Harry Potter and The Charming Prince (BP7)

Harry's head jerked up quickly at a high-pitched scream from where April and Valen were playing, but he sighed once he had seen that it was only a loud peal of laughter. He laid his head back in Draco's lap, letting the rays of May sunlight warm his face. It was the first very nice day since winter, and Harry and Draco had spread a blanket over the grass to sit on while they watched their children romp around the grounds.

Valen had had his fourth birthday in March, April had only just turned three, and it had been five years since Draco had first kissed Harry. It was hardly believable, but it was very true. Harry was twenty-one, married, and had two children. He couldn't have thought of a better way to be living his life.

Just as he had really settled into relaxing again, there was another scream, louder and closer this time, and before Harry could even open his eyes –

"Ooof!" There was a smelly, stuffed unicorn being pushed into his face, and a flushed, excited-looking little girl sprawled over his chest. "April," he gasped, having not expected the landing. "What are you doing?"

"Baawin!" she shouted. "Baawin is gonna get me dirty!"

Valen followed soon after, standing over his parents and sister with his hands on his hips and his eyebrow arched in a pose that was so like Draco it made his blond father laugh.

"She is just whining again," Valen asserted.

Harry looked up at Draco and shook his head, smiling a little himself. "Are you whining again?" he asked her.

She scrunched her nose up in a little look of indignance. "No," she declared firmly.

"What do you mean he's going to get you dirty?"

Then, April spoke in a sentence that most people might not have quite been able to understand. "Was running (babble) and Baawin, and then (babble) him is being mean."

"You were running, and Valen was trying to push you, and he was being mean?" Harry asked.

April wiped her slightly runny nose and gave a great sniff. "Yeah."

"Looked like you were playing to me," said Harry. "I didn't see him being mean."

Draco's fingers gently stroked his husband's hair as he tried not to roll his eyes at their children.

"Exactly," the four-year-old boy said in a haughty tone. "She just doesn't like it when I am winning."

Harry snorted, sitting up now so that April fell off his chest and into his lap. "You know," he said to her. "It's not nice to be a snitch."

Her face transformed into one of shock that Harry could even suggest that she was being such a thing. April's little mouth dropped open and her eyes widened as she stared up at Harry.

Valen's look was one of smug vindication and Draco shook his head at the familiar expression. "And winning isn't everything," he warned his son.

"No, it's not," Harry said in agreement. "Now what if I make you both hug and say 'I love you'?"

April giggled and made a disgruntled face at the same time.

Valen rolled his eyes but a smile still quirked up the edges of his mouth. He held his arms open for his sister. "Come here, silly girl," he said.

April looked from Valen to Harry, and Harry nodded.

Still clutching the worn unicorn she couldn't bear to part with for more than a single minute, she climbed from Harry's lap and gave her brother a hug.

Valen smiled as he wrapped his arms around his little sister's shoulders, patting her back. "Don't worry, April," he assured her, "if Uni gets dirty, Daddy Draco will fix it."

Harry laughed at that, since he didn't think he had actually ever seen Uni clean. The stuffed animal had been wet, sticky, and scruffy but Harry couldn't recall when it was clean.

April looked to Draco for confirmation.

Draco huffed but nodded. "Yes, I can clean the toy," he drawled. "But I won't do it every day. You need to learn to take care of your things."

Harry rolled his eyes that time. If Draco really expected April to keep her unicorn clean, he was mad.

April sniffed at her Daddy Draco. Draco drew his wand and held out his silver hand for the toy. April took a few little steps forward and placed Uni delicately in Draco's hand, as if it were breakable.

Draco took the unicorn with a solemn air and then cast a Cleaning Charm on the fabric. The thing sparkled bright white.

"Told you," Valen said, pride in his voice and stance.

April took the unicorn back, shooting Valen one of her little looks. Small fingers caressed the unicorn that she now held close to her face and nuzzled with one cheek.

Harry snorted at them both again.

