Growing up Pureblooded

Sharing Food, Conversation, and Parents

"I've noticed," Aries said, furrowing his eyebrows. "You look awful." Sirius abruptly changed the subject. "I thought we'd get hamburgers today," he said, successfully distracting Aries. "Wicked!" the boy exclaimed. "We haven't had hamburgers in forever."

Sirius winked at Draco, and Draco smiled back gratefully. They drove to a Muggle fast-food restaurant where they ordered hamburgers, chips and milkshakes. Sirius and Draco took the food to a table and sat down, but Aries had to run off to use the loo.

"Draco," Sirius said, shortly after popping a chip in his mouth. "There's something I need to discuss with you and Aries, but I wanted to mention it to you first." Draco frowned at Sirius's solemn expression. "What is it?"

"You know I care about you and your mum very much, don't you?" Sirius asked, chewing his lower lip. Draco thought Sirius looked uncharacteristically anxious. He nodded cautiously. "Well, I'd like the four of us – your mum and I, and you and Aries – to be a family," Sirius went on.

Draco's eyes widened. Surely Sirius couldn't have meant what he thought he did. "Excuse me?" he said, his voice a good bit louder than he intended. "We don't have to if you don't want to," Sirius said hastily. "But your mum and I thought it might be a good idea if we got married, and I...adopted you." He looked down at his tray of food. "I understand that you blame me for Lucius's death. I'm sorry you had to see that. But I don't regret it. He would have killed you, Draco, and I love you too much to let that happen."

Draco took a sip of his vanilla milkshake and paused reflectively. "So you'd be my new dad?" he asked eventually. "Only if you want me to be," Sirius whispered. Draco blinked repeatedly. His eyes were moist. He looked up at Sirius, who was still staring at his burger. He smirked. "Have you gone mad?" he asked.

Sirius looked up at him, and Draco could see the hurt in his shining grey eyes. The blond boy shook his head. "I mean, have you any idea how much trouble it would be to have both me and Aries as sons?" Draco went on. He chuckled. "We'd drive you utterly insane." His chuckle turning into full blown laughter. Sirius smiled softly. "I think I could probably learn to live with it."

"Draco Black," Draco said with a grin. "I rather like the sound of that." He said. "It would more likely be Malfoy-Black," Sirius pointed out. "Abraxas wouldn't want the family name to disappear, and you're the heir." Draco laughed. "I think I could live with that." He paused. "Thanks...Dad."

Sirius ruffled his hair affectionately and returned to his food. Just then, Aries came back from the loo. "What's this?" he demanded indignantly. "You got started without me" Draco shrugged. 'It was starting to get cold. You've been gone an awfully long time.'

"Do you realise how disgusting those Muggle toilets are?" Aries retorted. "It took me ages just to figure out how to use them without touching anything." Sirius snorted, then reached over and nicked a couple of Aries' chips. Aries tried to slap his hand and missed.

"You two are pathetic," he said. "I've never seen anyone so finicky, except maybe Cissy, but she's a witch. I'd have thought that with all the trouble you get up to you wouldn't mind a bit of dirt."

"What can I say?" Draco replied in a haughty voice. "We grew up with house elves. We've very high standards of cleanliness." Using his aristocratic features to look even more upset. "I grew up with house elves too," Sirius pointed out. "True, but then you spent ten years in Azkaban," Aries replied. "You might have a point there," his dad said with a pensive nod.

Aries took a bite of his burger, but dropped it as he swatted Sirius's hand away from his milkshake. "Watch it!" he protested. "You've got your own." Proceeding to pull his food closer. "I thought I'd see what yours tasted like," Sirius said with a pout. "Seeing as I've never had a strawberry milkshake before, what with all those years I spent in Azkaban." He made puppy eyes at his son, who only held his arm protectively around his food.

"If you want a strawberry milkshake you can bloody well order your own," Aries said, and took another determined bite out of his burger.
Draco laughed, and Aries gave him a curious look. "You seem to be in a better mood," he observed. "What happened?" Draco grinned at Sirius before turning back to Aries. "Dad and I had a bit of a talk," he said.

Aries nodded blankly, then went into a coughing fit once he realised what Draco had said. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"Tell me, Aries," Sirius began. "What would you say if I told you that Cissy and I are planning to be married?" Aries' face lit up. "Are you serious?"

Draco sniggered and opened his mouth to answer, but Aries kicked him under the table. Draco winced. "Shut it," Aries growled, then turned back to his father. "Do you really mean it?" Sirius nodded. "We'll be married, then I'll adopt Draco and Cissy will adopt you. We'll be something like a normal family."

Aries grinned at Draco. "So we'll really be brothers, after all." The delight shinning from his face. "We're already brothers, Aries," Draco said, grinning back. "But now I'll have a real dad, and you'll have a mum." Aries burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Draco demanded. Aries controlled his amusement with great difficulty.
"We're going to share our parents," he managed, before the laughter erupted again.
Draco's lips began to quiver as his mind flashed back to the Christmas of 1986, the very first time he had met Aries: two cousins, standing in a playroom, each fiercely defensive of what he considered to be his own. Things had certainly changed since then. He joined in Aries' infectious laughter.

Sirius stared at them both as though they'd gone mad. "What, pray tell, is so amusing?" he asked, a single eyebrow raised inquisitively.
Neither boy could restrain his mirth for long enough to explain, so they just kept laughing. Sirius frowned a them for a bit, then a mischievous grin flitted across his face. Before either Aries or Draco knew what was happening, Sirius had Summoned Aries' milkshake and Draco's chips to his side of the table. He smiled smugly as he helped himself to the strawberry milkshake.

"This is delicious, Aries," he said. "Good choice."The two brothers looked at him incredulously, and then laughed even harder.