Title: almost… but not quite
Disclaimer: not my characters
Warnings: spoilers for entire series
Pairings: canon and Harry/Draco
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 315
Point of view: third
Prompt: Harry/Draco, almost lovers
They could have been... very many things.
Maybe in another world, Voldemort took Harry instead of trying to kill him. Maybe there, Harry was raised by the Malfoys and became the Dark Lord's heir. Maybe Draco was his best friend and brother, maybe they became lovers.
And in another world, maybe Harry listened to Draco in the robe shop, or Draco said something different, or Dumbledore noticed how Harry's letter was addressed and sent someone to investigate, or someone had already investigated and gotten Harry to a healthier environment, or Lucius Malfoy followed up on his master's destroyer and took the boy himself, fashioned a dark lord to rule the world.
And in another world, maybe Harry took Draco's hand on the train. Maybe he was a bit more Slytherin, angry and ambitious, wanting to punish a world that never looked out for him. Maybe he flourished and grew and did great (terrible, yes, but great) things. Maybe Draco was his friend, his confidant, his mentor and then right hand as he outstripped Voldemort and Grindelwald, as Harry Potter became the name to fear.
And in another world, maybe Harry offered Draco help in sixth year, maybe Draco accepted. Or maybe after the war, they tried to put the past behind them, to mature beyond schoolyard grudges because they truly had never been enemies, just two boys caught up in a terrible situation, a spot of normalcy amongst the abnormal.
They could have been so many things. But in this world, they went their separate ways. They married and had children, and maybe their children could be something.
(I'm Albus, Albus Potter. My dad told me about your family.
Scorpius Malfoy. Grandmum saved your dad, you know.
So I've heard. Want a chocolate frog?
I suppose. Do you think you'll be in Gryffindor?
Maybe. But Dad said it doesn't matter where I go.
So did mine.)