Lucius and Severus heard a quiet "enter" and entered their Lord's office and froze. They looked at each other and back to their Lord. "My Lo-" Severus tried to start but really couldn't finish.

"My Lord, what Severus is trying to say, is that we have the information you required." Lucius was trying not to laugh, hiding behind his Slytherin mask. He could see Severus was doing the same thing but the man was stuck on being able to speak.

"The information?" Their Lord snarled at them, clearly not in a good mood, and wouldn't be for a few days at least, if they had to guess.

"The Order is on the run, three of their members are now in Ministry custody and will be facing charges."

"Which members?"

"Two members of the Weasley family and Remus Lupin." Severus knew he failed in trying to keep the glee out of his voice on Remus Lupin's name. They didn't want to move further into the office, but at their Lord's wave of his hand, they sat down in the chairs in front of his desk.

"Fudge is going to bring them in front of the Wizengamot?" He was looking down at the catalog in front of him.

"Yes, Madam Bones has the evidence." Lucius was wondering what happened. They knew the man wasn't in a rabbit outfit when they left.

"Don't ask." Their Lord told them.

"I am sorry, but I need to know Tom, what is going on? You are wearing a blue bunny outfit with orange carrots and is that green lettuce?" Severus asked. The Dark Lord glared at Severus. "You didn't?"

"What?" Lucius asked.

"He got Harry upset again." Severus informed him.

"Tom, how many times does it take?"

"I-" The Dark Lord started and looked down. "I just couldn't resist, he looked really cute."

"What did you say?" Lucius asked.

"You don't want to know."

"Actually we do. If Harry has you wearing a bunny outfit, I am afraid of what we will end up wearing." Severus replied.

"I made a comment about how cute he looked lying in bed, like a little baby." The Dark Lord admitted, he heard their gasps. "It got worse after that, as no matter what came out of my mouth to fix it, it just made it worse. I tried to tell him he wasn't a baby but made a reference to his height and well you get the idea."

Lucius and Severus looked at him. "How long?" Lucius sighed, he really wondered at times about Tom and his mouth.

"Three days, at least, I think." The Dark Lord hoped it would be over that soon. The tail felt funny to sit on.

"So you are going to be hiding from everyone?" Severus asked.

"Yes, especially Bella, she warned me last time this happened."

"You are going to have to buy a good present for him." Lucius told him.

Tom handed Lucius the Gringotts Auction Catalog. "I am already looking."

"That is a step in the right direction." Severus glanced at the catalog. "How mad was he when he put you in the outfit?"

"He didn't even speak or use his wand again, he just looked at me, walked out and when I went to follow I realized I had bunny feet." He pulled back his chair and show them his feet. They are huge fluffy bunny feet. He watched them trying not to laugh.

"I think we will be hiding in here with you." Severus said after he recovered.

"He isn't mad at you." The Dark Lord told them.

"No, but last time you did something this, well frankly Tom, stupid, we ended up wearing matching outfits because we couldn't stop laughing as he explained what happened." Lucius told him. "You know we will end up laughing when he does tell us."

"You don't seem to be laughing now."

"Trust me, we are on the inside." Lucius muttered. Severus heard him and let out a little snort of laughter.

"This isn't funny." The Dark Lord told them, but the effect of him being angry was wasted as his whiskers started twitching and he can feel his nose wiggling.

"Yes, it is." Severus assured him. "If we had entered here as your mates instead has one of your followers, I know I would have had a very hard time not laughing, still want to laugh, to be honest." The Dark Lord glared at them.

"Harry is much scarier than you." Lucius informed him, especially since rabbits weren't known for being deadly.

The Dark Lord backed down. "He is, isn't he?"

"Yes, I am." They all turned towards the door as they heard Harry's comment and saw Bella trying not to laugh. She had tears running down her face in her effort not to laugh. "Bella just let it out." He ordered her.

Bella started laughing. "I am saving this in a pensive." She turned around and skipped out, laughing.

"I am doomed." The Dark Lord predicted.

"Yes, and until you fix it, you will be sleeping on the couch." Harry informed him. "Sev, Luc I was expecting you back at lunch."

"Sorry for the delay, we got held up at the Ministry. Three Order members were caught." Severus told him.

"That is good news, considering how badly my day started." Harry stated, turning a very angry glance to the Dark Lord.

"Harry, I am sorry. I didn't mean for anything I said to sound like how I said it." The Dark Lord tried to soothe his angry husband. They had been mated for three years, they have been together for four years and in all that time, Tom knew he really should learn to keep his mouth shut at times. The twenty-year-old was good at creative punishment when he was mad at them.

Harry just narrowed his eyes and huffed at him. "Dinner is in an hour." He walked out of the room.

"You really blew it." Lucius said. "I don't think I ever got Narcissa that mad." Narcissa was killed five years ago during a raid on their Manor by the Order. She didn't even have her wand on her.

"I am going to need your help." The Dark Lord replied.

"Only if we can take a few pictures of you in this outfit." Severus began to bargain. He wanted to remember this forever and knew he would put the pictures in his lab to cheer him up when an experiment went wrong.

"One."

"Five."

"Two."

"Six."

"You are to go down not up when you are on that side of a bargain." The Dark Lord informed them.

"You want our help, it's going to cost you." Lucius replied. "Seven."

"Fine, five."

"Price is seven." Severus told him. "And it will go up higher."

"Fine, seven." The Dark Lord agreed. "Slytherins."

"Proud of it." Lucius smirked. "Tom, you know we will help, you had to know it was going to cost you."

"Yes, I did, now what do you think I should get him?"

"Nothing in there, you need major kissing up. I would go the whole romantic route, make it about him." Lucius told him.

Severus and Tom looked at him. "You think he would like that?"

Lucius glanced at them. "How in Merlin's name did you two woo us?"

"I believe it was Harry that did the wooing. He was very insistent on it." Severus stated the fact, as it was, he wasn't going to claim it was their idea.

"So dinner, what else?"

"Really? Do I need to do it step by step for you."

"Yes." They answered.

Lucius sighed. "Now I know why you two end up those outfits. Dinner, get the elves to help you make it. Do not have them make it, even if it's not perfect it will mean more to him if you make it. Flowers, he is a sap for Lilacs. Fireplace going, get one of those books he is always reading and cuddle up to him and read it."

"How am I going to do all that looking like this? Do you know how hard it is to even walk?" The Dark Lord again showed him his feet.

"That is part of it." Lucius shrugged. They began to plan on what to do that night after Lucius and Severus got their photos.

The Dark Lord was hopping around the kitchen trying to get everything done, he knew they were taking pictures but he couldn't find the cameras. He was muttering about revenge as he put the finishing touches on the meal. He looked at it and winced, it was steak, but more on the slightly burnt side, the potatoes looked mushy and the broccoli looked almost white.

"You want us to fix?" Tab asked.

"No, I just need you to serve it as it is." The Dark Lord hopped out to find his youngest mate, hoping he wouldn't see anyone. He found him in the main library. He hopped over to him. "I made dinner."

