The Perfect Tantrum

Author: slytherin-nette

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot and the OCs. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.

Full Summary: In which Garrett Malfoy throws a tantrum, storms out on his mother and winds up getting lost smack in the middle of Diagon Alley. What's a miniature, 5-year-old little Malfoy son supposed to do? :D

A/N: Awww… I came upon the sight of a kid throwing a tantrum at his mommy right in the middle of the mall just as I was shopping this weekend, and I just had to write this little oneshot. :D Hope you all enjoy it! :D

"I HATE YOU, MOMMY! I NEVER WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN! NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS!"

Garret Draco Potter Malfoy's features were currently scrunched up into an angry, frustrated scowl as he glared up at his mother's young, exasperated features. Standing over him, Mistress Jaimee Malfoy – formerly Harry Potter, the legendary savior of the Wizarding World, gave him a helpless look of exhaustion.

"Oh is that so, Garrett? You hate me now, is that it? I thought we went over this before." She answered the blonde 5-year-old calmly, watching with a sigh as Garrett stomped his feet angrily on the floor.

"Well this time, I mean it! I hate you, Mommy! You never buy me what I want!" He screamed at her, his bright green eyes flashing as he glared up at her again. For a moment, it looked as though Harry almost relented – staring at young blonde again as he scowled at her with an expression so scarily reminiscent of his father. Shaking her head to herself, Harry's own green eyes flashed and she answered him in a firm voice.

"Garrett, my answer is no." She wrestled the miniature Hand of Glory from her son's tightly clenched hands and sighed as she placed it back onto the shelf. "You have hundreds of toys at home and hundreds more in the Manor, you don't need this—" She was cut off when Garrett exploded at her again, screaming loudly.

"BUT I WANT IT! DADDY SAID I CAN HAVE WHATEVER I WANT! WHY ARE YOU BEING MEAN, MOMMY?" After he had said this, the Malfoy son burst into tears, crying loudly and all but screaming as he stubbornly dropped to a fetal position on the floor. At this, Harry's eyes widened and she couldn't help but glance around the small, Diagon Alley shop they were in, giving the watching customers around them an apologetic grimace.

"Garrett, sweetie—"

"I'M NOT SPEAKING TO YOU!"

"…"

Harry cringed and massaged her temples as more wizards and witches in the shop stared at them.

"I HATE YOU! WHY WON'T YOU BUY ME WHAT I WANT?" Garrett screamed and sobbed louder, his high-pitched screams causing a painful ringing in his mother's ears as she moved away and sighed in exhaustion.

"I thought you weren't speaking to me, love?" Harry asked him with a small, wry smile but she winced again when her 5-year-old son's only response to her was to glare up at her with angry, tear-filled green eyes.

"I'M NOT! I'M NOT SPEAKING TO YOU ANYMORE! STARTING NOW! I HATE YOU!"

In spite of herself, Harry crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the shelf behind her.

"Okay."

Garrett screams and sobs died down for a bit and the Malfoy son sniffled softly a few times.

"…"

Her lips twitching with mirth, Harry pretended to whistle and lazily checked her watch a few times.

"…"

Scowling and his eyes rapidly filling up with tears, Garrett glared accusingly up at his mother again.

"WELL, WHY AREN'T YOU SAYING ANYTHING?"

Harry stifled a laugh and looked innocently at him, answering with a confused, wide-eyed smile.

"I thought you didn't want to talk, sweetie?" She asked but Garrett stamped his foot on the floor again and glared up at the Malfoy Mistress as though she was the stupidest living being alive he had ever met.

"NO! I SAID 'I' WASN'T GOING TO TALK TO 'YOU'! YOU CAN STILL TALK, MOMMY!" Garrett exploded at her again and this time, despite the entire situation, Harry couldn't help the affectionate smile on her face.

"Alright, sweetie…I'm talking now." She crossed her arms over her chest again and, ignoring the curious looks they were receiving from the store's other customers, she knelt down in front of him until she was eye-to-eye with Garrett's angry features. "What is it you want me to say, Garrett? I'm not buying you what you want." She repeated to him softly but firmly, watching as Garrett's eyes pooled with big, wet tears again.

