“As the crowd departs, the stump starts cackling and makes the charlatan confess. The stump cackles again, demanding the king never hurt a wizard again, and build a statue of Babbitty on the stump to remind him of his foolishness. The king agrees and heads back to the palace. Afterwards, a "stout old rabbit" with a wand in its teeth hops out from a hole beneath the stump and leaves the kingdom. And that’s the story of Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump.” Draco finished as he closed the book, placing it on the bedside table.
He looked at his son who squirmed in his arm, trying to snuggle further in his chest. He couldn’t hold back a smile at the cute pout and kissed his munchkin’s nose before gently making him lay down on the bed.
“Goo’ nigh’ daddy.”
“Good night, Scorp.” Draco whispered.
With a sigh, he moved his attention to the man laying his head on his leg. Draco let his fingers glide through the messy mop of hair, smiling wider at the vanishing lines on his husband’s forehead.
Draco kissed his husband’s forehead, adjusting his head on the pillow and sliding under the covers beside him with their eighteen month old son protected between them.
Even to this day, Draco found it hard to believe that he had fallen in love with Harry Potter, the boy who lived. No doubt it had taken a long time for them to start on this path but not once in his head had he imagined a life where he would be happily married to him. While Draco always teased Harry that he wore his heart up his sleeve and so was sure to fall head over heels for the charismatic Draco Malfoy, it was him falling for Harry that was a shock to him (though not so much for Harry, if you ask him).
Their relationship had seen numerous ups and downs ever since they called a truce and Draco was proud of both of them to have created a safe haven through all the storms. They had been classmates for a year after the war, friends for the next one year followed by three years of dating and knowing each other before they had decided to move in with each other at the age of 23 and tie the knot at 24. They talked and shared moments of their lives that defined them - fondest to the scariest memories. And one can only imagine Harry physically restraining Draco from marching to the Dursleys and murdering them; which, by the way, was also the reason Draco had cemented shut the cupboard under the stairs in their home.
While they helped each other overcome the traumatic events of their lives and what they were missing on, it was only after four years of their marriage that Draco realised the depth of his husband missing out on his childhood. Two years after their constant plea for adoption, they were granted permission to adopt a child which led them to welcoming their son, Scorpius Potter-Malfoy into their little world. Only a year later when Draco pulled his husband to shop for kids’ comics and novels to read to their child did he know that Harry had never read a comic in his life - neither muggle nor magical. And that was when he took a resolve to give Harry a pinch of childhood as and when he could.
That resolve led to Harry being pulled down to lie on his husband’s lap and listening to him read one of the stories from The Tales Of Beedle The Bard — quite a famous children’s book.
“Good night, Harry!” Draco whispered before closing his eyes and embracing the sleep.