Harry looked up in surprise. "You made dinner?"

"Yes, it's ready in the dining room." He saw Harry smile and knew it might not be three days in the bunny suit after all. He would have to remember to listen to Lucius about this romance stuff.

Chap 2 Quack

Lucius returned home and found it too quiet, there were no Death Eaters roaming around, no one was dueling, it's like everyone was gone. He headed to Tom's office and found it empty, he headed to Severus' lab. He knocked and got a quick enter, he thought. He started laughing, as he saw Severus and Tom huddled in a corner, over a cauldron.

"Why are you looking like orange ducks with pink bills?" Lucius was trying to stop laughing at them. They started quacking at him and he started laughing again. He finally stopped and cast a quick spell and they were able to speak again.

"Thank Merlin, we have been trying for hours to find a potion that would do that, as spell casting doesn't translate into quacks." Severus told him. Lucius was watching the bill move and it doesn't match up with the words.

"I can't believe we are ducks." Tom muttered, his tail feathers shaking in irritation.

"What did you two do?"

"It was meant to be a prank, honest it was." Severus really had no idea what went wrong. He moved away from the cauldron and has he waddled, Lucius started laughing again. "It's not funny."

"He doesn't mind pranks." Lucius was confused, he ignored the glare from Severus.

"Like he said, it was meant to be a prank, but we kind of, well, went overboard." Tom confessed.

"You are going to have to explain it better than what you are doing." Lucius told them.

"You see, Harry, doesn't like to swim, the muggles never took him. We decided to have some fun, and we, kind of bound Harry and dumped him into the lake after Severus spelled some gilly weed into him. Harry came flying out of the water and we started laughing as he looked like a drowned rat and we tried to tell him we wanted him to learn how to swim."

"He didn't reply, cast a quick dry charm on himself and we suddenly found ourselves in the lake as ducks." Tom finished.

"I can't leave the two of you alone for a few hours, you two are worse than kids." Lucius told them. "What happened to the rest of your followers?"

"That was Tom's fault." Severus told Lucius. "He was furious about everyone laughing as we walked into the Manor and we were quacking and no one could understand us, his feathers start flying around and he was quacking up a storm and everyone was laughing harder, well Bella finally arrived she saw what was going on and she took charge. All the Death Eater left after Bella sent a few stinging hexes at them as Tom was chasing them around quacking."

"Bella took him shopping after Harry came in to see what was making all the noise." Tom added.

"That is going to cost us." Lucius muttered, trying not to laugh at the image Severus just provided. Harry didn't care for shopping in general but Bella did and if she dragged Harry along it meant he would be looking in old bookstores and shops like that for items he liked. One time he found a few pieces of jewelry he liked after Lucius had harped on Harry about his lack of clothes and jewelry. Lucius never made that mistake again.

"Bella had to drag him away from us, as he kept putting us back in the lake each time we made it back into the Manor, as he was explaining what happened. Bella was laughing at us, as we waddled back into the Manor each time. We have been trying for hours to be able to not quack, now we can look for a way out of this duck spell." Tom told him.

"Good luck with that. You two are going to have to make it up to him again." Lucius informed them.

"That romance stuff again?"

"Yes, Severus that stuff. I really don't understand after four years you two still end up in these outfits. You, also, should know how to fix by now also." Lucius told them.

They look down at that, they know what he was saying was true, but ever since Dumbledore was killed, they had been feeling like kids, free from the pressures of a war. "So dinner and wine?" Tom began to make a list. "I am not cooking steak again, it will have to be something else."

"It is going to take more than you cooking a meal." Lucius told them.

"How many pictures is this going to cost us for you to help us fix this?" Severus asked.

"I am thinking 10 each." Lucius told them.

"Only 10, no adding pictures as we do things, no sneaking a camera into a room." Tom gave him a warning clear.

"Agreed." Lucius smirked. "Now, have Severus do the cooking, something fancy, not a basic meal, I know you can cook Severus, so make it good. Tom, you are going find a nice place to eat the meal at, something outside, like a nice picnic type of thing, get a small fire set to start for when you arrive, music going, and good wine." Lucius paused "I will work on making sure our bedroom is ready for when you two have finished wining and dining him." He shook his head. "I can't believe you did this, I thought the bunny outfit would have taught you." He knew the duck outfits were going to be around for a week at least. Harry didn't like swimming because of the Triwizard Tournament, he had told them that repeatedly and that was why he was mad at them. He wished at times the two of them would think before they acted.

He grinned as he headed upstairs thinking about the bunny outfit had lasted three days, they had numerous pictures of the hopping Dark Lord with twitching whiskers and long bunny ears that let you know his mood. Now he was going to add the duck outfits. He wondered what they would be turned into next time they got him mad?

Chap 3 -Here Kitty Kitty

Tom and Severus returned home from a long trip gathering potions ingredient. The Castle was quiet, they looked at each, they knew what that meant and wondered what they did. "I don't think I did anything." Tom said since it was summer they were at Slytherin Castle still.

"I know we didn't, we haven't been here all day." Severus was a bit confused. "When we left this morning, he was fine."

"Did we do something he might have found out about?" Tom timidly asked as they were walking towards their bedroom.

"No, you know how quick he finds out when we do things, I swear he reads our thoughts at times." Severus muttered the last part to himself.

They entered their bedroom and froze, they started laughing seeing Lucius in a pink kitty outfit, sitting the bed, looking miserable. "Meow, meow, meow, HISS HISS."

Tom finally recovered and cast the translation spell. "Well, Mr. Romance, what did you do?"

"I thought I was helping."

"Helping in what way?" Severus asked looking around their room. It was neat and didn't look like anything was out of order.

"You won't believe me." Lucius was trying to pout.

"Why don't you tell us?" Tom patted him on the head, feeling the soft fur.

"I was trying to convince Harry to get pregnant."

They just looked at the man, in horror. "You what?" Severus recovered first and asked. Tom still looked to be in shock.

"Well, we want kids, and since he is the youngest, I figured it should be him."

"Yes, like he has ever bottomed with any of us." Tom retorted.

"I tried to get him to understand he didn't have to bottom, we could use a potion."

"Lucius, what do you know about potions?" Severus asked stepping over to the bed and sat down next to Lucius, understand immediately what happened.

"I did get my NEWT, but we had Slughorn."

"You got an A on your NEWT in Potions and yes, we did have him, so did he ever cover those types of potions?" Severus asked.

Tom looked confused for a few minutes and remembered how awful Slughorn was as a teacher. "He wouldn't have covered it. Oh, Lucius, for the potion to work you have to take it, and bottom." He explained, they watched the light dawn in Lucius' eyes.

"Harry would know that. He got an O and helps you both brew." Lucius now was understanding what happened. "That explains why he tried to tell me it wouldn't work and I wasn't listening and now I am in this outfit, how do you two do this? I feel stupid."