Valen smirked. "Race you to the fountain," he yelled starting to run before the sentence was finished. April let out a indignant shriek, taking off after him, the unicorn now dangling precariously from one hand.

Harry sighed, turning to Draco to press a quick kiss to his lips and Draco reached to cup the back of his husband's head, kissing back instead of letting him get away. Someone cleared their throat from behind them, and Harry broke the kiss to look around.

Hermione was standing there with Ron, looking amused. "Are we interrupting?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Draco rolled his eyes but smiled, leaning back on his arms and looking up at their friends. "Just enjoying the nice weather."

There were more shrieks as both children saw Ron and Hermione and came running their direction.

"It is beautiful out today," said Hermione, smiling widely herself as she gently petted April's head.

"Hey, kiddo," said Ron, beaming as he bent to ruffle Valen's hair.

Valen smiled, but ducked his head away, smiling mischievously. "Hey," he responded.

"What's up?" said Harry.

Hermione lifted April into her arms and sat down on the blanket with her, and Ron joined her after making a go for Valen's hair again. Valen laughed and hopped back, showing those quick reflexes that made his dads proud already. Then he walked around and sat down beside Draco, leaning against his father who put an arm around him. Draco arched an eyebrow at his friends and waited.

Harry waited for his question to be answered, raising an eyebrow at their friends' happy moods.

"Well," said Hermione. "We actually do have something to tell you."

Hermione kissed April's hair and glanced at her husband, grinning at him. "Go ahead," she said. "I know you've been dying to tell them."

Ron beamed again and drew himself up slightly. "Hermione's going to have a baby," he announced.

Draco and Valen had near identical expressions as their eyes widened and they grinned. "Congratulations," Draco said.

"I – wow – are you serious?" Harry asked, eyes going wide as well.

"Of course," said Hermione, laughing happily. "You can't be the only one to announce a pregnancy."

Harry grinned then. "Congratulations," he agreed.

"You got a baby?" asked April in her small, curious voice.

Hermione hummed in amusement. "Yes, in here," she said, giving her own belly a few pats.

April didn't look like she believed that very much.

Draco smiled at his daughter. "The baby starts out very small and grows," he explained. "Her belly will grow big and then it will be time for the baby to come out."

"So how did the baby get in there?" Valen asked him.

Hermione blushed slightly. "Um ...." She looked at Harry and Draco. Harry laughed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, completely unsure of how to answer that question when it was a four-year-old asking it.

Draco flushed slightly too. "Why don't you and I have a talk about that later?" Draco suggested.

"Promise?" Valen asked.

"Promise," Draco nodded, hugging his son's shoulders.

Harry released a sigh of relief, exchanging a glance with Draco. "Have you told anyone else yet?" he asked Ron and Hermione.

"No, not yet," said Ron. "Mum's going to flip!"

Harry smiled. "I'm sure she will," he said.

Draco's smile didn't fade. He loved the idea of more children in the house, even Hermione and Ron’s kid. Well, he thought, maybe especially theirs. They had become family to him.

"Won't it be weird?" Ron went on. "Us having a baby?"

Hermione huffed. "Not too weird, I hope," she said, giving him a nudge with her own shoulder.

"No weirder than us, I suppose," said Harry with a snort.

Valen curled up into Draco's lap, head against his chest, eyes closing. Draco petted the child's hair, smiling softly. "I think it's about time," he teased their friends.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Well, it's not wise for just everyone to have babies at the tender age of seventeen," she teased right back.

"Seemed to work out for us all right," said Harry, smiling at Valen falling asleep.

The expression "tender age" made Draco frown. He glanced at Harry, realising that with everything they had been through they hadn't really been that young at seventeen. When they had had Valen, they didn't even know if they would live to be eighteen.

Harry glanced up at Draco and cocked an eyebrow at his expression as Hermione helped April with the purple ribbon tied around her unicorn's neck.

"I love you," Draco mouthed silently to Harry, arms wrapped around their sleeping son. Then, "later."

Harry didn't really know what was up, but he nodded, leaning over to kiss Draco's cheek.

