The Burrow
"Teddy, please," Harry begged.
He was kneeling on the carpet in the hallway and trying to get Teddy to hold still so Harry could put on his shoes. They were supposed to have arrived at the Burrow twenty minutes ago, but Teddy had fallen asleep earlier, and now he was cranky and didn't want to go. Harry sunk his head and sighed.
Malfoy was no big help, either. He came into the hallway, looking neat and tidy and perfect, and smirked down at the mess before him. "Your godson is almost as stubborn as you," he said, and Harry stuck his tongue out at him.
"You do it, then," he grunted and got to his feet, tossing the little shoes in Malfoy's direction.
The blonde caught them and switched positions with Harry. "Hey, little man," he said in a soft voice that was only reserved for Teddy or for Harry when he was sad. Teddy sniffled a little and looked up at Draco. His currently black hair gained a few silver patches, and Malfoy threw Harry a smirk. "What do you say we put on your shoes, hm?"
That was about all the love Malfoy got from Teddy, because as soon as he had said that, the boy pulled his feet in and crossed his arms in a way that reminded Harry of Malfoy so much that he had to smile. He wondered what Remus and Tonks would say if they were watching them right now. Remus would probably laugh, and Tonks would shake her head with a smile.
"Listen, Teddy," Malfoy said, "you want to see your aunt Hermione, don't you?" Teddy nodded. "Then you have to put on shoes, please."
Nothing worked. It went like this for another few minutes - Harry and Draco both tried to get Teddy to cooperate, and Teddy simply refused to. Harry and Malfoy got to their feet and looked down at Teddy with a sigh. He looked perfectly content now that they were leaving him alone.
"I can not believe it was easier to get Burke on board than this stubborn little boy." Harry ran his hand through his hair in exasperation, then checked his watch. They were half an hour late already.
Malfoy turned to Harry, smiled, and put his fingers in Harry's hair to smooth it down. "Don't worry," he calmed Harry down, his voice still soft but in a different way. "We can either force the shoes onto his feet and have him cry all day," Malfoy suggested, making Harry pull a face, "or I can carry him until we're at the Weasley's."
So when they knocked at the door, already sweating from the immense heat this June Friday, Teddy was silver-haired and grinning happily in Malfoy's arms. Harry had to give it to him - he, too, would use every opportunity he could get to end up in Malfoy's arms. Ron's face when he opened the door was so glorious that it made Harry bite his lip to stop from laughing.
"Do come in," Ron said hesitantly, and when they stepped past him into the house, he turned his head to follow Draco and Teddy, neither of whom paid attention to him.
As soon as Hermione stepped into the room, Teddy reached out his arms, and Malfoy handed him over. She immediately started baby-talking to the boy, and his hair turned bown, and he laughed, reaching for her face.
"Malfoy, I didn't take you to be such a fan of children," Ron commented.
Malfoy shrugged. "Other people's children are messy and ugly and annoying. But Teddy is none of these things. He's adorable."
Keeping his head down to hide his smile, Harry rushed out to the garden, where Mr Weasley was standing by the grill, and Mrs Weasley was levitating three bowls of salad onto the table. When they saw him, they both greeted him with bright faces. Harry himself was beaming. This was what his life was supposed to be like: barbecues at the Burrow, Teddy, Malfoy, and no worries. Harry couldn't help but wonder how long this would last, but he decided that if it wouldn't last, he would at least make sure to have enjoyed it.
"Can I help with anything?" he asked.
"Oh, yes, dear," Mrs Weasley said and ushered him back into the house. "Could you make the lemonade, please? I have a recipe around here somewhere. Ginny was supposed to make it, but she and George will be running a bit late, I'm afraid."
"Don't worry, I can do it," Harry grinned and earned himself a kiss on the cheek.
The kitchen counter was a mess, but Harry found the recipe under another cookbook and got to work, cutting both lemons and oranges at the same time. While the knives were cutting, Harry looked for the sugar and glanced into the living room. He smiled at the sight of Teddy in Draco's lap, his hair changing colours, and Ron and Hermione applauding every time it did. After a while, Hermione came into the kitchen to see if Harry needed help with anything.
"Oh, no, thanks, Hermione," Harry declined with a smile. "I just finished." Just when Hermione was about to turn away again, Harry stopped her. "Listen, while I have you... Do you and Ron want to have dinner at my place tonight?"
