Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

For The Sake Of A Name	By : Bickymonster Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 52631 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any concepts or characters associated with it. I am not making any money from this this story.

Chapter List
- 34
- 35
- 36
AN: I present to you all, chapter 35. As my facebook followers know, this chapter has been quite hard work, but I believe it was worth it. I hope you all agree. There might not be an update next week as I am away but I should be back the week after.
Please do come and chat with me on facebook. If you would like to be friends with me there, then there is a link on my Profile page.
Enjoy.
Thank you to my brilliant beta, AchillesTheGeek.
Warnings and disclaimers apply as always
Previously:
Giving up on sleep he figured he would get up and carry on packing the last few things he had planned to sort in the morning before asking Molly, Kreacher, and maybe Sirius, to help him floo their belongings over to the castle.
His mind was buzzing with worries that Draco wouldn’t forgive him, that he might lose her. So when the question of whether he forgave her, suddenly popped into his head, he didn’t know what to think.
Did he forgive her for running off to Hogwarts with Orion like she had? He wondered, as he sat down on the edge of their bed to think.
Did he?
-#-
Severus entered the Malfoy dining room to find Lucius waiting for him. They stood facing each other, an awkward and tense silence hovering between them. He suspected that his former friend distrusted him; though whether it was due to fertility potion he had provided for Narcissa, or because Lucius suspected that he was still on good terms with Draco, was unclear. Not that the reason really mattered anyway; Severus found the way that Lucius had treated his family members too distasteful to truly consider the man his friend anymore.
Narcissa's pregnancy was proving every bit as difficult as he had warned her it might be and at just five months pregnant she had been put on permanent bed rest. As such this left the two men with only each other for company as they ate their dinner.
Severus supposed that perhaps Lucius' increasingly foul temper was being aggravated by the worry he felt for his wife, or at least his unborn heir, but even if so, this admittedly sound reasoning behind it did not make it any easier to bear.
"There is no reason to think her health will deteriorate any further," Severus told the man across the table from him.
"The foolish woman deserves her fate," Lucius snapped, though Severus thought he saw a flicker of pain in those cold grey eyes; but that might have just have been wishful thinking. "Too weak to conceive without aid of a potion; too fragile to even fulfil her purpose as a wife without help," he went on, the calm collectedness of his voice making it sound like he was discussing a disappointing business deal. "I will do what it takes to ensure that she does not lose me my second son."
"Of course," Severus replied, with a small curt nod. And he meant it; of course Lucius Malfoy would spare no expense to ensure the continuation of his family.
Narcissa had insisted they not tell her husband about which fertility potion they used, believing Lucius would not agree to risk her life, but now Severus was sure she had overestimated her husband's affection for her. It was becoming increasingly obvious that the man cared naught for her health or well being, only for the legacy she was required to provide. The potions master wondered how he had not seen it so clearly before, and if the moments of affection he had witnessed between them had ever been genuine.
He disliked this man he saw before him, but he would say nothing more, though; he still considered Narcissa a friend even if Lucius no longer was and so, for her sake, held his tongue, lest he be barred from their Manor house.
-#-
"Harry James Potter!" Molly said in exasperation as she came into his room and stood in the doorway with her arms folded in front of her.
He looked up at her from where he was sitting on the floor, his back against the side of his and Draco's bed, and forced an unconvincing smile onto his face.
"I would ask you how long you slept, but I have a feeling that the answer will only make me worry about you even more," she said, shaking her head and gesturing for him to get to his feet.
He did so, noting absently how heavy his body felt; it was hardly the first time he had suffered from lack of sleep. But this time he felt mentally weary, as well as physically. More than that, he knew that it showed on his face and there would be no hiding it from anyone who knew him at all.
"Let's get some breakfast into you, while I go and recruit Sirius into helping us get these trunks and all this baby furniture through the floo to Hogwarts," Molly suggested, as she headed towards one of the packed cases in the room and pulled out some clothes for Harry to wear. "But while I am cooking, you are going to go and have a shower and get changed."