"Usually it's us, and we have you to help us fix this, but lucky for you, we won't charge you the same price and will help you since it's your first offense, which is really impressive, considering it's almost our fifth year anniversary." Tom was truly amazed by that feat.

"Five pictures each." Severus wasn't going to let his opportunity pass by him.

Lucius' cat's ears folded down and his tail swished, in his unhappiness. "Fine, but you need to help me fix things since I even have cat paws."

"He didn't do that to us, you really need our help." Tom realized how mad Harry was.

"Yes, need a gift, dinner, Lilacs, good wine, bath, fire, and book." Lucius began to make a list. "I can't do any of that. I can't even draw a bath."

"Team effort, Lucius. I am sure Harry will realize you didn't know and if we let him know it really was a huge misunderstanding you might be out of it in a day or two."

"A lot sooner if he had listened to me telling him, instead of overriding what I was trying to tell him." Harry said as he entered the room. "Tom, Severus, do help him. He does need your help in this, instead of him helping the two of you."

"You know?" Tom asked.

"Yes, and haven't you ever wondered why your photos disappear for a few hours? I usually take them and make copies." Harry grinned at them and as he left the room he added, "why do you think I make you wear those outfits, I need something to make me smile when I am upset with you."

"He knew." Severus said.

"I had wondered about that." Lucius told them. "What?"

"You didn't say anything to us." Tom told him.

"What did you want me to say, hey I think Harry is copying the photos and I think he knows?"

"Would have been helpful, I know I would have hidden them better or at least, well not, wards wouldn't have worked." Tom was thinking parsel wards would have worked. He was so thankful at times like this that Nagini had died defending him against the Order as he dueled Dumbledore because she would have been laughing at how stupid they could be. He could hear the lectures in his head.

"Thinking of the lecture Nagini would be giving us?"

"Yes, I know she would be also laughing at us for not knowing he was doing this for a reason besides punishment."

"Be grateful he hasn't made us wear snake outfits, I don't even want to think of that." Severus shuddered at that idea.

"Don't give him any ideas." Tom warned them, lightly smacking Severus on the back of the head.

"So how are we going to work this?" Lucius looked down at his pink outfit. "Well, at least I am not a real cat, flashback to Minerva." The old tabby passed away in her sleep shortly after the war ended. She lasted long enough to help destroy Dumbledore's reputation and a week later passed away.

"Well, I will do dinner for you, you have to give me what you want me to make, you know he will know the difference. Tom can get the bottle of wine, you select, we all can work on the bath, I have some of those salts he likes, I know Tom has been saving a new bathrobe for him and you will break out those new sea sponges for him. Fire, well Tom or me, reading we can take turns holding the book and turning the pages for you. Did I miss anything?"

"Gift." Lucius said.

"That you can pick out while I cook, I know Tom has a stockpile of catalogs for us to use in times like this. Kreacher can get the gift for us." Severus felt proud of himself for thinking of everything.

"You do realize next time this happens I am going to make sure you work on it by yourself."

"You wouldn't dare!" Severus was clearly shocked at the very idea.

"I won't, I promise, Sev, but you should have seen your face." Lucius started laughing.

"I am going to tell Bella just for that and show her the pictures." Severus smirked.

"What makes you think Harry won't?" Tom countered.

"Point." They replied. They knew how close Harry and Bella were.

"We are going to need time, so let's get those pictures done. On the bed?" Tom asked.

"Fine, on the bed, but if you dare show anyone else." Lucius threatened.

"We will, just like you do." They smirked as they started taking the pictures of a hissing Lucius.

Tom found Harry in his office filling out paperwork. "Harry."

"Almost done Tom." Tom watched him sign his name as he sat down. "Lucius, he honestly didn't know how that potion worked."

"I know, I am more upset with him cutting me off repeatedly as I tried to explain it to him. I was, trying not to laugh at first because he was so sweet in trying not to hurt my feeling or even suggest anything crazy."

"Well, I want to do it. I want to take the potion." Tom was looking down and didn't see the surprise cross Harry's face.

Harry leaned back in his chair, thinking, finally, he pushed away from his desk and walked to stand next to Tom, he took Tom's face, forcing him to look at him. "Tom, I would love that but I don't want you to do it unless you really want to, and if you are healthy."

"Harry, when I did the ritual to restore my looks using the 26-year-old version of myself, I became that age, I am only now just 31." He reassured him. "I will be fine and I want to do it."

Harry kissed him. "If we do this, I want Severus or Poppy to look you over first."

"That is fine, I think Severus is also thinking about it."

"If he is, I will be making that same deal with him, Lucius too. I can't imagine what Draco will say but he is a big boy, he can deal with it if that is what Lucius decides."

"Actually I do want to do it." Lucius said from the doorway.

"Me too." Severus added, standing next to Lucius.

Harry looked at them. "No, not at the same time."

"I am sure we can work up a schedule and have it worked out." Lucius told him, as he planned on how to be the first one pregnant.

"I don't even want to know how that is going to work, just draw a name out of a hat will be less painful." Harry told them at their looks. "You know the three of you will want to be the first. I will tell you right now, between all of us, we have enough titles to go around that each child will be an heir, so that won't matter."

The three of them looked a bit relieved by that and Tom produced a hat, which looked a lot like the Sorting Hat. "Where am I?" The Sorting Hat asked.

"Stan, I believe Tom summoned you so we can draw names out of a hat to see who would have the first baby."

"That sounds interesting, can I be placed on the heads first?"

"Up to them."

"Fine." All three agreed. Lucius and Severus sat on the couch in Harry's office.

"Tom." Stan announced first. Harry dropped Stan on Tom's head.

"Well, Darkness, nice to chat with you again. I see you did what you said you would do."

"Yes, though I don't understand what this has to do with us pulling a name out of you."

"Nothing really, I just get lonely during the year, only being used once a year is a bit boring. The current Headmaster is really not that much fun."

"Severus is the current Headmaster, with Harry as his deputy."

"Yes, and Severus is nowhere near as entertaining as the old coot was, with all his schemes. Now the Tabby, she had some fire in her when you got her Scot up. Severus seems to save himself for you three."

Tom tried not to smirk but failed. "Severus has always been one for making people fear him, he is, however, a better Headmaster than he was a Professor."

"That is very true. Helpful hint for you, you both like visiting those antique places, take Harry there next time you get him mad at you, offering that might cut down your time in an outfit. Now put me on Blondie's head."

Tom stood up and put Stan on Lucius's head. "Really, Blondie, out of the three of you, I never thought I would see you in an outfit, but you have saved those two clowns a few times over the years since the old coot bought the farm."

"Blondie?" Lucius asked, "and of course, I don't want Harry upset or them either."

"I know, now as to this plan of yours for tonight, you might want to add something different. He expects flowers, dinner, bath, and book from those two, as he knows you help them, so add something unexpected like maybe offer to take him to one of those muggle movies, you both like so much."

"I usually save them for special occasions."

