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Unstoppable	By : Thunderbird Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 14476 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. I make no profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
A/N: Thank you, as always, to my amazing regulars for reviewing. You guys are the best! I love how protective you are of Harry and Teddy both. And you definitely had some opinions on Liam! They had me chuckling.
This chapter picks up right where the previous chapter left off, only from Draco's pov this time. It's a real monster (as in, really long... I don't know what happened. It just kept going and going...) and has a little bit of everything: angst, fluff, smut, WAFF... you know... all the good stuff. I hope you like it.
Warnings: M/M lemons.
Chapter 17: Fire Meets Gasoline
(Draco)

“I’m so glad we’re finally doing this.”
Draco turned to Hannah and smiled. She was sipping her cocktail – something pink and fruity – through a straw while looking at him with twinkling eyes.
“It indeed has been too long,” Draco agreed. They’d finally managed to coordinate drinks with the two of them and Pansy, after various attempts at poorly made plans that had to be canceled by one of them at the last minute.
This plan had actually been rather spontaneous. Draco was wrapping up his shift and mentally preparing for a weekend at home with Harry and Teddy when Hannah had tracked him down and informed him that she too was getting off shift and that Pansy was free. This was the golden opportunity they’d been waiting for, and it would have been a real shame to pass it up.
Harry won’t mind, he told himself. Draco used to go out for last minute drinks all the time, and all Harry had ever needed those times was a Patronus informing him why Draco would be a bit later than usual.
“I can’t make it too late a night, though,” he told Hannah after he’d agreed. “I’m knackered and I want some quality time with Harry as well.”
“Of course,” she had replied. “Just a couple of hours.”
Now they were at a magics only bar just around the corner from the hospital, their usual spot, waiting for Pansy to arrive.
“I think she wanted to put Esme to bed herself,” Hannah informed him. “Apparently she’s in a very clingy stage right now.”
“Toddlers are tough,” Draco remarked. “I remember when Teddy was that age there was about a three month period when he attached himself to Harry like he’d had a Permanent Sticking Charm placed on him. It was really hard on Harry and Andromeda both.”
“And Teddy’s been a fairly easy child, all around, wouldn’t you say?”
“The best,” Draco said, aware that there was plenty of paternal pride in his voice. “I wouldn’t trade him for anything.”
“That’s sweet, Draco. I’m glad it all seems to be working well for you and Harry.”
“I won’t lie, it’s not always easy,” said Draco. “But it’s good anyway. I like being a parent. It makes me really look forward to when Harry and I have a baby of our own.”
“You’re not thinking about that anytime soon, though, I hope, not with you still in residency. That would be chaos.”
“No,” Draco insisted with a laugh. “I’m not completely insane.”
“Good.” Hannah took another sip of her drink. “Listen, while I have you alone… Have you… been by the Janus Thickey ward recently?”
Draco furrowed his brow. “I had a Mind Healing rotation first year,” he said. “But not really since then. I’ve had no reason to.”
“Oh, well…” Hannah looked suddenly reluctant. “I have. I go visit Neville’s parents there about once a week, you know.”
Draco shook his head. “You’re too good to him, Han.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t give me that. I like doing it. They’re really sweet people and it means a lot to Neville. Plus the field of Mind Healing has come a long way. They may actually be able to help Frank and Alice recover some of their mental competency, and seeing familiar faces helps with that. Besides,” she went on, making it clear that was the end of the matter, “that’s not what I was going to ask you about.”
“What were you going to ask me?”
Hannah looked surreptitiously around and then leaned in, speaking quietly. “Whether you were aware that Hermione’s parents are on the ward. Have been since early September.”
Draco stared at her a moment, thoroughly confused now. “I haven’t heard a thing about that. She hasn’t told me, certainly. And I don’t think she’s told Harry, or if she has, he was instructed to keep it a strict secret and he has somehow managed to hide that from me all this time.”
Hannah sighed. “I thought so. I haven’t heard her say a thing about it either.”
“Are you absolutely sure it’s them?”
“Of course I’m sure,” she replied. “I’ve seen them. I asked Milicent Bulstrode about them, who is working on their case. I saw Hermione’s name multiple times in the visitor’s log. She comes at least once per week, always during her lunch break. It’s definitely them.”
Draco absorbed that. “What’s wrong with them?”
“There was some kind of accident, some magical burst that scrambled their brains. Their long term memories are totally buried, apparently; they have no sense of who they are. They don’t recognize Hermione…” She bit her lip. “The mother can speak, but the father can’t, when I last heard, at least. And the treatment has stopped working. They’re trying everything they can.”
Draco sat back in his chair, stunned. “That’s horrible.”
“I know.”
“And she hasn’t told anyone.”
“Ron has to know, surely.”
“Yes, of course,” Draco agreed. “It just really surprises me that she hasn’t told Harry.”
“Maybe she has and you just don’t know it.”
“Harry’s pretty easy to read. I think I’d know if he was carrying around something that big.” Of course, Draco would have hoped he’d noticed the same thing with Hermione, but she’d seemed quite like herself when he’d seen her. Granted, with his work schedule and now caring for Teddy, he hadn’t seen her all that much.
“I don’t know if I should say anything to her or not, let her know that I know, offer my support, that sort of thing,” Hannah said. “I would imagine she could use a friend.”
“Maybe, but if she wanted help, wouldn’t she have asked for it? Wouldn’t she have told us?”
“I suppose.” Hannah swirled her drink around with her straw. “So, what then? We just keep mum on the issue, wait for her to say something?”
“Do we have a choice? This is the job, after all. We find out all sorts of things we never intended to.”
“All too true,” Hannah agreed.
They had to stop discussing it then, because Pansy had arrived. There was no need to cover the fact that they were talking about something secret, however, because the moment she placed her pocketbook on the table she started launching into apologies for her lateness and lamenting the difficulties of getting needy toddlers down to bed at a reasonable hour. Hannah and Draco assured her it was fine, and Pansy dropped the issue and decided to get a drink.
“What’s that your having, Han?” she asked the Hufflepuff. “It looks lovely.”
“Pomegranate martini,” Hannah replied, holding it up for her to get a better look. “It’s delicious.”
“Excellent. That’s what I’m having too, then. You two all right, or can I top you off?”
“We’re fine,” said Draco. When Pansy had gone to the bar he turned back to Hannah. “You women and your poncy drinks.”
Hannah rolled her eyes at him. “I bet you’d like this, actually. You like sweet stuff well enough. You just always have to order Ogden’s to prove how much of a man you are.”
“I don’t need Ogden’s for that,” Draco countered. “I could pull down my trousers right here and show the whole bar what a man I am.”
Hannah burst into laughter. “Now that I’d like to see. Of course, it would be just your luck for there to be a photographer in here to catch you in the act. Can you imagine the headlines? ‘Harry Potter’s lover, a closet exhibitionist!’ People would be beside themselves.”
“It would certainly cause a stir,” Draco agreed. “Although I bet you some of them would be excited by the idea. They’re so obsessed with Harry, and me, by default, I suppose, I bet they’d give anything to see us shagging.”
“You could start selling tickets. ‘Watch Harry Potter take it up the arse!’ Twenty galleons a pop. You’d make a fortune.”
“Oh, I’d charge way more than twenty galleons,” said Draco. “And you should know that he buggers me, most of the time.”
“Really?” Hannah said, looking genuinely surprised. She considered that a moment. “I don’t know why, but I always pictured it the other way around. Perhaps it’s because you’re taller.”
“You’ve pictured me and Harry having sex?”
“Hasn’t everyone?” Pansy chimed in, joining in on their conversation with a fresh pink martini in hand. “I think about it all the time. The entire wizarding world does. I bet every adult witch or wizard that has ever heard of the two of you thinks about you shagging at least once a day.”
“If not more,” Hannah added. “I’ve just been telling Draco he should sell tickets to the show. They’d have a packed house every night.”
“Now there’s an idea,” said Pansy. “Save me front row seats, then, would you?”
“You two are hilarious, really,” Draco said drily, deciding his was tiring of this joke. “Bloody comedians, you are.”
“Oh, we’re only kidding,” Hannah assured him.
“Speak for yourself,” said Pansy, smiling at him over her martini.