"Yes, Molly," Harry answered mechanically, but not moving from the spot where he was standing.
"HARRY!" she said loudly, making him jolt out of it slightly and look at her. She walked across the room and dumped the clothes she had selected into his arms. "I know last night was hard for you, but if you are going to prove yourself as a husband and father you have to stop moping and pull yourself together," she told him firmly.
He nodded his understanding; she was right, of course, he had a lot to prove. Turning up at Hogwarts smelly, in yesterday's clothes, having not sorted getting their belongings moved, half starved and pouting like a kicked puppy was hardly going to win his favours with his wife.
"Right; shower, changed, breakfast, moving furniture and trunks," Harry reeled off as proof that he had been listening.
"Good boy," Molly praised, pulling him into a loose hug and kissing his temple. "Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes," she told him as she headed out of the room.
-#-
"What the hell happened last night?" Sirius asked Molly in hushed tones, when she floo called him.
Molly shook her head sadly, "They had a fight over how they were going to travel to Hogwarts," she explained, "but I can't help but think there is more to it than that."
Sirius nodded, "I tried to talk to Draco last night but she didn't want to say whatever it was that was eating at her," he said with a sigh. "I know it is none of our business, it is their relationship after all, but I wish we could help them."
"I know, Sirius," Molly said understandingly; she agreed completely. "We need to get this furniture and trunks moved over, and then Harry is going to take the train to school; maybe I can come over after that and we can both talk with Draco, and see if we can't get to the bottom of this."
"It is worth a try," Sirius agreed.
"You had any breakfast?" Molly asked. "I made too much for Harry and me, maybe you would like to join us?"
"Great idea," he said with a grin, "let me just leave Draco a note in case she wakes up and wonders where I went."
Molly nodded and closed the floo connection; heading back into the kitchen to make sure Harry was actually eating the food she had placed in front of him before she went to call Sirius.
"I'm eating, look!" Harry said insistently the second she came back into the room, indicating his half emptied plate.
She chuckled, "Good; Sirius is going to come and join us in a few minutes. Then he will help take all your stuff through," she explained.
Harry nodded his understanding and gave her a nervous smile. Sirius had probably spoken with Draco and Harry knew how much his godfather loved her, and that just put too many questions into Harry's head. Would Sirius be furious at Harry? Would he hate him for upsetting Draco? Did he know if Draco was going to forgive him? Would he be upset at Draco for upsetting Harry?
"Sirius isn't upset with either of you," Molly said, interrupting his increasingly panicked train of thought as she sat down opposite him with her own plate of breakfast. "He is just worried about you," she told him. "As am I."
He bit at his lip. He wasn't really surprised that they were worried about him but he knew that was code for 'we want you to talk to us about it' and that was something he was sure he didn't want to do; at least not until he had talked to Draco.
"Hey, Kiddo," Sirius greeted; patting a hand heavily on Harry's back, as he took a seat next to him, and Molly summoned another plate of food.
"Hi," Harry said bad a little less enthusiastically, "how is she?"
"About as happy as you look," he said honestly. "Though I think she at least got a little sleep," he amended, noting the dark circles under Harry's eyes.
"That's good," Harry said sadly, stabbing at his remaining breakfast with a fork.
"She misses you, and I think she knows she over-reacted," Sirius told him, trying to cheer his godson up a little.
"Draco said that?" Harry asked, looking up sceptically.
"Well, not in so many words..." Sirius said evasively.
Harry sighed, and managed to force himself to eat another bite of egg before dropping his fork onto his plate; giving up on the meal all together and leaning back in his chair.
"Can we just get the stuff through to Hogwarts?" he asked, "I don't want to be late for the train."
"Sure we can," Molly agreed, and Harry didn't miss the stern look she gave Sirius to silence the words that were on the tip of his tongue. "Why don't you go start bringing the stuff downstairs and stack it next to the fireplace, ready to go through," she suggested.
