Always

Chapter Eleven

Now...

"But Dad! We're going to be such fops!"

"What the hell does that mean?" Draco asked, looking up from his paperwork.

"Bran means that our entry into the Hogwarts' social stratum will be problematic due to Dad being there," Azeas explained from his corner with his nose in a book.

"Ah." Draco went back to his paperwork.

"Bran, it's not as if I'll be following you around and wiping your chin," Harry said. "And it's only for half the year. Hagrid will be back from his recuperation and I'll come back home."

"Now, what happened again?" Draco asked as he lowered his reading glasses.

Harry sighed. "He was in the pen when a male Terrisaur caught sight of a female and attacked Hagrid, thinking he was competition."

"Do I want to know what a Terrisaur is?"

Harry smiled at his husband. "Probably not. Just know that it is a half-head taller than Hagrid and they were thankfully able to remove its spines from Hagrid's neck and back. But it will take a while for the poison to work its way through his system so he can stand up without falling down."

"And this was while he was on holiday, correct?" Draco clarified. "They do not have these creatures in residence at the school?"

"No, they don't. He was on holiday," Harry answered calmly. He'd already gone over this with Draco but it wasn't strange that Draco wasn't actually listening if he was working. Harry had long ago gotten used to the pattern of retelling and re-answering a second time.

"You know, Bran, you have it easy!" Maia grumbled from her place on the settee where she was playing a game of cards and stones by herself. "You don't even have Care of Magical Creatures. You won't even see Dad except at meals and things. I have to go to class with him as my teacher!"

Harry chuckled. "Don't worry, Maia. I won't embarrass you. I'll only hug you. No kisses."

Maia tightened her lips and went back to her game.

"But, Dad! I'll still have my Dad at school! People will think I'm a complete infant!" Bran complained as he stomped around in their sitting room.

"Ah. Done," Draco suddenly declared as he shut his ledger and stacked his papers. "I'm all yours, love. Did I show you the little cottage I rented us in Hogsmeade? Small, but it should be cosy without the children in it with us."

Maia and Bran both stared at him in horror. Harry was nearly unable to hold his laughter in at their faces.

"Father... please say that you aren't..."

"You can't mean..."

Draco grinned at his terror-stricken children. "You didn't think I'd actually rattle around in this house by my lonesome, did you? When have I ever let your dad sleep away from me for longer than a few nights?"

"No!" Maia and Bran gasped.

"Yes," Draco answered.

"This isn't fair! I was supposed to finally be away from home!" Bran moaned.

"This is my last year! I wanted it to be spectacular!" Maia objected.

"This will be great!" Harry said happily. "I get to see my sons' first year in school and my daughter's last."

Bran and Maia groaned in horror, Azeas turned the page in his book, and Draco and Harry grinned at each other in happy parental glee over their children's discomfort.