All The Small Things

All The Small Things
by Maeglin Yedi

Pairing: Sirius Black/Tom Riddle
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never were. Never will be. They all belong to JK Rowling.

Summary: Of Evil Overlords, thick-headed Gryffindors and little wizards who are too curious for their own good.

A/N: Sequel to Before The World Was Made, written on request of readers who were asked to name the story they most wanted to see a short sequel to.

Big thanks to Gina for the beta!


*~*~*~*~*


There is something about the full moon that draws Sirius out of the mansion every single month.

Perhaps it\'s the memory of friends he\'s lost. Perhaps it\'s because he still worries about Remus, even after all these years. Or perhaps Sirius expects a large, gray wolf to appear one day and tear his throat out for betraying their friends.

Whatever the reason, Sirius likes to sit on the stone bench on the edge of the cemetery not far from the mansion and stare up at the full moon. The dog star is there as well, and a small voice – soft, but hard to silence – inside his mind reminds him that Sirius and Moony will always be together in the sky but will never run together through a forest again.

No one has seen or heard anything about Remus since that night.

And Sirius is reluctant to bring it up with Tom. He knows Tom would send out a party to track Remus down if he asked him. But Sirius doesn\'t want to find Remus. As long as Sirius doesn\'t know where Remus is, he can pretend perhaps Remus will forgive him for what he has done.

\"Daddy!\"

That excited voice brings a smile to Sirius\' face, and he turns on the bench to see Harry running towards him, arms outstretched, with Walden on his heels, looking panicked.

\"I\'ve got him,\" Sirius calls out to Walden, who slows his pace and looks relieved. The man makes a great executioner but he\'s hopeless when it comes to keeping an eye on little boys, as Sirius has learned over the years.

\"Shouldn\'t you be in bed, young man?\" Sirius asks as he hoists Harry onto his lap. Harry giggles, worming his small arms around Sirius\' neck and Sirius can\'t resist burying his nose in Harry\'s hair and inhaling his son\'s innocent scent.

\"Father was talking to Uncle Lucius,\" Harry says, his eyes solemn behind his round glasses. \"And he told me that it was grown-up talk and I couldn\'t stay. He didn\'t say anything about me having to go to bed yet, though.\" Then Harry\'s lips tug up into a grin. \"And Draco had to go to bed an hour ago already! And I\'m still up! Wait until I tell him that tomorrow.\"

Sirius laughs. Seeing Harry happy always makes him happy as well, no matter that the full moon is there to remind him of certain choices he made in his past. \"Your father spoils you,\" he says, almost scolding.

\"Yeah,\" Harry agrees with a content sigh.

Smiling, Sirius pulls Harry closer and presses a kiss on his cheek.

\"You have to put me to bed,\" Harry whispers. \"You tell better stories than Father does.\"

\"Do I?\" Sirius asks, thinking he\'s is going to rub that one in Tom\'s face later.

\"Yeah. I want a story about Padfoot and Moony and Prongs and Wormtail tonight. Father never tells stories about them.\"

Sirius closes his eyes for a moment.

\"Father only tells me stories about princes and princesses and there\'s this one about a duck who is really a swan but I like your stories more,\" Harry babbles on.

\"I\'ll tell you one then,\" Sirius says, and he tries to be happy that Harry is happy with his stories, but somehow it\'s hard to draw off his son\'s emotions when it comes to his preference for bedtime stories.

\"Why don\'t I have a mother?\" Harry asks.

Sirius blinks and tries not to look too shocked. \"What?\"

\"Draco has a mother. And Gregory. And Vincent. And Theodore. I don\'t have a mother,\" Harry says, staring up at Sirius with a small frown.

\"Right,\" Sirius says, frantically trying to think of a way to satisfy Harry\'s curiosity without having to tell him the truth. \"But you have two fathers. Draco doesn\'t have two fathers.\"

Harry seems to consider this as he stays silent for a moment. \"Do you and father do things then?\"

\"What things?\" Sirius feels heat rising to his cheeks and he really wishes Harry had asked Tom these questions instead of him.

