Alexander was back in his rightful place- our home- before breakfast the next day. The sweet symphony of his giggles and Draco's pleas sounded like it was made for this place, like the house itself was welcoming and encouraging them.

I caught Draco watching me watching him from across the breakfast table, and smiled. "What?" I asked.

He grinned and shook his head a little. "Nothing. Just noticing how different you seem, that's all. Must be the lack of a beard."

"Yeah," I laughed as I grabbed our plates and took them to the counter. "That must be it."

Now finished with his breakfast, Alexander was entertaining himself by fingerpainting in the carroty mush that dotted the tray of his highchair. Draco stood and came over to where I was stacking the dishes neatly in the sink, and put a hand on the small of my back. I still wasn't used to that, but his hands were large and strong and warm against the fabric of my tee shirt.

"Your cabinets are empty," Draco said after a pause.

"I don't know if you remember the first morning you stayed here-"

"I do."

"-but empty cabinets are kind of par for the course with me. If you want me to have Kreacher do some shopping so that there's more food around, though, I can-"

"I'm not talking about the food, Harry."

I knew he wasn't, but what could I really say? I just bobbed my head and kept my eyes fixed on the swirl of syrup that decorated the edge of a plate. Draco's forehead came to rest on my shoulder and his breath tickled my skin. "You got rid of all the alcohol."

"I had to," I replied as I tried to clear my throat.

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did!" I turned around so suddenly that Draco stepped back from the intensity in my gaze. "I was hurting you, and I was on the way to hurting Alexander, and I couldn't stand it anymore. I'm done ruining people's lives, so I had to, okay? I had no choice…"

"But that's just what I'm saying, Harry. You did have a choice." He reached out gingerly, like he was afraid I'd snap at him again, and took my hand. He held it in both of his, cradling it so the gentleness in his words was tangible through my very fingertips. "You could have made the choice to keep drinking, and keep hurting us. But you were brave enough to choose to stop."

"Try," I whispered.

"What?"

"I chose to try to stop."

Draco was confused, his brow knit together in a furrow of puzzlement. "I don't- did you slip up since the other day?"

"No, no," I sighed. "The last drink I had was three days ago, on the night you left."

I instantly regretted saying it, because it sounded like an accusation and Draco winced at the phrase. "Oh," he hurried on like nothing had happened, "then what do you mean, you're 'trying' to stop?"

It was hard for me to even look him in the eye when I replied, "Because I haven't stopped thinking about having a drink in three days. I've been haunted by the thought."

But Draco just continued to cradle my hand against his chest. "Of course you have. Just because you've made the decision to stop drinking doesn't mean you won't ever be tempted. It's a series of choices, minute by minute, to not take a drink. You have to make that choice continually, so you shouldn't feel bad when that urge comes. It just means you have to choose the right thing one more time."

When I tugged him close to me by my captured hand, for a second he stiffened up so much that I thought maybe I had crossed an invisible line in our mutual new territory. But then, like instinct, his arms wound around my neck and my arms wound around his waist and I was burying my head in his shoulder and breathing in the scent of him. "I wish it were easier," I admitted, feeling as small as I ever had.

"I wish it were easier for you, too," Draco whispered back. "But you know you're not alone, right? I'm here for you, no matter what."

"I know."

"You're strong enough to get through this."

"I know," I repeated, but this time it was a lie.

Draco knew it, too. "Hey. I'm serious. You saved the wizarding world from total destruction- I'm pretty sure you can show the bottle who's boss."

It felt silly to tell him that I was more afraid of that bottle than I ever had been of Voldemort, so instead I just hugged Draco a little tighter and smiled past the boa constrictor around my heart.

Alexander let out a noise somewhere in between a laugh and a shriek, apparently having had enough of this "paying attention to things other than me" business. Draco and I both turned to look at him, identical smiles on our faces, and all of a sudden it struck me somewhere deep in my soul that this was what a family looked like.

It honestly took my breath away.

Maybe I had forgotten what oxygen was for a little too long, because Draco was noticing, and turning to look at me in surprise. "Harry? What's the mat-"

I kissed him quiet so I could steal his turn at talking. "I don't know why you continue to stay here and put up with me, but I have never been so grateful for anything in my entire life."

I could tell by the way he ignored the gravity in my words that he understood that weight completely. "Well, it's not like I had anywhere else to go, right? You just happened to be on the top of a very short list of options," he snickered.

"Well then. At least I'm better than the str-"

This time it was he who kissed me quiet.

And that quiet was what made the popping noise coming from the entryway seem that much louder. Draco and I both paused mid-kiss, lips locked together but minds both focused on something that sounded distinctly …wrong.

"Harry?" asked a breathy voice, and my stomach dropped.

My face was as pale as hers when I turned to look at the woman staring slack-jawed at our intimate embrace. Draco's was as red as her hair.

"H- hey… Ginny."

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

SO, drama is about to start, yeah? You've got another fluffy, cuddly chapter, but it has a cliffhanger so I'm like 82% sure that makes the fluff okay.

What do you think?! How will Ginny react, hmm? Tantrum? Fainting spell? Literal spell? Fangirling? Acceptance? You just never know… but I want to hear what y'all think, nonetheless.

PLEASE review for me? :))))))