*Cri* I don't know what happened to my format.
I use Word when writing chapters, correct any grammatical errors I made through Word, then copy and paste the chapter onto here as a new Chapter, if that makes any sense. So my Format, which looks so good in Word, meaning there are SPACES between each paragraph, disappeared once I pasted the chapter here. :<
Anyway, hello again! So sorry for the delayed Chapters. I started a new Tafe Course last year so I didn't have much of my own time to continue my writing, plus I met a guy during that course who turned out to be a... a not nice guy as soon as we started dating so my Mental Health started getting a little worse because he began Mentally Abusing me. *Inhale* So yeah. Not very fun. ANYWAY! Here's one out of a few chapters I've JUST finished editing. :>
Enjoy, darls!
Chapter Text
Harry woke the next day with a sigh and looked up with heavy-lidded eyes at the enchanted sunroof which showed him a nice sun shower. He rubbed at his eyes for a moment and reached over to his bedside table to grab his glasses and slide them on. He sits up sluggishly and looks around his sunny bedroom until his eyes lay on the window opposite his bed showing a sunny morning. He slides off his bed and wanders over to the other side of the bedroom to look out the window into the streets below where he sees children walking around, couples holding hands – he immediately thinks about Draco – and an owner walking their excited dog around.
He decides to get dressed and head down to the kitchen to get some food. He realises he's alone in the kitchen which doesn't bother him, he just goes to the pantry for some cereal and decides on cornflakes. He is surprised Severus actually shops for food the muggle way as he can see actual muggle cereal, jars of jam, peanut butter, and milk in cartons. He has a fridge, stove, and oven too!
He finishes his cornflakes, puts his bowl in the sink, and decides to just walk around the house for a bit. He starts with Severus' study, and he looks at all the old European retro books on the bookshelf behind Severus' desk. He doesn't want to snoop inside the drawers to his father's desk in case there are answers to future Potion's tests in there.
He wonders where exactly Severus and Remus are, as he heads to the lounge room and sits down in Severus' armchair. He wished Severus had a television so he could watch something for the time being. To his boredom, he has nothing to do, and he only hears the birds flying around outside and the dogs barking happily.
Just as he began to feel comfy, he hears a door open and two voices, and he was already on his feet. He rushes to where the voices are and finds Severus and Remus with bags of groceries in their hands. He smiles at them but crosses his arms. "Why didn't I get an invite to go shopping with you two?" he asks at once. "Or at least some notice about where you two were going."
"Sorry, Harry," said Severus, smiling as he handed Harry a bag of groceries, and places his free hand on Harry's back to guide him towards the kitchen. "But we did leave a note on the fridge for you." When in the kitchen, he pointed to the white sheet of paper on the top door of the fridge which read in large black letters 'We went shopping. See you once you wake up. XO' "Didn't you see it?"
"And we didn't want to wake you," Remus added softly, placing the groceries he had on the bench. "You literally slept for twelve hours."
"Jesus," Harry muttered, looking at the note written by Severus. "I never knew that's how long I slept for, and I never saw this note. I was half awake, half sleep."
"Did you stay up all night or something?" Severus asks Harry, opens the fridge and cupboards with a sway of his wand and starts putting the groceries away with Remus.
Harry shook his head and helped them with the task of putting the groceries away. All he did was read for an hour before going to bed. His mind then wandered on its own, and he thought about Draco and some ideas on what he can do with him during some times of the holiday. "So, what are we doing today?"
"How about a family outing?" Remus suggests, and he was about to open a packet of chocolate cookies, but Severus snatched them away from him with a smirk and stored them in the pantry. He frowns a little because he loves his chocolate and wants it back.
"That sounds exciting!" Harry says lightly with a grin, "When can we go?"
"In an hour, once we gather a few things, then we can head off," Severus says, smiling at his son's excitement, and he grabs the cookies from out of the pantry just to give them back to Remus. He didn't want to take away his lover's chocolate. It's just simply rude. "Go put a jacket on. It's quite chilly out there."
