Malfoys and Potters

Once back at the manor, Harry took the boys to the same room Lucius had let them use the night after the circus. By then even James had slowed down, and wasn't jabbering away like he usually did. Al had fallen asleep in the car on the way home, so Harry carried him in, and laid him down on the bed. Harry kicked his shoes off and laid down next to Al, on top of the covers. James laid with his upper half on top of Harry's stomach and chest, and Harry stroked his hair a bit before Harry fell asleep.

After a half an hour, James was awake and ready to go again. He liked the idea of chasing the House Elf, and so he did that for awhile while his brother and father still slept. After another half an hour, Al was up too. Al asked the House Elf if he could help make supper--and didn't understand why the creature was so upset by that. The creature seemed to be further upset when Al told it that he helped his grandmother often, and that they didn't have a House Elf at home.

"Aunt Hermione says you should be free, and get paid to do work like everyone else does!" Al had gone on to explain, but he just succeeded in upsetting the elf.

Al remembered his first visit to Malfoy Manor, when he had wanted to take his sock off and give it to the Elf--but Harry explained it couldn't work that way. Al sat quietly on an ornate couch, thinking about how he could get Mr. Malfoy to give the Elf a piece of clothing without realizing it. While Al was busy concocting plots, James had found the portrait of Abraxas, and was making silly faces at it. James thought this was the most serious person he had ever seen, and he had decided he would try and make the picture laugh. The more he tried, the more he thought this was likely impossible--but being the Potter he was, he would not give up.

Harry was still asleep soundly, dead the world.

Snaggy looked visibly upset. "Young master Potter has upset Snaggy! Taking money from master is an insult! Snaggy is doing a bad job! Bad Snaggy! BAD SNAGGY!" He shouted and repeatedly began to slam his hand in the kitchen drawer. "Oh, master will disown and free Snaggy- Snaggy will have no master and be shunned forever by all other house elves!" He weeped openly in to his hands and ran out of the kitchen to seek out Lucius. Lucius who was sleeping rather peacefully in his bed. "MASTER MASTER!"

"Snaggy... something had best be on fire." Lucius groaned.

"Snaggy can make something on fire if it pleases Master!"

"NO. No, I was just... no. No... No fire, Snaggy." Lucius slowly sat up, looking down at the elf. "What's the matter?"

"Master is displeased with Snaggy! Master wants to PAY Snaggy! SNAGGY BAD!" He went over and began to shut his head over and over again in Lucius's chest.

He blinked long and slow, sighing hard. "Have you been speaking to a woman with bushy brown hair? A friend of Harry Potter's?"

"No! The younger master Potter says Snaggy should be paid for work! Snaggy MUST have done SOMETHING WRONG!"

"No no no- Snaggy- everything is fine. You do a good job, a very good job." He said slowly. "Are you done making dinner?"

"Almost done." Snaggy simpered. "Master means it? Master thinks Snaggy is a good elf?"

"Yes." Lucius said firmly. "Keep dinner warm and ready when the rest of the Potters wake up." He climbed out of the bed, heading off toward the lower levels of the manor. He found Al sitting on a couch and went to go sit beside him. "Al... Snaggy seems to be under the impression that I want to pay him. He was very upset about it, and began to slam his head in the chest. Do you happen to know of anyone who would have said something to Snaggy to upset him so?"

-

Abraxas looked down his nose at the boy who was doing his damndest to try and get him to laugh. He sighed.

"You must be Charlus Potter's great-grandson. He would do the same thing you're doing to try to get me to laugh. But unfortunately, great-grandson of Charlus Potter, I don't laugh. You are simply wasting your time."

Al bit his lip, looking sheepishly up at Lucius.

"I was, but I didn't want to upset him. Aunt Hermione says it's wrong that House Elves should serve people like slaves. Aunt Hermione says they should be free and paid like everyone else. She even has these really cool buttons...she gave me a whole bunch. She said I should give some to my friends. They say SPEW...James says it sounds like something you do when you eat too much."

-

Meanwhile, James continued to try and crack Abraxas into a smile, at least.