“Is your sex life really that boring, Pans? You’ve got to get involved in mine instead?”
“Oh, tosh,” she said, swatting him on the arm. “My sex life is fine. I can hardly complain.”
Hannah chuckled. “That’s a ringing endorsement, that is.”
“Theo is a fine lover,” Pansy said haughtily. “He’s enthusiastic and attentive enough to satisfy me. But I didn’t marry him for the sex.”
“Why did you marry him?” Draco asked with a wicked grin. “I’ve always wondered.”
“His money, of course,” she said, totally deadpan. Hannah and Draco both knew she wasn’t serious, naturally. She had plenty of money of her own and had never prioritized such things. But they laughed heartily anyway. “Believe it or not,” Pansy went on, putting down her drink to show she was really serious this time, “I married him because he’s a good man, and I knew he would be a wonderful husband and father.”
“I think that’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard you say in my life, Pansy,” Draco teased. “Getting a bit sentimental on us, are you? Going soft in your old age?”
“I blame motherhood,” she replied, sidestepping the dig about her age altogether. They were all in their mid-twenties. Age was hardly a sensitive issue yet. “It does outrageous things to a person.”
“Like makes them say nice things about their husbands,” Hannah said, amused. “Outrageous indeed.”
“Enough about me,” Pansy said. “I want to hear all about this Longbottom dilemma you’ve been teasing us about for weeks. What’s happened, Han? Tell us all about it.”
Hannah sighed. “It’s not a big deal as all that, really.”
Draco and Pansy exchanged a look. This was typical Hannah, to hint at something that was plaguing her only to downplay it when it finally came time to talk about it.
“Why don’t you tell us the situation,” Draco said, with what he thought was quite a lot of patience, “and we’ll decide how big of a deal it is.”
“Oh, all right,” said Hannah. “The issue at hand, at the moment anyway, is that he’s not going to be around for the holidays. Usually we have Christmas with my father and then spend some time with his parents at the hospital. But apparently he’s not going to be able to make it to any of it. He says it’s because it’s his first year teaching at Hogwarts and there’s sort of an unspoken rule amongst the staff that the newer members stay behind to supervise the students who remained for the winter holidays. Neville says he feels… obligated to volunteer.”
“He feels obligated, but isn’t actually required, is what you’re saying,” Pansy clarified.
“Exactly.”
“And you’re put out by this decision.”
“Yes, I am. I was looking forward to getting some real time with him. We barely see each other as it is, since he works every weekday, plus some weekends, and I work… well whenever I’m told to, as you well know.”
Draco nodded knowingly. That was how it was when you were a Healing resident. You were essentially beholden to your head resident (a fourth year who had been specially picked by the Senior Healers, and who was usually a pompous, self-important arse) and whatever schedule they chose to give you. It was possible to request certain days off, but you only got so many, and the head resident could always turn down the request.
“We’ve had a hard enough time finding weekends where we can overlap, is my point,” Hannah went on. “So I was counting on the holiday break for some real quality time with him. I would have to work some, I knew, but I’d be around at least half the time. And now he won’t be around at all.”
Pansy and Draco considered that.
“Are you allowed to visit him at Hogwarts over the holidays?” Pansy asked.
“Yes…” Hannah said, obviously knowing where this was going.
“And could your father come along with you?”
Hannah crossed her arms. “I suppose.”
“So, then, why not have Christmas at Hogwarts, just for this one year?”
Hannah looked at her darkly. “Neville suggested that, actually.”
Pansy arched a brow. “And you weren’t in favor?”
“I’m not… completely closed off to the idea,” Hannah admitted. “But there’s… it’s the principle of the thing. It feels like everything is on his terms right now. I visit him at Hogwarts a lot more than he comes to mine for his days off. And when I go visit him I’m just stuck in his rooms waiting around for him half the time and I… I feel like I’m bending over backwards to make this work and he’s not… It’s all about what he needs right now, and not about what I need, or what we both need. He’s being very… selfish.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I never thought I’d be sitting here accusing Neville Longbottom of being selfish, but there you are.”
“No one is simply one thing all the time, you know, Han,” said Draco. “Just selfish or just selfless. We’re all selfish sometimes. We couldn’t live our lives without a certain amount of selfishness.”
“So you’re saying I should just put up with it then?”
“No,” Draco replied patiently. “Because a person doesn’t get to be, or shouldn’t be, at least, selfish all the time. He should be willing to compromise, meet you in the middle. We do that for the people we love.”
“Exactly,” Hannah said. “But he seems unwilling to compromise at this point and it makes me… I feel like… I’m scared that I’m more invested in this than he is. I mean, if he isn’t willing to ‘meet me in the middle,’ as you say, then doesn’t that mean he isn’t all that invested?”
“Or he’s simply not aware,” said Pansy. “He might not realize all that you’re doing for your relationship.”
“He should realize,” Hannah grumbled.
“Yes, but he’s a man, and men are stupid.”
Draco snorted at that.
“Straight men, I mean,” Pansy corrected, patting Draco on the hand in a somewhat patronizing way. “They’re oblivious. There’s a very good chance he has no idea how upset or frustrated you are. You have to tell him outright. Men need that.”
Hannah bit her lip as she considered that. “I don’t want to cause a row.”
That was met with silence for a moment.
“Why not?” asked Pansy finally.
Hannah looked at her with wide eyes. “For the obvious reasons. It’s no fun at all, and it hurts the relationship.”
“Hurts the relationship?” Draco echoed, not understanding. “I’ll grant you the former, but all relationships require some fighting.”
“You and Harry fight?”
“Not at all the time,” Draco said. “It usually doesn’t get that far. Everyday irritations are usually resolved quickly, so long as we are in the right mind to deal with them, you know, with basic communication. But yes, on occasion, we have an all out row. It doesn’t feel good in the moment, but sometimes things just need to be hashed out. Sometimes strong feelings just need to be expressed.”
“I would argue that it can feel good to fight,” said Pansy. “Sometimes Theo and I just decide, like by mutual, unspoken understanding, that we need to do some yelling. It can be rather cathartic. And then afterwards we apologize and discuss what the real issue is and that’s that.”
Draco nodded in agreement. “That sounds about right. It doesn’t feel good in the same way that… I don’t know, sex, or any kind of intimacy does, but it’s sort of a relief.”
“I don’t understand,” said Hannah, and it was clear, by the confounded look on her face, that she genuinely didn’t.
“Do you mean to tell me that you and Longbottom have been together for four years now and you’ve never had a proper fight?” Pansy asked, aghast.
“We’ve had disagreements,” Hannah said defensively. “We’ve been short with each other and had to mend things after. But we’ve never outright screamed at each other. That would just be…” She shuddered. “That would be awful.”
Hufflepuffs, Draco thought, exchanging another look with Pansy.
“I think it’s time you and Longbottom had a fight. A real one,” Pansy said.
“A real one? You mean a screaming one?” Hannah looked at her two friends incredulously as they both nodded. “You can’t be serious.”
“Perfectly,” replied Pansy. “Doesn’t what he’s doing make you want to scream? Wouldn’t it feel good to just let it out?”
“I…” Hannah looked like she had no idea how to answer that. “You’re saying I should cause a fight?”
“Well, you don’t have to force it,” said Draco. “You don’t have to pick a fight. But you should tell him how you feel, straightforward like, no beating around the bush. If he gets upset and argues back, then you will likely get upset, and before you know it you’re properly fighting. Easy as that.”
“Yes,” Hannah said drily. “So easy.”
“Draco is right,” Pansy says. “Whether it leads to a fight or not, the important thing is that you express your feelings.”
“But what if we do fight and it… and one or both of us gets hurt and we…” Hannah swallowed. “…we break up?”
“Then it was never going to last,” said Draco. “A relationship must be able to survive a bad fight. You’ll never survive living together or raising a family together or any of that without being able to recover from a fight.”
“But I love him,” she argued. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
“And he shouldn’t want to hurt you either, if he loves you,” Pansy pointed out. “But right now he is, and he just doesn’t know it. So you need to tell him that he’s hurting you, and if he loves you then he’ll figure out how to make it right. And if he doesn’t then…” She trailed off, glancing at Draco.
“Then fuck him,” Draco filled in. “He’s not worth it.”
