"Has she finished, pet?"
Harry looked up and nodded. "Yes, Draco."
"Good." Draco sat across the table from Harry and the baby as Harry fed her. Harry was under strict instructions not to swallow one bite. Snape had left only an hour ago and Draco had to admit that his house had become peaceful once again. Of course, it wasn't a desired peace. His Supero nature was having a field day at being allowed to expand a bit, but Draco the man was not exactly as comfortable as he would have been just four years ago being allowed to have full reign like this. He realized quickly that Harry and he had made a good checks and balance system for each other. He would freely admit that he would have preferred to have his own way all of the time, but Harry had taught him that it was a sweeter victory if it wasn't routine. And Draco was proud to have taught Harry to stand up for himself and stop being a doormat for every sucker out there. The Potter money going to the orphans had enraged Draco like nothing else. But once he had looked into it further, he had found Harry's little stash. Little being a relative term, because the Black fortune was nothing to be sneezed at.
Draco had been stunned to learn of Harry's ability to keep the money a secret and hiding it away like that. Draco would never tell a living soul, but he had actually been hurt by Harry's secret that had excluded him. But Snape had pointed toward Harry's instincts when Draco had brought the issue to him. Harry had merely stashed away the money like he would have food if he had been living in the wild. It was for emergencies and nothing more. Actually, it was a human trait as well, especially for someone with Harry's rough background. And in all their years of marriage and of Draco keeping tabs on it, Harry had never once touched it. So Draco had left the matter alone. After all, though it was a large sum, it was really only enough for them to live on for a year. Draco made that much money in nearly ten months.
He had learned also that it was only a portion of the money that Harry had inherited. Some of it had gone to those clowns, the Weasley twins, to expand their business; some of it had gone to the restoration of the Black mansion so that one of Draco's many cousins, Nymphadora Tonks, could live there in bad taste with her pet werewolf. And some of it had gone to a secret fund for the rest of the Weasley family that they, the trusting idiots, thought was from some deceased relative. As if any relative of the Weasleys could have any money to speak of.
But, Draco had a warning in place if Harry ever made a withdrawal. Draco allowed the secret, but he was damned if he would let Harry throw more of that money away on charity cases.
"Draco?"
Draco snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his husband. "Yes, pet?"
"She's sleepy now. I'm going to put her to bed."
"I'll come with you." Draco stood up and made his way around the table. Harry looked at him out of the corner of his eye.
"You're only doing that so I don't go out of range," he said quietly.
Draco nodded as they stepped out of the room. "Yes, I am. But don't think of me harshly. You frightened me, pet. You made me frighten myself last night. Once you start realizing that I am here to keep you safe--"
"You know, I did kill off a mental Dark Lord. And a few of his friends," Harry cut in. "I'm not helpless nor am I not able to keep myself safe."
They began to climb the stairs and Draco held onto Harry's elbow as they ascended. "The only reason you had to do any of that was because you weren't mine yet."
Harry stopped and turned quickly towards the blond, knocking the grip from his elbow away. "Do you even hear yourself, Draco?" Harry hissed. "You sound so arrogant!" Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't want you to look down on me," he said quietly. "I feel like ever since we conceived Maia, I've been looked at as a freak. A thing that needs to be caged."