Harry nodded and rushed to his room to put on a jacket. Then, he heads back to the kitchen and finds out they'll be visiting Nottingham for the day. After a nice outing consisting of visiting museums, old castles, restaurants for lunch, and even a funfair, they headed home to relax their legs from all the walking around as Remus and Severus, to Harry's amusement, were scared to get into a taxi. It's just a bloody car! Haven't they been in one before?
Harry was lying on the lounge chair in the lounge room when the room lit up green and a person with white-blonde hair stepped out. It was Draco. The Slytherin smiled and walked over to his lazy boyfriend. He sat down beside Harry's waist and ran his hands through Harry's black fluffy hair.
Harry looks up at him and smiles happily. He sits up, cups Draco's face, and brings their faces closer together for a kiss. "Did you get bored and miss me already?" he asks the Slytherin quietly, opening his eyes to look up at Draco's handsome face.
Draco chuckled and nodded his head. All day he has just been walking around the manor and gardens all by himself while his mother just sat inside the second lounge room. She couldn't go anywhere still. Not for an entire month until her house arrest gets lifted so she can be free.
Then they heard a familiar feminine voice. Harry looked towards the Fireplace and saw Hermione's face. "Oh, hello!" he said, and he practically slid off the couch onto the floor and crawled over to the fireplace. Draco just sat on the couch and crossed his legs, watching Harry crawl and that arse move beautifully side to side.
"Hello, Harry," said Hermione with a smile. Harry wasn't used to fire-calling his best friends. "How are you doing? I'm just here to remind you that Bill and Fleur are having their wedding in a couple of weeks. Actually, it's the day after your birthday and you and Draco are both invited!"
"Marvellous!" said Draco poshly, beaming. Harry looked behind him and smiled fondly at his lover. He loves when Draco talks all posh like some royal. It's beautiful.
"We'll be there," mumbles Harry, distracted by his boyfriend's appearance. There's just so much to compliment about Draco. So much to love.
"Umm... Harry?" Hermione said lightly, smiling at how love-struck her best friend is. "You're staring." She understands him though. Sometimes she gets caught up in watching Ron doing many things like de-gnoming the gardens and sleeping.
Harry blinked, realising that he is staring at Draco. He blushed, smiled, and looked back at Hermione. How couldn't he stare at his boyfriend, though? Draco's just a bloody angel!
Draco smiled lovingly at Harry and walked over to him. He crouched down next to him and reached his hand up to caress Harry's soft cheek, which only darkened the blush on Harry's cheeks. He leaned over and planted a kiss on Harry's cheek, just loving how adorable Harry's being. "So, where is this wedding taking place?" he asked while staring into Harry's green eyes.
Ron made an appearance from behind Hermione. "The Burrow, obviously," said Ron candidly, slumping down on the maroon armchair with an apple in his hand. He took a big loud bite out of his apple.
Draco rolls his eyes at the sound of the Weasel's voice. He should have known anyway. Where else would the family have a wedding? But that sounded so exciting! He has never been to a wedding before. He looks back into the fireplace and wriggles back a little. "So, err... we're going to go," he says at last, wanting to take Harry to the manor for some time or stay with Harry here for some time.
Hermione nodded her head, and with a simple "Goodbye," from her and a lazy wave from Ron, her head disappeared from the fireplace.
Draco turns to Harry with a smile. "Want to head to the manor for a while?" he asks his boyfriend in a low mutter. "We can do anything you want. Go anywhere. Explore."
"I would like that," Harry says, smiling with a nod and he stands up and walks with Draco to the Floo. Anything he wants, huh? That sounds fun. Where hasn't he been before? He would like to go explore the forest around the manor, even though he does remember seeing a Wendigo through the trees of the manor watching him and Draco. He wonders where it lives. "Dad?" he calls out. "I'm heading to Malfoy Manor with Draco!" He doesn't hear any reply and sighs.
