Draco took a few moments to gather his thoughts about himself, to keep his breathing calm. He didn't dare look at the photographs on his desk, didn't dare look at anything until the initial panic had subsided. He felt angry with himself - how hadn't he seen this coming. It was expected once you were married, and Potter was so powerful that he wouldn't need compatible magic to create a child. Draco should have seen it coming. His mother wasn't here to help now, and he wanted her desperately, wanted her advice, wanted her to hold him in her arms and stroke his hair. Needed her to promise that they could get through this, that they were Malfoys, that they had ancestry stretching back centuries and nothing could hurt them. But he wasn't a Malfoy anymore, and nor was the child growing inside of him.
His first thought was of a snake, curled in his stomach, ready to bite, but he didn't like to think of snakes. He made himself focus, and the image reshaped itself, a scorpion within him, tiny for now, but with a poisonous sting that would tear apart what he managed to build up, that would slowly poison him from the inside. But this child... it wasn't the child's fault that they were the child of a Death Eater. And Potter was many things, but he wouldn't hurt an infant – Draco was sure of that at least. If he could get the tiny life inside of him out into the world, keep them safe from Potter's anger and Potter's quick fists... they would be okay. Both of them would find a way to be okay.
He was certain that Potter could be no worse a father than Lucius had been, and Draco considered himself to have had a good childhood. He'd been loved by his mother, and that had been enough - that had been more than enough. He remembered sitting in the grounds, as Mother had waved her wand and painted light above him, tracing out constellations, even though Father would be angry at her for coddling him. The child didn't need Potter's love.
He returned to his book, reading through for charms to strengthen an unborn child, to support them, because the little scorpion inside of him was going to be loved. Draco was sure of that. He'd done so much in his life that was awful, but he could do this. He would find a way to make it alright, keep the child quiet and out of Potter's way. Potter would realise the advantage of having an heir soon enough. He just had to make sure that Potter didn't find out yet. He could manage that, could find a way to keep his little scorpion safe.
He rested a hand on his stomach, even though he knew it was far too early to feel anything, far too early for the child to even feel his magic. It wasn't a child yet, but it would be. "I'll keep you safe," he promised, and he meant it. He'd try harder, he'd find a way to make Harry happy, he'd do whatever it took, whatever was needed, if it would keep that tiny white spark of light alive within him.
Potter had said he'd be back by the evening. Draco wanted to make him happy, avoid any questions as to what he had done that day, so he got up and went to clean the house. That was easy at least, his magic eager to have something to do rather than simply sit there worrying. Potter had been kind, so far. As long as he didn't provoke him, he had no reason to doubt that such kindness would continue.
He remembered fifth year. He'd been laughing with his friends, calling out insults, and Potter's fists had collided with his jaw, with his stomach. He made himself breathe through the memories. They had been children then, and he'd been trying to make Potter angry. He could manage to keep him calm. For his tiny scorpion, he could do anything.
He'd asked Narcissa once, how she bore it all, how she kept her head high through every disgrace and every pain. She had simply smiled at him, and brushed his hair from his eyes. One day you'll understand. Today, Draco had begun to understand. He'd do anything for his tiny ball of light. His scorpion's little spark of foreign magic.
He spent time exploring the house, far more than he had done so previously. Several of the bedrooms were in a truly appalling state - he suspected they might actually have had wild animals loose inside them. But he got to work. He was careful not to trigger any wards or dark artefacts, using his sixth year Charms book as a guide for basic diagnostic spells. He cleaned and aired out rooms that hadn't been used, chased away dust, cleared windows, and even used a handful of potion ingredients to create a mixture to strip away grime.
He heard the front door open as he was cleaning the windows in the library, carefully rubbing his potion across the glass and then clearing it away with a wave of his wand. He heard Potter call out from downstairs. "Draco, I'm back!" He was cluttering around downstairs, and Draco managed to finish cleaning the window he was working on before he heard Potter enter the library.
"Wow..." Potter breathed, and then walked over. "This looks amazing Draco, thank you."
"Sorry about yesterday," Draco mumbled. "I don't-"
"Don't worry about it. Honestly. I get it, you're nervous and I made things worse, I'm sorry about that..." Harry ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick up in all directions. "You don't owe me anything, Draco. Thanks to my parents and godfather, I've got more than enough money, and I... I brought you here so you'd be safe. That's all. And I know I fucked everything up by getting drunk, but it won't happen again. I promise."