Harry giggles. \"Things that Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa do.\"

\"What things do they do?\" Sirius asks, trying to sound like an adult and not like someone who really is uncomfortable discussing this subject with his seven-year-old son.

\"Grown-up things,\" Harry says, and Sirius can see that Harry wants to say more, so he gives Harry an encouraging smile. And then Harry\'s restraint breaks and he pours out everything on his mind.

\"When I was sleeping over at Draco\'s, Draco and me got up after Uncle Lucius had sent us to bed, and we snuck downstairs, and we saw Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa on the couch, and they were kissing a lot, and Uncle Lucius had his thingie out and Aunt Narcissa was touching it while Uncle Lucius had his hands inside her knickers, and Draco said they do that a lot and it\'s called sex and you make babies that way. Do you and Father make babies, too? Do you ever touch Father\'s thingie?\"

Sirius clears his throat, not sure if he should laugh or run away screaming. \"Well,\" he starts, frowning. \"Your father and I...that is to say...we do grown-up things. Yes.\"

Harry stares up at Sirius with wide eyes, his mouth half-open in anticipation.

\"When two people love each other very much,\" Sirius continues, and adds silently: or when one of them is a thick-headed Gryffindor who spends time as a dog and the other one is an Evil Overlord with a secret desire to bottom. He inwardly shakes himself. \"They do grown-up things. Your father and I love each other very much, so occasionally we touch each other\'s...things. It\'s called sex. Draco was right about that. But your father and I don\'t make babies. Only a mother and a father can make babies.\"

\"Oh.\" Harry purses his lips. \"But what if you put your hand down Aunt Narcissa\'s knickers? Can you make babies then?\"

This time Sirius does laugh, which only makes Harry look more confused. \"I don\'t think Uncle Lucius will appreciate it if I stick my hand down your auntie\'s knickers.\"

\"Nor would I,\" says a voice behind them.

\"Father!\" Harry chirps, turning in Sirius\' lap to look at his other father.

Tom circles the bench and seats himself beside Sirius. Immediately, Harry half-crawls into his lap and Tom strokes his hair and gives him a smile before he focuses his attention on Sirius.

\"It seems I missed quite the conversation,\" he says, his tone teasing.

Sirius narrows his eyes. \"How long have you been standing there?\"

\"Long enough, my dearest.\" Tom grins, and rests his hand on the back of Sirius\' neck. He pulls Sirius\' face closer and gives him a deep, lingering kiss. When he pulls back, Sirius feels breathless and even forgets about his son for a moment, until Harry squirms in his lap.

\"Me too!\" Harry pushes himself up to his knees, narrowly missing Sirius\' hardening cock. \"I want a kiss, too!\"

\"Of course you do,\" Tom says with a smile, and it\'s the smile that\'s patient and forgiving, the one he only shows Harry and Sirius and which always makes Sirius\' insides turn to pudding. Tom cups Harry\'s chin, brushes his lips across Harry\'s, and then presses them to Harry\'s forehead.

Harry giggles and grins and rubs himself against his two fathers. \"Are you going to touch each other\'s thingies tonight?\"

\"Um...\" says Sirius, glancing at Tom with wide eyes.

\"Perhaps,\" Tom says, his smile almost secretive. \"But it is none of your business, little wizard.\"

\"Oh.\" Harry frowns for a moment. \"I touched Draco\'s thingie. And he touched mine. And I don\'t mind if you know about it.\"

Sirius presses his face against Tom\'s shoulder, his entire body shaking as he tries not to laugh. Tom curves an eyebrow and stares down at Harry.

\"You touched Draco\'s penis? And he touched yours? When was that?\" he asks, and Harry\'s face flushes.

\"After we saw Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa do the sex thing,\" Harry whispers solemnly. \"Draco said it would feel nice. It was all right.\"

\"Ah,\" Tom says, and Sirius can see he\'s trying not to grin. But then his brow tugs up in a more serious frown and he stares at Harry with narrowed eyes. \"Harry, what I\'m about to tell you is very important, do you understand?\"

Harry nods wordlessly.

