Choices

Their First Birthday

"Got everything?"

"The cake is ready, I bought the sweets earlier and the gift is on the table"

"Mrs. Rees should be coming later"

"From Little Haven?" Draco asked surprised.

"Yeah, I told her about Harry's birthday and she said she would visit" Ginny explained, exiting the kitchen.

"What do you say, mate?" Harry looked up questioning and Draco smiled "Oh well, more gifts this way, right?"

"Teaching him to be a Slytherin?" Ginny crossed her arms as Harry looked from one to the other curious.

The toddler's day had begun particularly happy, with kisses and happy birthdays, he had then played with his toys as his parents went around the place, arranging flags and making the room look much more colourful than the white that they would reapply whenever he made drawings on the walls, it pleased him to see it.

Draco smiled "Better sooner than later, can you imagine," he pretended to look somewhere far away while smirking "Harry Potter, the Slytherin"

She shook her head and smiling she picked up Harry "Don't listen to him Harry, you are a Gryffindor" she said before tickling him "You are going to listen to Mama, right?"

"That's not fair, aren't you supposed to be the good ones?" Draco laughed.

Ginny smirked, "Who said the good ones need to play fair?"

Draco was sure that the way she looked smirking was not fair.

"So, Harry, Mama is right, Gryffindor is the way" she bounced the laughing child.

"Yea! Mama's wight!" he said.

"Exactly!"

Draco shook his head, not that he minded, whatever Harry might have believed in their time, he knew the boy didn't have a single Slytherin bone in him, Hero Complexes weren't a big thing between the snakes. Those two belonged to the lions, to the gold and the limelight.

His hand wrapped around his left arm, phantom pains as his mind slipped into that pitiful feeling.

When the bell rang he decided to focus on that instead.

He welcomed the older woman at the door then Iwan and his girlfriend Ceri, who ran towards Ginny and Harry as soon as she saw them.

"Ooohh! Can I hold him?" she asked enthusiastically.

Ginny held Harry closer to the girl to see if he wanted to go and he agreed, letting himself be pampered by someone else for once.

"He's so cute!" Ceri exclaimed "Iwan! We should have one!"

"They are not nearly as cute when you are the one responsible for them" the man shook his head then turned to Draco "Save me!"

"I don't think I'm in the best position for that" Draco said amused.

"True enough," he agreed.

Ceri smiled in victory and Ginny laughed.

Shaking her head, Mrs. Reed instead went to Harry and handed him his gift, the boy's eyes shining in curiosity and tried to reach for it.

"Don't you want your cake before?" Ginny asked him and he turned towards her, eyes wide.

"Cake! I wanna Choco cake!" he exclaimed.

With a chuckle, Ginny went to the kitchen to pick up the cake, this time she hadn't attempted anything fancy, just regular frosting, Harry would need to wait until he could remember for better cakes.

She had just taken the plate with the cake when Draco followed her and asked her if she wanted help, reaching for the plate she was holding, their hands touching.

"I can handle a cake for six" she joked.

He smiled "Could've fooled me"

"You can get the spoons"

"Uhm" he nodded but hesitated for a moment, hands still over hers, then went to the drawer.

Mrs. Reed observed the scene, she remembered when she met them, almost a year before. Back then they were guarded, hesitant, and even when near they seemed distant, back then, she attributed it to their situation, two teenagers alone with a child with no one else to rely on but a stranger.

As said stranger, there was just something about watching the two now, they smiled and joked and searched the other in the room, she didn't miss the excuses to touch or the way they looked at the other now. The storm was behind them, and their feelings could finally shine.

Mrs. Rees smiled.

Ginny set down the cake and took Harry back from Ceri while Draco put the candles in.

Harry was all smiles and applauded as they sang Happy birthday around him.

"Now, you need to make a wish Harry" she explained, looking at the toddler.

"A wish?" he asked, head turned.

"Yeah, you ask for something that you want"

Harry seemed to think about it then said "Cake!"

Draco laughed and got closer to them "Well, that's certainly an easy birthday wish" and put his hand halfway through Ginny's arm and Harry back. Ginny was incredibly aware of Draco's touch, even if only by chance, she couldn't not think about his fingers on her skin. It was only with a lot of strength that she focused back on the conversation.

"You can't let us know what it is"

"No?"

"No"

Draco smiled "Then we help you blow the candles"

Harry nodded and scrunched up his face as he concentrated, when he opened his eyes again Ginny and Draco leaned over the cake so Harry could imitate them as the light disappeared and their guests cheered.

Ceri took some pictures for them and they ate the cake, Harry getting his birthday wish, before the opening of the gifts.

Mrs. Rees gave new clothes and Harry liked the one with balloons on it, Ceri and Iwan gave him a teddy bear almost as tall as him. After being sure that Harry had liked their present, Iwan and Ceri turned to talk to each other, Ginny and Draco were very glad of that because Harry caused the bear to move for him and they had to rapidly cover that bit of magic from their muggle guests.

Despite the close call, the rest of the day went well and Harry had fun.

At the end of the day they said goodbye to their guests, Ceri promised to quickly send them the pictures and Mrs. Rees asked for them to visit when they could, glad to see them so closer than before.

When they closed the door Ginny gave Draco a tired smile before he took the sleepy Harry for his nighttime routine.

"Want me to do it?" Ginny asked, looking at the two leaning on the bathroom door frame.

"No, it's okay," he explained before jokingly adding "Can't have people saying I don't help"

Ginny smiled contently, even her feelings in disarray gave her a moment to enjoy that peace.

She opened her arms and said "Give me, I'll put him to bed"

"Sure?"

"Yeah, I'm tired too, one bedtime story, and I'll probably be sleeping too"

Draco smiled and watched them enter the bedroom.

He moved towards their first picture and took it into his hands.

The feeling he had before returned but he ignored those phantom pains, he knew who he had been, probably he didn't even deserve to be with them at that moment.

But he knew himself and if they were light.

"Going to sleep too?" Ginny asked in a whisper as he climbed on the bed.

Draco smiled at her and gently stroked Harry's hair as he slept.

He was selfish, he didn't mind basking in their light.

"Goodnight Gin"