Author's Note: Hey, hey, two chapters! Technically, I wrote this back in January and it was supposed to be a New Years Update for you guys but...you see how that worked out. Also, it's been so long it took me way longer than it should have to remember how to upload a chapter. Wa~ay longer.

This is for Tears and Rain (I think you're the one I'm most backed up on with request, you know, taking into account the number you made :p) and I hope you like it.

The time frame is a little iffy. Cailean is around 13 here I guess, but interpret it as you will.

Also, if you make it to the end of this chapter, I have a surprise for you!

Discussion

Word Count: 3236

"Dad?"

Harry hummed as he looked up towards the doorway of the room he and Draco shared. Both were splayed out across their bed, Harry reading through paperwork and Draco on his laptop, looking to be doing work though Harry suspected he was playing some sort of game. Cailean stood in the doorway, shifting nervously from foot to foot and immediately had both his parent's attention.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked in concern, pushing his laptop aside even as Harry sat down his documents.

"Er, well, I was wondering if I could talk to dad," he started, than hesitated. "Alone?"

Harry blinked in surprised and glanced at Draco who looked vaguely hurt. Even though Cai hadn't started referring to Draco as his Papa until after they had married, even as a baby it was obvious who he'd considered his other parent and had never, in either of their memories, seemed to have a preference about speaking to one over the other, usually leaving it to whoever was available.

"Sure, Cai-baby," Harry agreed softly and frowned when his husband visibly pulled himself together and smiled reassuringly at the boy.

"Oh course, Imp," Draco said, gathering his things off the bed. He started out of the room, only pausing in the doorway to run a gentle hand over Cailean's head, making the boy smile meekly at him before disappearing down the hall likely heading downstairs to his office. Harry watched him go as he cleared his work away before offering a comforting smile to his son.

"Come here, Cai," he said and immediately Cailean was moving and in a few seconds he had tucked himself into Harry's side. Startled, Harry wrapped and arm around his son and adjusted them so that he was leaning back more comfortably against the headboard. "What's gotten into you?" he asked quietly, running his fingers through Cailean's hair in a soothing manner. While more affectionate than a lot of boys his age, Cai was rarely so emotional anymore. The boy was quiet for a few minutes and Harry patiently let him gather his thoughts. Whatever it was it had to be serious if Cailean was so visibly upset about it and had brushed off Draco in such an untypical manner. Between the two of them, Harry felt Draco was much more sensitive, at least towards his family, and therefore more reasonable to seek comfort from.

"I had a-a question," Cailean started off slowly. Harry's eyebrows furrowed.

"And what would that be, hmm?" he asked and again Cailean took a bit of time to answer.

"Well, um, about…about my…father."

Whatever Harry had been expecting, this wasn't it and he couldn't stop himself from stiffening in surprise. Cailean looked up when he felt it and frowned, his expression matching Harry's own troubled one. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "This was a bad idea…" he trailed off and started to pull away but Harry's gripped tightened on him before he could get very far.

"No." he said. "No, it's fine. You just surprised me is all," the elder of the two reassured. He smiled faintly and Cailean thought it looked rather forced. "I don't know if I'm more shocked that you want to talk about this now, or that you didn't ask sooner."

With a sigh, Harry relaxed himself and settled further back into the bed. If he concentrated, he could smell the lingering sent of Draco from the pillows and that comforted him as her prepared himself mentally for what was about to come. "Okay," he said after a moment or two. "Where do you want to start?"

Cailean paused, searching Harry's face for any sign that this discussion would be completely unwelcome. While he could plainly see that Harry wasn't exactly thrilled, he did seem willing to answer any questions Cailean may have and so the boy pushed on. "I found this," he started off by saying, shoving something into Harry's hand. With a curious look, Harry peered down at the piece of paper in his hand and almost snorted in amusement at what he saw. It was a picture, an old one judging by the way it had started to turn around the edges. It was of him, very young, younger than Cailean was now, smiling shyly out at the camera, the darker face of Blaise Zabini pressed against his grinning wickedly. The angle was bizarre and slightly out of focus and on Blasie's side there was a shadow of an arm, showing that he was the one who was taking the picture.

"This is…old." Harry said, not knowing how else to describe the photo. There was no anger at seeing Blaise's face, or anything more than a vague sense of nostalgia. He looked happy. They looked happy. Yes, it was old.

"Where'd you get this?" he asked Cailean looking up to find his son watching him with trepidation.

