Disclaimer : I don't own Harry Potter or the world they live in, I'm just playing with it a little bit, I'll put it back as is, promise :).
Warnings : This will be Harry/Draco eventually, so that means slash, don't like, don't read. Also a lot of Ginny bashing, this is a fic where she is a horrible person. I like the character, don't get me wrong, I just have to make her mean to make the story work.
Summary : Ginny has decided to leave Harry and their three children. Harry has hired Draco Malfoy as his Solicitor. They do have a past, but it's been buried over the years since their days at Hogwarts. This whole thing will bring back buried feelings and things from the past best left there.
Harry sat at the table in his best friend's home, nursing a glass of firewiskey as Hermione watched him with worried eyes.
"What do you plan to do?" she finally asked, sipping at her tea.
"She's made it clear that she wants out," Harry said, running a hand through his hair which was already sticking up in places, Hermione sighed and sat back and crossed her legs. "I of course don't expect you or Ron to take sides, I mean she is his sister, I can't ask you to do that."
"She's an idiot," Hermione said, her voice sharp and Harry looked up surprised, smiling slightly. "I don't know what Ron thinks, and she may be one of my best friends, but I've seen how she treats you and your kids, I think your better off without her."
"Thank you 'Mione," he said, reaching over the table and taking her hand and received a smile in return. They turned when they heard the fireplace flare to life and saw Ron walk through the fireplace, brushing off the soot as he looked up.
"Hi love," he said, walking to Hermione and kissing her on the forehead, "hey mate," he said awkwardly, looking at Harry as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I've just come from the Burrow, Ginny is there," he said and Harry sighed, he could only assume that she was turning the Weasley's against him.
"That means that she left them alone," Harry said, standing and picking up his jacket as he walked to the fireplace.
"Harry," Hermione called and he turned as he reached for the floo powder, "think about contacting him."
"I will, Hermione, thanks," he said before he left, flooing to his front room.
"Daddy," three voices called and Harry looked up to see his children rushing towards him, James holding both of his younger siblings hands, tear streaks on the faces of the two youngest. Harry bent down and pulled Lily into his arms and onto his hip while hugging the other two with his other arm.
"Where's mum?" James asked, looking up at his father, on the verge of tears and Harry felt his anger flare but quickly stomped down on it.
"She went to your grandparent's house," he said, leading them to the bathroom where he set Lily down on the toilet, pulling her tear soaked pajama's off of her. "Go get ready for bed you two," he said to James and Albus as he started to fill the tub. Once it was partially full, he turned to see his two sons still standing there and sighed. "I'll be right here, I promise," he said gently, and James bit his lip, something he had picked up from Harry before taking his brother's hand and leading him from the room.
It took two hours to get Lily bathed, all three changed into their pajamas and into bed leaving him to sit before the fireplace, wondering if Ginny would be coming back that night, but he highly doubted it. He reached for his jacket and pulled a small card out of the pocket and looked at the small print.
Draco Malfoy, Solicitor
Law Firm of Malofy, Zabini and Smith.
Sighing, he decided to give his old school rival a call tomorrow.
Draco entered his office and past his secretary, bidding her good morning and walked into his office, the large bay windows, floor to ceiling, allowing sunlight to filter in.
"Your ten o'clock called and said she would be late, here is your tea and your messages," Jane said, smiling at him, setting the items on his desk before leaving again.
"Thank you Jane," he called after her and picked up his cup of tea and messages, turning towards the windows, flipping through the pieces of paper before reaching the last one.
Draco, I need to talk to you, Hermione.
Placing the note down on his desk, he reached for his phone and quickly dialed the woman's number.
"Thanks for calling me right away," Hermione said, not even saying hello.
"If I had waited any longer, you would be harassing me," Draco replied, turning towards his desk, smirking at her snort.
"True. Anyway, I needed to talk ask you a favor."
"Of course you do," Draco said, chuckling but stopped as he heard Hermione sigh.
"Harry needs your help," she said and Draco blinked. He and Harry Potter had become friends in the years after the war, they weren't close, but they did catch the occasional drink with their mutual friends.
