Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any part of the HP universe. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made from this fic. All characters that are depicted in sexual situations are adults. Please do not sue me.
Title: For Love of a Family
Author: icicle33
Pairings: Harry/Draco, background Ron/Hermione, past Harry/Ginny, past Draco/Astoria
Rating: T for now but will be changed to M eventually.
Word Count: 30-40K in all (2000 for this chapter)
Genre: Angst, Romance, Hurt/comfort
Warnings: Post-War AU, Unsavoury Ministry politics and propaganda, faked marriage, non-linear storytelling, sexual content, minor character deaths (occurs before the start of the story), some invented science and magical theory (Harry and Draco are Healers). Sort of EWE. Draco and Astoria got married and had Scorpius, but Ginny and Harry never married. In this universe, Harry always liked boys. ; )
Summary: A series of attacks by a group of neo-Death Eaters causes the Ministry to implement a new set of restrictions on former Death Eaters and their children. When Scorpius falls ill, Draco decides that he will do anything to save his son, even if it means marrying Harry Potter.
Author's note: Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter. This fic was a labour of love that was written for the final HD Holidays fest. The lovely rurounihime, who is such an amazing writer (check out her fics on AO3, lj , and skyhawke if you haven't), requested a H/D fic with Harry and Draco working together and a faked marriage. Usually, faked or forced marriage fics aren't my cup of tea because the reason for the marriage always seems improbable and out of nowhere, so I racked my brain for hours, trying to come up with a believable reason as to why Harry and Draco would willingly enter into a fake marriage. This fic is the result of many hours of brainstorm and obscene amounts of caffeine. I need to thank drarrylover, ashiiblack, pinklemonade, and writcraft for being the best betas and cheerleaders a girl could have. I hope everyone enjoys this fic that is very close to my heart.
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6 months earlier...
Harry walked down the street, keeping his head glued to the pavement in front of him. It was a stupid habit. For the most part, people left him in peace now, but for the longest time he couldn't even walk the streets without getting mobbed. He had realised early on that if he didn't make eye contact with people, they were less likely to come up and bother him. Besides, he knew exactly what types of people he was avoiding and he didn't want to be late for his lunch date with Hermione.
It seemed that wherever he went there were couples of all sorts: young, old, gay, and straight. Everyone in the entire universe seemed to have a partner except for Harry. And it was awful. Harry believed that the universe willed every overly sentimental couple in the wizarding world to flaunt their happiness in front of him, to remind him that he would never find someone, and that he would never have that.
Harry sighed, much louder than necessary and continued walking, hands in his pockets and head still facing the ground. A child next to him caught his eyes, laughing and counting the cracks in the pavement. He was innocent and free. Harry wondered if he had ever been like that. Probably not. The Durselys never would have allowed it.
Children were another sore spot for him. For as long as Harry remembered, he dreamt of having a family. As a child, he would wrap his arms around chest at night and wish that his parents weren't dead, hoping they would show up one day and take him away from his awful aunt and uncle. When he was older, he realised his childish fantasies would never come true, so he instead focused on future daydreams of marrying a beautiful redheaded witch like his mother and starting a large family. Harry knew that it wasn't normal for young boys to dream about marriage and children. He wasn't a witch, but he longed for it with all of his heart.
Until he realised he was gay.
Several years ago, he came to terms with his sexuality. Being gay was not a big deal in the wizarding world, but it still shattered his dream of being a father and having a large family. As much as it pained him, he would have to settle for being Uncle Harry and never having a real family of his own.
Finally, the small cafe, Harry's Place, came into view. Even though it was a Muggle cafe, the name irked him. He supposed that Hermione had chosen the location out of spite since she was still on his case to find a new job.
Harry walked straight through the entrance and into the back patio, nodding politely at all the people around him. When a couple of blokes gave him strange looks, Harry cringed. How silly of him. He had forgot that this was a Muggle establishment. They didn't know him. He was just Harry, a complete stranger, creeping out the customers. No wonder they were giving him dirty looks.
He shook his head. No matter. All Harry wanted was to feel like he fit in somewhere. He was tired of being stuck between the worlds, having one foot in the Muggle world and one in the wizarding world. No matter where he went he was still a freak. He closed his eyes and tried to banish all the negative thoughts from his mind. If not, Hermione would start pestering him to see a Mind Healer.
It was easy to find Hermione. Although she usually tamed her hair for work, since today was her day off, she was wearing her hair loose, wild strands noticeable even from a distance. Hermione hated her hair; she said it was untameable and made her look unprofessional. Harry disagreed. He thought it gave her character. Made her beautiful. Unique. Different from the other girls, Harry saw walking around with pin straight hair and oversized sunglasses.
"Harry, hi." Hermione greeted him with a smile and motioned for him to sit down. He returned her greeting and offered her a kiss on the cheek.
