Chapter 4

'No.'

'Yes.'

'It's ridiculous, Draco. They've already gone way too long in their denial. You intend them to be apart for ten more years?'

'But they won't be apart! You see, they've already become friends and they are now going to share a flat,' Draco insisted.

'For ten years?' Harry was incredulous. 'For someone so logical you can be really stupid too.'

Draco opened his mouth to speak and apparently thinking twice about what he wanted to say, closed it shut again.

'How are you going to take the story forward then?' Harry asked. 'We can't keep writing about their domestic life for the rest of the book. We have to find some way to get them together.'

'Well, Malcolm..' Draco began but Harry cut him off.

'Malcolm is an idiot,' he declared.

'Malfoy is an idiot?' Craig asked, slipping into his chair.

'No, Malcolm, his character. Instead of talking things out with an obviously interested Palmer, he proposes they share a flat. They can be together if they are living together anyway.'

'Obviously interested Palmer?' Draco was shocked. 'Sorry, Harry, but nowhere until now, and I repeat nowhere, did Palmer say anything that remotely hinted at his interest,' he scowled, putting "interest" in air quotes.

'He testified for him and saved him from prison!'

'Palmer was just being righteous and doing the right thing because Malcolm did it first.'

'What about that hug they shared in the bathroom after their confrontation? You think Palmer did it just to comfort him, don't you?'

'Wait a minute,' Craig said, pulling his chair towards them. 'Hug? Bathroom? Confrontation?' he snickered and rubbed his hands together, as gleeful as the cat that got the canary.

'Telling you to get your mind out of the gutter is a waste of breath since it ends up there anyway,' Draco glared.

'Didn't stop you from trying, did it?' Craig laughed.

'Look, Craig, I'll tell you the story we've written so far and you tell us what you think of the both of them spending another ten painful years apart,' Harry said. Craig the Loudspeaker suddenly seemed like a man of great wisdom and reason.

'You'll do no such thing,' Draco snapped, smacking Harry's wrist. 'He's not someone whose opinion on the story matters.'

'So let's go to someone whose opinion does. Hermione.' Harry almost got up from his chair but Draco pushed him back into it.

'No, we are only going to submit the final draft to her, not bother her with plot disagreements.'

Harry sighed. He really didn't get why the two had to be separate. Keeping them apart for so long was torturous for Harry himself, he couldn't even begin to fathom what Palmer had to be feeling? No! He was not Palmer. Which took his mind back to Draco's original question.

'Look, Draco, I'll recount everything Palmer did that not just hinted, but outright showed that he was interested. First year, when they go on the treasure hunt during their outing, Palmer partnered with Malcolm, of his own free will. Fifth year, Palmer quit football when he heard that Malcolm quit- Palmer was suddenly not interested in something he had always been very fond of. Sixth year was the year of the hug. And seventh year was the year of saving each other at every possible opportunity.'

'So that was the reason you did all those things?' Draco asked, staring Harry down with a piercing gaze.

'Yes!' Harry exclaimed. And then slapped his forehead. 'I mean, that's why I made Palmer do all that.' Draco was quiet for a moment and Harry continued. 'So you see, Draco, it's meaningless to keep them apart. They are going to live in the same space, for God's sake!'

'Harry,' Draco began, 'Malcolm is not sure.'

What? Harry's stomach bottomed out. His breathing stuttered and his palms started sweating. His mind just couldn't process what Draco meant. Why was he rejecting him? Because yes, this was rejection and probably the worst thing Harry's ever experienced. Even Voldemort and the war seemed to pale and wither in comparison. But, Draco wasn't rejecting Harry, was he? Again! Harry was sure he was going to be sick by the end of the book. He was never going to write one again with Draco, even if Merlin himself begged him to do it! Malcolm was rejecting Palmer. No, Draco was discarding Harry's idea. That thought again tasted sour.