“Exactly,” said Pansy.
Hannah looked from Draco to Pansy and then back again. “You really are serious about this.”
“Yes,” they said together.
The Hufflepuff sighed. “How is it that you two know so much more about this than I do? You haven’t been with Harry or Theo all that much longer than I’ve been with Neville.”
“I’m married,” Pansy said. “And marriage is totally different than dating, even a serious commitment like you have. And Draco… well, he and Harry are practically married, in every way but name.”
“It’s true,” said Draco. ”We’ve been living together for four years. That changes things. But Harry and I also… we figured out a lot of this early on, mainly because there was so much baggage from our previous history that if we didn’t get it worked out we never would have been able to stay together.”
Hannah nodded. “That makes a lot of sense actually.” She stared into her drink. “I didn’t realize it before, but I think my relationship with Neville has developed a lot slower than other relationships have. Is that a bad thing?”
“I don’t know,” Draco said honestly. “I don’t think it has to be, as long as the relationship is moving forward to some degree. But if you feel stuck, if you feel like it’s not going anywhere, then… that might be a bad sign.”
He watched Hannah take that in, feeling genuinely sad for her. He wasn’t Longbottom’s number one fan, but he wanted Hannah to be happy.
“I’m scared,” Hannah said softly. “I’m genuinely frightened.”
Pansy reached out and put her hand over Hannah’s, and Hannah shook herself, glancing up at them.
“Enough about this. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“All right,” said Draco. “What would you like to talk about, then?”
“I want to talk about Blaise and Vesper,” Pansy said. Draco smiled. Those two were a common go-to conversation topic these days. “Did you know that a few weeks ago Blaise wrote Vesper a letter saying he wanted to get back together and she hasn’t responded?”
“Really?” Hannah and Draco both said at once.
“He never told me that,” said Draco, aware that he was pouting a little. “He hardly tells me anything anymore.”
“Because you don’t ask,” Pansy said. “You two hardly spend much time together anymore, and that’s mainly on you. If you reached out to him, he would respond.”
Draco scowled, knowing she was right. He and Blaise used to share everything, but that had changed, and Draco couldn’t quite pinpoint when. He would have to make more of an effort. The problem was, when would he find the time? Life was just too full.
“Tell us more about this letter,” Hannah said to Pansy, bringing Draco back to the present. “What exactly did it say?
So Pansy told them about it, which led to speculation about why Blaise had chosen to reach out now, after seeing Vesper with someone else, and what Vesper was playing at, not giving him an answer. Draco found himself getting sucked into the drama as usual and was quite enjoying himself, so much so that when he looked at his watch and realized that ten o’clock was nearly upon them, he had to stifle a groan of disappointment.
It wasn’t that he didn’t love Harry, but he needed this, this connection with his friends. And drinks out for a couple of hours every few months just wasn’t going to cut it. And this was just with Pansy and Hannah. When was he supposed to find time to make things right with Blaise?
An issue for another day, he decided. He was feeling a bit weary after such a long shift, and the two glasses of whiskey he’d consumed weren’t helping with that. Maybe it was best he call it a night after all.
He informed the two women that he would have to be leaving, citing his promise to Harry to be home by ten, and though the women told him they wished he could stay they let him go without much fuss. Hugs and kisses were exchanged, as well as promises to see more of each other than they had been.
Draco left the bar and made his way to an Apparition point, feeling torn about his departure, but also looking forward to seeing Harry. Maybe he would get his feet rubbed. Harry was almost always willing to do that. Maybe, even better, Draco would get a thorough shagging. Harry was always up for that, no ‘almost’ about it.
When he Apparated onto his front stoop he was already yawning and thinking about bed. He was so lost in his own thoughts that when he walked through the door he tripped over something and nearly fell.
“What the bloody…” Upon closer inspection Draco saw that it was one of Teddy’s Muggle dinosaur toys that made menacing noises when you pressed a button on its stomach. What was it doing in the middle of the foyer, he wondered.
But as he made his way down the hall it became immediately apparent that the dinosaur toy was not a lone anomaly. Teddy’s things were everywhere, puzzle pieces and toys scattered all over as though a storm had swept through the house. There was even a crayon wedged into the grate in the wall of the sitting room.
And then there was the kitchen, where there were still plates on the table (three, strangely), half eaten food still on them. The pots and pans on the range were dirty and a few soiled utensils and a cutting board were resting in the sink.
Draco was standing by the kitchen table, staring at the mess and wondering what possibly could have happened, when he heard movement on the stairs.
“Draco?” came a soft voice from the hall. He didn’t answer, but Harry himself came into view a moment later, running hands through his hair and rubbing at his eyes. “I thought that was you,” he said. “I thought I heard the door, but I’d fallen asleep and I-“
“What the hell happened, Harry?” Draco asked, interrupting him. Harry had been asleep while this chaos was sitting here, waiting for him? Draco didn’t understand it.
Harry looked about the room and laughed humorlessly. “Yes, it’s a bit of a mess, isn’t it?”
“I bit of a mess?” Draco asked, unable to believe that Harry would be irresponsible enough to let it get like this and not even apologize for it. “It’s a complete sty! Honestly, is this how it is when I’m not around?”
“What? No, of course not-“
“How did it even get like this? Teddy should know better. His toys are all over the hall and the sitting room. And this kitchen… come on, Harry. You honestly went to sleep knowing there was food still sitting on the plates?”
“I didn’t-“
“I mean really, you only work part time now, anyway. Would it kill you to at least keep the place clean?”
This time Harry didn’t respond, only blinked at him, his brow furrowed and his lips slightly parted, as if he didn’t understand what Draco was saying.
“I don’t think it’s a lot to ask to be able to come home to a clean house, Harry. I’ve been on my feet since Wednesday and I’m bloody tired. I barely had any time to spend with my friends as it was and then I come home to this.” He gestured around the house. “It’s really very frustrating, to be honest.”
Still Harry didn’t say anything, although now he wasn’t blinking stupidly anymore and instead was staring at Draco with a furrowed brow and a stiff, grim mouth.
“Well?” Draco pushed, tired of waiting.
“You think that I work part time?” Harry asked, his voice quiet but clear.
Draco narrowed his eyes, confused. “What?”
“You seem to be under the impression that I work part time,” Harry said, spitting the final words like they tasted bitter in his mouth. “Well fuck you, Draco. I work all the fucking time. I never stop. I never get a break. I’m always on, even when I’m home.” Draco found himself taking a step back, totally blindsided by the stream of vitriol coming out of Harry’s mouth. He could feel his hackles rising. “I’m either at work all day or here caring for Teddy, which is a full time job in and of itself-“
“You think I have any fucking time off?” Draco countered, properly angry now. Was Harry really going to complain to him about workload? “I’m always either here or at work, so we’re in the same fucking situation, except that I work more hours-“
“Don’t even give me that shit,” Harry said, shaking his head. “Because you don’t even fucking know what it’s like. You know why? Because whenever you’re home, I’m always here too. It’s totally fucking different when you’re totally alone and everything is up to you. You have no idea. And you know what else? During the day, when you’re home, when I’m at work and Teddy is at school, you get to be really off. You get to do what you want. I never have that. I never even get to be alone. Ever. And when I do come home from work I’m still the one who has to cook and clean and change the fucking light bulbs because you don’t fucking know how and do everything, while you play with Teddy and read to him and do the fun stuff, the easy stuff. You get to be the fun parent and I get to be the bloody house elf.”
Draco laughed derisively and shook his head in disbelief. “So what is this, then?” he indicated the mess again. “Your rebellion? Are you staging a fucking uprising, or something?”
“This,” Harry said, imitating Draco’s gesturing, “is the result of me foolishly letting Teddy have a friend over after school. He was an absolute nightmare of a child and he made a complete mess of everything, wearing out both me and Teddy when we were already tired enough. I was going to get to it after I put Teddy to bed but I fell asleep because I was so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open. That’s what happened. It’s never like this otherwise, and you know it, so don’t go strutting around acting self-righteous about it because I keep this place fucking spotless, just like you like.”
Draco scowled, unsure how to counter that. Now that Harry described it, it did sound like he was being unreasonable. “Why were you so tired?” he asked Harry, hoping to dispel some of the tension. He hadn’t come home wanting a row, and suddenly they were screaming at each other. “Have you not been sleeping?”