"What did he get into this time?" he asked.
"Ginny is leaving him," at this Draco snorted, he hated Ginny Weasley, not only because of who she was but because of how she treated her husband and children.
"That's good news, is it not?"
"Yes, in a way, but you know Ginny, she'll pull out all the stops and put it to Harry before the whole thing is over," Hermione said and Draco ran a hand over his face.
"All right, I'll talk to him, have him give me a ring," he said.
"I will," she said then they said goodbye and hung up. Checking his clock he saw that it was almost time for his first appointment and reached for a folder on his desk.
Two hours later, he was sitting back and enjoying a cup of tea when his phone beeped and he reached forward and picked up the receiver.
"Yes Jane?" he said into the phone.
"A Mr. James Black is on the line, he says you are expecting his call," was the reply and Draco sighed, knowing who exactly was on the line.
"Thank you Jane, send him through." As soon as the call clicked over, he cast a quick privacy spell that would shield their conversation from anyone trying to listen in. "Potter," he said once the line clicked over and was met with silence.
"I guess Hermione told you I would be calling?" the weary voice said from the other end.
"Yes and really, James Black isn't that original," Draco drawled and he heard the other man sigh.
"I'll give you that, did she say what I would be calling about?" Harry asked.
"She did, but why don't you tell me from your perspective," Draco asked, leaning back and raised an eyebrow when he heard a young voice call for Harry from the background and Harry respond, though his voice was muffled like he had placed his hand over the mouthpiece.
"Malfoy?" his voice came back a moment later.
"I'm here," the blond said, sipping at his tea.
"Can we meet up, there are too many ears here."
"Sure, are you free today? I have some open time around three," Draco said, glancing at his planner.
"Yeah, I think I could do that. At your office?"
"Yes," Draco said, writing the appointment down.
"All right, I'll be there." They said their goodbyes and Draco hung up, turning towards the windows once again, thinking.
At three fifteen, Harry Potter walked through Draco's door, looking more than disheveled, Draco standing to greet him.
"Potter," he said, holding out his hand which the other shook before taking the seat the other man indicated.
"Thanks for seeing me on short notice," Harry said, taking the tea offered by the other man.
"Of course, why don't you tell me what you are needing a Solicitor for exactly?" Draco said, taking a seat behind his desk. Harry sighed and ran a hand over his face, glaring at the desk in front of him.
"Ginny has decided to leave me," he said, hating how defeated he sounded to his own ears.
"I see," Draco said, pulling out a pen and a legal pad, writing down notes. "When did she make her desire to be separated known?" Harry heaved a tired sigh and sat back, looking up at the ceiling for a long moment.
"She's been threatening for about six months now," he said quietly and Draco stopped to look at him.
"Six months," he muttered to himself and continued writing on his pad. "Any idea why she would follow through with her threats now?" There was a long silence, one that caused the man behind the desk to look up, an eyebrow raised in question. "Potter?"
"Ginny is pregnant," came the quiet reply finally and Draco's eyebrows lowered in confusion.
"Congratulations," he said and Harry finally looked at him again, looking beyond exhausted.
"It's not mine," Harry replied and Draco blinked.
"Are you sure?" he asked and Harry leaned forward, running a hand over his face.
"Ginny and I haven't had... relations in almost a year." Draco sat back, clicking his pin a few times, contemplating what the other man was telling him.
"So she has been cheating," he said and Harry looked at him as if he were not right in the head.
"Obviously," Harry said, his voice annoyed.
"Any idea who?" Draco asked, leaning forward again to resume his notes.
"There are several that I suspect honestly."
"All right," Draco said and set his pen down, contemplating the man before him, "I'll take your case, we'll see if we can find out who the father of the child is and make this as painless as possible. I just have one question."
"What is that?" Harry asked, the white-knuckled grip he had on the chair's arms loosened somewhat in relief.
"Have you seen the paper this morning?" he asked and Harry looked at him oddly.
"I don't read the Daily Prophet any longer," he said and reached for the paper when Draco tossed it across the desk. Picking it up, he felt his stomach roll when he saw Ginny on the front page, tears on her face, being held by a man he didn't recognize, the headline reading "The Story of the Century, Ginny Weasly and Harry Potter Split! Story by Rita Skeeter."
