Chapter Text
“Severus, is this a good time?” Lucius asked, his voice coming from the fireplace.
Severus was a little confused as to why Lucius was calling, as they didn’t have anything planned this upcoming week. He shook his head and put down his book before he walked over to the fireplace and bent down. “Yes, it’s fine. Did you want to just floo over? I don’t fancy kneeling on the stone floor,” Severus said honestly.
“Yes, I’ll come right over. Just give me a moment,” Lucius said before he pulled his face back from the fireplace.
Severus frowned because that was unusual, usually, Lucius would just floo right over, what was going on?
The reason why Lucius hadn’t gone immediately over was the whole reason he had flooed his friend in the first place. He sighed and looked at his son who was curled in a chair with a book, but he knew he wasn’t reading it.
“Dragon, I’m going to floo over to Severus’s house, I’ll be right back,” Lucius started carefully, already knowing how this was going to go.
Draco shook his head and started moving from his place on the chair. “I want to come,” he said quickly. He didn’t want to be left behind.
“I need to talk to Severus without you there, so I think you should stay here,” Lucius said gently.
“I don’t want to stay here, I want to go with you. Please Dad, let me come with you,” Draco said worriedly, his face taking on a panicked look at the thought of being left at the manor without the protection of his father.
Lucius sighed softly, knowing he needed to be firm, but unable to be, especially considering what the mind healer had said. This was the whole reason why he needed to speak with Severus, as he himself was at a loss. Most days he didn’t even recognize his own son, if Dolohov wasn’t already dead, he would have killed him again.
“What will you do when I’m talking to Severus?” Lucius asked instead, trying another tactic.
“I’ll go upstairs and play with Ron and Harry,” Draco said softly, even though he definitely didn’t want to do that. He knew his father wouldn’t allow him to go unless he offered something up.
“Will you really? I need to speak to Severus alone, so if you must come with me you have to go upstairs with the boys, understood?” Lucius explained to his son.
“I understand,” Draco said solemnly, he was just happy he wasn’t being left. He swallowed thickly and hurried over to his father, pressing himself to the man’s side.
“Will you be flooing first?” Lucius asked casually, just trying for a little bit of normalcy, despite the fact that his son was currently snuggled into his side.
“With you,” Draco said seriously, not moving from his current position.
“Dragon, you’ve been flooing alone since you were 6, you don’t need me to go with you,” Lucius said gently, but firmly. His heart ached because this scared little boy wasn’t who his child was.
Draco trembled and grabbed onto his father's robes at the thought of going into the fireplace alone. He wasn’t going to let go, so his father was going to have to pry him off, but he knew the man wouldn’t be doing that. “Please Daddy, I want to floo with you,” he pleaded.
Lucius pinched his nose with one hand and blew out a breath. He knew logically this was a side effect of the trauma that Draco had experienced two weeks ago, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. It broke his heart every time Draco called him Daddy. “Alright, we’ll go together,” he relented again before he grabbed a handful of powder and shuffled them into the fireplace. “Prince Manor!”
Severus wasn’t sure what exactly was taking Lucius so long to come through the floo, which is why he was now sitting in a chair drinking a cup of tea and having a small snack as he waited for his friend.
At last, he heard the fire and stood up, and got the shock of his life when he saw his friend and son, gracefully step out of the fireplace together. His surprise he knew was all over his face but something in him knew better than to comment on it at that moment.
“Greet your godfather, Dragon,” Lucius said as he gently pushed his child in front of him.
“Hi Uncle Sev,” Draco said obediently, his eyes suspiciously bright because the last thing he wanted to do was go upstairs but he knew he had to.
“Hi Draco, how are you today?” Severus asked carefully because his godson was not okay, he could tell just by looking at him.
“Good, I just...I have to go upstairs now, to play with Ron and Harry, because that was the deal, right Dad?” Draco said, turning to look back at his father in hopes the man would change his mind and allow him to stay down here.
“Yes, that’s what we agreed on,” Lucius said honestly, not allowing himself to be swayed. This conversation was overdue, the reason why was because of what Draco was currently going through.
Draco nodded and took a breath to calm and center himself, it was okay. He knew not just anyone was keyed into his godfather’s wards; he knew logically that he was safe. But this fear was irrational and he hated how unsure and terrified it made him.
“Will you stay right here Dad?” Draco asked worriedly as he started walking towards the stairs.
“I won’t move Dragon, but if I do, I’ll let an elf know where we are so you can find us. Go run along now,” Lucius said gently.