Draco was surprised to see something like guilt cross Harry’s face for a moment. “It was Teddy. He was ill all last night.”
“Ill?” Draco said, suddenly worried. “With what? Did he catch something at school? Or was it something he ate?”
“No, nothing like that,” said Harry. “It was…” He ran a hand across his forehead. “We went to see Andromeda yesterday, and she got sick while we were there and Teddy, well, it upset him, I suppose. He made himself sick with worry, essentially, threw up all night long.”
“Harry,” Draco said, biting back his frustration. “I thought we talked about this. I told you-“
“I know you told me,” Harry replied, gritting his teeth himself. “But it was getting unbearable listening to him constantly ask to see her. He was practically begging me this week about it. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You put your foot down and tell him to be patient.”
“Easy for you to say. You don’t have to listen to him day in and day out-“
“You’re exaggerating.”
“I am not exaggerating,” Harry said, looking at him with hard eyes. “You just wouldn’t know because you’re never fucking here to hear it.”
“And we’re back there again, are we?” Draco said, feeling his anger flare up once more. “What do you want me to do? Quit my job? I don’t have a choice. This was how life was going to be for a few years and I told you that. I know everything changed and got harder once we took in Teddy but I’m doing the best I can here. I’m home just about every minute that I’m not at the hospital.”
“Not tonight,” Harry said accusingly.
Draco scoffed. “Are you honestly going to hold two whole hours against me, Harry? That’s all it was. Two hours to see friends I haven’t seen in ages. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”
“I understand how you feel,” Harry said, though his tone was still harsh. “Do you know what I would give to spend two hours out with friends? I haven’t had that since Teddy moved in. And I know you haven’t either,” he added quickly, cutting off Draco’s protests. “And I understand the impulse. But the difference between you and me is that I can’t just decide to take off for two hours, because I’m expected to be here for Teddy. How would you feel if instead of coming home from work to make dinner I informed you at the last minute that I was going out with Ron and Hermione and you were just on your own with Teddy? How would it feel if I did that to you?”
Draco scowled but answered honestly. “I would feel… disregarded. Taken for granted.”
“Yes,” said Harry. “You would. And that’s how I felt when you did it to me. I’m expected to be here all the time. I don’t get to choose to take a break. So the least you could have done is ask me. A floo call wouldn’t have killed you, you know.”
Draco thought about that. It was true that while Draco had never felt the need to ask permission to go out back when it was just the two of them (he hardly wanted to set that sort of precedent in their relationship), circumstances had changed, and he could see Harry’s point.
“All right,” he said. “I hear you. But I want you to stop talking like I’m never here. Because I am here. Just about whenever I can be.”
“I know,” said Harry, burying his face in his hands and his voice soft enough that Draco had to strain to hear him. “But it’s not nearly enough.”
“That’s not fair,” Draco replied. “That is just… it’s not fair, Harry. What I do is important, and I can’t just…”
“What I do is important too,” Harry said, his voice still soft. “I know I’m not saving lives or anything, but it matters. I matter. I-“ He rubbed his eyes on his palms a moment, and when he removed his hands Draco saw that his eyes were glistening. He suddenly looked so tired, defeated, and Draco’s heart clenched. “I don’t… I can’t talk about this any more tonight,” he said. “There’s so much more to say and I just… I can’t do it. I’m so fucking tired. I have nothing left.” His voice cracked, and Draco actually saw a tear spill down Harry’s cheek.
“Harry…” Draco said, not knowing what he was going to say next. Harry rarely cried, ever. Draco had seen it maybe once or twice in the entire time that they had been together.
Harry wiped his face quickly. “Look, just go on to bed, all right? I’ll get this place sorted and that will be that.”
“Harry,” Draco said again, reaching for him.
But Harry sidestepped him, avoiding Draco’s outstretched hand and making his way over to the sink. “Don’t worry about it, Draco,” he said, not meeting his eyes. “I’ll take care of it all, as usual.”
Harry filled the sink with soap and water and summoned the dirty dishes with his wand while Draco looked on, his heart pounding with real, unadulterated fear for the first time that night. He had never seen Harry like this before. An irritated, frustrated, angry Harry was a Harry Draco knew well. The brunet had quite a temper, after all, always had. But this Harry: exhausted, defeated, resigned to his fate, this Harry was uncharted territory.
A Harry that wouldn’t fight, wouldn’t talk, wouldn’t even let Draco touch him. Harry never backed down, not from an important conversation, and he never flinched away from Draco’s touch. Never, not even when they were blood-boilingly angry with each other.
Draco stood there helplessly for a minute or two, trying to figure out what to do, what Harry wanted him to do. He didn’t know. All he knew was that he couldn’t leave it like this. So, slowly, cautiously, he came up behind Harry, who was still scrubbing dishes in the sink, and reached out with both arms, resting his hands over Harry’s in the soapy water. He felt his partner stiffen under his embrace, but he pressed closer to him.
“Please don’t push me away,” Draco said, aware that his voice was tight with emotion. “I can’t bear it. Please.” He pressed his nose against the back of Harrys neck and nuzzled softly. “You do matter to me, Harry. You are the only thing that matters. You and Teddy. You’re the thing I can’t stand to lose.”
He felt Harry relax a little into Draco’s embrace, and relief washed through him as Harry pressed back against him. Draco kissed his neck lightly, his lips barely grazing the skin.
“You’re not going to lose me, Draco,” Harry finally replied. “I never said you would. And I don’t want you to give up being a Healer, or stop seeing your friends. I just want you to understand what it’s like for me here, how much work I have to do when you’re not around. And I really don’t like being lectured like a child about keeping the house clean. It makes me feel like shit. I’ve been taking care of myself my entire life and I know what I’m doing.”
“I know,” Draco said. “I can’t believe I talked to you like that. I was… there’s no excuse. You do so much and… I just never realized you were having such hard time.”
“It’s not usually this hard,” Harry said. “It was just this week… it was rough. And I felt totally alone. I feel alone so much of the time.”
Draco’s embrace tightened around Harry. He pulled Harry’s hands out of the sink, removing the spatula that he was holding on to and drying the hands with a quick spell. Then he turned Harry around, clasping his hands in his own.
“It’s really hard to hear you say that. I know you’re not saying it to hurt me, but it hurts me anyway. I never want you to feel like you’re alone.”
Harry stared at their clasped hands and said nothing.
“You’ve taken on too much, that much is obvious. We’ve… I’ve given you too much of the burden to carry here. Maybe it’s time we finally do something about that.”
Harry looked up at him, finally, though he simply looked confused. “And how do you suggest we do that?”
“We finally get another house elf.”
Whatever Harry had been expecting, it clearly wasn’t that, because he pulled away slightly. Draco didn’t let him get far, though, still gripping Harry’s hands tightly.
“No, hear me out, please,” he insisted. “Because there’s nothing I can do about my schedule. It will get better over time, we know that, but right now… I have almost no control. And every time I ask for more time off or certain days off I lose some leverage with my head resident. But it’s obvious that asking you to do everything for Teddy half the week and cook and clean and manage everything else is too much. A house elf can take care of a lot of that. You could have so much more free time.”
“I’m not going to have a house elf raise our children, Draco,” Harry said, sounding disapproving. “And I don’t know how I feel about Teddy growing up with a servant who does everything for him.”
“I’m not talking about that,” Draco said, choosing to ignore the slight dig at the way he himself was raised. “I’m talking about you not having to worry about whether the house is clean or cooking meals every night. If you feel like cooking, you can, and we can still make sure that Teddy knows to clean up after himself. It doesn’t have to make him spoiled. It would be for you, to ease some of the burden, to save you from some of the things you don’t like to do and let you do more of the things you do like, the ‘fun stuff,’ as you say. It will give you more time to spend with Teddy. And on the days I’m home, you could even go over to Ron and Hermione’s for dinner, if you wanted, because Teddy and I would have the house elf to cook for us.”
“I wouldn’t want to just leave you,” Harry said softly.
