Draco hesitated for the umpteenth time, his hand hovering mere inches away from the wooden door.
He pulled his fist down again, then brought it back up. Only to hesitate once more.
He did squeal and jump back when it snapped open.
"You're doing it wrong," Hermione Granger said dryly. "You have to make a sound with your -"
"Yes, Granger, I got it."
"Weasley."
"What?" Draco snapped again, sneering, regreting every second of this.
"Weasley. I married."
"Oh," Draco stood there, wanting to leave so badly.
"Why are you here Malfoy?" Hermione asked, "I have children to feed and wash and put in bed.
"I need a friend," Draco blurted before he could stop himself. "I'm sorry I'll go."
"Wait," Granger called, "Come in."
Draco was uncomfortable in the Muggle-Wizard crossbreed house, and he sat primly on the lounge while Hermione reddied her young children for bed.
"Tea?" She offered, to which he nodded.
Back in a few minutes with the ten year old and her little brother asleep, Granger handed him a teacup and sat on a lounge opposite him.
"Scraping the bottom of the barrel of friends are we?" Granger asked. "Its been ten years."
"I'm sorry, I know, I'm being selfish, I, who I really need right now is my mother, and Longbottonm wasn't there for tea."
Granger's expression softened. "What's troubling you, Draco?"
"I've messed up," he admitted, now he was in Granger's living room sipping tea his sanity finally cracked, and he wanted his internal conflicts to be someone else's problem. "After the accident I pushed everyone away, friends, and family."
"I thought your mother-"
"Harry, Harry and Teddy." Draco said quickly. "Harry was like a third parent to my kids, and Teddy, I thought of him as my own, he, I, I just couldn't, Astoria died, and I just had to keep my kids to myself, I, I couldn't lose Sadie, I believed Scorpius to be dead, and after he woke, and He was at Hogwarts and Harry was back in my life and I just, I was a dick to him, I didn't, I already felt so seperated from Scorpius and I didn't want the same thing to happen to Sadie. I was afraid."
"Understandable. Stupid, but understandable."
"Harry was always there, he was always helping me and I felt so guilty becasue Astoria just died and I was thinking about life without her before-"
"What?"
Draco's words finally caught up with his brain and he blushed, then gulped down his too- hot tea in an effort to scald the stupidity from his mouth.
Granger was shaking her head.
"It makes so much more sense now. You have feelings for Harry, romantic feelings."
"Don't ever emphasise that word like that again, Granger."
Hermoine rolled her eyes. "Weasley," She said, "Anyway, you should go for it."
"What?"
"Go. for. it." She said condesendingly. "Ask him out."
"I can't just ask him out!" Draco cried, Granger rolled her eyes again.
"Sure you can," She said, "We're all adults here."
"But," Draco grumbled. "Ive been sending him anonymous flowers all year."
Granger giggled.
"He'd hate that."
"I know." Draco said, "I just, once I was around him again, even just in Scorp's first year when I was hearing about him in letters I just-"
Draco stopped, as Granger was laughing at him, holding her ribs and waving her hand in submission.
"You got it bad," She huffed, "Just ask him out, nothing to lose right?"
Draco narrowed his eyes and stood. Placing the cup on the small table near the arm of the lounge.
"Thank you for the tea," he said, then he left, Granger didn't follow him to the door, so he got to listen to her giggles all the way up the hall.
2007 - Six Years Ago
"It's been a decade," Dudley said. Thelma, his fiancee was dusting, again, a tea tray was on their table and the rude mirror in the bathroom was silenced.
"It'll be fine Dudley." Thelma told him, she grabbed his hand and led him to the sofa. "He's your family."
"Exactly, he never should have been treated how he was. You know I had a made up game called 'Harry Hunting' right?" Dudley thought this was a horrible idea. Sure he didn't have a lot of family, Aunt Marge had died two years ago, Thelma was an Orphan from the first wizarding war and had no family.
"Family is important to him. He'll understand."
"Or He'll give me another tail."
"What?" Thelma asked him with a frown. Dudley blushed.
"Er, nothing."
The two adults looked around at the knock at the door.
"I'll get it," Thelma said with an indulgent smile.
Dudley waited in their sitting room nervously. It had been a decade. Introductions were exchanged from down the hall and he heard the door close. There were footsteps.
"Harry."
Whatever Dudley thought he expected it was not this man before him. Harry was fairly tall and fit, his hair still messy, though the faded scar could be seen through his fringe - something Petunia was careful to cover. He wore wizards robes, long black ones, and Dudley could see his wand strapped to his forearm in the sleeve.
"Dudley," Harry greeted him uncomfortably, offering his hand to shake, which Dudley shook. This man killed Lord Voldemort. He hunted Dark Wizards for a living. He was rich and famous. He was a powerful wizard that Dudley had tormented as a child.
