Home Is Where The Heart Is (A Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter Five

   "Okay," Harry said softly, wide eyes turning down to Teddy. "I think it's finally bath time!"

The toddler bunched up his fists and took off at a scramble up the next set of stairs on all fours. He had his own floor of the house with his bedroom, own bathroom and playroom, each equipped with baby monitors so as to not leave him too much by himself. Draco and Harry followed at a more steady pace, and there was that hand barely touching the small of Draco's back one more.

"You're doing fine," Harry said warmly. "Andy said you've never come alone before, but honestly, you won't break him, he's a great little boy."

Draco nodded and swallowed around the lump in his throat. "I know," he said. "I just...I haven't..." He bit his lip and looked at Harry as they reached the top landing. "I'm glad you're here."

Harry had dropped his tentative hand, but they were still quite close, and Draco tried his best to refrain from shying away. "Me too," Harry told him, smiling openly.

A chattering, jumping, stark naked Teddy ran between their legs and startled Draco out of his reverie. "Bubbles! Bubbles!" Teddy shrieked, and Harry burst out laughing.

"My goodness young man," he cried, chasing after the boy. "The police will be around if you don't cover up that bum!"

Teddy though just ran into his bathroom, leaving the adults to follow as had become the norm. Thankfully, he had snatched his little dressing gown from off the radiator and put it on by the time Draco came and stood by the door, covering himself whilst Harry started to run the bath.

Draco was sent to fetch Teddy's pyjamas from under his pillow whilst Harry negotiated the daunting task of teeth brushing with a toddler, and Draco couldn't help but lean against the door and watch as Harry successfully cajoled the little boy into scrubbing away his dinner. Then with one single motion, the robe was deposited and Teddy plonked into the suds, along with several rubber ducks, a tug boat and for some reason a plastic hotdog complete with mustard and ketchup.

Harry sighed and rocked back to sit against the warm radiator, before looking up at Draco in invitation to join him. So, with only a small breath of assurance, Draco dropped to the carpet as well and sat opposite the bath with Harry to his right, and the pyjamas folded in his lap.

"What on Earth would I have done if you hadn't been here?" he murmured before he realised he had spoken aloud, but Harry was quick to reassure him by bumping their shoulders together.

"Now you know for next time," he said.

Next time? Could Draco try maybe to do this by himself one day? If he was honest (which he tried not to be for fear of the blush creeping up his neck) he quite liked the idea of trying this whole thing again with Harry. Maybe 'next time' he could show him he wasn't quite so useless as he was sure he'd presented himself to be.

"Look Dwaco, look!"

Teddy was peeking out over the bath with bubbles all over his face. Draco blinked a second, then let out an involuntary laugh. "Bubble beard," he said with a nod. "Very clever."

There were a few tears and the threat of a tantrum when it came to wrangling Teddy from the bath, but Harry was having none of it. "No Teddy, it's bedtime now," he said as the boy whimpered and groused. Even Draco with his limited experience could tell he'd become too tired, but he was learning from Harry that he couldn't let his sympathies show if they were going to win the bedtime battle. "Only good little boys get a bedtime story," Harry warned, and although Teddy was still sniffling, he allowed himself to be manhandled into his pyjamas.

"Why don't you carry him?" Harry suggested to him, and before Draco could question it, Teddy had stumbled into his arms.

"Oh, okay," said Draco, getting clumsily to his feet with the toddler perched on his hip. Teddy snuggled his damp head into the crook of Draco's neck, and he couldn't help but stroke his cousin's hair as they walked to his bedroom. He was already sucking on his two fingers by the time Draco laid him down, and Harry had barely read a page of his story book before he'd conked out.

"That was easy," Harry whispered as they crept out and pulled the door to.

Draco wasn't quite so sure. He'd been bewildered by pretty much the whole affair, and now as he feared, he'd been left with just Harry and nothing at all to say.

"Come on," Harry spoke for him, and touched his elbow lightly. "Let's go see if dinner isn't completely burnt.