"Yup, I'm a Potter. I'm JAMES SIRIUS POTTER." James proclaimed, proudly. "I'm going to be a famous handsome Quidditch player when I grow up, AND I'm gonna hunt down dark wizards...and be famous for that too. I'm gonna also have lots of girlfriends." James peered up at Abraxas.

"So, how come you're a picture? What do you do? Why dont' you ever smile, are you sad? How'd you know I was a Potter? Can you come out of the picture? What happens if someone puts the picture upside down? Do you want to see this face I can make?" James made a silly face, crossing his eyes and stretching his lips. "Da says my face will stay that way one day. I said that I'll just use magic to make it normal again! Do you think my face will stick this way?"

James made the face again, and then shoved his hands over his mouth as he giggled.

Lucius let out a long sigh as he began to try to explain this to a small child. "Your aunt Hermione comes from a different culture than most wizards and witches do. She, as a result, doesn't know many of our customs, or chooses to not listen to all of them. Which... I suppose is fine. Except for this. House elves are creatures that are made to serve wizards, as they were created to do so long ago. They don't have a concept of money like we do. To them... praise from their masters is money. The more praise they receive from their masters, the more rights they have to brag about it to the other elves."

He smoothed a wrinkle out of his robes, having changed from his muggle clothing to more respectable wizarding robes. "For a house elf to receive money it would imply that they didn't wish to serve their masters with all of their heart, and that they were doing a bad job. That is why Snaggy was so upset. Your aunt has only met one house elf that enjoyed freedom. DOBBY." He scowled at the name. "...He was an exception to the rule. But as you can see, Snaggy doesn't want money, he doesn't want to be free. Do you understand?"

"...Snaggy hopes young master Potter understands. Snaggy loves master. Snaggy doesn't want to leave master." Came the voice from behind the couch. "Master will be so lonely again, with no one. Poor poor master."

"Snaggy needs to not eavesdrop." Lucius made a face and peered over the couch at him.

"Snaggy will go get master and young master Potter some cookies!"

"We haven't had dinner yet!" Lucius looked perturbed as the house elf ran off. "Your brother is quite right, it does sound like the noise someone makes while... retching."

-

Abraxas sighed for a good minute, looking down at the small child. "I, James Sirius Potter, am unfortunately dead. This portrait was commissioned by my son Lucius to hang in a place of honor on the walls. I can not step out of it, but I can go and visit other portraits. ...Don't ask how, I'm not even sure. As for being turned upside down, that would be very unpleasant. This portrait is stuck to the wall via a charm, I don't think it's possible to remove it to do such a terrible act."

He pressed his lips together, trying to figure out how to answer some of the other questions. "When I was around your age my father died. He was ill. He always tried to make me laugh, but I never found any of his jokes funny. If I couldn't laugh while he was alive, I could not while he was dead. Now I am dead too, and still- nothing is... funny."

He shook his head. "Your great-grandfather made ridiculous faces all the time. They never stuck, unless he purposely made them stick. I wouldn't worry about it. As for quidditch, I wouldn't doubt that James Sirius Potter. Your great-grandfather was one of the best seekers for Gryffindor. I would know- I faced off against him all the time for Slytherin."

"I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy." Al said, and then apologized to the elf too.

James continued to pester and make faces at Abraxas, and then finally asked if the portrait would tell him a story about Quidditch. The boy tried to listen as well as he could, but he was extremely fidgety and kept interrupting with questions. He finally just couldn't sit still anymore, and took off running through the house, leaving in the middle of the story. He hopped up onto the couch where Lucius and Al were sitting, and interrupted their conversation.

"Why do we turn into pictures when we die?" James asked.

"Dead people don't turn into pictures, that's silly." Al stated, looking at his brother as if the older boy were just stupid.

"How would you know, you're not dead." James said, giving his brother a hard shove. Al rubbed at his arm, and glared slightly at James.

"Well, have you ever heard of a picture haunting someone? Ghost haunt, James. Ghost are dead people, right?"

James ignored this statement, and swung his legs back and forth as he sat.

