Harry was feeling enormous.
James was big and never still. He could not only feel him, but sometimes he could actually see him moving through the motion of his skin. Harry was going to the bathroom more than he was watching television, and sleeping had become somewhat complicated.
Sometimes he felt insecure, he didn't want people seeing him that big. Hermione and Ron were fine, but he wanted to hide from Molly, from Neville, and sometimes even from Draco. Every time Draco noticed this behavior, he made Harry feel loved and cherished, whether through kisses, caresses, words, or sex. Fuck, sex.
He knew Draco was good at it, the few flashes he had from that night in the eighth-year common room proved it, but ever since they'd slept together again, Draco made a point of showing him how right Harry had been about it. Now it could be said he had a sex life, not very active, since half the time they started something, they had to stop because James made him uncomfortable.
Draco never complained. He just kissed Harry's forehead and held him, beginning to compliment him, for being beautiful, for being incredible, for carrying James, for basically everything. Harry loved it.
He had no words to express how grateful he was that Draco, Hermione, and Ron had gone to his aunt to get his mother's things. Whenever the discomfort became too much, he hugged her scarf. He still hadn't mustered the courage to open the photo album or the rest of the box, but he felt a little closer to her, and that was enough.
He found it funny to discover that his mother had been explosive. He was so used to everyone talking about his father, about the things he did with the Marauders, that he hadn't even considered there might be more to know about his mother than that she was a brilliant witch with green eyes.
But there was. She was incredibly smart, her grades proved it. But she stood up to anyone who offended her, cursed back, swore back, snuck out after curfew, broke into the Restricted Section of the library. He wished he had known her.
With that thought, he straightened the blanket Teddy was wrapped in for his afternoon nap and got up, walking over to his mother's box and picking up the photo album. He returned to sit comfortably next to Teddy.
He opened the album. The first photo was Muggle, static, his mother as a child, in front of the Hogwarts Express, Petunia beside her. They were different: his mother was short and chubby, her dark red hair neatly braided into two tight braids, smiling broadly, her green eyes sparkling. Petunia was very thin, taller, her blonde hair loose, just below her shoulders, her face holding back tears.
The next photo was magical: a girl with light hair, Marlene McKinnon, if Harry remembered correctly the name Sirius had given when showing him the original Order of the Phoenix photo. She was smiling for the picture, and in the background, his mother had just hit her on the head with a snowball. Marlene fell to the ground, and his mother bent over laughing. Below it was written: "December 5, 1971."
Harry smiled, feeling like crying. He didn't know how her laugh sounded, but at least he had heard her voice before she died in the Forbidden Forest.
The next photo was also marked the same day. It showed his mother, thrown into the snow, next to Marlene and another girl their age, Black, her hair in beautiful braids. Harry didn't know who she was, but the three of them were smiling, all the innocence of first-year girls. Further down the page, Harry discovered who the girl was.
"Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadowes, first snow of the school year."
The next photo was the three of them again, but now in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, and Alice Longbottom was there, well, she wasn't Longbottom yet. The four of them were smiling, wearing pajamas, his mother's hair was down, not straight, but not curly either.
The following pages were mostly just photos of them, and Harry was enchanted by every picture his mother appeared in. She looked so happy, so carefree. A blonde woman appeared in what seemed to be the end of third year, June 1974. Pandora, Luna's mother, and next to the Ravenclaw was Barty Crouch Jr., also in Ravenclaw uniform. His mother met Crouch, the man tortured Alice, her friend, almost to madness, kidnapped "one-eyed" (?), and manipulated him throughout his fourth year. He brought Voldemort back to life with Peter Pettigrew.
Harry had to close his eyes for a few moments before turning the page, but he only saw the photo of Snape with his mother. The way he looked at her made his stomach twist.
The first photo that featured any of the Marauders was from October 1974, and to his surprise, it was Sirius. He was laughing and sticking his tongue out, and his mother was in the background, arms crossed, looking annoyed. Sirius must have stolen her camera, but she had kept the photo anyway.
Most of the photos were of Marlene and Dorcas with his mother, though Snape appeared in a few, as did Sirius. His mother had become friends with Sirius. Harry had always assumed that, of the Marauders, she would have been friends with Lupin, but it was Sirius.
From September 1975, Snape stopped appearing, but Lupin made his first appearance in February 1976, their fifth year. One of the photos that made Harry laugh in disbelief was taken in March 1977, his mother was in what looked like the Gryffindor common room, next to Lupin. She was handing him a cigarette, and he was inhaling at the same time she exhaled smoke.
At seventeen, she was smoking what appeared to be marijuana with Lupin.
Wow. She was nothing like the image Harry had built in his mind. He had imagined his mother as a straight-laced girl, studious above all else, avoiding trouble and conflict. But no, Lily J. Evans was fiery, studious, and mischievous. Now he could understand how she and his father had ended up together.