"Wait here," Harry tells Draco, and once the Slytherin nods, he heads to the kitchen. He sees the note on the top door of the fridge and removes the magnet. He takes the note, walks to his father's study, grabs a quill and writes 'Going to Draco's. See you soon!' on the other side of the paper. He heads back to the kitchen, puts the note on the kitchen bench, and goes back to Draco to the Floo.
"So, does your manor have an attic because I haven't actually seen it?" Harry asks after stepping out into the lounge room of Malfoy Manor.
"I've never shown you the attic?" Draco asks him flatly. Harry shakes his head. "I cannot believe it." He leads him out of the lounge room. "I'll take you there then. But it really isn't anything special. It's just old furniture from hundreds of years ago."
That excited Harry. Everyone loves a bit of history. "Do you have a ghost living in your attic like the Weasleys do?" he asks as they walk by the dining room, and he gets a little glimpse of the newly furnished dining room. The dining room, instead of painted black, was now painted in a royal light red colour. And the walls all had at least two dark brown wall candles with three candle holders and the flooring still had the wooden floorboards.
Draco smiles at his boyfriend getting distracted by the new furnishings in the dining room and pulls him away. "No, we don't," he deadpans, shaking his head slowly. "My father hired some bloke to get rid of the ghost and sent him off into the afterlife. The ghost was apparently a pain in the arse."
They walk up a flight of wooden stairs, around a corner into a long hallway leading to the drawing room, Library, and the larder, and they take a left up to the attic. Harry walks up first, and he enters a dim square room, filled with old Victorian furniture ranging from couches, chaises, wardrobes, curtains, and trunks. Three large windows stood looking out the front of the manor, dust particles floating in the air where the sun shone through.
Harry wiped his fingers along a few desks and armchairs, expecting to see the dust on his fingers but there wasn't any dust on his fingers at all or on the furniture. He knew it was either House Elf Work or some Ancient Pureblood Magic.
Draco opens a large vintage closet and finds old corsets, dress robes, and dresses from the Victorian period in time. Harry finds his way through all the furniture to the three large windows, and he looks down to the grounds. The hedge leading towards the manor was trimmed back and down a bit, so the inside of the hedge was seen, showing a couple of small birch trees and a white stone architecture water fountain. Hands suddenly wrap around his neck and a soft kiss is placed on his cheek. Harry smiles, turns his head to the side and attaches his lips to Draco's in a slow kiss.
They decide to head back downstairs and get out into the sun for a while. Harry took a minute to really look at this new brighter Manor from the outside. He didn't think the entire manor had a renovation. The whole manor and gates were painted a nice sky grey. The windows of the manor were much clearer, and you could see into parts of lit rooms and hallways.
The sky was a nice blue, white fluffy clouds were floating above the manor in different shapes and sizes. It was magnificent! Harry thought it would have looked like any other Manor that he would see somewhere in the rich suburbs of the United Kingdom.
They wlked around the side of the Manor to the backyard, Harry looks down at a patch of grass next to an apple tree and has the urge to just plant something there. Something nice. But what could he plant there if he was allowed?
The greenhouses they walk in first and see vegetables and fruits on either side of them. But in the next greenhouse are the magical plants that Narcissa likes to take care of. Since she can't because she's on house arrest, the house elves are taking care of the plants.
Harry spots Narcissa watching them from the sitting room's window on the first floor with a cuppa in her hand and he waves to her with a smile. Narcissa smiles and waves back at him with her free hand.
Draco takes Harry by the hand back into the manor to see his mother. He dislikes leaving her alone, especially when on house arrest.
Narcissa was lightly fast strutting down the grand staircase towards them, her cuppa floating and following her. "I have something to tell you boys," she says quickly, smiling as she sees the two walking towards her. "I'm sure you remember my sister's daughter being pregnant?" Harry and Draco nodded. "Well, a couple of weeks ago she had her baby."
