March 25, 2006
A tall pale man walked slowly to the row of fireplaces in bank. He dreaded returning home. No matter how grueling his job could be, he much preferred the long hours, tedious work, and demanding clients over his spiteful wife. Darling Astoria was a force to be reckoned with, and most days Draco did not have the energy nor the care to listen to her hateful words.
Their marriage started out pleasant, not consisting of love but of mutual respect. It was arranged, of course; however, Draco had been quite hopeful of the match. He had been good friends with Astoria's older sister during their years at Hogwarts. He happily agreed to wed her in 2001, and the task of producing an heir seemed an incredibly easy one. Unfortunately, five years of marriage had destroyed their mutual respect and incited hatred between the two. Draco hardly had the urge to touch the woman, and Astoria had only fallen pregnant finally in October of 2005.
The past four months since the healer had confirmed Astoria's suspicion, Draco had contemplated very hard on what he wished for his life and the future life of his heir. He had founded a successful bank, one that is both muggle and wizard friendly, and felt pride in his work. Once his son was born he wanted the boy to feel cherished and happy and not surrounded by hatred. Draco knew that he must discuss the matter with Astoria soon.
He grabbed a handful of powder and stated, "Malfoy Manor!"
"Dearest, is that you?" Astoria asked with an insincerely pleasant tone.
"Yes, it's me. How was your day with Daphne?" Draco figured it was best to get through all the false pleasantries before he approached his wife with serious matters.
"It was decent I suppose. She bought this horrid outfit for the baby, and I had to pretend that I would actually dress him in such a thing. It was incredibly awkward to say the least."
"Hmm, that's unfortunate." There was a long silence between the two, both grasping for anything of a kind nature to say to one another.
Finally, Astoria said, "The elves have finished dinner. Shall we?" and she motioned toward the dining room.
This is one of the many things about his wife that irritated Draco. She knew exactly how much he hated the formal dining room in the manor. It was where Voldemort had held all his meetings. It was where Draco had been made a fool of on countless occasions. It was where Charity Burbage had been eaten by Nagini. Draco had told Astoria this in the beginning, but she insisted they not discuss the war just like she insisted that still eat in the blasted dining room.
As soon as they were seated at the overly sized table, Draco's frustration forced the words out of his mouth, "We need to talk."
"Whatever about, Darling?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Astoria. You know exactly what this is about."
She still feigned a confused look on her face.
"Let us not pretend that there is any love or respect in this marriage anymore. This isn't working, Astoria. We had one goal, and that was to produce an heir. An heir has been produced. Our work here is nearly done."
Astoria looked more annoyed than anything else. "You just want to boot me out with your heir still in my stomach? That's a very unwise decision, Draco."
"Of course not. I want a separation that would involve you moving to a separate wing of the manor. Once the baby is born we would both get to see him as often as we want. However, once he has reached the age of one year, I do wish to divorce you."
"What then? You will keep a one-year-old child from ever seeing his mother again."
"And again my spiteful wife assumes the worst of me. I do not wish to keep him from you at all, Astoria. I want to do this for our son's happiness. Once he is over a year old, it will be possible to have a joint custody agreement that gives us both equal time with our son. You will see him just as much as I will."
"And what will I do for money? Draco, I know you hate me, but please don't let your ruthless lawyers take everything I own.
"You will get an even share, plenty to live off of for the rest of your life."
Astoria simple nodded her head.
Finally, Draco asked, "Can you accept this plan?"
She answered with a question of her own, "Only one year and four months?"
"One year and four months," Draco confirmed.
Astoria smiled.
July 7, 2006
A bushy brown haired pregnant witch rushed into a room at Saint Mungo's, followed quickly by her lanky freckled husband. "I'm so sorry we're late!" she announced to the whole room, of which the three occupants paid no attention to her entrance. A dark haired man with round glasses sat at his wife's bedside, giving her words of encouragement. Suddenly, said wife looked up to see her brother present in a room in which she would soon be delivering a baby.
"RON! Why are you in here?!" Ginny exclaimed furiously.
