Standard disclaimer, I do not own the Harry Potter series

Harry and Draco – A History

The boy who lived – alone again

Once again we find ourselves, here at the daily prophet, reporting that Harry Potter, order of merlin first class is again single.
Potter, after having a slew of casual relationships post his very public and very brutal breakup with potions master Draco Malfoy, seemed to have finally found love again with Dragon Trainer and friend Charlie Weasley.
In a statement released to media last night, it was announced that the couple of two years has decided to call it quits just one month out from their very public wedding. It is not yet clear why our favourite couple has ended things, but sources close to the pair say that the split is amicable. We all hoped for the best for our boy hero, but it seems that the turns of fate have other plans. Our thoughts are with both Harry and Charlie in this most difficult of times.
This story continues on page 12.

Harry didn't need to read the article that Hermione had put in front of him. He already knew what it would say. He just nodded once and continued to stare at his glass of Firewhiskey.

"What happened Harry?" Hermione asked sitting down at the table next to him. She had turned up at his flat hoping for any kind of explanation. "Ron says Charlie is devastated. He won't leave his room. He turned up at the burrow two nights ago with all of his things and asked to stay. He hasn't said a word since, Molly just keeps sending up food and comes back with empty plates."

"Oh god" Harry grabbed two fistfuls of his hair "I never meant to hurt him."

Hermione pulled him in and held him close, his head resting on her very pregnant stomach. "Harry you have got to tell me what happened, please. Were you fighting?"

"No." Harry sighed and pulled away, taking a deep breath he said "I don't love him Hermione. I wanted to, I really and truly did, I actually had myself convinced that I did for awhile there. But I couldn't pretend anymore, I would have just ended up hurting him more."

Hermione grabbed his hand. "What happened Harry? What changed?"

Harry drained his glass. "He has a kid."

"Charlie?" Hermione was astonished. "You're kidding? From before you got together? Did he only just find out? Why doesn't anyone else know?"

Harry shook his head with a chuckle. "Not Charline."

"Then who?" Hermione sat back and studied her best friend. The drinking and look of despair on his face were so unlike him, she'd only seen him like this once before. The realisation hit her like a slap to the face. "Oh."

"Yeah." Harry pushed his glass to the side, opting to drink straight from the bottle. He was nothing if not efficient.

"But Harry, it's been what, five years? Surely you don't, you're not still…" She trailed off not being able to finish her sentence.

"I've only been in love once Hermione." Harry stood up and walked to the window, watching the city move below him. "The one person I loved, I let get away." He rested his head on the cold glass. "I saw him last week, Draco, he was shopping with his son. Merlin that kid already looks exactly like him, he must be 12 maybe 14 months."

"Harry," Hermione stood and took his hand in her own. "You both moved on, we all thought that you were over him."

Harry crumbled to the floor and finally let the tears he had been fighting for a week come. "I made such a colossal mistake and it's too late to fix it."

Hermione collapsed onto the floor next to him and pulled him close again. They stayed like that for hours until Harry eventually dragged himself to bed.

Two weeks late things were not even close to looking up. Every day either Ron or Hermione would turn up to make sure he had at least eaten but or often than not they found him drunk on the couch. Hermione had enough, she couldn't sit back and let her closest friend wallow any longer. She decided to do the one thing Harry had begged her to never do, she went and spoke to Draco Malfoy.

She walked into the apothecary in Hogsmeade, the girl at the counter directed her to the back office. She watched Draco work for a moment, fascinated at his level of concentration. In five years he had not changed much, he still looked just has intense and intimidating. After watching him for a while, she cleared her throat.

"Hermione!" Draco yelled in surprise, dropping what was holding into the potion he was brewing. "Bugger and fuck." He said and promptly vanished the contents of the cauldron. "What are you doing here? Merlin you're huge! Sit please!" Her pulled a chair out for her.

Hermione scowled. "I'm pregnant you twat! Still as bloody tactless as ever then!" She did take the offered seat, pregnancy was murder on your feet.

Draco sat in the chair opposite. "Sorry you scared me. Is everything ok? Do you need potions for the baby?"

"Well actually," Suddenly side tracked. "Since you're offering. Do you have anything for heart burn? My mum is convinced I need to be as muggle as possible. That's not why I'm here though."

"Of course!" Draco jumped up and grabbed a small vial from the shelf behind him. "Astoria had it daily when she was pregnant as well."

"Thank you." Hermione downed the bottle and sighed with the instant relief. An awkward silence fell between them.

"So are you going to tell me why you decided to suddenly walk in here after 5 years?" Draco asked.

Hermione looked into his grey eyes. "I need a favour."

Draco nodded he had assumed that she wasn't there to relive the good old days. "Go on."

"I assume you have heard about Harry and Charlie's break up." Draco nodded. "What you won't know, is the reason." She took a deep breath. "He's still in love with you Draco. He never stopped."

IF someone had hit Draco with a quill at that moment, he would have fallen off of his chair.

"That's why he called off the wedding. He saw you a few weeks back, you were shopping with your son and it all came back to him. He's devastated Draco, all he does is sit at home and drink. He doesn't even draw anymore." Hermione looked at him begging him to understand. "You've moved on, you have a child and a wife. I need you to.." Hermione paused to collect herself. "I need you to hurt him, I need you to break his heart. I need you to make him understand that you'll never be a part of his life again. Make him see that you're happily married now."

"I'm divorced." Draco said, his head swimming.

"You're what?" Hermione was now very confused. "But there's been nothing in the prophet, surely a pureblood divorce would be big news."

"It was only finalised a week ago." Draco stood and started to pace his office. "Only friends and family know, we're trying to avoid putting Scorpius in front of the cameras."

"Draco I'm so sorry." And she was too.