"Mr. Malfoy, what does comet-missioned mean? The painting said you comet-missioned him."

-x-

Harry woke up hours later, and was aware that he had slept far too long. He hurried out of bed, flinging the covers aside, and went downstairs to find Lucius and the boys, rubbing at his eyes as he went.

"Lucius?" Harry found Lucius, and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry I slept so long--I didn't mean to. Did James behave while I was out?"

"Your brother is right- when you die, you do not become a portrait. You are given a portrait if someone pays for it which is called a commission. A painter comes, and makes the portrait of your loved one for a price. I missed my father, so of course I paid to have one done of him. My father in his office when he was alive commissioned a portrait of Merlin- his hero. So it doesn't really have to be a loved one either." He blinked in realization. "I... suspect you discovered the picture of my father." He looked amused. "Since you aren't upset I assume he was decent to you. Good, I won't have to scold him later."

Lucius smoothed back James's messy hair. "Now, where is your father? You must have really wore out your father today in that maze! He's still asleep!" Not long after uttering that phrase, there was Harry.

"There you are! No, he was fine. We were just talking about you. Now that you're up, it's time to go and get something to eat." Lucius stood up and gestured to Snaggy to get dinner on the table for their guests. "Please follow me." He motioned to them to follow, leading the Potters to a large dining room in front of a massive fire place. He sat down at the head of the table, folding his hands neatly in front of him. "Please sit-- dinner will be served momentarily."

Harry ran his hands through his hair in a useless attempt to straighten it a bit, and sat down as Lucius instructed. The boys seated themselves too. James bounced eagerly in his chair, as Al mimicked the way Lucius held himself straight and properly, and the same way Lucius folded his hands. Al gave a small smile, feeling that he did a good job of sitting correctly like Mr. Lucius.

"What's for dinner?" James asked, touching the fine cutlery. He picked up one of the spoons, and waved it at Al, who looked unamused.

"Sword fight!" James declared gleefully, and whacked Al in the head with the spoon. "You're dead, I chopped your head off."

"James..." Harry attempted discipline, but he couldn't help the smile that tugged easily at the corners of his mouth at James' antics. "There will be no decapitation at the dinner table. Spoons are for eating, not violence."

James glanced at Harry from the corner of his eye, and quickly gave Al one more lick with the spoon-sword, before putting it down, and smiling innocently at his father.

Lucius cocked his head to the side at Al, smiling in approval. "You have such excellent manners, Al. Like a little gentleman." He said then made a face at the sword-spoon attack. "Ah... James, must you attack your brother? How do you even have the energy to do so after such a long day? If I only had half your energy, I'm certain I could run around the world twice." He reached over and fixed Al's hair that had gotten mussed due to the spoon attack.

Snaggy returned with several plates of food hovering behind him. They took their places in front of their respective wizards. He requested Snaggy make kid friendly meals for James and Al, something simple for Harry, and his usual French cuisine for himself. The boys received homemade baked macaroni and cheese- made with only the finest cheeses from France. Harry received a plate of fine, tender roast and vegetables. And Lucius had a single serving of quiche Lorraine.

"Snaggy wasn't sure what master's guests wanted to eat. Master said to use Snaggy's best judgment. Young master Scorpius loves Snaggy's macaroni and cheese. Snaggy is a good cook, and hopes you enjoy the food." He bowed to them and vanished from the room.

"...He will be back later to finish for compliments." Lucius said amused, and turned to his dinner.

Each Potter found their meal delicious, and thanked Snaggy after they were finished. Al even leaned down, and whispered to the elf that his mac n cheese was even better than Grandma Weasley's, but that had to remain a secret.

"James, did you thank Snaggy?" Harry asked.

"Thank you Snaggy, it was wonderful!" James grabbed the elf, and hugged it vigorously.

Harry winced.

"Er--James, James--you need to put Snaggy down."

James released the elf.

"Snaggy...James just meant to thank you." Harry felt bad for the small creature being attacked by hugging. He turned back to Lucius. "And thank you, Lucius." Harry smiled across the table at Lucius.