"It…it was in the back of an old notebook. I found it the other week when I was helping Papa clean out the storage closet in the basement."

"And you've been holding on to it that long?" Harry asked, glancing back up again. Cailean looked down at his hands that were clenching the dark comforter on his parent's bed.

"I didn't know what to do with it," he mumbled by way of explanation.

Harry hummed, and handed the photo back to Cailean, he had no use for it, and Cai took it slowly with careful hands. "Did you want to talk about the photo?" Harry asked, and Cailean shook his head a bit.

"No, not really. I just—I guess I kinda just wanted to know, well, what happened." He waved the picture briefly, uselessly, in the air.

"This picture…well, it makes you look so…happy." He shrugged. "I guess I want to know how it got from this to you never speaking to him again. To you hating him."

"First off," Harry said immediately. "I don't hate Blaise," he said and Cailean gave him such a doubtful look that he couldn't help but quirk his lips in amusement.

"No, really. I wanted to, for a really long time. I was so angry and hurt that it should have been the easiest thing in the world to hate him, but I can't. I dislike him, yes, but I could never hate someone who gave me you."

"Dad," Cailean whined and Harry actually laughed a little at the embarrassed scowl his son shot him.

"I know," he placated. "But it's true. As for that photo," he continued, "I imagine I was about 12 or 13-years-old in it? I had just met Blaise. Of course I was happy, he was my best friend. But a lot happened between then and when I had you."

"But you had me only a few years later," Cailean insisted. "I want to know what happened. I mean, I know you were dating and when you found out you were pregnant you guys broke up and you moved out here to live with Grandad, but it has to be more to it than that." He paused, looking imploringly up at Harry. "Please, can you tell me?"

Harry hesitated. He had told himself he would answer any questions that Cai had but this was…hard. He'd never really spoken to anyone in depth about this before except his father and Draco and that was more to get comfort from them than just to stave off curiosity. However, more that anyone, Cailean likely deserved to know. This was, after all, how his story started too.

"When I was younger," Harry said abruptly after several long seconds, startling Cailean who'd honestly thought that maybe he wasn't going to get his answers and had pulled away. "I lived with my mother, Lily." Cailean frowned. He'd only heard a word or two about her from Granddad Sev, since Harry never spoke about her. All Granddad had said was that she was a sweet person when he'd fell in love with her, but had become bitter as she grew older, and had taken it out on the people around her. "She wasn't a very good mother," Harry continued with an empty smile. "I didn't have a happy childhood and so when I met Blaise I wasn't a very happy person. And Blaise…he was like a breath of fresh air."

Cailean watched silently as his dad's smile became a little more genuine. "Up until that point, Blaise was the most amazing person I had ever met and, for whatever reason, he seemed to really like me. He wanted to be my friend and spend time with me and didn't seem to mind that I was sort of, well, introverted. He opened the world up for me and it was wonderful." Harry's smile turned sort of bitter.

"On the other hand, he was the textbook definition of a bad influence. He drank, he smoked and got into all sorts of trouble even at that age."

"Did you do any of those things, dad?" Cailean asked after his father paused for a moment. His father's had both always cautioned him off of that sort of thing, warning him that the consequences would be dire if he even thought he could get away with that kind of misbehavior. And, as he looked into his dad's self-ashamed eyes, he thinks he finally realizes why they were so adamant about it.

"I did a lot of things I'm not proud of," he said being purposely elusive. "But I didn't have anyone looking out for me. I knew it was wrong, but if Blaise wanted me too…and Blaise meant everything to me." Harry was startled out of his thoughts by Cailean borrowing back into his side. He smiled and started carding his hand through the boy's hair again, finding as much comfort in it as Cailean now. "I fancied myself in love with him but we broke up when we both figured out I wasn't what he was looking for," Harry grimaced at the memory of finding out Blaise was cheating on him and how heartbroken he'd been. "A couple of weeks later I found out I was pregnant with you."

"Was it scary?" Cailean asked before he could stop himself. "Finding out I mean." He'd pictured the situation once or twice, after having had the 'birds and the bees' conversation and he couldn't even picture himself having sex, much less being told he was going to have a baby. Being left alone to babysit Mira and Ashley still kinda frightened him.

"Terrifying," Harry answered sagely. "I don't think I'd ever been so scared of something in my life. I was barely a teenager, I knew nothing about babies and I didn't exactly have the best parental role models. I was afraid I was going to be a horrible parent and mess you up irreparably."

