Going On | By : Relevant_Peach Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 6813 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
It was Wednesday, which meant that Harry was en route to Ron and Hermione’s. The kids would be done school soon, and Harry dubbed this part of his day ‘the care and feeding of magical creatures’. Rose and Hugo were enough of a handful themselves, but on Wednesday, he also had Teddy, and, on the odd day that Mrs. Weasley were busy, Victoire and Dominique. It was bedlam, pure and simple, and Harry was never happier than when he had a houseful. He pulled the minivan into the garden, and stepped outside. Hermione had done something impressive with the wards, so he didn’t have to worry about trying to Alohamora the door. Cleverest witch of our age, he thought to himself happily, as he entered the cluttered and homey cottage and began preparing snacks.
The floo whooshed green, and a pile of children erupted from the hearth, their excited chattering interrupting the peace and quiet. Teddy, laughing, said “Uncle Harry! We had a Niffler at school today!”
“A niffler!” Harry exclaimed in mock surprise. “Was he naughty?”
“Ever so!” Rose crowed. “It’s not ‘sponsible, having such a bad creature near children”
“Did your mum teach you that word? Responsible?” Harry was serving milk and biscuits and the kids crowded around the kitchen island.
“Sort of” Rose allowed. “She was telling dad that it wasn’t ‘sponsible for Uncle George to take me up on his broom”
“Ah” Harry answered. “But did you enjoy being on the broom?”
Rose nodded, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“Well, my little Rosebud, it’s important to remember that responsibility is good. And having fun and trying something daring is also good sometimes too”
“I’m daring!” Victoire offered, her blonde hair falling into her eyes.
“Indeed you are, petit” Harry told her. “Do you think you’ll be a Gryffindor when you go to Hogwarts?”
“Like you!” she said.
“Uncle Harry” Dominique was the littlest, but also the most serious of these four children.
“What is it, my love?” he asked, ignoring the shouts of the other children to listen to her. She didn’t volunteer much, so he always made sure to take the time to make sure she felt heard.
“You went to Hogwarts, mais non?”
“I did”
“So why don’t you have a wand?”
Harry smiled a little. “I have one, cheri, but I don’t use it anymore.”
“You can do wandless magic then?”
“Not quite. I got hurt when I was younger, and my magic went to sleep”
“We must wake your magic up again!” Victoire smiled brilliantly at him, the solution obvious.
“Didn’t your maman tell you not to wake a sleeping dragon?” Harry laughed at her serious little face. “Perhaps if we woke my magic up, I would be grumpy and cross!”
“Like Snape!” Teddy volunteers.
“Merlin, Teddy, don’t make me regret telling you those stories about school. Snape wasn’t grumpy and cross. He just had a hard life, and had to do difficult things. He was very brave, and don’t you forget it!”
“I won’t, Uncle Harry.”
“Now, I hear something coming” Harry cocked his head to the side, listening intently. “It’s a tickle monster!” The children shrieked and scattered, even Teddy, who was beginning to feel a little old for such games, and Harry chased them, laughing until the floo flared again, and Hermione came through the grate, heavily pregnant, her arms full of files and her face wreathed in exhaustion.
She planted a kiss on each child in turn, finishing with Harry, her arms wrapping around him and squeezing tight. “You give the best hugs” he said with a smile.
“How have they been?” she asked
“Angels. Simply perfect” he responded, regarding them fondly.
“Nothing happened?”
“Of course not. It was forty minutes. We had snacks, I chased them around. We were fine”
“Good. You know I worry though. What if something happened?”
“‘Mione, I have my mobile, and I could call you, or Mrs. Weasley, or Ron or Draco. You worry too much. Lots of people live in the world without magic.”
“They live in the Muggle world without magic. It’s much more difficult for someone in the magical world, as you well know.”
“Hermione, if you want me to stop watching the children, it’s fine”
“I don’t want that, Harry Potter, and you know it” Hermione was indignant. “I just think that there’s something that could be done-“
“No” Harry’s voice was like steel, and the tone caused Teddy to look up in surprise from the book he’d been reading. “‘Mione, we’ve talked about this. I’m fine. Better than fine. Stop meddling”
“I just-“
“Come on Teddy bear, let’s get home to Gran’s house” Harry clapped his hands and the conversation was over. Hermione gave him a look, but Harry wasn’t paying attention, instead grabbing Teddy’s backpack, and kissing each child’s forehead. He loaded Teddy into the minivan and they were off to Andromedas in time for dinner.
After Teddy had been tucked in, and Harry and Andromeda sat companionably by the fire, Harry buried himself in a book, and Andromeda quietly made shapes out of the flames. Finally she spoke. “I spoke with my Healer today”
“Oh?” Harry was only half paying attention.
“It’s bad, Harry.”
The book fell to his feet. “Tell me” he said quietly, unable to look at her.
“It’s Vanishing sickness. I’ll have very little time to put my affairs in order”
“Oh Andy” Harry sighed. “Merlin, life can be cruel. I’m so sorry. I’m so desperately sad”
“It can’t be helped.” Andromeda seemed to be all business, but Harry knew it was her coping mechanism. “You’ll care for Teddy?”
“Of course, he’s my life”
“You’ll seek help?”
“I’ll have to, won’t I?”
“Harry, I mean it. Don’t let your pride prevent you from being a good father to Teddy”
Harry was a little hurt. “Andy, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make sure that Teddy is safe.”