They had planned to come over and spend the night so they could all get ready together tomorrow for the gala, since getting ready for an event like this was always rather stressful, especially with Teddy here. Malfoy had agreed even though he was fairly confident in his ability to get ready faster than Harry, but Harry knew better. On good days, Malfoy was done in fifteen minutes, his hair gelled back into a smooth ponytail, tied with a satin ribbon, and his clothes neat and formal. On bad days, he whined in front of the closet about not having anything to wear, and when Harry pointed out that he had more clothes than Harry had ever seen in his life, Malfoy would snap at him and send him out of the room until he would come out forty-five minutes later, looking unhappy but at least dressed.
"I think so, if that's alright with you," Hermione replied.
Together, they headed back into the living room, where Harry included Ron and Draco into the conversation as well. "Sure, that's alright by me," Malfoy said when Hermione repeated what she had answered Harry.
"Maybe have Kreacher whip up some fried chicken for us," Ron said to Harry with a grin, "then we can eat in front of the telly."
Harry grinned and nodded, making a mental note not to forget to tell his house-elf. "I'm sure Teddy would like that, too." He smiled at the little boy in Hermione's arms.
When Mrs Weasley came into the house, she was looking a bit disgruntled. "What are you doing inside? The weather is so nice, come on out. Arthur's almost done grilling the meat." But when her eyes fell on Teddy, her face lit up, and Hermione handed him to her. "Oh, look at you! You've grown so much!"
She hadn't seen Teddy even longer than Harry had, and she was always happy when he came over. The little boy, now two years old, was truly bigger than the last time she had seen him. He could almost walk on his own now, and it made Harry proud and sad at the same time to watch him grow up. He was sad when he thought of Remus and Tonks, who couldn't be there to see it themselves. They would never see his first steps, hear his first words, and they would never be there when he received his Hogwarts letter.
"Potter," Malfoy pulled Harry out of his thoughts. "Are you okay? You look funny."
Harry forced a smile, but it turned into a natural snort. "Thanks," he replied sarcastically. "Yes, I'm fine."
On their way through the living room, Draco bumped his shoulder against Harry's. "If they're coming over tonight, does that mean we can't do any dirty stuff?"
It was truly marvellous how Malfoy always managed to say something to make Harry laugh. He shook his head, and as he reached for the door to the garden, he leaned in a little and lowered his voice. "Teddy is sleeping in our room, too, so... No dirty stuff either way."
Malfoy's reaction was kept to a minimum when his breath was taken away by Harry's closeness. He licked his pale lips just a little and leaned in towards Harry, who immediately pulled back and smirked. That made Draco throw his head back, and he grunted, annoyed.
"Fine, you bloody tease," he grumbled, opening the door. "I'll find a way."
Harry only laughed and stepped outside, the sunrays immediately hitting him and warming him up. "You can try," he challenged before throwing Draco a wink and walking away.
They gathered around the large table, Ron placed the baskets of bread in the centre, and Mr Weasley's plates of grilled meat were met with happy oooh's and aah's. They had just filled their plates when George and Ginny arrived out of thin air with a crack. Mrs Weasley called them to the table, and as they sat down, they excused their tardiness and told them that the store today was too full to close up early.
"We're almost sold out of puking pastilles," George told them excitedly. "I guess with exam season coming around at Hogwarts..." He threw a look at Malfoy, who was already raising an eyebrow at him, and George grinned. "You didn't hear anything."
Malfoy raised his hands and shook his head, looking solemn. "Not at all. Do you sell antidotes, too?"
George laughed. "We don't have antidotes. The effect wears off on its own."
"I'll pay you."
Harry glared at his husband. "Malfoy! You can't just pay George to do something for you. That's not what we do."
But George held up his hand to silence Harry. "Not so hasty, Mr Potter," he said without taking his eyes off of Malfoy. "How much are we talking here, Malfoy?"
"George!" Mrs Weasley snapped. "What are you even asking?"
"This is a business interaction, mother. I would have to ask you to stay out of this."
Mrs Weasley's face was turning red, and Harry hoped she wasn't too angry. After all, his husband was the one who had started. Then again... Harry had given Fred and George his winnings of the Triwizard Tournament, so he shouldn't be mad at Malfoy for wanting to do the same. Only this time, Malfoy was expecting something in return. He was paying George for his labour, not just to support him. Even though the sum would probably be a lot higher than it needed to be. Besides, Malfoy was doing this so his students couldn't get out of writing their exams, so ultimately, he was doing this for a good reason. Harry was torn.
"How much for the materials?" Malfoy asked, shocking Harry. He hadn't expected this question. He had expected a number, but not a reasonable question like this. Malfoy really was more of a businessman than Harry had expected. Usually, he liked to throw money around as if it were nothing. After all, he had had it his entire life.
"About three galleons. Maybe four," George replied.