Harry stared at the page for a full two minutes without blinking before he looked up at the other man, anger and sorrow battling it out to where he felt sick. He opened his mouth several times but no sound came out.
"She's made the first move Harry, you need to play this off, pretend that it does not bother you. I know this will be hard, but the calmer you are, the more she will seem desperate."
"I don't want her to seem desperate," Harry finally said, his voice strained.
"Harry," Draco said, leaning forward, "she is going to make your life a living hell during this whole thing, you need to stay strong. Especially for your children." Harry started at that, as if he hadn't thought about his children being dragged into this.
"They need to stay out of this," he said, placing the paper back on the desk.
"We will do all we can to keep them out of it, but she will probably try to drag them in. What we need to do is get in touch with her Solicitor and find out what she wants. I will do that, don't worry. I want you to keep in as little contact as possible with her, if you do have to talk to her, keep it short and simple, in other words, use small words, something she will understand." Harry glared at Draco who smiled back. "I'm honestly looking forward to this," he said, standing and Harry followed his lead, "it gives me leave to mock her at every turn."
"Draco," Harry said, shaking his head, though he didn't really mind now that all of this was coming to a head.
"I'll contact you as soon as I get in touch with Ginny's solicitor and set up a meeting," Draco said holding out his hand and Harry shook it.
"Thank you, Draco," he said and took his leave.
Harry returned to Ron and Hermione's house to pick up his children, feeling tired. He smiled at Hermione once she opened the door and became concerned at her worried look.
"What is it?" he asked and the woman sighed before she stepped back and opened the door further, allowing him to enter.
"Ginny came by," she said, closing the door and leading him into the house.
"She took them," Harry said and it wasn't a question.
"I didn't know how to stop her, Harry," Hermione said and Harry sat heavily on one of the couches, "she is their mother."
"It's ok Hermione," he said, leaning his head back, trying to placate the distress he heard in his best friends voice.
"She is staying at the Weasley's," she said sitting on a chair next to him and taking his hand.
"I'm not going to go over there and cause a scene, I'll wait for Draco to contact her Solicitor."
"So he took your case," she said, sounding relieved.
"He did. Did you see the paper this morning?" he asked and Hermione snorted in a very unladylike manor.
"I nearly slapped her when she showed up here," she said, her voice filled with scorn and Harry chuckled.
"I would have loved to see that. This isn't causing problems with you and Ron is it?" he asked, sitting up and looking her in the eyes. She sighed heavily and picked up Hugo as he ran into the room, placing the six year old on her lap.
"Ron," she began but sighed, "he doesn't know what to think, Ginny is his sister so he is torn. He has seen how she treated you and your kids, but he doesn't know what to think."
"Does he know about," he said and paused and looked down at the little boy sitting in his mother's lap, "her condition?"
"Yes, we're all aware of her 'condition'," she said derisively. "Arthur currently is not talking to her, Molly unfortunately has taken her side, the rest of them are somewhere between." Harry sighed again, he didn't want to tear the only family he knew apart, but he, he had to remember, he was not the one seeking the divorce.
"Tell her if you see her before I do that I expect them back in the next couple of days, I don't want to have to press charges against her," he said, he didn't want to threaten her but where his children were concerned, he wasn't making any promises.
"Charges?" Hugo asked, looking up at his uncle with wide brown eyes.
"It's nothing sweetheart," Hermione said, kissing the top of his head. "I'll tell her," she said and Harry leaned down and kissed her cheek before walking to the fireplace and flooing home.
When he walked in, he stopped, surveying the room, the mess Ginny had left when she had come to get their children's things. Walking forward, he bent down and picked up the stuffed bear he had given Lily for her last birthday and brought it to his nose and inhaled. He had only been home for a minute but he already missed his children's voices and he could feel their absence acutely.
"Damn you Ginny," he said quietly, picking up more of their toys and clothing also left behind in the mad rush to get them out of the house, and placing the items in their rooms, waiting for them to come back.