Ron looked incredibly frightened, and Hermione tried to ease the situation, "Ginny, he's your brother. I thought you might want his support. Plus, he didn't get to be here for James' birth."
Ron and Harry spoke at the same time. "Perhaps I should just go." "Hermione, it's not wise to argue with her right now."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Fine. The git can stay, but he must stay near my head at all times." She turned to Ron with narrowed eyes, "Understand, dear brother?"
Ron gulped and nodded his head, making a point to get as close to the one side of the room without a view as possible.
Hermione smiled as if her sister-in-law wasn't going through the second most stressful situation in her life right now. "This is lovely, really. I was so sad when Ron was on a mission when you went into labor with James. He's under strict orders to stay in the country the two weeks around my due date."
"Just breathe Ginny," Harry said as he tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Harry, if you tell me to breathe one more time, I will crucio you," Ginny huffed.
"Merlin Ginny! That's a little harsh, don't you think." Ron muttered from his corner of the room.
Ginny turned to her healer that had been checking her stats during all this commotion. "Can I just have this baby without anyone in the room, please?"
The nurse laughed. "Surely you don't really want that?"
"No, I suppose not."
Thirty minutes later, Albus Rubeus Potter was born. Both he and his mother were in perfect health, and Ginny managed not to kill neither her husband, brother, nor her sister-in-law.
July 31, 2006
"This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening!"
"Draco, what is your bloody fucking problem?!"
Draco was a wreck as he rushed his wife to Saint Mungo's. "I cannot believe it had to happen today of all days!"
"Well I'm sorry to inconvenience you. I'll do this by myself, if it's such a bloody conflict with your work schedule!"
"No," he said as they walked through the front doors and approach by a healer, "it has nothing to do with my work schedule! Do you know what today is, Astoria?!"
"Ummmm," she looked at her husband like he must be losing his mind, "a Monday?"
"It's July 31st!"
"And?"
"My. Son. Is going to have. The same birthday. As Harry. Fucking. Potter."
"Ooooohh, don't be so dramatic darling. It's not that big of a deal," she said as they arrived in her delivery room.
"Not that big of a deal?! How can you saw that? Harry Potter is my nemesis, my arch enemy! My son being born on this day is utterly horrible, the worst thing that's ever happened to me."
"Really? What about the time that you and Voldemort were flat mates?" Astoria replied with a snarky tone.
Draco's mouth snapped shut. He starred at his wife for a long time before saying, "Hold this fucking baby in until tomorrow. Please, for the love of Merlin hold it in!"
Scorpius Green Malfoy was born at 11:45 pm on July 31st.
October 12, 2006
Ginny had just put Albus down for a nap and was finally relaxing in a hot bubble bath when Harry and James entered Grimmauld Place, back from their trip to the grocery store. She heard their soft voices down below couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Footsteps came toward her up the stairs and Harry suddenly appeared in the master bathroom.
"Did you get everything on the list, Honey?"
"Yes, Gin, we found everything. Look, I need to talk to you. Albus is sleeping, and James is busy playing in his room. Now is as good of time as any."
"What's this about, Harry?" Ginny was genuinely confused. Her husband rarely spoke in such a serious manner.
"I want a divorced," Harry declared without a moment of hesitance.
Ginny felt like she might pass out. She couldn't possibly be hearing this correctly. "Divorce? Harry, where is this coming from?" She quickly climbed out of the bath and wrapped herself in a towel.
"Ginny, this hasn't been working for a while. We obviously still care about each other, but we're more like friends than lovers."
Tears were quickly forming in Ginny's eyes as she stood on the bathroom rug and water dripped from her hair and legs.
"The last time we had sex was when Albus was conceived. And do you remember how long before that it was, Gin?"
She shook her head sadly.
"A year… We have sex about once a year. And even when we do manage it… well it just feels forced and awkward. You can't tell me that it's good for you. I know it isn't."
"Well, you're right that we've lost our fire in recent years, but we used to have it, Harry. We just have to find it again!"