'Hey,' Draco said, laying his warm hand on Harry's. 'Let me explain. Malcolm grew up in a totally fucked up family. He was doted on but not surrounded by love. He was expected to reach certain ideals by a certain age. The worst thing is that the expectations started right from the moment of his birth. And he turned out to be a completely different individual from what his family was expecting of him. He just wants to see and view life from all angles possible and decide if he can ever be a proper family man. He wants to be a good father and a good husband. I think he'll get to see a good family life when they officially adopt Palmer's godson. I want to give him time to discover himself. Allow him to create it, will you please?'

'That is actually quite understandable,' Harry nodded, reeling from the honesty radiating from every pore of Draco's body into his own. Draco smiled at him.

'Five years then,' Harry said, hitting his palm on his desk. 'They are going to ask for Palmer's godson's custody, right? I'm sure Malcolm can grasp the truth in that much time. What do you want to name him, by the way?'

Draco relaxed, stretching his legs out in front of him. 'I..'

'Yes?'

'I wanted to name him Remus,' Draco said, his cheeks colouring so much that Harry was tempted to remove some using a blotting paper. 'I've always been very fond of Professor Lupin.'

Harry smiled. 'Great!'

'So they are going to raise Remus?' Craig asked, alerting Harry and Draco to his presence once again. Well his, and the others' presence. Pansy was supporting an amused looking Hermione with her hand around her waist, Neville was peering in from his seat next to Craig and Rolf was looking down at both of them with a broad smile on his face.

'Yes, and that was more than enough plot-reveal to you all. Go away, now' Draco said, making shooing motions with his hand and rolling back to his desk.

'Interesting story,' Pansy commented, her eyes oscillating between Harry and Draco.

'Very familiar too,' Craig said, standing up. 'Their two main characters are going to stay together for ten years and raise a kid, much like our little pair here.'

'What?' Harry spluttered, the water he was drinking going down the wrong pipe and spraying out of his mouth straight onto Craig's looming face.

'I was just saying that you were getting inspired by your own situation,' Craig replied, pinching Harry's nose with his thumb and index finger. 'Running out of ideas so much that you are looking at your own life, Harry?' He patted Harry's nose once, in an almost chastising gesture.

'Shut up, McNeil,' Draco glowered, smacking Craig's fingers away from Harry's face. The unexpected venom in his voice stimulated people into action. Pansy helped Hermione to her room and Neville and Rolf went back to their work. Craig took cautious steps back, his eyes never leaving Harry's.

'Oh, and another doubt, are they always going to refer to each other using their last names?'

'Craig,' Harry warned, laying a restraining hand on Draco who looked about ready to tackle poor Craig to the ground and throttle him to death. His eyes alone seemed to be capable of melting glaciers at that moment.

'Sounded familiar is all,' Craig said, dodging the non-verbal trip jinx Draco sent his way and disappearing round the end of the hallway.

Harry and Draco resumed their writing at their respective desks, albeit in a thoroughly distracted mood.

'And how are you feeling this year?' Draco asked from where he was crouched in front of the fireplace, talking to Teddy.

'I'm feeling excellent, Uncle Draco! I've learned a lot. I can't wait to come home and show it to Dad. How do you think he's going to react to my new hairstyle?'

'Hairstyle?' Harry asked, peeping into the floo, covered in flour from head to toe. 'Edward Remus Lupin, is this some kind of a failed prank again?' Harry put his hands on his hips and stared his nose down at the flickering face of Teddy.

'If you want to be intimidating Harry, the first prerequisite is to not be doused in flour. You just look adorably comical otherwise,' Draco drawled, sending Teddy into a fit of giggles and hiding his own smirk behind his hand.

Harry looked once at Draco, once at Teddy and threw his hands up in the air. 'And you say I spoil him,' he accused, pointing his ladle at Draco and giving him a dirty look. 'Fine, Teddy, you can come home and you can also expect a shaved head the minute you enter. I'll be ready with my wand.'

Teddy laughed even harder at that. 'Love you too, Dad!' he waved as Harry went back to baking cookies for the twelve year old who was going to return from Hogwarts in a week. Harry's middle name wasn't perseverant for nothing, but try as he might, he couldn't get Teddy to stop calling him Dad and he had tried for seven years.

'But you are his father, Harry,' Ron had reminded him one day.

'He's forgetting that Remus is his father, Ron,' Harry had argued.