“Good. Then stop chasing people away. Find someone to love, find someone who has magic and can help you raise Teddy”
“I don’t need magic to raise Teddy”
Andromeda didn’t say anything, but then again, she didn’t need to. She and Harry had had this argument, in variations, for the better part of nine years. When, broken and exhausted, Harry had emerged from the infirmary at Hogwarts after the Final Battle, he’d been greeted by a Gringott’s goblin, who read the last will and testament of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, decreeing that Harry would be the sole guardian of one Theodore Remus Lupin. Harry had barely been able to care for himself, then, overwhelmed with the struggles of learning to cope in a magical world without the ability to perform it. He’d been grieving the loss of his magic, the loss of his innocence. Andromeda had leapt into the breach, not only caring for Teddy, but also taking Harry under her wing.
It was to Andy that Harry had sobbed his disappointment when he and Ginny had broken up. Ginny had fancied herself the wife of the famous Boy Who Lived, not a Squib who still woke most nights with nightmares. It was to Andy that Harry admitted later that he was secretly relieved that Ginny was gone, and later, that Harry was more interested in men than women. Andy had patiently taught Harry how to test the temperature of bathwater with an elbow, and how to prepare a bottle. It was Andy who had unconditionally accepted Harry as himself, and taught him how to be a member of a family.
And then, inexplicably, a few days after their conversation by the fire, she was gone, and Harry was all that Teddy had. It had been incredibly difficult to explain to a nine-year-old why his Gran had died so suddenly. “Why does everybody die?” he sobbed into Harry’s lap, and Harry didn’t have an answer. He wished he knew.
At first, it wasn’t too difficult. Harry drove Teddy to school in the minivan, made meals on the hob, just as he used to do as a child. He lit candles by hand, and Teddy could use the floo on his own, as long as someone were on the other end to meet him. Grimmauld Place worked against him, though. Harry spent a frustrating day in the park across the street, because the Fidelius wouldn’t recognize him and the house wouldn’t appear. “But” Harry said cheerfully to Draco the next day “That’s easily solved. I have pots of money, and we’ll just buy a house that doesn’t have Fidelius.” He grinned easily, and then added “And one that doesn’t have elf heads stuck to the walls”
Draco eyed him skeptically, but said nothing. They’d been friends long enough that Draco knew better than to talk him out of anything. Harry would realize that he was overestimating his abilities on his own, hopefully, but nobody would be able to tell him so in the meantime. Sighing, Draco returned again to the vexing problem of Harry’s magic. It hadn’t been the final battle with Voldemort that had drained his entire magical core. Harry had walked away without a scratch, casting bright red sparks into the air to signify that the battle had ended. Then, he had disappeared for nearly an hour, returning to the castle looking exhausted and stumbling to the hospital ward without a word for anyone.
Draco, had been levitated to the bed next to him, suffering from a nasty cutting hex, administered by a Death Eater who was furious at Draco’s defection to the Order. He’d lost so much blood that he’d been bedridden for days, along with the magically exhausted Potter. Pomphrey clucked at him, casting spell after spell. As he regained his strength, his magic simply hadn’t returned. The only upside to the situation was that Draco and Harry had formed a strong friendship, against all odds. It hadn’t taken a now chastened and humbled Draco Malfoy very long to see why so many people looked up to Harry. He was fun-loving and laughed more than anyone he knew. And Harry was unfailingly kind. Somehow, after having both seen the worst thing they could imagine, petty differences from the past were cast aside, and they’d started over. Now, Draco couldn’t imagine life without Harry, and he continued to try to think of something to restore his magic.
Harry, on the other hand, flatly refused any interludes related to restoring his power. He was cheerful when anyone brought up the subject…until they pushed too hard, when he would coldly end the conversation and leave. It simply wasn’t up for discussion.
Draco cast a quick tempus and realized that he was late. “Merlin, Astoria will kill me if I miss dinner. You’re sure you’re okay to watch Scorpius?”
“Of course! It’s been too long since we’ve had him. Between you and Astoria, you’re overloaded him with Slytherinness. I’m going to have to nurture some Gryffindor qualities in this boy.” Harry juggled the baby on his hip. At nearly two years old, the baby simply adored Harry, and was usually found toddling after him whenever they were together.
“None of that” Draco sniffed. “Scorpius is going to be a Malfoy, with everything that comes along with it”
“Prat” Harry said affectionately. “Scorp, your daddy is a prat” The baby’s eyes widened and he chuckled.
“I’ll be going. I need to speak to my lawyer, draw up some papers to revoke your rights as Godfather” Draco teased, placing a kiss on the baby’s head and giving Harry’s shoulder a friendly squeeze. “I’ll be by to pick him up in a few hours”
“Don’t rush, we’ll be going to get Lion tattoos after dinner” Harry said.
Dinner with his wife had been lovely, Draco reflected, as he lingered over a post-meal glass of wine. Since Scorpius had been born, they’d been taking time together as they could snatch it, and Draco was truly grateful that Harry loved spending time with Scorpius as much as the child loved his Uncle Harry. As he drained his glass, Draco smoothed his robes, and flooed through to Grimmauld Place. As he stepped through the floo, the first thing he heard was crying. He smiled a little, Harry obviously had his hands full with cranky children. It served him right for stuffing them full of sugar and keeping them up too late, he thought to himself.
“What’s this?” he called out. The crying appeared to be coming from upstairs. Curiously, it hadn’t abated, and it seemed that both Teddy and Scorpius were wailing. “Harry?” he called, but there was no answer. Making his way into Teddy’s room, Draco stopped short. Teddy was curled into a ball, rocking back and forth sobbing.
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