A/N: Thanks for reviews! Here's the next chapter for you. It's a bit longer than the previous ones, mainly because It's highly possible that I'll not be able to post next week because I have so much stuff to do, but I will definitely update the week after that! Anyways, here we have some more info regarding Harry and Ginny's relationship, some Harry angst and the Potter family ganging up on Draco who is being... well, Draco. Hope you like it! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter


The rest of the day was spent discussing the terms of the marriage more clearly – which basically meant that Harry and Draco went on arguing about every little thing possible.

"—really Malfoy, there's no point dragging it on…"

"—you don't order me around Potter…"

The children and Ginny had been watching the pair for half an hour now as they argued about the time when the Malfoys would move in to the Manor. Draco was of the mind that they should wait a couple of weeks, but Harry thought it would be best to just get it out of the way.

Meanwhile, Ginny was having flashbacks of their time at Hogwarts when Harry and Draco exchanged insults.

"Nothing's changed really." She told the kids. "They have always fought like a married couple. Now they're just going to have some brilliant make-up-sex." She continued dreamily.

"Mum!" The kids exclaimed.

"This is Dad we're talking about here, please!" Albus said shaking his head, trying to get rid of the mental image.

"Oh, sorry kids." Ginny said sheepishly, though one could see a mischievous spark in her eyes.

"I think they're kinda cute." Lily giggled glancing at her dad and Draco arguing.

"You would think that Lils." James said rolling his eyes.

"Are you okay with this, Mum? I mean, you always said you still loved Dad." Albus asked concernedly.

"I am." Ginny said smiling. "There are different kinds of loves, Albus. There's sibling love, romantic love and just love between best friends and family members. I was in love with your father for a very long time, I admit; even before I had ever met him. Your grandma and granddad told me a lot of stories about the Boy-Who-Lived when I was little and I developed a huge crush on him. When I then actually met him, he was just like I had been told he would be; kind and brave and polite. I of course couldn't even stay in the same room with him without blushing or doing something embarrassing." Ginny laughed. "And then he saved me from the Chamber in my first year. My crush just deepened.

"Harry never noticed me, you know as a person of my own, just as his best friend's little sister and my behavior didn't really help at all with that. Then I spoke with your Aunt Hermione who told me to just let him be and date some other guys and maybe Harry would notice me after that." She continued. "That was when I realized that the crush I had, it wasn't for Harry, it was for the image, The-Boy-Who-Lived, my parents had told me about. So I took Hermione's advice and went out with other guys and actually got to know Harry and not just the image I had of him. I found out he was just a normal boy, whose parents had died for him, saving him and that was the reason he was famous. But that didn't make me like him any less, it just made my feelings grow stronger, but this time they were for Harry and not the image. And the when he kissed me on my fifth year, I was sold.

"I loved your dad and waited for him through the war, but when it finally ended we were no longer the same people we once were. We got back together, but it was more because it was expected from us than for other reasons. Nevertheless we did." Ginny continued. "My feelings had never changed for your Dad during the war, but after a few weeks, I noticed your Dad wasn't as enthusiastic as before and I started suspecting his preferences lay elsewhere, but I let it be.

"Then two months after the end of the war Harry pulled me aside and told me he thought he was gay. I was surprised, not because of the gay part as I had suspected that, but because he was actually willingly talking about it to me. Your Dad was never good with talking about his feelings and the emotional stuff and there he was telling me he thought he was gay and I didn't even have to get it out of him. I told him of my suspicious and he told me he was sorry and that he needed to figure it out before going anywhere with me and I understood that. I was a bit sad of course, but I also realized that Harry had had no time to think about things like that. Things like normal teenagers did. He had a madman after him and with everything that happened during his school years, it was no wonder he was confused. So I let him go.

"We decided not to tell anyone about our break up as I knew that had we told them, they would be constantly harassing us for reasons and Harry didn't need that. He needed to figure things out himself so we kept it as a secret. Then it was a few days before the start of 'eight year' when he came to me and told me he was sure he was gay. I told him that I still loved him, but that I would accept his decision.

"And I was going to too, but then your dad mentioned that he was sad that he would never be able to have children of his own, I made him a suggestion. I knew that the very thing Harry had always wanted in life was a family and that while he could adopt a child, he needed a child of his blood to be his heir and with Harry being the Head of two old families, I suggested that I could give birth to his children. He looked at me like I was mad until I explained it to him that it wasn't that uncommon thing to do in the wizarding world. He thought about it for some time until he agreed. He knew that he couldn't come out of the closet, so to speak, when the war had just ended and reporters were chasing after him and had always wanted a family so it was a good arrangement. We did however decide to wait till I finished school to actually decide if we both still wanted to go through with it. So I finished school, we met up again and decided that it was something we both wanted.

