aneirin said firmly. “They don’t hold it against you and believe it or not, but your health, and the baby’s health, come before a birthday party, Harry. Of course it does.”

Harry smiled and nodded, feeling a little better. He knew that Nasta wouldn’t hold it against him, none of his mates would, but that didn’t stop him from holding it against himself. He didn’t want his mates, and especially not his children, to ever experience a missed birthday, and true it wasn’t a real missed birthday, as he was the only one who wouldn’t be there, but it still didn’t stop him from feeling bad about it.

“Gran dad.”

The two of them looked to Braiden, who had his arms up and out to Aneirin, who grinned and picked him up.

“His speech is really coming on, Harry.” Aneirin praised.

Harry couldn’t put his chest forward like he wanted to, because of Regan, but he was preening, visibly, and he didn’t care.

“It really is. He’s using the potty more often than not and I don’t know if Nas told you, but he’s in a bed now, not a cot.”

“I was told, I was even shown pictures.” Aneirin chuckled.

“I suppose we are a bit…overdramatic with every milestone.” Harry grinned. “We just can’t help it.”

“No one minds, I certainly enjoyed seeing him tucked up in his own little bed and it’s great to hear that he’s using the potty more. He’s turning into a proper little child now.”

“They all are, despite the quintuplets being a little behind developmentally because of being multiples, large multiples at that, they’re all doing really well. Leolin excluded because he’s on his own schedule.”

“How has he been lately?”

“Nothing new to report. He is absolutely besotted with that light-up ball that you gave him for Christmas though.” Harry said with a grin.

“Sensory toys are good for Faerie babies. It helps their development more. Anything with bright lights, bold colours, or different textures and he’ll love it.”

“We’ve definitely noticed that he likes touching different materials. The carpet, the cushions, his beanbag, the grass in the summer, all his toys, even the walls. He’ll just keep running his fingers over it and then he’ll touch something else, or two different things at the same time, using both hands, and it’s like he’s comparing them both. He also wants to be sat up a little more now too. It’s like now he’s older he’s decided he likes being able to see everything around him.”

“That’s wonderful news. I take it he is still sleeping a lot though?” Aneirin nodded to where he was fast asleep clutched in just one of Draco’s large arms, a dummy being suckled in his mouth, clutching the dreaded ‘Ma’ doll in his little, stick like arms.

“Yes, compared to the others he still sleeps a lot. He takes at least five naps a day, but he’s also eating more, so we think, hope, that he’s gearing up for another growth spurt.”

“That would be a nice surprise too. Every added centimetre, and ounce, helps to keep him safe. Healthy babies, even Faeries, are less likely to get sick.”

Harry nodded. He’d read that in one of the Faerie development books that was lying around the house. “I hate the winter the most, he always seems to do better in the summer, when he’s outside and touching grass and flowers, smelling the air and feeling the wind.”

“Faeries are very nature orientated, and they’re very sensory too, so it doesn’t surprise me to hear that Leolin does better outside, interacting with nature, but you know, you have a large garden, Harry. He has a snow suit. I don’t think a ten minute walk around the garden will harm him at all, quite the opposite in fact. Faeries do prefer spring and summer, but they also interact with nature during autumn and winter too.”

Harry blinked. “I hadn’t thought of that. We don’t like letting him out of the nice, warm house because Nasta says the cold, dry air is what spreads the cold and flu viruses easier, and that’s why those diseases are more prevalent in winter even though they can be caught all year round.”

“Well, Nasta is rarely wrong.” Aneirin chuckled, giving a proud look to his son, who was mingling with Maddisons. “But Leolin will be in your garden, away from other people who might make him sick. Just let him touch some frosty grass, or some tree bark, and he’ll be much happier.”

“He has been extra grumpy in the last few weeks. He’s even started scowling at me if he’s in a mood. Maybe I should take him out, or get one of the guys to do it.”

“What do you need?” Blaise asked, peeking over the back of the settee, resting his arms on it as he leaned down far enough to kiss Harry’s head. “Whatever you want, you know we’ll get it for you.”

“Aneirin thinks that Leolin’s moodiness comes from a lack of interaction with the outside. We’ve had him shut up in the house since October. If we just take him out into our garden, he won’t get sick, but it might improve his mood.”

“That’s a good idea. Once he’s awake and had a feed, I’ll go and dig out his snow suit and see if he wants a walk. He might only want you, though.”

“You can come with me, to stop me from slipping. It’s a bit foggy out there today and it shows no signs of shifting. Knowing my luck I’d walk into the tree because I hadn’t seen it.”

Blaise kissed him again. “Of course, Bello.”

“Daddy!” Braiden called out from Aneirin’s lap and Blaise grinned widely and swept up his son, carrying him off to play.

“Are they still hovering?” Aneirin teased.

Harry groaned. “I know it’s their dominant instincts, but the heavier pregnant I get, the worse they get. Little thunderer is the longest I’ve ever carried before, so naturally they’re hovering like crazy these days. Watch this.”