"This isn't? You're in a kitty outfit."

"Yes, a movie and dinner out, after I get out of this outfit."

"You might get out faster if you ask him to go out tomorrow night." Lucius smirked, liking that idea. "Now put me on Blackie's head. I can tell he isn't looking forward to talking to me." Lucius dropped Stan on Severus' head as he is sitting next to him.

"Well, Blackie, I can see you finally didn't get an outfit, nice job, and good job on figuring out what to do. Now, I am going to offer you up a piece of advice for just in case. Next time you earn an outfit, try finding something to do with Harry. Tom and Harry like antiques, Lucius takes him out to dinner and movies at times, find something Harry likes and take him to do that."

"Music?"

"Yes, he does like music, he loves classical and I know you do too, so find a concert, take him to one, or even dig out that violin you have and play him something, he would love it."

"I could do that. Stan, why are you being so helpful?"

"Because believe it or not, Harry is the only one who ever talks to me, and I don't like when he is unhappy and neither does Hogwarts. You may live here during the summer and weekends, but trust me, no one likes an unhappy Harry."

"That is true. So what do you think of us having kids?"

"It's about time." Stan told him. "You do realize all of them will be snakes?"

"Are you sure, he was in Gryffindor."

"I will let you in on a small secret. He was meant to go to Slytherin but the old coot interfered. If you want the complete story you will have to ask him or Tom. Tom knows it. It's one of the many reasons why Harry went to Tom after his fourth year, but you know most of those reasons, it's why you also returned." Severus smirked, he remembered those reasons and they all centered around Harry. "You have always protected him as he has protected you, don't forget that Blackie." He wouldn't be forgetting that. "Now turn me over and drop the names."

Ch 4 -The Decision That Changed Everything. *Flashback to the small scene that changed everything for our heroes.*

Harry laid in the infirmary, he was fuming. He thought about all that just happened in the graveyard and Dumbledore's reaction when he returned. Why was he being sent back to the muggles? Why wasn't he getting help? Why hadn't he received any help for any of the yearly events? Why was there always an end of year event? Why wasn't he safe in this school?

He began to review this year, he just saw someone die again, saw someone come back from the dead, and yet Dumbledore was sending him to his relatives. Something was off. He wasn't sure exactly what but he knew it. He thought about when he returned, he was hurt, had that spider venom in him, bleeding, and the man wanted to chat with him over tea. That wasn't right. He had to walk to the infirmary after that, leaving a trail of blood, he didn't offer his floo to make it quicker.

He thought about what he knew of Tom Riddle. The diary version of Tom, the facts he looked up afterward and the thing he saw in the graveyard. He visions he had all year, the information he gained while in Tom's head. He didn't tell Dumbledore about that. He didn't tell Dumbledore about going down to the Chamber and reading, practicing spells, and dueling. Something had told him not to share that information.

He heard the doors to the infirmary open and saw Snape come in with some potions. He watched the man as he put them on Poppy's desk. He thought about all the times Snape seemed to appear out of nowhere and save him. Yes, he knew Snape hated him, no that can't be right, you don't keep saving someone you hate. The man was a Slytherin, masks, the man is wearing a mask. Harry grinned, masks, just like he wears. Maybe it's time to use his own Slytherin skills. He watched Snape leave the infirmary. Yes, it was time.

Tonight was the Leaving Feast but he wasn't planning on leaving. He had plans and needed to get them done. He knocked on Snape's office door. "Enter." He entered the office and saw Snape sitting at his desk. Harry discretely waved his wand behind his back, causing wards to come up.

"Potter, what do you think you're doing?" Snape snapped at him.

"I am hoping we can have an honest conversation. There appears to be a few things we need to talk about."

"I don't have anything to say to you, Potter. Go home and enjoy your summer being treated like the spoiled little brat you are."

Harry laughed. "Professor, as a Potion Master you are required to have your medi-wizard license, I know you can do a health history. If I am a spoiled prince as you say, I won't bother you again, however, if I am not, we talk?"

Snape looked at him. "What makes you think I am interested in talking to you?"

"Thought you might like to learn the truth, get answers to a lot of questions that span over at least fourteen years and I believe you will like what I also can offer." He watched Snape process what he said.

"If I do this scan, you are going to have to come up with a better deal."

Harry just shook his head. "I guess they were wrong. Thank you, Professor, for your time." Harry took the wards down and began to leave the office.

"I didn't say you could go." Snape sneered.

Harry could hear the venom in the man's voice. Yes, mistake, have to make another plan after he left here. "I get you hate me, no idea why, but I get it. I thought I could bargain for help, but even that failed. I won't be bothering you again." He walked out of the door. He lost, without help, he can't do much. He knew he wasn't going to the muggles, that was certain. Now to find a way to protect himself.

Snape watched the boy leave. Something was off, something was different. The boy's tone, his attitude, his words. Snape stood up to follow the boy, he needed to find him, that last statement bothered him, fiercely. He sounded defeated.

He finally saw the boy's messy hair, he was heading outside. That was weird, he would have thought he would be heading to the Tower to pack, being a spoiled brat he must have work on getting everything into his trunk. He stopped, he had flashes of what the boy wore and it was usually the same clothes over and over, huge, old, and barely on his small frame. No, that can't be right, he pushed the thought aside and begin to look for the boy.

He caught up to him. The boy was sitting by the lake. "We weren't done talking." He heard the boy exhale slowly. He waited for whatever smart remark he was sure would be coming. After a few minutes of quiet, he realized he was wrong. He wasn't sure why he is doing this. He leaned over the boy and touched his shoulder. When he did, he watched as the boy flinch. He has seen that a few times in the boy and wondered why.

"I don't know what you want. You made your position clear."

Snape knew he was the one who was going to have bend on this. There is something about the boy that just screamed defeat. "Come back to my office, we will talk after I do the scan."

He watched the boy tilt his head and look at him. "Professor, unless you want to help, it wouldn't do a thing." Snape watched him stand after he said that and before he could reply, the boy spoke again. "I appreciate your doing your duty, but this type of help is beyond your duties as Professor. Have a good holiday." He started to walk away.

"What it with you walking away from me? I am not done talking to you." He saw the boy turn towards him.

"See that is our problem, we both talk but neither one of us listens. I know I didn't listen, now it's too late. Now you want to talk but you still don't want to listen. I went to you for help, you made your views clear. Despite what you say I am not a dunderhead nor am I stupid. I do understand what no means." He started walking again.

Snape knew he had to get control over this and figure out what was going on. His long strides allowed him to catch up to the boy. "Potter, I will do the scan, however, I want us to talk afterward, no bargain."

"Lead the way, Professor." The boy told him.

Chap 5-Baa Baa Black Sheep

Tom entered the Castle, it was quiet, too quiet, the warning bells in his head were going off. He slowly walked around the bottom floor but found no one. He made it to his office and sat down. He knew when he left that Lucius, who was currently pregnant having had his name picked out first, was planning on starting the nursery today.

