Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine.

This is connected to my story Is It Too Late to Start Over? but can be read on its own.

Chapter 1 Love

1996

Potter gutted him like a fish. Draco supposed he deserved it. He was planning on killing her beloved Dumbledore. But she didn't know that. Potter wasn't stupid, but she wasn't Granger level clever either. She had been following him all school year, but she had yet to figure it out. He almost wished she would.

Severus wanted her expelled, obviously, but Dumbledore wouldn't allow it. Draco wasn't surprised. What surprised him more was that Severus had yet to give up after six years of this. Dumbledore didn't care that a Death Eater's son… no, that a Death Eater was lying in the Hospital Wing because of his golden girl.

She felt guilty though. Draco pretended not to notice the spikey hair that he saw trying to peek at him through the Hospital Wing doors all evening. He thought she was waiting for Pansy to leave so she could give him a half-serious apology. Actually, she was waiting for him to fall asleep.

"I'm not apologizing," she said as he tried to watch her through nearly closed eyes. "You're full of shit, you know that? You're a jealous git when you have everything."

Draco almost snapped his eyes open and started yelling that she should be in prison, that she had everything. All the teachers favored her, and she knew it. Everyone thought she was so great for something she couldn't even remember.

She went on speaking as if she had heard his thoughts. Her words were a jumbled mess, short sentences that sometimes came out too fast. "Maybe the teachers favor me because I don't have what you have. Your Dark Lord took it from me. Don't worry though. I'm not going to lift your sleeve. I know what's under it, and I'm going to keep following you until you're with your slimy father. And you know what? I'll still think you're lucky. Lucky to rot with him."

Okay. Potter was out of her bloody mind. Thank Merlin he didn't open his eyes. For all he knew, one wrong move could lead to her chopping him to bits.

"I don't even know what my dad's laugh sounds like." Was Potter crying? Potter never cried, not even when he called her an ugly, flat-chested man. "Sirius was too sad. I was afraid to ask him what my mum's favorite food was or if my dad liked any Muggle sports. But maybe your mum's right. Maybe I'll be with him before you guys can see Lucius."

She insulted them first! Did she just expect Mother to just sit there and take it?

"I don't care that I almost killed you." Potter was a terrible liar. She couldn't even stop her voice from shaking as she said it. "You have a mum and a dad, and all three of you waste it. I would do anything to be you. You're jealous of me because my parents are dead. Slughorn likes me because I survived the night my parents were murdered. Dumbledore didn't punish me because he thinks Sirius's death pushed me over the edge."

Really? Draco thought sarcastically. I never would have guessed.

"I know you're asleep, Malfoy." Potter was as stupid as Severus said. He was as rigid as a board, half thinking she was going to snap and start ripping off his bandages. "But I still think you should know. I tried that spell on you because you have everything, and it still isn't enough. I hate you."

Once he heard her start to walk away, Draco dared to sit up and watch her go. Potter had the emotional intelligence of a Weasley. He almost didn't believe it was her he was just listening to.

"I can't believe she still has Hogsmeade privileges." Pansy glared at Potter, but ever since that night in the Hospital Wing, Draco couldn't bring himself to hate her. He felt sorry for her, and if anything, thought she was a little disturbed. He still told himself he hated her though. It just wasn't as passionately as before. He hardly felt anything but reluctant pity towards her.

"Looks like she won't for long." Theo chuckled as Dumbledore started heading her way. She was walking around the fountain in circles and seemingly talking to herself. Dumbledore touched her shoulder, causing her to turn around and start freaking out. It took Draco a moment to realize she was intoxicated.

"No! NO!" She screamed at him as he tried to lead her back to the school. She slapped his hands away and started shoving at him when he hugged her to try to apparate. "It's your fault Sirius is dead! You should have gotten him a trial for him! WE COULD'VE BEEN A FAMILY!"

Theo snorted. "Anyone who's betting on the Light needs to get their head checked. The Chosen One's a drunk."

Pansy lowered her voice to a not so quiet whisper. "I heard that the night after she tried to kill you, a prefect found her strung out on pain potions."

So that explained her little soliloquy the other night. Potter was as high as a kite. Draco reached into his pocket and threw a few galleons on the table outside Three Broomsticks where they were drinking coffee and watching the show Potter was putting on for half of Hogsmeade. Suddenly, he couldn't watch anymore. "Let's go."

Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Dumbledore grab Potter and whisper something in her ear. She immediately calmed down and let him take her back to Hogwarts.

September 1st, 2015

"Why are we even waiting for her?" James complained for what felt like the thousandth time. It was barely past nine, and Draco already had a migraine.