James had sneaked an unused spoon from the table, and chased Al into another room with it.

Snaggy, while being hug-crunched, had the biggest smile on his dopey face. When he was finally released, he beamed proudly to Lucius. "Master! Snaggy did good!"

"Snaggy did very well, thank you for the dinner." Lucius nodded to him. "You may go rest for the evening." The elf nodded to him and with a loud crack, vanished from the dining room. Lucius turned his attention to the two boys, opening his mouth to say something- but once they were gone, he thought it to be wise to act on this rare opportunity.

He got up from his seat, heading over to Harry- his hands clasped in front of him. His long robes floated behind him, as he had charmed them to do just that. Lucius leaned over, kissing Harry slowly on the lips. It was a lingering kiss, not asking for much other than the briefest of connections of skin against skin. He pulled away just enough so that when he spoke, his lips brushed gently against Harry's. "I had an excellent time today." He murmured to him. "You'll stay for desert, won't you...?"

Lucius' murmur lingered in Harry's ears, and repeated in a wonderful purr around his head. Lucius lips grazed his as the man spoke, and Harry's answer was to kiss Lucius back, slipping his hand along the man's jawline. It felt wonderful. He nipped at Lucius' lips a bit, and then answered him.

"Would love to."

The boys had occupied themselves playing some sort of adventure game. James had decided that he was a handsome and fearless adventurer. Al went along with it, citing that if there was going to be an adventure, there might as well be someone smart going along. Besides...it was just a pretend adventure. There were no real risks involved.

James said Abraxas could play too--and didn't wait for a response from the portrait on the matter. James dubbed Abraxas "The Oracle".

Lucius lingered right where he was, enjoying the warmth that was Harry Potter before reluctantly pulling back a bit. He could still feel his lips on his own, and it was a wonderful sensation to have. "Excellent." His voice came out as a purr, though it was unintentional. He cleared his throat.

"I've sent Snaggy off to enjoy the rest of his evening. I'll have to go serve it." He paused, chuckling softly as a memory returned to him. "....You may be surprised to hear this, but when I was sixteen, my father cut off my allowance. He said that I was old enough to make my own money, and should I want to buy things-- I would have to do so with my own money. I worked as a waiter at The Three Broomsticks. ...Of course, that didn't last very long. Once father found out that several patrons had gotten a bit too er... hands on... I was back to an allowance." He looked amused and started toward the kitchen. "Call the boys, I'm going to go cut up the pie I bought."

-

Abraxas looked down at the two of them from his spot in the portrait. He uttered a strangled sort of sigh, but nodded in agreement. If they wanted an oracle, he was going to give them one.

"Young master Potters, for your adventure most long and dangerous- you will encounter many things." He said a touch dramatically as he quickly wracked his brain for what those many things were going to be. "You will see land become a lake, and animals that once flew high in the sky will walk like men do upon the earth. But when your journey is done, you will be rewarded with treasures never seen before or experienced by the likes of any other. ...Now go play nicely."

James and Al played together until Harry called them back into the dining room. James was eager for pie, and once it was served he scarfed down two pieces. Harry insisted that the boy had hollow legs. Harry let the boys play a bit more, before rounding them up. He sent the boys to wait by the fireplace. James ran off right away, but Al hugged Lucius' first.

"'Night Mr. Malfoy." Al walked out of the room, and went to wait with James by the fireplace.

Harry smiled as he watched his youngest. He was so pleased with his boys--he was proud to be their father. Harry moved in towards Lucius' after Al had gone. He let his hands rest at Lucius' waist, and kissed him.

"Goodnight Mr. Malfoy," Harry said against the soft lips, and kissed Lucius again, allowing the feeling of their mouths together to linger a bit before he finally pulled away.

Harry grinned, feeling the blush prickle warmly over his cheeks. He backed out of the room, almost knocking over a large vase as he did so.

"Heh, it's safe." Harry motioned to the vase, which he righted. "Er, goodnight."

Harry met the boys at the fireplace, and with a handful of floo powder, they were gone.