"BUT I WANT IT—!"

Harry reached out gently and cupped the five-year-old's tear-stained cheek. "I know, Garrett…But the thing is, we're not supposed to get what we want all the time. I mean, when I was your age, I didn't even own a single toy. Now, you own hundreds and you still want me to buy you more. This isn't good for you, sweetie—"

Sniffling, Garrett was scowling again and eventually, his features scrunched up into a tearful pout.

"But a Malfoy always gets—"

"—what he wants…I know, love…But remember, you're a Potter too." Harry's eyes softened as she reached down and gently brushed the strands that had fallen into the five-year-old's eyes. "And a Potter knows how to get what he wants the right way…You'll have to earn this toy first, Garrett." She explained gently.

Again, Garrett's eyes shimmered with tears and his bottom lip began to quiver as he spoke.

"But…Mommy—"

"Are you two still at it?" An amused voice suddenly asked out of nowhere, startling Harry and Garrett out of their argument.

Blinking in surprise and glancing back up, both Harry and Garrett watched as Draco Malfoy, the current Head of the Malfoy Family, walked into the store. A smiling five-year-old Gabriel Malfoy was with him, holding onto one hand, while a shy, 3-year-old Hailene Malfoy held onto his other hand. At the sight of his wife and his older son, Draco couldn't help the amused smile that lit up his face and he walked over to them. As he did this, many of the watching wizards and witches nearby suddenly began whispering eagerly amongst themselves.

When he got to them, Draco briefly let go of Hailene and Gabriel's hands and knelt down so that he was eye-level with his crying son. "Garrett, would you look at yourself? You are a Malfoy and yet, you're acting like a commoner, throwing a tantrum on the floor like that." He drawled, earning another glare from his son.

"I DON'T CARE!" Garrett screamed tearfully at him, causing Draco to wince as the younger blonde's shrill voice pierced through his ears. Smirking and shaking his head, he stood back up and faced Harry's cringe.

"Why don't you just buy Garrett what he wants, Potter? What's the big deal, anyway?" Draco suggested as he glanced down and noticed Garrett's tearful expression again, noting that his son looked just about on the verge of another horrible temper tantrum. When Garrett's expression lit up slightly at his father's words, however, it was Harry's turn to scowl this time and she glared at her husband, giving him a pointed look.

"Draco, that is precisely the kind of indulgent parenting that has made my children act this way and I am trying to undo all that. Garrett has too many toys at home already, buying him another one is not going to mean anything to him. Besides, giving him what he wants every time he throws a tantrum, he'll be throwing tantrums everyday now." Harry told him, looking a little annoyed when Draco just smirked and shrugged at her.

"Alright, your call…I'll leave you two here to settle your differences then. There are too many people staring at us, already." Draco pointed out, drawing Harry's attention once again to the crowd of shoppers who were hanging around the shop just to watch their family and the screaming five-year-old crying on the floor.

Sighing and nodding in defeat, she watched as Draco gathered Gabriel and Hailene to him again, ushering the two blonde children out of the shop. "We'll just be in the ice cream shop, if you need us." He told her and after giving her a peck on the cheek, he began leading Gabriel and Hailene out of the shop again.

"Bye! Bye!" Hailene flashed Garrett an adorable, toothy baby smile while Gabriel waved cheerfully at Garrett and grinned at him, clutching tightly onto his father's hand. "Father? Why is Garrett crying?" He asked Draco as they were walking out the door but Harry never heard Draco's response as the trio had already exited the small shop. As soon as the three blondes had gone and Harry was left with Garrett scowling angrily up at her from where he was still on the floor, she finally straightened and decidedly walked over to the cashier.

"Garrett, my final answer is no. Now come on and let's pay for the rest of these things so we can go."

"NO!"

Harry squelched back her frustration when Garrett refused to budge from where he was still crouched in a fetal position on the floor behind her. Shaking her head, Harry walked on anyway – meeting the cashier's amused smile at her with an apologetic smile before she deposited her tray of items on the purchase counter.

