Early March

Severus stepped out of the floo into an empty sitting room. He locked the floo back up and then went to return his wand to its normal hiding spot in his bedroom. After it was safely put away, Severus went to investigate the thumping and loud noises coming from the boys' bedroom. He opened the door to the sound of Harry yelling "Stupid-fly!" and toys hitting the walls, followed by gleeful laughter. From the doorway, he could see that the room was a disaster area with Draco lying on his bed watching Harry, who was sitting on the floor surrounded by a large variety of Muggle toys. He had an assortment of stuffed animals at one end of the room partially hidden under his bed, large plastic action figures at the other end where Draco's bed was, and dozens of green army men flung everywhere.

"It looks like the dragons are getting ready to attack," Draco said lazily, gesturing to the two stuffed dragons amongst the other toys. "You may want to do something about that."

"No, no, no! Bad dragons, bad!" Harry yelled, crawling around the room to pick up a handful of the green army men. "Red-duck-go!" One by one, he threw the army men at the dragons, managing to hit the larger of the two. Then he jumped to his feet and bounced around the room with his hands in the air.

"I wins, I wins!" Harry shouted gleefully.  He brought his hands down and started to pull his t-shirt over his head.

"Mr. Potter," Severus snapped, stepping fully into the room. "Leave your clothes on."

Harry stopped in the middle of his victory dance, letting go of his shirt and dropping his hands to his side. "Daddy Sev, where's you been? You missed the war!" Harry waved his arms around to indicate the toys.

"I assure you, Mr. Potter, I did not miss it," Severus said. "You won."

"Yup. I always wins." Harry nodded his head vigorously, his smile wide. Then he narrowed his eyes at Severus as his hand strayed to the bottom of his shirt. "Boys who wins gets to take off their shirts," he said as he slowly started to pull up on the hem.

"No, they do not," Severus said emphatically. "Not unless they want to be punished. Boys who win are allowed to clean up the mess they created in their bedroom."

Harry looked around the room with a frown. "Not a mess," he declared obstinately. "Is a war zone." He then strode over to the laundry bin and threw open the lid. He reached in and pulled out an armload of dirty clothes, dumped them on the stuffed animals, then knelt down and started patting the clothes around the toys.

"Mr. Potter," Severus barked while Draco laughed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Bury the losers," Harry said calmly. "They's dead."

With that, Draco stopped laughing and got off the bed. "Harry, go have lunch with Daddy Sev," he said, gently pulling Harry to his feet, then pushing him towards the door. "I'll clean up the war."

It was too early for lunch, but Harry never turned down food. He eagerly grasped Severus's hand. "Lunch, lunch," he said, pulling on Severus. "Wan' sammitch!"

With a last look at Draco over his shoulder, he allowed Harry to pull him out of the room. Draco was standing in the middle of the "war zone" looking tired and sad. "Lie down and take a nap, Draco," Severus said. "I'll watch Harry for the rest of the day."

Draco looked up from his contemplation of the floor. "Thanks, Severus. I could use the sleep."

~hp~ss~dm~hp~ss~dm~

Draco woke six hours later to the muffled sound of Harry shouting and banging on the wall. He rolled out of the bed, pulled on his trousers and shirt, then stumbled into the sitting room. He found Harry standing in the corner with his face to the wall and Severus sitting in his chair with his arms folded and a fierce scowl on his face.

"No corner! No, no, no!" Harry yelled as he pounded his fists against the wall and then laid his forehead into the corner. "Wan' Ray! Wan' Ray NOW!"

"Mr. Potter," Severus said firmly. "You will remain in that corner until you have been quiet for a full five minutes. If you have woken Mr. Malfoy, I will add an additional five minutes."

"Wan' Ray." Harry sniffled as he wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Ray's not s'posed to sleeps wiffout me. How comes you let Ray sleeps wiffout me?"

Quietly Draco backed out of the room before Harry saw him. This was one of those lessons that Harry always struggled with, and it wouldn't help to have Draco there as a distraction.

The minutes ticked by as Harry slowly settled down, finally falling silent except for the occasional sniffle. Draco sat on the floor just outside the room waiting for Severus to release Harry from the corner. The minutes seem endless, but finally Draco heard Severus say, "You may leave now, Mr. Potter."

There was the sound of scuffling feet, then Severus asked, "What do you say, Harry?"

"I's sorry, Daddy Sev," Harry's voice was low, but with mutinous undertones. "I's be good next time."

"Very good," Severus said. "I do believe Mr. Malfoy is waiting for you outside the door."

Draco laughed. He should have known that he couldn't hide from Severus.

"Ray!" Harry yelled as he poked his head out of the doorway. He looked around the hallway before noticing Draco. His eyes widened comically. "Ray, why's you on the floor?"