He got up and headed towards the family wing, he passed their bedroom and entered into the nursery, no one. That was strange, he glanced to their bedroom door and let out a groan. 'Don't say anything, keep your mouth closed' he began his mantra as he walked. He slowly opened the bedroom down and peeked in and he starting laughing. Severus was in the room, laying in the middle of the floor, in a black sheep custom, with green ears, tail, and feet.

"Baa baa meh baa meh." Severus bleated out.

Tom stepped fully into the room and saw no one else. He cast the translation spell and sat down on the bed. "What did you do? Am I in trouble?"

"It's stupid and no. I did it myself."

"What did you do to get Harry mad? I thought he was spending the in his office doing paperwork."

"It wasn't Harry, it was Lucius, well, Harry did the spell. I got Lucius upset. I don't even know what I said to get him upset. I told him he was looking great for being pregnant."

"Oh Severus, even I know you don't make reference to weight when someone is pregnant."

"I didn't, I was trying to tell him what he was wearing was nice, you know how he has been about his clothes."

"I believe the issue was "for being pregnant". You were fine up until then."

"He is pregnant, I don't understand."

"Hormones, remember Bella and Madam Zambini gave us all those books, there is one I think you are going to need to read."

"Hormones? He got upset because of hormones."

"He is going to be very touchy for the next 6 months."

"6 months, he just got out of the morning sickness stage, he wasn't pleasant during that stage either. I mean he threw toast at you just 2 days ago when you made the comment about getting new toothbrushes or creating a new spell to take care of his breath."

"I was lucky Harry didn't hear or have Lucius tell him. I don't even want to think of what outfit I would have been in. It gets worse, according to that book, he is going to have mood swings, he will get weepy."

"Weepy." Horror laced Severus voice.

"Yes, and anything will get him angry. The book tells you things to avoid saying or how to hopefully fix something before it gets worse."

"If he gets angry, Harry won't be happy. You don't think he will put us in outfits because of Lucius' mood swings?"

"No, not unless we do something incredibly stupid like mention weight."

"Who wrote this book?"

"A wizard, his wife was pregnant seven times."

"A wizard with a wife who was pregnant seven times, the only family I know that meets that requirement is the Weasley family." Tom pulled out the book. "You are carrying it around?"

"Yes, the author is A. Beesley."

"Arthur Weasley wrote a book. Well, he would know."

"You know this guy?"

"Yes, was a member of the Order, he was the older red-haired man, the one who loved muggles."

"Ah, I remember him, he believed that muggles would welcome us, up until a muggle shot him."

"That is him. What else does he warn about?"

"Food cravings."

"Food craving?"

"Yes, and some of the awful and disgusting combination that Lucius might want. He gives a list of things to keep handy beside the basics." Tom flipped through the pages. "Pickles, horseradish sauce, ice cream, he said lots and lots of ice cream because ice cream can be mix with a lot of different things, tomatoes, ketchup, whatever that is, well the list is long. He says the cravings will go either hot and spicy mix, next one might be sweet and sour, just be ready to go and get said cravings at the weirdest hours. He learned to hide most of the items until they were needed."

"We can use my lab, we know Lucius won't go in there, I can add cold storage bin. What else does he say?" Severus asked.

Tom flipped a few more pages. "This is a list of phrases not to use. In it is the 'for being pregnant' one, also never say anything regarding weight, which I think we covered. Nothing when he is going to talk about being pregnant, the no comments area include 'you knew what was going to happen' 'you know I would trade places'."

"We will be trading places."

"You need to read it. I started reading it yesterday, I am thinking I am going to get another copy and both of us are going to be memorizing it because I am not ending up looking like a sheep."

"Fine, I will read this book. Now how do I fix this?"

"Stan?"

"How will Stan fix it?"

"How often as either of us ever made Lucius upset enough that Harry put us in an outfit. You are going to have to work on them."

"You will help?"

"Yes, standard price, since I know you will be doing this for me."

"Fine, 5 pictures, summon Stan."

Stan appeared and starting laughing. "Oh Blackie, what did you say?"

"Weight." Tom told him.

"You didn't, Blackie? You never say anything to a pregnant person about weight, even if they only gain baby weight."

"Found that out." Severus muttered. "We need help in figuring out how to make it up to Lucius enough that Harry will let out me out this outfit. I am so glad he doesn't do this to us during the school year."

"No, he makes us write lines and other punishments. How many cauldrons did you end up scrubbing the last week of classes?" Tom asked.

"Why do you think I made it so from now on you don't leave a class without a clean cauldron. Doesn't save me from ours but it does help. I still can't get over that, I am the Headmaster and he had me scrubbing cauldrons."

"Well, Blackie, since it's the first time, I will help. Blondie likes those muggles movie, Harry does too. So go and buy a telly, set up the system, and that will save you a lot of time. Get a membership to one of the movie rental places."

"They don't work with magic." Tom was confused on how that will help.

"We have spells that allow it now Tom." Severus answered him. "Remember that book Harry gave us a few years ago. We will have to work on the telly and movie thing but it can be done."

"Yes, I read it, but none of us wanted anything muggle."

"Well, we are going to be digging that book out and rereading it and making a space for it to work. Can we do it at Hogwarts? Because I can see we are going to have to add a room to our quarters for it to work there."

"Yes. Might be a good idea to make a few rooms like that, give the kids someplace to listen to their music and dance, get rid of some of their energy." Stan said. "That whole third floor you can turn into a bunch of different room for different things, like a movie area, dancing, even let them bring some of their electronic games with them. A lot of the muggle-born and half-bloods would love to show pure-bloods their stuff."

"Sounds like a good idea, as long as we keep that Statue in place." Tom said. "We might be able to do it at the younger schools too, or even the homes." Tom began to make plans for the kids who can't go to Hogwarts yet.

"Back to Lucius and Harry." Severus said. "I really don't want to be a sheep for a week."

"Right, now since Blondie is pregnant, get a range of movies from the romantic ones to action one. Do not get him scary movies, they hate them, avoid any war movies, I think you know why. Get mostly funny and action, you will need the romantic ones for when he gets sappy, and he will get sappy. Weepy too."

"We covered the weepy part, but sappy?" Severus asked.

"Yes, sappy." Stan replied.

"That isn't in the book." Tom said.

"What book?" Stan asked. Tom shows him the book. "Arthur calls it the sentimental phase."

"Oh, that is in the book. That didn't sound good."

"It's not, he is going to see something, get all sappy, then either cry or laugh." Stan explained to them.

"How do you know?" Severus asked.

"Do you know how many Headmistress, Headmasters, and Professors I have seen pregnant in my over 1000 years of existence? You should have seen Rowena when she was pregnant with Helena, all she did was cry."

So they began to plan.

"Tom, do we have enough movies? Should you have bought a few more?" Severus asked as he was watching Tom put the movies on the shelf.

"I got them something called a gift card. It allows them to pick out movies but we already paid for them."