Harry sat up carefully with the sleeping Regan, and he could almost feel Nasta’s eyes on him immediately. He put one hand behind himself and pushed himself to his feet and in the next moment Nasta and Draco were right beside him.

“What is it?” Draco asked.

“Do you need anything?” Nasta asked him at nearly the same time.

“Potty break.” Harry smiled. “Can you take Regan for me? Try not to wake him.”

Nasta immediately took their son, carefully and gently putting him up on his own shoulder and Harry hurried to the bathroom outside, doing what he called his ‘penguin waddle’ as his legs and hips had fallen asleep from spending all morning sat on the settee, pinned down by his napping child.
He hadn’t actually needed the bathroom when he’d started his little show for Aneirin, but as soon as he’d stood up, he had needed to go, so he took care of business and then made his way to the kitchen, where he found Max putting the final touches to the table.

“Oh, is Regan awake?” Max asked, looking up at him and visibly assessing him with his eyes, but Harry gave him credit as he just carried on placing little plates of nibbles on the table.

“No, I needed the bathroom, so Nasta had to take him. I couldn’t hold it anymore.”

“Uh-oh, no puddles on the carpet, Harry. I thought you were housebroken.”

“Shut up, Caesar.” Harry said, turning and grinning at Max’s baby brother. “I made it in time.”

Caesar came and hugged him, kissing his head, ignoring the small growl he got for it from Max, whose Dracken had gone incredibly possessive in the last few days, to the point where it had to be Max who slept on Harry’s other side in the bed. He was even getting a bit growly when the others touched him.
Harry went to Max and reached up to pull his big mate down, wrapping his arms around his neck and snogging him. Caesar wolf whistled at them, but he was ignored. The two of them split apart and Max grinned at him, Harry winked and then turned to rob a sausage roll from the table.

Max spanked him for it. “No pillaging from the table!” He chastised.

“I’m your heavily pregnant submissive mate!” Harry whined. “I should be able to pillage whatever I want.”

“Yeah, Max!” Caesar agreed. “Let him take what he wants. I’d let him!”

Max growled again, a bit more loudly this time.

“Caesar, stop teasing your brother or you’ll end up dead.” Alexander cut in sharply. “Harry, are you okay?”

Harry nodded. “Perfectly fine, though Max won’t let me take from the table.”

He turned and pouted up at Max, who rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Alright fine, you can take from the table, but I’m going to start cutting off fingers if anyone else dares to touch my table.”

“But you always put on such a delicious spread.” Caesar whined. Harry laughed at his attempt to coax Max into letting him eat.

“And I had better still have a delicious spread on this table when the party officially starts!”

Harry laughed again, and ignoring the adult sized food up the one end of the table, he went for the baby nibbles. He wanted the bitesize sausage rolls and the teeny sandwiches cut into different shapes with a selection of cookie cutters.

“Why does he get to eat the fun stuff?” Caesar complained.

“I really can’t handle too much.” Harry answered, even as he nibbled on a little cheese savoury. “My stomach has shrunk so much that I can’t even eat a whole sandwich. So Max is letting me eat, because he knows no one will even noticed what I’ve eaten missing.”

“I’m letting you eat because you haven’t had anything since lunch yesterday.” Max said.

Harry shrugged. “I wasn’t hungry.”

“And now you are?”

Harry nodded, even as he picked up another little cheese cracker and nibbled on it.

“Sit and eat, gorgeous. You and our thunderer need it.” Max said, laying a hand on his belly and guiding Harry to a seat. Max automatically switched plates around, putting what Harry had been nibbling on within reaching distance. It was the little things like this that his mates did for him that made him love them all so much.

“When will the party start?” Caesar whined.

“When the kids are all awake.” Max said firmly.

“Harry, there you are. How has your day been?”

That was why Harry adored Amelle. She understood. Instead of asking him how he was, a question which he was asked several dozen times a day, she asked how his day had gone, which was essentially the same, but without the automatic obligation to sigh out that he was fine.

“Hi, Amelle. My day has been nice and relaxed so far. I’ve been pinned down by Regan all morning because he fell asleep on me, but I felt a little bit hungry, so I’ve wandered out here to ruin Max’s hard work.”

“You can eat what you want.” Max told him, kissing Harry’s head and putting a glass of orange squash by his hand.

Harry snickered. “How have you been?”

“Run off my feet with my three children.”

It took Harry a moment, and then he laughed.

“Hey!” The offended Caesar cried out, rushing his mate and wrapping his arms around her, swinging her to the side and giving her a big kiss. “You love me like this, don’t even try to deny it.” He told her, nuzzling her face. Amelle giggled and pretended to swat him away.

“Where are the girls?” Harry asked, grinning. “Ruling the roost in the living rooms?”

“Of course.” Amelle grinned. “Though I think Tegan is warming up to Nora, they’re both playing together.”

“Really?” Harry asked excitedly. “I’ve been waiting for her to get along with the boys, but the only one she ever really plays with is Regan. Oh, maybe she’ll get on with the twins when they’re a little older?”