"Our plan did get delayed a bit though, because I was drafted for the Holy Harpies after school, and so I was twenty four when I finally got James. I had played for the Harpies for six years and secured my place there so we could finally start a family. We of course had to get married first as your grandma would have killed us if we hadn't, but we agreed that we would get divorced when you kids were old enough. During all this time my feelings for your Dad stayed the same, until I found myself attracted to one guy when Albus was like six-months old. I told Harry about it and he of course was happy for me, but then we found out I was pregnant with Lils so we didn't get divorced yet.

"After that though, my feelings for your Dad changed. I still love him, but not romantically anymore. We are each other's best friends. We can talk to each other about everything. We love each other as family and want the other to be happy and I think Draco could make your Dad very happy, if they both just stopped going on defense every time they're in the same room." She finished.

"Do you ever regret it?" Albus asked. "Your… arrangement with Dad."

"No." Ginny said. "I got three brilliant kids out of it and Harry's my best friend. I'm happy I did it. I truly am. Who knows, had I not done it I may still think I'm in love with him and that would be painful."

The kids nodded.

"What about Dad? Does he regret it? I mean he was with you for over a decade." Lily asked. "He could have found someone to live with. Get married and have some other family."

"No he doesn't. He loves you three more than anything. And Harry would have probably not found the right person. Back then everyone wanted to be with the Boy-Who-Defeated. I think he would've only gotten hurt. Besides it was our mutual decision to wait for a few years to have you and then stay together till you were old enough. We wanted you to have both your parents when you grew up and not just joined custody when you'd be with me every other weekend and then with your Dad the rest. That's why we still lived together even after our divorce. And I actually gave your Dad permission when we were dating and even during our marriage to, you know, go out and meet some guys if he needed as long as it didn't get out as my parents would've killed him. But I don't think he ever did." Ginny said.

"Dad doesn't really do anything the normal way, does he?" James laughed.

"No I don't." Harry said making them jump. "Normalcy is overrated." He said ruffling James' hair. "Now what are you gossiping here?"

"I was just telling the kids about our arrangement." Ginny said smiling.

"Oh, well I have to agree with you then, there wasn't much normalcy in that." Harry grinned and the others laughed. "So Gin, are you staying here with us for the summer?"

"For the first month and a half I am. Then I need to go to the training camp again, though I think I have a few meetings during my vacation too." Ginny said and Harry nodded.

"Malfoy and I agreed that he and Scorpius are moving here during these next couple of days, you know, to see if we can actually live in the same house and get to know each other better." Harry said. "That cool with all of you?" He asked and got four nods.

"You actually agreed to something with Draco." Ginny laughed emphasizing the name. Honestly, the two were getting married in the near future and couldn't even call each other by their names.

"It's not my fault he's such a git." Harry said folding his arms and pouting childishly making the kids laugh.

"Who are you calling a git, Potter?" Draco's voice said behind him and Harry froze.

"No one, Draco dear." Harry said meekly making Malfoy glare at him.

"Anyway we're heading back to the Manor to get some stuff and I need to inform my mother of the contract." Malfoy said and Harry grimaced. He had clearly forgotten he needed to meet Narcissa at some point. "I will see you later." He said before leaving with Scorpius on his heels.

"You're gonna be just the perfect couple." Ginny said.

"Ah, shut up Gin."


The day had been very exhausting for everyone so it was no wonder they all went to bed early. Harry had managed to convince Draco to start their move into the Potter Manor the next day as there was no point in Scorpius unpacking his stuff back in the Malfoy Manor only to pack it up again in a few days. Scorpius was honestly glad to leave the Malfoy Manor as he too had felt the Dark magic that resided there and felt uneasy because of it and then there was the plus that he got to live with his best friend.

Draco didn't truly mind the sudden move either, glad to be out of the Manor where many unpleasant memories haunted him. Potter was right, he as a Head of family had the right to decide what traditions he followed and what not. He only hoped he had done that ages ago – the Manor wasn't the best environment for Scorpius to grow up.

His mother of course had been sad to see them go, but Draco and Scorpius had promised to visit her often. Otherwise she had been surprisingly supporting of the marriage even though Draco hadn't mentioned Potter's illness to her.

