*this piece is placed December, 2001. This is three years after Tom and Harry moved in together and over a year since Lord Voldemort hit mainstream media.

Sweetheart

Harry stood in front of a long, oval mirror, staring at himself and examining the robes he'd been dressed in. Tom had always loved spoiling him and it certainly hadn't faded over time. He thought it was a big much, but he felt drowned in Tom's adoration and couldn't complain. He let his ears get pierced so he could wear the earrings that matched the necklaces and bracelets, and, in Tom's own words, compliment his outfit. He was sure Tom had a keener eye for fashion than any writer for Witch Weekly or Fashion Magic!.

There was some ball being held at Malfoy Manor, Tom was invited, and because Tom was going, Harry was going to go. He was wearing dark blue robes, tiny gold hoops no wider than the tips of his pinkies in his ears, tight gold bracelets wrapped around his wrists though they were covered by the robes' sleeves. Over the bracelets on his right wrist, his jade bracelet hung over them. A thick gold band had already been fastened around his neck. It felt odd to swallow and it reminded Harry of a collar. He considered himself lucky he was still youthful, wondered how he was going to pull this look off when he was a middle-aged man.

On his left hand, wrapped around his index finger, was the ring Tom had given him when he was thirteen. Harry never went anywhere without it on.

"Your hair is getting longer." Tom appeared, walking into their room. His skin had grown sickly pale the past few weeks, but was finally regaining its flush. Despite the unhealthy appearance that had suddenly appeared one day, he never acted sick or weak so Harry hadn't worried. He was happy his love was getting over whatever had plagued him, though. It was things like those he wished Tom told him more about, but Harry never wished to press him too much. And Tom seemed so stressed and wound up lately, Harry did his best to relax him though he seemed unresponsive to Harry's attempted cures.

"It is, isn't it?" Harry said, running his fingers through the wild stands. He realized with the added length, just slightly past his ears now, it was weighed down to uneven waves. He noticed the tips were curling in different directions, and rubbed the end of a lock. "Do you want me to cut it?"

"No." Tom stood next to him, leaning and pressing his lips in a soft kiss on Harry's cheek. "If you don't wish to cut it, it's perfectly fine. Though I should find something to help it become a bit more calm."

"I like it wild looking." Harry said.

Tom chuckled. Harry leaned closer to his chest to feel the soft rumble. "Alright." He said. "Are you ready?" He asked.

"Unless there's something else you want me to wear." Harry said.

"I could see if the Diagon jeweler had any gold hairnets, the elves could help me braid the strands into your hair. It would match." Tom said, teasing.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go then! I wonder if Astoria's showing yet." He said. From last he heard, Draco's wife was already pregnant with their first born. The Malfoy's were quickly growing, with Abraxas already having a daughter and his wife reportedly pregnant a second time and Draco, with his marriage to Astoria finally settled, soon to have a child of his own.

[in a secret piece of his heart, Harry wanted his own.]

Sweetheart

Malfoy Manor was decorated for its annual Winter Ball. Harry and Tom had been welcomed by Lady Narcissa when they Floo'ed into the entrance hall. She kissed Harry's cheeks and complimented his outfit, after telling Tom where her husband and sons were. She led Harry away, bringing him into the ballroom where it was bursting with at least a hundred elite witches and wizards from across the British Isles. Harry spotted the Minister of Magic avidly discussing something with the Lestrange's, waving a biscuit around while Rabastan nodded in agreement and Rodolphus looked extremely bored.

Narcissa brought Harry to where Astoria and Rosemary, Abraxas' wife, were talking. Rosemary's daughter, Rosario, was asleep in her arms. Astoria's stomach was bloated, sticking out just so that proved she was at least a few months pregnant.

"Harry!" Astoria smiled wide. "It's nice to see you."

"It has been awhile." Rosemary said. "We were worried you'd left us for the boys' table."

"I'm offended." Harry mock-gasped, placing a hand on his chest. "What are you insinuating?"

Rosemary rolled her eyes while Astoria giggled. Narcissa smiled, picking a champagne glass off of a caterer's platter. "It's enjoyable to have you here with us. It makes us seem more important." She said.

They all laughed together.

"Oh! I don't know if you heard, but I'm pregnant again. Abraxas and I are hoping for a girl." Rosemary suddenly declared. "My mother says it's a curse for our bloodline to have a daughter as a first born, a punishment for her crime of marrying my father." She rolled her eyes. "I think she's just bitter she didn't name me after some constellation."

"We'll be naming our child Scorpius if it's a son." Astoria said. "I try not think of a girl's name, it might jinx it."

"I had Draco's name planned when I was fourteen." Narcissa admitted. "Lucius and I argued endlessly when we had Abraxas. I conceded, but we agreed to have another child. I don't know what I would've name him if he was born a daughter."

"Draconia." Harry said, laughing. And it was a laugh, thank you very much, not a giggle.

"Wait, no! Dracy." Rosemary said.

"I like Draconia better." Astoria said.

Harry remained with the three Malfoy wives for the majority of the ball, enjoying their company. He briefly interacted with Bellatrix Lestrange, he was very grateful his time with her had been cut short. He was sure he was going to choke her. He realized how many of those he knew at Hogwarts had begun their families. Daphne Greengrass had become Daphne Zabini over the summer, two months pregnant with triplets. Marcus Flint had a son and his wife had just given birth to a daughter, ordered to rest by the Healers so she couldn't attend the ball. Even Gregory Goyle had a child on the way and Vincent Crabbe's wife, Veronica, had happily told him she was pregnant herself.

