http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4008555/1/The_Christmas_I_Loaned_My_Sons

http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1346901/Ellipsis_the_Great

The Christmas I Loaned My Sons

By Ellipsis the Great

Disclaimer: The idea is from 'Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul.'

Summary: After losing his wife and son to a magical disease, Draco Malfoy puts an ad in an editorial to borrow a son for Christmas. Harry Potter answers.

Spoilers: Five years post-Hogwarts. Compliant with all books, sans the epilogue in DH.

CHAPTER ONE: The Ad

Is there any place where we can borrow a little boy three or four years old for the Christmas holidays? We have a nice home and would take wonderful care of him and bring him back safe and sound. We used to have a little boy, but he couldn't stay, and we miss him so when Christmas comes. -D. Malfoy

As I read the above appeal in the Daily Prophet, something happened to me. For the first time since Ginny's death, I thought of grief as belonging to someone else. I read and reread the letter to the editor.

Somehow, it didn't matter that it was from Malfoy. All that mattered was that we had something in common, now. Not the War—everyone had that in common. And not just death, either. By now, everyone had experienced death. What we had was the feeling of making it all the way through the War, and after all that still losing someone to a completely unrelated incident.

I lost Ginny to childbirth. Childbirth, of all things.

Draco lost Pansy and Adder to Dragon Pox. Worse, he lost them a mere month before Hermione finished creating a vaccine against the disease.

"Daddy!" My three-year-old son, Phoenix, barreled into my leg. He looked up at me with wide, excited green eyes, squealing happily as I scooped him up into my arms.

"Good morning, Nix." I said, kissing his bed-mussed red hair. "You hungry?"

"Yeah, yeah!" He said, nodding vigorously.

"What do you feel like eating?" I asked as I put the editorials on the table.

"Flapjacks!" He answered immediately, bouncing in my arms.

"Alright, alright." I set him down again and retrieved the pancake mix from a cupboard. "Can you get a mixing bowl, Nix?"

He nodded again and scrambled to one of the shelves, pulling out a mixing bowl as I gathered the rest of what we would need to make the pancakes. When that was done and I had measured everything out, I picked him up and set him on the counter.

"Think you can mix it up?" I asked.

"I mix it, I mix it!" He said, picking up the spoon and stirring, his face scrunched up in a look of deep concentration.

"Daddy?" I looked at the door, where stood my other son, Phoenix's twin Byrne. He peeked out from behind the doorway shyly, the polar opposite of his gregarious brother for all that they looked so much alike.

"Hey, Byrne." I said, picking him up and setting him comfortably on my hip. He sighed happily and set his head on my shoulder, one hand fisting in the fabric of my nightshirt.

"We's making pancakes!" Phoenix piped up.

"Mmm." Byrne grunted sleepily.

I laughed, looking from one boy to another, and thought again of Malfoy's editorial. It had been three years since Ginny's death, and time had helped erase a few of the scars she had left on my heart. But there were special times when the ache would return and loneliness would engulf me—birthdays, our wedding anniversary, and holidays.

He had lost his family only a few months prior, so this would be his first Christmas without them. How much more pain was he going to feel, having no one left? I had had the unconditional love of two perfect baby boys and Ginny's family to help me through the worst times. The only person Malfoy would have was his mother, who had never fully recovered from the loss of her husband. Pansy's family saw the marriage as nothing more than a business arrangement, so they would be of no comfort to him at all.

And Malfoy had lost a child. No man, not even Malfoy, should have to bury his child. I couldn't even begin to imagine what that pain must feel like, although I had seen it in Mr. and Mrs. Weasley at Fred's funeral, and then again at Ginny's.

"How would you boys feel about not going to Nana's this Christmas?" I asked.

"Not go?" Byrne asked slowly as both boys' heads cocked to one side in identical expressions of confusion.

"Well…" How to explain this to three year olds? "I know someone who just lost some people who were very close to him, and he's very lonely this Christmas."

"We find them?" Phoenix asked.

"No, no, they…they're in the same place as your mum. They can't be found." I explained.

"Oh." Phoenix's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to grasp the concept.

"I thought maybe we could go keep him company so he won't cry."

"No crying!" Byrne said, eyes widening. He absolutely hated it when people cried. I'm still not sure why that was, but Hermione said it might be 'a childish manifestation of a hero-complex.' I suppose that meant he inherited my 'saving people thing.'

"Does that mean you want to go?" I asked.

"Nana will be lonely?" Phoenix asked.

"I'll owl her and let her know where we'll be." I assured him. "She has a lot of people to keep her company, and we can go to her house for Christmas dinner like always. We just won't be there Christmas Eve or morning."

The boys exchanged a long, thoughtful look.

"Okay. Let's go." Phoenix said finally.

"No crying." Byrne added.

I smiled. "I'll send the owls right after breakfast."

Phoenix: a mythical bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes in the freshness of youth and live through another cycle of years: often an emblem of immortality or of reborn idealism or hope; person or thing of peerless beauty or excellence; paragon; a person or thing that has become renewed or restored after suffering calamity or apparent annihilation.

Byrne: a raven; mischievous and thievish; popularly regarded as a bird of evil omen and mysterious character.

Adder (Draco's dead son): A venomous snake. (This one just amused me, and I figured there should be some humor in this fic…)

CHAPTER TWO: The Letter

Malfoy,

I read your ad in the paper, and after much consideration would like to be the one to fulfill your Christmas wish. I have a set of three-year-old twin boys, Phoenix (a.k.a. Nix) and Byrne, who are not opposed to spending Christmas with you. I have also discussed this with the rest of our family, who are rather nervous about the idea but say it is alright if we miss one Christmas with them. I don't think that we'll be able convince them to make this an annual thing, whether or not it goes smoothly.

I do request, however, that I stay as well, because Byrne gets anxious when I leave him (separation anxiety, Hermione calls it) and Nix usually won't listen to anyone but myself and Molly Weasley (and sometimes Hermione, but that's a rare occurrence). I will try to stay out of the way as much as possible so that my presence won't affect your holiday.

Also, we would like to leave by lunchtime Christmas Day, if at all possible, so as to eat at the Weasley's. Molly is very adamant about this, and as she is their grandmother I am inclined to cater to her wishes (not to mention that the boys would probably be very upset if they were unable to play with their cousins this Christmas).

If you find or have found someone else, or do not wish for us to come, owl me with a letter telling me so. A simple 'no' will suffice.

If I do not receive a letter by Christmas Eve, I will assume that you are accepting and we will arrive at your house at dinnertime (6 o'clock).

Sincerely,

Harry Potter and Sons

PS - If you feel an absolute, irresistible need to buy the boys presents—I would discourage it, but it is a rather large part of the Christmas experience—Nix likes Quidditch and mischief-making, and Byrne likes to be read to and solve puzzles. I have told them not to expect anything from you and will bring a few gifts for them myself, so please don't feel like you are required to buy them something. Don't get me anything. -HP

I scanned the letter again. Of all the people who could have answered that ad, Harry Potter was the only one? I probably shouldn't have been surprised—he's got an insufferable hero-complex, after all—but I was nonetheless.

I began weighing my options. On the one hand, this was the only positive letter I had gotten so far, and Potter was sure to be civil if only for the sake of his children. On the other hand…it was Potter. The bloody Man-Who-Defeated-Voldemort.

It wasn't as if I missed the scaly beast, but still. It was the principle of the thing, really. I hated Potter, Potter hated me, all was right in the world. This sudden show of good will was a little off-putting, even if Potter had an unnatural predisposition for helping people.

Perhaps it had something to do with how he'd lost his wife, the Weaselette, three years ago. It was rather anticlimactic, really, him losing her in childbirth after the myriad of close calls the couple had had during the War. And I would never have thought that a Weasley could die from childbirth. Then again, as many children as that lot had, I supposed I should have been more surprised that it hadn't happened sooner.

But I guessed that his loss was no more or less anticlimactic than me losing Pansy and Adder to Dragon Pox. If they could only have held out for a few more weeks, that stupid Mud…that is, Granger would have been able to cure them (I was trying to break out of my Pureblood/Death Eater training, but it was difficult—especially in Granger's case.).

It was rather sad that the two people who most personified the opposing sides of a war would be able to withstand all of the pain a war brings, only to suffer from completely different pains. I thought it could only have been more ironic if Pansy and Adder had died of a muggle disease and the Weaselette had died after giving birth to an entire litter of kids instead of just the two.

"What's that, Draco?" Mother asked as she broke me out of my thoughts and entered the library, sitting gracefully in the chair across from me.

"An answer for our ad." I said, offering the letter to her.

One eyebrow slid delicately upward as she read, her eyes never straying from the paper.

"Harry Potter?" She asked finally, looking up at me.

"It's the only answer I've gotten." I said, neglecting to mention the ten letters I had already received telling me that Mother and I deserved to spend Christmas alone after what my family had done during the war.

"Then we shall accept, of course." She said with an almost imperceptible nod.

"Are you sure, Mother?" I asked. "Potter—"

"Mr. Potter will be a fine guest, I'm sure." She cut me off. "His letter is very polite."

I nodded slowly. Potter was the one to put my father in Azkaban during the war, and I suspected that he had been the cause of the slow degeneration my father had suffered after the war until finally he had died two years before.

"Very well, Mother." I pulled out a piece of paper to write a letter of acceptance.

"Don't." She said, stopping my actions with a wave of her hand. "He said he didn't need a letter unless it was to turn him down, which we obviously aren't." She paused for a moment. Then, ever the Slytherin, she added, "Besides, this way if we get another letter before Christmas there will be no need for apologies and the like."

Then she handed the letter back to me, grasping my hand in her own and squeezing it once before she stood and left the room again.

Most would have considered it a rather snide dismissal, but to me it was her way of saying she was very pleased by this turn of events. I wondered if it was just because the Manor would not be totally empty this Christmas.

I sighed and picked up a picture on the table next to me. The face of a small, perfect boy with sandy blonde hair and amber-flecked silver eyes grinned up at me, his petite hand waving shyly.

I looked at the letter again, then tossed it into the fire and hugged the picture tightly to my chest, curling up into my chair and watching the letter shrivel up and burn.

A tear dripped down my cheek, and I wondered what I was trying to do with this 'Christmas loan.'

And then I wondered what Potter was trying to do with it.

CHAPTER THREE: The Arrival

Mother and I took our posts at the doorway at 5:58 pm on the dot. Mother wore a flowing crimson gown with deep jade embellishments on the sleeves and skirt, her platinum hair pulled up into an elegant and fashionable bun. I wore a rather simple green dress robe with a silver cravat that I kept wanting to pull at, but such a nervous gesture was beneath a grown man. A child could probably have gotten away with it, but never an adult and certainly not a Malfoy.

A sharp rap on the doorway at exactly 6 o'clock had both of us straightening (a seemingly impossible feat considering how straight we had already been), watching silently as one of our house elves opened the door, popping out of sight immediately afterward.

And there stood Potter, his smoldering green eyes gazing at us in a bored manner through his black oval-shaped glasses. He wore a tight red sweater and even tighter blue jeans, and had a small stack of five or six presents in his arms, all wrapped in gaudy Christmas paper.

At first glance, I had the oddest, most unsettling impression that he had come alone. Then a pair of huge green eyes peered out from behind his legs, looking up at Mother and I.

"Malfoy." Potter greeted with a short nod. "Lady Malfoy."

"Potter." I said as my mother said, "Mr. Potter."

Then we stared at each other for a moment, which was finally broken when Potter blinked and looked behind himself. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he set the presents down and turned, scooping up two identical little boys and setting them in front of himself. He whispered something to them, then released them and stood straight again.

One of the boys, wearing a green sweater with a phoenix on it, grinned up at us through a messy shock of fiery red hair. The other, his sweater depicting a raven, glanced up and dug his toe in the ground bashfully, his hair slightly less chaotic though it was the same fiery color. Both had their father's brilliant green eyes, as well. (Had I just called Potter's eyes brilliant?)

"Happy Christmas, Mr. and Lady Malfoy!" They chorused, both stepping forward and wrapping the arms around us—the grinning one around Mother, the shy one around me.

"Oh!" Mother gasped, thrown off-balance for just a moment.

I hardly had any time to react, as the shy one's arms had barely closed around my legs before he zipped back behind his father's.

"Introduce yourselves." Potter said, pushing the shy boy in front of himself again. "Both of you."

"Nix!" The grinning twin said. "I'm Nix!"

The shy twin grasped Potter's pants leg with one hand. "Byrne." He said quietly, not looking at us.

"Up?" Phoenix asked, holding his arms up to my mother expectantly.

"Mind your manners, Phoenix." Potter scolded with a small frown.

"Up, please?" Phoenix amended immediately, though his arms didn't move.

Mother picked him up carefully, not quite sure what to make of him.

"Your name?" Phoenix asked. "Please, your name?"

"You may call me Grandmother Narcissa, if that's alright with your father." Mother said.

Phoenix looked back at Potter, who nodded in spite (or perhaps because) of the slightly surprised expression on his face.

"Yay!" Phoenix cheered. "Grandmother 'Cissa!" He threw his arms around Mother's neck and kissed her cheek with a loud 'smack.'

Mother's face was blank for a moment before her lips curled up into a tiny smile.

"Your name?" Phoenix turned to me, not releasing Mother's neck.

"Draco." I replied.

His head cocked to one side, then looked at Potter again. "Grandfather Draco?"

"They aren't married, Nix." Potter said. "Lady Malfoy is his mother."

His eyes widened, and he looked from Mother, to me, and back again. "His mother?" He asked disbelievingly.

Mother's smile widened. "Yes, I'm his mother. He's much younger than he looks."

"And Grandmother 'Cissa is older!" Phoenix said.

"Phoenix!" Potter hissed, but Mother just laughed once and waved him off.

"It's alright. I'll take it as a compliment." She assured him.

Potter sighed again. "Thank you. Doesn't think before he talks, that one."

"And this one doesn't talk much at all." She looked at Byrne. "I don't bite, Byrne."

Byrne looked up at her slowly. "No crying, now?" He asked.

Both of us blinked and looked at Potter.

"I told him you might cry if we didn't come keep you company. He's too young to understand much else about…about losing people and such." Potter explained.

"No crying, please, Grandmother 'Cissa." Byrne said, giving us a rather melancholic look.

"No crying, Byrne." Mother said with a soft smile.

He returned her smile with a minute one of his own.

"Promise, Grandmother 'Cissa?" Phoenix asked.

"I promise, Phoenix." She said. "Now, are you boys ready for dinner?"

"I'm hungry, I'm hungry!" Phoenix said immediately, his twin nodding acquiescently.

"Then let's all head to the dining room, shall we?" She offered a hand to Byrne.

Byrne shook his head, burying his face in Potter's leg.

"Come on, Byrne." Potter said, untangling his son. "Won't you be a big boy and hold Lady Malfoy's hand? Please?"

Byrne shook his head, biting his bottom lip.

"One step at a time, then." Potter muttered, picking the presents up and grabbing Byrne's hand. "Lead the way, Lady Malfoy."

"You may call me Narcissa, Mr. Potter." She said even as she turned toward the dining room. I held out an arm for her, and she put her hand in the crook of my elbow, shifting Phoenix to her free arm as she did.

"Where may I set the gifts?" He asked.

I snapped my fingers before Mother could even glance at me, a house elf appeared at my feet. "Sesi, please take Mr. Potter's gifts to the Christmas tree."

"Yes, Master Malfoy." She curtsied and took the presents from Potter, disappearing with a sharp crack that made the twins jump.

"It's loud!" Phoenix exclaimed, his voice nearly as loud as Sesi's disappearance had been.

"Yes, it is." Mother agreed.

Phoenix started to say something else, but his attention was suddenly and quickly diverted to the dining table, which was practically overflowing with food.

"Food, food!" Phoenix said.

"We weren't sure what you liked, so we had the elves make a little of everything." I explained.

"Thank you." Potter said. "And Nix, don't you even look at those desserts until your real dinner is finished, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir." He grumbled.

"Good boy." Potter said with a tiny smile. "And you can only have one, then.

"Down, please, Grandmother 'Cissa." Phoenix said, wrinkling his nose at his father.

Mother set him down obligingly.

"Don't sit down yet, Nix." Potter said, giving his son a stern look.

"Why?" Phoenix asked, pouting.

"It isn't polite to sit until the Lady of the house is seated." He said. I was rather surprised Potter would know that sort of thing.

"But at Nana's—" Phoenix protested.

"We aren't at Nana's, Nix. We're at the Malfoy's, and I already told you how you're to act at the Malfoy's, didn't I?" Potter's voice brooked no room for argument.

"Yes, sir."

"Would you like to show Mother to her seat, Nix?" I asked.

Phoenix gave me a surprised look, but nodded, allowing Mother to take his hand into hers.

"I sit over here." She said, pointing at her seat, and he all but dragged her over there. "Now, a gentleman pulls out the chair for a lady."

"Okay, Grandmother 'Cissa!" Phoenix grabbed hold of the heavy chair and pulled it back with a little difficulty due to its size.

"Now bow while she sits." I said.

He bowed clumsily as she sat down as pristinely as ever, smiling all the while at him.

"You may sit down next to me now." Mother said.

Phoenix looked at Potter, who gave him an encouraging nod as I sat at the head of the table and he sat to my left, across from Mother. Phoenix clambered up into the chair Mother had indicated.

"Sit down, Byrne." Potter said, pulling out the chair on the other side of himself. Byrne looked up at him for a moment, a pensive expression on his face. Then he toddled over to my side and looked up at me.

"Your lap, Draco?" He asked hesitantly. "Please?"

"A…alright." I said, scooting my chair back a little to allow him room before I reached down, picked him up, and set him in my lap.

He smiled back at me, then turned to the table.

CHAPTER FOUR: Guests

"Dessert now, Daddy?" Nix asked hopefully after we had finished our dinner.

