Chapter 24
While the children played outside, the parents all sat around in the tea room having light conversation.
“So,” Eleanor started as put her teacup down. “What is it like to be the parents of two children now?” Her lips were pulled back in a gentle smile. The trio returned her smile.
“It has been wonderful.” Narcissa said.
“Interesting, to say the least,” Lucius spoke from behind the rim of his teacup. His cousin tilted her head in question.
“Interesting?” She asked. Severus nodded after placing his cup on the table in front of them.
“Indeed. I am sure you both know that no one child is alike.” Both women nodded at his statement. “Harry has come from a rather...unpleasant background to say the very least. I would imagine that going from such horrid circumstances to something completely different has been difficult.”
“Is he not adjusting well?” Marjorie asked.
“He seems to be getting on well. He and Draco have gotten extremely close in such a short time. There is a trusting bond that has grown between them despite their previous relationship.”
Eleanor nodded. “I do remember you telling me of their school rivalry.”
Lucius nodded. “Yes, but now the two are being as thick as thieves. Harry tends to look up to Draco as a younger brother does.”
“And Draco has fallen into the role of protector and big brother quite well.” Narcissa added.
“That is wonderful.” Eleanor proclaimed. She reached for her tea cup and took a sip before continuing to speak. “You I must say that I was intrigued when you told me that you were bringing a new child into your home.”
“Oh?” her cousin inquired.
“Indeed. It was quite sudden, but I had been wondering how Dragon would fare with having to share his parents’ affection and attention, especially in such a short span of time.”
Lucius sighed. “I had thought about that, but it always felt like he and Harry got on well.”
“But?”
It was Narcissa who answered this time. “As of late he has been acting...rather different.”
“How so?”
“I can’t really explain it. Before he was pleasant and charming and just loved to laugh and be around Harry, but now it feels like he has become distant.”
“You said it wasn’t like that in the beginning right?”
Severus shook his head. “Not at all. In fact, when I mentioned the idea of us adopting Harry permanently he seemed absolutely thrilled. He has always wanted another sibling- more specifically a little brother.”
“When did it all change?” Marjorie asked. The trio sat and thought back to when things had shifted. Lucius looked at his partners.
“I believe it was after his friends, Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson, came for a visit.”
“Could one of them have said something to him?” Eleanor asked.
“I am not sure. He hadn’t mentioned anything, so I simply chalked it up to him having an off day and that we would come to us when he was ready.”
If he was being honest with himself, Lucius hadn’t even thought about that being a possible reason for his child’s change in behavior and for that he wanted to kick himself. His cousin leaned back leisurely with a look of contemplation on her face.
“You did say he and the Potter child used to have...less than substantial relation, is that right?”
Severus snorted. “That’s putting it lightly.” His partners nodded.
“Well given the way he seems to have taken to the child it's possible he could just be afraid to say anything. You mentioned that he has always wanted to befriend Mr. Potter, but Dragon has been an only child his entire life. He’s never had to share his parents before and in only a couple of days that has completely changed.”
Marjorie intertwined their fingers. “We experienced something like this when we first brought Ash home.”
“Really?” Narcissa asked.
“Yes” The brunette nodded. “We, of course, did everything we could to prepare Jean that he was going to be a big brother and that there would be another child that would also need our attention, but we made sure to reassure him that we would always love him.”
“Granted nothing will ever compare to living through it and although our Jean was aware that his brother was coming, I don’t think he fully understood all that having a new sibling would entail. He let us know how unimpressed he was with the baby taking away his mama and mommy.” Marjorie explained wryly. She turned her gaze towards her wife with a small smile when the woman snorted.
Severus leaned forward, “What did he do?”
“He woke up and wanted to play and then have breakfast, but we had been up all night with Ash and were beyond exhausted. Even after we explained that we would play later he wasn’t having it and threw a tantrum of exponential proportions.”
“I had never heard him scream like that.” Eleanor muttered, but they heard her all the same.
“ In addition to the screaming he ended up causing a thunderstorm here in the living room. And despite wanting the comfort his magic wouldn’t let us touch him, everytime we tried his magic would lash out which caused a few burns here and there.”
Severus and Lucius both raised their eyebrows and Narcissa’s mouth formed into an O shape when both women placed their teacups on the table to show them their fingers. Almost all of their finger pads were slightly discolored from scarring.
“Eventually we had to call my mother,” the brunette continued. “She was able to not only calm him, but she took him with her for a little while so that we could attend to Ash and heal and collect ourselves. She agreed to stay with us for a few weeks to help with the kids. She and my sister agreed to stay here at the manor and would watch Ash or help with upkeep while we spend some time with Jean, and when the other child needed mommy time we would just switch off.”
“We learned to adapt,” Eleanor added. “The elves have been a big help too, and eventually we learned how to space out our time so that we spent quality time with the boys, both together and separate.”
That all made sense to the trio, but there was one thing that they were curious about and it was Lucius who voiced it. “How did you find time for yourselves? Both then and now?”
His cousin smiled and shrugged. “We’ve always been a close knit family and quality time is always important, but the truth is when you have young children, especially multiple young children, you just have to find a way to fit it in. The elves helped a lot and Marjorie’s parents and siblings were more than willing to take the boys when we needed a break whether they came to visit or if they took the boys to their homes.”
“We just had to ask.” Her wife intruded.
