The Christmas I Loaned My Sons
By: Ellipsis the Great
DISCLAIMER: The idea is from 'Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul.' Harry Potter and all things affiliated with him belong to the amazing J.K. Rowling. I own the Potter twins, and all of the plot outside what I garnered from CSFTCS.
Summary: After losing his wife and son to a magical disease, Draco Malfoy puts an ad in an editorial to borrow a son for Christmas. Harry Potter answers.
Rated: T just in case. May change later on.
Spoilers: Five years post-Hogwarts. Compliant with all books, sans the epilogue in DH.
Warnings: CONTAINS SLASH! There WILL be shounen-ai in this story! Maybe actual yaoi later on, but definitely shounen-ai!
EPILOGUE: Two Years Later
"Come on, Daddy!" Nix said impatiently as we—an entire contingent of Weasleys, Potters, and Longbottoms (the Jordans were going on a family vacation that year)—approached Malfoy Mansion. "Come on, everyone! I wanna see Draco!"
"We're coming, Nix." I said, stifling a chuckle. Nix was nearly as anxious as I was to see Draco, my boyfriend of twenty months. It had taken him two months after the Christmas to agree to date me officially—another three to get him to allow us to 'go public.'
Actually…another three to get us to go public.
Draco's gift to me two Christmases before had come in even handier than anyone had expected it to.
"We can't all walk that fast, Nix." Bill said, helping a very pregnant Fleur along the sidewalk leading up to the mansion.
Nix just sighed huffily on the doorstep, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his foot.
"Nix." Byrne scolded lightly, putting a hand on his brother's arm.
Nix wrinkled his nose, but settled down.
"Go ahead and knock on the door." I said as the last of us made it to the stairs.
Somehow—surprisingly—it had only taken two more explosive blowouts with the Weasleys to talk them into coming to the Mansion. Even more surprising: the first hadn't been another row about how 'Draco-isn't-really-evil-oh-yes-he-is-oh-no-he-is-not-etc.'
After our argument that Christmas, the Weasleys (unwilling to cut ties with me completely) had used their infamous Gryffindor persistence (read: stubbornness) to try and get over their prejudices. Hannah had met and fallen in love with Val (not literally, you sickos), who was in her class (she taught at a wizarding primary school). Val had even become pretty close friends with Teddy, who was only a few months older than her. Theo and Hermione, whose departments in the Ministry sometimes worked together, had gone out for coffee one day and talked about intellectual…things for a few hours. They got along nicely, in that creepy, overly studious way of theirs. Molly had even gone so far as to extend an invitation for tea to Narcissa, who had taken it. They were civil. Baby steps, you know.
No, the first explosion came when Draco and I had outed ourselves.
Admittedly, pulling him into a kiss during one of the Weasley dinners (they had again extended the invitation and the Malfoys had been…coerced…into coming) probably wasn't the best way to break the news to them…
…But really, Ron didn't have to punch him. I was the one who kissed Draco, not the other way around. Of course, Neville (that's right, Neville!) had given me a nice little shiner a second or two later, so I suppose it all evened out in the end.
Over the months, though, they had accustomed themselves to the idea. I had come out as bisexual to them a year or so before that whole debacle, so at least that didn't come as too much of a shock. And I have a nagging suspicion that a lot of the Weasleys already knew, or at least suspected. I know George knew—he had wired that damned (and blessed) mistletoe the Zabinis had given me, the nasty blighter.
The second fight had been about Christmas, sadly enough. This was the first time they would ever have come to the Mansion, although the Malfoys had been to the Burrow several times.
Then again, the Malfoys had been working at this whole 'acceptance' thing longer.
Baby steps.
I had to remind myself of that all the time.
"Harry." Draco said with the gentle smile that I saw more and more often on his face. "Nix, Byrne." He glanced behind me. "…Weasleys." A pause. "And Longbottoms, of course."
"Of course." I said, leaning forward and giving him a chaste kiss. "How are you, love?"
"Fine." He coughed nervously. "You?"
I cocked my head to one side, suddenly suspicious. "I'm fine…"
"Good. I hope all of you are doing well." He smiled again, this one a little tighter as he looked at the Weasleys.