"Actually, dear, you'll have to wait a little longer." Narcissa said. "Some of Draco's friends will be coming for dessert and to open presents in a few moments."

"Aww…" Nix pouted, casting a forlorn glance at the desserts.

"They should be here soon, don't worry." Malfoy said.

"Don't encourage him." I said with a frown. "You know better than to whine, Nix."

"You shouldn't be so strict, Mr. Potter." Narcissa said. "It's Christmas, after all."

I arched an eyebrow at her. "So you'll take full responsibility for him?"

"Until you leave, yes. And I'm sure he'll be very good for Grandmother 'Cissa." She said, ruffling Nix's hair. "Won't you, dear?"

"Very, very good!" Nix chirruped, giving her a grin that I knew from past experience meant he knew he'd found a sucker. Byrne giggled, recognizing the grin as well.

Much as I loved him, Nix was pure Slytherin at times like those.

"Alright, then." I said. Some people had to learn Nix's vices the hard way.

"Master Draco, sir, they is people here to see you." A house elf appeared beside Malfoy's chair with a bow.

"My other guests?" He asked.

"Yes, sir." The elf said, head bobbing up at down agreeably.

"Then show them in." He said.

The elf nodded and bowed again before disappearing.

"Mr. and Mrs. Blaise Zabini." Another elf said as it appeared in the doorway. "Mr. Theodore Nott."

Everyone stood (the twins with some confusion) as Blaise entered the room with Luna (née Lovegood), and Theodore Nott entered alone.

"Harry!" Luna said, pulling away from her husband and running to me as best she could with her bulging stomach. "How wonderful to see you!"

"Hello, Luna." I smiled at her as I hugged her as much as I could. "How's the baby?"

"He's fine." She said, putting a hand on her stomach and smiling as dreamily as ever. "Though I suspect he's upset by the Nargles hiding in Draco's mistletoe."

"As we all should be." Blaise said gravely.

"Hi, Auntie Lu!" Nix piped up, standing on his tiptoes to see her over the table and waving ardently.

"Hi, Nix." She said. "I didn't see you." She looked down at my feet. "And where's Byrne?"

"Here, Auntie Lu." Byrne said softly from where he stood beside Malfoy, looking torn between staying where he was and running to me.

Luna's eyebrows rose, her husband's expression mirroring hers.

"And what are you doing so far away from your dad, eh?" Blaise asked, crouching near Byrne so as to be at eye-level with him.

Byrne shrugged, scooting a little closer to Malfoy in search for comfort in the face of so many newcomers.

"Come here, Byrne." I said, holding my arms out to him. He glanced from me to Malfoy, then scrambled into my arms, burying his face in my shoulder as soon as I picked him up.

"Poor thing." Theodore said. "Not quite up to staying away from you for too long, yet, is he?"

"Not just yet, but we're making progress." I replied, shifting Byrne to one arm so I could offer Theodore a hand. "Good to see you again, Theodore."

"You as well, Harry." He shook my hand. "Have you figured out that code, yet?"

I shook my head. "But I'm very close." I said. "If I'd known you were going to be here, I'd have brought my notes."

"It's Christmas, Harry." He said, voice almost scolding. "No work."

I laughed. "True enough, but you're the one who brought it up."

"Granted." He smiled a little, then looked down as Nix tugged on his maroon dress robes (Ron would've cringed at the color). "Hello, Phoenix."

"Hello, Uncle Teddy." Nix said, grinning brightly at him. "Did you bring me any presents?"

Theodore glanced at me, looking surprised that I hadn't intervened. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did."

"It is not polite to ask people such questions, Phoenix." Narcissa said, giving Nix a stern look.

He turned his widest, most innocent eyes on her. "But Grandmother 'Cissa, I was only asking out of curiosity. Uncle Teddy doesn't mind."

Blaise snorted as he realized what was going on, and both Luna and Theodore looked amused as the same realization hit them.

"That doesn't make it polite to ask." Narcissa said, though her face and tone had softened. "In any case, don't you want dessert first before presents?"

I hadn't realized Narcissa would be such a pushover, though I probably should have guessed after knowing how spoiled Malfoy was back at Hogwarts. I also realized that I probably should have warned her that you never, under any circumstances, use sweets to get Nix to behave.

"Yes, please!" Nix said, beaming at her.

"Alright, you may choose one thing." So she did have some semblance of a backbone. "But you may not eat it until the Goyles arrive."

Nix had started toward the desserts before her first sentence was finished, but paused. "Who?"

"The Goyles." She said. "Gregory, Millicent, and their daughter. They should be here soon."

Nix perked up again. "Daughter?"

"Valerie." Narcissa nodded.

I sighed, hoping that Valerie hadn't inherited her father's brains.

Nix smiled winningly. "Okay!" He burbled, then continued toward the desserts, humming to himself as he surveyed all of the sweets.

"Definitely a Slytherin in the making." Luna sighed.

"Definitely." I agreed with a sigh of my own.

"Your son?" Malfoy asked incredulously. "A Slytherin?"

"It's not terribly surprising, actually." I said. "Ginny's related to the Black family on both sides, you know. And…if you must know…the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin. I practically had to beg to be put into Gryffindor."

CHAPTER FIVE: Valerie Goyle

We all gaped at him.

"Well, all I really said was for it to put me anywhere except Slytherin, but still…" Potter trailed off uncomfortably.

"I should have known." Theo said finally. "No true Gryffindor could be as good at your job as you are."

Potter gave him a blithe smile, his green eyes flashing behind his glasses in a way that left no doubt in anyone's mind that he could very easily have survived (if not flourished) in Slytherin.

"I want this one, Grandmother 'Cissa!" Phoenix said, waving a large chocolate chip cookie at Mother as he pulled on her dress gently.

"That?" Potter asked. "All this and you want a cookie? I could make cookies!"

Phoenix fixed him with a look that had everyone deciding he was, indeed, a future Slytherin. "Your cookies are burnt, Daddy." He said, as if he was an adult explaining something to someone his age. "I like them to be gooey." Then he smiled almost wickedly. "And you said Grandmother 'Cissa is in charge, and she said I could pick what I wanted."

Potter held his free arm up in surrender. "Alright, fine. Narcissa is in charge."

"If that's what you want, dear, of course you can have it." Mother said, ruffling Phoenix's hair.

"Thank you, Grandmother 'Cissa!" He gave her the smile that had stopped working for me when I was six years old, but apparently would still work for him because he was a newcomer (and only three).

"You're welcome, Phoenix." She smiled back at him; the odd, motherly smile that I rarely ever saw on her face.

The strange and most definitely un-Malfoy-like urge to tell her in no uncertain terms that she was only allowed to smile at me like that came over me for a moment, but I squashed the idea firmly. He was only a child, after all, and Mother hadn't had the chance to dote on anyone since Adder…

Ahem.

She was the biggest reason I had put that ad in the paper, after all. Let her dote.

"Mr. and Mrs. Goyle is here, sir." Cady, one of my house elves, said with a bow.

I could see Phoenix perking up from his place beside Mother. Though I couldn't decide whether his expression was meant for the cookie or the Goyles, I could tell that it meant trouble for someone (or something, in the case of the cookie).

"Show them in." I said.

A few moments later, the Goyles walked in. Gregory hadn't changed much since school—still as brawny and intimidating as ever, although anyone who knew him also knew he was harmless. As long you didn't make him angry, of course, but he was so stupid (and oddly good-natured) that it was very difficult to do that. Somehow, he had managed to thin out some, and with his shaved head didn't look half bad (he didn't look half good, either, but he was no longer quite so hideous) Millicent had, surprisingly enough, developed into a passably good-looking young woman. She was still a little overweight, but a lot of that had to do with the birth of their daughter, Valerie.

Valerie, at age five, did not remind anyone of her parents when they had been her age. She was tall for her age, which was reminiscent of her parents, but she was also insanely thin. She had dark brown eyes and even darker brown hair, which was always pulled up in two ponytails situated on either side of her head. That day was no different. Luckily for her, she had inherited more brains than brawn from her parents. She wasn't one of the brightest girls around, but she was at least of average intelligence, and seemed to have an interest in learning. (Hopefully she would develop her brains as much as Greg had developed his muscles) She had also managed to mostly inherit only her parents' more endearing character traits, such as Greg's loyalty and Millie's persistence. Much as it pained me to admit it, she would probably end up in Hufflepuff when she went to Hogwarts. Greg and Millie would be completely satisfied with any House so long as she graduated with at least average marks, though.

"Hello Greg. Millie" I said, shaking hands with Greg and allowing Millie to kiss both of my cheeks. I smiled at Valerie. "Val."

"Hello, Uncle Draco." She said, her ever-present smile widening when I patted her head. She spoke slowly, trying very hard not to lisp as she was wont to do.

"We were just about to start picking out our desserts, if everyone would please sit down." I said, leading her and her parents to the table.

"Is that Harry Potter?" Valerie asked, pointing at the man in question. Her lisp began to show through as it always did when she got excited and/or nervous.

"Yes." Potter answered for himself, bowing to her politely (or trying to, as Byrne hindered him quite a bit). "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Goyle."

Valerie looked back at her parents, who had been previously warned about Harry's presence and nodded encouragingly at her. "My name is Valerie, but everyone calls me Val." She gave him a toothy smile, showing off the black space where her front tooth had fallen from a few days prior.

"You can call me Harry." He said. "This is my oldest son, Byrne, and that's his younger twin brother, Phoenix."

"Nix." Phoenix corrected, giving Valerie an eerily calculating look.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Valerie curtsied to Potter, and then to Phoenix.

"You, too." Phoenix said with a bow.

"Say hello to Val, Byrne." Potter said, setting Byrne down.

Byrne immediately ducked his head and tucked his hands behind his back, scuffing his shoes together. "'Lo, Val." He whispered.

"You're silly!" Valerie said, giggling as she leaned forward so as to look up into Byrne's face.

Byrne jerked backward, obviously surprised as his eyes went wide and his cheeks went red. He stared at her, frozen and not seeming to realize what he was doing.

Valerie grinned and grabbed his hand. "You want dessert?" Her lisp was completely out, now, but she didn't seem to mind in light of having found a new friend to shower with affection. She acted much the same around Theo's two-year-old niece, Gina.

Byrne looked from her hand, to her face, and then up at his father with a rather panicked expression.

"Go on." Potter said, nudging him forward.

Without waiting for Byrne to react, Valerie pulled him toward the sweets, either ignoring or not noticing the way his feet dragged a little. (I said she inherited more brains than brawn from her parents—they had a lot of brawn to be inherited, and she was still one of the strongest five year olds I knew.)

"Let's sit, then." Mother said, taking her seat again.

Phoenix sat beside her again, with Millicent and Greg next to him. Theo sat beside Potter, with Luna and Blaise beside him. The house elves had cleared dinner away while we were talking, and now the entire table had sweets on it.

"Dig in, everyone." I said, waving my hand at everyone permissively, and they did.

CHAPTER SIX: Dessert

Byrne eventually managed to escape Val's overenthusiastic attentions, clambering into my lap. He watched her suspiciously as she sat beside her father, a large piece of chocolate cake sitting in front of her (she had apparently inherited Goyle's appetite for all that she was stick thin).

"You don't want anything, Byrne?" I asked, a piece of cheesecake with strawberry toppings sitting in front of me. "I'm sure they have something you like. At least you could have a bite of my cheesecake."

Byrne shook his head. "Too sweet."

"Too sweet?" Millicent asked. "Never heard a kid say that before."

I laughed. "Byrne's not much for sweets. Are you, buddy?"

Byrne wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

"Has he ever tried dark chocolate?" Narcissa asked. "It's not nearly as sweet as most things." She waved her wand, summoning a small piece of dark chocolate and allowing it to levitate in front of Byrne. "Why don't you try a piece?"

He gave it an apprehensive look before grabbing it gingerly and, after turning it over a few times, bit off a corner. His face brightened and he awarded Narcissa with one of the few smiles of his that wasn't shy. "Thank you very much, Grandmother 'Cissa."

"You're very welcome, Byrne." She said, returning his smile.

"Told you chocolate's good!" Val yelled from her seat.

"Not yours!" Byrne retorted, and blew a raspberry at her. Then he seemed to realize that Val and I weren't the only people looking at him. He blushed and turned around in my lap, nibbling on his chocolate embarrassedly.

"He's horribly shy, isn't he?" Millicent asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, he gets that from me. He's got my temper, too, unfortunately. Unexpected, explosive, and relatively short-lived. Usually." I couldn't help but glance at Malfoy when I said this—I think we were always angry at each other, even when we hadn't been fighting recently.

Malfoy seemed to understand what I was thinking, as his lip curled up into a sneer that at one point in time would have had me muttering angrily for hours.

"And what does Nix get from you?" Luna asked.

"Just the Slytherin bits, I imagine." I shrugged. "Although I expect he got some of that from Fred and George as well."

"I always wondered why those two weren't in Slytherin." Goyle said, speaking up for the first time. "Their pranks could be pretty sneaky."

"It's because their pranks usually meant taking stupid, foolhardy risks, which a Slytherin would never do." I said.

"Much like your many little escapades." Theodore said, grinning.

"Actually, a lot of those were done out of necessity. The others were because I was, after all, Sorted into Gryffindor, where I made Gryffindor friends who influenced my behavior and overall development so that my Slytherin tendencies were suppressed whereas in Slytherin they would have thrived." I said.

"You quoting a book?" Blaise asked, amused.

"Hermione, actually, but it's probably the same thing." I admitted with a light laugh. "In the end, I think the differences between the Houses were in our heads more than anything. Honestly, there's a little of each 'House' in every person. All the Sorting does is put us in the House that will most help us succeed."

"I don't think so." Millicent said. "For example, I could never imagine your friend Weasley being in any House other than Gryffindor."

I snorted. "Ron is what one might call a 'typical Gryffindor,' but if you ever played chess against him you might see him a little differently. He's an exceptional strategist."

"Somehow, I doubt that." Malfoy said with a roll of his eyes.

"Mm." I grunted, having just taken a bite of my cheesecake. I held a hand up as I hurriedly chewed and swallowed. "Who do you think planned half of our attacks against Voldemort? And he was the one to figure out that saying Voldemort's name would get us caught. He's really much smarter than even he thinks. That's not to say he can't be an idiot, because he loses all sense of strategy when he's mad, but when he sits back and actually thinks, he's brilliant."

"He was a good Keeper." Goyle admitted hesitantly.

"Thank you." I said, inclining my head at him slightly.

"May I have another dessert, please, Grandmother 'Cissa?" Nix broke in, giving Narcissa his sweetest and most innocent expression.

Narcissa smiled. "Of course you can, dear." She said, and I only just stopped myself from rolling my eyes. Nix had her wrapped even tighter around his finger than he did Molly.

"Daddy…" Byrne hissed, poking my shoulder as Nix began surveying his options. "Daddy, you said one. One!"

"Your Grandmother Narcissa is in charge of Nix right now, and she said he could have another sweet." I said. Sometimes it was only Ginny's red hair that convinced me that Byrne wasn't Hermione's son, as much of a stickler for the rules as he could be sometimes. Usually I chalked it up to something he had inherited from wherever Percy had inherited his unusual closeness to the rules.

Byrne scowled, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth and casting his brother a concerned look. "Tummy ache, Daddy?" He asked.

"He won't get a stomachache from just that, Byrne. Promise." I said, clearing my throat to warn Nix off the all-too-large piece of cake he'd been eyeing. He gave me a huffy look and went for a smaller piece.

"No crying?"

"No crying." I said, stifling a smile.

"I won't cry." Nix insisted, narrowing his eyes at Byrne, who stuck his tongue out in reply.

Luna laughed. "Is he still hung up on that 'no crying' thing?" She asked.

"Yeah. That's how I got him to agree to come." I said. "And you know Nix goes wherever Byrne does, so that was no problem."

Luna nodded and took a bite of the odd and stomach-turning mixture of desserts she had made. I was never sure if her strange appetite was caused by her pregnancy or her natural quirks. It was probably both.

"You said Nix was a little overprotective." Theodore said.

"You'd never know it if you don't know them." I said. "I didn't even realize it until just recently, and they're my kids! That's when I started thinking of him as more of a Slytherin."

"What about Byrne? Any ideas about his future House?" Narcissa asked.

I hesitated. "Byrne is much harder to read, actually." I said after a moment's thought. "Honestly, I'm not sure. You'd think he'd be headed straight for Hufflepuff, the way he acts most of the time, but I don't think he's nearly as meek as he seems."

"I don't think he'll be a Hufflepuff." Val piped up, wiping her face with her napkin. "I think he'll be a Slytherin like I will be someday!"

I shuddered. "Two Slytherins at once? I don't know if I can handle that, Val."

"I doubt it will be that bad, Harry." Narcissa laughed.

"Of course it will." I said, waving her off. "I could hardly handle Malfoy…" I paused, blinked, and shook my head. "Draco, I mean, not you or…anyhow, I could hardly handle him back in the day. And these two," I nodded at the twins, "Will not only be Slytherins, they will be Slytherins from the same gene pool as the Weasley Twins, Ginny, and my father, who was one of the Marauders if any of you have heard of them." I sighed and allowed my head to droop. "I will probably spontaneously combust if they both turn out to be Slytherins." Another pause. "Actually, I might do that anyhow."

Luna burst out laughing again. "Oh, Harry, you'll be just fine whether or not you end up with two Slytherins. Honestly, I will never understand how someone who has faced down Voldemort could be as frightened of those two adorable little boys as you are."

"I would like to point out that you have never had to live with them." I retorted. "They're horrid little monsters, not adorable little boys."

"'M not a monster, Daddy!" Byrne said, glowering up at me.

I arched an eyebrow at him. "You aren't, eh?"

He shook his head emphatically.

"You sure do look like a monster." I said suspiciously, poking him. His eyes widened as he squeaked and jerked away. "And you move like a monster."