It was in 1977 that his father appeared in the first photo. He looked like he had just finished a Quidditch match. Lily was taking a picture of herself with Marlene when he appeared and hugged them both from behind. They pulled away, probably disgusted by the sweat. Harry ran his thumb over the date and the heart next to his father's name.
In January 1978, on his mother's eighteenth birthday, his father appeared again, this time hugging her and kissing her cheek, then her lips. They were smiling, looking so happy, and three years later, they would both be dead.
The last photo Harry had the stomach to look at was of his mother pregnant. She seemed to be at the same stage Harry was, considering the date, June 29, 1980. Her belly wasn't that big, slightly larger than Harry's, and he felt both happy and sad realizing his mother had also had a small belly. Discovering that from a photo…
His father was behind her, hugging her, hands on her belly. Sirius was sitting on the floor, covering her legs in the photo, smiling widely, so young. Lupin was hugging him from the side, planting a kiss on his godfather's cheek. And Peter was there, hand on his mother's shoulder, smiling faintly.
He killed them, he left him an orphan, and yet there he was, leaning against his mother, smiling for a photo, as if he weren't responsible for imprisoning one friend, for the death of two, and for the loneliness of another.
Harry swallowed the bile rising in his throat and closed the photo album. His next movements were almost automatic, he carefully lifted Teddy into his arms, who grumbled softly but soon settled back to sleep in his embrace. He walked to the fireplace, took a bit of Floo powder, clearly said Draco's house name, and appeared in his living room.
He cleaned Teddy, who glanced around briefly but wasn't particularly interested, and then snuggled back into Harry's lap to sleep. An elf appeared in the room, looking slightly startled, but her eyes widened when she saw him.
"Mr. Potter, what can Tipsy do for you, sir?" she asked.
"Is Draco here?" he asked, holding Teddy.
"Master Draco is at Malfoy Manor, sir," she said, and Harry felt his chest tighten. "Would you like Tipsy to let him know you're here?" she offered.
"Yes, please, Tipsy," he nodded.
"Tipsy will do that, sir, but Tipsy asks that you sit on the sofa, sir. Tipsy doesn't think you should be standing with the little wizard in your arms under these conditions, sir," she said quickly, and Harry swallowed hard.
He walked to the sofa, sat down, and massaged the lower part of his belly. Teddy shifted slightly, looking at him with a clear pout and grumpy little face.
"Sorry, little man," he murmured, and the blue hair darkened to a deeper shade. Teddy tried to climb out of his lap, which Harry let him do, and saw him settle on the sofa "Forgive Hazz?" he asked.
"Fogive," he murmured, closing his tiny eyes, tired.
Of course he did. Harry gave him a toy broom, like Sirius had once given him, and the child spent the entire morning and early afternoon flying around. Harry stroked his colored hair, and slowly it lightened back to its usual shade of blue.
The green light filled the room, and Draco appeared, with Theodore and Zbini behind him, all three looking concerned. Harry stood up, but before he could take a step, Draco was holding his face with both hands, studying him, as if looking for injuries.
"What happened? Are you okay? Does it hurt? Are you hurt?" Draco fired off questions.
"Darling, it's okay, breathe, it's okay," Harry said, trying to calm him, seeing Draco finally take a breath. "I didn't mean to worry you, sorry," he added, and Draco shook his head.
"It's okay," Draco said, hugging him.
"I just opened her photo album, that's all," he whispered, feeling a knot grow in his throat, closing his eyes as Draco stroked his hair.
"My sweetheart," came Draco's soft voice.
"Daco," said the child's voice, and Harry leaned back just enough to look at his godson, whose hair was platinum.
"Oh, he's a metamorph," Theo said, and Teddy turned to him.
"This is Teddy, Harry's godson," Draco introduced, still holding him in an embrace.
"Hi, baby," Theo said, and Teddy tilted his head, studying the Slytherin "I'm Theo," he introduced himself.
"Theo," Teddy repeated, and Nott smiled at him. Teddy's hair turned brown like the Slytherin's, and he reached out his arms.
"Can I?" he asked, and Harry nodded, nestled in Draco's arms.
Harry watched as Teddy sat in Theodore's lap, his grumpiness seemed to ease a little, and he looked curious about the pendant on Zabini's necklace, reaching for it when the man leaned closer. For a moment, Harry imagined how it would be with James.
These were Draco's friends, they would be present in James's life. Scenes like this would be ordinary, exactly how he should have grown up, with the Marauders, Alice, Marlene, and Dorcas around him. Instead, he had grown up alone in a dark, cramped cupboard.