\"When someone wants you to do something you don\'t want to, you should never do it. No one has the right to force you into anything, understood?\"

\"But I didn\'t mind touching Draco\'s thingie. Was it wrong to touch it?\" Harry whispers, his tone worried, and instinctively, Sirius pulls him closer.

\"No, if you wanted it, it wasn\'t wrong,\" Tom assures him. \"But you should never do anything you don\'t want to, for anyone.\"

\"Okay,\" Harry says, nodding. \"Does that mean I don\'t have to listen to you or Daddy either when I don\'t want to study or go to bed?\"

Sirius lets out a bark of laughter and ruffles Harry\'s hair. \"No, young man. Fathers are exempt from that rule. You should always obey your fathers. Until you\'re old and wrinkly, Harry.\"

\"You are too clever for your own good, little wizard,\" Tom says and tickles Harry\'s sides until Harry\'s squeals and almost falls off their laps. \"And now it is time for bed. Up you go.\"

Harry jumps up and grabs both his father\'s hands. \"Swing me!\" he demands, relaxing his body so Sirius and Tom have no other choice but to hoist him up by his arms, which is exactly what Harry is after.

\"You\'re getting too old for this,\" Sirius chides, but he can\'t help giving in to Harry\'s wishes. He can never deny his son anything, and he\'s sure Harry knows as much.

\"Higher!\" Harry shrieks in between giggles, and Tom and Sirius swing the boy between them as high as they can while they walk back to the Mansion. It always amazes Sirius to see how much patience Tom has when it comes to Harry. And when it comes to Sirius.

Tom isn\'t a patient man, nor is he gentle in nature or quick in forgiving any mistakes, but when he\'s around Sirius and Harry, he seems to enjoy indulging himself in his human side.

And that is the reason Sirius is still with him. It\'s why Sirius made that choice so many years ago. And why he\'s happy in his new life with his lover and his son. Sirius glances at Tom and smiles, and Tom returns it, his skin pale in the light of the full moon and his green eyes dark with growing arousal.

\"Daddy, I want you to be a dog now,\" Harry says as he pulls himself free of his fathers\' hands and skips out in front of them. \"I want to ride on Snuffles\' back.\"

Tom glances up at the sky. \"You\'re not the only one who wants Snuffles to come out and play this evening,\" he whispers so only Sirius can hear him. Sirius snaps his gaze at Tom and stares at him for a moment before his lips twitch up into a grin.

\"Daddy, please,\" Harry whines, and Sirius snickers before he transforms into Snuffles. Harry shrieks with pleasure, jumps up and down a time or two and then crawls onto Snuffles\' back, holding onto Snuffles\' black fur with tight fists.

Sirius barks and bounces around on the damp grass, Harry crowing in excitement on his back. Tom watches them and laughs, the sound familiar and soothing to Sirius\' canine ears. Walden opens the door for them and doesn\'t seem surprised by the sight of a large, black dog carrying his Master\'s child; he\'s one of the few people around the mansion who know of Sirius\' alter-ego.

As Harry continues to laugh and shriek, Sirius trots to their rooms, and once inside Harry\'s bedroom he transforms back to himself and crouches beside the bed so Harry can jump off his back. Tom joins them and they go about their nightly routine of changing Harry into his pyjamas and making sure he brushes his teeth.

Once Harry is tucked into his bed, Sirius sits down on the side of it while Tom takes a seat in one of the chairs near the foot of the bed.

\"Can we look at the Riddle Map?\" Harry asks, his fingers curved around the blankets as Sirius rearranges all the plush animals against his headboard. \"I want Duckling,\" Harry adds as an afterthought, holding out one hand.

Sirius hands him Duckling, a plush dragon Tom has spelled to spit fire at anyone who\'d want to hurt Harry, but of course Harry doesn\'t know that and merely wants his favorite animal to sleep with. Harry snuggles Duckling against his chest and Sirius slips off Harry\'s glasses, puts them on the nightstand and then takes the Riddle Map out of the drawer.

The Riddle Map was born after Harry got lost inside the mansion once when he was three and no one was able to find him for a whole day. After Sirius watched Tom cast the Cruciatus on most of his followers out of sheer frustration, he created a replica of the Marauder\'s Map, that shows anyone who knows the password where Harry, Tom or himself are around the mansion.

