Title: His Daughter’s Father

Email: tirel@pcnuthut.com

Site: https://www.angelfire.com/tv2/firebird_ascending/

Author: Constant Vigilance

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is God. I own nothing.

Distribution: Sure. Just lemme know where my baby’s going.

Spoilers: Up to GoF. Book 5 never happened. *Growls at Rowling*

Summary: Um…s’more Christmas cause I like the idea of giving gifts.

Dedication: To the Spirit of Christmas.

Christmas morning dawned bright and fair. A sparkling coat of snow covered everything outside the walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but inside was warm and cheerful. Harry woke to someone bouncing on his bed. As soon as his eyes cracked open, Draco made a noise a five-year-old girl could claim and dragged Harry’s covers off of him.

Harry grinned up at the blonde. “Hey! Pregnant person here. I need my warm covers.” At Draco’s horrified look, Harry shook his head. “I’m kidding, Draco,” he soothed. “I’m just as excited as you are.” Draco resumed bouncing and Harry crawled out of bed and shrugged into a warm robe, stuffing his feet into slippers. “Come on, Sugar-Rush,” he said fondly.

Draco practically hopped out of the bedroom behind Harry and carefully shoved him into the warm recesses of the couch. Narcissa squealed when she saw Harry and did a very familiar bounce over to the boy’s side. Giving Harry a kiss on the cheek, she and her son moved on to the tree and the packages glittering under it. Harry turned to the other occupant of the room: a pursed lipped Snape, and grinned.

He was delighted to see an answering smile, though small, on Snape’s face. “Did you give them sugar?” Harry stage whispered.

Snape shook his head. “No, and I’m quite terrified to find out what Albus has chosen for Christmas breakfast,” he whispered back.

Less than 5 minutes later, Harry sat buried under a pile of gifts. He set aside his presents from Mione, Ron, Hagrid and Sirius and found that he still had several presents to open. He quickly found that the Malfoy tradition was to have one person open a gift whilst the others watched. He felt slightly self-conscious about all eyes on him, even though it was only the same three with whom he’d spent nearly every hour of the day. Seeing his hesitation, Draco offered to go first.

Harry shot him a grateful look and watched in anticipation as the blonde tore into the first box. Draco stopped as he pulled the tissue aside, just staring at the gift. “Well, what is it?” Narcissa asked impatiently.

Draco looked up at Snape, who flushed, and smiled. “Thank you, sir. It’s beautiful.” He pulled out a clock just like the ones Harry had seen at the Weasley’s. The hands on it were carefully labeled with both Narcissa and Harry’s names and location markers dotted the sides of it. “I have one request, though,” Draco added. Snape raised an eyebrow. “Could you add another hand for yourself and one for Harry’s baby?” he asked softly.

Harry felt his chest constrict at the heartfelt plea in Draco’s voice. He glanced at the potions master and saw that he wasn’t unaffected either. Snape sat flummoxed, just staring at Draco in disbelief. Narcissa moved to his side and took his hand. That sparked him to flutter his lashes in confusion and switch his stare to her. She tried not to laugh at the look on his face. “Just nod, dear,” she suggested.

Snape nodded automatically, obviously still not caught up to the situation. Draco smiled and carefully stored the clock back in its box and set it beside him. “Narcissa, I think you should go next,” Harry smiled. “I don’t think the professor is quite ready for any more shocks.”

The woman nodded and unwrapped her first gift. Harry tensed as he realized that this was from him. She caught her breath as she saw her first glimpse of it. Harry smiled contentedly. Yup, that was his first reaction as well. Tears filled her eyes and she launched herself across the floor and nearly into Harry’s lap. “It’s the most wonderful gift I’ve ever received,” she whispered.

Harry awkwardly hugged her back and glanced down once again at the portrait in her hands. He’d bribed Dean with new charcoals and the frame as well as a Harry-funded expedition to Hogsmeade for the gift. But, looking at the joy on Narcissa’s face, it was money well spent. Dean had used a photograph taken by Colin to sketch Draco sleeping in the Gryffindor common room. He was curled up around a pillow with a sweet smile on his face and he looked about 10 years old again.

Draco rolled his eyes and gestured to Harry to take his turn next. Grinning at Draco’s embarrassment, he did so. He carefully uncovered a small, green plushie. Curiously, he lifted it out of the box and, to his surprise it curled around his wrist. He felt it warm slightly and realized what it was for: his baby. He clutched the plushie close to his chest and looked to see whose guilty face would show the giver.

To his surprise, Snape was picking at a string on his robe. “Sir?” Harry asked. “Is this from you?”

Snape sighed and nodded. “Yes, Potter.”

Harry smiled. “I love it, sir. It’s wonderful.”

Snape shrugged and went back to picking at his robe. “It was mine when I was small.”

Harry froze. Snape giving him a gift was one thing. Snape handing over something with sentimental value was just…well, it just was. “W-what is it’s name, sir?” he asked awkwardly.

Snape flushed. “Siffy,” he mumbled.

Harry nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

Snape shrugged again and practically snatched his first present up from the floor. He carefully unwrapped it, pulling the spell-o-tape aside and folding it down over the paper. By the time he got to the gift, he was composed again…just in time to lose it. “Bloody hell!” he hissed. “These are basilisk scales!” He looked up at the others. “Where did you get basilisk scales? I haven’t been able to find any for years!”