"It's comfortable," Draco said as he pushed himself to his feet.

Severus came out of the door. "Dinner will be shortly," he said and stalked off to the kitchen.

Draco held out a hand. "Come on Harry, let's go read a book. I'm sure Daddy Sev will appreciate some quiet."

Harry grabbed Draco's hand and allowed Draco to lead him to the sofa. "Why's Daddy Sev upset, Ray?" Harry asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Draco said as he opened a children's book about rabbits. "It's just grown-up stuff."

"'Kay," Harry said happily, leaning his head against Draco's shoulder. Draco read the book with Harry pointing at the pictures that moved across the page.

When Draco closed the book, Harry leaned over and smacked a kiss on Draco's cheek. "I loves you, Ray," he said quietly and then bounced off the sofa and ran out of the room. Draco stared after him with a shocked look on his face.

"Dinner's ready," Severus said as he walked into the sitting room. Seeing Draco's expression he asked, "What did Harry do this time?"

Draco's eyes cut over to Severus. "He told me he loves me." His voice betrayed his surprise.

Severus's eyes widened a bit, but then his face settled into a smirk. "I'm not surprised," he said. "You have spent nearly every minute with him for over nine months."

"But he's never said anything like that before," Draco said worriedly. "What if it's the curse?"

Severus looked thoughtful for a moment. "It could be, but I doubt it. I think that Harry is starting to grow mentally and is learning to express his emotions."

Draco nodded, hoping that Severus was right.

~hp~ss~dm~hp~ss~dm~

Severus exited the floo to Minerva's office the next afternoon. He brushed off the soot as he moved to sit in the chair he normally occupied.

"Minerva," he said to the headmistress. "I was glad to hear from you. Whom have you found?"

"Severus," she said, coming around the desk and standing next to him. "I think that the woman I have found will be able to help with Harry and she also has access to a huge library."

Severus narrowed his eyes at her. "There are few women who would have that kind of access and be willing to help us. Most are wives of former Death Eaters."

There was a knock on the outer office door and Minerva moved to open it. Seeing who was standing on the other side, Severus stood and backed away towards the floo, his hand reaching for the pot of floo-powder. "Minerva," he growled. "What have you done?"

"Severus, sit down." Minerva stood aside as Narcissa Malfoy entered the office. "She is here to help you."

"Severus," Narcissa said, holding out her hand. "I couldn't believe it when Minerva told me you were alive."

"Narcissa." Snape wrapped his cloak around him like a shield. "Why are you here? What will you do when Lucius finds out?"

"Lucius will not find out," Minerva said. "Narcissa has given me her oath that nothing said here today will pass beyond these walls, regardless of whether or not she decides to help you."

Narcissa sat in the chair closest to her and Severus sank into the other one, still looking at Minerva. "What made you think of contacting Narcissa?"

"She contacted me, actually," Minerva said dryly. "She has been sending me letters off and on since Draco disappeared wanting to know if I had heard from him. When you came to me the other day, I knew who I needed to contact."

Severus eyed Narcissa carefully. "You know why Draco has broken with your family."

Narcissa nodded. "Yes. Lucius is determined to do whatever is necessary to regain his power. It makes no difference to him that Harry spoke for him at his trial, or that Draco will be the one to endure the consequences of his machinations. Lucius cannot see past his aspirations."

"What is it you propose?" Severus asked.

Narcissa settled back in her chair. "I don't know the particulars, but Minerva has told me that you need help with a child. In addition, she has said that you require access to some books that would not be…readily available elsewhere. While I am not the greatest researcher, I am more than able to help with the child along with assisting where I can with the research."

"All of that is true," Severus said. "Are you willing to give me an unbreakable vow to keep silent about the situation?"

Narcissa's eyes were steady. "I am willing. You once did the same for me, how could I possibly refuse?"

Severus inclined his head, acknowledging the truth of her statement. "Before I accept, I need to know what you are going to tell Lucius. You are going to be away from the Manor quite a bit and he is bound to notice."

Narcissa waved her hand negligently. "It is of no consequence since I'm rarely home anyway. I will simply tell him that I am helping with some charity or another, or that I'm spending time in France. Provided that you do not regularly need me on weekends, we will not have a problem."

"That should work, although we will need you to spend at least one or two nights a week with us." Severus stood and held out his hand to Narcissa and she laughed lightly.

"I may just decide to move to 'France' permanently," Narcissa said as she put her hand in his. "I doubt Lucius would even care. He is so focused on politics, he rarely has time for me."

The vow took only a few minutes with Minerva as the bonder. When it was done, an elf brought up a tea tray and the three of them settled back in their chairs. There was silence for a few minutes as each prepared their cup, but finally Narcissa broke the quiet.

"Tell me what's going on." She took a sip of tea and looked at Severus.