"Ginny, you were my first love, my first lover, my first everything, but the passion we felt in the beginning burned out far too fast. I don't think our relationship was ever a lasting one. I think it's time we end it." He lowered his head, unable to even look at his distraught wife.
"So you regret ever marrying me?" she inquired as she stepped off the rug and forced Harry to face her.
"No! I am so happy that we shared such a passion, that we had many good years together, and that we created two beautiful children. I don't regret that at all."
"Then why are you doing this to our family?" she said angrily as they stood nose to nose.
"I'm doing this for our family. James and Albus need to grow up seeing couples that are truly and happily in love, like your mum and dad, like Ron and Hermione. They don't need to think that our marriage is what a marriage should look like. More importantly, they need to see their parents happy, and if that means with other people instead of each other, then so be it."
"Harry, we can be happy! Just not in the way that you're insisting! We are best friends!"
"And we can still be best friends once we're divorced," Harry had tears in his eyes now too. "Ginny, I've learned a lot about myself in the past couple of years, and I think you've come to the same conclusion that I have. I will never be happy being married to a woman… I'm sorry if it embarrasses you, but I need the chance to be with someone you truly satisfies me. I don't want to pretend anymore."
Ginny finally understood. Even though she had suspected for some time, this was Harry coming out to her. She gave him a teary smile and then kissed him on the cheek. "I understand. I'm not ashamed of you, Harry. If this is what you need, then I'll still be your best friend once it's all said and done."
August 1, 2007
Draco's lawyer sat reclined in her chair, heels propped up on the large table in the conference room. "How was Scorpius' first birthday party?"
Draco tapped his foot, waiting for his characteristically late soon-to-be ex-wife. "It was decent, I suppose. Scorpius seemed happy for most of the day, but I doubt he really understood what was even going on."
Zephy smirked. "I'm sure enjoyed the cake, though."
"Oh yes, chocolate is a favorite of his."
Just then, Astoria strutted in, her lawyer on her tail. "So sorry to keep you waiting," she said in a very unapologetic manner.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Can we just get this over with? We already drew up the papers, they just need our signatures."
"Well my lawyer will certainly be looking over them to make sure that you are giving me everything you promised."
"Go ahead. You won't find any problems. And you get first shift with Scorpius."
Finn, Astoria's far too young looking lawyer began reading certain sections aloud, "Astoria gets Monday, Monday night, Tuesday, Tuesday night, Wednesday, Wednesday night, and Thursday until 9 pm at which time you will retrieve Scorpius and keep him until Monday at 9 am? Does this sound appropriate Astoria?"
"Yes, quite. How kind of you to sacrifice your weekends Draco."
"Well it only made since that I avoid taking him to the office as much as possible."
Astoria nodded in agreement. "And what does it say about the money, Finn?"
"You will be paid a very comfortable amount," her lawyer assured her.
"All right, I suppose we can sign these blasted papers now," she sighed as she grabbed a quill.
Once all the paperwork was completely, the couple walked together to the playroom where young Scorpius was being tended to by a house-elf.
"I do hope you're not going to be pawning him off to a house-elf all the time," she snidely remarked to her ex-husband.
"Of course not. This was a one-time situation. He will have my full attention whenever he is with me from now on."
"All right, all right. No need to get so defensive, Draco." She walked over to the adorable infant with white hair and blue eyes. "Come to mummy, sweetheart." Astoria picked up her son and turned to Draco. "We'll see you Thursday, I suppose?"
Draco gave his son a kiss on his pale forehead, "See you Thursday."
May 19, 2009
"James! Stop running in the house! Just because you turned five last week does not mean you can do whatever you damn well please!"
"Blimey mate. Those two must be wearing you out. You look spent," Ron said to a very drained looking Harry. The two best friends were sat on the couch watching one of Ron's favorite cop shows. Hugo and Rose were also upstairs with Harry's children, but those two were much more well behaved than James and Albus.
"You have no idea, Ron. It was like the second Albus hit two and a half, he was possessed by the devil. They're both nightmares! Ginny and I are at wits end," Harry was genuinely perplexed by how his sweet boys had turned to monsters in such a short time-frame.