"Children, huh…?" The cashier, a kind-looking elderly woman who looked about in her fifties or sixties, smiled when she saw Harry's exhausted features. "Practically all of them are spoiled rotten nowadays." She kidded with a chuckle, causing Harry to smile briefly at her again and nod back in unwitting exasperation.

"Tell me about it…" Harry grumbled as she began rifling through her pouch to pay for her purchases.

"Although, your son is a real cutie he is, Mistress Malfoy…He looks just like his father. How old is he?" The cashier mentioned cheerfully again just as Harry was handing her seven galleons and a couple of sickles.

Smiling, Harry answered her with a brief nod of gratitude. "He'll be five next October." Rolling her eyes, however, Harry chuckled to herself as she turned back around to glance back at Garrett over her shoulder. Although I swear to Merlin, sometimes, I think that stubborn child hasn't aged a day over two—Garrett?"

Forgetting about the cashier woman and her purchases altogether, Harry's eyes suddenly widened and she turned around sharply when she saw that Garrett was no longer behind her and had vanished from the shop. Frowning and suddenly feeling a pang of worry, Harry immediately set off to look for him around the small shop – pointedly ignoring the calls and questions the cashier woman was calling out to her from behind.

"Garrett? Garrett, sweetie, this isn't funny! You're making Mommy nervous! Where are you? Garrett?"

She realized, a minute too late, that her son was no longer in the shop – and her eyes widened in panic.

"GARRETT!"

Garrett felt like screaming, and stomping, and crying all at once as he dashed through the crowded, busy streets of Diagon Alley that morning – wanting nothing more than to get as far away from his horrible mother as possible. He noticed that a few kids and families along the way were eyeing him in confusion but he ignored all of them and ran faster, pushing his way through the crowd in growing impatience and anger.

Just as reached the middle of the main street of Diagon Alley, he managed to bump into another older, much taller wizard who was making his way towards the opposite direction and so Garrett stumbled, falling backwards against the pebbled ground and accidentally scraping his elbow. As the tears of pain sprung to his eyes, however, his first instinct was to think of his mother – as she was always the one who rushed to his side whenever he got hurt in any way – but then he remembered that he wasn't supposed to be talking to her so instead, Garrett sniffled and forced himself to get back up. Rubbing at his sore elbow, Garrett wiped the tears away from his eyes and began plowed through the crowd once more, blindly heading for the end of the street.

I'm never going back! I'm running away! That'll show them! Bet Mommy's wishing she bought me that toy NOW! Garrett thought to himself with a scowl as he continued pushing through the crowd in front of him.

As soon as he got to the end of the street, he paused for a few minutes before following a steam of wizards heading for a narrow alley between two adjacent buildings. He didn't realize, however, how far exactly he had gone off from his mother until he looked up and saw the dark streets of where his father always used to take him sometimes – a noisy, dingy place called Knockturn Alley. Frowning, Garrett briefly remembered what his mother always used to say about this place – how Garrett was never to go there without her or his father.

Walking into the alley anyway, Garrett's green eyes suddenly widened in a mixture of nervousness and curiosity as he came upon the kinds of people lurking about the area. From left to right, he saw witches and wizards donning heavy, hooded cloaks that hid their faces. Others – to his dismay – were plump, wrinkly middle-aged witches with fuzzy gray hair and wearing ghastly velvet dresses. They were standing around the sides of the streets and leering at him with wide, creepy smiles. As he looked up at them as he was passing by, he couldn't help backing away in fear when he caught sight of their yellowing teeth and dark, beady black eyes.

One of the nearby women, an old witch with a particularly large hook nose, had grabbed at his arm just as Garrett was passing her and smiled widely at him, causing the wide-eyed five-year-old to whimper in fear.

"Lost your way, have you my pet?" The woman smiled again, allowing Garrett a glimpse of her two blackened front teeth. Wincing and paling in fear, Garrett gulped audibly and tried to step back from her.