\"Do you remember the password?\" Sirius asks, although he already knows Harry does. But he loves the affronted look on Harry\'s face whenever he asks him.

\"Of course I do,\" Harry says, and makes a little impatient gesture with Duckling. \"We need your wand.\"

\"Yes, we do,\" Sirius says as if he\'d almost forgotten about that fact. He slips his wand out of his robes. Then he turns the map over, since the back holds a very creative work of crayons Harry did when he was four, which represents an abstract portrait of Harry, Tom and himself.

\"Very quiet now,\" Sirius says while he gives Tom a pointed look. Tom plays along and pretends not to hear what they are saying, which makes Harry giggle as he puts his hand on Sirius\' wand, right above Sirius\' fingers.

\"Gryffindors rule and Slytherins drool,\" they both whisper as Sirius taps the tip of his wand against the parchment. Tom gives a quiet snort but doesn\'t comment, and Sirius watches the look of wonder on Harry\'s face as the Riddle Map comes to life on the yellow parchment.

\"There I am!\" Harry says, pointing his little finger at his own name. \"I\'m right there. And you are, too. And Father is there, as well.\"

Sirius nods and smiles and thinks that he owes it to James to let Harry say a Marauder\'s-worthy password and play with this map.

\"You\'re a Gryffindor,\" Harry states, tapping against Sirius\' name on the map.

\"That\'s right,\" Sirius says, and gives Tom a quick grin.

\"And Father is the bear of Slytherin,\" Harry says wisely.

Tom clears his throat. \"I beg your pardon?\"

\"The heir, Harry,\" Sirius says, trying not to chuckle.

\"Yeah, the Heir of Slytherin,\" Harry repeats, and gives Tom a smile that would melt anyone\'s heart, even that of a Dark wizard.

Tom gets up from his chair and takes a seat on the other side of Harry\'s bed. He strokes Harry\'s hair and gives Duckling a pat on his furry head. \"Salazar Slytherin was the greatest wizard who ever lived,\" he says, and Harry worries his lip as he listens. \"The most powerful wizard of all time.\"

Harry glances up at Sirius for confirmation, and Sirius shakes his head while he makes a \'don\'t believe a word he\'s saying\' face. When he notices Tom looking at him as well, Sirius glances up at the ceiling and pretends to study the canopy over Harry\'s four-poster bed.

Frowning, Harry sighs. \"Was he your father, then?\" he asks Tom softly. Sirius snaps his gaze down and sees something pass over Tom\'s face, but Tom recovers and gives Harry a smile.

\"No, he wasn\'t my father. He was my grandfather\'s grandfather.\"

\"Oh.\" Harry looks impressed for a moment and then tries to stifle an urgent yawn.

\"Time for little wizards to sleep if they want to become as strong as Salazar Slytherin,\" Toms says, and leans over to press a kiss to Harry\'s forehead. Sirius resists the urge to roll his eyes and gives Harry a kiss, as well.

\"Can you put out the fire, Father?\" Harry asks, only his face and the top of Duckling\'s head visible after Sirius is done tucking him in.

\"Of course. Good night, Harry.\" Tom flicks his fingers and the flames in the fireplace die down silently.

\"Sleep tight, young man,\" Sirius says, and shuts the door to their own bedroom behind him.

Tom turns around, crosses his arms over his chest and gives Sirius a pointed look. \"I would appreciate it, my dear friend, if you wouldn\'t put down Salazar Slytherin in front of our son.\"

Snorting, Sirius steps up to his lover. \"You already rule the world. Let me have a bit of fun with our son over Salazar\'s good name.\"

\"I should punish you,\" Tom says, narrowing his eyes. Sirius narrows his eyes as well and steps even closer to Tom. \"I should curse you as I do my servants.\"

\"You wouldn\'t,\" Sirius says confidently.

Tom curves an eyebrow and makes as if to reach for his wand, but Sirius grabs his wrist and presses his own body against Tom\'s.

\"You would never curse me because you can\'t resist my obvious Gryffindor charm, and you couldn\'t possibly live without my talented cock,\" Sirius whispers right into Tom\'s ear, and he feels Tom chuckle against his cheek.

