"Yes, thank you." Nott said dryly, but he didn't give away that Draco had all but abandoned him. "I'll see you soon, Malfoy."
Father and son departed and Draco let out a small sigh of relief. He wandered out of the library and decided he'd head out for some practice on his broom. He went up to his suite of rooms to retrieve the Nimbus and change into Quidditch gear.
He was just about to leave when his parents entered his sitting room. He froze in the adjoining doorway of his bedroom surprised to see them together. They rarely acted in partnership for discussions with him and he was unnerved.
"Mother. Father." Draco hovered uncertainly.
His mother chose an armchair and his father stood beside her.
"Come and sit down, Draco." His father ordered.
Draco chose the sofa across from his mother. "If this is about what happened this morning with Nott…"
"No, although I was disappointed to hear from your mother that you allowed an argument to occur, and that you ignored a guest giving them unwarranted freedom in our home." His father said tersely. "However, that is not what this is about." He looked to his wife.
She adjusted her skirts and met Draco's eyes coolly. "Since July your father and I have been discussing the possibility of having another child. We're agreed that a daughter would be a nice addition to our family. We wish to know your thoughts before we make a final determination."
A baby?!
His nose wrinkled automatically. Weren't babies noisy and smelly and…and babies! Why would they want another child? Suddenly doubt assailed him. Why wasn't he enough?
"I always wanted a son and a daughter, Draco." His mother seemed to read his mind. "However, a son was of a greater priority for our first child and after the Dark Lord's defeat in 'eighty-one, it was more important to re-establish our position and status than to have another child."
"I had not realised your mother wished for a daughter quite so much," his father added quietly, "otherwise we would have discussed the matter some years ago."
"I see." Draco worried his lip before he stilled the movement.
This was clearly his mother's desire. His father was apparently going along with it. He cocked his head and glanced at his father's expressionless face. His father was doing this to placate his mother – his mother who was the Black and who had the primacy in their marriage.
Understanding stampeded through Draco and he reined in the urge to smirk at his father. Clearly he had missed a lot in his sulking period, Draco mused. He had failed to consider how the changed circumstance would affect his parents' marriage. So, his mother held the balance of power. His father was aware his mother wanted more children and now she had the power he was giving into her demand – possibly to neutralise her and keep her in his corner with Lord Black.
It also meant that it was more important to please his mother than his father going forward, Draco thought absently. A baby sister perhaps wouldn't be so bad. The age gap was such that there was no possible way that he would be expected to interact with her in a meaningful way or share anything with her – except for his parents and their home. That would be irritating but, on the other hand, she would probably get her own suite of rooms and the Manor was otherwise large enough for them to avoid each other the majority of the time. A sister would be a useful asset in negotiating alliances…arrangements would be out but introductions would be allowed…
"If it pleases you, Mother, then I would be happy to have a sister." Draco said formally.
His mother smiled; a genuine smile that lit up her eyes and made her look infinitely younger. She got up from her chair and moved to hug him briefly. "Thank you, Draco."
"Yes, thank you, Draco." His father drawled. "We shall let you know if your mother falls pregnant while you are away at school but you should be aware it may be some months."
Draco blushed a little at the allusion to his parents' sex life. He didn't really want to think about that. "Thank you, Father."
"Well, we'll leave you to your flying practice." His mother said, squeezing his arm gently. "Be careful."
They swept out in much the same way as they swept in and Draco decided to push the whole thing to the back of his mind. He wanted to fly – fly and think about how he could get Potter to trust him. He had planning to do.
o-O-o
Harry smiled at the baby he was feeding with a strange kind of contentment. Jason's small hands waved at him as he greedily took another spoonful of mashed vegetables.
"He likes you." Anna commented, swooping in to wipe Jason's face with a damp cloth before subsiding into a dining chair beside Harry.
"I like him." Harry said simply. "He's a great kid."
"And you're going to make a great Dad someday." Anna said, smiling warmly at him.
Harry felt himself blush, his cheeks heating under her regard. He thanked Merlin she'd forgiven him for the whole blessing thing on the day she and Simeon had arrived.
"Hopefully not for a long time," Remus cut in, surprising them both with his presence – he was leaning against the doorjamb with crossed legs and arms, a smirk on his face, "I think Sirius would have kittens if Harry made him a Grandfather any time soon."
Anna laughed. "Don't you mean puppies?" She loved Sirius's animagus form to the point where she had joked she'd freeze him as Padfoot and take him back to Aussie as a pet.
"Well, as I don't intend to become a Dad just yet we can all stop worrying about Sirius having any kind of infant animal." Harry retorted, his cheeks still bright red. Merlin. He didn't want to think about the Talk again no matter how amazing it had been to see his Dad in the memory Sirius had provided.
Remus pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Sirius is currently laying the law down to the reporters in his study. You're going to be needed soon."
Harry nodded reluctantly, pulling a disgusted face as he got up from the table and handed Anna the spoon. He didn't want to do an interview but he and Sirius had discussed it and arranged it following the press coverage of the Wizengamot session. The theory was that by giving the press a full interview before Hogwarts started, it would reduce the focus on him when the press were there with the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
That was the theory.
They'd discussed cancelling in the wake of the latest death threat but Harry didn't want to give whoever it was that was threatening him the satisfaction of knowing they'd upset any plans. Sirius had also agreed that they'd continue with their plans for the World Cup too on the same basis but he had informed Harry and extracted a promise from him that Harry would stay with Sirius or Remus or another approved adult (and Harry was guessing it would be Bill) the entire time.
Remus gave him a once over and nodded at his open smart forest green robes adorned with the crests of Black and Potter over smart black trousers and a silk shirt in a contrasting shade of green to his robes. Harry's hair had been subjected to Sirius's Potter hair-calming charm and his gold-framed glasses sparkled. The Potter Lord ring and the Black Heir ring were prominently on display on his right hand.
"I take it Sirius picked out the outfit." Remus said, amused.
"He wanted me to wear dragon-hide trousers." Harry complained as he followed him down the corridor to the library. The silk shirt had been the compromise piece because he hadn't really had a problem with the robes.
They both entered and stopped at the sight of a wisp of a girl stood in front one of the bookshelves apparently talking to nothing. Her long blonde hair gleamed under the lights and Harry could see she wore a plain pale blue robe but her wand was tucked behind one ear and she appeared to be wearing a necklace made out of butterbeer caps.
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