"I think you ended up doing pretty well," Cailean said tentatively and grinned when Harry gave him an amused look.

"You do, do you?" he teased before breathing a laugh. "I was kind of a mess for a while. I cried for days," he confessed. "But then, I slowly started to get excited."

"Why?" Cailean asked curiously.

"I started to think that maybe, just maybe, it would be nice to have someone around who would love me unconditionally. Lily wasn't really what I considered family and Blaise had outgrown me, but a baby, could be my own little miracle; my family." Harry smiled. "so while I was still completely petrified, I was also starting to get happy. Then I told Blaise. He didn't exactly take it well. He wasn't really the responsible type."

"That's what Grandma says, too," Cailean spoke up. Harry huffed a little laugh.

"Yes, well, she wasn't exactly pleased when she found out how he reacted." Harry let out another sigh and let his head fall back, gazing up at the ceiling with unseeing eyes. "We argued about you, and whether or not he was really the father. That hurt more than anything. Him believing I would lie about something so important, and I gave up on him completely. Lily found out I was pregnant not long after and she didn't fancy the idea of helping me raise a child, not that I would have ever wanted her to, and so she kicked me out, sending me to come live with dad."

"She kicked you out?" Cailean asked incredulously. This he had never heard before. How could someone essentially abandon their own child?

"Mmhm," Harry hummed looking back down at his son. "It's actually the nicest thing I can remember her ever doing for me."

"What do you mean?" Cailean asked. How could being kicked out of your home by someone who was supposed to love and care for you when you'd just found out you were pregnant and had your heart broken be a good thing?

"I wasn't very close to you Granddad back then, and I never would have had the courage to come all the way out here seeking help if I hadn't been forced. Dad took me in, didn't say a word about all the bad decisions I had made, and treated me like a real parent should treat their child. Even if she didn't mean to, and what she did was done out of curtly rather than love, she gave me a much better life. I was able to go through my pregnancy in peace; I met Draco, made friends. All that never would have happened had I stayed in England."

Cailean nodded a little to show that he understood though he wasn't completely convinced. He couldn't imagine how his dad had felt going through all that. They were silent for a while, each in their own thoughts, before Cailean spoke up again. "I remember you telling me when I was little that he saw me once, after I was born. Was…was he…sorry?"

"No," Harry answered promptly and had a fleeting feeling of guilt when Cailean sagged against him, obviously saddened by the thought, but he wasn't in the habit of lying to his children. "He came clear out here to start another argument and your Papa kind of beat him up for it." Against his will Cailean snorted.

"Papa?" he laughed at the very idea. Both his parents were fairly even tempered if not a little rude, Draco on purpose and Harry obliviously.

"Indeed."

Cailean shook his head in disbelief as his smile slowly faded. "So, he didn't come to see me? He's never come to see me?"

"Does it bother you?" Harry asked instead of answering. He hadn't thought Cailean would be hung up over thoughts of Blaise. He had, after all, a family who loved him, but did he feel a longing to meet his other father?

"Not really," Cailean replied softly. "I mean, a little. I never really thought about it, but I guess I kind of always assumed that, even if you two didn't like each other, that wouldn't mean that he—that he didn't care about me. But if he never bothered to come see me…"

"Cai-baby, I'll never lie to you," Harry started. "I don't know how Blaise feels about you. The last time I spoke to him, we weren't exactly on good terms and he was bitter and angry, but at me. I don't believe he really felt any negative emotions towards you-"

"But that doesn't mean he felt positive ones, either," Cailean cut in.

"No," Harry relented. "But that was a long time ago, and I won't pretend to know what was going through Blaise's head then or now." Tightening his hold around Cailean Harry continued. "But there could very well be a day that you have the opportunity to find out, and until that day comes, if it comes, I don't want you to worry about it."

Cailean looked up with such dolefully eyes that Harry knew he had to make his last point count. "Regardless of how Blaise's feels, I want you to know how I feel. I love you, so so much. You mean the world to me, and Draco. You are our son and you have been since the day you were born. That doesn't mean I don't want you seeking out Blaise or whatever it is you might want to do in the future, that's your choice and I'll support you, but don't dwell on things you can't control, like other people's feelings toward you. Even if it turns out that Blaise is still the arse-hat I remember him to be," Harry smile briefly as Cailean giggled wetly. "It doesn't change anything. You still have a family who loves you. Besides, it's obviously him who's missing out on something wonderful."