Harry noticed that the entire table had gone silent. No one had expected this conversation. Harry's and Ron's eyes met, and they both held back their laughs. It was nice to see George and Draco getting along.
"Alright. I'll pay you fifteen galleons. If you manage to have the antidote a week before the exams, I'll give you twenty-five," Malfoy replied.
Ron's jaw dropped, and Harry rolled his eyes. Just as he had thought. Malfoy and his mountain of money. But George, on the other hand, was keeping his cool. He reached out his hand, and when Draco shook it, a grin spread across both of their faces.
Mrs Weasley finally snapped. "Enough of this. Eat your food, both of you!"
Ron snickered a little, thoroughly enjoying not being the thorn in Mrs Weasley's eye for once. Harry shook his head a little, but he couldn't hold back a smile as he turned to his right to feed Teddy. The boy had made a bit of a mess of himself, so Harry would have to clean him up later because if there was one thing that could shake Malfoy's love to Teddy, it was filth. Teddy had a lot of teeth already, and while he was currenly half-sucking, half-biting the carrot Mrs Weasley had steamed for him, drool was dripping down his chin. Hermione to Teddy's right chuckled and handed Harry her napkin.
"Thanks," he said, then took it and looked at Teddy, who had not a care in the world. Harry pulled a little at his hand to get him to stop eating. "Look at you, Teddy," he sighed quietly. "Your nice shirt."
Harry wiped the boy's chin and took the soft carrot out of his hand, then fed him a small piece of beautifully grilled steak. Mr Weasley had made one piece of meat without any marinade or spices - only for Teddy. He seemed to enjoy it, his little face ighting up at the taste of it. Harry laughed a little and kept feeding him with a spoon, alternating between meat and carrot and pieces of soft bread.
When Teddy was done and refused to eat any more, Harry patted his black hair and said, "Good job." Happy, he turned to his own plate again, but not before catching a glimpse at Draco smiling at him. Harry pretended not to have seen him but smiled into his glass of lemonade anyway.
After lunch, they all helped clear the table, and while the utensils cleaned everything on their own, the group marched outside again. Mrs Weasley was bribing Teddy with ice cream, and Ginny had to tell her not to buy the baby's love like that. Harry was sitting under a parasol, his legs in the sun, and he was watching everyone from a little farther away. Draco came outside with two glasses of lemonade in his hand and joined Harry, handing him one glass.
Harry looked at it, and Malfoy rolled his eyes, but he was smirking when he said, "It's just lemonade."
"What are you doing?" Harry asked back instead of humouring Malfoy.
"What?" the blonde replied, confused.
"He doesn't need your charity, Malfoy," Harry snapped at him a little more harshly than he had wanted to.
Malfoy furrowed his brow. "It's not charity, Potter," he disagreed. "He's providing me with a service, and I'm paying him for that. Do you think he'd do it for free? No. And he shouldn't. I'm taking away precious time that he doesn't have, so I have to make it worthwhile." Draco shrugged and added, "Besides, he didn't seem upset about it."
Harry narrowed his eyes. "Yes, well... Okay." He knew that he had been wrong to be annoyed with Malfoy because he was right. George shouldn't have to do it for free, and no one was expecting him to. "As long as you don't think you're better than him."
Malfoy smirked. Just as Hermione and Ron were making their way across the grass to the parasol, Malfoy leaned in a little and said in a low voice, "Oh, don't you get any ideas. I'm better than him in so many ways, and I'll show you when we're alone."
Harry just so managed not to choke on his lemonade, and he put on a not-so-convincing smile when his two friends settled down next to them.
"You're not fighting, are you?" Hermione asked.
Harry frowned, but he could see where she was coming from. It wasn't as if he and Malfoy were never fighting. They were married, but they were still the same people, and sometimes it felt like they couldn't spend more than ten minutes in the same room together. It was a miracle, really, that both of them still had all of their limbs.
"No, we're not fighting," Harry smiled, then turned to look at Malfoy. "Should we be?"
The blonde immediately caught on, and in a split-second, his eyes darkened the way they did when he was either angry or aroused - in most cases, it was both. "Well, we could talk about this morning."
"No, that's not what I-" Hermione started.
Harry drew back. "I apologised," he replied, offended.
Malfoy gave him a harsh laugh. "Don't be ridiculous," he snapped. "You said what you knew you would have to say to get me to shut up."
Harry got up from his chair so hard that it swayed backwards. "How dare you accuse me of that! So you're saying you just played along?"
"Of course I did!" Malfoy got up, too. "Or would you rather have it I stayed at home? You probably would have liked that, wouldn't you? That way, you don't have to parade me around your family."