They had too many children to properly count, although the only reason he didn't bother was because Draco didn't want to admit to having a Weasley sized brood. He, Katherine, and four of their children were waiting for Lily downstairs. His eldest two were waiting outside, mostly because they couldn't stand James. Draco quietly admitted to himself that he was happier that the Manor was going to be much quieter without him.

Katherine balanced two year old Minerva on her hip and pinched James's cheek. "Are you nervous about getting Sorted, Jamie? Because—"

"No," James snapped before stepping away from his mother. Draco could tell that puberty was going to be a delight. "Reid wanted to play football before we leave."

"And not on the train," Draco added, already tired. He could already see the letters piling up.

"I'm going to be in Slytherin," nine year old Scorpius announced proudly. His twin, Albus, chewed on his lip nervously at this new development.

The self-centered James could care less and smacked him on the back of the head. "No one cares! We don't even know if you'll get a letter."

"Mum!"

"I think Jamie's going to be sorted into Peardor," Katherine said coolly, not seeing Draco roll his eyes. Only children would believe her stupid lies. "Meaning in the kitchens with helping out the house elves." James paled, but she did nothing to imply that Peardor wasn't an actual house. "The portrait is a bowl of fruit, obviously. It's where all the bad children get sorted."

Before Draco could say anything, Lily finally came down the stairs. He tried not to react at the sight of her. He learned his lesson from last time. A gentlemen doesn't insult a lady's appearance, is what Katherine said over their daughter's wails. She had obviously gotten into Katherine's makeup again and looked like a clown. She also had on a black floppy hat, a pair of his mother's red heels, some of Katherine's rings, and a fluorescent pink scarf made of feathers.

"Alright! Ready to go?" Katherine said cheerfully. Minerva giggled at the sight of Lily, who only laughed back.

"But-but…" Draco wanted to protest, but who knew how long it would take to clean Lily up. It seemed that everyone was going to see his little monsters in all their glory today.

"Mummy, can we eat spaghetti for lunch?" Lily asked as she started heading for the door. Draco tried to ignore the sound of her heels clopping against the stone as she went. Hopefully she wouldn't cry too long after she fell. "It's my favorite."

"Of course darling."

Draco stared as they all march out of the house. Once James set foot outside, he immediately started picking on his oldest son, causing his oldest daughter to start picking on him. He couldn't wait for ten o'clock, when he would be waving goodbye to them on the train.

Later that night, Draco couldn't sleep. Three of their children were gone, and for once, it was nine p.m., and the Manor was quiet.

"Bored already?" Katherine said as she slipped into bed. "Because they'll be back for Christmas in a few months."

"No," Draco lied smoothly. Was James with his best friend Reid in Gryffindor like he wanted? Were the other children picking on him because of how obnoxious he was? He wasn't that bad after he got settled. "I'm just enjoying the silence."

"I think Minnie's getting a cold, so enjoy it while you can." Katherine kissed him and slowly slid on top of him. "You miss them."

"Three down, a thousand more to go," he drawled before she kissed him again. "I'm getting a vasectomy."

"Sure you are." Katherine smiled down on him. "You've been saying that since we started potty training Jamie."

"And I'm mean it every time," Draco muttered as she started sliding her hands up his shirt. "Can I ask you something?"

"No." She wrinkled her nose when he glared at her. "Fine. What is on your mind, love?"

After all these years, he never asked her. He only thought of it when James started teasing his brother and said that Albus was starting to get wrinkles like Albus Dumbledore. "That day… Do you remember that day you were drunk at Hogsmeade, and Dumbledore picked you up? What did he say to you to calm you down?"

He wouldn't be surprised if she didn't. She was absolutely wasted. Katherine frowned at the memory. They hardly talked about the bad parts of their Hogwarts career unless they were joking about all the fights they used to get into. "He said that he loved me and that he was sorry."

That's it? Draco thought, but what else could the old man have said? It wouldn't have been enough for him, but, like Katherine said that day when she thought he was asleep, he had what she didn't.

"Is that why you named our son Albus?" Draco dared to ask. At the time, he only agreed to it because Katherine was willing to agree to Scorpius Hyperion and to give Albus the middle name Severus.

"Yes. No." Katherine grimaced. "I wanted him to have the name of someone strong because of the hole he had in his heart. Someone who went through hardships but was able to live through them and do something great. That's why I wanted him to have Severus too."

She waited for his usual complaints about Dumbledore, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Albus was the only one of his children that he occasionally used a nickname with. At first, she thought he called him Al because he hated his son's name, but eventually she realized that Albus needed to feel special sometimes. He was a child who would always hide behind the scenes if he could.

"I love you." He said it every day, but somehow, it didn't feel like it was enough.

"Sorry." She grinned. "I married you for your looks. I've got a thing for pointy noses." He growled, causing her to giggle and finally say, "I love you too."

What do you think? I'm open to requests for more one-shots!