Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belongs to J.K. Rowling, unfortunately not me.

A/N: Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate Christmas! I managed to find time to write sooner than I thought so here you are.

Chapter 26

"Everything alright?" Ginny asked when Harry joined her at the Three Broomsticks.

"He wanted to talk about his date this evening," Harry responded with a small twitch of his lips. "With Theo Nott and Pansy Parkinson's son. He wanted to make sure it was okay with me, which of course I said it was."

Ginny gaped at Harry. "If someone would have told me when I was 16 that one day my son's best friend would be a Malfoy and he would be going on dates with a Nott, I probably would've refused to have children," she laughed lightly, shaking her head in disbelief.

Harry chuckled along with her. "We've come a long way since the war."

Ginny nodded and answered in a small voice, "Moving on doesn't have to be all bad." She was lost in thought for a minute before remembering herself. "Ready to go deal with my brother now?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Harry said with a shrug, trying not to betray how anxious he was on the inside. He had a feeling that Ginny was just as nervous and could tell that he felt the same way.

The pair looked at each other for a moment before nodding briefly. "They're expecting us so let's go."

A few moments later the couple found themselves sitting in Ron and Hermione's living room, nervously sipping on tea. "So what brings the two of you over?" Hermione asked, giving Ginny and Harry a concerned look.

The pair exchanged glances, neither of them wanting to be the one to break the news. Harry sighed in defeat as Ginny managed to convey with her eyes that it was his turn to do some talking as she had been the one to actually tell the kids. Harry turned to face his best friends, heart beating erratically in his chest. "Well there's no easy way to say this, but before I say anything I just have one request. Please just let me get through it, and please try not to freak out too much."

Hermione's concern deepened. "Of course," she said matter-of-factly. Harry gave Ron a pleading look. He looked skeptical for a moment but eventually nodded in agreement.

Harry took a deep breath to steady himself and then began. "Over the last couple of months, Ginny and I have been having some problems. As time has gone by, it has become increasingly obvious that we're not happy anymore. We haven't been for awhile, but we were so caught up in the kids that it wasn't as apparent. Because of this, we have mutually decided that a divorce is the best option for us and our family," he finished. Harry was proud of himself for making it through the whole thing without his voice obviously wavering. He met Ron's eyes in an attempt to assess his reaction. The other man glared back at him, his face a bright red and eyes narrowed with a murderous glint to them. Harry gulped and thanked Merlin for Hermione, who, although she looked paler than usual and visibly upset, had a comforting hand on her husband's shoulder. That hand was most likely the only thing keeping Ron from hexing Harry's brains out.

Ginny turned to her brother to add, "Ron, I know that you're not going to be happy about this, but it really was a mutual decision. Neither of us is happy. Don't you want your little sister and your best friend to be happy, even if it means we have to get a divorce to accomplish it?"

Ron softened a miniscule amount. "Of course I want you to be happy, Gin, but I don't understand why it can't be with Harry. What the bloody hell did that prat do to you?" he bit out, continuing to glare at Harry who was studiously avoiding his eyes. Hermione began to murmur soft reassurances into Ron's ear and moved the hand on his shoulder to rub his back.

"'That prat' as you so elegantly put it just happens to be your best friend, and I just told you he didn't do anything! We aren't happy so we're getting a divorce," Ginny snapped in frustration. She felt like she was sixteen years old again when all her older brothers seemed to think they had any say in her dating life.

"You can't divorce my baby sister! I simply won't allow it, you bloody bastard!" Ron roared at Harry.

Harry winced. This was decidedly not going as well as telling the children. "Mate, I know this isn't what you expected. It's certainly not what Ginny and I expected when we got married, but we've given this some time and we've made our decision," Harry informed him with a lot more confidence than he felt.

"Given this some time have you? Been planning on walking out on my little sister for awhile now have you?" Ron snapped.

Ginny sighed in frustration. "No, Ronald. There have been signs for a long time, and for the past several days we have been apart to really think about things. The time has only cemented the decision for both of us."

Harry felt his heart sink at her words and a knot form in his stomach. The moment she had said that they had been apart, he had seen a spark of something in Hermione's eye, and before she even opened her mouth he knew he was screwed. "Well, if you've been apart the past several days, where has Harry been staying? I was just round to your house yesterday, and Ginny was there. It's obviously not at any of the family's houses as we would have heard. You know none of you lot could keep a secret this big. And if he were at a hotel the press would have had a field day. Where have you been, Harry?" Hermione asked, curious as always.