Poke. Squeak. Jerk.

I nodded sagely. "Yep, definitely a monster."

"Am not!" He said, giggling now.

"Oh." I said disappointedly. "Not a monster, eh? You sure?"

He nodded.

"That's too bad." I said with a sad sigh.

He watched me guardedly. "Why?"

"Well, you see, only other monsters can escape…the tickle monster!" I said, and began tickling him in earnest.

He squealed, trying to wriggle away from me but being unable to as the table was in his way. He did, however, manage to turn around in my lap and stretch his arms out towards his brother.

"Help!" He screamed. "Help, Nix, help! He's ticklin' me!"

Though the table was enough to keep Byrne in my lap, it wasn't nearly enough to keep Nix in his seat. The latter boy leapt up onto the table and crossed it, throwing himself bodily on his brother and me and sending all three of us flying backward with a rather loud crash.

"Oh, my!" I heard Narcissa gasp even as Luna, Blaise, and Val began laughing and everyone stood and watched the boys attack my sides.

"I knew it!" I exclaimed through laughter and gasps for air. "Monsters, the both of you!"

CHAPTER SEVEN: Don't Leave Me Behind

I couldn't quite believe that Potter would act so open in a room full of Slytherins (not including Luna, of course), guffawing with his children as if he hadn't a care in the world. Valerie, Luna and Blaise were still laughing, Mother hiding her mouth behind a hand while Theo smiled amusedly and the older Goyles looked just as confused as I felt.

"Gerremoffame!" Potter managed to choke out through his laughter, squirming away from the twins half-heartedly. At least, it looked half-hearted to me. I couldn't decide if it was because he was having fun, or if he was just afraid he would hurt them if he fought too much (it could have been a mixture of the two).

"Sorry, we don't speak gibberish." Blaise cackled.

Potter let out a strange sound that was a mix between a roar and a snarl, snagging both boys around the waist and sitting up as they squealed delightedly.

"Me, too!" Valerie said as he stood, the twins still held tightly in his grasp. She threw her arms around his waist, nearly sending them all back to the floor.

"Whoa, whoa!" He laughed as he struggled to keep his balance. "I've only got two arms! Hold on, the lot of you!" He set the twins down, picking Valerie up and setting her comfortably on his shoulders before he picked the twins up again with a loud groan. "I'm going to get too old for this very soon."

All three kids giggled.

"Valerie, you shouldn't impose—" Millie said as she walked around the table.

"I don't mind, Mrs. Goyle." Potter assured her with a smile. "I married into the Weasley family, remember? I'm used to being bombarded with kids. The twins have…" His eyes roved skyward as he thought. "Erm…a lot of cousins. Wait a sec, I'll get it…Ron and Hermione have Libby and Zane…George and Angie have Gred and Forge…Percy and Penelope have Paisley, Petrova, and Patrick, the poor things…Charlie adopted Teddy…and Bill and Fleur have Adele…plus there's Neville and Hannah's son Cody, and Lee and Alicia's two kids Fred and Geordie. That makes…eleven in all. Oh, and I can't forget Blaise and Luna's baby whenever he's born. That puts it at an even dozen."

"And me, Mr. Harry?" Valerie asked, leaning over his head so she could look him in the eyes.

"Only if you call me Uncle Harry." He replied. "And if your parents are alright with it."

"Mommy?" She looked at Millie.

"I…I suppose it's alright." Millie said hesitantly.

"Yay!" She threw her hands up, screeching and wrapping them around Potter's neck when the motion put her off balance.

"And on that note…" Potter put all of the kids down. "Can you three stay here and be good while I go pick some things up at the house?"

"What're you gonna get, Uncle Harry?" Val asked.

He gave her a goofy grin. "Well, Uncle Harry's kind of an idiot, kiddo—I forgot that the Zabinis and Theodore always spend Christmas here, so I left their gifts at home. And I didn't realize such a pretty young lady would be gracing our presence, as well."

"You don't have to get Val anything, Potter." Greg said.

"Nonsense, nonsense. I would never skimp out on family." Potter said. "Besides, I actually already have something in mind. So I'll be right back."

"No, Daddy!" Byrne said, attaching himself to his father's leg. "Take me, too!"

"I can't take you, silly." He said, ruffling the younger boy's hair. "I might be a wizard but there's no way for me to hold you and the presents and Floo all at the same time. It's hard enough to Apparate, and I already told you I can't do that at the Malfoy's house."

"But Daddy—"

"It's alright, Byrne!" Valerie said, grabbing his hand comfortingly. "Me an' Nix will be here!"

"But I want Daddy!" Byrne insisted, glaring up at Potter as he yanked his hand away from her roughly.

"Byrne Emilien Potter." Potter practically growled out.

Byrne sucked in a breath, eyes widening just before he plopped down on the floor. His bottom lip quivered as he looked down at his hands, which were clenched in his lap.

"Apologize and behave while I'm gone, or I swear I'll take you to Nana's and make sure you stay in your room all night and have to wait until your birthday before you get to open any gifts." Potter said, although I noticed a glint in his eyes that definitely meant he wouldn't carry the threat through (at least, not all of it).

"'M sorry, Valerie." Byrne mumbled, not looking up.

"It's okay!" Valerie said, always quick to forgive. "And you don't have to be scared! Nix and me will take care of you!"

Byrne muttered something under his breath that probably wasn't very flattering.

"You'll be fine." Potter said, his demeanor completely softening. "If nothing else, you can probably crawl into Uncle Draco's lap again."

I jerked a little, having not expected to be brought into the conversation at all, much less as 'Uncle Draco' and much, much less as Byrne's…security blanket. But Byrne was already looking at me with those wide green eyes of his, and I felt myself smile fractionally and nod before I realized exactly what I was doing.

Byrne looked down again. "Okay." He said, so quietly that even Valerie and Phoenix had to struggle to hear him.

"Sesi," The elf appeared beside me. "Take Mr. Potter to the fireplace, please."

Potter mussed Byrne's hair. "Don't worry, buddy, it'll be fine."

Byrne nodded wordlessly, not moving as his father waved at us, tweaked Valerie and Phoenix's ears, and followed Sesi out of the room.

"You wanna try to guess what our presents are?" Valerie asked, breaking the silence that had heralded Potter's exit.

"Yeah!" Phoenix said, both of them yanking Byrne off of the floor in a concerted effort. "'S okay, Grandmother 'Cissa?"

"That's fine." Mother said. "But don't peek or hurt yourselves."

"Okay!" Phoenix and Valerie chorused, Byrne looking rather desolate as they ensured that he couldn't sink back to the floor by looping their arms in his.

"C'mon, Byrne!" Phoenix said, releasing his twin long enough to grab both of the other boy's hands and begin pulling him toward the door.

Byrne looked back at me over his shoulder. "Draco?"

I wondered how, when, and why I had become the new object of his clingy attentions as I stood and picked him up. Valerie and Phoenix giggled as the latter grabbed my free hand and the former danced ahead of us into the sitting room, where a large pile of gifts already sat waiting under a gargantuan Christmas tree. I sat in the chair situated closest to the tree, and Byrne turned around in my lap, watching but never taking part in the other two children's activities or even their conversations.

I wondered if Potter realized what an impact his leaving had on his eldest son.

CHAPTER EIGHT: Damn Floo Powder!

I made a huge racket coming back through the fireplace—I had never been good with Floo Powder. It was another reason for Byrne not to come home with me.

I was immediately glad that I had been using magic to carry the presents, as they floated stoically by while I did a somersault out of the embers. I hit my head hard on the side of a chair, which had the dual effect of stopping me from rolling any further and giving me a giant goose egg.

"Daddy?"

I looked up, rubbing my head and coughing a little. My glasses had slipped off sometime during my landing, so all I could see was two jade splotches with a fuzzy red and pink outline. Behind it was a silvery halo that glowed in the firelight.

"Merlin, Potter, you trying to kill someone?" The halo moved around the pink blob, an even fuzzier outline coming into view.

"Not really." I muttered, grimacing. "Damn Floo powder."

"Daddy said a bad word!" Nix's voice giggled from beside me. I turned only to find that my glasses were being shoved in my face, Nix's distorted figure standing behind them.

I grunted incomprehensibly as I took the glasses and put them on, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment before opening them again and allowing them to readjust.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Theodore asked from his seat on a nearby couch.

"'M fine." I said, sitting up and touching my forehead, hissing and bringing my hand away almost immediately afterward. Sticky red blood sat on my finger.

"You poor thing." Luna cooed, sounding more amused than anything else. "You always have hated Flooing, haven't you?"

"Mmm." I shook my head, which was going fuzzy.

"You have a concussion, you idiot." Malfoy's suddenly far-off sounding voice said. "Cady, get me a first aid kit. Up you come, Potter."

Arms looped around my waist, jerking me up and making me groan as pain shot through my head.

"Here, sit down."

I was seated gingerly, and noted vaguely that I shouldn't be allowing my eyelids to droop like they were if I had a concussion like Malfoy said (which I probably did).

"Stay awake, Potter." Malfoy said, slapping my cheek gently.

"Hurts." I said. "'M tired."

"Yeah, and if you go to sleep you might just leave these boys of yours alone. You really want that?" Malfoy asked rather sharply.

"Uh-uh." I shook my head blearily.

"Daddy's gonna be okay?" Nix asked.

"He'll be alright."

"OW!" I yelped and jerked away as a cold, stinging liquid was applied to my cut. Before I could close my mouth, a vial was shoved into it. Fingers pinched my nose closed and I choked the nasty-tasting potion down, shuddering as it burned my throat.

"There." Malfoy said, finally coming into focus. "You should've just asked an elf to pick this stuff up for you if you're this bad at Flooing."

I laughed awkwardly. "I'm not usually this bad…I tripped over something on the way out."

"Clumsy." Malfoy snorted with a roll of his eyes. "Is your head alright, now?"

I nodded, running a hand through my ever-messy hair. "Yeah, it's fine. Thanks."

He hummed nonchalantly and straightened, handing the first aid kit to Cady the house elf, who bowed and disappeared with a sharp crack.

"Daddy's okay?" Byrne asked, appearing seemingly out of nowhere at my side.

"I'm fine, buddy." I threw an arm around him, kissing the top of his head. "You okay?"

He nodded, snuggling into my side with a relieved sigh.

"Do we get to open presents now, Uncle Harry?" Val asked excitedly as she jumped up and down.

"We sure do, Val." I replied with a laugh, then looked at Malfoy again. "How do you guys do this? Any certain order?"

"Youngest to oldest." He nodded.

"Right."

"That's me, Daddy?" Nix asked.

"I do believe it is, Nix." I said, tweaking his ear. "You know which two are your presents from me, but remember that you only get to open one of them tonight, okay? The other is for in the morning."

"Right!" Nix said, toddling over to his two gifts, which were piled with the others I had brought (I moved the presents I had just brought from home over to the same stack). He considered both packages thoughtfully, both of them being nearly the same size.

"Hurry up, Nix!" Val said impatiently.

"Which one, Daddy?" Nix asked, looking at me.

I thought for a moment. "The green one." I finally said with a decisive nod.

"Okay!" He said, grabbing the gift in question. He tore into the holly-print paper with gusto, squealing happily when he uncovered a miniature Quidditch set. "Oooh!" He dropped it and tackled me. "Thanks, Daddy!"

"You're welcome, sport." I said, ruffling his hair.

"Your turn, Byrne." Luna said amusedly.

Byrne nodded, grabbing the present wrapped in Santa-decorated paper without any pomp and circumstance. Then he plopped himself down on the floor in between Malfoy and I (I wasn't sure how we ended up on the same couch), unwrapping the present with a careful precision that not many three-year-olds had.

"Just open it!" Val said exasperatedly, giving the rest of presents a wistful look.

Byrne shot a glance at her that made me blink—I had never seen him glare at anyone before without them deserving it. As a matter of fact, I don't think I had ever seen him glare at anyone but Nix and me before then.

"Byrne." I said gently, giving him a look.

He rolled his eyes and finished opening the present, all irritation gone when he had finished. A big, goofy grin passed over his face as he pulled out a Wizard Chess set.

"Like Uncle Ronny's?" He asked, looking up at me.

I shook my head, winking at him as I tapped my nose, an old habit I'd picked up during the war from…someone or other. Those times tended to blur together for me, and I didn't try to sort them out.

"It's completely unique to you, little buddy. I'll show you after all the presents are opened, okay?" I asked.

"Okay!" He said, now glancing at the box with curious anticipation.

"My turn, my turn!" Val sang happily, surveying the presents thoughtfully before looking at me. "Where's yours, Uncle Harry?"

I laughed, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly.

"I'm sure it's not as exciting as you think." I said. "It's a muggle present…kind of…and…"

"Aww, Harry, that's so sweet!" Luna gushed, already knowing what the present would be.

"It is not…" I said, ducking my head as I summoned my gift out of the pile and handed it to Val. "I've given it to all of my oldest nieces and nephews—as you well know—and now she's my niece, too."

"I think it's adorable." Luna said.

"Sure, sure…" I mumbled blushing.

All the while, Val had been ripping into the paper covering her present, her head falling to one side as she looked at it.

"A book?" She asked, sounding almost disappointed but mostly curious.

"That was my favorite book all through childhood." I explained with a weak smile. "My cousin hated reading, so after he threw it away I dug through the trash for it and stashed it in one of the hiding places I had in my cupboard. And then, whenever I felt bad, I'd get it out and read it. So now, whenever someone new enters into my family, I give them a copy. I guess it's sort of a weird initiation thing or something."

"Oh." She said, regarding the book even as everyone else (sans the twins) regarded me. I think they were confused about my story.

"What book is it?" Theodore asked, having never been privy to this little tradition of mine before.

"The Cat in the Hat."

CHAPTER NINE: Cufflinks

I supposed it was the Gryffindor showing in him as Potter told us the history behind his gift to Valerie. It wasn't the present, though; it was the expressions that flitted across his face.

Then again, I might have been the only person to notice the way his expression went from discomfort, to embarrassment (I made a mental note to make him blush more often; that light tinge on his cheeks and the way his eyes flickered down was…endearing), to awkwardness, to a kind of painful nostalgia that made my chest hurt. And then, at last, he had grinned widely, almost as if telling us a secret about himself. Which, admittedly, it might very well have been. I didn't suppose it was every day that you told people that your favorite book was some old muggle tale you'd had to dig out of the trash.

That wasn't to say that I hadn't known Potter was mistreated as a child. Pretty much everyone did by then, since Granger published her book on child abuse (after graduation she had become the first child psychologist in the Wizarding World) a few years before. She had used Potter and You-Know-Who as her biggest examples of how abuse affects a person, though she had stressed the fact that there was just as much abuse going on in the Wizarding World as there was in the Muggle one. To back up this statement she had brought into the light the childhood of Remus Lupin, as well as several other fairly well-known wizards.

In any case, I had already known about Potter's eleven-year exile to a broom cupboard, as well as several other neglectful and hurtful things his relatives had put him through (Yes, I read the book. Shut up.).

Even so, his vague reference to it had shocked me. It was one thing to read about something like that, but entirely different to hear about it—especially seeing as I'd had as normal and loving an upbringing as any other person. And the expression on his face when he'd said it made me want to grab his hand…no, grab all of him and hug the hurt away. The feeling was so strong that I had to clench my hands and teeth to stop myself from giving into it.

By the time I broke out of my thoughts, Luna had already opened her present from Potter: a set of baby silverware that was apparently a joke between them if her glare and his grin was anything to go by.

"Your turn, Draco." Mother said.

Potter jolted.

"You're younger than me?" He asked.

"I was born on the thirty-first of August." I said with a nod.

His eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Is it really so hard to believe?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Well…I just…always thought of you as older." He said.

"Why?" Greg asked, confused (not that that was unusual).

He opened his mouth to answer, then stopped and thought for a moment. "I…don't really know." He admitted finally. "I guess it was the whole 'Prince of Slytherin' thing, maybe…"

"Daddy's silly!" Phoenix giggled.

Byrne tittered, too, even as he went to the presents, grabbed one of the ones Potter had brought, and toddled over to where I was sitting, holding it up to me.

"Open, Draco?" He asked, his eyes as wide and green as Potter's had ever been.

I blinked. "You got me something?" I asked. After what I'd read in Potter's letter, I hadn't expected to get anything from them.

But Byrne nodded vigorously, giving me the shy little smile that made me think of the first time I'd met Potter in Madam Malkin's shop, back when there had still been a chance of us being friends if I'd only been able to overcome my prejudices sooner.

"Thank you." I said, and meant it. I took the present from him gingerly, still a bit awestruck at the thought of Potter getting me a gift (even if it was really his sons giving it to me).

"Daddy helped me pick it out." Byrne informed me, shifting nervously as I opened it.

"He insisted." Potter added, not quite meeting my gaze when I looked at him. That cute blush was tinting his cheeks again.

I rolled my eyes, hoping the movement would hide my own blush as well as the teeny smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. I turned my eyes back on the gift, finally finished unwrapping the little box hidden in the brightly colored paper. I glanced at Byrne, who was watching me anxiously, then at Phoenix, who was beaming at me, and finally at Potter, who still refused to look directly at me.

"Open it!" Valerie said impatiently.

I nodded and opened the box, my eyes widening. Nestled in the velvet lining of the box was a pair of silver cufflinks. Now, that might not seem like much, but that wasn't all—the cufflinks had been masterfully crafted to look like pansies with a small snake curling around the middle. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was an adder, and that the letters 'DM' had been inscribed above it.

"Daddy told us you lost your Pansy and Adder." Byrne said, pointing at the cufflinks. "So we found them in the book and Daddy ordered them."

"Oh." I said, though my voice came out as an ungainly squeak. I took a deep breath, my eyes never leaving the gift. "…Oh."