"N—no, I'm fine—" Garrett's cheeks colored and his eyes darted around nervously for a way out. "I'm just looking for my Mommy—" He began struggling with the witch's vice-like grip on his arm in growing fear.

"Come with me then, my child…" The corners of the woman's eyes wrinkled even more and up close, Garrett could smell the weird scents of all sorts of potion ingredients radiating from her cloak. "I'll help you find your way back to your precious Mommy…" She cackled loudly then and behind her, Garrett finally made out a huge bubbling cauldron and a large, cart filled with an assortment of different colored potion bottles.

This did nothing to soothe the five-year-old's nervousness and his eyes began filling with tears of fear.

"I have to go back now, Miss Potion Lady—" He winced when the woman cackled again and this time, she leaned down so that she could look at the Garrett's ashen face. The Malfoy son winced and moved away.

"My, my…" The woman smiled again as she leaned down and inspected Garrett's wide, bright green eyes in mild curiosity. "You are an adorable child, aren't you little one…? Hmm…Well in that case, maybe if we don't find your mother, I'll just keep you for myself then, how does that sound?" Her smile widened eerily at that and at the sight of those hideous, yellowing teeth once more, Garrett's only response was to begin crying.

Thoughts of running back to his mother filling his mind, Garrett felt his eyes blurring with tears again and he began struggling more fiercely with the scary woman and screaming angrily at her. "NO! I WANT MY MOMMY! I WANT MY MOMMY NOW! LET ME GO, MY MOMMY WILL HEX YOU! LET ME GO POTION LADY—"

His screams filled the dark silence of Knockturn Alley and drew the attention of several of the other passing witches and wizards nearby. Sure enough, just as the scary old lady was cringing at Garrett's high-pitched screams and was about to let him go, a familiar female voice suddenly broke through his shrill tantrum.

"Garrett? Is that you, sweetie? Or is it Gabriel?"

Looking up, Garrett's eyes suddenly widened in relief and the scary old woman released his wrist immediately just as he caught sight of none other than his Aunt Pansy, who at that moment had just stepped out of one of the shops near the end of the alley. Shaking her head and looking at the five-year-old in concern, Pansy pocketed her purchases and strode over to them, her eyes taking in Garrett's slightly shaking form.

"Merlin's beard, darling…What in heaven's name are you doing here by yourself?" Pansy demanded.

Wincing, Garrett shook his head and hid from the old witch again by stepping behind his Aunt Pansy.

"I…wandered off and got lost." He mumbled in embarrassment under his breath.

"Tsk, I can't believe Potter is such a bad enough mother to let you go off on your own!" She huffed but Garrett wasn't paying attention anymore as he immediately took advantage of the scary old woman's distraction and rushed off towards Pansy, latching onto her hand. "And you, you disgusting woman—" Pansy's attention had shifted to the scary old woman this time, causing the old witch to wince and back away from her.

"Shame on you for scaring such an innocent child like that! I have half a mind to report you to the proper authorities!" She stuck her nose in the air, staring the old woman down in disdain. "But as it happens, I have other pressing matters to attend to, so I won't bother. Come on, Gabriel! Let's get you to your father—"

"It's Garrett." He cut her off, scowling to himself in annoyance as he took her hand again.

Pansy laughed flippantly and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, of course, Garrett. How quite silly of me. It's just that, you and your twin brother are so hard to tell apart!" She commented idly with a soft giggle before she led them both back out of the small narrow alley towards the main busy road of Diagon Alley.

As soon as they were out of Knockturn Alley, Garrett couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief and quietly followed his Aunt Pansy down the street towards the same shop he and his mother were just in awhile ago. To Garrett's disappointment, his mother was no longer in the shop but the cashier behind the counter had recognized him immediately and gave him a look of relief. "Young Master Malfoy! Your mother was just looking for you, child!" The cashier told him just as he and Pansy had entered the shop. "The poor dear too, she looked quite frantic and out of her wits, I think it would be best if you went to her immediately." She added.

Upon hearing her words, Garrett felt a stab of guilt and he would have taken her advice had Pansy not interrupted them and given the cashier a cold, irritated smile. "Don't you bother yourself over other people's business. I'll be sure to bring Garrett back to his parents, let Potter fret and panic for awhile." She drawled.