"Yes, thank you." Molly said warmly.
"Come in, come in." He said, getting out of the way of the door. "Mother is in the kitchen trying out that recipe you gave her, Mrs. Weasley."
"Oh, no." Nix groaned. Narcissa, much as I loved her, wasn't what you would call adept when it came to the kitchen.
"Could you possibly give her a hand?" Draco asked hesitantly.
Molly smiled, giving his hand a reassuring pat. "Of course, dear."
"Hi, everyone!" Val said as she appeared out of a room, immediately scooping Nix and Byrne up. She had gotten even stronger over the past two years, and didn't seem to be slowing down. "Hi, Nixie! Hi, Byrne!"
"Hello!" Nix choked out, he and Byrne trying to breathe.
"Valerie!" Teddy exclaimed, pushing his way to the front. This year for Christmas he had red and green striped hair, his eyes an oddly natural brown color.
"Ted!" Val set the twins down, giving her best friend a 'normal' hug. Normal for her means you're still able to breathe afterwards.
"Let's go try and guess what our presents are!" Nix suggested, the other Weasley kids wheedling their way out of the crowd.
There was an excited shout of agreement, and the stampede toward the sitting room began, nearly bowling Draco over except that I pulled him out of the way. Byrne stayed at my side, as he usually did, although now he imposed himself between Draco and me.
"Byrne!" Val reappeared. "You can't just stay out here with the grownups, silly! C'mon!"
"I don't wanna!" Byrne said, hiding himself behind my legs.
"Oh go on, Byrne." I said, pushing him out in front of myself.
"But I don't t—ooh!" Byrne screeched as Val threw him over her shoulder.
"Let's go, Byrne!" She chirped.
"Nooo! I don't wanna!" He whined, struggling mightily. "Daddy! Draco! Help!"
"Sorry, kiddo, looks like you're stuck for it." I laughed.
"Hurry up, you guys!" Nix said.
"Nix, make her put me down!" Byrne said, but the rest of the conversation was lost as they turned a corner and disappeared.
"Those kids are so cute." Hannah giggled.
"I'm just waiting to see who she'll end up with." Bill said.
"Once their hormones kick in…who knows?" I shrugged.
"My money's on Nix." Draco said.
"How much of your money?" George asked slyly. "Because I've got a few galleons that say it's Teddy that'll steal her heart."
"You're on, Wea—George." Draco said, sticking out a hand. "I'll put down ten galleons."
George took it. "I'll raise you to fifteen, Malfoy."
"And I'll raise both of you to thirty." I said. "My money's on Byrne."
"No way! Byrne took after you with more than those lovely little eyes of his." Charlie said. "I'll put a few galleons on Teddy, George."
"No, Nix is the one who inherited that particular trait." I said.
"He is not!" Draco said.
"You want to make a bet on that, too?" I asked.
"Not if the stakes are just galleons." Draco leered at me.
"They don't have to be." I replied, slipping an arm around his waist.
"Okay, we've officially entered the realm of 'too much information.'" Ron said, shuddering a little, and we all laughed.
"We promise not to be too loud." I said, fluttering my eyelashes at him.
"Yeah—Harry's back massages are heavenly." Draco said.
"I am not giving you a back massage." I said as we led the others toward the dining room.
"And why not?" Draco asked indignantly.
"Because I'm going to win the bet." I said, sticking my nose in the air confidently.
"Mhm." He rolled his eyes.
"You don't believe me?" I asked, feigning hurt.
"Merlin, you two are so sweet you are going to make me throw up." Fleur said with a giggle, her accent only showing a little.
"Jeez, I'm sorry." I said, my voice practically oozing with exaggerated concern. "Is that medicine of yours tasting a bit too strong, or…?"
"Oh, shut up!" She slapped my arm lightly, grabbing Bill's hand and leaning into him.
"Everyone, dinner's ready!" Molly said as we sat down, appearing in the doorway with a plate of food in her hands. "Kids, food!"
The herd of children rushed into the room, taking their allotted seats next to their parents. Nix set next to Narcissa's empty seat, though, and Byrne took up his now customary seat in Draco's lap at the head of the table.