***

After a short while, Ron and Hermione were on their way to deliver the good news at the Burrow. Harry and Draco made their way back inside the house. Valen and April were laid down for a nap, though April whined for ten minutes straight that she wasn't tired.

When April's eyes had finally closed, Harry turned and made his way out of her room, pulling the door softly shut behind him. He held his hand out for Draco to take, intending to lead him back into their own bedroom.

Draco smiled at him and allowed himself to be led. His mind was on the wonder of their children and the idea of their friends as parents too.

Harry kicked his shoes off and settled on the bed himself, holding his arms out for Draco to lay in them. Draco toed his shoes off too and tucked them under the bed, crawling into Harry's arms. Harry smiled and kissed Draco's forehead, laying with him for a few moments before he asked, "What was the later for?"

"Nothing really," Draco said, nuzzling his lover's neck and hair.

"Well, if it was nothing, why say it?" Harry persisted, meeting Draco's eyes as he pushed his hair back.

"Just something Hermione said," Draco whispered.

Harry frowned. "She said something?" he asked. "What?"

"She said 'tender age of seventeen,'" Draco said, face serious as he thought about it again.

Harry frowned again, confused. "What about it?" he said.

Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head. "It implies a kind of ... innocence," he said, then rolled onto his back. "I never felt that way."

Harry watched him, reaching to play with a strand of blond hair. "I suppose I never really did either," he said. "She was only joking, love."

"We were both only seventeen when Valen was born," Draco said with a smile. He reached his hand up to slide along Harry's hand and up his arm.

"Yes," Harry agreed. "To most people it probably does seem weird – we were already bloody married by then. I guess we had to grow up fast, hm?"

"Too fast," Draco agreed as his hand slid over Harry's shoulder and under his hair to the back of his neck, caressing the soft skin there.

Harry sighed with the touch. "Wouldn't change it though," he said. "I love them more than anything."

Draco smiled, grey eyes focused on those shining green. He knew the pain they had both suffered and what it meant to them to say they wouldn't change what had happened. "Yes, where we should be, exactly," he agreed.

"Exactly," Harry echoed. "I belong with my husband and kids, and I will until I'm old and dead." He smiled.

Draco pulled against Harry's neck, bringing his husband close and kissing him.

Harry allowed Draco to kiss him and kissed back, feeling the warmth that always accompanied Draco's touch.

The blond shivered at the taste and feel of Harry. They had recently celebrated five years together and he found that even now each kiss was amazing to him. He pulled back to rub his nose against Harry's, knowing how much the simple gesture would delight him.

Harry hummed with contentment and smiled a wide, lazy smile. "I adore you," he said quietly.

"Good," Draco answered smugly, arching an eyebrow.

Harry chuckled, stretching and then adjusting himself into a more comfortable position against his husband. "You know what you just made me think of with that kiss?"

"What?" Draco asked, fingers sliding up the back of Harry's skull and luxuriating in the feel of the thick dark strands slipping through them.

"The fact that Valen asked how a baby got inside Hermione's belly, and the fact that you told him to ask later," Harry answered.

Draco smirked and waited for his husband to continue.

"What do we tell a four-year-old?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows. "I didn't think this would come up for another few years at least."

"The truth," Draco said calmly. "If he is old enough to ask, then maybe he should know."

Harry let out a snort. "Tell him about sex? He's four!"

Draco laughed. "And what would you tell him?"

Harry made a bit of a face. "I don't know," he said. "Certainly no bloody details."

"You don't trust me?" Draco asked, arching an eyebrow at his husband.

Harry gave Draco a disgruntled look. "After five years and two kids, you're completely right. I don't trust you," he said sarcastically. "I'm just saying .... He's so little."

"He is who he is," Draco sighed. "He is curious about everything. He seemed in a hurry to be born and now he is always in a hurry to be grown." He shrugged.

Harry sighed too, still frowning slightly. "What do you plan on telling him?"

"Trust me," Draco smirked.