Now however, Harry lied on his bed unable to sleep as he kept thinking about his children. They were all so grown up now. James would be starting to work, Albus would go to his last year at Hogwarts and Lily too was turning sixteen already. Where had the time gone? Just yesterday they were little kids running around the house and making noise and now they were all grown up and independent. They didn't need their parents anymore.

Didn't need him.

'I should be glad, shouldn't I?' Harry thought. 'It will be easier for them when I'm gone. I should be grateful that I got to live this long and see them grow up.' He told himself. But he wasn't. Well, he was, but it just wasn't enough.

Sighing Harry sat up holding his head as the dizziness passed before standing up and exiting the room in order to find his eldest son. He found him in his room writing a letter to – Harry guessed – Alice, with a frown on his face.

"Hi." He said as he entered the room after knocking quietly. "Bad time?"

"No." James said putting the letter down. "I was just writing to Alice. So what's up?"

"Nothing really." Harry said flopping down on the bed. "I just… we didn't really have time to chat properly earlier." He continued looking at his hands before turning to face his son. "I'm sorry I had to… drop the bomb, so to speak, today. I mean it's your graduation day, we should be celebrating and not… well, you know. I wanted to wait before telling you at least to tomorrow, but your mum insisted that I tell you right away."

"It's okay Dad. I'm glad you told us." James said. "Besides we partied plenty enough at Hogwarts."

Harry nodded with a faint smile.

"So have you decided what you're gonna do now that school's over?" He asked.

"Err… well; I actually received a letter from Uncle Bill saying that I've been accepted to the curse breaking –program at Gringotts. I would be working under him and his team." James said with a faint smile.

"Really?! When do you start?"

"Next month."

"That's brilliant!" Harry exclaimed hugging his son. "I'm so proud of you son." He smiled, but noticed that James' smile was half-hearted at best. "What's wrong James? I thought it was your dream to be a curse breaker like Bill."

"It is…but I..." James mumbled.

"It's Alice isn't it?" Harry asked knowingly. "You don't want to leave her behind and curse breakers travel all the time."

"No, Alice got actually accepted as well. She's going to study to be a curse breaker like me, but also a field healer. We got into the same team." James said his face lighting up as he spoke about her.

"That's great!" Harry smiled happily. "How is it going between you two anyway? You've been together nearly three years now."

"We're good." James smiled a full smile now.

"You thinking of putting a ring on her finger yet?" Harry asked teasingly.

"Well, I have actually thought about it…" James blushed.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I – well… I love her Dad and I want to marry her, but then I thought that we're still kinda young and what if she doesn't really love me like you didn't love mum, but you thought you did and…"

"James, son calm down." Harry said trying to calm him down. "Yes you're still young, but don't ever doubt the love between you and Alice. That girl loves you with all her heart and I can see that you love her as well. Your mother and my marriage, well, I guess you could say it was like a business arrangement. We both knew that I wasn't in love with her when we married, but everyone can see that you and Alice love each other." Harry said. "There's no hurry for you to get married yet, you have all the time in the world, but if it feels right then go for it."

James nodded mutely.

"Now about the job, why do you hesitate to take it?"

"I, well, I just… We travel so much and I don't want to leave when you…" James mumbled not looking at his father and suddenly it dawned on Harry why James was so indecisive.

His illness.

"Oh James." He said embracing his son tightly. "It's me, isn't it? My illness is the reason you hesitate to take the job." Harry felt James nod against his shoulder. "You can't put your life on hold just because I'm ill, Jamie." He said using the nickname he used when James was little.

"But what if something happens when I'm away? What if you d-die, when I'm on an assignment?" James cried. "I don't want you to die Dad. You can't die. We need you to live. I need you. I don't know how to be a Head of a family. I need you to be there for me when I need to talk or ask questions or just rant about girls because I don't understand them." James said with a watery laugh. "We need you to be there to scare off all girls and boys that try to date Lily and calm Mum down when she blows up because we colored her hair neon blue just before her big game again. We need you here to listen to Albus go on and on about the latest book he read and to interpret his Slytherin references that nobody else understands. We need you to be there when we get married so that you can give Lily away and keep Albus and me from panicking and running off. We need you here Dad for every little thing that happens in our lives."

By now Harry too was crying and he realized that James was right. Just because children grew up it didn't mean they stopped needing their parents.