"Oh, Merlin!" Harry gasps, and he swiftly cupped his mouth with a large grin. "I'm an actual godfather now!" Draco was just standing there beside Harry, smiling wide as he knew he was now officially an uncle. What he wanted to do right now is to go and see his nephew.
"I know!" said Narcissa happily, "I have a great-nephew!"
"So, can we see the baby?" Harry asks her at once, linking his arm around Draco's, and leaning his head on Draco's shoulder. "What's the gender?"
"Unfortunately, no, we cannot visit my sister and her family right now," Narcissa tells them flatly. "And it's a boy named Teddy."
"How cute," said Harry softly. Speaking of family, he wants to know when they can visit Lucius in Azkaban. He knows in muggle prisons families can visit their loved ones in prison so why can't wizards and witches? "We should be able to visit Mr Malfoy in Azkaban, right?"
"We can, Harry," said Narcissa quietly, and she sniffed. "If I didn't, I'd visit Lucius at least three times a week." She frowned a little and looked down at her blue-heeled shoes. "I can't though because of this stupid house arrest mechanism on my ankle."
Harry forgot about the house arrest put on Narcissa. But the poor soul was put on house arrest for an entire year and could never visit her husband at all. "If I'm allowed to ask, how long until they come off?" he asks her gently.
"Sometime during August," Narcissa mumbled with a sigh. "But that's okay," she added with a tight smile. "I'll just get to see him in a month's time."
"We'll go with you to see him, mother," Draco says, stepping forward to hug her as he knows it would be hard to stay inside for an entire year and not be able to visit her husband. It would pain him if he ever wasn't allowed to speak with Harry at all for whatever reason. "When you're allowed out of this house, indubitably."
Narcissa smiled at him and kissed her son's forehead. She would rather these two boys go together whenever they want than wait until she's allowed to go. But she doesn't want to do anything alone. "Thank you, boys," she says lightly, tears appearing in her eyes. "That would be much appreciated." She hesitated for a beat and sighed. "Why don't we all go and create some art pieces of our own in my art studio?"
"Oh, that sounds exciting!" Harry says, grinning with his teeth. He hasn't created art since primary school, and it's usually with paint, crayons, glitter, and even beads. It sounds fun though. "I'd love to." Draco even nodded in agreement.
Fun, it was. The Art Studio was open with two tall windows looking out into the back of the property, deep red drapes hung on either side of the two windows, and three canvas stands with pearly white canvas's stood in the centre of the room in a semi-circle. In front of each canvas was a polished dark-wooden stool crafted well with creeping vines as legs. Palettes stained with dry paint, a round Bone China vase of paintbrushes, and several shades of colour paints lay on an old polished wooden side table behind all three canvases'.
As Harry started painting the canvas, putting his heart, soul, and feelings into what he was making, with multiple colours and shades from the palette, he found it quite soothing and relaxing. He could do this all day. Though he didn't know what his painting was all about when it was just coloured blotched on the canvas in different shapes and sizes.
When looking around the room for inspiration, he got to see all the paintings Narcissa has done over the years when he and Draco were at Hogwarts, and when she was locked inside under House arrest. She had paintings around the room on stands and in golden rimmed frames on the walls which were of a bowl of fruit, the back gardens of the Manor from the room's window, the front hedges, a stunning ceramic vase filled with beautiful Begonias and Hydrangea's and many more paintings that were painted from inside the Manor.
"Why, whatever you've painted there, Harry, is quite beautiful," Narcissa says as she glances to her side at Harry's canvas, seeing a work of art that consists of many colours and strokes of a paintbrush. It's something mysterious, something she hasn't seen before. Over her lovely dark blue dress was a white lacy apron that she had put on before painting.
"You think this scrawl is beautiful?" Harry says in disbelief as he looks at all the blobs, spirals, and splotches of colourful paint all over his canvas. But as he thought about it, his piece of art did look a little...pretty. "I guess I was just painting my feelings and emotions."