"How much? I will give you some Galleons when I can actually get to my pouch."

"I did 500 pounds, is that enough? At the movie rental place, I left a balance of 100 pounds for them to rent movies."

"I think it would be enough. If we do this for Hogwarts we will need to make the amount bigger, I am thinking I can budget of at least two thousand for the movies, I will use the receipt to budget a telly and video thing, what is it called?"

"Video player." Tom told him. "Oh, I did pick up snacks from the movie place, they had popcorn and all weird candy. Nothing like Dumbledore selected but mostly chocolate, so I figure that will help."

"Ohh, this is so sweet." They heard and turned to see a weepy Lucius, with Harry, next to him. "Look, they got us movies and a telly." All three watched in horror as Lucius started with the tears. Harry pulled him into his arms and guided him to the new couch in the room. "May we watch one?"

"Yes, Love, we can, how about Severus and Tom pick the first movie?" Harry reassured him as he spoke.

"I would love that." Lucius answered. "Did you get the pictures?"

"Yes, Lucius, standard price."

Lucius smiled. "I think I would enjoy it more if Severus was with us."

Severus almost leaped in joy as the outfit was removed as they picked a movie and popped it in. "This was in the comedy section it is called "Yours, Mine and Ours. Someone named Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda are it in." Severus told them as they all sat down.

Ch 6-Cooing

Severus was carrying his new cauldron, thinking about what potions he could make in it. He finally got a ruby cauldron and he couldn't wait to see what he could create. As he was walking towards his lab he began to notice how quiet it was. Dread started to fill his stomach. He changed course and headed to the family wing. He began to think about what the book said, don't mention weight, don't try to stop the weepy or sappy moments, don't open your mouth, he added his own mantra. He glanced into what they called the movie room, it was empty. He opened the nursery door and froze. There in the middle of the room was Tom in a multi-color spotted Fennec Fox outfit.

"Bark bark, snarl, whine." Tom looked depressed.

Severus hit him with the translation spell. "What happened to get you done up in spots? You know the Fennec Fox doesn't come with spots?" Trying not to laugh.

"Funny. I didn't keep my mouth shut is what happened. I can't believe it, I even kept saying "don't open your mouth" but I did it anyway. We were discussing colors for the nursery."

"Hence the spots."

"Yes, anyway, Harry wanted to keep it neutral, but put a bunch of paint cans in the room. Kissed us goodbye and headed to a meeting he had with the Minister. Lucius opened various cans, and decided he wanted to paint the walls purple."

"He said purple?"

"No, he gave it some colorful name, called it Lilac, it was purple." Tom stated. "Anyway Lucius wants this Lilac. Harry before he left said, paint it whatever we wanted, if we didn't like it we could change it. I opened my mouth and said, "I don't like it, why waste our time." Lucius got weepy. I tried to calm him down and hold him, but my legs fell asleep as he was on my lap and he took it that I was complaining about his weight. I tried to say it wasn't about his weight, but it just didn't come out right. Kreacher brought Harry as Lucius was getting more and more upset. Harry pulled him onto his lap and got him calmed down, made him realize I wasn't saying anything about his weight."

"So that got you the outfit?"

"No, what got me the outfit was we went through this whole paint routine three times. Since I didn't like the purple, Lucius changed it to mint green. MINT can you believe that, after that color was a dusty rose, it was pink, after that was canary yellow, I wasn't painting anything yellow. We agreed to stay away from house colors. When I said that, Lucius went straight to tears. Kreacher got Harry again, and Harry escorted Lucius out and left me like this."

"I think we are going to need help on this one, Tom, you do realize a babies room, those colors are acceptable. It's in that book Decorating for Baby."

Tom groaned. "Figures. So how do I fix it."

"We paint the walls Lilac, and are the tags still on the cans?"

"I think so."

"We paint what the tags say."

"How much is this going to cost me?"

"Standard price, only because you did try."

They began to paint.

"Lucius, come with Severus and me, we have a surprise for you." Tom purred at him.

"You do?"

"Yes, and we hope you like it." Severus said as they lead him to the nursery. They opened the door and Lucius and Harry peered in.

Lucius started crying. "I love it, look it's an English garden like I wanted. Harry, look there are some butterflies." He moved further into the room and cried harder. "A bat, a wolf, a bear and a lynx, you put us all in there."

Harry smiled at Severus and Tom, Tom felt the outfit leave and sighed in relieve.

Ch 7 - Peacock?

Lucius glared at Severus as he left the room, following Harry. His tail feathers were shaking and he was trying not to strut. He turned to Tom and let out weird mewing sound.

"It's your own fault." Tom pulled out his wand. "I can't believe you, why would you do that to your own child." He hit him with the translation spell.

"There is nothing wrong with salmon."

"It was pink and there is if you want to put it on your own son." Tom told him. "Pink Lucius? I can see him in ten years screaming at us for allowing you to dress him in pink."

"Where did Harry take Romulus? Severus?" Lucius asked trying to keep his tail feathers from catching on anything.

"He went to put Romulus down for his nap. Severus, I believe is looking for the camera." He glared at Lucius. "Pink." He muttered to himself.

"Harry didn't say no to salmon."

"Yes, he did. He said no pink." Tom reminded him. "After you put him in that coral outfit."

"That was cute." Lucius defended himself.

"No, it was wrong." Severus said as he reentered their bedroom. "So was magenta, mauve, Persian rose, puce, and rose outfits you tried. He warned you."

"You have no fashion sense." Lucius exclaimed, putting his tail feathers on display.

"You have no common sense." Retorted Severus. "He warned you after that puce one."

"So ten pictures?" Tom asked.

"Five. Standard price." Lucius replied.

"Oh, no, this is huge. You ignored the warnings." Severus snapped a picture. "Five with the full display of the tail feathers, five without."

"I say we go higher. Romulus would have never forgiven him if he saw a baby picture of him in pink."

"It wasn't pink." Lucius remarked again. "Fine, ten but you have to get me out of this outfit."

"We will work on Harry, but you need to promise no more pink in any shade. No purple either." Tom added purple for his own reasons.

"No yellow." Severus snapped another photo.

"None of those color, Lucius, or I will leave you in the outfit." Harry said from the doorway.

"Fine. Snap the pictures." Lucius said. "I won't put him in those colors."

"I have a feeling he is going to come up with some other outlandish outfits." Tom muttered.

Ch 8-How Much is That Doggy in the Window?

Tom opened his study door and realized how quiet it was. Romulus, he knew, was with Lucius and Harry was in his study but something was off. He knew Severus wouldn't be brewing. He was banned from it since he was now pregnant, and, boy, did that make the man a grouch. He headed up to the family wing and not seeing any of his Death Eaters around, he knew something was very off. He opened the nursery and no Lucius and Romulus, he tried the family room next and that was empty. That left the bedroom. He started his mantra, don't open your mouth. It worked for him usually. He opened the door and saw a Lucius in a huge dog outfit sitting in the middle of the room. Lucius who was curled up sleeping. "Lucius?"