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While the adults conversed inside, the four children made themselves busy running around or flying out near the garden. Harry was in the process of trying to catch one of the multicolored butterflies in the garden with Ash. The two younger siblings had taken well to each other and could be heard laughing and chatting below while their older brother flew higher up on their brooms. Currently, Draco was simply sitting on his broom watching Harry below. A small smile played upon his face, yet his heart still felt heavy. He could still hear Pansy’s words in his head and for the life of him just couldn’t seem to let it go! In fact, he was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly startled when Jean stopped closer to him.
“Sickle for your thoughts?”
Mercury-blue eyes met brown and for a moment Draco contemplated not saying anything. His parents had always told him that he could voice his feelings, but he wasn’t a Slytherin for nothing. He knew when to keep his cards close to his chest, but if he didn’t say anything he may explode. So instead of saying anything out right he asked,
“Jean, do you remember what it was like when Ash was born?”
The elder boy shook his head. “Vaguely, I was still really small when it happened and I only know what my moms told me.” This caught the little blond’s attention.
“What happened?”
“They said I caused a thunderstorm in the living room because I wanted to play, but they had been up all night with Ash.” Jeaned turned a bit on his broom to look at his cousin. “Is that what’s been bothering you? Having Harry around?”
“No!” Draco exclaimed. “N-no well yes, but not the way you think.”
“Explain it to me then.”
Draco sighed. “My friends came for a visit a couple of days ago before we came over and she said...w-well she said…” For some reason the boy couldn’t get his words out. His throat felt clogged and he found it suddenly very difficult to swallow.
“Dragon?”
“She said that it wasn’t uncommon for parents to forget about their first child when a new one comes along.”
His cousin nodded.
“What else did she say?”
“Just that, but the way she said it just made her seem so sure. As if there was just no other way to be. I told her not to talk about me or my parents like that because that would never happen, but lately it just felt like they were snipping and upset with me for nothing. When I got upset about it they would just get more angry at me.”
The elder boy made a sound that brought Draco a bit of comfort while also causing his eyes to sting. He pulled his broom as close as he could right next to the little Malfoy and reached out his arms to wrap the blond in a hug he didn’t know he needed. A sob escaped his throat before he could stop it and the tears he had been repressing for the last couple of days came rolling down like a mudslide. His fingers gripped tightly to Jean’s outer robes and the dark haired boy, in turn, gently stroked his baby soft hair.
Neither one knew how long they stayed in this position, but eventually Jean released the Malfoy heir. When he looked down he noticed that their brothers were no longer running around. In fact, the children weren’t even outside anymore, but Jean could make out his uncle Lucius’ platinum blond hair. He gently wiped away the dried tears still plastered on Draco’s cheeks although there was nothing he could do about his red rimmed eyes and slightly blotchy appearance. He knew it would bring about questions and a much needed discussion between him and his parents, but the sooner Draco could express his feelings, the better he would feel.
“We should head down,” he whispered. Jean’s heart lurched at the small whimper that left his cousin’s lips and he could just barely make out the wobble of his lower lip. “Everything will be fine, Dragon.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. Your parents love you- you know that, I know that, and they know that, but they can’t read your mind so you should tell them how you feel. You are just as much as their son as Harry is, they love you no matter what you do.”
A sigh left the young Malfoy’s lips. When he looked down and saw that Harry was no longer running around with Ashe but rather waiting for them next to his Papa. He turned his gaze to his cousin to find him also glancing down. Brown eyes met grey before the elder boy decided, “we should probably head in now.”
Draco nodded “Yeah”
The two made their descent down to Earth, then over to the shed where they kept their brooms. Lucius was standing at the door with a slight smile on his face as he watched his son try to keep up with his cousin’s strides. Jean was rather tall for a boy his age and would more than likely end up being the same height as Lucius or taller when he reached his majority. That smile faltered a bit as the two boys approached and he was able to see the slight ring of red around his child’s eyes. He looked at his nephew who only gave a disinterested shrug and continued on to the house. The Malfoy patriarch attempted to meet his son’s eyes with kindness and gentleness, but when their gazes eventually did meet his heart lurched in his chest at just how sad and down his child looked. Despite that, Lucius didn’t push. There would be a time and a place for him to sit with Draco and speak about whatever it was that was bothering him. For right now, all that he could do was offer a small ounce of comfort and security to at least partially calm his child’s fears. He did that the only way he knew how- by reaching his arms out in an invitation for a hug.
Lucius watched Draco contemplate the offer. The child’s gaze moved towards the dining room window where everyone was located back to his father and back again another 2 times. Still Lucius allowed his arms to stay open, though he contemplated putting them down and just heading back inside. However, before he could do that his child planted his face in his sternum causing the older man to let out a slight oof. Thin arms tightened around his waist and Lucius wasted no time in wrapping his own arms around his son’s shoulders. He made sure to incorporate all the possible warmth and affection he could. And although he could feel the gazes of his family watching them from inside he paid it no mind. He would not release his son until he pulled away. If he was being honest, he wasn’t sure how long they stood there but it didn’t matter since after Draco pulled away he seemed a bit lighter than he had been a few minutes ago. He even offered his father a small smile with the apples of his cheeks slightly flushed. Lucius placed his hand on his shoulder to guide him inside.
The blond male could feel his lovers’ questioning stares, but when he met their eyes the only thing he offered was a small shake of the head. He would tell them about it later and together the trio would work out a way to not only help their son, but make him feel better as well. For right now, they would all sit down and enjoy dinner and each other’s company before it was time for bed.