Fatherhood | drarry teen adoptive parents au

twenty three | settling down

Nothing could have prepared Harry and Draco for the all-consuming love they would feel for their baby from the first few days of his life.

They loved Casper so much they forgot how to sleep, unable to take their eyes off the beautiful creation in the crib by their bed, or to believe he was allowed to be theirs. The sheer luxury of such a miracle baffled them.

They were thankful that there almost were two weeks left over the Easter break for them to practice looking after him before the other students came pouring back through the gates, and it was practice they certainly needed.

One of them (usually Draco, he was good in the mornings) got up around 5 most mornings for Casper's bottle, and more often than not ended up bringing him back to bed with him for an early morning snuggle.

He'd place him carefully down on Harry's chest, which radiated warmth from the deep sleep he'd just been in, and then slot in around the two of them, making sure to stay at least half-awake so they could both make sure their baby was alright. And it was blissful.

One thing Harry and Draco also hadn't expected, what with all the late nights and getting up throughout for their baby, was the amazing amount of energy both of them still had. Their endorphins were up, they were eating well, and besides, Casper was quite an easy baby once they got into the swing of it.

"Thank God you arrived at the start of the holidays, Cassy," Harry grinned one morning as he changed the baby's nappy with a cleaning Charm. "Giving your daddies good time to practice looking after you!"

"And hiding you!" Draco chipped in, gently squeezing Casper's tiny foot and making him gurgle as Harry did the poppers back up on his onesie. "Hiding you is going to be the really hard part, you big unit!"

The boys had agreed that the best way to carry him around when necessary was either to wear the Invisibility Cloak over both themselves and the baby (as Harry pointed out, "You don't want to look like you've suddenly got no arms") , and during the day he could be cared for in the Room of Requirement.

"I still can't believe that this room works for babies too," Harry smiled in disbelief when they checked it out. "It's incredible."

And it was - the boys could leave Casper there in secret whenever they liked, knowing he would receive whatever he required. A Charmed bottle could give him his milk when he needed it, a little crib could rock him to sleep, and somehow his nappies were always changed too whenever Harry and Draco returned. It was like a perfect little one-baby nursery except with no nurses.

Draco in particular did worry, though, about the principle of leaving the baby there on his own when term started again in a fortnight. His schedule for the year, and Harry's, each fortunately consisted of several optional classes as well as the mandatory ones, so each would have at least one or two free periods a day as well as their break and lunchtimes.

Neville and Luna, both sworn to secrecy and besotted with Casper, confirmed that they were also more than willing to swing by the Room of Requirement for a while during any free periods they had, so between the four of them they had arranged a pretty good rota of seeing him for when term started, which ensured that the baby would never be alone for longer than half an hour at a time.

But in the meantime, it was heavenly to spend all day, every day, with their son. He really was an exquisite little creature, with a shock of soft dark hair and huge liquid green eyes which, if Harry didn't know better, he'd have said they had the look of a real Potter about them.

Their favourite thing to do, when evening came and there were fewer people about, was to sneak Casper into the huge Prefect's bath with them for a soak together before bed, and it was clear that the baby loved it. The warm water and the bubbles lapping silkily around his little body never failed to soothe him if he was grouchy or not settling well, and Harry and Draco valued that time of day above any other.

"Proper little water baby, aren't you, Casper James?" Draco would coo, pouring a cupped handful of water over the baby's soft tummy and supporting his little head with the other hand. "He loves it, Harry, look! Look at us!"

Harry was always looking.

How could he not? Here was his divinely beautiful boyfriend, looking more like a Greek God than ever with his waist just visible above the water, his blonde hair slicked back and wet, soap gleaming off his skin every time he moved. He had a Seeker's body for sure; slender but athletic and capable, and was overall so much Harry's type that he still felt lightheaded whenever he looked at him shirtless.

And now their new darling was in his arms, staring up at Draco as if he loved him already.

Harry felt a deep sense of tranquility, that everything was slotting into place as it was meant to be. The next term would be stressful, but he and Draco would get through it, he knew they would.

And then afterwards, it would all be worth it. The pair had begun making plans to spend the summer together and maybe even take Casper to the Malfoys' place on the Côte-d'Azur, if they could do it without the knowledge of Draco's parents.

Harry knew that (for once) Draco hadn't been being dramatic the time he'd told him to guard the secret of their relationship from Lucius at all costs. And now that they'd added a baby into it, the threat was infinitely higher.

"He'd actually kill us, Harry," Draco had said, gaunt with fear. (It had been a time, pre-Casper, when he was sleeping particularly badly, and was especially stressed about the Dark Mark letters from his mother).

"If they found about us ruining their reputation like this, my whole family really would hunt us like a pack of fucking wolves. And they'd rip us apart like wolves too."

Harry shuddered at the memory of the sincerity in Draco's voice, at the fear that clouded his usually radiant eyes. Lucius was certainly something to be feared very deeply.

But as long as they were sensible, no one need find out. They'd only been his parents for a handful of days but already Draco and Harry's hearts beat for Casper as much as for each other, and each resolved to keep him safe forever at all costs. They had to protect him.

________________________________

a/n: sorry, a short chapter and a late update but i've been very busy and for some reason found it hard to write this one!

thank you all so much for reading and voting and commenting, it really means so much that you enjoy my writing!!

lots of love

~ paradisedraco