Harry knew that his best friend was simply curious and observant by nature, and she wasn't trying to catch him out. Regardless, Harry knew he was in trouble. The panic on his face had to be evident now, as all three occupants of the room turned to stare at him: Hermione with curiosity, Ron with suspicion, and Ginny with pity. He considered lying for a fleeting moment but immediately dismissed the idea. He knew his face said too much, and Hermione would never fall for a lie at this point. He gulped and opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. He tried this a few more times, each time failing to get any sound out. "Where the fuck were you?" Ron yelled, jumping to his feet. He had always been a bit oblivious, but even he could tell that what was about to come out of Harry's mouth wasn't going to be good.

Harry met Hermione's eyes, noting the apologetic look that was forming as she realized that her curiosity was about to cause quite the problem for Harry. "I've been staying at Draco Malfoy's," he finally responded, his voice nothing louder than a whisper.

There was one blissful moment of calm before all hell broke loose. Ginny and Hermione both reached for their wands, presumably in an attempt to stop Ron from causing Harry any physical harm. The two witches weren't fast enough, however, given Ron's Auror training. He had them disarmed almost immediately before turning on Harry. He grabbed him by the collar of his t-shirt and hauled him to his feet. "You had better have a damn good explanation for staying with Malfoy," he hissed dangerously in Harry's face, almost spitting out the last word in disgust.

Harry swallowed thickly, his only comfort that the two women were close behind Ron keeping an eye on things. "He and I are getting to know one another," he responded, trying his hardest to avoid the piece of information that would really enrage the other man.

Ron, still holding onto Harry's collar, stared at his best friend. "You wouldn't look this guilty and panicked if you two were just mates. So help me, Harry, if you are fucking Malfoy…" he trailed off menacingly.

Harry looked down at this shoes, bracing himself for what was about to come. "We haven't fucked yet, but we plan on pursuing a relationship." The next thing he knew, Harry felt a great amount of pain blossoming on his left cheek from where Ron's fist had connected. The other man, who had a good 4 inches of height on Harry, landed another punch, this time in Harry's stomach, causing him to sink to his knees. Ron was about to launch himself on top of Harry, but Ginny and Hermione had managed to restrain him.

"Get the fuck out of my house! Not only are you leaving my sister, but you're leaving her for that ex-Death Eater ferret-faced piece of scum. Get the bloody fuck out of my house, and don't you dare show your face in here again, Harry Potter! If you ever do, you'll wish you would've stayed dead when Voldemort killed you. I wish you would have!" Ron looked as though he was trying to keep screaming, but one of the women must have hit him with a Silencing Spell.

Harry sat on the floor in shock, staring at his best friend, if he could even still call him that anymore. "Harry, I think it's best if you go," Hermione suggested quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder and helping him to his feet. "You know how Ron is. Just give him some time, yeah? I'll owl you later."

Harry nodded mutely, not trusting his voice. He glanced at Ginny briefly who gave him a sympathetic smile and mouthed that she too would owl him later. With that Harry grasped his wand tightly and Disapparated with a pop, arriving a split second later in Draco's front room.

"Harry? Is that you?" he heard Draco's voice call from the study, but he couldn't answer. A moment later he heard footsteps getting closer to him. "Hello?"

When Draco came into view, Harry felt his despair lessen minutely, and the other man picked up his pace when he saw the state of him. "Harry! What happened?" he exclaimed in obvious concern, grabbing Harry's face. It wasn't until Draco started wiping away tears that he even realized he was crying. "Oh, Harry, come here." Draco pulled the dark haired man into his arms, and Harry was more than compliant. He buried his face in Draco's chest and began sobbing in earnest. Draco rubbed his back and mumbled soothingly. When Harry seemed to calm down slightly he asked again, "What happened?"

"Ron," was all Harry was able to gasp out before he broke into a fresh round of sobs against Draco's chest. Draco, sensing that talking was not an option for awhile, Apparated the pair up to the bedroom and pulled Harry into bed with him. Then he simply held Harry and let him cry until his tears subsided and his breathing evened out, indicating the poor man had cried himself to sleep.