Chapter Text
7:00 a.m.
Harry woke to the sensation of being smothered. Not unpleasantly, of course. He had grown used to that over the years but was undeniably smothered. There was one single mass over the right half of his body, another tiny mass on the other side, and two tiny ones on top of the blanket.
He cracked one eye open and smiled. Severus lay sprawled on top of him as usual, head pillowed on Harry’s shoulder, black hair spilling everywhere. He turned his head and saw Lily asleep on his hand, her curls tangled like her father’s; he would have to gently detangle them later. Then, on top of him were their twins.
Harry blinked blearily at the ceiling. “Sev,” he murmured, voice still thick with sleep. “We’re under attack.”
A muffled hum came from somewhere beneath the tangle of hair. “By whom?”
“Our offspring,” Harry whispered. “They’ve multiplied since last night.”
A faint, sleepy snort. “You are the one who cannot send them back to their rooms.”
Harry smiled despite himself. He couldn’t, because they were just as clingy as their dad and had mastered puppy-dog eyes that melted him instantly.
He tried to shift, but a small voice interrupted. “Papa,” Lily mumbled, eyes fluttering open. “You’re squishing Daddy again.”
Harry looked down. “He’s squishing me, love.”
That earned a giggle from Lily and a sleepy kick from one of the twins. The bed felt alive—full of soft breaths, tangled limbs, and warmth. Harry could hardly move, but he didn’t really want to either.
He lifted a hand to smooth Severus’s hair from his face. The older man’s eyes were still closed, his features unguarded, the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It still undid Harry, even now, years later—the idea that this was the same man who had once glared at him across classroom rows.
“Morning,” Harry murmured as he pressed a kiss to Severus’s temple.
A low hum answered. Then, quieter, “Five more minutes.”
Lily giggled, clutching Severus’s sleeve tighter. “Daddy, you’re always tired.”
Severus cracked one eye open and gave her a look so mock-severe that Harry nearly burst out laughing. “Because certain small creatures refuse to let me sleep,” he said, reaching across to pinch her cheek.
It was almost enough to make Harry stay there forever. But eventually, the scent of breakfast drifted in. Kreacher must have reheated yesterday’s baking, and he heard a tiny rumble from Lily’s stomach, which made him laugh.
He began untangling himself carefully, grabbing the twins as he whispered promises of honey toast and cocoa to his four ducklings.
Elias, the heavier twin, grumbled but quieted when Severus sat up and gathered them all into his arms. Harry smiled as the twins latched onto their father, the older man’s arms full of sleepy children. Severus drew them close and pressed a lazy kiss to each small forehead.
There it was again—that aching swell of warmth that made Harry’s chest feel too small for everything it held. He leaned down, brushed a kiss to Severus’s forehead, and murmured, “I’ll start breakfast.”
Severus’s long fingers caught Harry’s hand, and he pressed a kiss to his palm. “I will get them downstairs,” he said softly.
8:30 am
The kitchen smelled of coffee, cinnamon, and whatever sweet thing Harry had popped into the oven the night before.
Once more, he felt a weight on his back and three around his legs. He smiled as he cut the toast into the exact shapes Lily preferred. “I have not taken away the chairs, my loves,” he said, and got four identical hums of acknowledgment. Yet, the weight did not decrease.
He lined up five plates and began to prep them. Although he let Kreacher cook now and then, standing here, getting their plates ready with food he had planned for them while they all clung to him half-asleep… There was not a thing in the world he would trade these moments for.
Severus loved to tell their children they took after Harry, but Harry knew it was only in looks. They had Severus’s intelligence. Lily was barely nine, and she was already brewing at a fifth-year level, able to cast a myriad of spells that sometimes surprised even Harry. And, of course, there was their shared need to stick to him as much as possible.
Really, he was just glad to have been able to devote this time to family. His days, once spent with Severus clinging to him, were now spent with four of them following him around. In fact, now that there were four of them, if it wasn’t one, it was always someone else. Even flying had become a family event, the children soaring beside him while Severus watched from below with that faint, nervous smile Harry adored.
Not that he minded, of course.
“Sev, baby, I can’t move if you don’t take the kids to the table,” he said as he poured his coffee. Severus gave another hum as an answer, and Harry chuckled when the embrace around his waist only tightened.
“Hmm. Alright. Whoever gets to their chair fastest can go flying with Papa toda—” He had barely finished the sentence before he heard the thunder of running feet and grinned. Now for his biggest baby.
“Alright, come on. I know you just got back, but your husband needs to feed the kids,” he said, kissing Severus’s nose, cheeks, and then his lips, only stopping when the kids started booing.
Severus hummed, following him obediently to the table. While he had been a pliant baby just a moment ago, he immediately gathered the plates for the twins, setting them neatly in front of them. Feeding the little ones without making a mess was a talent only Severus had perfected. Though Severus often claimed it was because Harry “gave in too much,” Harry knew the truth—how could he ever bear to scold any of his little blessings?
“Daddy, can I have honey?” Lily asked as she looked up at Severus with wide eyes. Harry was about to tell her she’d had enough when Severus reached for the jar automatically, the supposed “strict” one giving in without hesitation. He drizzled it generously over her toast. Ah, yes, the sweet tooth. something else they had all inherited from Severus. Harry had to bake daily to keep up with demand now.
Harry came over with more toast, pretending not to smile. “You’re feeding them sugar to buy affection again?”
“Effective, isn’t it?” Severus murmured as four sticky little hands clung to his sleeve.