[Tom believed the best way to fight muggle overpopulation and the increasing numbers of mudbloods and halfbloods was to have purebloods have larger families, a habit they often avoided due to old traditions. if Harry looked deeper into the many growing families and to others he had known from Hogwarts, he'd realize it was only those with some connection to tom who were quickly nurturing families.]

Towards the end, Tom had reappeared. He kissed Harry and ordered him to the floor so they could share a dance. Harry agreed and nearly fell asleep swaying to the noise of the gently-playing band, his head on Tom's chest listening to his love's heartbeat. He was never more grateful that he had remained shorter than Tom.

Sweetheart

Christmas was celebrated only because of Harry's insistence. Tom wasn't a huge fan of holidays at all, forced into celebrations because Harry wanted. He was weak to many of Harry's wants though the both of them pretended he wasn't. The first year they lived together, they exchanged gifts and slept nearly the entire day in front of the fireplace in the drawing room. The second year, Harry decided to make brownies and accidentally lit the stove on fire. They had to celebrate the holiday a day late due to the damage Harry had laid on the kitchen. The House Elves had assured him it was fine, but Harry felt horribly guilty for weeks.

It was to be their third year, but Harry had made a deal with his parents to spend Christmas Day with them and he'd have New Years with Tom. It would be their first New Years alone and Harry was happily preparing to ensure they'd be having sex when the clock struck midnight.

"I could remain home." Tom said.

"Ha ha." Harry pinched Tom's nose. "I'm not going alone. Apparently, it's going to be one big thing with the Tonks, and Remus and Nymphadora's son. And Sirius. How can I face that storm without you?"

"Easily." Tom kissed him. When they parted, Harry rubbed his fingers down Tom's cheeks. Then he clenched them together and pulled, hard.

"No." Harry declared. "Now! No fancy clothes, either. I don't want it to make it seem we're trying to show anyone up. Mum said it's a non-gift exchanging year, but everyone's expected to bring a mystery present to add into one big pile. After dinner, we'll all take turns choosing from the pile. Something called White Elephant, I think she said. I don't know."

"I could pack a snake." Tom said.

"Hush." Harry ordered. "And I'll let you use the riding crop the night after."

Tom pretended to think. "I suppose I could work with that." He leaned down for a kiss. Harry let him.

Sweetheart

"Harry!" Lily swung open the door just as Harry reminded Tom to make friends and play nice. "Oh! It's wonderful to see you!" She drew her son into a tight hug, possibly bruising his ribs, before she kissed both of his cheeks and tugged him inside. Tom followed.

Inside the Potter's cottage, the living room had been filled with electric lights and shiny tinsel. A pine tree stood in the corner, a pile of gifts without any tags sitting underneath. After Harry and Tom placed their two presents among the pile, Lily led them into the dining room where the entire family had packed in.

James, Sirius, and Remus were decorating a miniature pine tree made of plastic. Nymphadora was drinking out of a goblet, watching them like she was watching a very amusing scene during a play. Her mother, Andromeda, was exactly the same.

"Ted's upstairs with Teddy." Lily said then laughed to herself. "Time for their late noon nap, I suppose."

Harry was briefly swarmed with hugs and tinsel was thrown on his head. Tom shook hands with Remus, and Sirius gave him a hug and eagerly asked him if his godson showed any of the famous bedroom prowess the Potter's were supposed to have. Before Tom could answer, Lily had slapped Sirius on the back of the head and ordered him to the kitchen before he embarrassed himself. Harry doesn't think it's quite possible for Sirius to feel embarrassment.

"So, do anything fun lately?" Nymphadora asked when Harry sat down at the table, Tom invited over by James to take Sirius' place in decorating the tiny plastic pine tree.

"I went to a Winter Ball." Harry said after a moment's thought. He looked at Andromeda. "How did you ever put up with Bellatrix when you were younger?" He asked.

The woman laughed. "She was a lot cuter when we were young girls." She said. "Forced to deal with her, were you?"

Harry nodded. "Only for a few minutes. I thought I was going to start a duel." He admitted.

"A duel at a fancy party? Ooh, I wish it happened and I wish I would be there to see it!" Nymphadora cackled. Her red and green pink hair twisted into flamingo pink for a brief second, before it suddenly looked an awful lot like the tree being decorated a few feet away from them.

The ending is definitely a little abrupt here, but I don't want to drag this addition out by meaningless filler details. I'm trying to drop hints of future pieces and add build-up, so any future additions have a good place to start out with. For example, if there's a new addition, it'll be New Years and few little extra things to drop. I'm thinking if I get to coerced into five pieces total for this, I'll just make it an ongoing story and write chapters as often as possible for it.

Writing this got me in the mood for Christmas and it's fucking May. My existence, amiright? Also this piece was about 2000 words and when I realized that, and where I was at, I thought...Okay, maybe I should stop now before I drag this out into one ugly boring mess...Though writing Tom dealing with Harry's family would've been amazing.

If you want another addition to Sweetheart, go to my profile and vote at the Great Poll of Writing! Also, like, if you want...review for my ego. Though you do make up for so little reviews with favorites and followers, my ego would LOVE a review.

by the way I wrote this before Thursday because I decided to check the poll and three of y'all voted for another piece so i was like, okay i'll write something for these three delightful creatures.