\"And people accuse me of being arrogant,\" Tom says, sliding his arms around Sirius\' waist.

\"I believe we are well-matched, my Lord,\" Sirius says in mock-submission.

\"Do you now,\" Tom whispers, brushing his lips over Sirius\' throat, drawing a small moan from Sirius\' lips. \"Perhaps I\'m not completely convinced yet. Would you like to touch my...thingie?\"

Sirius bursts into laughter, leans his forehead helplessly against Tom\'s shoulder for a moment, and then pulls back. \"Merlin, you really know how to ruin the mood.\"

Tom grins rather smugly and releases Sirius. \"What prompted that conversation with Harry, anyway?\"

Reaching for the buttons of his robes, Sirius stays silent for a moment. \"He asked why he didn\'t have a mother,\" he finally whispers and starts to undo his buttons.

\"What did you tell him?\"

Sighing, Sirius sheds his robes and starts on his shirt. \"Nothing. I told him he had two fathers. I wasn\'t sure what to say to him.\"

\"Perhaps we should just tell him the truth,\" Tom says, sliding off his robes. Sirius snaps his gaze up at Tom, his eyes wide in shock. Tom chuckles and continues, \"Perhaps we should tell him that his mother died protecting him and that he now has two fathers who look after him.\"

Sirius stays quiet for a moment, trying to decide if he could tell Harry the truth. And if he should.

\"Or we can always just Obliviate Harry,\" Tom suggests, shrugging off his shirt. At Sirius\' affronted look, he says, \"That was a joke, my dear friend. I may be the ruler of the world, but I pride myself on having a sense of humor.\"

Snorting, Sirius pulls off his shirt and steps out of his trousers. He leans his cheek on Tom\'s bare shoulder and hooks his thumbs in the waistband of Tom\'s trousers. Tom strokes his back and nuzzles his hair.

\"You tell him,\" Sirius says, letting his eyes fall shut.

\"I will,\" Tom answers softly. \"I\'ll tell him the truth.\"

The touch of Tom\'s skin is familiar and Sirius inhales his scent. Masculine and soothing, and it both excites and calms Sirius. He presses his lips to Tom\'s throat and kisses his way up over skin rough with stubble until he finds Tom\'s mouth. Tom smiles against his lips before he parts his own and Sirius sneaks his tongue inside and sags against Tom as he loses himself in their frantic kiss.

Tom\'s hardening cock answers Sirius\' own erection when he presses his body closer to Tom\'s, and unable to wait a moment longer, he tugs on Tom\'s trousers. Tom pulls back and gives him a drowsy smile, his green eyes dark and narrowed.

\"So you do want to play with my thingie,\" Tom whispers, and Sirius grins while he blindly searches for Tom\'s zipper. He pulls it down and then pushes Tom\'s trousers over his slender hips, gasping when he feels Tom\'s hard prick bob against his own naked skin.

\"Yes, most definitely,\" Sirius says, and takes Tom\'s bottom lip between his teeth, nibbling gently while he reaches down and curls his fingers around Tom\'s pulsing cock. Tom moans and yanks Sirius\' boxers down, the elastic waistband catching around Sirius\' erection before the silk pools around his ankles. Sirius inhales a sharp breath and bucks his hips forward, his cock pressed against Tom\'s stiff prick.

\"God, I want to...\" Sirius moans, licking across Tom\'s lips.

\"What do you want?\" Tom whispers, and grabs Sirius\' hips, his fingers digging into Sirius\' heated flesh.

\"You,\" Sirius breathes. \"Want you. Want to fuck you.\"

\"You\'re in luck then,\" Tom says, pushing Sirius towards the bed. \"I want you to fuck me. You know I want it.\"

\"Yeah,\" Sirius agrees and lets himself fall onto the bed. He stares up at Tom, naked and perfect, and his lips twitch up in a grin. \"Tell me how much you want it. Tell me how badly you want to feel my cock inside your arse.\"

Tom rests his hands on the sheets and crawls up Sirius\' body, tight muscles rippling underneath pale skin. \"Why don\'t you tell me what you really want to hear,\" he whispers, gazing down at Sirius with teasing eyes. \"You want to hear me beg, don\'t you?\"

Sirius snickers, but it\'s cut off by an urgent moan when Tom presses his hips to Sirius, their cocks forced together in an insistent strain which Sirius can\'t resist. He rocks his hips up, his fingers clawing at Tom\'s shoulders as he arches his back.