Harry nodded; glad for the excuse to escape their sympathetic expressions. He took the stairs two at a time and headed for their bedroom. He looked around; at least having been up all night meant that he didn't have any more packing to take care of. It was really going to be a long day and he already felt dead on his feet.
-#-
Draco woke up to Orion's cries; with a groan she sat up and lifted him into her arms.
"Morning, baby," Draco said softly, noticing the odour that let her know exactly what her son was crying about. "Shall we get you changed before we feed you?" she asked him through a yawn; slipping them out of bed and sitting on the floor next to where she had stacked the baby supplies she had brought with her.
She had been up a couple of times in the night; it was nothing new and she was fairly proficient at changing and feeding Orion without even having to fully wake up, but she couldn't deny that she missed being able to just shove Harry out of bed to deal with him at least once.
"So, what are we going to do today to distract Mummy until Daddy gets here?" Draco asked him rhetorically, "We'll have to think of something because if we sit around here all day I think I might lose my mind."
Orion reached out a little fist towards her and cooed; seemingly delighted that his mother was paying him so much attention and talking to him. She smiled at the joyful expression on her son's tiny features; she couldn't even begin to understand how this tiny person was not automatically Harry's first priority in everything they did.
Draco didn't doubt that Harry loved their son every bit as much as she did, but she was just feeling frustrated with her husband. She reminded herself that she wasn't going to spend the day acting like some poor little abandoned housewife. She was Draco Potter; she wasn't going to sit around all day missing Harry or feeling hard done by.
Having manoeuvred Orion into a bodysuit and a pair of tiny trousers, and occupied him with a rattle, she re-packed the bag with enough supplies to last the day. She had just called a house elf to bring her some breakfast when she spotted Sirius' note.
'Draco,
Gone to breakfast with Harry and Molly, I'll be back soon.
Sirius'
She frowned at the mental image of Harry enjoying a happy breakfast with Orion's honorary grandparents. That was all they were to her after all, it wasn't like she was really their family; she only had earned her place in their lives as Harry's wife and Orion's mother, she thought grumpily.
Once she had eaten and fed Orion, Draco realised she hadn't thought to grab the baby sling before living Grimmauld Place and so settled the bag over her shoulder before settling her son into her arms. She was about to leave when she hesitated; heading back to the table, she flipped over Sirius' note and scribbled her own on the reverse side.
"Let's go see if we can go and find someone who might actually want us around," Draco told her son, as they headed out of their rooms and in the direction of the Dungeons.
-#-
It had not taken long for Sirius to travel back and forward through the floo with most of Harry and Draco's belongings, but at half ten they were standing on the doorway of Grimmauld place saying their goodbyes.
"I would get all sentimental but I will see you at Hogwarts this evening," Sirius said, giving him a hug and making Harry manage a half smile.
"I, on the other hand, am going to miss you," Molly said, pulling him from Sirius' arms into hers.
"I'll miss you too," he responded, squeezing her tightly, "I better get going."
"Here you go," Sirius said, handing Harry his backpack containing the things he would need for the day, "see you this evening."
Harry nodded and gave Molly another quick hug before going down the front steps and holding his wand out once he reached the curb. It was with a bang that the knight bus appeared.
"Morning Stan," Harry greeted, recognising the conductor as he got on board.
"Kings Cross, Mr Potter?" the conductor asked, Harry nodded. "Eleven Sickles," Stan told him.
Harry fished out the coins and handed over his fee. He hurried along the bus and found himself a comfortable armchair near a window so that he could wave good bye to his godfather and his surrogate mother.
-#-
The first of September. Hardly Severus Snape's favourite day of the year but this year's felt all the more miserable following the visit he had paid to the Malfoys’ the day before. He had returned to the castle, following the nearly silent dinner, earlier than he had planned and used the remainder of his evening to finalise his first week's lesson plans.