"Dudley?" Thelma tapped his shoulder. Dudley shook away his racing thoughts and offered Harry a tight smile, showing him the kitchen.
"Tea, pumpking juice, anything?" Dudley offered his cousin. Dudley frowned when they got into the kitchen. "THELMA?"
"YEAH HUN?"
"WOULD YOU SUMMON THE GOOD TABLECLOTH?"
Dudley jumped when Harry started laughing.
"Er, Harry?" Dudley asked, reaching out and catching the flying item, spreading it over the table.
"It's good to see you, Dudley," Harry said, "I'm glad we're family. I'll have tea thanks."
Dudley nodded unsure and Harry pulled him in for a quick hug, it was a better reception than Dudley had ever hoped to receive from his cousin.
"How did you meet Thelma?" Harry asked, Dudley laughed.
"Supermarket," He said, "and we got engaged recently, she came up to me and sat me down and gave me a cuppa, and told me she was a witch." Dudley laughed, "and she was nearly in hysterics, explaining the Ministry and Hogwarts and the hidden world and everything. I just started laughing, hysterical laughter. She kept trying to convince me it was the truth, and I just stopped her and told her you were my cousin."
Harry laughed at that.
"She squealed like a little girl and started asking all these questions." Dudley shook his head, "I had to own up about what a dick I was when we were growing up. I regret that, you should know too Harry, but you're some of the only family I have left now, there's mum and dad of course, but Marge is dead. And I know we're the only family you have left, I thought I should try to make things right."
Harry nodded, "I appreciate it, Dudley." He said with a smile, "I'll have to introduce you to my godson sometime."
"Dudders!" Thelma ran into the kitchen as Petunia's voice filled the house.
"Mum and dad." Dudley said, Thelma looked between the cousins as the elderly Mr. and Mrs Dursley entered the room. Harry was abviously paicking, Dudley didn't know what to do and it was obvious his parents were shocked. Thelma drew her wand.
The elderly Mr. and Mrs Dursley were obviously not expecting this reception. Their much hated godson having a rather large panic attack, their not-as-normal as they thought daughter in law had them at wand point and, unfortunatley it was Vernon who recovered first.
"FREAK!" Vernon yelled and hurled his 230lb body towards his unsuspecting nephew.
"DAD Don't!" Dudley pushed his father out of the way and grabbed Thelma. Harry was shaking, he had fallen and retreated to the corner. Vernon growled from his place on the floor. Petunia stood, shaking slightly. She gulped.
"Harry?" She walked towards the man on the floor, who was not breathing properly and had his eyes screwed shut. Vernon was screaming death threats from behind his wife.
"Mrs Dursley, don't" Thelma said. Dudley panicked, he made to step forwards but Thelma pulled him back. Thelma was yelling at Petunia, who was till reaching out to help Harry, Vernon wobbled back onto his feet, yelling drivel at the top of his lungs, and there was a flash, a tearing sound, and then complete and unnatural silence.
Dudley's ears were ringing, Thelma was holding her head in her hands, Dudley stumbled back through the door frame into the shattered lounge room. The jiprock had been blasted off of the walls, the telly was shattered and the lounge was overturned, there was a thick layer of dust. Harry was breathing heavily from his spot on the floor, Vernon was against the far wall, coughing and muttering.
"Harry?"
Harry jumped, up, dashing to Petunia's side.
"Aunt Petunia, I-"
She smiled at him.
"Your mother used to do that all the time," Petunia smiled, "when she was little, and I always pushed, Harry, don't blame yourself, Dudley is right, we're your only family and we treated you so, so badly. I am sorry, but I never expected you to forgive me, Harry please don't blame yourself for this.
There was a crack, and before Harry, Dudly or anyone else could move the corner of the house Harry and Petunia were under collapsed with a horrible sliding noise.
"THELMA CALL THE AMBULANCE!" Dudley screamed down the hall. There were pops outside and men rushed into the house, he pushed them away from himself, pointing to the collapsed corner.
"There, they need help, not me."
The rubble was cleared, more men came in and carried his father out, Thelma led him from the house and made him sit down.
"Mr. Dursley?" Dudley looked up to see a man in green robes standing before him.
"Are they alright?"
"Your father is injured, and has been sent to the muggle hospital," Dudley nodded, as soon as Vernon was concious enough he had started screaming about freaks and unnatural rubbish and all sorts of nonsense. "I'm sorry, Mr. Dursley, your mother has passed away."
Dudley just nodded, he had expected this, Thelma's hand went to her mouth and she whimpered.
"H-Harry?" Dudley managed.
"He's unconscious, and has been taken to St. Mungo's to treat his injuries, I'll give you a moment, and aurors will need to take your statement."
Thelma nodded, Dudley just looked at her.