"I pray to Merlin that I will be there for every moment in your lives, James, but if I'm not, then I'll be somewhere with your grandparents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and your Uncle Fred watching over you. I'm not afraid of Death, James. And when my time comes I will welcome it because then I will finally get know my parents and see everyone that died so many years ago. But even when I'm with them, I will always be there for you in your hearts. You can still talk to me and rant about girls and I will hear you even though I won't be able to answer you." Harry said wiping his tears. "But still, I will do everything in my power to live and not succumb to my illness, I promise you that. Who knows, maybe there is something still left of the Potter luck and I will manage to escape Death yet again. But whatever happens, James, I want you to continue living your life."

James wiped his tears and nodded.

"Now enough of this." Harry said. "How about a game of one on one Quidditch?"

"It's past midnight Dad." James chuckled.

"And when has that stopped us?" Harry smirked conjuring a snitch. "But of course I understand if you're too afraid to play against your old man. I was the youngest Seeker of the century after all…"

"In your dreams, Pops." James grinned and snatched the snitch from his hand.

"I love you James."

"I love you too Dad."

"Now let the game begin."


Next morning all seven of them gathered into the dining room for breakfast. Harry and James were the last to arrive and Draco couldn't help but wonder why Potter and his eldest looked dead on their feet, but were grinning like idiots. All the others, however, seemed to know what it was all about – even Scorpius – and were shaking their heads in amusement, well, all apart from Weaslette who looked disapproving, though she too was clearly suppressing a smile.

"You two, straight to bed after breakfast." Weaslette said sternly pointing at them with a fork and the two nodded at her sheepishly before starting to eat.

"So who won?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Dad won the first two, but I caught it in the end." James said a bit sullenly.

"And that too was only because I was getting tired." Harry said grinning.

"Yeah, right. You didn't even see it till I had it in my hand, old man." James retorted, but Harry just ruffled his hair and said:

"Whatever you say, Jamie."

James huffed, but was too tired to start arguing, so he let it go.

Meanwhile Scorpius, Draco and Albus had finished their breakfast and moved to the living room. Scorpius had noticed his father's confusion and was explaining to Draco what everyone was talking about.

"They played Quidditch last night." He said. "It's like a tradition. They used to sneak off in the middle of the night to play Seeker matches. Al and I sometimes joined them when I was here, but were no match for either of them. Mr. Potter is brilliant on broom! It's too bad he didn't play professional…"

"He did, actually." Albus joined in and Draco noticed that the three of them were alone in the room.

"What?!" Scorpius exclaimed. "And you didn't tell me! In what team?"

Draco rolled his eyes at his son. He was so obsessed with Quidditch. But Draco too was curious to know where Potter had played professionally. Surely he would have heard about that.

"Nowhere in particular. He's like a reserve player for every team. If their Seeker can't play, they call upon Dad." Albus explained.

"How come I haven't heard about this?" Scorpius asked. "I mean the papers usually print everything your dad does and this is huge!"

"I'm pretty sure you have heard about it." Albus said grinning. "In fact you have even seen him play. Remember the World Cup two years ago? France won the game by ten points because their Seeker caught the snitch just in time after eight hours of playing."

"You're saying…" Scorpius said his eyes wide as realization dawned on him. "Your dad is Evan LeNoir?!"

"Yep." Albus smirked.

"Merlin…" Scorpius said. "He's like the best Quidditch player in forever. He has never lost a game no matter where he played… How could you not tell me about this? I'm supposed to be your best friend!"

"Sorry Scor, but we weren't allowed to. Dad wanted to keep it just within the family and no one was allowed to tell anyone so that the papers wouldn't know. Dad didn't want any more attention than he gets already."

Draco snorted at that. The old jealousy and hatred towards Potter surfaced as he thought about it. Typical Potter. He should have known that the world famous Quidditch star would be Potter. Being the Wizarding world's savior and a famous Auror just wasn't enough for him. He needed even more attention through Quidditch.

"Didn't you just hear what Albus said?" The Weaslette's voice asked heatedly from the doorway and Draco realized he had spoken his thoughts out loud. "Harry didn't want it known because he did not want any more attention."

Draco winced inwardly at her tone, knowing deep inside that she was right, but he would be damned if he agreed with the Weaslette, so he just stared at her defiantly.

"You don't really know him at all, do you?" Ginny asked looking at him almost pityingly.

Draco stood up and opened his mouth to protest, but Ginny cut him off.

"Sit down." She said and Draco was so shocked of her forceful tone that he found himself complying. "I'll be right back." She added before hurrying off.