And that was why he found himself standing in his empty classroom, with no idea what he was going to do with his last day before his world became filled, once more, with numerous annoying children.
Knock, knock...
Severus turned and glared at the door, not sure who it could be; most of the other professors tended not to visit him and the students wouldn't be arriving till the evening. Albus perhaps, but he wasn't really in the mood to talk to the headmaster.
Knock, knock...
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 'So much for a day of peace and quiet,' he thought to himself as he trudged across the room and yanked the door open.
"Hello, Sir"
"Mrs Potter, what a delightful surprise," Severus greeted with a small frown of confusion, though he wasn't exactly radiating enthusiasm. "I was not aware that they had changed the time of the train."
"They didn't; I flooed here with Orion last night," Draco told him, stepping round the potions master into the room.
"Then I take it that Mr Potter will not be joining us today?" he asked, closing the door and turning to face Draco; who was taking a seat at one of the desks, dropping her bag to the floor and shifting Orion in her arms.
"My dear husband was under the delusion that spending a full day on a train with a three month old baby was a good idea," Draco replied. She looked up and gave Professor Snape a wry smile, "we didn't exactly see eye to eye on it... he will arrive here like the good little normal student he apparently wishes he was."
"Mr Potter's emotional issues aside, I suspect you are not here for relationship advice," he told her pointedly as he walked the length of the room back towards his desk.
"Actually that's kind of exactly why I am here," Draco told him and the Professor turned to stare at her with disbelief. "Because you won't want to talk about it," she clarified.
"I see."
"Unless you have things you need to be doing?" Draco asked slowly.
"Nothing of significance," Snape told her dismissively, "perhaps we should use this time to discuss the contraceptive potion Madam Pomfrey and I have researched for you," he suggested, looking through a small stack of books on his desk.
Draco's pale complexion became somewhat flushed as she avoided meeting his eye, focusing on where her son was gripping her finger in his sleep.
"Unless your marriage will no longer require..."
"Oh,..." Draco interrupted, looking up and seeing the that potions master had crossed the room to stand next to her. "Actually, I think we should probably look at what you found," she said quietly.
Snape chuckled. "Yes, I thought so," he said smugly, as he placed the book in his hand on the desk next to Draco and opened it to a marked page. "There are quite enough Potters in this world already," he told her.
She gave him a stern glare but this didn't faze the potions master in the slightest; his feelings about the Potter family in general was hardly news to Draco. Looking at the book on the desk, she pulled it towards herself, so as to be able to read it, and wasn't surprised to see that it was brewing instructions for an apparently potent contraceptive potion that had to be taken on a weekly basis.
"I have made one batch, which I will give to you shortly," he said, "but I expect you to take responsibility for brewing this for yourself in future."
Draco looked over the instructions again; they didn't seem particularly complex and certainly no more difficult that some of the other potions she knew she was going to be required to brew as part of the education for NEWT level potions.
"As it is highly preferable that we ensure that you and your husband do not continue to procreate whilst your education is still incomplete, you will be demonstrating to me that you are capable enough to complete such a task," he instructed.
"What... now?" Draco asked in surprise.
"Will that be a problem?" he asked.
"Only in that I have Orion with me," she pointed out, glancing at the sleeping boy in her arms, "I don't exactly feel comfortable brewing a potion while holding him, even if I could manage one handed."
Snape's lip curled into a sneer as he realised she had a point. After a moment of hesitation, where he was questioning his own sanity, he held out his arms. "I shall hold him," he told her firmly.
Draco raised an eyebrow in surprise; she had not seen that suggestion coming. She wasn't completely sure about it but perhaps it would be worth it to see the stern and grouchy man cradling an infant in his arms.
"Have you ever held a baby before?" she asked.
"Your mother insisted I hold you when you were younger than this," Snape said indignantly, gesturing again for Draco to hand Orion over. "I assure you no harm will come to the boy. The potion is non-toxic and it would take someone with Longbottom's abilities to make it in any way volatile."