Draco bit his lip before he nodded and turned to head out of the living room and then up the stairs to Harry’s playroom. He took a breath before he pushed open the door, smiling a bit as he looked inside.
“Draco!” Harry shouted excitedly as he saw his cousin and friend come into the playroom. He jumped from the top of the tower to land on his back on the soft cloud material on the ground.
“Draco’s here?” Ron asked surprised, as he jumped off the swing he was about to go and greet his fellow pureblood.
“Hi guys,” Draco said softly, giving them both a smile. Because despite the fact that he thought he didn’t want to be in here, a part of him did.
“How are you, man?” Ron asked kindly, even as the older brother in him was a little concerned.
“I’m good,” Draco said quickly. “How are you guys? What are you guys up to?” He asked trying to take the attention off of himself.
“Oh we were playing with Sirius and Remus, you want to play with us?” Harry asked cheerfully.
Draco’s eyes went wide at Harry’s words before his eyes snapped to where he could see the men in question suddenly appear from under the play structure. His breaths quickened even though he knew logically, they weren’t going to hurt him.
“Hey little cousin,” Sirius said cheerfully, only to frown when Moony grabbed his arm when he went to go over to the boys. “What?”
“He’s terrified,” Remus said quietly, he could smell it. The air was thick with the child’s sudden fear.
“Baby Malfoy, what’s wrong?” Sirius asked gently because that wasn’t a good feeling to have a child be afraid of you.
“N-nothing, I just…I didn’t know you and Professor Lupin would be in here too,” Draco whispered out hoarsely, taking a small step back. He had to get out of here, what if they tried to hurt him?
Sirius frowned because he didn’t like this. He felt awful because he knew at that moment that his little Slytherin cousin was afraid of them. He shook off Remus’s hand and carefully started making his way toward the boys.
“We’re not going to hurt you, Severus told us what happened and I’m letting you know that we would never touch you or Harry or any child in that way. We don’t condone what that animal tried to do; it sickens us actually. I’m a fierce Protector kiddo, I would never hurt you, I would, however, kill for you,” Sirius said firmly, as he came to stand on Harry’s other side.
Draco trembled a bit as the man came closer but he felt his body actually relax at the man’s words. Especially when he said he would kill for him, Sirius was a Black and he knew the man meant what he said and therefore knew he would be protected.
“Moony come here, let him see you’re not a threat,” Sirius instructed his friend, as he reached out a hand for his little cousin to take. “Come here kid,” he requested.
Remus wasn’t sure of what Sirius was doing but as Draco hadn’t run away screaming, he supposed it was okay. He quietly and slowly made his way over to the little group, not wanting to startle the child.
Draco held out his hand, noting absently that it wasn’t shaking like he thought it would be. He didn’t react to the squeeze the man gave him, however when he was pulled into his cousin’s arms he did. He knew the moment the man hugged him that he wasn’t going to hurt him, and also at that moment that he had someone other than his Dad who wanted to keep him safe.
Ron was watching this quietly, feeling uneasy because if he didn’t know that blonde hair, he would assume that this other kid in front of him was someone else. This wasn’t the Draco they knew, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
“You’re alright little cuz,” Sirius said murmuring into the blonde child’s hair.
Draco took a shuddering breath, feeling safe as ever in Sirius’s arms. Because Sirius was a Black and he knew that Blacks protected their own.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Severus waited until he heard the door to the playroom open and then close before he pulled out his wand to spell a two-way silencing spell.
“I had wondered how he was dealing with what happened. And I can see that he’s not handling it well. Other than the clingy behavior, what else has changed with Draco?” Severus asked, understanding right then and there just why his brother in all but blood had come over.
“I think the question should be, what hasn’t changed,” Lucius said as he all but fell into a chair, grabbing the kettle to pour himself some tea.
“That bad?” Severus asked softly.
“Yes,” Lucius said honestly before he sighed. “He’s anxious and very afraid, all the time, he doesn’t like to be alone in his room, or to be far away from me. In many ways, he’s regressed significantly,” he admitted.
“Regressed how?” Severus asked carefully because he just wanted to know if it was as bad as Harry had been early on.
“He’s wetting the bed now; he never did that even when he was younger. He’s afraid of everything, the elves can’t just pop into his room anymore without his magic reacting. Or rather only Taffy can. If you remember she was the elf who saved him from Dolohov, she can but none of the others can. He doesn’t call me father anymore, I’m dad now. And when he’s stressed or scared, I’m Daddy,” Lucius said with a shake of his head. It hurt because he couldn’t do anything to help his son get through this.