"It's quite beautiful in my eyes," Narcissa says with a smile, tilting her head to get a better view of Harry's canvas. "And I love how you're painting your emotions. It brings depth into art, though art is expressing how you feel." Then she brings her attention back to her canvas which she had been starting to paint Jasmine Polyanthum – Climbing Jasmine – over a white wooden arch. "Now tell us, could you describe in detail your emotions to us?"
"You see the light colours surrounding the darkest colours?" Harry asks them, pointing out the light colours, almost pastel, surrounding all the darkest colours in the centre of the canvas. "I believe that's my happiness – green, yellow, white, and light blue, - and my love – pink, light reds and purples – crowding around everything dark that I've gone through in my life such as my depression. Black, greys, dark green, dark red. And then there's the gap, where my depression can leak out at any time and cloud my mind."
"I see that," Draco nods, smiling at Harry's painting. "It truly is beautiful, Harry." He saw lots of Harry's love and happiness colours which to him means Harry's happiness is balanced with his love. The depression and darkness are trapped inside the light of Harry's happy colours, but there's a way it can escape, unfortunately. It really is beautiful. It's better than his painting of the large window looking out into the Manor's back gardens, plus a tree branch from one of the Oaks outside with a little Blue Wren bird sitting on it. The Blue Wren he painted looked a little fat, but oh well, it's now a fat Wren.
Harry then looks at Draco's canvas, and he giggles at the rather fat Blue Wren Draco had painted. But besides its size, it was quite a good painting. He could tell Draco got his skills from his mother. Draco was able to outline the details of the tall dark window, the Wren, the different colours it has on its tail and back, the eyes and the colour around the eyes almost as if the bird was wearing sunglasses, and the tree branch the Wren sat on with all its deep green leaves with the sun coating most leaves with light and the bark of the brown branch having a lighter shade too from the sun.
"Yes, I know I failed the Wren," Draco mutters to his painting, scowling at the bird which didn't look perfect to him, though it should have been. "It kept hopping around on the branch, so I had to recall what it looked like in my mind to be able to paint it. At least it looks like a bird – a Wren."
"My darling son, it looks beautiful!" Narcissa says brightly, beaming at her son's work of art.
"He is beautiful," Harry says to Draco, reaching over, his paintbrush still in his hand, cups his lover's face and rubs his thumb over his warm cheek. He made sure not to accidentally smear paint on the blonde, though it was tempting. Draco smiles and begins to blush as he gives Harry a loving look, then turns his head and kisses Harry's thumb.
"Harry, you're so sweet," Draco says softly, and he grabs Harry's hand and pulls him forward. Harry sits on Draco's thigh, then boops Draco's nose with his thumb and wipes orange paint down the blonde's nose to the tip with his paintbrush while grinning. Draco gasps, then he laughs softly, and Harry begins to kiss Draco's jaw. "You little twat! You better not have messed up my perfect complexion." Harry giggles and nibbles on Draco's chin. Draco thinks about grabbing his palette and just smearing paint all over Harry's face and hair, but he doesn't want to mess up such a beautiful view. It's so tempting though.
Harry's grinning still. But then he feels inspiration flood his mind and he quickly hops back onto his stool. "Sit still, dear," he says quickly, and he ponders to himself if he could do such a task as to paint his boyfriend. He grabbed another canvas from below the stand, replacing it on the stand with his painting. "Pose for me."
Draco only just widened his smile, crossed his leg over the other and placed his hands on his lap. His back was already straight, and that's all he needed to do for Harry to start painting him. Harry took his time, using light and gentle strokes of his paintbrush while glancing back and forth between Draco and the canvas he was painting. He wasn't thinking that this painting must be perfect, although his boyfriend is. The only thing on his mind was painting his beautiful boyfriend.
Narcissa smiled at Harry's canvas, seeing the start of her son being painted onto the canvas, but she turned back to her canvas and finished where she left off.