"Don't worry, mate. Teddy went through this phase too, didn't he? I'm sure James will get over it quick, and Albus will be soon to follow."
"But how come you're not having this issue with Rose?"
"Well for one thing, girls are just different, and another, she is her mother's daughter. Rose spends most of her time learning. She already can almost read, Harry! Can you believe that?"
"With Hermione as her mother, yes I can believe that." They both laughed at the crazy, wonderful which that was both of their best friends.
"Oh! Mum wants to know if you're coming to dinner on Sunday."
"Umm… I can't. Tell her I'm sorry I missed it."
"Why? What have you got that's so important?"
Harry stared down at his lap, afraid to tell his friend the truth. "I have a date," he mumbled.
"A date! With who?!"
"Just some bloke I met at the ministry. He's a few years older than us. You wouldn't know him." Harry had come out to his friends and the Weasley family a little over a year ago. It had been awkward at first, but with Ginny's support, the whole family grew accustomed to it. Ron and Hermione were now just as supportive as Ginny was.
"Well, good luck I suppose. Be careful. You can never trust people not to just use you for your fame."
"Trust me, I know," Harry huffed, more frustrated at the entire wizarding world than at his friend. He just wanted to be gay and not have it be a big deal all over the Daily Prophet. This was his first date with a man, and if anyone recognized him on while they were out, it was sure to be splashed all over the news.
May 26, 2009
"Well, I'll be damned." Theo said from the couch in Draco's humongous office.
"What's that?" Draco asked from behind a mountain of paperwork.
"Potter is gay."
"What?!" Draco asked as he stood up, eyebrows raised to his hairline.
"See for yourself," he said as he handed that morning's daily prophet over to Draco.
Draco grabbed it quickly scanning the five pictures splattered on the front page, all of which included Potter with some average looking bloke. Potter was laughing with him at dinner. Potter was blushing. Draco's eyes grew bigger. Potter was accompanying him on a romantic stroll through the park. Potter was holding his hand. Potter was gay.
Theo quietly smirked at Draco's melodramatic reaction.
Then, Draco fainted.
September 8, 2009
"Thank you so much, daddy! This was the best day ever!"
Harry chuckled at his over-enthusiastic son. "I'm glad you enjoyed your first day of quiditch, James."
"I looooooved it!" James yelled while Albus pouted on the couch. James had started a pre-Hogwarts age quiditch league. It had teams for ages 5 through 10. Unfortunately, would have to wait another two years to join, and he had been furious about it all day long.
"Daddy, you pwommis I can pway kiditch as soon as I'm five?"
"Of course, little one."
July 31, 2010
"Happy Birthday dearest Scorpius! Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuuu!" The room bellowed as Scorpius blew out the four candles on his birthday cake. Draco sat on his son's right side looking forlorn and not nearly as cheerful as a father should be on his only son's birthday. Astoria rose from her chair on the other side of Scorpius and began handing out pieces of cake to all the party attendees. The birthday cake itself had been a glorious sight. Three tiers of smooth silver and emerald green, lined with black racing brooms and the Malfoy family crest. Scorpius had abandoned his fork and was shoving fist-fulls of the chocolate substance into his mouth. The crowd laughed at the adorable tot.
Theo and Blaise noticed Draco's less than happy demeanor right after they had arrived at the Manor. Once Scorpius had opened all his presents, and the party guests were beginning to make their departures, the two good friends approached their pouty pale friend and cornered him in the study. The three sat in lounge chairs, each with a glass of whiskey in hand. Blaise was very quiet, which wasn't out of character for him. He often took long periods to analyze a situation. He wanted to observe all the facts before passing judgment.
Theo, on the other hand, jumped right into action, "Why the hell are you so grumpy today, old man?"
Draco looked as if he had been slapped. "Firstly, I am not old. Secondly, we are all three the same age, you prick. Thirdly, I am not bloody grumpy."
"You are bloody grumpy, and Blaise and I both demand to know why. What's got your knickers in a twist?"
Draco shot Theo a look that could kill. "Mind your own damn business, Nott."
"Reverting back to last names are we now, Malfoy?"