Frowning, the cashier could do nothing else but nod stiffly at her after she had said this. Smirking, Pansy turned back to Garrett. "Do you mind if we look around the stuff here first, Garrett? I just have to buy a few things." She asked him cheerfully. Garrett scowled, however, and he had already opened his mouth to protest at this when Pansy quickly added. "Tell you what, darling…You be a good boy and wait here for Aunt Pansy for a few minutes…And say…I'll buy you…" She scanned her eyes around the small shop and grinned.

"This." Pansy walked over to one of the aisles in the back of the shop and picked up something from the shelf – a miniature Hand of Glory – the very same item Garrett had wanted his mother to buy for him. At this, the Malfoy son's reaction was instantaneous and he grinned instantly, seizing the toy from Pansy's hands.

"Deal!" Garrett laughed gleefully as he held the miniature Hand of Glory to him and practically bounced back over to the cashier with a smug grin. After Pansy had paid for the item, Garrett grinned again and sat back down happily on the seats near the cash register to play and fiddle with his newly bought toy. Pansy chuckled lightly at this and she nodded in approval before traipsing to the apparel section of the shop.

Minutes passed, and soon an entire hour had gone by that Garrett had been sitting there impatiently by the corner of the small shop. Eventually, the young Malfoy son began to feel agitated. Scowling again, he looked around the small shop for his Aunt Pansy in annoyance but the former Slytherin was still currently in one of the dressing rooms in the back – about to try on a dozen more dresses. Sighing and exasperatedly blowing several blonde strands out of his eyes, Garrett jumped back up and walked over to the dressing room.

"Aunt Pansy?"

He stood in front of the closed dressing room door and glared expectantly at the locked doorknob.

"…"

Garrett's scowl darkened and his expression scrunched up into an impatient Malfoy sneer.

"AUNT PANSY?" He kicked at the doors of the dressing rooms for added effect, sniggering moments later when he heard the former Slytherin meep in response – followed by what sounded like Pansy accidentally dropping her purse in her shock until all of its contents had spilled out onto the floors of the dressing room.

"…Wh—what is it, darling?"

Tapping his foot impatiently on the floor, Garrett crossed his arms over his chest.

"…ARE YOU DONE YET?"

"…No, not yet! I still have a few more dresses to go, Garrett! Give me fifteen more minutes!"

At this, Garrett couldn't help the loud, annoyed groan that escaped his lips.

"But I want to go NOOOOW!" He complained in a loud, high-pitched voice that caught the attention of the other occupants of the shop once more. "My head hurts and I'm thirsty! And hungry! And I miss my Mom!"

From the other side of the dressing room door, Garrett heard Pansy's scoff followed by her irritated response. "Garrett, just give me a few more minutes, alright? I promise! Come on, darling…Your Aunt Pansy needs to find nice dresses so that she can stay pretty always, okay? You wouldn't want her to be ugly, would you sweetheart?" Pansy added in a cooing, chuckling voice but at this, Garrett's scowl eased into a wide grin.

"Ohhh…So you're buying dresses so that Father won't call you an 'ugly whiny cow' anymore?" He asked curiously but as the words left his lips, however, Garrett's eyes widened when he heard Pansy's reaction.

"…EXCUSE ME?"

Realizing his mistake about five seconds too late, Garrett tried to stumble backwards away from the irate woman in nervous panic but even as he was rushing back to the front of the shop, Pansy had swung the door of the dressing room open and suddenly lunged at him, snatching the five-year-old tightly by his wrists.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? WHAT DOES YOUR FATHER CALL ME?" Pansy screeched at him, practically jostling the five-year-old in her anger and causing Garrett to drop his miniature Hand of Glory in shock. Meekly, Garrett blinked big green eyes up at her again and answered, wincing when Pansy's grip tightened on his arm.

"My father calls you an 'ugly, whiny cow'." Garrett told her, his voice laced with so much of the unmistakable and blunt honesty of an innocent five-year-old child that Pansy's face turned purple in her anger.

