A/N: First of all, apologies. I am sorry this update took so long. I've been busy writing for all sorts of challenges and fests over at LJ. And I've been without internet for over a week. That problem has been solved now and I'm done with at least a few of my commitments, so I promise to have the next chapter for you in less than a week.

...

Harry woke up the next morning and chose to stay in bed for a while, instead of getting up and starting his day...he had plenty to think about. The previous evening had gone off better than he had expected. Draco had turned out to be every bit as sensible and mature as he had seemed when they had met at the Ministry. And Scorpius was just too adorable for words. The sight of Draco and Scorpius together, the way Draco looked at his son, the way he held him, the way his eyes lit up when he spoke about him...it had all worked to make the man even more attractive than he had been before.

Harry began to realise that if he let himself, he could easily fall for Draco, fall very hard indeed and it was this realisation more than anything else that made him cautious and convinced him to proceed slowly. I was obvious that there was a very strong chemistry there, but no matter what his feelings or desires, he wasn't going to act on them until they had something like a strong emotional relationship first. And he knew that Draco would want that too. That was why Harry had chosen not to push for a second date. He had made the first move. Now it was Draco's turn.

...

The owl came around mid morning. Harry took one look the elegant script and he knew immediately that the letter was from Draco. He opened it and began to read.

Dear Harry,

I had a very good time yesterday and so did Scorpius. We would both love to see you again. Do you think you could make it for lunch tomorrow? I was wondering if we could go out on a picnic somewhere...enjoy the last bit of summer before it's gone. Let me know if you can make it. I am going over to the Manor today and I will probably spend a few hours answering all of my mother's questions. Pansy wrote to me again, demanding details. I will have to tell her something eventually, but for now, I'm ignoring her. Blaise has been mercifully quiet so far, but I know that it won't last. How are your friends treating you?

Draco.

...

Dear Draco,

I would love to go on a picnic with you and Scorpius. In fact, I know just the place. I'll come over to your house tomorrow and apparate us over. It is absolutely private and well warded, so there is no chance of anyone seeing us. The only reason Blaise has left you alone is that Ginny is pestering me for details. I haven't told her anything yet, but I will soon. At least she understands. Ron and Hermione don't get it, though. Hermione wrote to me this morning and invited me over to dinner. I say invited, but her tone was more like "get over here and explain yourself, or else..." So anyway, I'm going over to see them today. It's best to get these explanations out of the way as soon as possible. I know it'll take them a while to come around, but I can wait.

Harry.

...

It was about quarter past seven Harry apparated to Ron and Hermione's place. They had a beautiful little home in Ottery St' Catchpole, just a couple of miles away from the Burrow. It was a snug little place, just big enough for their family of three. There was a neat little garden, a little too neat, in his opinion, but that was Hermione for you. Even in the garden, she couldn't resist the urge to plan and control and have everything just so. Harry knocked on the door. It was opened by a very frazzled looking Ron. He had Rose in his arms and she was crying bitterly, her pink little face all scrunched up and wet. Harry reached for her almost instinctively. Ron handed her over, looking relieved.

"What's wrong with her?" Harry asked as he walked into the house.

"She's teething, mate. She's been like this for hours now. Nothing seems to calm her down. She's driving me crazy," Ron said.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked.

"She's just gone upstairs to take a bath and get changed. Rosie's somewhat calmer with her but she just keeps bawling when I hold her..."

Rose was still crying very loudly. Harry held her to his chest and started rocking her, talking in a low voice all the while, telling her that she would be fine and that everything would be alright and so on. It took a while, but she finally went to sleep, probably too exhausted to do anything else.

"I honestly don't know how you do that, mate," Ron said. Harry settled into the couch with Rose still in his arms as Ron walked into the kitchen to pour them both a drink.

He came back with two glasses of Firewhiskey and they got talking. Ron always had plenty of stories to tell about his cases. Harry would always listen with interest, but he didn't once regret his decision to quit the Aurors. It had been an unpopular decision at the time. None of his friends had understood. But it had felt like the right thing to do, so he had gone ahead and done it and he was honestly glad to be free of the stress and the threats and the constant danger that Ron seemed to live with.

Hermione joined them in a bit and she took Rose to sleep in her little bed. And then they sat down to eat. They continued to talk comfortably all through dinner. Hermione too had plenty to say about her work at the Ministry and then there were all of Ginny's wedding arrangements to discuss...Harry knew that his friends had plenty of questions about Draco, but he was glad that they had chosen to save them until after dinner.

When they were done, they took their drinks and went out on to the porch. The sat in silence for a while, looking out at the garden that was lit up and glowing in the moonlight...

"So, Harry, what is going on with you and Malfoy?" Hermione said, finally bringing up the one topic that they had avoided all evening.

Harry sighed. This was not a conversation that he wanted to have. But there was no help for it.

"We're dating," he said simply.

Hermione frowned, but she didn't say anything.

"But why?" Ron said, sounding pained. "What could you possibly see in that ferret?"

"Stop calling him that!" Harry said sharply.

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione stopped him.