Harry gasped. Before he could say anything back, Ron got to his feet. "Stop! Both of you shut up and take this inside. Have you lost your minds? Teddy is rightthere. He doesn't have to see you like this."
It embarrassed Harry a little that they had made a spectacle in front of not only his godson but the Weasleys, too. He scanned the garden, counting everyone who was there and could have seen them. Harry grunted, then grabbed Malfoy's upper arm. "Fine. Come," he snapped.
Malfoy followed Harry reluctantly, but he clawed at Harry's fingers to get him to let go. "Damn it, Potter, you're hurting my arm!" he whined, struggling against Harry's grip all the way until they were inside the house.
Only then did Harry let go of his husband, who took hold of Harry another way. He grabbed his waist, pushing him backwards against a wall. Harry snickered a little and wrapped his arms around Malfoy's torso. Laughing, they stumbled upstairs and into the bathroom.
"Take it off," Harry begged, tugging at Malfoy's shirt.
Draco obeyed, pulling off first his own shirt, then Harry's. As they were standing apart now, Draco took a moment to look at Harry, biting his lip and drinking in the sight of him.
"Malfoy, we don't have time for this," Harry hissed, eager to continue where this had been going.
But Malfoy batted his long eyelashes as he looked into Harry's eyes, and there was a hint of a smile on his face. "Shut it," he replied, his voice deep and sensual and maddening. "Let me enjoy this while I can before we have to get back out there."
So Harry sighed, but let him do exactly that: enjoy it. Draco was more gentle then, kissing Harry's neck and jaw. He tangled his fingers in Harry's hair, making Harry take a deep breath. As soon as their lips touched again, however, they were moving faster again, like two starving men finally having found food. Malfoy shoved his hand into Harry's trousers, moving it with the little room he had, and Harry had to bite his pale shoulder to keep from moaning.
"Merlin, Potter," Malfoy whispered roughly. "I wish I could hear you."
His mind clouded with pleasure, Harry searched the sink for his wand. When he found it, his fingertips touching the familiar wood, he felt Draco's warm hand on top of his. The blonde smiled against Harry's lips without stopping the movements of his hand.
"Let me," he said, "or you'll hurt yourself."
He cast the spell in a whisper, and as soon as the incantation was spoken, Harry let out a moan that could have carried all across the grounds if it weren't for the safety of Muffliato. He opened his eyes for just a second to find his husband grinning up at him.
Even in moments like these when Harry could barely think of anything except for Malfoy's naked chest against his, Malfoy's lips sucking the skin at his collarbone to turn it blue, and Malfoy's hand stroking Harry's cock, he could still think of saying, "Stop grinning, prick." Only the effect was never as hoped: Harry's voice was shaking with pleasure, and Draco always had to grin even more.
Harry came inside his trousers, but they were around his ankles in a matter of seconds, and Harry was bent over the sink, his bare chest on the cold ceramic. Draco was gripping Harry's hips as he was guiding himself into him, stretching him. When he was inside Harry, he let out a sound so deep out of his throat that it sent a shock of lust all the way to Harry's core. Malfoy put one hand in the small of Harry's back, holding him firmly beneath him while slamming into him again and again, deeper and deeper. Harry moaned with every thrust, feeling his husband everywhere inside of him, exactly where he needed him to be.
When Malfoy came, he was digging his fingernails into Harry's hip, making him bleed and moan in both pain and satisfaction. For a moment, Draco was lying on top of Harry, his chest sweating and sticking against Harry's back. When he pulled out of Harry, they both grunted and then chuckled. Harry turned around, and as they looked at each other, they had to laugh.
"You look dreadful, Potty," Malfoy said, shaking his head.
Harry laughed and shoved his shoulder. "You don't look too good yourself," he replied.
Malfoy gasped dramatically. "How dare you? I look-" but he didn't get any farther because Harry took him by the shoulders and turned him to the mirror. There was a clear bite mark on Draco's shoulder that was turning blue, and his bun had loosened so that long strands of hair were falling into his face. His cheeks were blushed, and his lips were red, but his eyes were sparkling. They put on their shirts again and made sure that the hickey on Harry's collarbone and the bite mark on Malfoy's shoulder weren't visible. Whipping their wands, they cleaned themselves up, and when they looked neat and tidy again, the two of them left the bathroom.
"About what you said..." Harry started, but Malfoy raised his hand to stop him.
"Don't worry, Potter. I only said that so they'd believe we're fighting," he said.
Harry nervously bit his lip. "So we're okay?"
Malfoy took Harry's wrist and pulled him closer before they reached the bottom of the stairs again. "We're more than okay."