\"Would you?\" Sirius breathes, his eyes wide and pleading. \"Would you ever beg me?\"

\"I think you know the answer already,\" Tom says and curls his hands in Sirius\' long hair, pulling his head off the sheets. \"I will order you.\"

\"God, yes,\" Sirius moans, because no matter how much he\'d love to hear Tom beg him, he loves Tom ordering him even more.

\"You are going to fuck me.\" Tom bites at Sirius\' lips and licks across his chin. \"Now, Sirius.\"

Sirius doesn\'t really need an order because he\'s more than ready to claim Tom\'s body as his. \"On your side, please,\" he whispers, and Tom slips off him and offers Sirius what he so desperately wants to take.

Even after all these years, part of Sirius still feels unworthy of touching Tom\'s entrance, of sliding two slick fingers past the tight ring of muscles. But a bigger part thrills at the idea of fucking his lover, Lord Voldemort, the ruler of the world, who so eagerly offers himself to the likes of Sirius Black.

\"Take me,\" Tom says, and it\'s most certainly a demand and not a plea, and Sirius is more than happy to answer it. He positions his cock, nudging against Tom\'s pucker until he feels Tom relax under the touch of his hand stroking down Tom\'s chest to seize his prick, and then he thrusts deep inside Tom\'s body.

\"Yes, god yes,\" Sirius groans and pumps his hips, his forehead pressing against Tom\'s shoulder and his fingers stroking Tom\'s hard flesh. \"So good, so bloody good.\"

Tom inhales jagged breaths and pushes back against Sirius, silently demanding more. Sirius gives Tom what he wants and thrusts harder and deeper, his sac slapping against Tom\'s sweat-damp skin. Surrounded by slick heat and pressed against warm flesh, Sirius loses himself in time and pleasure until the tension building inside him becomes too much.

\"Please,\" Sirius whispers breathlessly. \"Want to feel you come, Tom.\"

Bucking back harder and rocking his cock up into Sirius\' fist, Tom lets out a strangled cry, and Sirius feels spurts of hot seed spill over his fingers. He releases Tom\'s spent prick and wraps his arm tightly around Tom\'s waist, fucking him while he holds nothing back and with only one goal in mind.

\"So close,\" he rasps, his throat dry. \"Almost...fuck, Tom...almost.\" He squeezes his eyes shut, focusing on the feel of Tom\'s skin under his fingers and Tom\'s channel clenching around his cock. \"I\'m gonna...I\'m gonna...\"

Sirius grunts and buries himself as deep inside Tom as he can as he climaxes and fills Tom\'s body with his semen, his body quivering as he spends himself for what feels like minutes, hours, days.

When he dares open his eyes again he sees Tom smiling at him over his shoulder, and he leans forward to press his lips against Tom\'s.

And then the door creaks open. \"Are you done with the sex thing yet?\"

\"Harry!\" Sirius yells, pulling out of Tom as quickly as he can. \"Knocking! What did we tell you about knocking?\"

\"Oh. Sorry.\" Harry turns around, Duckling clutched under his arm, and walks back into his bedroom, pulling the door shut behind him.

A tentative knock sounds through their room. Sirius reaches for the sheets while Tom grabs his wand and casts a quick cleaning charm on them both. Once they are covered, they share a brief smile and Sirius clears his throat.

\"Come in, Harry.\"

The door opens again and Harry walks in as if nothing happened. He stops at the side of their bed and looks at them with innocent eyes and pursed lips. \"I couldn\'t sleep.\"

\"Sleep with us then,\" Tom says and holds his end of the sheets up in an invitation. Harry, who doesn\'t seem to care that his fathers are both naked, crawls under the covers and snuggles between them. Sirius ruffles his hair and gives him a kiss on his temple.