"Ron should stop calling him names, you're right," she said. Ron glared at her, but she ignored him.

"Harry, we're just worried about you, alright," she continued. "You haven't dated anyone for a long time, you've rejected everyone that we set you up with. You've been very picky and suddenly you're going out with Malfoy? It doesn't make sense. And before you react, I have nothing against Malfoy. Whatever he did, it's all in the past, but despite that, I don't understand what you see in him. He may not be a bad person, but he's certainly not a nice man and after what happened with Dan..."

"Just because Dan cheated on me, you don't have to assume that every other man will," Harry said testily. He couldn't help the rush of irritable anger every time that his miserable ex was mentioned.

"Harry that's not what..." Hermione began, but Harry cut her off.

"Yes, I made a mistake with Dan and I got hurt. But that does not mean that I'm making a mistake now."

"I know that. But why can't you pick someone else? Why does it have to be Malfoy?"

"Because I like him, that's why! He's changed, alright. He's not the arrogant prick that he used to be. He's grown up, same as the rest of us."

Ron snorted disbelievingly at that, but Harry went right on.

"Neither of you has spoken to him since school. You have no idea what he's like. He's smart and funny, he's friendly and kind and he's got the most wonderful kid that he absolutely dotes on. I haven't seen much of them together, but it is obvious that Draco is a wonderful father and...I can't explain it, but I'm just drawn to him."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other with matching expressions of disbelief.

"Are you sure he didn't do something to you, mate?" Ron said.

Harry sighed. "You'd rather believe that than accept that he's changed, huh? I know it sounds unbelievable, but you'll just have to trust me on this, alright."

"It's not that we don't trust you, mate. And maybe you're right, maybe he has changed, but I still don't understand how you can forgive him for everything he did. He used to be so horrid to us all the time. Have you forgotten the things he used to say to me, the names he used to call Hermione, the way he used to taunt you all the time?"

"I haven't forgotten any of that, Ron, but I have moved past it. And when I look back, I can see plenty of occasions when I was wrong too."

"What do you mean?"

"Take the the way I used to treat Professor Snape, for example. I hated it when he told me that I was insolent and arrogant like my father, but he was right. He used to pick on me all the time, but I was often rude to him. I never gave him the respect that I gave the other teachers and I snooped about in his memories after he expressly told me not to, telling myself all the time that he deserved it, because he was the bad guy, but he wasn't was he?"

There was a thoughtful silence for a while after that.

"I still don't see what any of this has to do with Malfoy," Ron said, coming back to his pet peeve.

"Draco was a school yard bully. So was my dad. He and Sirius did far worse things to Snape than Draco ever did to us. Did that make them bad people? Of course not! They grew up and changed. If you can accept that, I don't see why you can't believe that Draco could have changed as well."

"They were never Death Eaters, mate."

"True. But Draco never had a choice. I'm not defending anything that he did in the war, but I can't bring myself to judge him because I don't know what I would have done in his position. Honestly, what would you have done if your father was a Death Eater and you had Voldermort living in your home threatening to kill your mum if you didn't do as he said? Besides, all this was seven years ago. Why on earth are we still talking about it?"

"He almost killed me," Ron said.

"And I almost killed him," Harry countered. "It was war, Ron. We all made decisions and choices that we regret."

Ron coloured at that.

"That's very true, Harry," Hermione said softly. "I didn't bring this up because I blame Malfoy for what he did in the war. And it is definitely possible that he has changed. But no matter how much someone changes, they cannot alter their basic nature. Malfoy is selfish, cold, sarcastic and arrogant. He may have changed some of his ideas after the war, but I doubt that his basic nature has changed. And that is what I am worried about. You are a very unselfish, giving sort of person. You need someone who is every bit as generous as you, someone who can love you very much and Malfoy is not that person. He may not be out to hurt you, but that is what will happen in the end. The two of you are just too different. Any attempt at a relationship will require a lot of compromise and I'm afraid that you'll be the one doing all the compromising."

Harry thought about everything that Hermione had said and then he thought about Draco...the man that he had seen for the last couple days was nothing like the person that Hermione was describing. It was clear that Hermione had intended for her words to make him stop and think, but they had no such effect. Harry's instinct was to trust himself...

"I understand your concern, guys. I really do. But you have to understand that this is not a whim, though it may seem like that. There's something here, a connection that I've never felt with anyone else. I love the fact that Draco doesn't give a damn that I'm Harry Potter. In fact, he didn't even talk to me that day at the Ministry. I was the one initiated the conversation. I was the one who asked him to dance and I didn't expect to like him, but I did. He is snarky, he is a bit closed off and not as open about his feelings as I am, but that's fine with me. Besides, nothing's happened yet. We've just started dating...we'll work things out as we go along, or we won't. And that's a chance I'm willing to take. You don't have to like him. You don't even have to meet him if you don't want to, but you have to trust that I know what I'm doing."

Neither of his friends looked particularly convinced, but there was nothing they could do about it. They knew Harry well enough to know that once he made up his mind, he was impossible to budge.

...

A/N: Tell me what you think.