"We are when you're not respecting my personal space!"
Blaise took the opportunity to break up an imminent fight. "Look, Draco, we're just genuinely concerned. Today of all days should be a day of happiness for you, but you looked miserable the entire time." As he spoke he had stood from his chair, walked over to his blond friend, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Draco remained silent for quite some time, staring into the fireplace and fighting through a jumbled-mess of thoughts. Finally, he spoke. "I've been thinking about the war."
Both of the other men were quite surprised by this. Draco rarely spoke of the war, even directly after it happened. His approach had always been to suppress they supposed. They didn't know that Draco had tried time and again to discuss the war with his mother and his wife, both of whom had adamantly rejected such talk.
"What about it?" Theo inquired.
"I've been thinking about apologizing."
"You already did that, remember?"
"No. My mother released a formal apology from the family after our trials, and our family paid reparations, but I never really apologized to anyone. I simply expected everyone to know that I was sorry, without making the effort to be humble and admit my wrongdoings."
Blaise felt pained for his friend and the torturous thoughts that must be weighing him down. "Draco, you did show humility during your trial. It was incredible hard for you to stand in front of the Wizengamot and plead your case. You showed your fear, your regret, your weakness. People saw that Draco, and there was no doubt that you were sorry."
"Blaise, thank you for your kind words, but I'm talking about personal apologies here. Specific acts that I committed to specific people that need genuine personal apologies."
"I don't get it," Blaise said in a confused tone.
"He's talking about Potter and his lot," Theo mumbled from his chair.
"Potter?" Blaise questioned.
"Look," Draco said as he ignored their judgmental faces, "I did things to Potter and Granger and Weasley and Longbottom and Bell and Lovegood that I am certainly not proud of. They still don't know that I regret those things! They might think that I'm over here proud of the fact that I got off scott-free, that I still laugh about the things I did to them, that I look back on my time in the war with pride. They will wrongly assume these things about me until I do something to make things right."
Theo and Blaise were stunned speechless.
"Today is his birthday. I'm going to write Potter a letter tonight," Draco declared as he exited the study.
August 1, 2010
Harry rose early. The boys were staying at their mother's for the week, but he had plans with Hermione. She had gotten tickets to a muggle musical and couldn't convince anyone to go with her except for him. Ron usually liked muggle shows and movies, but he had refused to watch 'people sing as a means to communicate with each other.' Ginny wasn't a fan of most muggle culture. Harry grew up with muggles, so of course he knew something about muggle theatre, and he would be lying if he said he didn't watch Hairspray, Mamma Mia!, and Rent everyone once in a while.
He mustered the energy to step out of bed. He stood in his briefs, instantly feeling the chill of the long term cooling charm he placed over Grimmauld Place during the summer months. As he walked toward his wardrobe, he noticed a letter sitting on his open window seal. He didn't see an owl anywhere, so there was no clue as to where the letter had come from. He hesitantly picked it up and saw only fancy calligraphy that spelled one word "Potter" on the outside of the envelope. His brain immediately thought of blonde hair, of smirks and harsh words, of going too far with that sectumsempra in Myrtle's bathroom, of a man that Harry had presumed to know everything about but truly knew nothing about, and of cool penetrating grey eyes.
Surely, it could not be a letter from Draco Malfoy. Harry had not spoken to the man in twelve years. It must be someone else that would address him only as Potter.
Dear Potter,
I know it may come as a shock that I am writing to you, and I know that you may have wished to go the rest of your life without hearing from me. However, I believe I have some important things to say that hopefully will not be a waste of your time. Firstly, Happy Birthday. I am writing to you on July 31st, which also happens to be the birthday of my dear son Scorpius. Every year when we celebrate his birth, I cannot help but to reflect on our years at Hogwarts and the times we crossed paths during the war. Trust me when I say that I am truly sorry. I feel deep regret for every ill word I said to you, for every jinx, hex, and curse I threw your way, for the role that I played in making your life miserable, and the role that I played in trying to destroy our wizarding world. I am also deeply sorry for the way that I treated all your friends, but I will of course make personal apologies to them as well. I want to thank you for the times that you saved my life when I truly did not deserve your kindness. I hope that someday you can look at me without feeling burning resentment, and perhaps our sons could even be friends. I do not ask nor expect anything from you. I simply want to give my most sincere apology.