Lucius hugged Al back, feeling a bit sad that the boys were going. "Good bye, Al. Good bye, James. Be good for your father."

When they kissed, Lucius wanted it to last. It felt good to be intimate with someone again. More than good, as a matter of fact. He traced his fingers down his jaw, as they parted. "I'm sorry to see you go, Harry Potter. Don't you let me wait too long for our next date. Goodnight." He watched him back up, into the vase. He winced and paled- the vase was nearly as old as the manor itself.

"Oh.. oh okay, yes. It is." He looked visibly relieved. "Goodnight Harry, again." He walked into the room after they floo'd out, feeling the loss already. He took a seat on the chaise, deciding to settle down there for the night- never realizing how empty the manor could be after it had been filled with some much youthful energy.

-

During the week, Lucius set out to explore Diagon Alley with a new purpose. He wanted to find something he could do with Harry's boys, as dating someone with children was a completely different game. Al was easy. He could think of dozens of things to do with the boy.

James was going to be difficult. He was older, and full of energy and hollow legs. He ended up making an unexpected trip to the muggle world as the magical one wasn't yielding up any answers. He found a colorful building with the words BOUNCE MAGIC written on the side. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then went inside. He came right back out, completely satisfied that he found SOMETHING he could do with James that the other boy might like.

That night, he contacted Harry via fire call. "Harry! Harry, are you there? I need to speak with you." He sounded pleased, and he was.

"James, this is not a yes or no question. You need to take a bath, you're filthy," Harry gave his wand a wave, stripping the older boy of his clothing.

The two had been in the bathroom for far too long having a discussion about bath time, and Harry had just had enough of it. He picked up James beneath the armpits, and hoisted him into the filled bathtub.

"Please don't play, James. Just wash and be done with it, Daddy's tired." Harry handed the boy a clean wash clothe, and left him to it.

Al was waiting for Harry in the hall, wrapped up in a fuzzy towel, water still dripping from his skin and hair. Harry dried Al, and then Accio'd Al's pajamas, and let the boy dress. Harry sighed, as he watched Al do up the last button on his Batman pajama shirt. He could hear James splashing loudly from behind the closed door, and imagined the boy had gotten out his collection of plastic boats and rubber ducks--the latter having been given to him by Arthur--and was playing his favorite bath time game. The ships were full of guns and canons, and were defending against the invasion of giant magical ducks. There would be a lot of splashing involved, and the bathroom would be soaked by the time James was finished. No doubt he would forget to wash.

Harry was about to go in and take James' toys away from him, something he hated to do anyway, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Mr. Lucius!" Al beamed, and ran off towards the living room.

Harry followed after Al with not as much energy in his steps. Al got to the fireplace first. His damp, black hair, stuck up in every direction.

"Hi Mr. Malfoy!" Al greeted the head in the fireplace. Harry appeared too, and sat down on the floor. He pulled Al into his lap, and smoothed the boys hair, even though he knew it would do no good.

"Hello, Lucius. What's going on?"

"Hello Al!" Lucius said fondly. "I see you're getting ready for bed- I won't keep you then. Well- Er... I wanted to know if I could spend time with the boys this week. I found places to that I think they'd like- individually. I'd like to get to know Al and James better, one on one."

Snaggy appeared beside Lucius. "Snaggy says hello!" He waved cheerfully. "Snaggy misses you! Snaggy gets bored and frustrated just cooking for master. Master only wants complicated things to eat. You should come over more to visit master. He's so much happier when you're around, and-"

"SNAGGY." Lucius scowled at him, and then rubbed his temples- trying to come up with a new idea to keep the nosy elf busy. "Snaggy, Scorpius is coming to visit tomorrow morning while Ms. Greengrass is getting her nails done. Go fix his room up, would you?"

"Oh! Young master Scorpius!" The elf beamed and ran off.

"...Sorry." Lucius cleared his throat. "Snaggy likes to meddle. Anyway... Yes, I er... there's a place called Bounce Magic I'd like to take James to. And Al, if you would like, there's a children's museum I'd like to take you to. If that's alright, Harry." He brushed his long hair back behind his shoulder. If they were going to move forward with dating, he wanted to get to know both of Harry's sons better, as they were a very important part of his life.

