Hi there!
This is a little side "4+1" series from my other fic!

I'd say the premise is fairly easy to understand, but reading the 2 first chapters of the main fic "Percival Graves wasn't prepared for this" explains why Credence is with Graves and not i.e the Goldsteins, in case you want to know that.

But other than that: Enjoy!

Percival Graves, Director of Magical Security, was asleep. Or, he had been until just a moment ago.

Tired as he had become from the day's work and domestic chores he did not understand why he had woken up.

He laid still for a moment and listened to the sounds of the apartment. All was quiet except for the grandfather clock in the sitting room.

It's rhythmic ticking soon making his eyelids heavy again.

A gentle push to his side roused him awake, however.

He inhaled sharply and turned. After blinking a couple of times he saw someone standing next to his bed in the darkness of his room.

Someone small and timid.

Someone clutching a pillow.

"Mr Percival?", the boy whispered, unsure if he had managed to wake the adult.

With a reach of his fingers the tip of Graves' wand on the lit up, illuminating the room enough for him to see Credence's big doe eye look back at him in the darkness.

"What is it, my boy?", the wizard asked reaching up to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He tried to sound alert and prepared to tend to whatever needs his charge had; but the fact remained that it was in the middle of the night; and it came out mixed with a yawn.

The boy shifted on his feet.

"Can I sleep in your bed?"

The wizard rose up onto his elbow. Blinked.

In the soon-three-months time that Credence had stayed with him this was the first time such a request had been made. Sure, the boy had fallen asleep on his lap in the afternoon on several occasions, but once tucked in and kissed goodnight he stayed in bed throughout the night. The only exception was when he woke up in tears from a particularly frightening nightmare; but in those cases the wizard carried the boy to the master suite. Never had Credence come on his own accord to his bedside in the middle of the night.

"Of course", he said after a moment. Then frowned, his sleepy brain catching up to the situation at hand.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing...", the boy said timidly.

The wizard was quiet for another moment, pondering if there was any insincerity in the voice.

"Alright", the wizard said and scooted over just a tad for the boy to climb in, even if the bed was more than large enough for a man and a small child to share.

Credence was soon settled on the mattress and the wizard extinguished the light with a murmured 'nox'.

"Goodnight, mr Percival", the boy whispered.

"Goodnight, my boy", the wizard replied and closed his eyes.

He didn't go back to sleep immediately, however, as he sensed that something unsaid remained between the two of them.

And sure enough, just as he was beginning to think that the child had fallen asleep,

a whisper.

"Mr Percival?"

"Mhm?"

A pause. A shift underneath the covers.

"Can you... hold me like you usually do?"

The wizard smiled and reached out across the mattress. Soon he had the boy cradled snuggly against him.

"What a silly question", he murmured as he settled back underneath the warm covers, his brow furrowing in mock aggravation. The boy was quiet; but his bliss was apparent as he inhaled deeply and got comfortable; head on Percival's arm.

Still, Credence wasn't ready to sleep yet, because mere minutes later came another whisper. This time barely audible.

"Mr Percival?"

"Mhmm?", the wizard hummed.

"Do you believe that thing that was written in the paper?"

The wizard's eyes flew open.

"What thing?", he wondered.

He tried sounding indifferent, but there was really only one thing for a small child to bring up in the middle of the night. Only one thing for Credence to bring up.

"That some people think I'm the lost baby of some French wizards..."

"What paper was that?", Percival wondered.

Had he known that the rumor had made its way into printed writing he would have already made an official complaint. He had hoped it would stay within the enclosed walls of the winter get togethers of the pure bloods; but no such luck.

"One of Queenie's...", the boy replied.

"Tina tried to hide it under a pillow, but I saw it."

A pause. Graves could feel how the boy started fiddling with the buttons on the wizard's pyjama shirt.

"Mr Percival, why did she do that?"

"She probably didn't want you to be upset, is all. But it's all just speculation, you know, my boy."

Credence was quiet for a moment.

"There was a picture of a lady in it. It said she could be my sister", the boy informed him.

"She was pretty", he said.

"Mhm?", the wizard inquired with a hum.

He actually knew the Lestrange girl second hand through his mail exchange with the Head of the British Auror Office, Theseus Scamander, who had just recently announced his engagement to her. And as he had already pointed out to Theseus: She was a beautiful woman.

- Big brown eyes. Similar to Credence's, if you looked for resemblance. -

But despite their distant familiarity to each other Leta had not reached out to him concerning the circulating rumors.

And it was, quite frankly, an arrangement that he wanted to maintain.

But now the kneazle was out of the bag.

"Would you like to know?", the wizard wondered.

"Because it can certainly be arranged if you want..."

He could feel the boy shift uncertainly.

"I don't know...", Credence said after a little while.

"That's okay", the wizard assured, suddenly feeling bad for proposing the idea; and he brought his hand up to make circles on the boy's back.

"You don't have to decide in the middle of the night."

He thought that might have been it for the late-night conversation, but suddenly the boy spoke again, for the fourth time that night.

"Mr Percival?"

"Yeah?"

"If it turns out I'm related to them... will I have to move away?"

The fear in the boy's voice was like a shock wave through the wizard's body.

He moved slightly and ignited the tip of his wand once more so that he could look at the boy properly.

Credence looked up at him, wide awake. The wizard was relieved at the fact that he didn't seem upset, however. Just, worried . And he didn't need Queenie's exceptional legilimens skills to know that the boy was not only afraid of being forced away from him by the Lestranges, but also from being rejected by the wizard himself.

"No, of course not", Percival said softly.

"You'll stay here as long as you want. And if they think they can come and take you away from me they'll have another think coming", the wizard mused, which made the boy smile.

"Really?", the boy whispered.

"Really", the wizard assured.

If some European wizard family thought they could come and demand to have the obscurial returned to them after almost eighteen years, they were mistaken.

"After all, you're my… What was that word Queenie used to describe you?"

"A cinnamon roll", the boy replied, a certain pride in his voice.

The wizard chuckled.

"Exactly, you're my little cinnamon roll", he said and scooped the boy even closer, kissing him on the forehead; knowing how much the boy enjoyed the display of affection.

Credence blushed in the dark, but it was clear his worries had been soothed, and he snuggled close to the wizard.

The two laid there for a short while, then both startled as the grandfather clock rang out in the sitting room. It was two o'clock in the morning.

The both of them chuckled at their shared reaction.

"Was there anything else you were wondering about?", the wizard asked.

The boy shook his head.

"No, sir."

"Then I'd say it's time to go to sleep", he suggested.

Credence yawned at that, his body finally seeming to catch up with the hour of the day.

And with that the Director noxed his wand, the obscurial already fast asleep in his arms.