Prosapia Centonis

"Happy birthday, dear Lindyyyyy...happy birthday toooo youuuuu!"

"And there's Granny...swingin' on the outhouse door...without her nightie...swinging on the outhouse door..."

"Draco!"

Lindy clapped her hands and giggled, showing off her four pearly white teeth. Neville put a slice of cake in front of her with the appropriate aplomb. Ron raised a camera as she grabbed a handful of the cake and attempted to eat it. She wound up smashing it all over her face instead.

Draco sighed. "That's our girl."

"Guess I'll have to give her a bath in a bit," Harry said absently, watching her gleefully try to feed herself. Ron snapped a picture of it, then another picture as she picked up an icing rose, studied it, and hurled it at Neville.

After a while, Lindy began to get fussy. She held out her icing-coated arms. "Da-da Ha-wy," she called.

Harry picked her up. When Lindy had begun learning to speak, the four men had puzzled over what she should call them. It wasn't until Neville had jokingly called Draco "Daddy Draco" that they had hit on it. Lindy referred to Harry as "Da-da Ha-wy", Ron as "Da-da Won", Neville as "Da-da Nil", and Draco as "Da-da-da-do".

Neville cleaned up the kitchen while Harry gave Lindy a bath. Finally Harry put her down for her nap, then came back into the kitchen.

Ron handed him a slice of cake. "Take a load off, mate."

"Thanks." Harry sat down and glanced at the cupboard where they kept the cleaning supplies. "Maybe we ought to get locks for those cabinets. She's starting to pull herself up on things, she might get into it and hurt herself."

Draco contemplated his fork. "Actually, I was thinking we might ought to move. Like into a house."

Neville looked up. "Why? I mean, what's wrong with the flat?"

"Think about it. She's starting to walk and talk. She's going to need space to run around. She needs a yard. And sooner or later she's going to grow up and it wouldn't work to keep her cramped in this flat with four grown men."

"I guess not," Harry said slowly. "Actually, I've been thinking a house might be a good idea anyway. This flat is kind of small--I think we're all getting in each other's way."

"I think you're right." Ron pushed his hair out of his eyes.

Two months later, they moved into a nice little house in the suburbs. Lindy's eyes widened when they took her there for the first time. They had selected a bedroom overlooking the backyard for her, painted white with a comfortable window seat. Neville and Harry had spent a fair bit of time the previous week painting a mural along one wall--a fairy-tale castle, complete with a princess waving from a tower window. There was a white winged horse and a unicorn in the stables, a dragon curled up by the door, and a flag on the ramparts, red and green with silver-and-gold lettering. Lindy's crib was pushed right up against the castle. When Draco carried her over to the wall, she reached out and touched the dragon, her mouth a small round O.

The four men smiled at one another. They had finally done it. They had found the right place--for all of them. They were finally home.