Harry saw Malfoy a few more times in the weeks following the incident, and found that they were still tense in one another's presence, and never said a word to one another that wasn't practiced and polite, often commenting on mundane things like the weather and the price of school books going up. Harry had managed to gather from Albus's letters that he and Scorpius had managed to form a tentative friendship, but it wasn't enough to make him stop Malfoy and say hello, unable to shake the feeling that they would fall back into their school habits and end up with fists curled and wands drawn.

Harry figured that he was alright with the Malfoys, since he certainly didn't hate them, and he wasn't able to keep the smile off his face when Ron told him in agony during a lunch break at the ministry, "Rose is friends with bloody Malfoy, of all people! 'Mione says it's great, of course, but evenIknow she doesn'ttrusthim! I thought we had raised them right, telling them to keep away from the ferret and his son. Bloody Slytherins."

Ginny had gotten a week off quidditch training to nurse a shoulder injury, and had met them for lunch, but had rolled her eyes and gotten up to grab a coffee when Ron started in about Malfoy. Harry was fine with that, as she had been strangely defensive about the friendship their kids had with Scorpius, and didn't want to listen to her arguing with Ron over it. Harry shrugged, watching his ex chat up the man behind the counter, then shrugged and told Ron, "He's not a bad kid, really. And Scorpius was sorted into Hufflepuff, not Slytherin."

"Hufflepuff!?" Rons eyes bulged, and Harry hid a smile as he tipped his drink up towards his mouth. He had anticipated that reaction, and still found it amusing himself when he thought about it. He was trying to restrain himself though, in case Albus or his other kids would pick up on his attitude and go back to making an enemy of the Malfoy boy. Ron was immediately laughing, though, and snorted, "Merlin, I bet Malfoy had a fit when he found out! That's good old fashioned karma, that is!"

"He didn't seem to mind, really, any of the times I've seen him." Harry admitted thoughtfully, and he wondered if Malfoy ever did. It wasn't fun to imagine Malfoy being blasé about it, though, and he decided that if he had to think about it, he would let the version of Malfoy in his head be horrified.

"Still talking about Malfoy?" Ginny asked as she sat down between them again, and slid a greasy plate of fries towards the center of the table.

"Ron's obsessed with him, Gin." Harry grinned, "He's like me back in sixth year."

"Ha bloody ha." Ron rolled his eyes, "You told him that Albus is going to destroy his kid when it comes to important things like quidditch, didn't you? 'Mione told me that you saw him at Hogwarts when you went up to see Albus earlier this year. Was he a git like normal?"

"A complete git." Harry grinned, shaking his head fondly, "And I'm sure he is completely aware of the amazing Quidditch genes my son has got. With me and Ginny for parents, Malfoy's son doesn't stand a chance."

"I don't like the bashing on him, I hope you know." Ginny told them with a shake of her head and a chuckle, "But Albus is going to kick that pureblood snot's kid into the dirt come Quidditch season next year."

"Hear, hear!"Harry and Ron grinned, and cracked the rims of their coffee cups together in some form of a toast.

"Draco Malfoy won't know what hit him!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Harry, Ron and Ginny spent extra time training their kids for Quidditch that summer, as Hermione watched from the window of the burrow, shaking her head in disapproval every time Ron tried to sneak in a lesson about how to play dirty without getting caught. It turned out that Rose shone on the field more than the others, but she insisted that she didn't have an interest inn playing for the school, so the adults put their attention back on Albus, who was a slightly less talented seeker than Harry had been. That was alright, though, since Albus seemed to have a very different technique than Harry did, and a completely different set of skills.

When Harry and Ginny apparated in front of the Hogs Head on the first game day, Ron and Hermione were already inside, and nervous excitement was buzzing in Harry's stomach. He couldn't help wondering if his own parents would have felt this way if they had been alive to go to his games, and the knot in his gut tightened just slightly at the thought. He didn't get the chance to dwell on it too long, though, because he and Ginny were already pushing through the crowd to get to Ron and Hermione's table.

"Your son is playing Malfoy's today, isn't he, then?"