She held her anger back for a few minutes, however, and after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, she turned back around and forced a smile at Garrett again. "Very well, I suppose your father is entitled to his own opinion. No matter how blind and unfounded that opinion is. So—" Her smile turned sugary as she held her hands out, gesturing for Garrett to inspect the low-back purple-colored dress she was wearing.

"How about what you think, darling? Doesn't your Aunt Pansy look pretty in this dress? Don't you think so?" She asked him sweetly, batting her eyelashes at the young Malfoy son again. With a rather impertinent smile, Garrett tilted his head up to look at her and answered her in a nonchalant, matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"…No!"

Pansy's left eye twitched dramatically, and the sugary smile on her face instantly turned into a snarl.

"I beg your pardon?"

Garrett blinked up at her and rewarded her with another wide, honest smile.

"You look like a giant grape in that dress!" Garrett burst out into sniggers at his own joke; causing Pansy's eyes to flare again as she finally exploded at him and seized the blonde by the front of his robe collar.

"WHY YOU INSOLENT, DISRESPECTFUL LYING BRAT—"

Cringing, Garrett's eyes widened again and he tried to get away but unfortunately, the grip Pansy had on his arm was too tight. Without warning, she raised her wand and hit Garrett on the back of his palm with the handle in punishment – instantly causing the five-year-old to wince in pain and his eyes to water with tears.

"THAT'S how we punish bad-mouthed children in MY family and THAT'S how I teach MY son proper manners!" Pansy's lecturing tirade was cut off when to her surprise, the young Malfoy son burst into tears – screaming, sobbing, and whimpering softly as he cradled his sore hand against his chest. "—What, why are you crying now? Are you going to throw another tantrum? Do you that works on me—?" Pansy's eyes flashed and in annoyance, she hit the same spot of his hand with the back of her wand again, giving Garrett a stern glare.

"Stop crying! Stop crying, I say, or I'll hit you again! It's about time SOMEONE taught you better discipline, you little brat!" She snarled at him and as though the five-year-old's slightly pink hand was not enough punishment for her, she reached over and pinched his left shoulder, causing Garrett to cry even harder.

"You hurt me! I'm telling my Mommy!" Garrett sobbed loudly as he collapsed in a fetal position on the floor, shoving her away and raising his fists to rub at his teary eyes. His small form was convulsing so violently with sobs and hiccups that even the lady cashier at the front of the shop looked like she wanted to stop Pansy.

In that moment, Garrett wished, more than anything in the world – more than the toy he had so furiously badgered his mother to buy for him – that he had stayed with her and not ventured out on his own.

His mother would never let him get hurt or anyone ever hurt him – let alone touch him – and certainly, his mother would never have let an insane, creepy old witch or his maniacal Aunt Pansy and her hundreds of hideous dresses within five feet of him. Well, certainly without hexing or cursing them to their death first.

In fact, if he hadn't run away and his mother had been there to protect him – the scary old witch awhile ago probably wouldn't have dared approach him and his Aunt Pansy would never have dared to lift a finger to hit him – because his mother, as far as Garrett knew, was the strongest, most powerful witch in the whole wide universe – and everyone else was scared of her. Garrett thought that she was just bloody wicked that way.

"STOP CRYING!" Pansy snapped impatiently at him, unaware now of all the disapproving glares she was receiving from the other occupants of the shop. "STOP IT! YOUR TANTRUMS AREN'T GOING TO WORK ON ME!"

Looking up at his Aunt Pansy's irate glare, Garrett cried and whimpered even louder and already, the blonde could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks cascading down and drenching the fabric of his robes.

"I'M TELLING MOMMY!" He screamed back tearfully at her.

"YOUR MOTHER ISN'T HERE RIGHT NOW!" Pansy scoffed back at him and raised her wand again, holding it over Garrett's huddled form. "I swear, no other mother teaches her children proper discipline nowadays—" When it looked as though Pansy was going to hit him lightly on the back of his palm again, Garrett shut his eyes in anticipation, his entire form already tensing for the impact. To his surprise, however, the pain never came and when all he heard was Pansy's sharp gasp of pain, he blearily opened his eyes – and stared at the scene.