The dog lifted its head and barked at him. The breed of dog, Tom thought, was a Bull Mastiff. The dog was huge. "What did you do? Where are Harry, Romulus, and Severus?" Tom hit the dog with the translation spell.

"Severus got upset with me, I tried to get him into some different colored robes. He was fine with it until I started going on about how black isn't a color to wear while being pregnant."

"You didn't? You know the only person who can Severus to wear anything other than black is Harry. The man has also changed, he wears white or green shirts, and dark colored vest now. Something he didn't do until two years ago. However, Severus hasn't been weepy, sappy or even emotionally so far, so what did you do?"

"I kept changing his clothes into different shades, he was beginning to rant at me when Harry walked in with Romulus in his arms. Romulus thought we were playing a game and started telling me what colors to change the robes into. Harry got him to calm down but I kept doing it, Romulus was enjoying it, until Harry took my wand away and I ended up in this outfit. Severus looked weepy. Harry guided Severus out of the room with Romulus still in his arms."

"You made Severus weepy. Oh, Lucius, I am not sure how we are going to get you out of this one. What is it with you and colors anyways? Ever since you got pregnant you have been on doing that."

Lucius thought for a few minutes. "I think it's because of when Narcissa was pregnant she was always changing colors around. She redid Draco's nursery at least six times. I think I got caught up in the memory without realizing it."

"You can tell Severus and Harry that, it will help if they know the reason but first we need to find a way for you to kiss up. Since he can't brew he is a bit more touchy." Tom replied.

"That is true, he snapped a bit at breakfast."

"He always snaps at breakfast until he has his coffee and coffee is off of his list of foods allowed. The Healer wants his blood pressure lowered." Tom paused. "That is why you are in the outfit, his blood pressure. Getting Severus upset would make it rise and you know we have been working on making sure Severus is relaxed."

Lucius closed his eyes. "I forgot about that. I gave Severus a bubble bath last night to help him relax, even set up some candles and incense for him."

"Now, we need a plan." Tom said. "You also will be paying the price of 15 pictures."

"15? Why?"

"Because you knew he needs to remain calm and you know he hates the idea of even wearing anything other than black robes."

"Fine, but what idea do you have?" Lucius huffed. He would get Tom back later, he thought.

"Music. They like classical music."

"So a concert? I think the muggles have one during the summer almost weekly." Lucius stated. "They usually go to them."

Tom Accio'ed the London Times and began flipping through the paper looking for either the events calendar or something that can help them. Lucius was reading over his shoulder. "Oh look, there is Shakespeare In The Park by Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. We need to check that out."

"He was a wizard, it would be interesting to see what some of his plays are interrupted by muggles." Tom answered. "Look, here is a listing of the local movie theaters and playhouses." Tom ripped that section of the paper out. "Want to save it for just in case we need it for Harry and you."

"You are hooked on the movies now, just admit it or I will lick your face."

"Fine, I admit it, Dog Breath." Tom continued flipping through the paper until they find what they are looking for. "I don't think some of these are for classical music."

"No, Third Eye Blind, U2, Nirvana, and Dr. Dre are all muggle popular bands. Look further down, almost to the bottom. The London Symphony Orchestra is playing tomorrow night. They will like that. Can you arrange the tickets?"

"Of course, but first, we need to find a way to get Severus and Harry happy." Tom wondered how Lucius knew about the muggle bands and realized it was from the muggle kids and their music at Hogwarts. They had succeeded in getting the third floor wired for electricity and installed rooms for the kids to dance, watch movies or play their games.

"Harry will be easy, it will be Severus being happy that will make him happy." Lucius sighed. "How do I manage this, I was never in an outfit until last year. It's you two, it has to be."

"It's our positive outlook on life." Tom retorted.

"Need to make dinner, what do you think Severus will like more grilled Salmon with garlic and lemon or grilled Tuna with cilantro?" Lucius asked. "The Healer said he needed to eat more fish."

"I would go with the Salmon, he has always liked it, and a spinach salad."

"Dessert?"

"Strawberry Cheesecake. He loves it." Tom told him.

"I thought he hated cheesecake?"

"No, that is Harry. He hates it."

"We can't do wine, tea or coffee, so what do we serve for a drink?"

"Lemonade?"

"He has been drinking it. So menu decided, maybe I can hire someone to get some potion ingredients for him." Lucius suggested.

"No, he will not like that, especially since he can't brew. Maybe get him one of the potion books he has been looking for."

"The list is in his study, under his daily planner."

A plan decided on they begin to work after Tom got his pictures. Lucius was able to start on their plan. The house elves agreeing to make the dinner for them. They didn't want to burn it. "I got the tickets." Tom told him. "Front row, center."

"They will love that. We should see about getting season tickets for them." Lucius answered. "The elves will have dinner ready for them when they return. I do hope it's soon."

"They will be back soon, Romulus has to eat dinner." Tom replied. "I even got some new bath soaps for Severus to try."

"Thank you, Tom."

They went into Tom's study to wait for their return, less than an hour passed when one of the house elves came in. "Master Severus, Master Harry, and little Master are back."

"Thank you, Trixi." They said.

"Well, let's go and find our spouses." Lucius said. "Tom, do you think it's enough? I mean I really shouldn't have done that to Severus."

"Feeling guilty, good." Severus said as he entered the room. Harry following behind him. "We put Romulus down for a nap. He was tired from the park."

"I am so sorry, we figured out that my color changing thing is from Narcissa when she was pregnant with Draco and I just haven't gotten over it. I am really sorry Severus. You know I would never hurt you." Lucius blabbered, causing all of them to look at him.

"Lucius are you alright?" Harry asked. He pulled out his wand and cast a quick spell on him and read the parchment. "No, no, no, we agreed."

"What?" Tom and Severus asked.

Harry handed them the parchment. They all read it. "How?" Lucius asked.

Severus closed his eyes. "The potion, remember you took a sip of my drink that I mixed it in. It must have been enough for you to get pregnant with."

Severus and Lucius were three months pregnant. "But I am not acting like I did with Romulus, I haven't had morning sickness."

"Neither have I." Severus replied. "According to those books we read, it doesn't always happen."

"Harry?" Tom asked and they all looked over to Harry who was sitting down on the couch.

Harry waved his hand and Lucius was himself. "I am fine, I think. It explains Lucius' moods."

"That is true." Tom answered.

Harry looked up and looked at Tom. He walked over to the man and pulled him into his arms and quietly whispered: "it doesn't change our plan." He paused and said louder "this doesn't change our plan. Granted, I didn't think we would have two of you pregnant at once, but we can handle it. So what was your plan to get out of the outfit, Lucius?"

Severus started to laugh. "I bet it's good."

"We thought so." They quickly explained their plan, including the new bath salts for Severus to try.

Harry grinned and gave Lucius a kiss. "You did a great job."