Severus sighed and began the tale.

~hp~ss~dm~hp~ss~dm~

Severus had the beginnings of a raging headache by the time he finished telling Narcissa the entire story. He rubbed his hand over his eyes, wishing that he had time for a nap. He looked up when he felt a light touch on his shoulder and saw Minerva standing next to him holding a vial of headache potion.

"Thank you," he said, drinking the potion and returning the empty vial to Minerva.

"Well," Narcissa said, her voice hoarse and her eyes suspiciously shiny. "That was not what I expected."

Severus smirked. "Harry Potter is nothing if not the master of the unexpected."

"True," Narcissa said wryly, folding her hands in her lap. "Now, about the research you've been doing. Do you have a list of the books that you have already read?"

Severus pulled a parchment from his robes and handed it to her. She scanned it quickly, then asked, "Minerva, may a use some parchment and a quill?"

The paper was quickly passed over to her and she scratched a note along with a short list, then called. "Timmy!"

A tiny house elf appeared at her elbow. "How can Timmy be serving Mistress Narcissa?" it squeaked.

"Retrieve these books from the main library. Bring them here." Narcissa handed the house elf the list and it popped away.

Severus cocked an eyebrow at her and she smiled. "Timmy is bound to me personally. He was a gift a few years ago from the Parkinsons back when they were trying to convince Lucius to betroth Draco to Pansy. Since he is not bound to the Malfoy family, he can be trusted to bring books back and forth." Narcissa turned to Minerva. "I will use your office as the transfer place for the book, if it's acceptable to you. It's a neutral location and safer than sending Timmy to Severus's house."

"Of course," Minerva said with satisfaction. "It's a perfect solution."

Timmy popped back in with four large books, set them on the table next to Narcissa, then popped back out. Severus stood and retrieved the books, then led the way to the floo.

"Is your wand safely hidden?" He asked. At her nod, he said, "Then shall we go meet Harry?"

Narcissa took a pinch of floo powder. "After you," she said.

~hp~ss~dm~hp~ss~dm~

"Harry, get back here!" Draco called, chasing him down the hallway.

"No jammies! No, no, no!" Harry shouted back as the door to the sitting room slammed.

Draco growled in frustration. "I swear, if I dared to use my wand in front of him, I would Obliviate that word right out of his head." He strode into the sitting room, then stopped dead in his tracks, his face slack with astonishment. Harry was standing naked in front of the fireplace, staring wide-eyed at the two people who had just emerged.

"Mother," Draco said, keeping his voice steady in spite of his racing heart. "What are you doing here?"

Harry's head swung to look at Draco, then back to Severus and Narcissa. He backed away until he was standing next to Draco.

"Ray," Harry said, his eyes never leaving Narcissa's face. "Whozzat wif Daddy Sev?"

Draco tore his eyes away from his mother, whose face was soft with sympathy. "Harry," he said firmly. "Pyjamas first, then I'll tell you who it is."

Harry's face turned defiant as he finally looked at Draco. "No jammies, Ray!" he exclaimed, stomping his foot.

Draco crossed his arms. "Fine then, I won't tell you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Severus put a hand on Narcissa's arm to keep her from approaching the two boys. Draco ignored both of them, looking steadily at Harry while holding onto the pyjama bottoms.

Harry huffed in exasperation, then sat on the floor. Draco knelt next to him to help him into the bottoms, and then pulled the soft knit top over his head. "Very good, Harry," Draco said softly as Harry climbed to his feet. "Come on now, there's someone for you to meet."

Harry held tightly to Draco's hand as they approached Narcissa. With a gentle hand on Harry's back, Draco pushed Harry forward to stand in front of him. "Harry," he said. "This is Narcissa Malfoy, my mother. Mother, this is Harry."

Narcissa face betrayed no recognition as she held her hand out to Harry. "Harry, I'm so glad to meet you."

Harry backed into Draco, then turned to look at him, his eyes wild and full of tears. "Ray," he whispered urgently. "Is she Mummy? I's been wishing for a mummy, is that her?"

Draco pulled Harry to him and wrapped his arms around Harry's shaking shoulders. Draco's eyes caught and held Narcissa's and she nodded her head with a slight smile.

"Yes, Harry," he said, his voice close to Harry's ear. "She's Mummy. She's come to help me and Daddy Sev take care of you."

With a cry, Harry wrenched out of Draco's arms and launched himself at Narcissa. She would have stumbled as she caught Harry in her arms, but Severus steadied her from behind.

"Mummy, where's you been?" Harry cried. Narcissa was several inches shorter than Harry was, but Harry managed to bury his face in her shoulder. "I missed you, Mummy. I missed you so much."

"I've been away, Harry," Narcissa said, one hand settled on his back and the other stroked his hair. "But I'm here now."