"I hope everyone enjoys it." Narcissa said as she took her seat, looking slightly nervous. Since become friends with Molly she had decided to try her hand at being a housewife, for all that her husband was dead. It was driving Draco crazy, although her multiple kitchen fires and misspoken cleaning spells amused the rest of us to no end.
"I'm sure we will, Narcissa." I said, positive that Molly had been able to salvage the food. I chanced a glance at the platters the house elves were bringing in and gulped inaudibly.
Mostly positive.
"I tried to follow the instruction exactly this time." Narcissa said as we all served ourselves. "I even asked Cady to do the shopping in Ottery St. Catchpole."
"I'm sure that made all the difference." Molly laughed, halfway genuine and halfway teasing.
Draco, ever loyal to his mother, took the first bite.
"This is…actually pretty good." He said, obviously surprised.
"Well of course it is!" Molly said, waving her napkin at him. "Your mother just needed a little guidance, that's all. If she'd been raised without house elves she'd have been a natural cook."
"Thank you…Molly." Narcissa said with a cautious smile.
Molly returned it kindly. "Of course, Narcissa."
We all began to eat, pleasantly surprised and wondering (silently, of course) whether Molly had been telling the truth or done as much quick-fixing as we suspected and just didn't want to break it to Narcissa.
I, myself, decided that Molly wasn't the type to try and spare a person's feelings when it came to cooking. Even (especially?) if that person was Narcissa Malfoy.
"So…have you seen the paper today, Harry?" Draco asked as we were nearing the end of dinner. He had begun to tense up again like he always did when he got nervous, leaving me to wonder what was going on.
"I didn't have time this morning, so no." I said. He looked torn between being relieved and disappointed. "Why? Something interesting?"
"Just something I noticed in the want ads." He said flippantly.
"Oh?" I asked.
"Mm. Sesi, would you bring Harry a copy of today's paper, please?" I asked.
I frowned, narrowing my eyes at my suddenly edgy boyfriend as Sesi appeared with the paper.
"Want ads?" I asked, though it was actually more of a statement, as I flipped to the section in question.
"Yeah." He said, watching me closely as my eyes scanned the ads. "Roundabouts the middle of the page."
And then I saw it.
Is there any place where I can love a man twenty-four years old for the rest of our lives? I have a nice home and would take wonderful care of him and keep him safe and sound. I used to have a wife, but she couldn't stay, and I miss her so as the days go by. –D. Malfoy
I stared at the paper for a moment, my eyes filling with tears as the meaning of the ad came clear to me. There were a few gasps from behind me, and I looked up to see Draco kneeling in front of me, holding a small ring box. I raised a hand to my mouth.
"Harry James Potter, I…I love you. So much. And the boys, and…and even the Weasleys. I want to grab hold of you before I lose you, and make sure I never do. Will…will you do me the honor of marrying me?" He asked.
I nodded, fighting to hold back my tears but losing horribly. "Y-yes." I finally choked out. "Oh, God, yes!"
I held out my shaky left hand and let him lip the ring on, then threw myself on him, pouring everything I had into my kiss. I heard whoops and cheers going on around us, the loudest coming from the twins. Their cries, happy though they were, made me pull away.
"Is this okay with you, boys?" I asked. "We'll have to move in with him, and—"
"Oh, yes! Grandmother 'Cissa told us!" Nix exclaimed. "Can I be the ring bear?"
"Ring bearer, dear." Narcissa said with the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face.
"Can I, Daddy?" Nix asked, undeterred by the correction.
"Of course you can, Nix." I said, turning to look at my other son. "What about you, Byrne? Do you want to be in the wedding?"
Somewhat unsurprisingly, Byrne shook his head.
"Can I…can I ask for something else?" He asked hesitantly.
"Sure you can." Draco said, putting an arm around him.
"Well…" Byrne worried his bottom lip, looking down at his feet.
"Yes, Byrne?" I asked.
Byrne looked up at us hopefully. "Can I have a baby sister?"
THE END! (For reals this time!)
A/N: Thanks for all of your support, everyone! Your reviews have kept me going these last few weeks with all of my school and personal stress, so thank you!
MUCH LOVE!
-Ellipsis the Great