Severus knew that everyone responded to trauma differently, and Harry unfortunately was used to dealing with traumatic experiences, that this one didn’t even register for his son. But Draco had been sheltered and protected all his life, and he could only imagine how terrified and out of control his godson must be feeling.
“Have you thought about possibly getting him to see a mind healer?” Severus asked carefully because he knew that the Malfoys were a proud family and might not want outside help.
“We have, the moment we realized that his nightmares weren’t going away. Her name is Abigail Reed, and she’s a muggleborn and Draco adores her,” Lucius said with a shake of his head still in disbelief when he thought about it.
“Pardon? A muggleborn you said?” Severus asked in shock, because what the hell was going on?
“I know what you’re thinking, am I in my right mind? Am I myself?” Lucius said with a soft chuckle. “She wasn’t my first choice,” he admitted.
“How did she become his healer?” Severus asked curiously, feeling completely off-balanced.
“Cissa and I took Draco to St. Mungos for an intake, and at the time I don’t know what I was thinking but I requested a male healer as I wanted Draco to be comfortable. I admit I didn’t think it through, so we get there and we’re sitting and the healer comes in and Draco lets out this sound that I never want to hear again.
It was a pure unadulterated scream of terror, that nearly made me sick to my stomach. His accidental magic reacted to his fear and the man was essentially blown out the door. I was horrified but unable to get up and go after him as Draco’s magic had me stuck to my chair. Narcissa went to see him instead and she came back with Abigail, who immediately calmed him down, and managed to get him to release me from my chair,” Lucius said with a grim smile.
Severus was horrified, elated, and shocked all at the same time. “So, he was comfortable in her presence?” He asked just for clarification.
“Yes, and she explained to us that it was clear to both her and her male colleague that Draco is currently terrified of men and that it would be beneficial to have a female healer going forward. Before she could recommend anyone else Draco spoke up that he liked her, and wanted her, and that was that. I had to get over myself and my personal beliefs about her blood. Because there has been a vast improvement in his behavior since he’s seen her,” Lucius admitted.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Severus said, keeping quiet on the fact that Draco must have been in an even worse place than he currently was. He couldn’t imagine what they had all been dealing with.
“She’s bringing back my son, bit by bit,” Lucius said fondly.
“What improvements have you noticed in his behavior?” Severus asked clinically, which wasn’t surprising given who he was.
“Before he was seeing her, he was refusing to go into the backyard. He wouldn’t play on his pitch, see the animals, or anything. Now he’ll go as far as the animals, he still won’t go on his pitch at all, nor where the outdoor toilet used to be,” Lucius explained, as they had removed the toilet, not wanting Draco to be reminded what of had happened there.
“But any progress is better than no progress,” Severus reminded him.
“Exactly,” Lucius said in agreement.
“How are his nightmares now?” Severus asked curiously.
“They are still prominent but it’s not every night at the moment. He currently has a nighttime potions regime, he takes Dreamless sleep twice a week, and takes a children’s rest easy potion 4 days a week,” Lucius answered.
“Do you need to me brew anything?” Severus asked seriously.
“No, it’s alright, thank you for the offer, Severus,” Lucius said, feeling quite touched by the gesture.
“Of course,” Severus said honestly as he took a sip of his tea.
“Now the reason I flooed you was because I know you’re getting ready to go on your trip to America in a few days and I wanted to know if Draco and I and Theodore could join you? Abigail thinks that what Draco could use is a change of scenery. She says since the incident happened at the Manor, he doesn’t currently feel safe in his own home,” Lucius admitted.
“That should be fine, however, we aren’t doing the trip completely the magical way. Harry reacts negatively to port keys and I don’t even want to attempt a long-distance one. We are port keying to London’s Heathrow airport where we will take an airplane to New York, and then we’ll take a port key from there to Salem,” Severus explained, not knowing how Lucius would feel about muggle means of transportation.
“That’s fine, what airline did you book? And I know you don’t have a problem being with muggles, but do you mind if I upgrade everyone to first class?” Lucius said quietly. He had flown on an airplane before, and while it wasn’t his first choice it wasn’t horrible, especially in first class.
“You’re not going to protest or argue your point about why we should take a port key?” Severus asked in surprise.
“No, you’re allowing us to come with you on your trip, I’m not going to make any demands,” Lucius said, he was just happy that Severus had allowed them to come.
Severus wondered silently, that Abigail wasn’t just changing Draco’s life, but was helping Lucius as well. “We’re already in first class, Black and Lupin are also going,” he added.