Draco smiled. “Well, we wouldn’t want you to all the time. We would miss you. But every now and then, it would be fine, wouldn’t it? It would give me more alone time with Teddy as well, and I think that could be good for us. He’s aware that you’re his primary caretaker right now and I think it would help if he understood that I was here for him too, and that you aren’t always going to be around every second of every day. I want him to know he can depend on me as well.”
Harry sighed. “Hermione will be absolutely beside herself if we get a house elf. We’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Let her be, if that’s how she wants to handle it,” Draco said, aware that his tone had turned stubborn. “But Hermione Granger doesn’t tell me how to live my life. And if this is what you need, if this will make things easier for you and let you get some rest and some time to yourself on occasion, then I’m willing to put up with a few lectures from her. She’s not that scary.”
That got a small laugh from Harry, plus something mumbled about third year and some Slytherin prat who got on Hermione’s bad side and got a punch to the face. Draco ignored the mumbling.
“Would a house elf make things easier?” he pressed.
Harry sighed heavily. “Yes, it would. Of course it would.”
“Then we’ll get one. We’ll get one right away.”
Harry considered that a moment. “All right. I admit it’s a good idea. But I don’t want you to get the impression that getting an elf is going to instantly fix everything. There are other things we need to deal with here. Things about us.”
Draco’s stomach flipped. “Us? As in you and me?”
“Yeah,” Harry said, meeting his eyes. “Are you saying you haven’t noticed how…” He paused, seeming to search for the word. “How disconnected we are? It’s like… there’s a Muggle phrase: ‘ships passing in the night.’ It’s like we see each other but we’re never really with each other. Instead we’re working or taking care of Teddy or doing all of the things we have to do, and we barely have time to spend with each other and it all builds up until we fuck like kneazles because we can’t keep our hands off each other, and we think that we’re connecting, but we’re not. Not really. I mean, when was the last time we properly talked, not about Teddy or Andromeda or work or any of that, but just… for fun? Just to talk. When was the last time we sat around and made each other laugh just because we can? When was the last time we went and did something new, something interesting, something outside of this bloody house, just the two of us? It’s like our entire relationship has been boiled down to taking care of other people and keeping our careers afloat. And I just… I can’t do it that way anymore. I miss you.”
Draco stared at him, taking all that in. In truth, he hadn’t given much thought to that feeling that Harry was putting a name to, mostly because it scared him too much. He’d repressed it, worried about what it meant, worried that acknowledging it aloud would break them, somehow. How bloody stupid that was. Because now that Harry had finally said it, the only thing Draco felt was relief.
He clutched Harry gently by the throat with both hands, running his fingers into the silky hair in the back of Harry’s head. “I miss you too,” he said. “So much. So much I couldn’t even examine it too closely, because it… it hurt to think about.” He pressed his forehead to Harry’s, and they remained that way for a minute, eyes closed, sharing breath. “We’ll make time. We’ll make time for ourselves. Now that Teddy’s had over a month to get settled, he can handle staying away from us on the occasional night. He can sleep over at a friend’s or stay with Hermione and Ron, or with Molly, or my mother. We can find time for us.”
Harry ducked his head and pressed closer to Draco, nuzzling against his collarbone and wrapping his arms around Draco’s waist. Draco encircled Harry in his arms and held him tight. “All right,” Harry breathed into Draco’s neck. “All right.”
He pulled away and they stared at each other for a moment before Harry closed the gap and kissed him softly, tenderly. Draco kissed him back with a hum, cupping Harry’s face with his hand.
“I meant what I said,” Draco whispered when he pulled away. “You’re the only thing that matters to me. You are everything.”
Harry shook his head. “I don’t need to be the only thing, Draco. Other things matter to you. I know they do. And that’s all right. So long as I’m up there with the rest of them, that’s all I need.”
“You are,” Draco assured him. “At the very top. And yes, other things matter, but they would still mean very little to me if I didn’t have you to share them with.”
Harry kissed him again, and they got lost in each other for a while. It wasn’t with the kind of inflamed passion that built to something more, that built to sex. It was slow and gentle, an exploration, the sort of thing they had not allowed themselves in a long time. Draco found himself relishing it, the taste of Harry, the smell of him, the solidness of his body. It reminded Draco in a visceral way just how truly he belonged here, with Harry.
When their lips finally parted they simply stood there a moment, smiling softly at each other.
“You must be exhausted,” Draco said finally. “I can finish up in here and you can go on to bed.”
“No, that’s all right,” said Harry. “Let’s just clean together. It will be faster that way.”
“All right, but the kitchen only. I think Teddy should have to help with his toys tomorrow morning once he’s up.”
“Agreed,” replied Harry.
Harry finished washing the pots and pans while Draco loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the counters. Soon they were finished and decided to go straight to bed, climbing in in nothing but their pants and immediately snuggling up chest to chest. Draco groaned at the contact, loving the way Harry wrapped a leg around his and pressed himself as close as he could.
“Are you going to get the lamp?” Harry asked him, his breath tickling against Draco’s pulse.
“Mmm,” Draco replied, not particularly wanting to move. “In a moment.”
He felt Harry’s chuckle vibrate on his skin, and he smiled.
“I had an idea, actually,” Draco added. “One that might get Hermione off our backs about the house elf issue.”
“Oh yeah?” Harry said, pulling back enough to look at him. “What’s that?”
“Well, there’s been a standing offer from my mother for years for us to take one of her house elves if we want to. She hasn’t mentioned it in a while but I’m sure if we ask she would be happy to give us one. She’s only at the manor part time anyway, and even when she is it’s only her and Phillipe. They have at least five elves at this point, more than they need, I know.”
Harry considered that. “And you think Hermione won’t be able to tell us off because we will be using an elf that was already… employed?”
“Exactly.”
“Hm,” said Harry. “That might work.”
“I think it will. And if it doesn’t, oh well. She’ll be put out and we'll just have to deal with it.”
Harry laughed sardonically. “Easy for you to say. I’ll likely be the one who gets the brunt of it.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Draco replied. “She’s pretty comfortable with me at this point. I don’t think she has any qualms about telling me off.”
Harry snorted. “I suppose you’re right.” He kissed Draco’s collarbone. “Which house elf will we get, do you think?”
“Well, I imagine if we wanted we could choose any of them. I don’t think Mother has an attachment to any particular one.”
“Could we have Pipsy?” Harry’s voice was almost shy, his smile demure. It was an unusual manner for him, but Draco found there was something about it that made his cock twitch. He looked young and sweet like that, with his head tilted and his eyes hooded and heavily lashed.
“I imagine we could take Pipsy, yes, if you’d like.”
“I would,” said Harry, still looking at Draco coyly. “I’d like that very much.” He actually seemed to bat his lashes for a moment, something he only ever did ironically, most of the time.
“Are you trying to be unbearably adorable?” Draco asked him. “Or is this just what happens when you haven’t had any sleep?”
“The latter, I think,” said Harry. “Is that what I am? Adorable?”
“Unbearably. Which I think you actually know full well and therefore are just toying with me.”
“Who? Me? I would never.” Harry buried his face in the pillow to hide his smile.
“You’re being utterly ridiculous,” Draco told him. “And not in the usual way.”
“The usual way?” Harry asked, lifting his head. “What way is that?”
“You know, being a cheeky git.” Harry scowled at him, but rather than looking menacing it just made him look like a pouty child. “Don’t give me that look,” Draco argued. “You like being a cheeky git.”
Harry fought a grin again. “Yes, I do.” He squirmed and wiggled for a moment, seemingly for no reason, making him look more like a child Teddy’s age than a grown man. “I don’t know what it is,” he said. “I feel strange all of a sudden. It’s not dissimilar to how I felt that time I took Felix Felicis.”
“It’s the lack of sleep,” Draco said. “It’s making you punch-drunk.”
“Mm,” Harry agreed vaguely, blinking.
“You should get some rest,” Draco told him, kissing him on the nose.
Harry pursed his lips. “But what if I want to do something else?”
It took a moment for Draco to realize what Harry meant.
“Do you really think you have the energy for that right now?” Draco asked with the arch of a brow. He was torn about how he wanted Harry to answer that. He could feel that his cock was half-hard already, a natural result of being this close to Harry and not having shagged him in days. On the other hand, Harry did need the rest.