Al tugged at Harry's sleeve. He was excited about spending time with Lucius--just the two of them.

"Da, can I go with Mr. Lucius, please?"

"Of course." Harry kisses his son's head briefly. "Will you go make sure James hasn't flooded things?"

"Yup." Al waved to Lucius. "Night Mr. Lucius. Tell Snaggy goodnight too."

Al left Harry and Lucius to go check on his brother.

"Al is obviously excited, and I know James will be too. Thank you for doing this, Lucius. It means a lot to me."

"Goodnight, Al. I'll let him know." Lucius waved back to Al, watching him run from the room. "Of course, Harry. I want our relationship to progress, and when you have children it's important for them to like you as well." He said with a bit of a smile.

"Al's was easy to pick out. I didn't have to think much on it to come up with an idea. However, James was a bit more difficult. I think he'll like where I'm going to take him. The museum is having a special exhibit on Friday, so I think I'd like to take Al then. James, when ever he's ready- just let me know. This way, you can spend time one on one with the boys too. I don't have an idea of what it's like to have a sibling, or to have more than one child. So... I can't imagine what challenges you must face."

Lucius frowned a bit at how tired Harry seemed. "You seem exhausted. Did you er... want me to come over? I could help, if you need it." He offered.

Harry rubbed at his eyes. He really was tired. He smiled wearily.

"Lucius, that's a wonderful idea. I know the boys will love it. As for having the two boys...it's only that it seems like more, sometimes. James has the energy of five children, it seems. I wouldn't have it any other way, though. I...if you really don't mind Lucius, it would be nice to have some help."

"Da, Da!" Al came back, and tugged at Harry's hand. "James has the bathroom door locked, and he won't let me in. There's lots of water coming out between the cracks of the door."

Al looked worriedly at his father.

"Right," Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. "Thank you, Al. Mr. Malfoy is going to come over, why don't you wait right here for him?"

Al nodded obediently, and stayed in front of the fireplace with Lucius' head. Harry went towards the bathroom, his feet sloshing and squishing over the flooded carpet.

"James Sirius Potter!"

"Alright, Harry. I'll be right over." Lucius decided to leave behind his traveling cloak, figuring his usual stately robes were fine enough. Today he was dressed in silver ones, with a high neck white shirt. The edges of his robes were trimmed in elegant black designs, which matched the band holding his long hair back. He grabbed a handful of floo powder.

Moments later, he was standing in front of Harry's fireplace.

"So I hear your older brother has barricaded himself in the bathroom." Lucius dusted off his fine robes. He glanced up to the ceiling- thankfully, none of the water had seeped on through to the first floor. "I can honestly say that's not a problem I've ever experienced before. Well... why your father is handling James, let's get you tucked into bed, hmm? That's more of a task I think I can handle." He extended his hand down to Al.

"Lead the way, my boy. While we walk, you can tell me about those curious pajamas of yours." He said noting Al's Batman pajamas. He had seen the symbol before in his father's office on an old muggle book he couldn't be assed to look at in his younger days.

Al took Lucius' hand, and told him all about Batman as they walked to Al's room.

"...and James likes Superman better, but I don't. Batman is lots cooler, 'cause Batman doesn't have super powers. He's not an alien either. Superman is an alien! Batman is a normal guy who goes and fights the bad guys! He has to be really brave...maybe I can be that brave one day."

Al climbed onto his bed, and slid under the covers. Al's bed was decorated in Toy Story, and atop the themed comforter was draped a small colorful and worn baby quilt that had been made for him by Grandma Weasley. On Al's night stand was a special bound copy of "Hogwarts: A History" with his name embossed on the front cover in fancy gold lettering. Aunt Hermione had gotten one for he and James last Christmas. She insisted it was never to early to start reading it, and then had smacked Uncle Ron in the back of the head when he snickered about it. Along the top of Al's headboard was a row of plugs he had collected when he went to the flea market with Grandpa Weasley, and a couple of Batman figures. Harry had enchanted one of the Batman figures to fly, and it circled around Lucius head, and then landed back in its place next to a purple plug with strange looking prongs.