Malfoy
Harry was gobsmacked. The person that had wrote this letter was not the same spoiled bully that he had known during school. Clearly, Malfoy had changed. But was Harry ready to forgive and forget?
His thoughts were interrupted by Hermione arriving in the floo. "Oh shit," Harry exclaimed as he rushed to finish getting ready. Hermione made her way up the stairs and found a messy looking Harry lacing up his sneakers.
"You're going to the theatre looking like that?" she asked in her judgmental tone.
"I'm sorry… I got a bit distracted and didn't have time to get spiffied up."
"Yeah yeah… how was your date last night?"
"Eh, another dud, I'm afraid. Why are there no interesting gay men in this entire country?!"
"Well there's one interesting gay man," Hermione joked.
"Ha ha, I guess I'll just date myself," he replied sarcastically as he stood and they made their way downstairs.
"So what were you distracted by?"
"Hmmm? Oh, right…. Uh, I got an unusually letter."
Hermione simply raised her right eyebrow, encouraging Harry to go on.
"Malfoy owled me a very long, thoughtful, well-put apology."
Hermione nearly tripped on the last stair as Harry made this announcement.
"Malfoy?! I hadn't realized you were in contact with him!"
"Well I'm not… I mean I wasn't. I haven't spoken to the man since the end of the war. He just wrote to me out of the blue to wish me a Happy Birthday and to 'sincerely apologize'."
Hermione was baffled. "Well, I don't really know what to say to that right now, Harry. Shall we go?"
Harry sighed, "We shall."
September 5, 2010
Draco read the short letter in front of him with bugging eyes.
Malfoy,
Sorry it took me over a month to reply to your owl. For the longest time I did not know what to say. Finally though, I have decided, apology accepted. Well wishes to you and your family.
Potter
January 27, 2011
"Daddy, what's a Malfoy?"
Harry spit out his morning tea.
"Where exactly did you hear that word, Albus?"
"When I was at Rose's the other day, Hugo was actin' like a real spoiled brat, and Uncle Ron said to Auntie Hermione 'Great, our son is actin' like a bloody Malfoy'. I didn't understand what that meant. That's why I'm askin'."
Harry shook his head frustratedly as he listened to his four-year-old son's lovely story. "Albus, Malfoy is the name of a boy that Uncle Ron, Auntie Hermione, and I all knew at Hogwarts. He was a bully and always acted like a spoiled brat. None of us got along with him. He even made our lives harder most of the time." Albus attentively listened to Harry's every word. "However, Malfoy was a young boy when he did those mean things, and he has most likely changed since he has grown into an adult. Surely, Malfoy is not so mean and spoiled anymore."
"But you don't know for sure?"
"Well I haven't talked to him since we left Hogwarts."
"Why not, daddy?"
"I'm not really sure."
April 16, 2011
"How was your day with Scorpius, mother?"
Before Narcissa could respond, Draco's rambunctious son darted into the family room and announced, "Granny and me had so much fun today dad! We played outside most of the day! And the elves brought us my favorite kind of sandwich! And chocolate pudding! It was great!"
Draco smiled fondly at his pride and joy. "I'm certainly glad you enjoyed your day, Scorpius, but let's keep our voices down at a reasonable level, okay?"
"Right… sorry daddy."
"It really was lovely, Draco. I regret that I don't get to spend more time with my grandson. He has the kindest soul. We found a baby duck that was injured and couldn't swim, and Scorpius insisted that we nursed it back to health. He has a real interest in saving and taking care of creatures and people too."
Draco looked perturbed at this. "Great, so my son has a hero complex just like bloody Potter…"
"What's a Potter?" Young Scorpius asked innocently.
"He is a good man that saved the entire wizarding world."
"Wow! I want to be just like Potter when I grow up!"
"Lovely," Draco said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.