His mother, the Mistress of the Malfoy family herself, was standing over them and was now grasping Pansy's wand just inches above the back of the other woman's palm. From the looks of things, it appeared as though Jaimee had grabbed the wand from Pansy just as she was about to hit Garrett and reversed the situation by hitting Pansy instead – hard enough so that the back of Pansy's hand was now red and bruised.

"POTTER! How dare you?" Pansy gasped sharply again as she nursed her injured hand to herself and glared at the other woman with narrowed, accusatory blue eyes. "I was merely teaching your son manners—"

Harry didn't say anything at first, merely walking right past Pansy and kneeling down so that she could look into Garrett's tear-streaked face. She tilted his chin up gently so she could inspect his features, and after ascertaining that Garrett was – for the most part – unharmed, Harry gently wiped the tears away from his pale cheeks. At this, the Malfoy son sniffled and launched himself into her arms, burying his crying face against her.

"Shhh… I'm here… I'm here, love… I won't let anyone else hurt you, I promise…" She shushed the crying five-year-old in her arms for a few seconds, whispering soothing words into his ear and kissing his blonde hair gently until Garrett eventually calmed down and his sobs had subsided into soft, occasional sniffles.

The immense relief on Harry's features was evident – as well as the undeniable rage she was now directing over Garrett's shoulder at Pansy. As she stood back up, her hands tightening around the crying, trembling bundle in her arms – Harry's eyes narrowed even more and she sneered coldly at Pansy in warning.

"Touch my son again, Parkinson—"

Harry was positively seething as she spoke, her green eyes narrowed dangerously and an ominous, threatening sneer formed on her beautiful face. "—and the poor owner of this shop will have to be scraping the remains of your sorry, wretched carcass off the floors for a month." She drawled in an eerie, hissing voice that strangely reminded Pansy of You-Know-Who. Her wand – the very same wand that had killed off the Dark Lord– was clutched tightly in her hand and if anything, the black-haired woman looked about ready to explode.

Paling, Pansy realized her mistake immediately and she took a step backward from the irate Mistress.

"Potter, calm down…He was just throwing a tantrum! I wasn't hurting him or anything—"

"Oh really?" Harry drawled sarcastically as she raised an eyebrow and glanced down at Garrett in her arms again, her jaw clenching in anger when her son sniffled and raised his left hand– showing his mother the sore red marks on the back of his palm. The sight of the bruises inflamed Harry's anger even more and baring her teeth at Pansy, she snarled and raised her wand, pointing it right at the other woman's stricken face.

"N—no, Potter, you don't understand! I didn't mean to, I was just trying to discipline him—"

The corner of Harry's lips curled upward into a menacing sneer and her eyes darkened.

"You don't have any right to discipline him, Parkinson! I'M his mother!" Harry hissed venomously at her.

"B—but, your son is a tantrum-throwing brat! I can't believe you're letting him keep doing that—!"

At this, Harry growled, failing to see the gleeful, mocking smile Garrett was now sending his Aunt Pansy from where he was cradled comfortably in his mother's arms. Pansy saw him, however, and at the sight of the blonde smirking smugly at her, her jaw dropped and she began pointing frantically at him in realization.

"Potter, your son is mocking me! Look at him! He's smiling! He's—" The rest of Pansy's carefully formed protests faded away when Harry looked at her son again and saw that Garrett was still whimpering and clutching his sore hand in pain. When Harry shot them both a confused look, Garrett looked up imploringly at his mother again with big, tearful green eyes and indicated to his left shoulder, sniffing a few times for effect.

"Aunt Pansy pinched me too…It hurts really bad, Mommy…" He whimpered and sure enough, this was the final straw for Harry as she flicked her glare back to Pansy again and gave her one last cold smile.

Gulping, Pansy took another step backwards and raised her wand up at Harry in self-defense.