Harry gave Cailean a few moments to compose himself as the younger boy wiped at his suspiciously damp eyes. "Feel better?" he asked after a while and Cailean nodded with a smile that was only slightly strained.

"I guess I was bothered more than I thought," he confessed weakly.

"I guess so," Harry agreed solemnly. "Maybe I should…" he trailed off, reaching for the photograph that was still clutched in Cailean's hands, crinkled and looking more worn than before.

"No," Cailean protested. "I want to keep it." At his father's slight frown, Cailean shook his head. "Not to dwell over, dad," he assured. "But, we don't have any pictures of you from when you were my age. Just baby pictures from Granddad and ones taken after you had me. I like this one. Seeing you look so happy."

"Okay," Harry agreed bemusedly, hugging Cailean back when the boy squeezed him briefly before scooting out of the bed.

"I'm gonna go put this up and then talk to Papa," he said. "I think I upset him earlier when I said I just wanted to talk to you," he said guiltily. Harry's lips quirked.

"Maybe," he drawled and watched as Cailean flashed him a fleeting smile, whispered an 'I love you' and fled from the room. He waited until he heard Cai's footsteps fade down the hall before he allowed himself to glance toward the window. Somewhere out there, thousands of miles away, Blaise was there, not knowing what had just taken place. Not knowing that someday he would be confronted with the son he'd abandoned, because Harry knew his child, and he knew that Cailean would not let this go forever.

"You better not hurt him," he whispered the warning to the empty room.

Down the hall, Cailean tucked the photo into his own album, filled with pictures of his family and friends. Somewhere in the middle, he found a rather large photo of him and Charis and, carefully peeling back the film that protected the photo, he slipped the one of his dad and Blaise behind it, leaving a corner sticking out so that someday in the future after he'd forgotten this hiding spot he would wonder what it was and rediscover it. Replacing the thin plastic cover, Cailean closed the book and held it close to his chest.

Dad knew best and so he would follow his wishes and not dwell on the questions of Blaise in his mind. No matter what he had a family, two parents as well as two siblings that would be waking from naps very soon and whom loved him unconditionally. He didn't need Blaise.

But that didn't stop him from hoping.

A/N: So this felt weird. It's hard to explain and I don't think I really got it across, but Cailean isn't really looking for a relationship from Blaise, just…acknowledgement I guess? He's a sweet kid and kinda sheltered, so he can't really understand why someone wouldn't want their kid. He doesn't want another father; he's quite happy how he is. But he does want to know if he's wanted or even just thought about because Blaise is his father and that's what fathers are supposed to do—care. He just, more or less, wants to be liked. Does that make sense?

Now…

THE SURPRISE! Quite a while ago I promised something, a prequel of sorts to No Day But Today. I think I said it would be called "Halloween" or some such nonsense, can't remember why. Instead I have decided to name it Seasons of Love and here is a little teaser:

Seasons of Love

Summer

Surprisingly, the first thing Severus noticed about her was not her eyes, but her hair. Maybe it was because she was facing away from him at the time, but he doubted it. As beautiful as her emerald eyes he would soon come to love were, they weren't nearly as fascinating as her hair. It was a bright, mesmerizing red and fell in gentle waves around her shoulders. It made her stand out in the grim little place called Spinners End, where the people were dark in both nature and coloration. Her sister, whom she was arguing with at the time, was also an anomaly, her blond flyaway hair and her blue eyes sticking out like a sore thumb, but other than that, there was nothing even remotely remarkable about Petunia. But Lily…everything about her was remarkable.

Petunia noticed him first, and her already awkward pre-teen features twisted into an ugly, angry look. "Who are you?" she had snipped angrily and if Severus hadn't been who he was he may have withdrawn from her in fear. Instead, he drew himself up to his full, yet admittedly diminutive, height and was preparing to tell the lanky blond exactly who he was in a verbal flaying when she turned around and the words stopped in his throat.

There was a scowl on her face, flushed from whatever it was she'd been arguing with her sister about, and her eyes, her beautiful eyes, were narrowed in curiosity. Severus had never seen someone so beautiful in his young life. Red-haired and green eyed with a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, Lily Evens was like the first day of summer in Severus's lonely childhood; bright, and warm, and freeing.

So, what do you think?

This is the story of Severus and Lily. Their relationship and how it went. It won't be very long, less than 10 chapters definitely and they'll likely be short. I have it planned out with vague details and it'll end where No Day But Today started. I'll try to post it soon.