He curled even closer into Draco's arms, planting a kiss on his temple, one on his cheek, his forehead, and then the top of his head. Harry left a kiss wherever he could reach, landing on the blond's neck, letting the scent of Draco's perfume envelop him.
It was funny how that scent had become synonymous with comfort and safety.
"Potter, do you want us to go?" Zabini asked, and Harry lifted his head.
"No, it's okay, I just didn't want to be alone at home," he admitted, smiling as Teddy tried to put something in his mouth and Theo stopped him.
"Where are Granger and Weasley?" Draco asked, and Harry caught the irritation in his voice.
"They're at Hermione's parents' house," Harry explained, not wanting Draco to be annoyed with his friends for having a life beyond him. "I shouldn't have gone through the photos with just Teddy," he murmured, knowing it was true.
Draco didn't answer, only placed another kiss on the top of his head, and Harry understood that he agreed he shouldn't have looked through them alone.
"Sleeping here tonight?" he whispered.
"Andromeda will pick up Teddy in about three hours, so we can hand him over and sleep here," Harry agreed, and Draco gave a small smile.
"Can I order something you like to eat?" Draco asked, and Harry chuckled softly.
"You mean I'm going to take the landline you don't know how to use and call the pizzeria?" he asked, and Draco smiled, nodding.
"Are you really okay?" Draco asked, caressing his face. Only then did Harry realize he must have looked like someone who had been crying and was holding back tears.
"I'm okay," he nodded, leaving a quick kiss on Draco's lips.
"Uh," Harry turned to Teddy at the squeak, just to smile, watching him try to reach for a floating light that Zabini seemed to have conjured.
"He's adorable," Zabini said, smiling openly.
"He is," Harry agreed, how he loved that little man.
He felt the familiar pressure of James kicking and smiled, holding back a comment about how the kick was probably out of jealousy. He looked at Draco, who just stared back before moving a hand to his belly, opening a small, honest smile as he felt James kick.
"We can look at your mother's photos later, if you want, in my bed. I promise to hold you and kiss you the whole time," Draco whispered, his voice no louder than a murmur, and Harry gave a small smile.
"I wanted to see the photos before James is born, but that could literally happen any time this week, so…" he sighed.
"My godson is coming this month?" Theodore asked, and Harry noticed Teddy was now in Zabini's arms, looking fascinated by his hair, probably because he couldn't imitate its texture.
"I don't know if I'll survive if he doesn't come this month, honestly," he laughed softly, rubbing his belly. "I can't even tie my shoelaces without magic, for Godric's sake," he complained, and Theodore chuckled softly.
"Any expected date?" Zabini asked, caressing Teddy's cheek, who had rested his head on his shoulder.
"According to Healer Hawthorne, it's supposed to be around the 25th," Draco replied, leaving another kiss on Harry's temple.
"Twenty days ahead, then," Theodore murmured, and Harry sighed, thinking of how many times he'd have to get up at night to pee, but at least James was safe in his womb.
"Come sit, Sweetheart," Draco said, guiding him to the sofa, where Harry sat down again, sighing in relief as the weight of his belly eased.
He nestled into the blond's arms, feeling more relaxed with Draco's scent filling the house. He absentmindedly rubbed his belly, watching Zabini put Teddy on the floor when he squirmed and whined to be let go, then started chasing the green lights the Slytherin had conjured.
Harry grabbed his wand and quickly cast a Patronus, smiling at the loud laugh Teddy let out, clapping his hands in joy as he chased the deer, which moved slowly enough for Teddy to follow. He glanced away from his godson to Draco, seeing him watching his Patronus in a way not too different from Teddy's, and then noticed Zabini and Theodore also observing, looking amazed.
His Patronus bowed, and Teddy tried to reach one of its antlers, but it moved away, causing Teddy to stumble and fall, laughing loudly before getting up and trying again to catch the glowing deer.
"I hope James will be as calm and sweet as him," Harry murmured, staring at his belly while rubbing it.
"We both know he's going to be terrible, Sweetheart," Draco replied, still watching the deer, and Harry smiled.
"Being our son, we couldn't expect any less," he muttered, closing his eyes and snuggling closer into Draco, smiling as he felt a kiss pressed to his forehead.
"The only thing we're certain of is that he'll be very, very loved," Draco said softly, and Harry opened his eyes. "And he'll have plenty of people to spoil him," he added with a small smile. "James will be a happy and deeply loved child," he finished.
Harry looked at him, cupped his face, his thumb brushing along the sharp line of Draco's jaw, feeling the roughness of his stubble. He took in the grayish-blue of Draco's eyes, the way the blond hair fell across his forehead. Draco was beautiful.
He held his face and pulled him in for a kiss,nothing deep, just their lips meeting softly,and when he pulled back, it was only to nudge the tip of his nose against Draco's. Harry smiled when he felt another gentle kiss placed on his forehead.