Harry flushed. ‘You’ve not been looking in the right places, sir. There are plenty lying just below us.”

Snape’s jaw dropped. “You mean…?”

Harry nodded. “Draco and I went down into the Chamber of Secrets about a week ago. We harvested some for you. I hope it’s enough, I don’t know if I want to go back down there until after the baby’s born.”

Snape worked his mouth a few times, and then glared half-heartedly. “You should know better than to be traipsing around in the cold and the dark looking for potions ingredients. You don’t even know what’s down there anymore. Something could have take up residence and you’d not have known till it ate you.”

Harry just smiled. “You’re welcome, sir.” Snape snapped his mouth shut and sat back in silence, hands still wrapped around the jar. He dropped his chin in acknowledgement.

Draco grinned and snatched up his next present. Harry smiled. He’d been amazed at how easy this present was to get. He had imagined that it would be quite impossible, however when the time came to sign the plaque commemorating Draco as an Honorary Gryffindor, the actual Gryffindors were lined up three deep.

He watched the awe steal over Draco’s face and the quickened blinking that spoke of heightened emotion. “Th-thank you, Harry,” he whispered. Biting his lip, he handed the plaque over to his mother so she could see it as well. Narcissa wasn’t quite as fickle about her emotions. Tears ran down her face and she hugged her son tightly.

Harry moved on to his next gift, giving mother and son a chance to dry their eyes. What he found was a small book and a quill. “Oh, Harry…that is actually a dual gift for you and Draco,” Narcissa smiled “They’re called correspondence quills. Whatever you write with that quill on that book will show up in Draco’s book, and whatever Draco writes with his quill in his book will show up in yours.”

Harry beamed. “Thank you, Narcissa. I love it.” He grinned at Snape. “And I promise we won’t get too much use out of them in potions.”

“Hmph,” Snape replied. “See that you don’t.” He turned his frown to Narcissa and it evaporated. “It’s your turn, Cissa,” he said gently.

Harry and Draco exchanged secret smiles at the professor’s abrupt change in attitude, then thy turned their attention to Narcissa carefully opening a long slender box. She gasped and lifted a delicate flower from the tissue paper. “Severus, it’s lovely!” she breathed.

The hardened potions professor tinged red. “It’s spelled to never wilt or fall apart,” he murmured. “It will always smell sweetly and will never die.”

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I love it, Severus,” she whispered. “And it goes quite nicely with my gift to you.” A wicked twinkle came to her eye and she plucked a piece of parchment from the table behind her. She handed it to him and watched his face carefully.

He eyed the document and his eyes widened. “Is this…?”

Narcissa nodded. “It is a copy of my divorce decree.”

Draco caught his breath and sat quietly, trying not to disturb the moment. Harry felt tears welling up in his eyes. Snape frowned for a moment and then his face took on a wary look. “And this word written on the top? Is it…?” he paused, looking up hesitantly.

Narcissa nodded. “It’s the password to my bedroom.”

Harry and Draco raised eyebrows, impressed with Narcissa’s daring. Snape scrunched down further into his robes, glaring at the boys. Draco held up a hand in surrender and began cleaning up the torn paper, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. Harry just sat, holding Siffy and vying his attention between the beautiful look on Narcissa’s face and her beautiful son.

“I have one more gift for you, Draco,” she said, finally pulling her attention away from the flustered Snape. Draco stopped picking up shreds of paper and looked at her eagerly. She smiled and held out a small velvet box. Draco took it and gingerly opened the lid.

“M-mum?” he gasped, pulling the emerald and onyx ring from the depths.

She crossed her legs nonchalantly and inclined her head. “That, my son, is indeed the Malfoy Head of Household ring.”

“But why doesn’t fa…Lucius have it?”

Narcissa smirked again. “Because I stole it in a fit of pique years ago and locked it in my personal jewelry box.” Draco’s confusion was almost palpable. “He had infuriated me once again on the issue of Voldemort,” she sighed. “He was forever bowing and scraping for the Dark Lord, willing to turn over whatever the moldy bastard wanted. He didn’t care if he had to sacrifice the whole Malfoy fortune…or it’s heir…to do it.” Draco shuddered at the look of hatred on his mother’s face.

“I know you will protect the line, Draco. I know you will make something of the Malfoy name once again. And so, I gift it to you. Put it on your finger and no magic in the world, nor a hand other than your own can remove it.” Draco slipped the ring on his index finger with a look of awe.

“But, mum…it’s just a ring,” he added. “How am I supposed to do all of that with one single ring?”

Narcissa waved her hand flightily. “Oh, didn’t you know? That ring is tied to the control of the Malfoy assets. Lucius has been able to survive thus far because he has his own Gringotts accounts. They are his personal vaults. He hasn’t tried to get into anything Malfoy yet.” She grinned again. “Unfortunately for him, he’ll find that he will be unable to get into any Malfoy vault or access any Malfoy possession without that ring.”

Snape burst into laughter. “Never piss off a Malfoy, even if she’s a Malfoy by marriage.”

Harry smiled hugely. Draco hadn’t given his world up for him. He was still a Malfoy; he hadn’t given up his name or his inheritance.

But the most important thing to Harry?

… he would have.