“I do if you fuck me,” Harry said, his voice deepening. The slaphappy expression on his face was gone and was replaced by something much hotter. His eyes were wide and staring at Draco, and there was a devilish little twinkle in them that had Draco swallowing.
“That’s what you want?” he asked hoarsely. “Are you sure?” The two men had switched roles before, but it was only on occasion, maybe a few times a year. They were quite happy with their normal roles most of the time, but once in a while Harry would come home and asked to be taken, usually because he’d had an especially hard day and wanted to lose himself. This was apparently one of those days.
Harry nodded in response to Draco’s question and slid closer so they were flush against each other, their erections colliding through their underwear. “I want to feel you inside me, Draco. I need it. I want you so deep it feels like you’re a part of me.”
Draco groaned and met Harry’s tongue with his own. He didn’t know how Harry had managed to go from silly to seductive in a matter of seconds, but it was working for him. He suddenly wanted Harry very, very badly.
Harry’s kisses were slow but sensual, stoking the aching burn in Draco’s gut. That combined with the sharp pleasure he felt when Harry pressed forward and ground their erections together again had Draco reeling with need.
He grabbed his wand and vanished their underwear, which earned a gasp from Harry. Then he cast cleansing and lubricating charms in order to prepare the brunet, sliding one finger inside the waiting heat of Harry’s entrance.
He’s so tight, he thought as he inserted a second finger and Harry moaned. They did this so little that Harry’s arse still felt virginal, to some degree. He had a sudden flash of the night when they’d first switched roles, when they were still students at Hogwarts. That was still on the list of the best nights of Draco’s life. Slipping inside of Harry had been a revelation. Completely different from bottoming, from what he usually liked, but absolutely brilliant nonetheless. He’d already known that Harry was the one, by that point. He already knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the Gryffindor. But that night was the night he let go of the last of his fears. That was the night he knew for sure that he and Harry belonged together and always would.
“Please, Draco,” Harry whispered as Draco’s fingers scissored open and closed, stretching him.
“Patience, love,” Draco replied softly against the musky skin of Harry’s shoulder. He had to smile at how thoroughly they reversed roles, when they did this. Draco was usually the one begging (he liked to beg; it made him feel wanton), and Harry, who liked the control, the heady power, was the one assuring him, readying him, in charge of the situation. “Just relax,” he said, saying the things he most liked to hear himself. “Let me take care of you.”
Harry did relax, giving in completely to the motions of Draco’s fingers inside him. Draco watched in awe and admiration as Harry gasped and licked his lips, his eyes closed and his neck arching back. When Draco brushed his prostate Harry made a sound almost like a sob, only it was so erotic and needy that Draco had to grab the base of his own cock to make sure he didn’t come then and there.
Once he’d calmed down and gotten control of his own desire, he decided it was time.
“Turn around,” he whispered in Harry’s ear. “I want to hold you.”
Harry looked slightly confused but did as he was told, immediately pushing his arse against Draco’s groin once he was lying on his side, facing away from Draco. The blond chuckled at his impatience and took a moment to lube up his own cock. Then he positioned himself, took hold of Harry around the waist, and slowly pressed forward.
Harry was relaxed and ready for him, and Draco was able to sheath himself fully with ease. He paused there, though, as usual, partially for Harry to adjust but also for himself. It felt so fucking good, the way Harry’s arse cradled him, the muscles twitching slightly, squeezing him deliciously and pulling him further inside.
“Gods,” Draco breathed against the back of Harry’s neck. They were going to have to go slow. That was the only way he was going to last.
Harry reached back with one hand and gave Draco’s thigh a squeeze. “Take me, Draco,” he said breathlessly. “I need you.”
Draco nodded and pulled out slowly. Then he pushed back in, and they both moaned. Draco did it again, and then again, and then again, keeping it achingly slow, loving the pull in his cock as he moved in and out, the way the burn in his gut intensified degree by degree, the way Harry arched, and trembled, and whispered his name. His lips played along Harry’s neck and shoulder as he worked, whispering back to him words of love and admiration.
“So good… So beautiful… Love you this way… Perfect… Harry.”
Draco and Harry both began to tremble with need, drawing closer and closer to release. Draco hooked his heel around Harry’s ankle to brace himself as his thrusts became faster, aware that the intense, focused pleasure in his cock had his hips stuttering. He needed control, at least enough to find Harry’s sweet spot and torment it a little. He wanted Harry to come undone in his arms, the way Draco himself so often did while at the mercy of Harry’s expert lovemaking.
A few thrusts later he found it and Harry cried out, so Draco aimed there again, this time slowing down, thrusting minutely so as to rub that spot over and over. Harry seemed to lose all sense, his words incoherent as he writhed against Draco, and Draco smiled against his skin, continuing the focused movements until Harry was begging without restraint.
“Gods…. Fuck… Draco… need… got to… please…come… got to… come… please.”
Taking mercy on him, Draco reached around and took a hold of Harry’s cock, which was rock hard, heavy, and leaking precum all over itself and the sheets. He kept up his current pace as he stroked Harry slowly, knowing it wouldn’t take much.
“Come for me, Harry,” he said in the brunet’s ear. “Come just for me. It’s all right. I’ve got you.”
It seemed all Harry needed was the permission, because after only a few more strokes he stilled, shuddering against Draco’s hand as he came and came, moaning Draco’s name over and over. Draco tried to keep up the thrusts, wanting to prolong Harry’s orgasm as much as possible, but those strong muscles and the sounds of Harry in the throes of bliss proved too much, and Draco was brought over the edge with a powerful surge of pleasure as he emptied into Harry.
He relaxed against the pillow just as Harry did, but remained inside, thrusting just a little more as his cock continued to pulse in the aftershocks of his climax.
“Fuck, that was good,” he said, kissing Harry’s skin, licking up the little droplets of sweat. When he was finally spent he pulled out carefully, eliciting a small groan from his lover, though Harry didn’t move at all. Draco reached for his wand to clean them off, then doused the lamp with a quick flip of a switch.
“I love you,” he whispered into the dark as he retook his place against Harry’s back.
There was no reply. Harry was already asleep. But Draco didn’t need one. He already knew.
***
Draco woke first the next morning. Of that he was sure, before he even opened his eyes. He could hear Harry’s even breathing, feel his still and languid body pressed against his own.
He opened his eyes, blinking, and immediately saw the back of Harry’s shaggy head only inches from him. He propped himself up on his elbow to get a good look at the Gryffindor’s face, and found it relaxed in sleep, as he had expected. Happiness stirred within him, the lazy, mellow kind that only came in the mornings, when you awoke beside a lover who you knew was yours completely.
Last night had been difficult. Draco couldn’t help but think it ironic that he had lectured Hannah about the importance of fighting and then had gone home to fight with Harry. But he and Pansy had also been right. Sometimes you just have to fight, to know where you stand. And now he felt he understood Harry so much better, though he had not believed that possible.
Harry was naturally selfless, that Draco already knew. He counted the needs, desires, and safety of others above his own. It made him a wonderful partner, of course, and a fantastic father, but Draco had finally gotten a real glimpse into the downside of that selflessness. Harry would just keep giving, keep taking care of everyone else above himself, until he had nothing left to give. But he wasn’t a saint; he had needs, too, and that much sacrifice on his part would of course start to breed resentment. And Draco wanted to avoid that at all costs. Resentment was corrosive. It was one of the few things Draco believed could truly destroy them.
I need to be better about taking care of him as well. He had been, in the early stages of their relationship. Harry had needed a lot of support back then as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. But once he’d taken the job at the DTF and he and Draco had moved in together, Harry hadn’t needed much beyond just the everyday enjoyment of being with Draco. He was quite content, and took on the role of taking care of Draco, who was now the one with the more stressful life, with gusto.
The problem was, introducing Teddy into the mix had stretched Harry too thin. He was trying to take care of the needs of a five year old while simultaneously keeping up with same impeccable care that Draco had come to expect. Even having cared for Teddy all day, Harry still found time to cook Draco the food he liked and rub his feet in the evenings, on top of all the other little things he did. And the worst part of it was Draco hadn’t even noticed. He’d been too focused on how hard things were for him.