Draco shook his head. "Don't be, its been coming for awhile now. I moved in upstairs three months or so ago. After Scorpius was born, we kind of fell apart."

Draco stopped pacing and tried to take in all that Hermione had said. Harry still loved him? But they didn't work, they knew that. They fought constantly, especially towards the end. They could barely look at each other in the last couple of months. He had to admit though, if only to himself, that Harry was always in the back of his mind. Even on his wedding day Draco had imagined that it was Harry he was vowing to spend the rest of his life with.

"I can't purposefully hurt him Hermione." Draco said turning to face her. "I haven't been able to for a very long time. I will talk to him though. He's being a right idiot as usual, we were completely miserable those last few months."

"Yes you were," Hermione agreed. "But you still have to admit, it is easy to understand. There aren't many couple who have the couple you two had."

Draco chuckled at that. "What some call passion others call mutual destruction."

Hermione nodded and stood. "I should go. Good bye Draco and thank you."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Draco asked before she could leave.

"A boy." She said with a smile before leaving. Draco had a lot to think about.

It was another two weeks before Draco had worked up the courage to knock on Harry's door. By that time news had spread about his divorce and he was deflecting requests for comment daily since. When Harry answered, he knew he wasn't ready for this conversation, he probably never would be.

"Draco?" Harry dropped the glass he was holding, letting it shatter on the floor.

"Harry." He really wasn't ready. He had forgotten the exact shade of green those eyes were, how full those lips were, he forgot about the tiny freckly just below his Adams Apple. It was too late to turn back now. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, um, sure." Harry stepped aside and with a wave of his wand cleaned the mess he had made and shut the door. "Can I get you a drink?"

"I think I'm probably going to need it yeah." Draco stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"I have some of that elf wine that you used to like somewhere." Harry busied himself trying to find it, doing anything to keep his hands busy. To stop himself from shaking. He poured two glasses and handed one over. "Why are you here?"

"Hermione was worried about you." Draco said taking a sip of wine.

"Oh ok" Harry said, slightly disappointed.

"Is it true?" Draco asked after a moments painful silence.

"Is what true?"

"The reason you broke up with Charlie."

"Oh, that." Harry was suddenly very nervous. "Yeah it is."

Draco carefully placed his glass down and turned towards the window. "You stupid fucking idiot."

"Excuse you?"

"You idiotic, thoughtless git!" Draco turned around, anger in his eyes. "Is your mind really that simple that you can not remember what we were like? We didn't work Harry! He were toxic! All we did was bloody fight! I seem to recall you ending up in St Mungo's because we couldn't bloody agree on dinner plans!"

"I haven't forgotten any of it!" Harry yelled back. "You seem to be forgetting that we were fighting because you were so intent on going to that restaurant where that waiter always threw himself at you!" Harry drew in a shaking breath. "Charlie and I never fought, we agreed on everything."

"Then why did you give that up? Why leave him then?"

"Because where is the fun in that? Why would I want to spend the rest of my life wit someone who thinks everything I say is law?" Harry started to move slowly across the room. "He didn't challenge me. He didn't make me want to strive to do more, to be everything I am capable of."

"Draco wanted to tear is eyes away as Harry continued his slow pursuit, but he couldn't. "It's been five fucking years Harry. What makes you think things will be any different this time around?"

"Because this time I won't let you walk out that door. This time I'll fight for you not with you." Harry was standing directing in front of him, starring into his eyes. Pleading Draco to trust him.

"I can't" Draco turned away. "I have a son now, I can't risk that on something that has proven to not work. I can't have us fail and have him get caught in the cross fire."

"Sixteen years." Harry said simply

"What?"

"We have known each other for sixteen years." Harry said, moving behind Draco. "In that time we have always been connected. Even before the war it was always me and you. If that isn't worth the risk, what is? You're it for me Draco. No one else drives me as crazy as you do. No one else challenges me the way you do. No one else loves me the way you do." The last one wasn't a statement, it was a question.

"Oh fuck Harry, of course I love you. How can I not?" Draco turned to face him. "You're arrogant, you're ignorant of any culture or class and you have never had the ability to finish even the simplest crosswords on your own. You're also the most generous, caring and unassuming person I have ever been fortunate enough to know."

"Then why not try?" Harry's hand rose to Draco's cheek.

Draco leaned into it for a moment but then turned away to sit on the couch. On the coffee table sat a bottle of whiskey and an old photo album. The album was full of photos of the two of them, Harry and Draco – A history. "In for a bloody cheerful evening weren't you?"

"Today was meant to be my wedding day, what would you expect me to be doing?" Harry sat down with him and took the album, flicking through the pages. Judging by how Harry seemed to know exactly what he was looking for, Draco guessed that this had become a common pass time. "Remember this?"

Draco looked down at the photo, it was of the two of them. They were kissing and dancing in front of a giant Christmas tree. It was their first Christmas out of Hogwarts. Harry had surprised him with an impromptu trip to New York. "It was the first time you said I love you."

Harry took Draco's hand. "If memory serves, you chucked the biggest tantrum I still have ever seen because you wanted to say it first."

"Well I had it all planned out and you had to go and best me, like always." Draco smiled.

Suddenly serious, Harry said. "Tell me that you've given up on us Draco. Tell me that you don't care about me, us anymore. Tell me that you never want to see me again. Tell me that and I will try my hardest to move on."

Draco looked down at their entwined fingers and then into the impossibly green eyes. From the moment he knocked on the door, he knew he was doomed. "I can't lie to you, never have. I can't say that."

And Harry was kissing him, after five years apart, the passion between them was still alive just below the surface. Draco kissed back, neither will to submit to the other. They had a lot to talk about, but they were all conversations for tomorrow. For tonight it was just the two of them. Just Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy learning about each other all over again.