Written for: The Christmas Collection Competition on the HPFC Forum, hosted by Screaming Faeries
Prompt: #6 (word) Holiday
Pairing: fem!Harry/Draco
AN: Happy birthday Theodora Snowbird! ;)
(Also, here on out, it's Harrie, not Harry. I'll change the older chapters later.)
This drabble (?) continues the plot of chapter 15, titled Dec 15, 2018.
December 21st, 2018
Friday
'I can't wait to snog you senseless.'
His daughter's letter to his useless cousin (once removed) is all Draco can think of. His stomach churns, a pit of acid.
"The train will pull up in five minutes, apparently," Harrie tells him, and he nods, not really listening to her. His mind is still preoccupied with the fact that his daughter is secretly dating her second cousin.
Draco doesn't notice the scrawny boy coming up to them until he asks Harrie timorously, "M-m-may I have your autograph, please?"
His wife, as kind as always, takes up the boy's quill and parchment, and pens a quote about strength and resilience, before signing it with a flourish. Every month, Harrie changes her quote of choice, and that's something which makes him smile whenever he thinks about it.
And yet, all he can think about today is the illicit romance his daughter's indulging in.
It's not just that Teddy is twenty, while Lily is not yet an adult. It's also how incestuous the whole thing is. Second cousins might be allowed to get married according to the law, but it still unsettles him—they'd grown up siblings. Their grandmothers were sisters, for fuck's sake.
"Draco. Draco!" A sharp nudge to his side by his wife draws him out of his disturbing musings. "Behave."
That's when he realises that the Lupin boy has made an entrance, possibly timing his arrival to match that of the train's, so that he can avoid interacting with them. The engine sounds a final horn as it pulls in, and the platform is abuzz with chatter.
"Harrie, Draco," he greets respectfully, bowing his head a little. His hair isn't its usual blue; it's the mousy brown it's been for the last few days.
Harrie briefly hugs her godson. Draco wants to hex the boy.
Draco's mind is drawn back to the argument he had with his wife just a couple of days back—she'd claimed he was being too harsh on their godson; that they were the only family he had; and that the blame was equally Lily's and Teddy's, not just Teddy's.
Draco can't quite recall the last time they'd had an argument as terrible as that. Maybe right before they found out she was pregnant the first time?
Draco tunes back into the conversation just in time to hear Harrie warn Teddy quietly, "Don't tell her that we know. We want to have an open conversation, and we wish to treat you both as mature individuals, capable of rational thinking. You'll wait till we broach the topic?"
"Of course!" the boy says vehemently. "I haven't written to her since the letter thing, just like you asked. I only sent an automated quill reply that I was out on a mission; that I'll reply when I'm back. I swear to Merlin, I haven't told her yet. It's killing me to not tell her the truth."
Draco glares at the boy menacingly.
~o~
"Mum! Dad!"
Albus barrels into them, throwing his arms around both them both. It's evident that he's glad that it's the holidays. Draco pats his son lightly on the back, a small smile on his face. His father would never have approved of such public displays of affection.
"Hi there, champ," Harrie says, ruffling their youngest son's hair. It's black just like hers. When Albus hugs Teddy, the latter's hair turns its usual turquoise blue.
"Where's your luggage?" Draco asks, just as his oldest, Scorpius, makes his way with three large trunks.
"You idiot, you left your trunk in the train."
"Sorry!" Albus says cheerfully, not looking sorry in the least.
"Scorpius!" Harrie exclaims, before hugging him. Score starts wriggling the second his mum's bony arms make contact with him.
"You're embarrassing me, stop it!" he protests, but nevertheless, he lets his mother hug him anyway. Draco pats him on the back once he's let go. Albus strikes up a conversation with Teddy about how his Quidditch tryouts went.
A few minutes later, James swaggers to the place where they're all stood, his trunk levitating behind him.
As a greeting, Draco wandlessly makes the trunk fall to the ground. "No magic outside school."
"No magic outside school," James mimics in a childish voice, now dragging the trunk manually. He doesn't say anything beyond that, though. Draco knows his son knows that they're all lucky—Harrie and Draco allow their kids to do magic at home, unlike other parents.
James receives the same treatment from them as Scorpius and Albus — a hug from Harrie and a pat on the back from Draco
"Where's your sister?" Harrie finally asks Scorpius, and the boy shrugs.
"He'd keep better track of us if he didn't spend all his time kissing Dominique Weasley's arse," James snarks, causing Scor to colour like a tomato.
"Shut up, you wanker," Scorpius barks out and tries to smother his younger brother, just as Harriet and Draco reprimand their sons in unison, "Language!"
Scorpius and James get into a fake-tussle, and Teddy tries to separate them. Draco spots one of the useless paps trying to take a picture of his family. Reflexively, he points his wand at the lens and jinxes it to get covered with blue ink.
That would teach them not to spy on his family all the time.
Minutes pass by, and the three Potter-Malfoy lads start discussing their holiday plans. Meanwhile, he and Harrie keep an eye out for their only daughter, as does Teddy.
"Are you all looking for me?" a voice calls out from behind them.
Lily strolls up to them casually, a Slytherin scarf around her neck, large gold earrings hanging ostentatiously from her ears. As she comes closer, it's easy to make out the rose motif on the earrings.
As his brain connects the dots, his fists curl. Lily's wearing Rosier jewellery that his aunt Andy had stolen from home before running away—his Pureblood upbringing means he is trained to identify stolen pieces of family jewellery. It's obvious to him that Teddy Lupin has gifted those to Lily.
Draco turns to Lupin to give him a warning glare, but realises that Lupin is watching Lily, completely captivated, a large grin on his stupid face. His eye shine with adoration, reminding Draco of a time when he was young and in love.
The boy's hair is now a steel grey; a shade of blue he'd recognise anywhere.
It's the colour he sees in the mirror everyday; the colour of his own eyes.
It's also the colour of Lily's eyes.
Something in his chest shifts.
For the first time since he found out about their relationship, Draco thinks he might be able to forgive them for it.
Definitely not today, but maybe someday.
~o~
Word count: 1118 (118 words over the given limit, but I'm too tired to edit it atm. Maybe someday I'll come back and do it.)
AN: I'm not really back, but it's a friend's birthday and I wanted to do something special for her.
We're living in very weird and stressful times, and I hope you all remember to keep doing something special for yourselves. Stay safe, stay healthy, and take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
Be sure to tell me in a review what you've been doing these days to keep yourself sane!
As always, may the force be with you.