Harry smiled at him, and Draco smiled back. The smile didn't feel forced on his lips, even though he was aware it should have been, that he shouldn't have felt comfortable with this.
"Thanks. Sorry, I just... You've done a lot for me."
"You saved me at the Manor, remember?" Harry answered. "We were shits to each other as kids but then... then the war came. And we're not... We can make this work, Draco."
"I'd like that," Draco answered, and he didn't flinch when Harry's arms wrapped over his shoulders. He leaned into his embrace, because despite everything part of him still felt like Potter was safe. "I got a lot of cleaning done today, do you want to see?" It felt silly to offer, but he wanted to prove to Harry that they could make this work, and in a way this was all he had to offer.
"I'd love that," Harry answered, as though it wasn't silly to offer at all. He gestured with a flourish. "Lead the way."
Draco carefully stoppered the remainder of the cleaning potion he had produced, and began to give Harry the tour of his own home.
"This looks amazing, Draco." Harry reassured. "You've done incredibly."
Draco thrilled a little at that. He'd done something right. It wasn't much, but it was a start, something he could build on to prove to Potter that he and his child were worth keeping around.
Potter seemed genuinely delighted, kept reassuring him and saying how much better things looked, and Draco couldn't help preening a little at the kind words. He told himself this was a good sign, that he really could get Potter on side.
He wished he had his mother to ask for advice, to see if she had any ideas of what would help - Potter kept insisting on doing the cooking, and made it clear he didn't desire Draco. In desperation, he tried to think, recalled all the times he had seen Granger helping Potter with his homework. They were both taking Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Potter seemed to have a lot of commitments that took him outside the house. Draco was sure he could manage to teach himself Transfiguration on top of his other subjects, he could be useful that way.
He buried the flush of anger at himself for not working harder in sixth year, because now he had to catch up. But he could manage it. There had been a time, before the war, when Draco had allowed himself to dream of being a Healer, of being able to soothe away bruises the way his mother could. It was a foolish dream, because no Malfoy worked for a living, and because no one now would want their injuries treated by a Death Eater. But he knew the subjects – Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Herbology and Defence Against The Dark Arts. He'd be close to a full set, and he didn't need to know how to grow plants if he could purchase them. He was unhireable, but at least he'd be able to treat any injuries that occurred, and his little scorpion wouldn't need to worry.
He could picture his mother's smile as she gently rubbed a salve onto her own skin, telling him that it didn't hurt any more. How she'd freely wasted expensive supplies on the smallest cuts and grazes that he'd ended up with. How she'd never once been angry with him.
"Draco?" Potter asked, resting his hand on Draco's shoulder. "You did wonderfully. Are you alright?" He frowned. "Have you gone anywhere?"
"No, I was inside all day." Draco insisted, careful to fight down panic. Potter had to have wards on this place, had to have proof that he hadn't left. He was just asking. Even if it was a test, Draco knew he'd passed. He kept himself breathing, reminding himself that he hadn't done anything wrong. Potter was fair. Annoyingly so, at times.
"Okay..." Potter was frowning again, looking at him with concern that Draco didn't understand. "Did you eat?"
Draco shook his head.
"Shit." Potter muttered, mostly to himself, but he didn't seem to be angry at Draco. "Okay, sorry I should have... come on, let's get you some food..." He headed back down to the kitchen, muttering to himself. Draco couldn't make out the words, but he didn't seem to be angry at least.
They reached the bottom of the stairs when the doorbell rang.
Draco glanced at Harry, and Harry shrugged. "Must be one of the Order, or..." He drew his wand, and Draco mirrored the gesture. If some dark wizard had come to murder Potter, he would fight them. He would protect this home and his child.
Potter waved a hand, silently opening the door.
A blonde young woman stood outside humming to herself tunelessly. Her eyes lit up when she saw Harry. "Oh, hello." Luna beamed at Harry, and then at Draco. "I didn't know you'd be here, Draco."
"I live here now," he told her.
"Oh, that's good," she smiled at him, wandering in as Potter put his wand away. "Your old house was very cold and not very nice, this is much better."