The blonde Slytherin sighed because he knew they weren’t going to be able to go then, especially with his son’s current fear. “I don’t think it’s a good idea then, Draco’s afraid of men Severus, remember?”
“No, I think it’ll be fine, I’m not too worried about that because Black and Lupin are upstairs in Harry’s playroom, and seeing as Draco hasn’t screamed or come running back down here, I’m going to assume everything is fine,” Severus admitted.
“What?” Lucius said in shock, his heart thudding in his chest at that, because was news to him.
“Yes, exactly what I said,” Severus said seriously.
Lucius didn’t know how to feel at that, and simply took another long drink of his tea, wishing like he had been over the last two weeks that it was stronger stuff.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Better now Draco?” Sirius asked as he finally pulled back from the hug to look at the blonde child.
“Yes, thank you, Cousin Siri,” Draco said happily. “I’m going to go play with Harry and Ron now, okay?” He told the man easily.
“That’s fine with me, Moony, and I will be right back,” Sirius said cheerfully, as he grabbed his friend’s hand and led him out of the room.
Draco turned to look at the two Gryffindors a little shyly because they hadn’t really said anything. “Are we okay?”
“Yeah we’re fine,” let's go play, let me show you something cool about the top of the structure,” Harry said eagerly.
Ron didn’t verbally reply, because everything was not okay. Harry might have bounced back, but Draco was barely staying afloat. He followed after the two boys a bit slower, lost in his thoughts.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sirius didn’t say anything as they walked down the stairs, lost in his own thoughts because he didn’t like what he had seen up there. He didn’t hear anything so he knew that the room was probably spelled, and as he walked into the sitting room, he grinned because he was correct.
“Hey Lucius,” Sirius greeted.
“Hi Sirius,” Lucius replied back before he turned to greet Remus as well. He looked at the men curiously but wasn’t sure how to broach the topic.
“I know you’re going to ask; Draco was initially horrified to see us in there, he hadn’t noticed us until Harry pointed us out. He was panicking but I managed to calm him down, and then we spent the majority of the time in a hug,” Sirius explained quickly.
“That’s good, no tears or anything?” Lucius pressed.
“No tears,” Sirius promised.
“This is promising, Severus has said that we can join you on your trip, I hope you’re alright with that,” Lucius said as him and the Gryffindors had never really seen eye to eye.
“That’s fine, you’ll be bringing Theodore I presume?” Sirius asked cheerfully.
“Yes, we’re trying to get him away from his father,” Lucius admitted.
“That’s perfect, we’ll have four adults for four children. Draco with Luke, Harry with Sev, Ron with me, and Theo with Moony,” Sirius said easily.
Lucius ignored the way the Gryffindor had butchered his name because he hadn’t thought that they would have the perfect number of adults to children ratio.
“You’re right, though I’m surprised you hadn’t put Emery with you,” he added.
“Harry does better when he’s with Severus, as they have a routine, I tend to just go with the flow and he doesn’t like that. Ron and I will get along much easier, and Moony already was talking with Theodore this past year at school, so they have a rapport together,” Sirius said easily.
“Will you be giving him the potion Severus?” Lucius asked curiously, trying to keep the hope out of his tone.
“Yes, he doesn’t like the fame that comes with his normal persona, and he understands that you haven’t quite accepted him as Harry and doesn’t want to cause friction because he loves you,” Severus explained honestly. He knew it would cause to much stress for Harry if he told him he couldn’t take the potion and he would never do that to his son.
“I’m working on it,” Lucius promised him and he was.
“I know,” Severus admitted out.
“Alright, I think that was it, are we meeting here at the manor?” Lucius asked as he stood up.
“Here, we will then port key from here to the airport,” Severus said easily, as he canceled the silencing spell.
“Perfect,” Lucius said as he snapped his fingers for an elf to let Draco know it was time to go. He didn’t have to wait long, smiling fondly as Draco came down the stairs and pressed himself into his side. “Do you want to try flooing home by yourself?” He asked, just trying to give options.
“No, I don’t. I was already brave today, I don’t want to be brave anymore,” Draco mumbled out as he pressed his face into his father’s side.
“Thanks again Severus, I will see you gentleman in a few days,” Lucius said before he and Draco flooed back home to the manor.
“We’re going to have our work cut out with both Harry and Draco regressed like this,” Sirius said softly once the two blondes had gone.
“We’ll manage, they’ll be four of us, like you just pointed out,” Severus said as he banished tea and snacks, before he headed out of the room.
“Still, this is going to be an interesting summer,” Sirius murmured to Remus as he turned to head back to the playroom.