Chap 9-Children

Bella was standing outside, looking into the Manor. "Auntie Bella, what are you doing?" Lily asked, coming upon Bella.

"Waiting for the coast to be clear." Bella answered, causing Lily to look into the window. Lily looked exactly like female version of Harry, except for her hair wasn't so messy, it was long and curly.

"What did Papa and Dad do now?" Romulus asked, joining them looking into the window. He was looking more and more like Lucius each day, with his hair being a mix of Harry's messy locks but the Malfoy coloring, including silvery grey eyes.

"Not sure, but they are dressed like ducks again." Bella answered. "Where are your brothers and sisters?"

"They are coming. Draco took us riding, and they were still wiping down their horses." Lily answered. They were watching Tom and Severus sitting in Tom's office, in the middle of the floor, quacking at each other. They could see feathers were scattered by the door.

"So who is going to go in there and do the translation spell?" Ian asked peeking in. He was miniature version of Lucius, but with Harry's green eyes.

"I'm not, last time I did it, your Dada turned me into a cat for a week." Bella looked at the Romulus, he was almost fifteen. Lily, who didn't look at all like her namesake, with her father's black hair and his dark eyes, but not his nose as he proudly stated, and Ian, who had Lucius' blond tresses and but Harry's green eyes were next, they were almost thirteen, born three days apart.

She looked down the stone walkway that led to the stables and saw Draco with his own children Scorpius and Maximilian, twins who were almost eleven. Again the Malfoy genes ran true with both of the boys. Draco's wife, Luna was home the rest of their kids. They had a little girl, Narcissa, who was almost seven and another son, Regulus, who was now five. Luna was pregnant with another girl.

Draco's twins were walking next to Andrea and Eileen, twins who looked like the perfect mixture of Tom and Harry, messy, curly dark hair with Tom's chocolate eyes, joined Draco's twins almost a month later. Bella smirked as she thought about the fit Lucius had at being a grandfather.

The youngest ones were being carried by Draco's twins. Julian, who was a mix of Severus and Harry, with Severus' almost black hair and eyes, but Harry's face was now five, it was his birthday a week ago, and Adian, who could almost pass for Tom's double was six, were being carried by their nephews, while Nicole, who had Severus' eyes, but his grandmother's red hair was now seven was trying to show Andrea something, Bella wasn't sure what it was.

Next was Eileen, she was holding Crispin's hand. Crispin was almost ten, his birthday was next month. Crispin had Tom's height, with Harry's green eyes. She had to cover her mouth when the children realized why they were looking into Tom's window and came running. They knew what it meant.

"Where is Father and Dada?" Eileen asked, not seeing Lucius and Harry in the room.

"Not sure, I was going to ask your Papa a question but heard quacking and decided to peek into the window." Bella answered.

"Right behind you." Harry spoke, causing all of them to jump. Harry peeked into the window and looked at Lucius. "You better go and do the spell."

Lucius looked in and tried not to laugh as there were feathers flying everywhere. "What are they doing?"

"Looks like they are trying to figure out how to open the door." Bella answered. "So how many pictures?"

"Draco while don't you take the children for a swim. We need to speak to Bella." Harry said.

"I miss all the fun." Draco muttered. "I want to see the pictures, Father." He told Lucius. He faced Harry again. "I will take them all to my Manor, Luna would love to see them."

Once the children were out of sight, Bella said, "spill."

"Tom and Severus got into a debate over who was going to get pregnant again. " Lucius answered.

"I thought you said no more children?" Bella stated.

"We did." Harry answered.

"Ah." Bella looked into the window. "That isn't why they're in the outfits is it?"

"No, the debate spilled into stinging hexes, and they got Harry." Lucius said. "After Harry had told them to stop."

"Oh." Bella looked at Harry who was glaring into the window.

"I think they did it to get Harry's attention." Lucius told her. Harry gave Lucius a kiss. "I need to go for a walk." He headed down the stone walkway.

"The debate or the stinging hex?" Bella asked, confused. Why would they want Harry to put them in outfits?

Lucius held out his arm and Bella took it. "Let me explain something and hopefully we can fix this." He guided her over to a bench and they sat down. "The outfits started out as a silly way for us to learn how to deal with each other. Harry would put us into them to help us learn to respect each other. None of us are good with expressing our wants, needs, or even feelings. Harry used them to get us to work with each other on fixing issues. Tom, Severus, and I had to work together to get things done, the pictures are just an added bonus. He made it so that we had to work with each other to get out of outfits. Granted it was still punishment but we did learn to help each other and ask for help from each other."

"Oh. like when you were first pregnant and went on that color scheme thing."

"Exactly, those outfits taught me to actually respect their feelings regarding clothing, because I was really close to changing Tom's and Harry's, not just Severus and Romulus. I am so thankful Harry banned him from wearing pink, Rommy would have killed me if I had taken a picture of him in pink."

"He will kill you if you keep calling him Rommy." Bella smirked. "I thought Narcissa taught you all that stuff."

"Narcissa taught me how to be romantic, how to work on getting us out of those outfits. I taught Tom and Severus. You have to remember, we were used to Tom being in charge, giving orders and us obeying him. The three of us needed to change the foundation of relation in order for it to work. We needed to help each other. "

"So why do you think they wanted the outfits?" Bella asked.

"It's been a while since any of us has had to wear one. I think they missed them." At Bella's questioning look, Lucius sighed. "Bella, you and Rod have been married for a long time. Don't you sometimes get him mad to see if he is still interested in you? Does he want you? Don't you want to see the passion in his eyes? Don't you dress up for him? Doesn't he do things to make you know he still wants you?"

Bella smirked, as understanding dawned in her eyes. "It's not about the outfits per say, it's about the results."

"Exactly. This is the first week home from Hogwarts. They usually aim for an outfit the first month." Lucius stated. "At Hogwarts, we spend so much time teaching, grading, the children, and our own personal business, that we at times fall into a habit of forgetting to take care of ourselves at times. We don't do anything overly romantic at Hogwarts, we aim to have a night to ourselves, dinner with everyone in the family at least once a week. Tom and Severus save their emotions for our family, you know that. The end of the school year outfit is part of them being reassured by Harry that he loves them and bringing back wooing part of romance into our lives."

"15?" Bella asked.

"20, stinging hex to Harry." Lucius replied. "We might be able to get more if we bargain right."

"Start at 25?".

"Yes. I will see you later." Lucius told her. "Bella, could you make sure to stop in Diagon Alley and pick up those books Harry ordered? He needed to pick them up today, but I believe he will be busy."

"Yes, I will get them." Bella stood up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You know if someone had said twenty years ago that our lives would be like this I would have hexed them."

Lucius laughed. "I agree. Tom, Severus, and I married to Harry Potter, who would have thought that."

"Certainly not that old coot." Bella laughed as she skipped away.

Lucius looked into the window and can see Tom and Severus are working on trying to get the door opened again. He sighed and headed in. He hoped he remembered to buy more candles.