Custody

Tears

It was only two weeks later when Draco was followed by a very loud and complaining Harry. Teddy was sitting on Draco’s hip, sucking his thumb and watching Harry over Draco’s shoulder.

“Malfoy, seriously, this house isn’t going to work. Do you have any idea how hard it is going to be to keep everything clean? And baby proofing, Malfoy! Do you have any idea how much work it is going to take to baby proof this entire house?” He sounded so worried as he followed Draco. Draco sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Potter, can’t you just hush? I have house elves, of course. A Malfoy doesn’t clean.” He crinkled his nose. Teddy giggled and did the same, then grabbed Draco’s nose with his free hand. Harry couldn’t stop the small smile that slid onto his face, despite how worried he was.

“You’re a pompous git, Malfoy.”

“And you’re a cactus up my ass, Potter.” Draco responded cooly, before he opened the door and put Teddy down. The toddler held his hand, still sucking his thumb. “I am not going to live in a one room apartment, surrounded by muggles, and having to make my own breakfast!”

“Yeah because it is totally the end of the world to have to make yourself something to eat.”

“Suck my dick, Potter.” Draco scowled, before he picked Teddy up again. He kissed Teddy’s forehead, closing his eyes and keeping his lips there for a second before he started walking down the main hallway.

“You’re going to teach Teddy how to say swear words!” Harry cried, scurrying after him.

“Can you say fuck for me, Teddy? F-u-c-k. Fuck.”

Teddy looked up at him with innocent, green eyes, then giggled and grabbed at Draco’s hair. Harry looked completely livid at Draco but he didn’t get the chance to say anything before the Slytherin started to speak again. “There’s a kitchen, a library that goes up to the second story as well, the living room, and for some reason, I had that horrible thing installed into the house.”

“Electricity, Draco. It’s electricity.”

“Yes. That awful muggle shit is installed.” He kept gently bouncing Teddy on his hip. “The rooms are on the second floor. The nursery is right next to your room so there should be no issue about Teddy’s crying. My room is where it always is, down the hall from the nursery. I don’t recommend you go into any of the other rooms until I am certain what they are. Malfoy houses are known to be full of traps.” Harry went pale.

“Malfoy, you’re insane.”

“Thank you. Now, I’m going to go put Teddy down for a nap and you start bringing the trunks in.” He sauntered out of the room, leaving Harry staring after him.

It wasn’t until a week later when they finally had a conversation that didn’t end in an argument. This time, it ended in tears.

Draco groaned in annoyance as one of his perfectly manicured nails was chipped. He sucked the finger into his mouth, flinching in pain. Harry didn’t notice, too busy trying to unpack a box. The boxes were all either Draco’s possessions or new things to baby proof the house or Teddy’s toys.

“Malfoy, I will never understand why you insist on dressing up the way you do. The air conditioning hasn’t been installed and it’s hotter than fuck. You’re going to have a heat stroke or something.” Harry said with a sigh as he looked over to Draco who was wiping sweat off his forehead.

“Potter, I recommend that you mind your own business.” Draco was cranky and tired. His head had been aching a lot recently, weirdly in only two places , close to his temple, almost like his ears. Not to mention the pain at the base of his spine. AND the weird urges he’d been having lately.

“Don’t be a jerk, Malfoy. I’m only trying to be nice to you. Seriously, why do you have to wear long sleeves?” He put down the box that he had been carrying and turned to Draco, crossing his arms.

“Potter, I am fine.” He shrugged, then continued unpacking the box, not looking up at Harry. This topic was a sensitive one for him. He’d always loved to dress nice but…

“You look like you’re about to pass out, Malfoy! Seriously, you need to rest or something!” He opened up his suitcase (all of his belongings could fit in one  suitcase) and tossed Draco a bright red shirt. The shirt would probably be huge on Draco since he was so tiny compared to Harry. Draco caught it and even though he really wanted to wear it, he didn’t. He tossed it back to Harry.

“Thanks, but no.” He tucked a few strands of fluffy hair away from his face. “Gryffindor red would definitely not suit my skin tone.”

“Bull shit.” Harry said with a sigh. “Seriously, Draco, just take the t-shirt!”

Draco ignored him, starting to unpack the box again. He actually was getting really dizzy from being so hot in the sweater.

“What is the big deal, anyways? You can just wear your own t-shirt if you’re just so picky about wearing mine.”

Draco flinched. “I wear these for a legitimate reason, Potter. Nothing that you could possibly understand.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Malfoy? Making jokes at my intelligence when I am trying to get along with you?”

“To hide my mark, dumbass.” Draco snapped, looking to Harry who had stepped back in surprise. “You really think that I like seeing it?” He put down the book that he had just taken from the box. “I already know how much you hate me. Seeing the mark is only going to make things worse.”

Harry didn’t know what to say. His alarm grew when he saw tears in Draco’s eyes. He hadn’t seen Draco cry since sixth year when he’d walked in on him in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.

“And what about Teddy, Potter?! How could I walk around, bearing the mark of the people who his parents died fighting?”

“Malfoy, I-”

“I didn’t want to be a death eater. I didn’t ask to be born into that legacy anymore than you were born into being the savior of the fucking universe. Everyone practically worships the ground you walk on. I’m just lucky not to end up in Azkaban.” He tried to shove past Harry but the Gryffindor grabbed his arm. Wrong move. He’d accidentally grabbed the mark.

Draco yanked his arm away and bolted from the room, slamming the door behind him. Down the hall, Teddy started to wail.

As Harry went to calm down his godson, he felt increasingly more guilty about what had just happened. He’d been so busy with their old rivalry, with all the fighting between them, the drama over Teddy… he hadn’t thought about how much Draco could be going through.

He had to make it up to Draco somehow. But how?

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Hey y’all!

Sorry for the delay but I’m back for now. I just wanted to do a shoutout to my new editor! She’s seriously amazing and catch at least 95% of my errors so that we can give you the best story possible.

So, thank you to iabtgymp!

<3

-Author Friend