"I swear, Potter, I wouldn't hurt your son on purpose! I was merely trying to teach him a lesson about discipline, he seriously needs to stop all those tantrums, you know! In my family, I teach my son the same way and besides, I wasn't even hurting him! It was just a light whacking on the hand, it doesn't hurt that much—"

"You're quacking, Pansy…" Harry's voice sounded bored and nonchalant as she twirled her wand around her fingers with her free hand. Then, with a calm smirk, when she finally stopped twirling her wand, it was conveniently pointed at Pansy and the tip began to glow bright blue with the beginning of a magical spell.

"In fact…Why don't I let you quack on for a little while?"

Harry never saw the wide-eyed, mischievous smile on Garrett's face as he watched his mother, the savior of the Wizarding World, raise her wand and point it directly at his Aunt Pansy's gaping, horrified features.

"Ducklifors!"

In spite of herself, Harry could not prevent a smile from her face at the sound of Garrett's adorable, high-pitched laughter just as she was carrying him out of the shop. Her son was glancing over her shoulder, laughing and giggling at the spot where his Aunt Pansy had once stood and was now, instead, occupied by a large yellow duck that was flapping around, quacking loudly in panic and drawing the attention of several people nearby. As they reached the exit of the shop, however, and Harry turned to give a nod of farewell to the cashier lady by the door, Garrett glanced over Harry's shoulder again and smiled widely at his Aunt Pansy.

"Thank you, Aunt Pansy!"

With that, he held up the miniature Hand of Glory that he still had and flashed it at the loudly quacking duck staring after them from the floor of the shop. When the duck's only response was to quack even louder and glare at him in utmost anger, Garrett giggled gleefully to himself again and grinned as he allowed his mother to carry him out of the store. As soon as they were out and he was clutching happily at his newly purchased toy with a smug look on his face, Harry paused in the middle of her walking and looked down at him.

At the knowing, pointed glare he saw in his mother's features, Garrett winced and offered the Malfoy Mistress a sheepish smile, holding the miniature Hand of Glory up in his hands and offering it back to her.

To the five-year-old's surprise, his mother just shook her head exasperatedly at him – and laughed.

"I was right, you know."

Harry grinned and leaned down, kissing and nuzzling her son and causing him to giggle again.

"You are, most definitely, a Potter."

Garrett's eyes brightened and he smiled at his mother again, his arms tightening around her in a hug.

They were still laughing when they finally reached Draco, Gabriel, and Hailene – who were all still lounging in one of the ice cream shops in the middle of Diagon Alley. At the sight of his wife and his oldest son laughing to themselves, Draco couldn't help the small smile that lit up his face and he glanced curiously at them.

"What's so funny?" He asked Harry just as she had deposited Garrett onto the seat between Gabriel and Hailene and leaned over to reward her husband with a sweet kiss on his cheek. Noticing the miniature Hand of Glory Garrett held in his hands, Draco arched his eyebrows in surprise and turned to glance at his wife.

"So Garrett's tantrums worked on you after all." He observed, looking up just as Harry had glanced over at her oldest son again and gave the giggling five-year-old a grin. Confused, Draco flicked his gaze back and forth between Harry and Garrett a few times before the Malfoy Head finally sighed and asked knowingly.

"What did I miss now?" Draco asked them with a scowl, looking a little put out.

Sharing a secretive wink at each other, Harry and Garrett just smiled back mischievously at him.

"Nothing."

A/N: *giggles* Poor Draco, I guess I had to leave him out of this little escapade, it was more a Harry – Garrett story to begin with. And don't you all just love the cute mother-son relationship between the two of them? I didn't expect them to grow that close, truth be told I expected Harry to be closer to Gabriel. But alas, that just proves that the characters you write can take on a life of their own. :D

So… In any case, if you guys have any more suggestions about any family oneshots you have in mind for me to write out, I would be glad to hear them. Maybe some of you even have a cute oneshot in mind this time for Harry with Gabriel or Hailene this time? Or maybe a father-son idea for Garrett and Draco? Send them in and who knows, I just might write them out for you! :D

Liked it? Please don't forget to leave me a review, mmkay? See you all on the next TPM update! :D