Selfish, as usual, he chastised himself. He had made a commitment, long ago, to be better about that, to be worthy of Harry and his generous heart. And now he could see that he had been falling down on the job. It was not a pleasant revelation.
But I will be better, he thought with determination. If there was one thing he did know, it was that he would do anything for Harry. He could be better, for Harry.
The man in question finally stirred next to him and rolled over to face Draco. He nuzzled into the pillow and made the sweet little chirruping noises of a person half awake. Draco smiled, watching him, happiness curling in his belly once more.
It took another minute, but Harry finally opened his eyes. He stretched, groaning a little (likely noting the unusual soreness in his arse, Draco speculated with a secret little smile), and looked at Draco.
“Morning,” he said hoarsely.
Gods, how Draco loved the sound of Harry’s voice just upon waking. It made him hard instantly.
“Good morning,” he replied.
“What time is it?” Harry looked around at the clock, noting that it was not quite half past seven. He lay his head down again on his pillow. “I’m surprised Teddy hasn’t come and woken us by now. He was anxious to see you.”
“You mentioned he didn’t sleep much Thursday night,” said Draco. “Perhaps he’s catching up on sleep at the moment.”
“Mm,” said Harry. “Perhaps.” To Draco’s surprise and amusement, Harry lifted the covers to get a look at both of their naked bodies. “Thought so,” he said. “I suppose we should at least put pants on, just in case.”
Draco swallowed his disappointment. He would much rather have found a way to take care of the morning wood he was currently sporting, preferably with Harry buried bollocks deep in his arse. But he knew Harry was right. It was likely only a matter of time before Teddy came in to say good morning, and he didn’t particularly want to be completely naked for that.
“Very well,” he agreed. They both climbed out of bed and put on underwear and pajama bottoms, though they remained shirtless, which mollified Draco a little. At least he would get to enjoy some of Harry’s bare skin.
They climbed back in bed and lay facing each other, their mouths curving in small smiles.
“It would be so nice to have a proper night together again,” said Draco. “One where we can go to bed naked and wake up naked and shag all we want without worrying about being interrupted.”
“Yeah,” Harry agreed with a sigh. “That would be nice.”
“Well, our anniversary is coming up, you know,” said Draco. “And it’s on a Saturday. That would be a good excuse to get some time to ourselves. We could send Teddy off somewhere.”
Harry’s brow furrowed. “I thought you said you weren’t sure if you’d have our anniversary off this year.”
“I’ve decided I’m going to make sure I do. I’ll make sure I have the entire bloody weekend, Friday to Sunday. I’ll take vacation days if I have to.”
Harry stared at him. “I don’t want you to make trouble for yourself at work. That’s not what I meant when I said we need to find a way to have more time together.”
“I know, but I want this. We need some real time to ourselves, some time to just… be. I think we should send Teddy to stay with someone for the weekend and just stay in at Grimmauld. We’ll have the house elf by then who can cook and clean for us and we can just talk and relax and shag and only go out if we feel like it.”
Harry hummed. “That sounds quite lovely, actually.”
“I know.”
“Where do you think we should send Teddy? Where would he most want to go?”
“Well, we could always ask him. But I would imagine he’d most want to stay with a friend. What about that Toby Goldstein? He stayed here once, didn’t he, and Teddy liked that.”
“I’m sure Teddy would enjoy that. He did say he wanted to marry the boy, after all.” Harry chuckled. “But I don’t know how Toby’s parents would feel about having him for a whole weekend. I don’t know them that well yet.”
Draco nodded, seeing the logic of that. “Well, my mother may be willing. Since she and Philippe have decided not to go to France until after the holidays. She’s around and hasn’t much to do besides spend time with Andromeda.”
“And Molly and Arthur would also surely take him,” Harry added.
Draco thought a moment. “What about Bill and Fleur? I know it seems like a lot, pawning Teddy off on them when they already have the girls, but Teddy and Victoire get along so well. I bet he’d have fun there.”
Harry thought that over. “Well, it couldn’t hurt to ask,” he said with a small shrug.
“I suppose you wouldn’t want him to stay with the so-called ‘nightmare child,’ would you?” Draco asked, amused.
“Liam?” Harry asked. “I really did say ‘nightmare child,’ didn’t I?” He sighed. “Perhaps that’s a bit mean. But he was quite… difficult. I imagine because he doesn’t get enough attention at home.”
“His parents are neglectful?”
“Not on purpose,” said Harry. “It’s just the mum, and she appears to be doing it all on her own and working a full time job as well. I don’t know all the details of the situation but she seemed quite overwhelmed the little I spoke with her. I got the impression she doesn’t have a lot of people to turn to.”
Harry’s voice sounded sad, and Draco ran a finger lightly across Harry’s cheek and then down to his lips. Harry watched him, his expression soft.
“You know you have people to turn to, right?” Draco asked.
Harry gave him a small smile and then kissed his fingers. “Yes, I know. She and I are in quite different situations. It just makes me feel bad for her, is all. And a part of me wants to help, just like Teddy did for Liam because Liam was getting picked on at school. But on the other hand, I have so many things in my own life to worry about, so much to do and people to take care of…” He trailed off, looking guilty.
“You can’t save everyone, Harry,” Draco said. “As much as you may want to.”
Harry sighed despondently. “I know.”
Draco swallowed, his heart feeling heavy in his chest, full, like it couldn’t contain everything he felt for the man lying next to him. “I love you so much,” he said simply.
Harry smiled, wider this time, and slid closer to him. “I know. What a lucky bastard I am.”
Draco snorted. “That makes two of us, then.”
Harry kissed him, setting the pace nice and slow, taking his time. Draco began to feel the return of his erection as Harry pressed against him.
“I love you, Draco,” Harry said against his mouth. “For always.”
Draco moaned and deepened the kiss, his need for Harry growing. Harry had wrapped his arms around Draco’s waist and was stroking his back lightly, sending shivers across Draco’s pale skin.
It was just starting to get really good, as Harry ground against him, when there was a soft chime coming from the door, indicating that a certain five-year-old was officially up and out of bed. The two men pulled apart, adjusting themselves.
“Here comes Teddy,” Harry said. “Just in time.”
“Better than if we’d already started shagging, I suppose,” Draco said, and Harry snorted in amusement.
Only a moment later the door opened slowly, creaking as it went, and Teddy’s little head appeared, his face wearing an unsure expression. It immediately broke into a wide grin when he saw that Draco was home and both he and Harry were awake.
“Draco!” he cried, hurrying to the bed and flinging himself at the blond.
“Good morning, Teddy,” Draco said, wrapping the little boy in his arms. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too. I was going to wait last night so you could read to me, but I fell asleep. I tried to stay up, but… I couldn’t do it.” He stared up into Draco’s face with a guilty expression.
Draco felt his heart clench with both love and remorse. This was just further proof that his last minute decision to go out with Hannah and Pansy had not been a wise one. He wouldn’t be doing things like that again. If he wanted to make plans, he would make them in advance, so Teddy wasn’t waiting at home, expecting him.
“It’s all right, Ted,” Draco replied, stroking his head. “I’ll read to you tonight, I promise.”
“Good.” Teddy left the confines of Draco’s arms and instead settled in the bed between Harry and Draco, slipping under the covers.
“Planning on going back to sleep, Ted?” Harry asked him, chuckling. “I thought it was time to get up.”
“In a minute,” Teddy replied, burrowing into the mattress with a wiggle. “Your bed is so big and soft!”
That had both men laughing, and they settled in on either side of Teddy. Draco watched as Harry reached out and played with Teddy’s hair, which was currently platinum blond.
“You look like a mini Draco right now, you know.”
Teddy giggled but didn’t answer.
“Teddy…” Harry went on as the boy closed his eyes. “Draco and I have some things we need to talk to you about.”
Teddy opened his eyes again and looked from Harry to Draco.
“It’s nothing bad,” Harry assured him. “We’ve just made some decisions and we want you to know about them. Are you ready to listen?” Teddy nodded, and Harry went back to stroking his hair. “First of all, Draco and I have decided to get a house elf. You remember what a house elf is, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Teddy said. “Aunt Cissy has house elves. They make food and do the chores.”
“That’s right,” Harry said. “And in fact, we’re likely going to be getting a house elf from Aunt Cissy, so it may be one you’ve met before.”