"Luna, why are you here?" Potter was asking, and some part of Draco felt protective over her and wanted to move Potter away. He could handle her, he didn't need... He took a steadying breath. He was with Potter. Potter meant her no harm - Potter had saved her.
"Oh, I just wanted to go for a walk in the forest, and I saw a thestral, and I thought maybe it would be good for it to go and visit the thestrals we left in London." Luna answered, walking around the hallway and picking up various objects, turning them over in her hands before putting them back down. Draco was glad he'd carefully removed a couple of Dark artefacts earlier that day.
"Thestrals we-"
"When we went to the Ministry, Harry. We left them, and they're still here, so I thought maybe it would be nice..." She paused, her words trailing off, and shook her head before she looked up at Draco. "It's good you're here, Draco."
"Yeah," Draco replied, careful to smile. "You should be in school though."
"I know, I just... I just wanted to go out, for a little while. It felt..." she shook her head, and then smiled. "You've still got a blue fairy, you know."
Draco's answering smile was genuine. "And what's your view on the house. Any nargles?"
"No, not yet." She smiled to herself. "There will be, but they don't like places that are empty. They're not like boggarts or ghouls..." she turned to Harry. "Draco let me borrow one of his textbooks on Care of Magical Creatures. It wasn't very good though. It was missing all kinds of creatures. It didn't even have anything about Blibbering Humdingers..." She sighed to herself, and Draco raised an eyebrow.
"I remember. You tried to demand a quill so you could add corrections."
"I was helping," she told him firmly, and then smiled. "Draco, do we have more of your mum's chicken soup tonight?"
"Uh..." Draco hesitated, glancing over at Harry and shrugging. "I know the spell, if that's-"
"Uh..." Harry nodded. "Yeah, sure..." He looked confused by the entire situation, and Draco didn't want to be standing too close when he realised why he and Luna knew each other.
Draco headed to the kitchen, but Luna and Potter both followed him. He pulled out three bowls and focused - he knew where his mother kept a supply of her soup and knew the technique to summon a small amount then multiply it. It was at a greater distance this time, but he could do it. Then he cast careful heating charms.
A few moments later, he had three bowls of warm soup. He floated them over to the table, and Luna smiled at him brightly.
"I didn't know you two knew each other." Harry said carefully, and Draco made sure not to flinch, not to look worried.
"Oh, we do. He'd come and sit with me sometimes when I was at his house, and he'd bring me food. You should try the soup Harry, it's very good."
Harry did as she told him to, looking at Draco curiously. Draco ate his own soup in silence, before he realised something that made him speak out. "Luna, you did remember to tie up the thestral, didn't you?"
"It wanted to be with its friends," Luna answered. Draco winced.
"You're using the fireplace to go back to the school tonight."
"But-"
"You need to be in school," Draco told her with as much authority as he could manage.
"Alright then, but... I miss when you'd visit me." She smiled to herself. "It was nice, sometimes, sitting with you. It was like having a friend."
"Luna, I was a Death Eater."
"You weren't a very good one, were you?" Luna asked, and she managed to ask it in a way that didn't sound like an insult. "Harry wouldn't let you stay with him if you were." She reached across the table, and patted his arm. "And I know you stayed with me every full moon to keep me safe from Moon Frogs."
Draco didn't quite know what to say to that, but Harry was giving him a very considering look. Eventually, Harry cleared his throat. "You should go back to school, Luna. And the food was delicious, thank you Draco."
Luna nodded, standing up and embracing Harry tightly, then walking over and doing the same to Draco. Draco stood there awkwardly, not quite sure of the correct response.
"Will you write to me, both of you?"
"We can do that," Harry promised, and Draco nodded. Luna was the first person he'd seen other than Harry since the wedding ceremony, and he was glad to see that she was back to her normal bizarre self. She paused in front of the fireplace to wave, before throwing in the powder and stepping into the green flames.
"She..." Harry started, then shook his head. "Thank you."
"It's a simple summoning and multiplication spell, Potter. You should try cooking with magic some time."
"That isn't what I meant." Potter smiled again. "There's more good in you than you realise, Draco."
Draco didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't answer. After a moment, Potter yawned. "I might head to bed if that's alright. I've got to visit Teddy tomorrow, and I'd like for you to come with me."
Draco could recognise an order when one was given. He nodded.