"The boy's name is Orion,” Draco said, matching the indignant tone Snape had used. “And very well," she continued, getting to her feet and carefully shifting her son into the Professor's arms, so as not to wake the sleeping baby.
"He has grown significantly since I saw him last," Snape said, as he watched the sleeping baby.
"That happens with children," Draco said absent mindedly as she read over the potion instructions again.
"His hair has also begun to take on a disturbing resemblance to his Father's," the potions master pointed out, "and his Grandfather's..." Snape added in a disapproving tone under his breath.
"I am sure it is not healthy to bear grudges over the hair of long-dead school rivals, Sir," Draco said glancing at him with an amused expression.
Snape glared daggers at her for her cheekiness. "Perhaps this whole process would be more productive if you actually retrieved some ingredients to brew it with?" he suggested testily.
Draco bit back the sarcastic comments that jumped into her mind and headed for the store cupboard.
-#-
Harry found it very strange to be winding his way through Kings Cross station without his usual trolley full of belongings; though granted it did make dodging the milling crowds significantly easier, which was fortunate given that it was already quarter to eleven when the Knight bus had reached his stop.
He stepped casually through the barrier and smiled as the sight of Platform 9 3/4 came into view. It was, of course, packed with students and parents, and the madness of it all still appealed to Harry as much as it had when he was eleven; though he was glad it seemed less intimidating than it had back then.
"Harry!"
Turning towards the familiar voice he spotted Hermione waving at him enthusiastically, from where she was stood next to Ron. He gave her a quick wave to let her know he had spotted them and headed in their direction.
"Where's Draco?" she asked, as soon as he reached them.
"What she meant to say was, 'Hi, Harry, how are you?'" Ron told him with a smirk, ignoring Hermione when she gave him a shove.
"I'm okay," Harry said dryly, "And Draco is at Hogwarts."
" Ah, did she floo there with Orion?" Hermione asked, "That makes a lot of sense, I can't see spending the full day on the train with a baby being a very good idea," she added.
Harry sighed, "Yeah, well I wish I had figured that out that quickly; then I might be at Hogwarts with my wife and son," he said morosely, "rather than spending the day on a train worrying about the conversation me and Draco have to have when I get there."
"Oh, Harry..." Hermione said with sympathy, pulling him into a hug. "Come on, let's go find somewhere to sit and you can tell us what happened," she said as she released him from her vice-like grip, only to start all but dragging him along by his hand. "Our trunks are with Ginny, but we can go find her later," the brunette rambled.
"Give the bloke a minute to breathe, Hermione," Ron told her with exasperation, helping to free Harry as they stepped onto the train, so that the they could follow her at a more reasonable pace. "Where's your trunk? We should get it on the train."
"Oh, Sirius already took it through the floo directly from home," Harry explained. "I've got my uniform in here, before you panic, Hermione," he added quickly, indicating his backpack, as soon as his friend turned around and opened her mouth to speak.
Ron chuckled at the indignant look on her face and took over the search for an empty compartment where they could talk. He didn't find one; he did find one that was solely occupied by Blaise, who currently had his nose in a book.
"I assume we can join you?" Ron asked.
Blaise looked up and smiled at the sight of them. "Of course," he said, closing his book and indicating that they should come in. "Harry?" he asked, when he noticed the Gryffindor was hovering in the doorway rather than taking seats like the others.
"I... erm... look, I know Draco is your best friend and..." Harry mumbled.
"Indeed; talking of her, where is she?" Blaise questioned.
"Hogwarts apparently," Ron told him.
Blaise looked at Harry questioningly and after a minute or so, Harry sighed and took the seat by the window, next to Hermione.
"She flooed there last night after we had a fight," he admitted, and proceeded to tell them about the argument. Several times one of the boys went to interrupt, but a stern look from Hermione, or an elbow to the ribs in Ron's case, silenced them. She didn't want Harry to stop now that he had started and by the time he was done recounting the painful events from the evening before, King's Cross Station had been left far behind.