"Yupp. Both made seeker, if you can believe it." Ginny sighed, plopping down next to Hermione and waving at the bartender to signal that she wanted a butterbeer.

"Well, if history is repeating itself, then it's no question who is about to win." Ron snorted happily, then he asked Harry with a small smile, as if he expected him to know, "Any clue what Mafloy's been up to lately? He's stayed out of the paper for a good while now."

"Nah, no news." Harry shook his head with a grin, refusing to admit that he had been checking lately. "Last I heard he was over in Bulgaria chatting with Viktor Krum, but thats just a rumor I heard from Robbards on the lift."

"Hm, no, they dated for a few months back in the summer." Hermione said, without looking up from her book. She was working as an assistant to the minister, and had just been promoted-to what, Harry didn't quite know- and she was trying to keep up with the new laws he wanted to draft, reading up on changes and and researching their validity. Harry didn't envy her in the least. She said distractedly, "Viktor sent an owl the other week and he mentioned it, but they aren't together anymore."

"You still get owls from Krum?" Harry asked skeptically, expecting Ron to be mad.

"He taught at Rosie's training camp before school started up again, and we've kept in touch. He's got a little girl of his own now, I think he said, but the mother isn't in the picture." Hermione informed him, and reluctantly closed her book, looking very pained to do so. Ron cast a charm to shrink it down, and she slid it into her bag, her eyes refocussing as she looked around the table.

"Hmm." Harry nodded, then looked down at hs watch and cursed, saying, "Is that the time? We'd better go, or we won't get any seats to watch the kids duke it out."

They made their way up towards the castle with a pace that was only a bit faster than walking, and made it to the line with a small sea of parents that were chatting excitedly, queuing to get into the pitch. It was difficult to stay together as the line grew, and became more of a crowd, and Hermione kept yelling over his head to Ron, "Did you bring your Gryffindor scarf? Did you ever send Albus that broom maintenance book that he left at the burrow?"

Harry noticed a bit belatedly that Malfoy had been jostled around in the line to end up behind them, and was thrown off guard when he realized that the man was sporting Hufflepuff face paint on his cheekbones like a football player, and was wearing a grey and yellow scarf, his cheeks a little red with the cold. Harry didn't say anything for a while, for some reason hoping that Malfoy wouldn't notice them, or maybe that he would, as he hadn't decided whether he wanted to talk to him or not. He had a feeling Malfoy knew he was there anyways, and the idea was confirmed when Draco leaned forward and says into his ear, breath hot on Harry's neck, "Ready to watch Gryffindor get creamed by a bunch of badgers?"

"Not likely, ferret face!" Harry snorted, surprised at how easy it was to banter with Malfoy. It was as close to casual as they had been, and they stood in companionable silence as they made their way up in the line. Harry's group had somehow gotten ahead of him, but Hermione signaled that they would save him a seat and Harry nodded his thanks.

McGonagall met them at the entrance, and rose her eyebrows, warning, "I hope you two plan on behaving yourselves this time."

They both flushed a little and assured her that they'd be on their best behavior as they ducked into the pitch, separating once they got to the stair. Harry found his friends after his second time circling the Gryffindor side of the stands, and settled down beside Ron, who had managed to sneak in a handful of chocolate frogs and was splitting them up between the four of them. He saw Malfoy across the pitch with Pansy Parkinson, who he was hugging hello as he admired her Hufflepuff scarf. They didn't see Harry though, and he looked onto the pitch to cheer wildly as the Gryffindor team marched out into the grass.

"Oh, Harry," Ginny said as they got into position, her eyes going wide as her hands curled around his arm worriedly, "He looks so small playing with those older kids. Maybe we shouldn't have told him to do this, he'll be an easy target for how small he is!"

"Oi!" Ron huffed from beside Harry, leaning around him to stare at his sister in horror, "We didn't spend a whole summer training him just to let his mummy pull him out of the game, did we?"

"Albus will be fine, Gin." Hermione said, with a much more sympathetic tone than Ron had, "Besides, look at little Scorpius Malfoy; they are pretty much matched for size. They'll do fine."

