Chapter 2
It had been week since Draco had discovered that the man he loved had a something-year-old child and much as he had been hoping that this bombshell would change his feelings about said man, it hadnt. If anything, he couldnt keep himself from reliving the moment when Potter lifted the little brat into his arms and kissed her cheek. He was far from sentimental and no one in their right mind or even wrong one, would ever have accused Draco Malfoy of being a mush but for some ridiculous reason he kept wanting to see that Harry again, the real Harrybehind the faade of the chosen one or the mask of civility that he had adopted for the benefit of the wizarding world.
Draco was determined that he needed to see Potter at his best and worst, in his home. It certainly couldnt make matters any worse. As it was, Draco couldnt believe that no one, including him, had managed to figure it out before this. In the beginning a few months after the war Potter looked ragged for months. The man looked like he hadnt slept in days, which now that he knew the tiny cause probably was the case. Potter was lucky in the fact that he had a perfect excuse. Whenever he looked miserable, tired or pissed offevery auror at the ministry only offered up one explanation: Voldemort. Somehow after his demise, the Dark Lords name had become permanently synonymous with that of his slayer, the truly immortal Harry Potter.
Draco knew that there wasnt any real way to get into Grimmauld place, the house was a bloody fortress and he wasnt even close to being a secret keeper. The only way was for him to be invited in and the only way for that to happen would be for him to ambush Potter in a situation that the chosen one simply couldnt afford. That left only one option, coming clean about his kid. It made Draco feel slightly sick inside, like he was purposely revisiting his old self, the fact that he was about to blackmail the man he loved over the one thing that man obviously loved above all else. But he would do it. He simply couldnt bear to be in unrequited love with Harry bloody Potter any longer.
It was nearly 1.30pm and he could see Potter making a beeline for the Ministry exit just in time for lunch. Obviously he planned on donning his David right outside the street. Hey Potter, where are you headed? he smoothly interrupted.
Malfoy! Umm, what do you need? I mean is there something wrong? I put the McMillan files on your desk and our earliest raid isnt until Tuesday, he said with a rush, his cheeks flushed and his emerald eyes flitting between the door and Dracos ashen ones.
Nothings wrong, I just figured Id invite you to lunch. I mean we are partners after all, Draco said in what he thought was a suave manner but obviously was a bit too much. Harrys eyes narrowed to slits and he positively sneered Excuse me? Did you just ask me to lunch? What the hell do you want? he said, a little out of breath and Draco couldnt help but construct a vivid image of other scenarios where he might render Harry Potter out of breath. Well obviously I want lunch Potter, still slow as a snail I see, he said with a smirk.
You know what Malfoy, I dont really have time for this. I have to be somewhere, he said and rushed to the gates. By the time Draco followed him outside, he had already apparated. Luckily, Draco knew exactly where to.
Draco stood behind a tree watching Harry, with his David blue eyes and French beard staring through the barriers at a group of kindergarteners rushing out of the schools iron double doors. His head kept bobbing up and down with barely contained excitement and his eagerness to spot one child above all the others was practically tangible. Draco had never really seen this side to Harry Potter, this desperate, attached and achingly vulnerable side. It made him want to push through all the people surrounding him, grab hold of the mans still unruly black locks and kiss him until he couldnt breathe. But of course he stayed silent and still and just watched as the saviour of the entire world bobbed up and down behind a row of parents waiting for a five-year-old to put a smile on his face.
And boy was that smile worth waiting for. Draco spotted the little girl from a week ago walk through the tall doors. He finally had the time to pay close attention to her. She was especially tiny, smaller than most of her classmates and she looked downright breakable in her denim skirt, turquoise jumper and long scarf. The unruly mop of ebony curls was unmistakable, as were the emerald eyes. She was his through and through, except that her head was buried in a book that seemed far too big for her to carry. That reminded him of someone else and he momentarily panicked thinking that in some twisted tangent of the universe Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had made a kid. Then he immediately backed down, Granger would never walk out on anything, let alone her own kid and she had already acted the part of aunt.
Draco turned to see Harrys face and it was blinding, his smile was a thing of wonder and Draco hated over the years that he seemed to have hidden it from everyone and everything but this little girl. In truth he was unabashedly jealousof a five-year-old! Harry rushed forward and grabbed the child in his arms and she squealed a bit, as he re-positioned her under one arm and her school bag and the massive book under another. Da-ad! I was just getting to the best part, she said reaching around Potters waist to grab the book. And what might that be. Was this why you were late? I was waiting young lady, he said with exaggerated mock annoyance as the child blushed.
Fucking hell, but she was adorable. In that annoying, child-who-one-cant-help-wanting-to-parent waywait-a-minute, since when had Draco EVER wanted to parent any child? This man had literally turned his world upside down. Still, Draco followed the pair as they slowly walked their way towards Tower Bridge, he had always cast a perfect disillusionment charm and he was practically inches away from them the entire route. Lily, come on! Not you too, youre reading Hogwarts a History! Did Hermione give you this? he asked. Yup. She said that it was fascinating and that if I read it then maybe you finally would, the child piped up with a smile. Of course she did, anyway, enough about this. If I recall correctly it is someones fifth birthday today. So what do you want to do? Potter asked in a completely alien singsong voice. I thought there was a party, Lily said, suddenly worried her plans were being disrupted. Well sure there is but that isnt till five hours. Right now its just you and me, what do you want to do? Harry asked. You dont have to go to work? the child asked tentatively, obviously upset that he might say yes. Nope, Im playing hooky today. So its just us, he chimed and they both laughed.