"Well it sounds to me like Draco completely over-reacted," Ron said a little bit angrily, once Harry was done talking.
"And it sounds to me like Harry needs to start putting Orion and Draco first," Blaise bit back, determined to defend his friend.
"You're both right!" Harry said impatiently, "Look, I am really hurt by Draco taking Orion to Hogwarts last night, but equally I know I was being a prat," he told them. "And no, Hermione, I don't want to talk about it anymore, the only person I really want to discuss this all with is Draco."
She nodded her head at this and Harry gave her a weak but grateful smile. Blaise was obviously annoyed at him, but even he didn't seem angry and Harry was glad that the Slytherin was at least trying to understand, despite being Draco's friend more than his really.
Harry rested his forehead on the cool glass of the window and watched miserably as the rows of terraced houses and muggle industrial estates turned into green fields and trees. He missed Draco and Orion, he couldn't wait to see them and yet he was dreading what words his wife might have for him once they reached the castle later that evening.
-#-
Some of the ingredients in the potion were fairly innocuous, such as the peppermint and fluxweed; but, considering she was going to be drinking it on a regular basis, she felt she could have done without knowing about the armadillo bile and rat spleen.
Draco had been preparing ingredients and brewing for nearly an hour under Professor Snape's watchful gaze and it was going well. She was delighted to find that the instructions were every bit as easy to follow as she had at first thought. The only problem was that Orion had woken up and the potions master was now rather awkwardly pacing around the classroom in an attempt to soothe the little boy.
"Try feeding him," Draco suggested, "there is a bottle of milk I expressed in his nappy bag under a preservation charm."
She had hoped she would manage to get to the stage where she had to let the potion boil for seventeen minutes before Orion woke up but it was probably going to take at least another five minutes before she reached that point. It was taking all her might not to just drop everything and rush to her crying son, but then they would have to begin again with the potion.
Snape carefully cradled Orion against his chest with one arm and managed to dig in the bag with the other; it was tricky, and difficult to find what he was looking for, but years of making complex potions had made him surprisingly dextrous.
"You will need to use a warming charm on it," Draco instructed, as she stirred the potion clockwise. "And then test it on your arm, make sure it isn't too hot."
The potions master did as instructed and both he and Draco let out sighs of relief as Orion's cries ceased, as he latched onto the bottle and began to drink. Draco took a moment to look up and couldn't help but grin at the sight of the normally dour man watching, with fascination, as the three month old in his arms fed.
"Perhaps you should be focusing on the potion, Draco," Professor Snape suggested without shifting his gaze. "That is after all the only reason I am doing this; otherwise, I have no desire to spend my day pampering to infantile Potters."
Draco did turn her attention back to her potion, adding a pinch of powdered dragon horn and stirring seven times anti-clockwise before speaking.
"Referring to Orion as infantile when he actually is an infant leaves it as a rather poor insult," Draco told the potions master.
"You assume I intended it as an insult rather than just a statement of fact," Snape pointed out, "I have no great dislike for your son Draco; he has two parents, after all, and perhaps with his mother’s input there is a chance he may grow up to be somewhat more bearable than his Potter ancestors."
"You need to burp him," Draco instructed, when she saw the potions master place the empty baby bottle onto a desk, choosing to ignore the derogatory reference to her husband; creating amicability between those two seemed a lost cause and certainly one she did not have time for at the moment.
"I am aware," Severus said, with Orion already up near his shoulder.
"Okay, and then we just have to wait the seventeen minutes while it boils," Draco said, feeling quite proud of herself that she had brewed the potion successfully the first time.
"That is fortunate, because I draw the line at dealing with the odour that is emanating from your son at present," he told her.
Draco couldn't help but laughed when she looked up and saw the expression of pure disgust that was on the man's face, and his uncomfortably rigid posture. It was obvious he wanted to be holding Orion at arm's length but Draco was glad the professor's desire to hold the boy securely had over-powered that. Though he did looked quite profoundly relieved when Draco took her son back.