Harry rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "So I'm not going to be there then?" he said.

"If you won't die of embarrassment," Draco teased.

Harry gave Draco a look of mock-offence. "Me? Embarrassed?"

Draco grinned and shook his head, leaning up to kiss him again.

***

Draco knew that Valen wouldn't let it go. It just wasn't his nature to forget an unanswered question. So later that evening, with April already having fallen asleep on the sofa beside Harry, Valen walked up and stood with hands on his hips in front of where Draco sat in a chair, reading.

Draco looked up and arched an eyebrow at the boy.

Valen huffed.

"Yes?"

"You promised."

"Fine," Draco said, closing his book and setting it aside.

Harry looked over at the pair and sighed, unable to help focusing on how little his son was, how little his voice was. He couldn't believe Valen was about to get some semblance of a 'sex talk.'

"So ask what you want to know," Draco encouraged, watching that determined look. Somehow Valen seemed to know that this wasn't a question he was expected to ask and instead of deterring him, it seemed to make him more set on it.

"How did the baby get inside?" Valen repeated.

Draco had had all day to think of an answer but still felt daunted, no matter how confident he had behaved with Harry. "Well," Draco said. "Each person has an essence inside them, something that is unique to them. We share that with someone we love very much. Sometimes we combine them to make another person."

Valen frowned.

Draco sighed. "It's like planting a seed that can grow into so much more."

Well, Harry thought. So far so good.

"How did the seed get inside her," Valen insisted.

Draco winced. He had hoped that his son would be satisfied with a more metaphorical answer. He glanced nervously at Harry and then took a deep breath. "A man makes a seed inside his body," he began. "A woman has a place inside her that can join with and grow the seed. There are ways two people can join their bodies together that make it possible to plant the seed."

Harry was nervous too, and was starting to feel very unsure of all this. If Valen wanted much more of a technical answer, he didn't know if he wanted him to be given one.

Valen seemed to take a minute to consider it. He cocked his head and then looked between his fathers. "Where did I grow?" he asked.

Harry looked in surprise at Draco, having not expected that, though he supposed he should have. "Well," he said, scooting a bit closer to Draco. "You grew in my belly."

Valen nodded but then looked back and forth between the two of them again. "Daddy Harry is not a woman," he said with a hint of accusation in his voice.

Draco sighed and nodded. "No, he is not. And most of the time, a man can't carry a baby inside him like a woman can. Daddy Harry is not most people."

Harry did flush a little then, but nodded in agreement with Draco.

Draco smiled at his husband's blush and his clever child. "You are the son we created together," he added.

Valen smiled too. "And then you made April," he said firmly, sounding proud of himself for having figured that out too.

"Yes," said Harry. "And then we made April."

Valen looked calculating then. "So who will you make now?" he asked, looking between them.

Draco laughed and glanced over at his husband, arching an eyebrow.

Harry raised both his eyebrows, looking from Draco to Valen. "Um, well, I'm not sure," he said, slightly amused. "Do you think we should make another baby?"

Valen huffed with a looking indignant at the question. "Yes," he insisted in a tone that implied it was obvious.

Draco laughed in delight and grinned, face flushed as he waited to see what his husband would say to that.

Harry scratched the back of his neck, shaking his head at the obvious pleasure Draco was now taking out of the conversation. "Well, I know Daddy Draco wants another baby," he said. "That would mean you would have a new little cousin from Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, and a new little brother or sister."

"Brother," Valen said firmly with a nod of his blond head.

Draco laughed again and pulled the determined little boy into his lap for a hug.

Harry shook his head again, looking seriously at Draco, but smiling as well. He moved even closer, laying a kiss on Valen's forehead. "Brother, eh?" he said.

"Exactly," Valen said, using his favourite word in that perfect imitation of Draco.

Harry laughed, kissing him again before kissing the corner of his husband's mouth. When being outnumbered included Draco and Valen, Harry knew when to smile and give in. He subconsciously ran a hand across his own belly, their little family was about to grow in size. And love.