"Lemme see!" Valerie said, climbing onto the couch beside me and peering over my shoulder at the box. "Oooh, pretty!"

Byrne put his minute hands over mine, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth.

"Draco?" His voice was so quiet I almost didn't hear him. "You like them, don't you?"

I breathed in shakily, realizing with a start that the reason he sounded so unsure was that I must have looked like I was about to cry. I certainly sounded and felt like it.

"Draco?"

I threw my arms around him and buried my head in his shoulder, sobbing bodily as he started babbling anxiously about how I had promised there would be no crying and how he was sorry and would get me something else if that would make it better. His innocent statements just made me cry harder, and finally he began bawling as well, Valerie and Phoenix trying to calm us down as everyone else just stared incredulously.

With my tear-fogged mind, it took me a while to figure out why I was crying over something so little. And then I was struck with something about the deaths of my wife and son that I had never thought about before:

I had never cried.

CHAPTER TEN: Comfort and Howlers

"No crying!" Byrne insisted as he and Malfoy did just that. "Y-you s-s-s-said no c-c-crying! No, no, n-n-nooo!"

"He hasn't cried since Adder and Pansy died." Blaise said, his voice thoughtful and enlightened at the same time. "Hell, I don't think he's cried since First Year."

I frowned sympathetically. I hadn't cried for a long time after Ginny's death. As a matter of fact, I hadn't cried about her until the day Byrne had looked at me (he was twenty months old) and said his first word, calling me 'Mama' instead of 'Dada' like Nix.

I moved across the couch and shooed Nix and Val away gently, putting a hand on Malfoy's shoulder with the intention of getting Byrne out of his grip. Instead, Malfoy all but threw himself into my chest, Byrne still cradled in his arms as he fell into me.

I stared down at him for a moment, my mouth dropping. Then memories of my breakdown came to my mind—I had cried for a good hour or so before Molly found me, having flooed over to take the boys so I could go out with Ron and Hermione for our monthly dinner. With her actions in mind, I softly told Byrne to get down. He looked up at me, still obviously upset.

"Draco's crying." He whimpered with a loud sniffle.

"I know. I'm going to calm him down." I said. "Go to Grandmother Narcissa, alright? I'm going to get him to stop."

He nodded hesitantly and somehow extricated himself from Malfoy's arms, running to Narcissa without another word.

Once he was taken care of, I wrapped my arms around Malfoy, resting my cheek on top of his head (which was surprisingly gel-free).

"It's okay." I whispered. "It's okay, Malfoy."

"He's dead!" Malfoy sobbed.

"Hush, now." I said, reaching up to stroke his hair soothingly. "It's okay, Malfoy. It's going to be okay."

"No, it's not! It will never be okay! He's dead!" Malfoy said, hitting my chest weakly with a fist. "They're both dead! Dead, dead, dead!"

I tightened my hold on him, hardly flinching when he continued to punch at my chest. "Shh…" I began rocking back and forth, wishing that I knew a lullaby to hum to him—I'd never been taught any, of course, and Molly or Hermione had always been the ones to sing them to the boys.

"My son is dead; he's dead! Adder's dead!" He said again. "Why did he die? Why did they have to die? Oh, Merlin. Ooh, God!"

"Shh. Shh." I said, rubbing his back gently.

We must have sat like that for another hour or so, with a few more outbursts from him that quickly degenerated into another bout of tears, but eventually he was able to calm down. He pulled away, immediately wiping his eyes on the billowing sleeves of his dress robes with a resounding sniff. My hand didn't leave his back.

"Better, now?" I asked kindly.

He nodded, not looking at me.

I started to say something else, but was interrupted by a loud 'THUMP!' We all immediately turned toward one of the windows, from whence the sound seemed to have originated.

"Pig!" Nix exclaimed delightedly, starting for the window.

"Phoenix, stop." Narcissa said. "We don't know if that—"

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

"No, that's definitely Pig." Luna giggled. "Only he would continue to run into a window like that after already doing it once."

THUMP!

"Or ten times." Blaise sighed.

"Who is Pig?" Val asked curiously, her head tilting to one side.

"Uncle Ron's owl." Nix said. "How come Uncle Ron's owling us?"

Byrne gave me a rather suspicious look. "You told Nana? She won't cry?"

"I…might've stretched the truth a little." I admitted with a wince.

"Oh, Harry, you did not try to get away with lying to Molly!" Luna exclaimed.

"I didn't lie, per se, I just…didn't tell the whole truth." I said.

"What exactly did you tell her?" Blaise asked.

"I told her that an old friend from Hogwarts had requested my and the boys' presence for Christmas, and since this friend had just lost someone close to him I was inclined to go." I said without meeting their gazes. "The only thing I left out was that this 'friend' was Malfoy, and you know how she gets when the Malfoys are mentioned." I wrinkled my nose thoughtfully. "How did she even find out? I didn't tell anyone!"

"That would be my fault." Luna said with a scowl. "Draco told us a while back, and I mentioned it to Hermione when we went Christmas shopping the other day. It's no wonder she looked so horrified. She must have told Molly."

"And now Molly's sent a Howler." I said with a sigh, looking over at where Pig was still running himself into the window. "This is not going to be pretty."

"You really shouldn't have lied to your mother-in-law, Harry." Narcissa said. "Not about this."

I waved her off. "Molly blows things out of proportion, and as much as I love her I can't always cater to her wishes. Honestly, she's almost as bad about you Malfoys as Voldemort was about Muggleborns."

"Harry!" Luna gasped.

"Luna, I love the Weasleys. Really, I do. You know that." I said. "But you know as well as I do that if Voldemort had been anti-Malfoy or anti-Slytherin instead of anti-muggle, they would have been some of the first to take up with him. It's a sad but true fact. The Wizarding World is far more prejudiced than it would like to believe, even if muggles were taken out of the picture. Ginny and I decided a long time ago that we were going to try to raise the boys outside of as many of those prejudices as we could, even if it meant ostracizing ourselves from the rest of our family—that is one of the reasons she worked so hard to accept your marriage to Blaise, and why I insisted on being partnered with Theodore when I first began working with the Department of Ministries."

"Harry, it really isn't as bad as all that." Theodore scolded.

"Uhuh." I looked at Narcissa. "Lady Malfoy…er, Narcissa. If Malfoy—that is, Draco—had been Sorted into Gryffindor, what would you have done? For that matter, what would your husband have done?"

"If Draco had been Sorted into Gryffindor?" She asked, a surprised expression on her face. The thought had obviously never crossed her mind. "Well, I…I don't know. No Malfoy has ever been in any other house than Slytherin."

"Alright, fine. What did your family do when Sirius was Sorted into Gryffindor?" I asked.

A light blush spread across her cheeks. "We…well, he was always a black sheep. So he was just outcast until his mother eventually disowned him." She said carefully.

"And what d'you suppose would've happened to, say…Ron if he'd been Sorted into Slytherin?" I asked, directing this question at everyone.

"I'm sure his family would have come to accept him. Eventually." Blaise said.

"What if he'd become best friends with Malfoy?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

Blaise opened his mouth to answer, then hesitated, finally just closing his mouth again, his face settling into a thoughtful look.

"Exactly." I said. "I'm not saying that they're bad people, or that they might not—at some point—have been alright with it or whatever. They may very well have; we'll never know. All I'm saying is that they are far less accepting than anyone would have you believe. You have no idea how difficult it was for Ginny to accept you and Luna getting together. She used to cringe at the very thought of being near you, even for Luna's sake. And when she finally did get into an actual conversation with you, her first comment to me afterwards was that she was surprised that a Slytherin could carry on a civil conversation without at least once trying to hex anyone." I looked at the window as yet another thump reminded me of the reason for the conversation. "But on that note, I should get that before it explodes and kills Pig."

"Harry…" Luna said, still disapproving in spite of everything.

"It's fine, it's fine." I sighed, standing and going to the window, opening it and only catching Pig (who was as hyper as always) by the grace of Merlin and what Seeker skills I had managed to retain over the past five years. Once I had wrestled the Howler away from him, the miniscule owl shot up into the air again, circling the room so fast he could've made any Snitch jealous. "You might want to cover your ears, though."

That was the only warning I gave them before I let the Howler loose.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: First-Name Basis

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" The Howler screeched with Mrs. Weasley's most infuriated voice. "What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing, taking MY grandsons to that…that…that Death Eater's house? Taking them to see a friend—how DARE you lie to me!"

We switched from looking at the Howler to looking at Potter, who had crossed his arms over his chest, his face taking on an even more blank expression than someone who had been Kissed.

"This is the most ridiculous, foolhardy thing you have EVER done in your entire life! I cannot believe you would take my poor babies to see that monster!"

Nix ran over to Byrne, who was still sitting at my feet, both of them crawling up onto the couch beside me and curling up as close to me and together as they possibly could.

"Daddy's angry." Nix said when I gave them a strange look, his voice small and completely out of character for the usually exuberant child.

"I think your grandmother's the angry one." I replied dryly.

Byrne shook his head, allowing Nix to wrap his petite arms as far around him as they could go. "Nana's angry, too, but Daddy's a lot angrier-er." His bottom lip trembled. "I don't like it when Daddy's angry."

"I think he's gonna 'splode." Nix said gravely.

"After all he did to our family before and during the war, you just waltz over there—putting yourself AND my grandbabies in danger—and don't tell us anything at all! I had to find out from Hermione! And even SHE didn't find out directly from you! Why in Merlin's name would you do that for some…some filthy Slytherin?"

"I don't think he'll explode, Nix." I said as comfortingly as I could.

Both boys gave me a rather incredulous look.

"You never seen Daddy angry before?" Nix asked.

"Of course I did. We…didn't exactly get along in school." I said.

"Then you know Daddy's gonna 'splode soon." Nix said, tightening his grip around his twin.

"Make him stop." Byrne said, eyes filling with tears. "I don't want him to yell at Nana."

"It isn't as if those PEOPLE have done anything to deserve your sympathy!" The Weasley mother's voice was still going on fiercely. "If they've suffered a few deaths in their horrid family it's more than they deserve to have to live with it! That little boy probably would have ended up just like his father and grandfather, and—"

And then, with only Potter's narrowing eyes as warning, the Howler burst into flames, its continued screeching garbled and finally extinguished by the fire.

Potter stared at the place the Howler had been in for a long moment, his expression never wavering. Then, finally, he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that." He said, his voice tight. "And I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to excuse me for a moment while I Floo my mother-in-law."

The twins cringed beside me.

"Potter, I don't think that's the best idea." I said, putting an arm around the all but trembling brothers. "You're scaring the boys."

"And me." Val squeaked, having thrown herself into her father's arms at almost the same time as the twins had climbed up beside me.

"I'm afraid I won't be very good company until I've spoken to her." He said with a forced smile, his eyes flashing in that way that made me think he would have made a very good Slytherin. It made my stomach do something strange.

"Harry, I really don't think—" Luna began.

"Good. Because I didn't ask for you to think, Luna." He snapped. "I'll be back in a minute."

Luna's bottom lip quivered as he left the room, Blaise putting a soothing arm around her shoulders.

"Don't let him 'splode at Nana." Nix said, grasping the sleeve of my robe.

"I don't think I can stop him, kiddo." I said with a bitter smile.

"Please, Draco." Byrne said, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

I sighed deeply. "Fine." I said, standing slowly in an attempt to not have the twins fall over (they had been leaning on me, remember). "I'll try.

"Thank you." Byrne whispered before burying himself in Nix's arms again.

I ran a hand through my hair, shooting a pleading glance at my mother and friends, who either shrugged (Mother, Millie, and Greg), grinned (Blaise and Theo), or didn't even look up at me (Luna, as she was still upset about Potter's outburst).

I took the direction Potter had taken, wondering how in Merlin's name he expected to find a fireplace in the Mansion on his own.

Then again, the Mansion had a fireplace in nearly every room, so maybe it wasn't that farfetched that he would be able to find one.

"—Cannot believe you would do something like that, Molly!" Potter's voice was hissing as I neared a room just a little ways down the hall from the main sitting room.

"Can't believe I would—well I can't believe you would do something like this! Where are my grandsons, Harry? I—"

"Will see them tomorrow." He finished for her sharply.

"Harry. You bring my grandsons to the Burrow this instant! How could you even think of taking them to that…that man's house!"

I cringed a little.

"What I do with my sons is my business, Molly, not yours."

She began to say something else, but he cut her off before the first syllable had even completely formed on her lips.

"And how dare you say those things when you knew—you knew —that Malfoy and his mother would hear it! Do you have any idea how upset they must be?"

"I don't care how upset those—"

"Well I do, Molly. I just…you said Malfoy deserved losing his family. His son, Molly. Adder was hardly four years old! Adder was his only child. That isn't something that anyone deserves, and I can tell you right now that I would still have come even if it had been Voldemort himself who had put that ad in the paper! And not only did he lose his son, he lost Pansy as well! It might have been an arranged marriage, but he knew her all of her life. They grew up together, and you can't just…just lose something like that. There probably wasn't any romantic love in their relationship, but there was friend and familial love."

"He's a Death Eater, Harry! A prejudiced, pureblood, Slytherin Death Eater!"

"He was a Death Eater. And he wasn't even a proper one—he took the Mark because he was a frightened little boy who wanted to please his father and save his family from whatever Voldemort was going to do to them." He said. "And as far as I'm concerned, Mrs. Weasley, the prejudiced one here is you. Mal—Draco and Narcissa have been more accommodating to the twins and I than I think you could ever be towards them were your roles reversed."

A gasp. "Harry!"

"It's true. Think about it for a moment—back when Bill was a toddler: if you had lost him and Arthur and the Malfoys had been the only people to answer your ad positively…could you have welcomed them into your home?"

"Of course not! They're hardly even human—it's a completely different matter!"

"It isn't different at all!" He said, obviously outraged by her answer for all that he had just as obviously been expecting it. "The Malfoys are just as human as anyone else. It's these damn House and pureblood prejudices that make them seem like anything different."

"No, Harry—"

"Molly, if you had seen the expression on Narcissa and Draco's faces when the boys hugged them, there would be no doubt in your mind that they are as human as you or I. Narcissa's got them calling her 'Grandmother 'Cissa,' and Draco…he cried when he opened the gift Byrne had picked out for him. You can't tell me they aren't human, Molly, because they most definitely are. There isn't a doubt in my mind."

"I don't know what they've done to you, but—"

"Is being hospitable a crime, now?" He didn't wait for her answer, instead just sighing loudly. "Merlin, I can't…I can't even stand to talk to you right now. I'll bring the boys tomorrow, but I won't stay. I really don't think I can, now."

"You don't mean that, Harry."

"Yes. Yes, I do. And the only reason I'm not refusing to let the boys go is because they would be heartbroken if they couldn't play with their cousins, and…I can't make you go through what Narcissa is going through right now when your grandsons are still alive and well." He let out a small snort. "You know, as callous as it is, at least you would have other grandchildren to dote on if one of them died."

I think the Weasley woman started to speak again, but Potter had apparently closed the connection, because all I heard was a squeak and the hiss of dying flames.

I heard him slump into a seat.

"That was a bit harsh." I said, entering the room and smirking just a little when he jumped (old habits die hard). "Don't you think?"

"That entire family is too stubborn to listen to anything less." He said tiredly, sinking back into the chair. "How much did you hear?"

"Most of it, I think." I replied nonchalantly. I thought he might apologize, but he didn't speak. "I apologize for eavesdropping."

"No you don't." He said with a sardonic smile. "You've never seriously apologized to me for anything in the entire time we've known each other, Malfoy. You might as well not make the first time over something so ridiculous."

"You think that was ridiculous?"

He shrugged. "I'd have Flooed her and said it all in front of you if I didn't know it would scare the twins. They hate it when I get upset with Molly."

"You're rather intimidating when you're upset with anyone." My smirk grew. "I would know."

He returned the expression. "You would, wouldn't you?" He mused.

"Hmm." We said nothing for a moment. "The twins sent me in here to keep you from exploding at her."

He chuckled. "Somehow, I'm not surprised."

"They have some odd…quirks. Byrne hates to see people cry…Nix leers at Val an awful lot…" I gave him a sideways look. "What is that about, anyhow?"

"The crying, or the leering?"

"…Yes?"

He laughed again. "The crying is…well." He let his head drop a little, and I suspected he was blushing as well. "Byrne's first word…he called me 'Mama.' Nix had called me 'Dada' the week before, but Byrne, bless his heart, called me 'Mama' instead. And I…I guess that's the first time it really hit me that…that Ginny was gone, y'know? Kind of like what you did back there." He nodded toward the sitting room. "And I just…Merlin, I don't even remember how long I was crying before Molly found me. I just sat there, still holding Byrne, and cried and cried and cried. I cried after Molly got there, but she at least got Byrne away from me." Sigh. "My poor baby; Byrne's always been sensitive, but I think that episode made him worse."

"Ironic that you call him your baby when he's the older twin." I said.

"They're both my babies. Even if and when I'm too old to know my own name and they're grown up and with kids and grandkids of their own they'll be my babies." He said with a smile I knew all too well—it was a smile I had seen on Pansy and felt on myself often enough when Adder had…had still been alive.

"And the leering?" I asked, trying not to let myself continue down that line of thinking.

"Oh! Right." He said. "The leering…yes. Nix is…Nix doesn't like girls. At all. I'm not entirely certain why that is, but I think it's a mix of the fan girls who throw themselves on me when we go out, the old women who do the same to the boys—not in a perverse way, though—and his girl cousins: Libby, Paisley, Petrova, and Adele. They're, ah, a little…overbearing. I could swear Petrova is actually George's daughter, and she talks the other girls into going along with her. I think they might have pulled a prank on Byrne that Nix has yet to forgive the female species of."

"He isn't going to…attack Val or anything, is he?"

He started to answer, then stopped, giving me a rather sheepish smile. "I'm not actually sure. I don't think so…shouldn't leave them alone, though. Just in case."