It did not take Draco long to deal with her son’s discomfort. She sighed as she banished the soiled nappy, wishing that the other problems in her life were so easily fixed. She thought of the discussion she was going to have to have with her husband when he arrived; she was nervous about that, and Professor Snape’s animosity didn’t really help.
She was torn between wanting to find an excuse to remain in the potions master's company and knowing she should return to her rooms. She was sure that Sirius, and probably Molly if she understood the Weasley matriarch as well as she believed she did, would be waiting there, wanting to continue the conversation she had cut short the night before.
In truth, despite his earlier comments, part of her would have liked to discuss the situation with Professor Snape, but she wasn’t sure she could trust him to give dispassionate advice; and she felt guilty enough about the situation already. She didn’t need Snape’s scorn poured on her husband. Nor, come to that, did Harry.
She would have to face her demons; perhaps a conversation with Sirius and Molly would help. It would not be easy; it was not truly in her nature to be so open about what was on her mind but perhaps it was like the potion. You had to know when to turn up the heat to get the changes you wanted. There was no point being anxious, she decided, she would return to her room and give them a chance to help her, as soon she was done with the potion. There was nothing more to be done about Harry right now; but Orion was another matter. She gave him a smile and tickled him, and some of her worries melted away as he made the most gorgeous cooing happy noises.
She heard Snape move behind her, and looked up. His face was back to its dour mask; but he hadn’t been quite quick enough. She had caught a glimpse the little smile and the look of true delight that had been there before he could hide them. She smiled at him, wondering how to coax them out again but she knew that he preferred to maintain his cold, hard exterior. It was familiar, she realised; it was the same pretence she had felt the need to put on, until Harry. Obviously Severus could never learn to be more open from Harry, but was it possible that Orion could help bring some joy into the potions master's life?
It seemed like something worth trying and she made a mental note to ensure that she brought her son for frequent visits. She had a mental image of the potions master teaching a toddler Orion about selecting ingredients and it put the widest and most genuine grin she had in days on her face.
Snape looked at her with concern and confusion, but she was sure he wouldn't appreciate or understand her thoughts, even if she tried to explain, so she stuck with what she knew he would be comfortable with.
"Shall we prepare the vials to bottle the potion?" Draco asked, realising it only needed to boil for a couple more minutes.
He frowned at her, fully aware she was avoiding saying something but deciding after a moment that he perhaps didn't want to know and that there was likely a reason it had been left unsaid. "Of course,” he agreed with a nod and went to fetch them.
He was glad of the distraction, in truth; his mind was abuzz with thoughts, as he compared the family Orion had with the family the new Malfoy child would be born into, the family that had raised Draco. He would be the first to admit he was not particularly fond of small children, but it seemed so wrong that two teenaged school children could provide a better family life for a growing child than a wealthy couple in their early forties.
But that was enough of such thoughts. It was always best to have a clear mind when dealing with potions, after all; even it was just bottling. Where were those pesky vials?

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Please do take a moment to review and give me your thoughts, it would mean the world to me. (As always I will happily respond to any and all review posted when I post the next chapter, like I have below)
Review responses:
ChaosLady – Thank you, and yes, though the actual argument was over something fairly petty, there are under lying issues that are making things worse.
Gruffard – Yes, that spiralled; mostly because of the doubts and worries that Draco is feeling. Harry is certainly going to want some form of an apology and an explanation. But he doesn’t want to lose her or Orion, and them leaving him, even for the night, has shaken him; so he is feeling pretty conflicted about how far to push her for answers. They definitely have some issues to work though.
Delia Cerrano – Yes she did, and she knows she went too far and regrets it to some extent; even if she isn’t quite sure why she had such an extreme reaction yet. Sirius and Molly will do what they can to help her figure it out though. They will have to have a very serious conversation very soon though.
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For The Sake Of A Name