"Mum," Dudley said swallowing thickily. She was gone. "She-"
"Dudley?" Thelma herself had been crying, and she very gently took his hand in her own.
Dudley nodded, still feeling like he was in a dream that got more exciting but made less sense. Then reality hit, and Dudley cried, loudly and desperately and he grabbed his fiancee and held her as close as he could.
"Are you Uncle Dudley?" Dudley jumped, he and Thelma were in St. Mungo's two days after Petunia had died. Harry was still unconscious.
"Family only!" A healer called, and the bushy haired woman holding the little boys hand stepped forward, she shot a look back at him.
"Dudley?" She asked. He nodded. "I'm Hermione Weasley, this is Teddy Lupin."
"Nice to meet you," Dudley gulped, he breifly recognised the names. Harry said she was his friend, her and Ralph, Rod, Ron, Ron Weasley, and Teddy was Harry's godson.
"I'm Uncle Dudley," Dudley said to the boy, as the boy's hair changed from black to green, shocking Dudley a little.
They followed the healer into a private room, where Harry was sound asleep.
"He'll be awake before the end of the week," The healer told Hermione, who nodded, Teddy climbed up on the bed and pulled out a book, cuddling to Harry's side and reading him the story.
"I've, I'm," Dudley took a deep breath. "I was trying to build bridges," Dudley said, "Harry," he paused again, "We're family, it took me so long to pull my head out of my ar- bottom."
Hermione just nodded, not taking her bright eyes off of Teddy.
"I still, I don't blame him, I blame mum and dad, and myself, not Harry," Dudley said, "But I won't push, if he want's to see me, anytime, he's always welcome." Dudley said to the woman's back. She finally turned.
"I cannot console you on the loss of your mother, Mr. Dursely," She said, rather formally, "I saw the damage his home life caused him, and this is just the beginning of it. I am sympathetic to your situation, and I applaud your ability to pull your head from your bottom, and I will pass on the message to Harry."
"Thank you, Hermione," Dudley said, Thelma gently grabbed his hand, and they left the room together, Thelma muttering something along the lines of 'prissy bitch' but Dudley ignored her.
Teddy's voice filled the hall as the door to the ward opened, he was just finishing his story.
"I love you all the way to the moon and back!"
It was not Harry's fondest memory, perhaps actually his worst. But he retold the tale to Gil, in the hope the boy might understand he, Harry, was a kindred spirit.
Gil picked out the crucial difference.
"I wasn't abused by my parents." Gil said, "I was probably just throwing some petulant tantrum and they died becasue of it." Gil took a deep breath, Harry could tell he was on the verge of tears.
"Gil," Harry too took a deep breath, ready to drop the bombshell. "thats not true." Gil looked up, he was crying, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. "I found the oficcial records of your parents death, and you weren't put in Mr. Bristow's Orphanage becasue of the accident, you showed signs of severe physical abuse." It was perhaps the most difficult thing Harry had ever had to say aloud.
Harry looked at the boy very carefully, shock, was evident in his features, and a lot of disbelief. He shook his head.
"It doesn't change anything," Harry said quickly, "You're still Gil Paige, you're the same in my eyes and everyone else's and it certainly wasn't your fault. But its the reason for your accidental magic reacting like it does - self defense."
Gil stared at Harry, utterly disbelieving.
"I can't remember-" He trailed off, Harry nodded.
"You were so young at the time, two, it said."
Gil nodded. "I was one or two, I got assigned a birthday by the Orphanage."
Harry let that drop for now. "Do you have any questions?" he prodded gently, "Anything that worries you, if not you can gor for today."
Gil shook his head.
"Its fine, I'm fine," He said standing up. "Thank you, Professor."
"Gil," Harry stopped the young man, "I'm proud of you, you're doing so well, and no matter what or when, if you need to talk to me, you come see me alright?"
Gil nodded with a slight smile and Harry let him leave. It was the best way to make him open up, talk for a little bit, then let him go away and come to terms with it in his own time. Today was a particularly difficult conversation, the first of many.
"Twixy," Harry called, and a female elf popped into existance before him. "Please keep an eye on Mr. Paige this week, any unusual or dangerous behaviour is to be reported, understood?" The elf bowed low to acknowledge the order and left the room with another crack.
Then there was a knock. Harry looked at his clock with a frown, it was curfew.
"Come in?" He called, and was surprised when Malfoy strode into the room.
"Inquiring about something else, Malfoy?" Harry bit at him, Malfoy shook his head.
"I need," He began, "I apo-" he tried and stopped, "You shouldn't have been shut away from Sadie like you were, Potter." Then Malfoy sighed. "I've been an idiot, Harry, and the truth is, the kids miss you, I miss you, and I miss Teddy."
Harry beamed at him, and it was almost back to normal. So Draco smiled back as Harry called an elf for a round of tea.