“I’m sure she will. She just wants more girls around, she’s overrun with all you boys about.” Amelle said. “You’re going to add another boy too.”

“He’s going to be big too.” Harry said, patting his straining bump.

“Harry?” Blaise called out.

“Kitchen!” Harry called back.

Blaise had Leolin in his arms, already padded out in his snow suit, and he looked so absolutely adorable that Harry abandoned his food and used the table to stand up.

“Oh, look how cute you are, sweetheart!” Harry cooed, cupping Leolin’s cheeks with both hands and getting a scowl for it.

“Where are you taking him?” Max demanded protectively.

“Aneirin thinks that he’s been so grumpy these last few weeks because he hasn’t been outside since October, so we’re going on a walk around the garden.” Harry said, taking Leolin and heading for the back door with Blaise.

“Be careful.” Max said. “Watch him.” He directed at Blaise with a growl.

“You’d never think that he was my mate too.” Blaise quipped, right before he shut the back door with a bit more force than necessary.

“You’re all too wound up.” Harry said. “I think you need to have some sex while I watch and lament the fact that I’m too rounded to join in.”

That made Blaise laugh, and he slipped his arm around Harry’s back and while Harry carried Leolin, facing outwards, in his arms, so that the rather harsh wind could touch his cheeks, Blaise held him tight and directed their steps.
Leolin looked amazed and he reached out his hands, as if he could feel the wind. His hands were bare, and Harry stifled the urge to smother Leolin to his chest and run back to the house…well, waddle, he’d waddle back to the house. But Leolin needed his hands to touch nature, and as they reached the first tree, on the opposite side to where he’d built his nest, Leolin reached out by himself to touch the trunk of the tree.
Leolin actually giggled and squealed as he rubbed both hands back and forth over the tree.

“I came prepared for this.” Blaise said, aiming the camcorder at him and Leolin.

Harry gave him a grin. “Thank Merlin for Aneirin knowing everything about Faeries. Come on, love, let’s see if we can’t find you a patch of frosty grass.”

Harry moved Leolin away from the tree, getting a squirm and a cry for it, at least until he placed Leolin down on his bum and let him reach forward and rub his hands over the grass. He giggled again and something in Harry settled. His family would be fine when he left to nest. They’d all be fine and he could preen in his nest and bring back his new baby and everything would be fine. He knew it.
They stayed outside for only ten minutes, and in that time Leolin’s mood visibly improved by the moment. They were wary of keeping him out too long, especially without his little mittens on, but they promised to bring Leolin out at least once a week, possibly twice, just to keep him nice and healthy.

“How did he like it?” Nasta asked as they came through the back door.

“Look at him!” Harry said, beaming, holding out Leolin, who was grinning widely, his one tiny tooth on display.

“So he needed a moment out in nature?”

“A Faerie moment.” Harry giggled. “Has Regan woken up now?”

“He’s just coming around now. Draco’s taken him to wash his hands and face to bring him around.”

“Okay, Max, are you ready?” Harry asked.

“Yes.” He said. “Do you want tea?”

Harry considered it, but shook his head. “No, the food filled me up. I’m okay for the moment, lover.”

“Blaise?” Max tried. It was almost like an apology, or maybe just a peace offering.

“Sure thing, lover.”

Harry sat at the table and left the baby wrangling to Max, who had set the kettle to boiling and gone to wrangle up everyone else. The adults all came in herding the toddlers and soon the booster seats were filled and Harry was nibbling, even as the twin girls, in their own booster seats for the sake of space, sat beside one another at the head of the table, started grabbing fistfuls of food before Max could help them fill their plates.
Harry just sat back and watched everything, as he nibbled on his own food, Narcissa sat beside him. The birthday lunch was messy, and very loud, as usual, but Harry loved it, as he watched them all chatting and babbling together, eating and yes, even throwing food, mostly to one another, but occasionally at the surrounding adults too.
Instead of the large birthday cake the kids, and adults, all had a single fairy cake each, covered in pink icing and edible glitter, and it was much less disastrous than the quintuplets’ second birthday, even if bits of cake did end up on the floor.
At one in the afternoon, their guests were saying goodbye, a lot more amicably than when they had fled the last time, covered in cake with the screaming fits of several wound up babies in their ears, and the kids were dropping down for naps nice and easy.
Harry was able to breathe. Able to sit and relax. He’d done it. He’d managed to see in his twin girls’ first birthday, and now he could go and nest without feeling any guilt or discomfort. His Dracken was calm and he felt himself dozing into a nap himself. He could go and nest, but he didn’t really feel like it, and right now he just really wanted to rest and bask in the success of a perfectly planned day. They’d done well, really well and he was happy.

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A/N: Happy New Year, lovelies! A new year full of exciting new writing opportunities and brand new fics. Or at least brand new chapters.
Our baby boy is arriving now in the next chapter, which should be up next week, as I’m almost finished with it, and I’m so excited for him to arrive, I love it when they get new babies in the family.
We’ll be getting another chapter for this fic as soon as I can manage it, but until then,

StarLight Massacre. X
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The Rise of the Drackens