"He seemed alright when you made that trip back to your place."

"Yes, well, he's like that with his cousin's, too." He said. "And then all of a sudden two of them are screaming because they've been glued together by their hair, another's locked in the attic—there's a ghost up there, by the way—and the other one's gotten pushed into a lake." He looked up at me. "And the Burrow isn't anywhere near a lake."

My mouth twitched. "So…never leaving them alone together."

"That would probably be best, yes." He nodded.

We were both quiet for a moment.

"We should probably head back now." He said, standing. "Val might just go crazy wanting to open presents…and Byrne will probably convince himself that I've killed you. Or Molly."

"Neither of which I would find incredibly shocking." I replied with another smirk.

"True enough, Malfoy."

"You can call me Draco to my face, you know." I said, not looking at him as we left the room.

"Eh?"

"Draco. You know, my first name. You call me by it. Preferably not just when you're miffed with your mother-in-law."

He blinked at me, blushed, and let out a flustered laugh. "Ah…that. Yes. Draco, then. And you can call me Harry."

"Good."

"Yes."

With half-awkward, half-satisfied smiles at each other, we returned to the sitting room.

CHAPTER TWELVE: Mistletoe

"Did he 'splode, Draco?" Was Nix's first question as we reentered the sitting room.

I shot an inquiring look at Mal—Draco, who smirked at me briefly before smiling at my younger son.

"Not too badly, Nix." He said. "Although your Nana might be a bit cross with him for a while."

"Okay!" Nix said, throwing his arms around Draco's legs. "Thanks, thanks, thanks!"

Byrne nodded wordlessly in agreement, placing himself in between Draco and I so as to latch onto both our legs.

"It's your turn to open a present, Uncle Harry!" Val said, grabbing my hand and pulling all four of us (though Nix released Draco's legs and settled for his hand instead) back to the couch.

"Actually, I was going to wait until tomorrow to open mine." I said. I knew I was only going to have one or two gifts, and also knew that the boys would be upset if I didn't have anything to open Christmas morning.

"Oh, go ahead and open one, Harry." Luna said.

"Here, open ours." Blaise said, summoning my gift from them and tossing it to me.

My eyes narrowed as I caught it, not missing the mischievous glance that passed between the couple. "What is it?"

"You can't ask, Uncle Harry!" Val admonished, as if the very thought of asking was as bad a scandal as if the Minister of Magic had slept with one of his interns. "You gotta open it!"

"Alright, Val." I sighed, smiling softly at her as I sat down next to Draco, the boys sitting in our laps (Byrne in mine, Nix in Draco's). I opened mine almost as carefully as Byrne had opened his, chuckling a little at Val's impatient growl.

And once it was opened, I blinked, pulling a small sprig of mistletoe out of the box.

"…Thanks?" I said, though it was more of a question than statement.

"It's called 'First Crush Mistletoe.'" Luna explained with a demure smile. "If it's activated with your first crush in the room, it hovers over their head until you kiss them. If they aren't in the room, it projects a little picture of them. We thought it looked fun, and I've always wondered whether Cho or Ginny was your first crush."

I coughed awkwardly, feeling my cheeks heat up. "I'd, erm, best not activate it here, I think."

"Why not?" Luna scoffed.

"Because, ah, neither of them was my first crush." I explained, my blush deepening. "And…I don't really think my first crush would appreciate everyone knowing who he is…or was, rather…"

There was a pregnant pause as even the twins gaped at me.

"Your first crush was on a…boy?" Luna asked, blinking confusedly.

"Yeah, I'm gay." I said, then corrected myself. "Well, okay, so I'm technically bisexual…but mostly I'm gay."

"I'm confused. What?" Theodore asked, giving me a blank look.

"Erm…" I pursed my lips, trying to think of how to explain this. "Okay, right. When I first came to Hogwarts I got a crush on this boy. I hadn't really thought about it before, because back with my aunt and uncle I was never really allowed outside except for school, and at school everyone tended to avoid me because of Dudley, not to mention that most kids are concerned about cooties and whatnot in primary school. It took me a while to realize it was a crush, because…well, just because, and when I finally started accepting it I heard people talking about homosexual relationships and stuff. And, you know, I already stand out in the Wizarding World because of this scar and all," I touched the scar on my forehead softly before continuing, "So I didn't really want to be different in yet another way. So when I started to get a crush on Cho in fourth year I sort of…I dunno, threw myself at it in hopes of being normal, I think."

"I doubt that helped much in your 'I'm going to try to be straight' campaign." Theodore said with a wince.

I laughed a little. "No, not really."

"But what about Ginny?" Luna asked. "Did she know you were…you know?"

I nodded. "She was the first person I told."

"When?" She asked.

"Just before we started dating again after the war. I wanted to make sure she was alright with it, because I wanted her to be happy." I shrugged. "We both knew I didn't and never would love her romantically, the way she loved me, but I did love her, and I definitely didn't want to hurt her."

"Of course you didn't." She said. "But…why would you marry her if you didn't love her?"

"Because it was expected of us, I suppose." I said with a small frown. "We talked about it for a long time, and she sort of decided that she was going to marry me so that I could have some amount of stability in my life. And…I think that made her happy."

"But what if you had found someone else?" Narcissa asked suddenly. "Either of you?"

"We took that into account, too." I assured her. "We promised each other that if we found someone else we would go our separate ways. Actually…about the same time we found out she was pregnant, she met someone she thought she could fall in love with."

"Did she?" Luna asked.

I nodded. "Some new guy at work; I never met him. She was just so happy when she found out she was pregnant, she let it drop without a second thought."

"Why?" Millicent asked.

"Ginny…had problems." I said. "Down there, I mean. I don't remember the particulars, but we'd been trying for a while to have kids. We both wanted a few, and she told me straight off that she would let me have custody if we found someone else, since if I found someone it would probably be a guy, and if she found someone, she could have more. She would be allowed to visit, of course, and she always said she'd be their favorite aunt, but…" I shook my head. "Well, anyhow, she was taking all sorts of potions to try and help. I think she felt like she was letting me down, somehow, even though I told her I didn't mind. I could adopt, y'know? But she was so stubborn about it…and then when she came home and told me the news…Merlin, she was so excited." I put the box down so I could put an arm around the boys. "I'd never seen her so happy."

"And then she died." Theodore said, as blunt as ever.

I grimaced sadly. "Yeah. She did." I fought to keep myself from looking at the twins, as I often found myself doing when I spoke of Ginny's death.

"So…who's the lucky guy?" Blaise asked, always quick to recover when there was teasing to be done, and even more so when the conversation took a particularly depressing turn.

"I…think I should leave that alone." I said, trying to place the mistletoe back in the box, but it pulled against me. "What the…?"

"It's activated when you touch it." Blaise explained with a smirk.

"But that's not…why didn't you tell me?" I asked, struggling to keep my hold on it.

"So that you couldn't decide not to let us see who it was." Luna said, mirroring her husband's smug expression.

"You…that's…ah, no!" I snatched for the mistletoe when it finally wriggled away from me.

It fluttered around the room for a moment before it finally settled over its intended target.

Draco Malfoy.

I stared at the mistletoe hovering above my head, not quite able to wrap my head around the implications of its chosen position.

"…Harry?" Luna was the first to break through the stunned silence.

We all turned our gazes on the deeply flushed Boy-Who-Lived, who was rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"I told you he wouldn't appreciate everyone knowing…" He said, his voice tiny.

"I never said that." I blurted, feeling my cheeks heat up just the tiniest bit (it was probably just the heat; Malfoy's do not blush!). "I…I mean, I'm just…surprised. We've hated each other from the moment we met."

"Well…not exactly." He said hesitantly. "I don't know that I ever really hated you, per se. It's just that…" He shook his head as if to clear it. "I'm sorry, this isn't making sense. Let me start at the beginning." He was quiet for a moment, working out what he was going to say. "The first time we met in Madame Malkin's, I was…fascinated by you." He frowned. "No, that's not the right word. You just…threw me off. You were a little rude about it, but…you were the first person I'd ever met who didn't immediately regard me as trash. Before then, whenever I tried to talk to someone my age they'd usually run off because of Dudley, so…meeting someone who actually confronted me instead of the other way around was…eye-opening, maybe? Amazing? Flattering?" He laughed a little. "Something like that, I guess."

"I…see." I said, though I wasn't entirely sure that I did.

"But the crush or whatever couldn't have lasted long." Greg said. "You hated him when he offered his hand to you at the Sorting Ceremony."

He wrinkled his nose, shrugging. "I didn't hate him. I've never hated him. I think I was more disappointed than anything, to tell you the truth. I mean, I'd gone from the kid everyone avoided to the one everyone wanted to be around, and you," he looked at me before continuing, "were the only person who didn't seem to want to befriend me because I was the 'Boy-Who-Lived.'" His eyes fell. "So…when you confronted me at the Sorting Ceremony, it seemed like…you had gone from wanting to befriend me because I'm Harry to wanting to befriend me because I'm Harry Potter. It…hurt. If I ever hated you, it was right then—for that brief moment when you offered me your hand."

"And after that?" I asked softly.

"After that…you became a constant. Something…normal." He smiled almost wistfully. "Normal has never been something I have in great supply, obviously, so even though with you it was something negative I was grateful for it. You were always, always there for me, in a weird sort of way. No matter how the rest of the school felt—and even Ron and Hermione switched between liking and disliking me at times—you were always the same. Well…at least in the way you hated me you were the same." He smirked at me. "Sometimes it felt like you turned up to annoy me just to get my mind off of whatever the rest of the school was yammering on about at the time. Even when you were just playing off of the newest rumors—we would argue, maybe cast a few spells, and for a while I didn't have to worry about anything else. It was…really nice." Then his mouth formed a cheeky grin. "And you know what they say about kids picking on the person they like, right?"

We all laughed, some of us a little uncertainly.

"When did it stop?" Luna asked. "I'm assuming it stopped…right?"

"Oh, yes, it stopped after a while. It was…fifth year, I think, when it completely went away." He said, although I noticed that he wasn't completely looking at us. "It might never have gone away if Voldemort hadn't been brought back at the end of fourth year, but he was. And…there were so many things going on after that, you know? There was everything with Voldemort and Sirius, and Cho and Ginny," I wasn't sure if the expression that passed over his face was nostalgic or painful. "And then the stuff with Umbridge…" He rubbed the back of his hand, though he didn't seem to notice that he was doing it. He looked at me again. "When you joined the Inquisitorial Squad it…it almost felt like you were betraying me. I know that sounds weird because we were rivals or whatever, but…before that, everything we did to each other was personal. We never really openly used professors to hurt each other. I mean, we would set each other up for stuff, especially you with Professor Snape, but that wasn't the same. With the Inquisitorial Squad someone was using you, while before that you were using others. Does that make sense?"

I nodded—and, oddly enough, I understood perfectly. "Father made me…" I stopped, frowning and shaking my head. "No, that's not a very good excuse, is it?" I smiled bitterly. "The follies of youth, eh?"

"Something like that." He said, mirroring my expression. "After you joined up with them, I was so angry with everything that was happening…I suppose I just gave up. I tried going with Cho, but of course we all know that turned out to be a bust, so I turned to Ginny instead and…forced myself to forget." His face scrunched up. "It was…easier to do after Sirius died."

We were all quiet, then. I think we were all trying to digest everything he had said; even Harry seemed to be pondering his own words.

To think that I might have had a relationship with Potter, if I'd just broken free of my father and Voldemort's influence sooner! A strange thought, indeed, and one that had never occurred to me before.

The follies of youth…

"But you like Draco now, right Daddy?" Byrne piped up, breaking the silence.

"Yeah!" Valerie said. "Uncle Draco's real nice, now!"

"I suppose he is…" Harry said uncertainly. "But I don't think…"

"You gotta like him, Daddy." Nix said with an impish grin. "'Cuz you gotta kiss him!"

"Kiss him?" He repeated blankly.

"That's the only way the mistletoe will go away." Luna said, stifling a laugh. "And if you wait much longer it will start serenading him."

His mouth twitched, though I couldn't tell if he was suppressing a smile or a frown. "Why do I get the feeling that this isn't some paltry joke you picked up at Zonko's?"

"Because it's a very good joke we picked up from George." Blaise replied easily.

"Oh it is, is it?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at the faux plant hovering above my head.

"Mhm. So you might as well just go ahead and get it over with." Luna said.

"Kiss him, kiss him!" Nix and Valerie chanted, giggling.

"Hmm." He scowled, but finally sighed. "Fine."

My eyes widened as he turned to face me, leaning in. The children tittered, both Byrne and Nix scrambling off of the couch to get out of the way. I moved back some, but wasn't fast enough as he suddenly thrust himself forward, his surprisingly chapped lips brushing softly against my cheek.

"Not good enough!" The mistletoe above my head yelled almost angrily, its voice annoyingly familiar. "Ya, you're gonna have to try again, there, hot stuff."

Harry frowned up at it. "Definitely something of George's." He mused.

"And not so easily gotten rid of." Luna said.

"An endearing trademark of our most beloved Weasley." Blaise added.

"Mmm." Harry's lips pursed together, and he leaned forward again. This time I didn't move away, and his lips pressed at one corner of mine.

"No, still not good enough!" The mistletoe crowed. "C'mon, Potter, try again! We're getting impatient!"

As it said all of this, the words 'I'm hot for Draco Malfoy' began flashing across Harry's forehead in neon pink.

Though he couldn't read what was being broadcasted on his forehead, the expression on his face (a decidedly cute pout, I must admit) made it clear that he knew something was there.

"Give him a nice big smooch, Harry-boy!"

Harry's eyes met mine as the mistletoe continued to taunt him. One eyebrow rose a little in an unspoken question.

Maybe it was the many years of rivalry between us—years of watching each other, taking note of every little twitch no matter how insignificant, but I could practically feel the angry spark that flashed through his eyes. His infamously short temper was rearing its head again. I had been on the receiving end of that temper often enough to know that it was only by some divine grace that he hadn't already given me the kiss he was being goaded to give.

I pressed my lips together for a moment, weighing my options for a moment. Then, with far less thought than perhaps it should have taken, I returned his upraised brow with a challenging one of my own.

His movements then were frustratingly effortless. I could only gape along with everyone else as he threw one leg over mine, straddling my hips as if this was an everyday occurrence for him. His emerald orbs glanced into mine, giving me one last chance to back out, but I was already caught up in the adrenaline that seemed to overtake me whenever Harry Potter was around.

I had seen Harry at his worst—when his temper caused him to spurn even his closest friends. But even though his temper had obviously overcome him yet again, his callused hands were decidedly gentle as they grasped my face, pulling my lips closer to his own.

The only thought that was able to break through the sudden fogginess in my brain was that having a crush on Harry Potter was definitely not the worst thing that could happen to me.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Human

Alright, confession time.

Confession number one: my crush on Draco Malfoy had never gone away. I had become a master at ignoring and hiding it, but it was always picking at some corner of my mind. And just so it's known, kissing the object of my crush did absolutely nothing to help the situation.

Confession two: if Cho's kiss was 'wet' and Ginny's was 'nice,' then Draco's was…'fiery.' I had never expected such a seemingly cold person to have such unbearably hot lips, but he did. Added on to that was the way Draco felt so small beneath me—not fragile, mind you. Merlin knew Draco had never been fragile. But small—somehow I still felt as if I was somehow going to swallow him up, with both my body and my lips.

In some sort of attempt to stop myself from completely encompassing him (although he didn't seem to mind, if that nearly inaudible moan was anything to go by), I leaned forward on my knees a little. This had the added affect of bringing our groins closer together; both a good and a bad thing for reasons best left to the imagination. It also softened our kiss, which had previously been a bruising thing—the latter was more suited to our past relationship, perhaps, but the former was a bit more enjoyable.

And it was in this moment that the fireworks went off.

It wasn't the old cliché 'kiss that caused fireworks.' No—things had never been that simple for me. Fireworks actually went off.

This, of course, was compliments of George's 'First Crush Mistletoe.'

I had never had fireworks go off right beside my ear before, but rest assured that it became my dearest wish that it should never happen again.

Remember how I had been leaning up to keep from smothering Draco? I was still in that process when the fireworks started.

Which brought us to the third confession: I was a very jumpy person. Some credited that to Voldemort and the war—I had always given credit to Dudley, myself—but either way the result was…chaotic.

My legs kicked out, spring-boarding me off of Draco's lap and the couch. I landed on the floor with a resounding thump, skidding backwards until a stack of presents stopped my progress by toppling on top of my head.

"Daddy!" The twins exclaimed as the mistletoe let out one last crackling cackle and disappeared.

"Oh, Harry!" Luna gasped as gifts were lifted off of me via a few quickly-cast levitation spells.

"Yeah…I think I was too dazed for the fall to do much." I said. Truth be told, I was still a bit dazed, although some might have attributed that to the spectacular fall I had just taken.

"Are you hurted, Daddy?" Nix asked as Byrne worriedly checked me over for bumps and bruises.

"No, no, I'm fine." I said, looking at Blaise and Luna. "You might have warned me about that little detail, though."

"I swear I would have if I'd known, Harry." Luna promised.

"I wouldn't have." Blaise muttered, just barely dodging the elbow Luna tried to dig into his stomach.

"I'm so sorry, Harry." Luna said as if she had not just tried to cause her husband bodily harm. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Promise." I said with a nod. "Draco?"

Everyone turned to look at the blond in question, who was staring at me with a surprisingly blank expression on his face. He inclined his head slightly, still staring at me.

"Well…up you come." Theodore said awkwardly, grabbing one of my hands and pulling me to my feet.

Draco finally showed some emotion when I wavered on my feet a little, frowning and rising to his feet. "You didn't give yourself another concussion, did you?" He asked, his voice flat.

"No—the noise has thrown my balance off a bit, I think." I said, motioning above his head at the space where the mistletoe had been.