\"Where do babies come from?\" Harry asks, looking from Tom to Sirius and back to Tom again.

\"From fathers and mothers,\" Sirius says, glancing at Tom over Harry\'s head. Tom says nothing but only smirks, and Sirius mouths \'bastard\' at him for letting him deal with this on his own.

\"Yeah, you told me,\" Harry says, frowning. \"But how can you make a baby? Why do you have to stick your hand down someone\'s knickers?\"

\"Um...well...hang on a second, Harry.\" Sirius pushes himself up on his elbow and leans closer to Tom. \"What am I supposed to tell him?\"

\"Don\'t ask me,\" Tom says, amused. \"I\'m not at all experienced with women when it comes to producing children.\"

\"Damn.\" Sirius runs a hand across his face. \"Perhaps we should ask Narcissa to explain this. She\'s a woman.\"

\"Excellent idea. You ask her.\"

\"Why should I ask her?\"

\"She\'s your cousin,\" Tom says matter-of-factly.

\"Yeah, but you rule the bloody world. She won\'t refuse an order from you,\" Sirius counters.

\"Ah, yes, I do rule the world,\" Tom says, grinning. \"And therefore I order you to arrange this with your cousin.\"

\"Oh, that\'s cheap,\" Sirius says, rolling his eyes. \"But fine. I\'ll ask her.\" He lowers himself to the bed again and stares at Harry, who\'s having a quiet conversation with Duckling.

\"Harry...since boys and girls are...different, we\'ll ask your Aunt Narcissa to tell you about girls and babies.\"

Harry shrugs. \"I already know girls are different. They don\'t have a thingie.\"

\"Really?\" Sirius curves a curious eyebrow.

\"Yeah,\" Harry says, and looks up at Sirius with searching eyes. \"When I was staying over at Draco\'s, this girl named Pansy stopped by one afternoon. And Draco gave her five Chocolate Frogs and she dropped her knickers for us so we could have a look.\"

Sirius presses his face to the pillow to stifle his laughter, and he hears Tom chuckle.

\"It looked weird,\" Harry concludes, and gives another shrug.

\"Your Aunt Narcissa will tell you all about it,\" Tom says, brushing a strand of hair off Harry\'s forehead. \"She\'s a mother after all. She\'s had a baby.\"

\"Okay,\" Harry says.

\"You had a mother once,\" Tom continues, and Sirius closes his mouth and holds his breath as he studies Harry\'s face.

\"I did?\" Harry asks, surprised and intrigued.

\"Of course you did,\" Tom says, stroking Harry\'s hair. \"She was a brave woman and she loved you very much. But she died when you were still a baby. And now you have two fathers who take care of you.\"

Harry worries his lip and looks at Sirius for confirmation.

\"That\'s right, Harry,\" Sirius says, his throat oddly constricted. \"She was a wonderful woman.\"

\"Oh.\" Harry presses Duckling closer to his face. \"I\'m glad I had a mother once. And I\'m glad I have two fathers.\"

Sirius releases a quiet breath and glances at Tom, who gives him a warm smile in return.

\"We\'re very glad to have you, too, little wizard,\" Tom says, pulling Harry closer.

\"Yeah,\" Sirius agrees.

\"When I grow up I\'m going to do the sex thing with Draco,\" Harry announces. \"We\'re going to do it a lot, like Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa and like you.\"

Sirius is at a loss for words and stares at Tom for a moment, but Tom seems equally shocked.

\"Can I have a brother?\" Harry asks, leaning his face on Tom\'s shoulder as his eyes droop shut. \"Or a sister? Or maybe a real dragon?\" His breathing evens and Sirius smiles at the sight of his son drifting off to sleep.

\"What do you think?\" Tom asks. Sirius looks at him in confusion. \"About Harry\'s list of demands.\"

Sirius snorts, leans over Harry, gives Tom a kiss and then lies back against the bed. He feels Tom reaching for him over Harry\'s body and he smiles when Tom weaves their fingers together.

\"After all, Christmas is coming up,\" Tom whispers, and his mouth curves up into a grin. \"I think we can manage a dragon.\"


~~fin~~