Draco realised, quite suddenly, how much being a single father had affected Harrys life. All of a sudden all the times that he practically ran out of the office or politely declined all invites to grab a beer began to make sense. The man obviously only wanted to be with one person. It moved Draco in a manner he was loathe to admit, that ANYONE could depend so perfectly on someone else. After all, if there was anyone in the world who he considered even more self-sufficient than himself it was bloody Potter but obviously even Potter had found a reason to give of himself. Draco seemed the only one who hadnt and suddenly he found himself asking who could have affected Potter enough to get that close. Who was the childs mother?
But all that could be dealt with later. Right now Draco was following the pair as they bought a couple of hot dogs from a vendor and boarded the tube to god knows where. Draco, invisible, sat right next to them on the tube but he hardly thought Potter would notice him, he was too busy answering the childs string of questions. Merlin, how could so many questions come out of such a tiny thing! The little brat just wouldnt shut up, she started off with a bit about how some boy in her class had been teasing her and she really wanted to hex him but settled for changing her seatever the peacemaker. Like father like daughter.
Dad? she asked. Yeah honey? he responded. If todays my birthday I can ask for anything right? she said, planning her case, carefully and Draco couldnt help but smirk at her adorable batting of innocent eyes at an already quite helpless Potter.
Why do I feel Im going to regret this but yes. You can ask for anything, he said with a sigh. Well than I want you to answer every single question I ask, she said coyly. Lily! I already do that, dont I? Harry sounded affronted. No you dont. You always dodge the hard ones or you tell me Ill tell you when youre older and now I am, the child said in a rush. Draco could tell that Potter was really weighing his options and he seemed more nervous than he had ever seen him, and that included the time when Potter walked into Malfoy Manor only to get captured.
Okay fine, you can ask me anything, he said with a sigh. First question. What exactly do you do, Daddy? she asked. Draco could practically feel Harry breathing a sigh of relief and the thought thats not too bad virtually flashed in his eyes. Well I told you Im an auror. That means I hunt and imprison dark wizards, he said. But I thought you saved the world and killed Voldemort, she said, quite clearly his biggest fanafter him, of course. Lily, Ive told you a hundred times. I didnt save the world, everyone fought in the war and everyone lost a lot of things. We saved the world, Potter said, ever the martyr. I know, I know. But youre the most famous and you were the one who killed him, right? she chimed in. Potter sighed and nodded. Then how come you still have to catch dark wizards? Dont they give you time off? she asked. Potter choked on his hot dog trying to curb his laughter and Draco was glad because that masked his own. Not nearly enough, kiddo.
But do you at least have a secretary or something? she asked. Haha, nope. I dohave a partner though, he said tentatively and Draco clenched his teeth in anticipation. Draco Malfoy, Harry said and that was it. Is he your friend? the child asked. Not exactly. He kind of hates me but hes very good at what he does so I cant really complain, Harry said with a nonchalant shrug and Dracos heart practically plummeted to his toes. Apparently he wasnt even worth Potters anger. He hates you? How? Why? Well I hate him, Lily said with a huff of loyalty. No you dont. You havent even met him and hes not a bad person, justwell I suppose he was once really arrogant and rich and powerful and thatthat all changed after the war. Something like that probably makes people defensive and a little scared and so they tend to be mean, Harry said. But you arent like that and you were really famous, she said. Yeah, thats true. But Lily, I never really had anything to lose. When I was a kid, I grew up with no money or family. All I really have is Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione and you, Potter said this so casually, with a shrug of his shoulder that it hurt Draco more deeply than if he had just bashed his character to bits. How come Im last, the child asked possessively and Potter smiled an oddparent smile. Well thats because I need a whole separate room to keep you in, he said and that seemed to placate Lily. Can I meet him? Lily asked and he could practically sense Potters nerve ends freeze up at the innocent request. Im afraid not kiddo. First of all he doesnt know about you and second I might kill him, Harry said quietly. Both Lily and Draco were curious and waiting for him to expand. Well, Malfoy can be mean and rude to me all he wants and I dont really care but if he ever said anything to hurt you. I know I would kill him, he said this point blank and Draco could tell he meant it.
That was the moment when Draco knew that no matter what he did and no matter what happened between Potter and himself, he would always come in second. Draco wasnt really good at not being everyones everything and that was why his world had collapsed so easily six years ago. But for some reason, as he looked at the man he loved stare out at the water with his tiny daughter cuddling up to him under his coat, he didnt think that he would mind coming in second to Lily. Maybe, in time he would even be fighting Potter for her affections. It was a completely stray thought and it Draco was surprised to discover that he quite liked it.