In spite of my answer, I heard him mutter a diagnostic spell under his breath, nodding with satisfaction at whatever results he got. I assumed they were positive, as he didn't try to force me to sit or drink anymore of his foul-tasting potions.

"So…I'm assuming the kiss was good." Blaise smirked, looking from me to Malfoy and back again.

"There were definitely fireworks." I said with a sage nod.

"That was Uncle George, Daddy!" Byrne giggled, apparently satisfied that I was alright.

"Was it really?" I asked with false shock. "I suppose Draco isn't as good a kisser as I thought, then."

"I beg your pardon!" Draco frowned at me. I figured he was on the verge of discovering what I was doing. I couldn't just kiss him again, after all. There was no longer a reason for me to do it without raising suspicions about my not-really-all-the-way-gone crush. But if he kissed me in a sudden bout of anger…

Well, that was another matter entirely.

"I said you aren't as good a kisser as I thought." I said flippantly, hoping beyond all hope that I was being more of a sly Slytherin than it felt like I was. "I mean, if my brother-in-law has to provide the fireworks…"

His eyes narrowed, but I could see a small, amused spark in the silvery orbs—he had definitely caught on to what I was up to…and apparently he wasn't as opposed to the idea as I would have thought.

His face took on a decidedly clandestine expression.

"Well, then, I suppose I'll have to kiss you again, eh, Harry?" He practically purred my name, and I think even the twins and Val began to pick up on our not-so-subtle flirting. I had to hide the shiver that ran down my spine at his words.

"That's entirely up to you." I replied with a wistful smile.

"Hmm." Then, in some cruel twist of fate, his Slytherin inclinations came out. "You'll have to wait, Potter." Fascinating how one voice could make my last name sound like an insult or an endearing sobriquet with no more than a slight change in the intonation used. "I'm not much of an exhibitionist."

I realized with a start that he was teasing me. Not making fun of me, not using my feelings or actions against me—just outright teasing me.

Draco Malfoy, my first crush and rival, was teasing me!

I decided to see how far my luck would take me.

"When's the date, then?" I asked, allowing my voice to take on husky undertones.

"There's no fun in setting dates for kisses." He said, his tone almost scolding. "I'll surprise you."

"I'll look forward to it." I said, then erased any and all acknowledgement of the conversation, turning to Blaise. "So, is it you or Theo who's the youngest, now? I always forget."

"T-Theo." Blaise said, gaping at Draco and me.

"Alright, then." I looked at Theodore. "You'd best hurry up, mate. The kids will be wanting to go to bed soon—the sooner they're asleep, the sooner Santa will come visit!"

"Santa!" Val clapped her hands together excitedly, beginning to bounce up and down on her feet.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Nix said, grabbing Theodore's hand and trying to pull him toward the presents. "We gotta go to bed on time so Santa won't give us coal!"

"You'll prob'ly get coal anyhow." Val snickered as Theodore rolled his eyes and grabbed his gift.

"I'm not gonna get coal, you are!" Nix retorted, blowing a raspberry at her. "Stupid girl!"

"You're stupid!" She said, sticking her tongue out.

"Don't call Nix stupid!" Byrne scowled.

"He called me stupid!" She said.

"That's just 'cuz you said I was gonna get coal!" Nix yelled.

"Well you both prob'ly will! 'Cuz you're stupid!" She yelled back.

"Don't call us stupid!" The twins shouted in unison.

"Oi!" I grabbed the back of the boys' shirts, lifting them up. "None of that! What did I tell you two about fighting?"

"She started it!" They said, still in synch. It was a rare occurrence, made odd to all of us after having become so used to Fred and George's antics.

"I don't care who started it. Play nice." I said firmly, looking at Val. "That means you, too, young lady. No more fighting—it's Christmas."

"You're not my daddy! I don't have to listen to you!" Val said.

"Valerie Alena Goyle!" Millicent gasped. "I did not teach you to speak that way to your elders!"

"They're being meanies!" She said.

"She's right." I said, setting the boys down. "Both of you—apologize right now."

"And then you can apologize to them and especially to Mr. Potter, Valerie." Gregory added.

"'M sorry." Nix sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not." Byrne crossed his arms over his chest, giving me a defiant glare. "She was being mean to Nix! No one's 'lowed to be mean to Nix, not ever!"

Only my son would pick then to stop being the shy and quiet twin.

"That's true, Byrne, no one should be mean to him." I said carefully. I didn't want to discourage him standing up for himself and his brother, after all. "But that doesn't mean you're allowed to be mean, either, especially not on Christmas. Apologize."

"Nuh-uh!" He shook his head vigorously. "She's gotta say sorry first!"

"Byrne…" I warned.

"No, Daddy! I'm not sayin' sorry 'til she does!"

"That's fine." Millicent said. "Valerie is the one that started the fight, after all." She gave her daughter an expectant look. "Valerie?"

"I'm sorry for being mean, Nix." Val bit her lip, looking genuinely sorry. "You too, Byrne. I didn't mean it."

Byrne relaxed a little. "Me neither." He murmured, grabbing Nix's hand.

Then Val looked up at me. "I'm sorry for being rude, Uncle Harry."

I ruffled her hair. "It's alright. It's Christmas, right? Forgiveness and all that." I frowned at the twins. "But I think the boys need to go to bed if they're going to be cranky. They're probably sleepy."

"No! I don't wanna!" Nix protested, backpedaling away from me and pulling Byrne along with him. "'M not tired!"

"Wait until everyone's opened their present!" Val said. "You can't make them go to bed 'til then, Uncle Harry, you just can't!"

"Yeah!" Nix agreed. "And we gotta give Grandmother 'Cissa her present!"

"Alright, alright." I gave in, seeing Narcissa blush prettily out of the corner of her eye—she looked even more surprised than Draco had about getting a present.

As if their earlier argument had never happened, all three kids cheered. Byrne latched onto both Draco and I, shepherding us back to the couch as Val and Nix did the same with the rest of the adults. Theodore, Blaise and the rest of my generation of adults opened their gifts with little pomp and circumstance (Theodore received a book on runes from Draco, Blaise laughingly opened a do-it-yourself gingerbread house-making kit from the twins and I (he had revealed to Nix that he had never built one before, so my youngest son had insisted we buy him one), and Gregory and Millicent received the joint present of a set of matching dress robes from Val).

"Now it's your turn, Grandmother 'Cissa!" Nix exclaimed excitedly. He toddled over to the presents, studying them for a moment before finally reaching forward and grabbing one. He returned to where she was sitting, all but shoving the six-by-two inch box at her. "'S from me and Byrne and Daddy."

"Oh…thank you, Phoenix." She said almost breathily as she took it from him, opening it so pristinely it was a bit of a shock when I realized that her hands were shaking ever so slightly with excitement, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She finally lifted the lid off of the box, her eyes widening just a bit as she picked up the golden locket that lay within it. It was oval in shape, and engraved on the front was a picture of a laurel branch twined together with a daffodil (1). "It's beautiful!"

"You like it, Grandmother?" Byrne said, leaning nervously against my leg.

"I love it, Byrne." She said.

"You gotta open it!" Nix said. "Open it, Grandmother 'Cissa!"

"There's more?" She asked even as she opened the locket. Though I couldn't see it from where I was sitting, I knew what was in it—a picture of her late husband holding a much younger Draco on the left, and on the right an eerily similar picture of Draco holding Adder. As I watched her mouth spread into a surprisingly pretty smile and her eyes fill up with bittersweet tears, I knew that what I told Molly had definitely been correct.

The Malfoys were most definitely just as human as anyone else.

(1): The laurel is one of the symbols of Apollo, the Greek god of light. Lucius means 'light' in Latin. The daffodil is also known as the narcissus plant, which is obviously where Narcissa's name comes from.

This story takes place five years after Harry's seventh year. Harry would have been seventeen then, which makes him and all of the other adults (except for Narcissa and Luna) twenty-two. He and Ginny got married right out of school, but were unable to have children for two years, when they finally had the twins and Ginny died in childbirth. That makes the twins three years old. Greg and Millie also got married straight out of school, but Millie got pregnant right after they got married, which makes Val five years old (maybe a little less than five years old, technically, but it's close enough that I'm not really going to get finicky about it. It won't really matter in this story, anyhow).

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Bedtime

"Alright, kids," Harry said as I saw Byrne yawn out of the corner of my eye. "Time for bed."

"Aww…do we have ta?" Nix whined, making a face.

"They don't really have to go to bed, Harry." I smirked at Harry when Valerie and Nix began to cheer. "Although I expect Santa will get a little angry with them for going to bed too late…"

"Hurry up and tuck us in, Daddy!" Nix said, grabbing Harry's hand and tugging at it.

"Yeah! C'mon Daddy! The sooner we go to bed, the sooner Santa will come!" Valerie agreed, mirroring Nix's movements with her own father.

"Alright, alright." Harry chuckled as he and Greg stood, him picking up Nix and Greg picking up Valerie. "Byrne, love, wake up."

"I can get him." I offered, taking Harry's smile as permission to do so. I stood up, scooping the already lightly dozing boy up in my arms. Byrne sighed contentedly and nestled his nose in the crook of my neck. I was reminded painfully of Adder, but didn't let myself dwell on it. "Val can stay in her usual room, Greg. Follow me, Harry."

Greg nodded and left toward the West Wing, where guests usually stayed. Harry, though, I led toward the East Wing—the wing usually reserved for those belonging to the Malfoy family. Mother had been the one to decide that they would stay there. Her only explanation when I had asked had been that they were pretending to be family for the night. Her expression had been so painfully nostalgic that I had been unable to press her any further.

"Hey, Draco…?" Harry ventured suddenly. We were already almost halfway to the room the boys would be staying in (which was a fair ways away from the room we had been in), and hadn't spoken until then.

"Hm?" I looked over at him.

"I really am sorry about everything Molly put in that Howler." His deep green eyes never left mine. "And everything you heard when…when I flooed her."

"Don't worry about it." I shrugged him off, shifting so that I had a better hold on Byrne. "It's not your fault. And you…you stood up for me."

"Of course I did." He smiled. "I have a saving people thing, remember?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But I never expected it to include me."

"Start expecting it." He said, his smile reflected amusingly in his eyes.

My smile wavered and I turned my gaze to straight in front of myself, feeling my cheeks heat up. "Y-yeah. Thanks."

"Mhm." He sounded pleased with himself for some reason, and we settled back into a mostly not awkward silence.

"They're good kids, you know." I surprised myself by saying. "They…thank you for bringing them."

"It was no problem." He was closer to me suddenly, our arms brushing together ever-so-gently, and I realized with a slight start that he was trying to be comforting. "Thanks for having us."

"My pleasure."

If he kept giving me these Slytherin-esque smirks, I knew I was going to—

"I know what my pleasure has been." He whispered huskily into my ear.

I nearly dropped Byrne. "Harry!" I hissed.

"Hmm?" He gave me an entirely too innocent look.

I shook my head, blushing again. "Here's the boys' room." I muttered, pushing the door open with my hip. I heard him laugh softly behind me and shot him a nasty glare.

"If I'd known how easy it was to get you flustered, I'd have done this years ago." He said as he brushed past me. "Boys, do you want to share a bed?"

"Uhuh." Nix murmured tiredly.

"Okay, here you go." He pulled back the blankets on the nearest bed, laying the nearly comatose Nix into it.

"Byrne, I'm going to set you down now." I whispered to the snoozing twin in my arms, who loosened his hold on me but didn't otherwise stir. My lips curling upward, I set him in the bed beside his brother, who immediately curled up around him. I couldn't stop the ache that formed in my chest as my mind projected an image of Adder and another blonde-haired child over them.

"Goodnight, boys." Harry's voice disrupted the picture.

"N't D'dy." They yawned in unison, snuggling closer together. "N't Dr'o."

"Goodnight." My hand moved on its own, running over their heads and caressing their cheeks.

"I love you, boys." Harry said beside me as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against both twins' foreheads.

"Mmm…" Nix sighed, too tired to say anything more. Byrne was already fast asleep, the last of his energy having been spent telling us goodnight.

Harry pulled the blankets up the rest of the way around them, patting Byrne's shoulder gently before straightening. "Let's go." He whispered, heading for the door.

"Oh!" I said just before I did the same. "Your dad's room is right next to yours, boys, and mine's across the hall if you need anything." I don't know if they heard me, though Nix made a soft noise that I took to be one of acknowledgement.

Harry motioned at me, and I followed him the rest of the way out of the room.

"That's your room, then?" He asked, pointing at the ornately decorated door across the hall.

"Yes. And there's yours." I waved a hand at the door to the left of the boys'. "Mother's is up the hall a ways."

"I didn't know that guests usually got rooms so close to their host's in upper-class society." He remarked as we started back toward the sitting room.

"They don't." I said, wishing vaguely that he hadn't asked. Why did he know how things worked in upper-class society, anyhow? "Mother wanted the twins close by since we're…borrowing them, or whatever, and I thought it best if you were near them."

"In case they get scared in the middle of the night." He nodded.

I gave him a slightly odd, slightly guilty look. "In case you didn't want Mother or me near them." I corrected. "Because…well, you know."

He winced a little. "I know." He said.

"But even without that factor I would still have put you near them for the reason you suggested." I said. "If that…if that helps."

He shrugged. "Nice to know you think so highly of me."

"It's not…I didn't mean that. I just didn't think you would think very highly of me." I said with a frown.

"It's the same thing, Draco." He said. "It's just…oh, never mind. It's Christmas, right? Forgive and forget."

"Right." I said.

Harry groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Why is it that we always end up arguing when we're together?" He asked rhetorically.

"Sexual tension?" I suggested blithely.

He jerked a little, giving me a surprised look. "I wasn't aware that I incited any such tension in you." He said, arching an eyebrow at me. Then that smirk (the entirely too Slytherin one) made another appearance. "Though I'd be happy to relieve it for you, Draco."

"God damn you." I cursed under my breath as I pushed him up against the wall roughly, jamming our lips together. "D'ya have to…say my…name like…that…?" I asked between kisses, one arm wrapping around him to press our hips together as the other took purchase on the wall above his shoulder.

"Like what…Draco?" He was using that voice—the one he used when he wanted to absolutely infuriate me. It was certainly frustrating me now, and somehow the feeling intensified as I realized irritably that he was a mite taller than me.

"Bastard." I tangled my fingers in his already messy hair, groaning when his hands pushed up beneath my shirt. He didn't answer except to press closer to me, our mouths and hands and tongues continuing a battle for dominance that had started the moment he had refused to take my hand back in first year, albeit now under very different circumstances.

"Draco…" He moaned, whimpering when I pulled away from him. If I had known he could look like this—wanton expression, blazing green eyes, too big puffy lips—I'd have begged the Hat to put me in Gryffindor, Malfoy name be damned.

I stepped back, straightening my robes and fixing him with a superior look that belied that quiver of my gut. "I do not need your brother-in-law to provide fireworks, Harry." I said.

He laughed breathily. "Definitely not."

"Daddy?"

"Ngh…" I groaned as Nix's voice broke through my dreams. I looked at the clock—3am. Only an hour after the other adults and I had finished chatting and setting out the presents for the kids.

"Daddy, Byrne's gone."

His frightened tone is what initially woke me the rest of the way up, which allowed his words to break through my previously sleep-fogged mind.

"What?" I asked, sitting straight up.

"I woke up and he was gone." Nix sniffled, rubbing his eye with a fist in an attempt to stop the tears that had gathered there from falling. "And I c-can't find him."

"Shh, it's okay." I said, scooping him up. "We'll find him, don't worry." I stood, hoping my tone didn't give away how frantic I was becoming. The twins almost always knew where their counterpart was, at least enough that if they tried hard enough they could discern a general direction and follow it until they found the other. For Nix not to know where his brother was…

"I'm s-scared, Daddy. W-where's Byrne?" Nix whimpered.

"It's alright, Nix, calm down." I said. "Let's go ask Draco, hm? If anyone will be able to find Byrne, it'll be him."

Now there was something I had never thought I would say. For all that I had blessed Molly out for it and kissed the snot out of the man (twice—and enjoyed it immensely both times, let me tell you!), there was still a small part of me that continuously spoke out against him and all other Slytherins as well.

I knocked lightly on the huge door that belonged to the Slytherin in question, but received no reply. Funny—I had always taken him for the type to sleep lightly.

I knocked a little louder this time, but still didn't hear anything. The anti-Slytherin part of my mind was going haywire, though it was drowned out by the fatherly part of me that honestly didn't care what I did or he did as long as I was able to locate my eldest son.

I pushed the door open without any further ado, and froze.

"Byrne!" Nix exclaimed, relieved, as he wriggled out of my arms and jumped onto the bed.

Byrne was being held protectively in Draco's arms, both of them sound asleep even with Nix jostling the bed like he was. But then their eyes shot open at the same time, Draco's arms tightening around my son immediately as he sat up, looking about wildly for a moment as he tried to get his bearings straight.

"Byrne I was soo scared 'cuz I woke up and I didn't know where you were and I always know where you are so I got up and went to Daddy's room 'cuz I thought you'd be there 'cuz you had a nightmare or something only you weren't in there so I woke Daddy up and—" Nix started babbling.

"Nix, calm down." I said, putting a hand on his head. "I'm sorry…I hope Byrne didn't bother you, Draco."

Draco blinked at me, still mostly sleepy but apparently satisfied that he wasn't being attacked. His arms loosened, allowing Byrne to be pulled from his embrace and into Nix's.

"It's fine." He said finally. "He apparently had a nightmare and went to the first room he came to. I didn't mind; Adder…Adder used to do it all the time."

"Oh." I winced a little. "Alright, then."

"He's welcome to stay…if he wants…?" He continued warily.

"Can I, Daddy?" Byrne asked.

"Me too, Daddy?" Nix asked.

My heart clenched.