"Mr. Malfoy, after you tuck me in, you'll check on Da won't you? He's tired, and James is bein' a pain in the...y'know."

Al snuggled under his covers.

"Night Mr. Lucius..." Al paused, fingering the frayed edge of the quilt. "Mr. Malfoy, it makes Da really happy to see you. It makes me happy too."

Lucius nodded along with Al's story about Batman. No wonder his father liked those comics- they starred a man who lost his parents, doing what he thought was right in a world where few things were right- with only his wits and whatever tools he happened to have. "Superman?" What's a Superman? He thought but didn't bother to ask. If Al liked Batman and James liked Superman, maybe he could get James to tell him about Superman instead.

He watched the toy travel around his head before retaining his perch. "I have no idea what barely anything in your room is, Al." He looked amused as he tucked Al in. "You'll have to tell me more about them some other time."

He blinked a little in surprise at what Al said, but it touched him. He smiled warmly, laying a hand on Al's cheek. "You're a sweet child, Al- and a very good boy. I will go see him right after, I promise." He leaned over and kissed the center of Al's forehead as if he were Scorpius, or Draco when he was that age. "As for you, sleep well. We're going to have a great time on Friday at the museum."

"Goodnight," Al murmured, and closed his eyes to sleep.

"James, if you don't open the door by count of three, I'm going to have to use magic!" Harry glared at the door, wondering why his son was trying him so much. He sighed, hating to do this. "One...two...thr--"

The bathroom door burst open, and a wave of water rushed out. James was surfing atop it with nothing more than his bare feet, and probably a bit of under-aged magic to help. His toy ducks and boats followed him, drenching Harry, and the hallway in a flood of water. Harry lay sopping on the waterlogged carpet, and stared up at the ceiling. He could hear James giggling, his feet making soggy splashing sounds in the carpet. Harry closed his eyes, and counted down in order to calm himself. He did not often lose his temper, but sometimes it was very hard not to. Each time Harry reached that level of frustration, he saw Uncle Vernon's big purple face sputtering madly in his head, and he forced himself to find some small level of calm to cling to.

Harry took a deep breath. The small level of calm was not coming very easily.

"James..." Harry spoke to the ceiling.

"Yeah?"

"You had better be in your room by the time I get up."

Harry rolled over onto his side, and James took off, nude and still dripping water, to his room. Harry sat in the water, and scraped his doused hair out of his face.

Lucius was about to leave Al's room when he saw a naked fleeing James running down the hallway. He had missed the deluge from the bathroom, and that was probably for the best. He frowned quietly, not quite sure what to say or think about that. Draco was never this spirited, and Scorpius was such a quiet, curious boy who wanted his attention all the time. Try as he might, though the image was hilarious, he couldn't picture Draco flooding one of their bathrooms or Scorpius running naked and for dear life down the hallway. He quietly removed his wand, casting a drying spell on the carpet and walls before making his way out to where Harry sat.

He knelt down beside him, leaning over and placing his lips to Harry's- casting a drying spell on him. "Al's in bed, already fast asleep." He murmured. "Go in and talk to James, I'll handle the mess in the bathroom." Lucius said quietly as he brushed a now dry lock behind Harry's ear.

"One thing's for certain- it's never boring."

"Thank you, Lucius," Harry meant it. He was very grateful for Lucius help.

Harry picked himself up and headed to James' room. Just as Harry suspected, James was curled up in bed under his cover, faking sleep. The boy knew he was in trouble. Harry sighed, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He ran his fingers through James' wet hair, and caressed his cheek a little.

"I just wish you wouldn't do such things, James. We've had these talks before..." Harry leaned down and kissed his son's forehead. "Goodnight James, I love you."

Harry tucked James in, and left the boy to find real sleep.

Harry found Lucius finishing up with drying out the bathroom. He leaned in the doorway.

"He...he doesn't always behave like this, you now. He's a good boy."