Harry nodded as well in encouragement, but he was just as put off as his ex-wife by how small Albus looked on the field, and he wasn't sure he would stop her if shedid decide to drag him kicking and screaming off of the field.Quidditch was dangerous. What if he got hurt?

They started into the air, and Harry realized it was too late to do anything to stop his son playing, so he looked across the pitch at Malfoy instead, wondering if the blond was as nervous as he was. He didn't seem to be too concerned, his eyes locked on Scorpius, who was circling the pitch in search of the snitch, but he did see Malfoy jump out of his seat in alarm when Scorpius was nearly hit by a bludger. His hands were shaking when he sat back down, and Harry almost felt better about worrying so much when he heard Ginny shout, and the same bludger that had missed Malfoy's son struck Albus's elbow, knocking his hand away from the snitch Harry hadn't realized he'd been after.

"I'm fine!" Albus shouted, and refused to be pulled from the game, flexing his arm experimentally and then angling back up into the sky, Scorpius Malfoy on his tail. Ginny was gripping his arm so tight that his fingers were numb, but he didn't look away from his son again, completely aware of how close a call he had just had.

He tried to focus on the game after that, but worried every time Albus seemed to be favoring his uninjured arm. Gryffindor maintained a strong lead, and he was prideful of that, but it wasn't long before Hufflepuff managed to tie the score. Draco met his eye and immediately the tension was back. Harry was determined to see Albus win, and threw himself into supporting him, as Draco did the same on the other side, screaming abuse at the ref at nearly every call. Harry saw McGonagall hear one of his more colorful swears, and nearly laughed when she put her face into her hands to groan.

He was able to get completely back into the competitive spirit when the two seekers were racing through the air, whistling past after the snitch. He was sure he had never been more excited in his life, screaming at the top of his lungs, with both sides of the stands on their feet, shouting and cheering. He was so exhilarated that he forgot to be disappointed when Scorpius shot ahead of Albus and closed his fist around the snitch, and Hufflepuff's side of the pitch went wild. Malfoy looked so proud Harry thought he might cry with joy, cheering and jumping and spinning Pansy around excitedly in his arms, not caring who looked at him funny-and peoplewere looking at them funny. McGonagall was craning her neck from the teachers box to chuckle at him.

The people in the stands took their time leaving, chattering on about the game, and about how close it had been. A girl that looked mysteriously like Katie Bell slipped past him as he, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny worked their way down the stairs, and Harry felt very much like he did when he was a kid leaving Quidditch games, full of adrenaline and excitement. Ron said determinedly to Ginny, "He'll get it next time, I'm sure. He was a hair away, I thought for sure he would manage to grab it first."

Harry and Ginny met Albus just outside the change rooms as he came off the field carrying his broom, and Harry suddenly remembered his arm injury, asking urgently, "You had it looked at, didn't you? You were cleared to walk around?"

"Relax, dad," Albus snorted, pushing HArry away when he tried to pry albus's arm closer to himself to inspect for an injury, "It barely grazed me, I'm fine. You'll never believe it, though-"

"You had it checked, didn't you?" Ginny interrupted anxiously, "Quidditch injuries can be really serious if you don't get them looked at, and-"

"Madame Hooch said I was okay, but you've got to hear this!" Albus insisted, practically jumping in his excitement, "You'll never believe it dad, I swear!"

"Alright, alright." Harry chuckled, forcing himself to relax. "Is this about the game?"

"It's about Scorpius's dad!" Albus beamed, and didn't notice when Ron groaned, too caught up with his own news, "You'll never believe what Mister Malfoy is going to do! Uncle Ron, you were totally wrong about him; he's got to be the coolest dad there is, you'll never believe this!"

XXXXXXXXX

Authors Note: Can anybody guess what Draco is going to do in the next chapter? This is sort of a mini cliff-hanger, but I want to see what you guys think is about to happen. I'm looking forward to seeing what people think about this story, and I wanted to know how many of you are actually reading both of the stories I'm doing? That seems really mental to me, having people read multiple works of mine, so please let me know if you're a fan or not of both! Thank you so much guys!