"That's…fine." I forced out with no small amount of difficulty. They had never done this before, and I had to forcefully tamp down the jealous, selfish part of me that wanted to say no. They were my sons, after all—I had all the time in the world to be with them, and Draco had just lost his son… "I'll just…ah…goodnight, then." I turned to leave.

"No! You gotta stay, too, Daddy!" Nix latched onto my hand.

"Please?" Byrne piped up in a soft whisper.

"Erm…"

"It's alright." Draco said. "If you…want to stay."

"C'mon, Daddy!" Nix said. "Draco said you can!"

"Ah…okay." I said, not quite sure what was possessing me to say yes. I decided to blame the twins.

"Yay!" Nix tugged at my hand, and I let him pull me into the bed.

I laid down, feeling strangely nervous as the boys curled up between Draco and me.

"Goodnight, Daddy." Byrne said, kissing my cheek before cuddling up next to Draco, though he snagged one of my hands as he went. He wrapped it around him, Nix, and Draco, who looked distinctly uncomfortable as Nix did the same thing with his arm and me.

"Say g'night, Daddy." Nix said. "Or else Santa might give you coal."

"Goodnight, Nix." I said, kissing his forehead sloppily.

"Ewww! Daddy!" He whined.

"Goodnight, Byrne." I leaned over Nix, who made dramatic squelching noises as I kissed his brother's forehead. I pulled back a little, finding myself face to face with a mildly amused looking Draco, and blushed.

"Say goodnight to Draco, Daddy." Byrne scolded lightly.

"Goodnight, Draco." I said obediently, my eyes never straying from his silvery orbs.

"And give him a goodnight kiss!" Nix giggled.

"I don't think—mm." My eyes widened as Draco closed the space between us and kissed me soundly on the lips.

"Goodnight, Harry." He said, then laid back on the bed. "Goodnight, boys. Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas!" The boys said, giggling as I settled back down.

I sighed, hoping beyond all hope that the boys wouldn't wake up in another hour like their cousins did every Christmas.

"Happy Christmas, everyone."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Happy Christmas

"Daddy, Draco, wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Something heavy landed on my stomach, causing me to sit up, the breath knocked from my lungs.

"Mflgh?" I wasn't sure what I had tried to say, or if I had even been trying to say anything.

A giggle erupted from the redheaded toddler now situated in my lap.

"He sounds like Daddy." Byrne said to his brother, who was sitting on a somehow still sleeping Harry.

"But he wakes up faster!" Nix said, bouncing on Harry's stomach again. "Daddy, wake up!"

Harry's eyes shot open suddenly, his arms coming up to shield his face as he sat up slightly.

"'M s'ry!" He sputtered. It was the first time I had heard him sound truly frightened—perhaps Granger's book hadn't been quite as exaggerated as some people (including me) believed.

"Daddy's silly!" Nix let out a high-pitched laugh, shaking his head.

Harry visibly relaxed at the sound of his son's voice, one of his arms lowering to prop him up while he used the other to wipe his sleepy eyes.

"Wha'tim-izzit?" He slurred.

I grabbed my wand and cast a quick 'tempus' spell. "It's seven."

"AM?" He groaned, letting himself flop back down on the bed.

"Daddy, it's Christmas! Wake up!" Nix said.

He muttered incoherently and put his (well, my) pillow over his face.

"Potter." The twins looked at me, obviously confused by the use of their surname. "Harry, you might as well wake up. I'll bet those two are as stubborn as their uncle." I paused to reconsider the statement. "Their Uncle Ron. Dunno about the others."

"Sod off, Malfoy." His muffled voice said.

"Daddy!" Byrne said, joining his brother on Harry's stomach.

"Wake up wake up wake up!" They chanted, bouncing in time with their words—Nix hitting his stomach at the word 'wake' and Byrne hitting it at the word 'up.'

"Oof! Fine, fine! Stoppit!" Harry yelled, the pillow falling off of his face as he sat up, arms going around the boys in an effort to stop their bouncing. The boys giggled and hugged his neck.

"Happy Christmas, Daddy!" They chorused.

"Happy Christmas, boys." He replied, and then gave me a bleary smile. "Happy Christmas, Draco."

I leaned forward, trying to ignore the feeling that I was intruding on their 'family moment,' and kissed the corner of his mouth. "Happy Christmas, Harry." I ruffled the twins' hair. "Happy Christmas, Nix. Byrne."

Nix snickered. "Draco stole your Christmas kiss, Daddy."

"Christmas…kiss?" I repeated slowly.

"That's a Weasley tradition, boys, I doubt Draco knows about it." Harry said, a grin tugging at the edge of his lips as he looked at me. "Every Christmas a person has one allotted kiss. Whoever steals that kiss is the only person allowed to kiss the kissed person for the rest of the day." The grin finally won, spreading wide across his face. "I'm pretty sure they did it so they wouldn't have to kiss so many people every Christmas."

"There are a lot of them." I said carefully, afraid to overstep my bounds.

"And more every day." He laughed, then kissed me full on the lips. "There—now I'm the only person allowed to kiss you today."

I blushed a little.

"Daddy! Time for presents!" Nix said.

"Yes, yes, of course." Harry said with a light chuckle, scooping Nix up.

Byrne had attached himself to me during their short exchange, and I could have sworn I had seen Harry shoot me a jealous look as he stood. I followed his example, yawning as I did.

"Go, go, go!" Nix ordered, practically leaping out of Harry's arms as he pointed at the door.

"Don't be so impatient." I said, messing up his hair again—well, as much as it could be messed up. He had definitely inherited his father's hair, even if it was the wrong color. "Silly boy."

"I wanna see what Santa brought!" Nix huffed as we walked down the hall toward the sitting room.

"Mhm." Harry grunted, obviously too groggy to say much else.

A comfortable silence fell over us until we were just a few doors away from the sitting room. A shrill wail picked up from inside, causing us to quicken our pace, setting the twins down as we entered.

"What happened?" I asked as I saw that the crying person was Valerie.

Her parents didn't answer, but they didn't have to—I could see the pile of coal sitting on the couch in the place where we had placed her presents the night before.

"What on Earth…?" Luna asked as she, Theo, and Blaise entered the room, looking as if they had just woken up (as we all did, I suppose).

A tiny snort reached my ears, and I looked down at Nix, whose hands were over his mouth.

"Nix?" I asked.

He looked up at me with wide, innocent green eyes.

"Phoenix Adrian Potter." Harry ground out beside me.

"Y-yes, Daddy?" Nix cringed.

"What did you do to Val's presents?"

"I didn't do nothing!" He exclaimed. "Santa gave her coal 'cuz she's a rotten girl!"

"Phoenix."

"It wasn't Nix, Daddy." Byrne said quietly from my side. "It was me."

"Byrne!" Nix hissed, but received only a sharp glare from his twin in reply.

Harry looked between the two boys, arms crossed over his chest, and eyebrows furrowed into a dark expression that didn't suit his normally cheerful face.

"I did it, Daddy." Byrne kept his eyes on his feet and his arms tucked behind his back.

Harry's lips pursed together into a thin line. After a moment of glaring at them, he sighed.

"Very well. I'll take you back to your room until it's time to go to Nana's."

"But Daddy—!" Nix protested.

Harry turned his formidable gaze on his younger son. "Do you have something to add, Phoenix?"

Nix grimaced at the use of his full name, shaking his head slowly.

"Alright." He held his hand out to Byrne. "C'mon, I'll take you back. And I'll have to tell Nana that you're not allowed to open any presents. She can hold them until your birthday."

Byrne's eyes widened. "'Til my birthday?" He squeaked.

"Yes. Pranks like this are not funny, and little boys who play this sort of prank on innocent little girls don't get presents." Harry said. His jaw clenched in a way that made me think he was enjoying this even less than his sons.

Byrne's owlish green eyes filled with tears, but he nodded and took his father's hand. "Okay, Daddy."

"Apologize to Val." Harry said.

"'M sorry." He mumbled.

"It's okay." Val sniffled. "Don't make him go, Uncle Harry. If he turns 'em back—"

"No, Val. Byrne needs to learn his lesson." Harry said with an air of finality.

"Daddy, don't." Nix said, wiping his eyes furiously in an attempt to hold back his tears. "Byrne didn't do nothing wrong. I changed Val's presents, not Byrne."

"I figured as much." Harry said with a nod, visibly relaxing.

"Y-you knew?" Byrne asked.

"I'm your daddy." He scoffed. "I always know. Now, both of you can open your presents today, but since you lied neither of you are allowed to have dessert. And since you're the one that changed Val's presents, Nix, you're not allowed to play with any of your presents until after New Year's. Are we understood, boys?"

"Yes, sir." They chimed.

"Apologize to Val, Nix."

"Sorry, Val." Nix sighed.

"It's okay!" Val said, obviously as relieved as the twins (and, it seemed, Harry). "Just change them back, okay?"

Nix gave her a blank look. "I dunno how." He said with a decidedly unapologetic shrug. He was the most Gryffindor-ish Slytherin I had ever known…

Well, (I glanced at Harry) perhaps the second most.

Harry rolled his eyes as Val's expression turned panicky and pulled out his wand, waving it at the pile of coal. "Finite incantatem."

Val squealed happily as the coal turned into dolls and coloring books and a new pink dress with no frills—she was girly enough to like pink, but apparently not girly enough to like frills.

"Thanks, Uncle Harry!" She said, hugging his legs.

There were a few more relieved sighs and exchanged glances of amusement as the twins joined Val in exclaiming over the gifts Santa had left. Mother finally arrived in her silken green night robe (not quite as rich as the color of Harry's eyes, I noted with a touch of bitter humor), taking in the scene with an arched brow, but too refined to ask what had happened.

Then we began opening presents, with light banter tossed around. I hardly remember some of it—I have never been nor will I ever be a morning person. Certainly not a seven-in-the-morning person after only a few broken hours of sleep.

"Here's the last present!" Val said, grunting as she picked up a gift that was all but hidden at the back of the Christmas tree.

Greg pulled it from her hands easily, squinting at the tag.

"To Potter, from Malfoy." He said.

Harry scowled at me. "I said not to get me anything." He said.

"That would have been impolite." I replied, returning his scowl and hoping my cheeks weren't burning as bright a red as they felt.

He snorted.

"Open it, Daddy!" Nix said. "I wanna see, I wanna see!"

"Alright." He said resignedly, opening the gift hastily, as if to get it over with as quickly as possible. When he had finished, he stared at the book for a moment before a loud laugh burst from his throat.

"What is it?" Val asked.

"101 Ways to Run Off Paparazzi (Without Killing or Maiming Them)." Luna read, and giggled. "Oh, Draco, you absolute git!"

"You think I don't know that?" I asked as lightly as I could, trying to ignore the way my mind flashed back to the cufflinks Harry and his sons had given me. "You're always saying how much he hates the paparazzi."

"It's perfect!" Harry choked out through his undignified guffaws. "Most useful thing I've ever gotten! Thanks, Malfoy!"

"You're welcome." I said, not quite sure how facetious he was being.

"Daddy hates the papa-rats." Nix said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Paparazzi." I corrected automatically.

"Papa-rats-y." He agreed with a nod. "He says they're nosy, but I've never seen one that had a really big nose so I dunno what he means."

"He means they like to stick their noses where they aren't wanted." I said. "Like listening in on a conversation they aren't meant to hear."

"Oh." Nix frowned for a moment as his three-year-old brain tried to put the explanation into terms it could understand, but finally he nodded.

"Well…it's ten o'clock, boys." Harry said, standing. "Let's get ready to go to Nana's."

"We still get to go?" Byrne asked.

"Yes, of course. Why shouldn't you?" He asked.

"You got mad at Nana yesterday." Nix said.

"That doesn't mean I won't let you go visit her." Harry chuckled. "But I won't be staying for very long."

The boys wrinkled their noses, their faces pulling into identical expressions of dislike. Though they were twins, I had learned that it was a rare sight for them to look so similar.

"We'd best go as well." Luna said, allowing Blaise to help her off of the couch. "They'll be expecting us. We can take the boys if you'd like, Harry."

Harry adopted an expression so reminiscent of the one the boys were wearing it was rather eerie.

"I'm not going to run from my own mother-in-law." He said with a drawl that he had very obviously stolen from me. I stifled a snort.

Luna laughed. I figured she recognized the drawl, too. "Very well, then."

"Come along, boys." Harry said, standing. "Let's get you dressed."

"Okay." Nix let out a big sigh.

"I'll have the house elves collect your gifts." I said.

Harry nodded and left the room, Nix, Byrne and the Zabinis close behind.

"We shall have to invite them back." Mother said with as much dignity as she seemed able to muster; to anyone who knew her it was obvious that she was going to miss them dearly.

"Oh, yes, please!" Val said. "After Nix can play with his toys!"

"I'm sure we can arrange something." I assured both of them.

It took me a moment to shake the feeling that I was assuring myself, as well.

"Daddy, can Draco come with us to Nana's?" Nix asked as I helped him and Byrne pull on their clothes.

"No, I'm afraid not." I said with a slight frown. "I don't think Nana would like that very much."

"How come?" Byrne asked.

"Yeah, Draco's nice!" Nix said, flashing me an impish grin. "I like him!"

"The Weasleys and the Malfoys have never gotten along very well, boys." I explained.

"How come?" Byrne asked again.

"I…don't really know." I said. "I suppose it's because the Malfoys are a rich pureblood family and the Weasleys are a poor one. And, before Draco and his mother, the Malfoys weren't very nice to be around. There's a lot of bad blood."

"They could go to Mungie's." Nix said.

"That's St. Mungo's, Nix, and it's not that kind of bad blood. It just means they don't get along."

"But Draco is really nice." Byrne said. "And so's Grandmother 'Cissa."

"We know that, but Nana and the rest of the Weasleys…they don't. And they're scared to find out, because they've been disappointed so many other times by the Malfoys."

"That's silly." Nix said.

"Yes, it is. That's how grownups are, sometimes." I said, ruffling his hair.

"I'll never grow up." Nix swore. "Grownups are weird!"

I laughed, picking them up. "Alright, alright, let's go."

The others were already at the doorway. Narcissa and Draco looked a bit stiff for some reason; the Goyles looked awkward, though Val also seemed to want to say or do something; Theo was yawning and grumbling something about wanting to go back to sleep; and Luna and Blaise were obviously ready to go, Luna already hugging the others goodbye.

"Lemme down!" Nix said.

"Me too, me too!" Byrne said. As soon as I put them down they threw their arms around Draco's legs.

"Bye, Draco! Happy Christmas!" They exclaimed as they released him.

"You guys have to come back!" Val said, putting her arms around them and lifting them up a little (she was an insanely strong five-year-old). "Okay? You can come play at my house!"

"Okay!" Nix said, although I wasn't sure if the smile he gave her was genuine or if it just meant he was looking forward to more pranks. He had just been punished, true, but that had never deterred anyone else in our family.

"Harry, let me steal that kiss of yours before one of those witches at the Burrow gets to you." Luna said mischievously as the kids began chattering about what they were going to do when the boys went to Val's.

"Ah-ah." I put a finger on her mouth. "It's already been stolen, Mrs. Zabini. Terribly sorry."

"What?" She exclaimed.

"Draco stole it this morning, I'm afraid." I said.

She huffed indignantly, rounding on Draco. "Draco, you slimy little ferret! I've been after Harry's kiss for years! You're not allowed to steal it the one Christmas I actually get to see him before the girls at the Burrow!"

Draco held up his hands defensively. "Sorry, Luna. I didn't even know about it until after."

"Ooh, this is so unfair!" She stomped her foot, pouting.

"You can have my kiss, darling." Blaise said smoothly, putting an arm around her. "You won't even have to set any Wrackspurts after me."

She sniffled. "No Nargles, either?"

"Nope. We gave all those to Harry, remember?"

She nodded. "Alright, then. C'mere, you." She leaned up and kissed him.

"Ewww; that's gross Uncle Blaise." Nix said, making a face.

"Harry kissed Draco yesterday and you didn't have a problem with it." Blaise retorted, blowing a raspberry at him.

"That's 'cuz boys don't have cooties. Girls do." Nix said, returning the raspberry by putting his thumb on his nose and wriggling his fingers.

"You just keep thinking that, squirt." Blaise snickered. "I'll take my chances with cooties."

Nix let out a disgusted sound. "I knew grownups were crazy."

Luna smirked. "That's why they call me Looney Luna!" She said, then picked him up and smacked her lips loudly against his cheek.

"Ewww! That's nasty, Auntie Lu!" He whined, wiping his cheeks.

"Yep, and now your kiss is mine! I at least got one of the Potter boys!" She said triumphantly.

"Ugh!" Nix said, then ran over to Byrne and kissed his cheek, sighing with relief. "There. Now you're safe from girls and cooties!"

"For today." Luna said ominously.

Byrne giggled at the horrified expression on Nix's face.

"Quit scaring him, Lu." Blaise said, kissing her cheek. "Let's go."

"Alright, spoilsport." Luna said sadly. "You'll ride with us, Harry?"

"He isn't allowed to travel by floo again." Draco muttered.

I laughed. "We'll be out in a moment, Luna."

"Good. Ta, everyone!" Luna said with a wave, and allowed Blaise to lead her outside where a limo was waiting for them. Recent studies (made by Hermione, of course) showed that muggle cars were safer for pregnant women to travel in than by any magical means

"Goodbye, Harry. It was wonderful to have you and the boys here." Narcissa said. Though she sounded as cold as ever, there was something about the way she spoke (or stood, or looked, or…something) that made me think she was completely sincere. "Do come again."

"If you're willing to put up with us, we'll come back as often as you like." I said, taking her hand and kissing it as I bowed politely.

Her lips pulled back into a tiny but genuine smile. "Please do."

"Bye-bye, Grandmother 'Cissa!" Nix exclaimed, throwing his arms around her legs.