'But he doesn't know him. He knows Remus fathered him, but the one he sees before his eyes is who he thinks of when he's asked about his dad. You,' Ron had pointed out, 'He's not disrespecting Remus by calling you Dad, Harry. And I'm sure even Remus doesn't mind it one bit. He's probably happy his son and godson share such a wonderful bond.'

And that had been the end of it. Harry quit correcting Teddy and was surprised at just how natural that call felt to him from that moment on.

Harry smiled to himself at the memory and then his smile turned into a frown. Did Draco just call him adorable? He turned back and saw that Draco was still talking to Teddy, his face lighted up from more than the flickering embers of the fire. Harry had never observed it but Draco was his most relaxed self with Teddy. Harry might be the one who got called Dad but Draco wasn't any lesser in that aspect. His heart felt unbearably light as he looked on with the realisation that the three of them had been a family for the past twelve years. How was it that Harry had a family, had created his family with two people he loved the most in the world, but hadn't even been aware of it? That was when another thought struck him, not his head but directly, his heart. He already had a family, that was why he didn't go looking around for someone all these years. He already felt whole and complete.

The fire-call ended ten minutes later and Draco and Harry sat down for dinner, or more appropriately, their debate time, as Harry had begun to call meal times of late, in his head.

'Have you thought of how the story would end?' Harry asked, chewing a roasted potato piece.

'Yes, with their wedding,' Draco nodded.

Harry dropped his fork and gaped at Draco in mock horror. 'Who are you and what have you done with the Draco Malfoy who was craving angst for every word he wrote?'

Draco threw a balled up tissue at Harry and grinned. 'I do want a happy ending, you idiot. Just because I didn't get one doesn't mean I will be all tyrannical to my character.'

And there went Harry's good mood rushing down the drain faster than lightning. But Harry's jealousy riddled mind also registered that this was the first time Draco had acknowledged his crush, although indirectly.

'You can still get your happy ending, Draco,' Harry said, wondering where his voice was coming from since his throat was completely blocked. 'Take some time off, go search for him,' he continued, silently grateful his words didn't come out in the way his mind was spitting them out like molten lava.

Draco sighed, looking down at his plate. 'I like to think that too. But please, forget about my crush, Harry. I'm not going to leave you and Teddy.'

Harry was slightly surprised his tone didn't sound dejected. Draco had been and still was in love with someone for a decade, so deeply that he didn't date. Shouldn't he be sad at the least about his decision not to pursue him?

'Don't let us hamper your love. We both-,' Harry had to push down that knot in his throat here, 'We both would like nothing more than to see you happy, Draco.' There was a stinging sensation in his eyes that was steadily growing.

'Lo-' Draco coughed loudly. Harry immediately came around the table, lifted Draco's glass to his lips and held it as Draco sipped it, his other hand rubbing Draco's back up and down.

'Love?' he asked, staring up into Harry's eyes when he'd calmed down enough for coherent speech.

'Yes,' Harry said, surprised once again. 'Oh goodness! You didn't realise it until now, did you? Oh Draco!' he sighed, smiling fondly at the bright grey eyes looking at him even as he brushed blond locks away from Draco's forehead.

'What did you think it was? You stayed single for ten years,' Harry reminded his friend. Friend? Draco was more than that, wasn't he?

'Well, I,' Draco said, awkwardly reaching for a spoon, 'thought it was just a crush.'

'Just a crush?' Harry tutted. 'Don't be blind, Draco.'

'Forget about it, Harry. I like it here and I'm not leaving. This is my family now,' Draco replied, straightening up and resuming his dinner.

'We only want you to be happy,' Harry said, going back to his place. Family? Draco said family? He frowned. Why didn't Hermione warn him that books could seriously blur the lines of imagination and reality?

'I am happy, Harry,' Draco said, locking eyes with Harry, conveying the honesty of his words through a soft, meaningful look.

Harry supposed he was right, Draco did look happy an hour ago, chatting with Teddy and mixing the cookie dough.

'I am happy with you, Harry,' Draco said again. And Harry's heart felt as if it was floating on cotton, light and at peace.

'I'm happy with you too,' Harry smiled.