"Nice place," Harry said, turning his head and taking in the small but cosy cafe. Harry placed his jacket on the back of his chair and sat down, grateful that Hermione had requested a corner table. She knew him too well.
"Thanks. I knew you would like it."
Harry frowned. "Well, I wasn't crazy about the name, but I guess you can't have everything."
Hermione laughed, tilting her head back and swaying her long curls off her shoulders. "What, you don't like it?" She pursed her lips. "Harry is such a charming name, don't you think?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, it is royalty and all."
Hermione laughed again, this time more of a high-pitched giggle. "Absolutely."
He had missed her. It had been three weeks since he had last seen Hermione. He would deny it to his grave, but he had been avoiding her. Usually, that made Hermione less than pleasant to be around, so he was glad that he had caught her in such a light-hearted mood. It was nice to relax and have lunch with his friend. It felt like old times before all this Ministry craziness had started.
"So how have you been?" Hermione pursed her lips again, puckering them into a sour expression. "I know you've been busy. How's the job search coming?"
Harry gulped. Damn, it appeared his reprieve was short-lived. She was just going to jump into the interrogation. She caught him off guard. This must have been her master plan all along.
"It's fine." Harry took a sip of his glass of water and avoided her eyes. "You know, it's a tough market. And I've sort of been banned from any Ministry jobs after my little incident with Robards."
Hermione frowned.
"Yes?" Harry put down his water and looked up, meeting her eyes. He tried to give her his most innocent look. It was hard to fool Hermione, but he was going try anyway. "Didn't you have some big news for me?" Harry smiled. "We always talk about me. I want to hear about you."
Hermione looked him over dubiously. "I do have news." Her frown disappeared and a small smile crept onto the corners of her mouth again. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this because Ron wanted to tell everyone on Sunday at the Burrow together, but since you've mysteriously missed the last three dinners..."
Harry dropped the fork he had been fiddling with in his hand. "What is it?"
Hermione leant over and grabbed his hand. She gave it two squeezes. "I'm pregnant!"
Harry blinked. "Pregnant?"
"It's a little earlier than expected." Hermione removed her hand from his and looked away bashfully. "An entire year off the plan but..."
"Screw the plan, Hermione. It's brilliant!"
Hermione's face lit up, embarrassment fading away. "I'm so glad because Ron and I want you to be godfather."
Harry blanched; his heart lurched to the back of his throat. Ron and Hermione were having a child. They wanted him to be a godfather. Again. Memories of Teddy flashed through his mind. His adorable godson, who had been cruelly taken from his aunt's care and disposed of with all the other children of dangerous Dark breeds by the new Ministry without Harry's knowledge. Harry already wasn't fond of the new Ministry's oppressive regime. He quit on the spot but not before destroying his Robard's office.
The idea of Ron and Hermione having children stirred irrational jealousy in his gut. It wasn't their fault that Harry would never be a father. Deep down, he was happy for them. Ron and Hermione deserved it, but asking him to be godfather was like a slap in the face. Teddy was just another one of his failures, another loved one he hadn't been able to save. He hadn't thought about Teddy in months, not since he started taking Dreamless Sleep every night to hep with the nightmares. Being a godfather again, when he had screwed up so spectacularly the first time, was out of the question.
"Harry, say something."
Harry pushed his chair back and stood from the table. "I'm sorry. I can't. I need to leave—"
Hermione pulled on his arm. "Harry, wait, don't go. I didn't mean to upset you. I just didn't want you to hear the news from someone else."
Harry shook his head. "I'm fine. I just forgot I have somewhere to be."
"Please stay. I have a new career idea for you. I think you'll really like this one."
Harry jerked his arm out of her grip. "No thanks. I'm keeping my options open."
"Harry, you promised." Hermione's voice was soft, eyes pained. "You have nothing else to do. You just sit around all day feeling sorry for yourself. It's been over six months since you quit the Aurors. That's more than enough wallowing. It's time for you to do something substantial with your life. Do you really just want to waste away in that awful house like Sirius did? You know what happens when you spend too much time locked up."
Harry started feeling dizzy. He hated when Hermione made him feel guilty. "Whatever you want. Just send me an owl. I really do need to go."
She beamed at him. "It's perfect for you. With your saving people thing."
"I don't have a saving people thing."
Hermione snorted. "Congratulations, you've been accepted in the new Healer-in-Training programme. First year. I already put down your first term tuition."
"Hermione, you're mad. Absolutely not. I hate school."
"You did ask for a book on Healing the last time we chatted. Think of it as a more hands on experience. You can never go wrong with knowledge, Harry." She shrugged. "Besides, it's non-refundable."
To be continued...
A/N: Thank you so much for reading. If you have any questions, let me know. I appreciate the number of readers that have followed this story so far and would love to hear any comments or advice. Another update will happen this weekend.
Comments are love.
~Icicle