Huffing Draco folded his arms. 'How dare the Weaslette to tell him what to do...She had no right…'

"Children! Would you come here for a moment, please?" A shout came from the hallway and a few minutes later Draco could hear stumping as the kids descended the stairs. How come he had not noticed that Scorpius and Albus had left the room?

A few seconds later Weaslette re-entered the living room with the Potter kids plus Scorpius on her heels.

"What's up, Mum?" Lily asked plopping herself down on the free armchair as the boys took the couch. "Where's Dad?"

"He went to sleep." Ginny said. "I asked you here to tell Draco what kind of man your father is. He is under the impression that your father is – what did you once call him – pampered, spoiled and selfish brat, who loves his fame and all the attention he gets."

"Dad's not like that!" Lily exclaimed glaring at Draco. "He's the kindest and most caring person I know!"

"And he's never been spoiled or pampered." Albus piped in.

"Nor does he care about his fame or money." James said. "In fact, I don't think he hates anything more than the attention he gets."

"Yeah right." Draco snorted. "He's always signing autographs or giving advice to people or giving interviews even at work. You can't claim he doesn't enjoy being in the limelight."

Ginny shook her head. "The thing about Harry that you need to know Malfoy, is that he's too kind and too modest to tell the people or the press to just fuck off. He hates that every time he goes out he's being mauled by the press or people who want to speak to him because he has too many hyphenated names or thank him for offing Voldemort even though it's been over two decades since he died. Harry knows how important figure he is to them, or rather the image he presents to them – very few people know who 'just Harry' is.

"Anyway, the people get hope from 'The-boy-who-lived' or the 'Man-who-defeated' or whatever he's called nowadays. Harry knows that and accepts it even though he hates every second of it and would want nothing more than to be 'just Harry'."

"And Dad never lies if he can help it." Lily said.

"Yeah." Albus nodded in agreement. "Apart from his own health. He always says he's fine even when he's anything but."

"How much do you really know about Dad, Mr. Malfoy? James asked. "I mean really know and not just what you've made up yourself."

Draco shifted uncomfortably. What did he really know about Potter?

"I know he lived with some relatives." He said a bit uncertainly and suddenly all occupants in the room tensed apart from Scorpius. "What? Hit a sore spot, did I? I always knew he was spoiled and pampered…"

"Dad, I think it's best if you just shut up now." Scorpius interrupted him, looking warily at the Potters and Weaslette, who looked livid.

Oh.

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about." Lily spat through her teeth.

Draco and Scorpius regarded the four of them warily as they exchanged glances, seemingly having a conversation.

"He should know, Dad's gonna marry him after all… And it's not like Dad's gonna ever tell him." Albus said finally and the others seemed to agree.

"Fine." Ginny said turning to look at Malfoy. "This does not leave this room Malfoy, are we clear?" She said forcefully and Draco gulped before nodding.

"Good. Now contrary to your belief Harry was not pampered like some bloody prince. In fact quite the opposite. We don't know much about it, since he doesn't like to talk about his childhood, but the little we do know is that he was neglected and abused by them." Ginny said and Draco paled.

"Ever since he was fifteen-months-old he lived in a small cupboard with locks on the door. Every day he was reminded what a worthless freak he was and he didn't even know his own name till he went to pre-school. He was treated worse than your father treated your house-elves. He was forced to do house chores and cooking ever since he was four and if he failed he was punished. He could go on days without food, locked up in the cupboard. They didn't tell him about magic although his aunt knew all about it, but severely punished him whenever he did accidental magic. They tried to prevent him from going to Hogwarts and it wasn't till Hagrid gave the letter to him personally on his eleventh birthday that he found out that he was a wizard and that his parents weren't some drunkards, who died in a car accident."

"Now can you imagine how overwhelming it is for an eleven-year-old boy, who all his live has been told he's worthless, to find out there's a new hidden world he's part of and that he's some celebrity, famous for something he can't possibly remember. Harry knew nothing of the fame or the money he owned and even after he found out, he didn't want it. He didn't feel like he deserved any of it, even now after killing Voldemort. He feels like he doesn't deserve any of the fame bestowed upon him and he doesn't want it, but he just has to deal with it. All Harry ever wanted was a family who loved him and I have done everything I could to give him that."

"Now next time you feel like insulting him for something like that, how about you think again, Malfoy." Ginny said before exciting the room with the kids on her heels.

Draco had a lot to think about.


A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you thought!

- Dalnim