"We'll miss you." Byrne said, following his brother's example.

"I'll miss you, too, boys." She said, putting her hands on their heads. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Harry." Draco said, holding out a hand towards me.

I smirked and leaned forward, kissing him. "See you later, Draco. And do try to loosen up a bit, won't you?" I whispered in his ear. Then I turned, picked up the boys, and followed Blaise and Luna outside with a polite nod towards the Goyles and Theo.

The ride to the Weasleys was shorter than I'd have thought. The limo was spelled, obviously, and I wasn't sure why I'd thought it wouldn't be. Perhaps I was just hoping it would be a long ride, so that I wouldn't have to face the Weasleys quite so soon.

Whether I stayed or not, I would have to face the Weasleys.

It was a quiet ride, too. I think the boys were picking up on how tense I was; Blaise and Luna were too caught up in each other, the romantic sops.

When we arrived we were first seen by Teddy Lupin-Weasley, Charlie's adopted son. In true Christmas (and Weasley) style, he had changed his hair to be a gaudy green color, his eyes just as bright a shade of red.

"Uncle Blaise and Auntie Lu are here!" He yelled, running into the house.

Almost immediately there was a flood of orange (with a few specks of brown, blonde, and, of course, Teddy's green) at the door as the Weasleys poured out to greet their friends, Molly leading the charge.

And then the limo door opened and the twins and I stepped out, Blaise and Luna behind us.

The Weasleys, who had been chattering excitedly (Blaise and Luna were favorites of the kids, thanks to Luna's quirky personality and Blaise's surprisingly Weasley twin-esque attitude), went completely silent. That, for the Weasleys, is quite a feat; not just because of the size of the family, but also because they were all chatterboxes…even the babies.

"Hi, Nana!" Nix said, as bold as ever even as Byrne took his usual place hiding behind me. "Hi, everyone! We had a really fun time at Draco's! We met this weird girl named Val and she—"

He tried to keep talking through the hand I had placed over his mouth, but eventually gave up, glaring up at me.

"Hello, everyone." I said stiffly. "Have a good time, boys. And remember: no dessert. And Nix isn't allowed to play with his toys."

"Yes, sir!" Nix said with a roll of his eyes. He knew full well that he and his cousins had no need of toys in order to have fun.

"Harry…" Hermione stepped forward, ever the peacemaker.

"I'm just here to drop the boys off, Hermione." I said firmly. "Happy Christmas everyone." I let my demeanor soften as I knelt beside the boys, hugging them. "Happy Christmas, boys. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Okay, Daddy." They said, Nix loudly and Byrne mumbling.

"Harry James Potter…" Molly began, finally overcoming her shock at realizing I had been serious the night before when I had said I wasn't staying for lunch.

"Molly Prewett Weasley." I said.

"Harry, please don't." Arthur said, as much of a peacemaker as Hermione (if not more of one).

"Don't what, Arthur?" I asked. "Don't leave? You'd like me to stick around and listen to you bash my friends in front of my sons? I think not."

"Harry, it's just Malfoy! How can you stand up for him?" Ron demanded.

"As easily as I stand up for you." I said. "And his name is Draco."

"Oh, now you're calling him by his first name?" He asked. "What's he done to you? We're your friends, Harry! We were your friends first!"

"What does that even mean, Ron?" I asked. "Just because I became friends with someone later; is that supposed to mean you should come first in everything? That's bullocks, Ron, and you know it! And Draco's not done anything except be hospitable for the past day."

"What about for the past twelve years, Harry?" He asked. "You're just going to forget that?"

"Yeah. You know what? I am." I said. "I did as many rotten things to him as he did to me. If he's willing to forgive me, then I'm willing to do the same for him. Give and get, just like it's always been with us."

"Us? It's us now?" Neville asked. "Harry, you can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm joking, Neville?" I asked.

"He's a Death Eater, Harry." Molly said. "I don't want him around my grandsons."

"Yes, well, you don't always get what you want, Molly." I said. "I, in case you hadn't noticed, am their father, and I get to decide who can or cannot be around my sons. And just so you're aware, Molly, Narcissa Malfoy is the only reason you're one of the former. If I hadn't seen how completely torn up she was about never being able to see her only grandson again, you can be sure I would take my sons far away from you and never let you set eyes on them again."

"Harry!" Arthur gasped. "Surely—"

"Ginny and I agreed before the twins were born that we weren't going to raise them to be the prejudiced pigs that started the War." I said. "That means keeping them away from people who keep their prejudices intact."

"That means keeping them away from the Malfoys." Ron said.

"No, it means keeping them away from people like you." I said. "The Malfoys are trying to get past their prejudices. They're trying hard to do it. They invited me—me—into their home and were nothing but gracious to me. Not once did they make a disparaging comment about you or about muggleborns. But you…you aren't even trying, Ron. None of you are."

"We aren't prejudiced!" Hermione said. "We've never—"

"Slytherins are evil." I cut her off. "True?"

"Yes." Ron said without pause.

"So Blaise is evil, then?" I asked as Blaise flinched beside me. "Or did you forget that he's a Slytherin? You are just as prejudiced as Voldemort and his Death Eaters ever were. Maybe you haven't gone on a murder-spree just yet, but I'll bet you anything that if Voldemort had been anti-Slytherin or anti-Malfoy the Weasley family would have been one of the first ones to sign up as Death Eaters."

Ron looked like I had punched him.

"Harry…" Hermione tried again.

"I'll be back at four to pick up the twins." I said, then turned and Apparated away before anyone could try to stop me again.

"Mr. Potter is at the door, Master Malfoy." Sesi (the house elf) said with a curtsy. "Shall Sesi show him in?"

I stood from where I sat at the lunch table, the Goyles, Theo, and Mother looking as surprised as I felt.

"No, Sesi, I'll show him in." I said. She nodded and disappeared with a crack. I walked into the entrance hall, where Harry stood looking rather nervous. "Harry?"

He moved so quickly I could have sworn he Apparated to my side, kissing me roughly.

"Told you I'd see you later." He said breathily when he pulled away.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying not to gasp for air.

"You stole my kiss." He said, as if that should explain everything. I wondered if it did, but I was just too gob smacked by the kiss to put the pieces together.

"And?"

"And maybe I'd like to give you a few." He said.

"…What do you mean?" I asked, tugging at my collar.

"I think you know what I mean, Draco." He said in that voice that made me want to…never mind.

"Harry, I'm…I'm not the sort of person you should be getting involved with."

He smirked, and that was almost enough to make me break.

Then he leaned forward, putting those sinful lips of his next to my ear so he could whisper, "I think I can choose the wrong sort for myself, thanks."

My mind flashed back to our first year, as we stood waiting for the Sorting Ceremony.

Slowly, very slowly, I held out a hand.

This time, he took it.

EPILOGUE: Two Years Later

"Come on, Daddy!" Nix said impatiently as we—an entire contingent of Weasleys, Potters, and Longbottoms (the Jordans were going on a family vacation that year)—approached Malfoy Mansion. "Come on, everyone! I wanna see Draco!"

"We're coming, Nix." I said, stifling a chuckle. Nix was nearly as anxious as I was to see Draco, my boyfriend of twenty months. It had taken him two months after the Christmas to agree to date me officially—another three to get him to allow us to 'go public.'

Actually…another three to get us to go public.

Draco's gift to me two Christmases before had come in even handier than anyone had expected it to.

"We can't all walk that fast, Nix." Bill said, helping a very pregnant Fleur along the sidewalk leading up to the mansion.

Nix just sighed huffily on the doorstep, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his foot.

"Nix." Byrne scolded lightly, putting a hand on his brother's arm.

Nix wrinkled his nose, but settled down.

"Go ahead and knock on the door." I said as the last of us made it to the stairs.

Somehow—surprisingly—it had only taken two more explosive blowouts with the Weasleys to talk them into coming to the Mansion. Even more surprising: the first hadn't been another row about how 'Draco-isn't-really-evil-oh-yes-he-is-oh-no-he-is-not-etc.'

After our argument that Christmas, the Weasleys (unwilling to cut ties with me completely) had used their infamous Gryffindor persistence (read: stubbornness) to try and get over their prejudices. Hannah had met and fallen in love with Val (not literally, you sickos), who was in her class (she taught at a wizarding primary school). Val had even become pretty close friends with Teddy, who was only a few months older than her. Theo and Hermione, whose departments in the Ministry sometimes worked together, had gone out for coffee one day and talked about intellectual…things for a few hours. They got along nicely, in that creepy, overly studious way of theirs. Molly had even gone so far as to extend an invitation for tea to Narcissa, who had taken it. They were civil. Baby steps, you know.

No, the first explosion came when Draco and I had outed ourselves.

Admittedly, pulling him into a kiss during one of the Weasley dinners (they had again extended the invitation and the Malfoys had been…coerced…into coming) probably wasn't the best way to break the news to them…

…But really, Ron didn't have to punch him. I was the one who kissed Draco, not the other way around. Of course, Neville (that's right, Neville!) had given me a nice little shiner a second or two later, so I suppose it all evened out in the end.

Over the months, though, they had accustomed themselves to the idea. I had come out as bisexual to them a year or so before that whole debacle, so at least that didn't come as too much of a shock. And I have a nagging suspicion that a lot of the Weasleys already knew, or at least suspected. I know George knew—he had wired that damned (and blessed) mistletoe the Zabinis had given me, the nasty blighter.

The second fight had been about Christmas, sadly enough. This was the first time they would ever have come to the Mansion, although the Malfoys had been to the Burrow several times.

Then again, the Malfoys had been working at this whole 'acceptance' thing longer.

Baby steps.

I had to remind myself of that all the time.

"Harry." Draco said with the gentle smile that I saw more and more often on his face. "Nix, Byrne." He glanced behind me. "…Weasleys." A pause. "And Longbottoms, of course."

"Of course." I said, leaning forward and giving him a chaste kiss. "How are you, love?"

"Fine." He coughed nervously. "You?"

I cocked my head to one side, suddenly suspicious. "I'm fine…"

"Good. I hope all of you are doing well." He smiled again, this one a little tighter as he looked at the Weasleys.

"Yes, thank you." Molly said warmly.

"Come in, come in." He said, getting out of the way of the door. "Mother is in the kitchen trying out that recipe you gave her, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh, no." Nix groaned. Narcissa, much as I loved her, wasn't what you would call adept when it came to the kitchen.

"Could you possibly give her a hand?" Draco asked hesitantly.

Molly smiled, giving his hand a reassuring pat. "Of course, dear."

"Hi, everyone!" Val said as she appeared out of a room, immediately scooping Nix and Byrne up. She had gotten even stronger over the past two years, and didn't seem to be slowing down. "Hi, Nixie! Hi, Byrne!"

"Hello!" Nix choked out, he and Byrne trying to breathe.

"Valerie!" Teddy exclaimed, pushing his way to the front. This year for Christmas he had red and green striped hair, his eyes an oddly natural brown color.

"Ted!" Val set the twins down, giving her best friend a 'normal' hug. Normal for her means you're still able to breathe afterwards.

"Let's go try and guess what our presents are!" Nix suggested, the other Weasley kids wheedling their way out of the crowd.

There was an excited shout of agreement, and the stampede toward the sitting room began, nearly bowling Draco over except that I pulled him out of the way. Byrne stayed at my side, as he usually did, although now he imposed himself between Draco and me.

"Byrne!" Val reappeared. "You can't just stay out here with the grownups, silly! C'mon!"

"I don't wanna!" Byrne said, hiding himself behind my legs.

"Oh go on, Byrne." I said, pushing him out in front of myself.

"But I don't t—ooh!" Byrne screeched as Val threw him over her shoulder.

"Let's go, Byrne!" She chirped.

"Nooo! I don't wanna!" He whined, struggling mightily. "Daddy! Draco! Help!"

"Sorry, kiddo, looks like you're stuck for it." I laughed.

"Hurry up, you guys!" Nix said.

"Nix, make her put me down!" Byrne said, but the rest of the conversation was lost as they turned a corner and disappeared.

"Those kids are so cute." Hannah giggled.

"I'm just waiting to see who she'll end up with." Bill said.

"Once their hormones kick in…who knows?" I shrugged.

"My money's on Nix." Draco said.

"How much of your money?" George asked slyly. "Because I've got a few galleons that say it's Teddy that'll steal her heart."

"You're on, Wea—George." Draco said, sticking out a hand. "I'll put down ten galleons."

George took it. "I'll raise you to fifteen, Malfoy."

"And I'll raise both of you to thirty." I said. "My money's on Byrne."

"No way! Byrne took after you with more than those lovely little eyes of his." Charlie said. "I'll put a few galleons on Teddy, George."

"No, Nix is the one who inherited that particular trait." I said.

"He is not!" Draco said.

"You want to make a bet on that, too?" I asked.

"Not if the stakes are just galleons." Draco leered at me.

"They don't have to be." I replied, slipping an arm around his waist.

"Okay, we've officially entered the realm of 'too much information.'" Ron said, shuddering a little, and we all laughed.

"We promise not to be too loud." I said, fluttering my eyelashes at him.

"Yeah—Harry's back massages are heavenly." Draco said.

"I am not giving you a back massage." I said as we led the others toward the dining room.

"And why not?" Draco asked indignantly.

"Because I'm going to win the bet." I said, sticking my nose in the air confidently.

"Mhm." He rolled his eyes.

"You don't believe me?" I asked, feigning hurt.

"Merlin, you two are so sweet you are going to make me throw up." Fleur said with a giggle, her accent only showing a little.

"Jeez, I'm sorry." I said, my voice practically oozing with exaggerated concern. "Is that medicine of yours tasting a bit too strong, or…?"

"Oh, shut up!" She slapped my arm lightly, grabbing Bill's hand and leaning into him.

"Everyone, dinner's ready!" Molly said as we sat down, appearing in the doorway with a plate of food in her hands. "Kids, food!"

The herd of children rushed into the room, taking their allotted seats next to their parents. Nix set next to Narcissa's empty seat, though, and Byrne took up his now customary seat in Draco's lap at the head of the table.

"I hope everyone enjoys it." Narcissa said as she took her seat, looking slightly nervous. Since become friends with Molly she had decided to try her hand at being a housewife, for all that her husband was dead. It was driving Draco crazy, although her multiple kitchen fires and misspoken cleaning spells amused the rest of us to no end.

"I'm sure we will, Narcissa." I said, positive that Molly had been able to salvage the food. I chanced a glance at the platters the house elves were bringing in and gulped inaudibly.

Mostly positive.

"I tried to follow the instruction exactly this time." Narcissa said as we all served ourselves. "I even asked Cady to do the shopping in Ottery St. Catchpole."

"I'm sure that made all the difference." Molly laughed, halfway genuine and halfway teasing.

Draco, ever loyal to his mother, took the first bite.

"This is…actually pretty good." He said, obviously surprised.

"Well of course it is!" Molly said, waving her napkin at him. "Your mother just needed a little guidance, that's all. If she'd been raised without house elves she'd have been a natural cook."

"Thank you…Molly." Narcissa said with a cautious smile.

Molly returned it kindly. "Of course, Narcissa."

We all began to eat, pleasantly surprised and wondering (silently, of course) whether Molly had been telling the truth or done as much quick-fixing as we suspected and just didn't want to break it to Narcissa.

I, myself, decided that Molly wasn't the type to try and spare a person's feelings when it came to cooking. Even (especially?) if that person was Narcissa Malfoy.

"So…have you seen the paper today, Harry?" Draco asked as we were nearing the end of dinner. He had begun to tense up again like he always did when he got nervous, leaving me to wonder what was going on.

"I didn't have time this morning, so no." I said. He looked torn between being relieved and disappointed. "Why? Something interesting?"

"Just something I noticed in the want ads." He said flippantly.

"Oh?" I asked.

"Mm. Sesi, would you bring Harry a copy of today's paper, please?" I asked.

I frowned, narrowing my eyes at my suddenly edgy boyfriend as Sesi appeared with the paper.

"Want ads?" I asked, though it was actually more of a statement, as I flipped to the section in question.

"Yeah." He said, watching me closely as my eyes scanned the ads. "Roundabouts the middle of the page."

And then I saw it.

Is there any place where I can love a man twenty-four years old for the rest of our lives? I have a nice home and would take wonderful care of him and keep him safe and sound. I used to have a wife, but she couldn't stay, and I miss her so as the days go by. -D. Malfoy

I stared at the paper for a moment, my eyes filling with tears as the meaning of the ad came clear to me. There were a few gasps from behind me, and I looked up to see Draco kneeling in front of me, holding a small ring box. I raised a hand to my mouth.

"Harry James Potter, I…I love you. So much. And the boys, and…and even the Weasleys. I want to grab hold of you before I lose you, and make sure I never do. Will…will you do me the honor of marrying me?" He asked.

I nodded, fighting to hold back my tears but losing horribly. "Y-yes." I finally choked out. "Oh, God, yes!"

I held out my shaky left hand and let him lip the ring on, then threw myself on him, pouring everything I had into my kiss. I heard whoops and cheers going on around us, the loudest coming from the twins. Their cries, happy though they were, made me pull away.

"Is this okay with you, boys?" I asked. "We'll have to move in with him, and—"

"Oh, yes! Grandmother 'Cissa told us!" Nix exclaimed. "Can I be the ring bear?"

"Ring bearer, dear." Narcissa said with the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face.

"Can I, Daddy?" Nix asked, undeterred by the correction.

"Of course you can, Nix." I said, turning to look at my other son. "What about you, Byrne? Do you want to be in the wedding?"

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Byrne shook his head.

"Can I…can I ask for something else?" He asked hesitantly.

"Sure you can." Draco said, putting an arm around him.

"Well…" Byrne worried his bottom lip, looking down at his feet.

"Yes, Byrne?" I asked.

Byrne looked up at us hopefully. "Can I have a baby sister?"

THE END!

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