“Ok,” said Teddy, as if he didn’t care all that much.
“The elf is going to help me and Draco out around the house. She’ll cook us dinner sometimes and she’ll clean and do the wash. But,” he poked Teddy in the stomach so Teddy would look at him. The boy did, giggling again. “This is important, Teddy. We treat the elf with respect. We say ‘thank you’ when she does things for us and we are kind to her. We don’t boss her around. If we need something from her, we ask nicely. She’ll be just like any friend or family member, like another member of the household. And we treat everyone with kindness and respect, don’t we?”
“Yes,” Teddy said, sounding almost indignant. “Of course.”
Draco saw Harry smile widely at him. “You’re very kind and respectful, Teddy. That’s one of the things I love most about you. I know that you’ll do a good job.”
“I will,” Teddy said, as if it was inevitable.
Draco simply lay there, watching the conversation with his heart swelling again. Harry was such a good father.
“I also need you to understand that just because we have an elf, it doesn’t mean that we make her do everything for us. Draco and I still have chores that we do ourselves, and you will still have chores that you have to do.”
“Like set the table and make my bed?”
“Exactly. And clean your room and pick up after yourself when you play in other parts of the house.” He gave Teddy a knowing look, and Teddy squirmed. “That’s the first thing we’re going to be doing after breakfast, you know, is picking up all the toys and puzzles that you and Liam left yesterday. I expect you to help me and Draco with that.”
“Yes, Harry,” Teddy said softly.
“I’m not angry with you,” Harry said. “But I don’t want the house to get like that again. The next time you have a friend over, I want you to be responsible for cleaning up things as you go. Sometimes things get messy, and that’s all right. But when they get messy, I expect you to clean it up, not leave it for someone else to clean up. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Teddy nodded. “I understand.”
“Good.”
“I wouldn’t have made that mess without Liam,” Teddy said after a moment, then looked at Harry as if he expected Harry to get annoyed.
But Harry’s face didn’t change at all, only continued to wear that same kind, paternal expression. “No, probably not. But they are your toys, and you were playing with them too.”
Teddy sighed. “Yes.”
The three of them lay in silence for a minute. Teddy took one of Draco’s large hands in both of his small ones and started playing with it, grabbing and bending the fingers, feeling the knuckles, running his dull fingernails lightly along the palm. Draco watched him do it, wondering what was going on behind that thoughtful little expression.
“I don’t know if I want to invite Liam over again,” he said finally. He looked at Harry.
“All right,” Harry said simply, not giving him a clue either way how he felt about that.
“Is that bad?” Teddy asked him.
“Why would you think that’s bad?” Harry replied.
“Because I promised I would help him and be his friend,” Teddy said. “But he’s loud and he makes me tired and he isn’t nice to my toys.”
Harry appeared to be thinking that over. “Well, Teddy…” He began. “It’s good of you to want to help him and be his friend. And you can still do that at school, can’t you?”
“Yes,” said Teddy, after thinking that over.
“Having someone in your home is different. It takes more energy, and it takes more trust. If you don’t feel like you trust Liam enough right now, you can choose not to invite him over. Maybe you could go over to his house some time instead.”
Teddy pursed his little lips, all the while drawing shapes on the palm of Draco’s hand with his finger. “Yeah, maybe I could.” He thought some more. “But what if he asks to come over again? I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”
Harry smiled. “No, of course not. But friendship has to go both ways, Teddy. Just like you want to take care of and respect him, he should want to do the same for you. If you feel like he doesn’t treat you or your things with respect, you should tell him that. Ask him to be nicer to your toys. Ask him to respect that you need quiet time. You can tell him that if he isn’t willing to do those things for you, then you don’t feel good about having him come to your house. It’s ok to stand up for what you need.”
As he listened Draco was struck suddenly by how similar Harry and Teddy were, at least when it came to the way they related to other people. Their natural inclination was to put others first and to think of their feelings as secondary. For a long time now Draco had been wondering if Harry was the way he was because of his Muggle relatives, because they had raised him to believe he wasn’t as important, that he didn’t deserve to have the same things others did. Maybe he’d had those ideas beaten into him so much that they became a part of who he was. That had always been Draco’s theory, anyway, though it was one he never intended to share with Harry.
Now, though, looking at Teddy, he wondered if he had it wrong. Maybe, like Teddy, it was just a part of Harry’s nature to be good to others. Maybe he had just been born that way.
With any luck, our other children will take after him in that way as well, Draco thought to himself. He knew there was a back and a front to it, of course. It couldn’t possibly be enjoyable to bear the burden of other people’s happiness all the time. But Harry understood enough about it now to be teaching Teddy not to carry everyone else’s feelings as his own responsibility all the time, and to advocate for himself. And that would make all the difference.
“Ok,” Teddy said finally. He had been thinking over Harry’s words for a while, still playing with Draco’s hand absently. But now he seemed to accept them, ready to move on. He looked from one of his parents to the other. “Can we have breakfast now?”
Harry laughed. “Yes, we can. What would you like?”
“Pancakes, please!”
“Of course,” said Harry. “Should have guessed. All right, I’ll make pancakes. And then we straighten up the house, all right?” Teddy nodded. “Good. Why don’t you head on downstairs? I need a minute alone with Draco.”
Teddy looked at the two of them again. “All right,” he said finally, crawling out from under the covers. “But hurry up. I’m hungry!”
“Excuse me?” Harry asked him, arching a brow.
“I mean… I’m very hungry, Harry. Will you please make breakfast soon?”
“That’s more like it,” Harry said while Draco snickered. “We’ll be down in a minute.”
Teddy vanished down the hall, leaving the bedroom door fully ajar. They could hear the sounds of his feet on the stairs.
“Do you think that was all right?” Harry asked softly, turning to Draco. “What I said?”
Draco snorted in disbelief. “Seriously?” Harry stared at him. “It was perfect, Harry.”
“I’m still getting the hang of this. I don’t always know the right things to say.”
Draco reached for him. “You were perfect, really. Nobody could have done it better.”
“I decided against asking him about… you know, what happened when we visited Andromeda. It just seems like the sort of thing that I should wait for him to bring up. He might not be ready to talk about it.”
Draco nodded. “I can see the logic of that.”
“I think he will bring it up, eventually,” said Harry. “He doesn’t shy away from that sort of thing normally. I think he will want to talk about it. Perhaps just not right now.”
“I think that’s wise.” Draco ran a hand through Harry’s soft, unruly hair. “Have I mentioned how sexy I think it is, what a good dad you are?”
That made Harry laugh. “Sexy, hm?” He leaned in for a kiss. “Maybe tonight you can show me exactly how sexy you think it is.”
Draco nipped at his jaw. “I know just what to do.”
With one final kiss and a low chuckle from Harry they made themselves get out of bed and finish dressing themselves. A part of Draco (a particularly hard part), wanted to jump back into bed and have his way with Harry now. But his thoughts turned to the boy downstairs, waiting for them, and he knew in truth he wouldn’t change the way things were now. They had a whole day ahead of them, to eat, clean, play at the park, talk, relax, and be together. And he wouldn’t want it any other way.
Up Next: Vesper graduates from the Auror Academy and receives her department assignment.
SickPuppy: Poor Teddy, indeed. But he is resilient and he will get a chance to see Andromeda again when she's doing much better, and that will help. As for Draco having an "excuse" for going out, it was more about the fact that he wasn't aware of how hard things were for Harry. He's been operating like how things used to be before Teddy without thinking about how they have changed. Like Nevile with Hannah, he was just being oblivious.
LadyShire: Well, as you can see, your predictions were spot on for this chapter. Harry and Draco are getting things worked out. And Teddy probably won't have Liam over again, it's true. He was just a bit too intense.
Teddy isn't completely traumatized from his visit with Andromeda even though it was upsetting, so Harry hasn't ruined things as much as he thought he had.
Book_addict_89: Lol well Draco didn't end up in the doghouse exactly, since they were able to talk through their issues. But if he had been more stubborn and less willing to listen he definitely would have!
I think almost all of us have had a Liam at some point in our childhoods, that kid who was just a bit too much and not aware of how his actions affected others. He's not a "bad kid" really, just in not a great home situation and not a lot of parental guidance.
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