Unfinished Business: Shattered Pieces
DISCLAIMER: Look at first chapter.
WARNING: Look at first chapter.
And a Happy New Year
When Harry woke up early in morning, he could feel a hand making comforting circles against his active stomach.
"You're up early again?" Harry said as he turned to the side to rest his head against Draco's chest.
"I've just been playing with the little one," the blonde said, and as if to prove his point, the baby kicked against his hand.
"Did you sleep at all?" Harry asked as the blonde leaned down to peck him on the head.
"I slept a little," Draco shrugged. "My mind's just been a little too active lately," he explained causing Harry to nod in understanding.
"We have been put into quite the predicament. At least we have tonight to look forward to."
Tonight would do little to ease Draco's mind if things didn't go as planned. As they did every New Year's Eve, the Malfoys held a ball for all of the pure blooded families. It was a tradition the Malfoys still followed even if they didn't necessarily believe in pure blood supremacy anymore. They had continued it after the war, only as a way to prove to everyone that they were still a family to be respected. When they're status within the wizarding world was once again secured, they continued it since that was all they knew how to do.
Draco no longer looked forward to the event though, having stopped attending after he and Harry got married. Instead, they started their own tradition of seeing a movie together. On New Year's Eve, they would go to one of the theaters the Malfoys owned and watch as many movies as they could before the place closed.
"I don't think I'll be able to join you tonight," Draco said as he moved away to sit on the edge of the bed. "I have to play matchmaker," he explained.
"Bullocks," Harry said as he sat up. "All Astoria said you had to do was get Flint to come over to the Manor. You did that. He'll be at the ball. Everything else is up to her."
"I just want to make sure things run smoothly. The sooner Flint starts pursuing her, the sooner we can get this curse lifted."
"But Flint thinks you're married to her. Won't he find it weird that you're pawning her off on him," Harry pointed out, trying to persuade the blonde to come with him. "He might even wonder if there's something wrong with her and end up dismissing her."
"Flint's not that bright," Draco scoffed. "I doubt he'd catch on. Besides, I'm not just going to say, 'Flint, please take my pretend wife off my hands'. I'll be a little more subtle than that."
"Suite yourself," Harry sighed as he got up off the bed. "But while you're busy spending New Year's Eve with what's left of the Sacred Twenty-Eight that still put too much thought into that sort of thing, I'll be with the kids at the theater, enjoying the last day of the year … together."
"I'm so looking forward to tonight," James said, digging into the sandwiches the house elves left for him and Harry to share.
It was a little past noon and he and Harry were in the sun room, a place where they could practice a little bit of light dueling and admire the falling snow without the chill that usually came with it. Normally, Harry wouldn't have practiced magic with his son outside of Hogwarts since he was still under age, but after his son proved that it was for homework, he conceded. When James was able to successfully cast an effective defensive charm, Harry put the furniture back the way it was supposed to be so he and James could sit down and enjoy something to eat before they headed to the theatre.
"If I have to spend one more second under Mrs. Zabini's gaze, I think I'm going to snap."
"Just remember," Harry warned as he took a sandwich for himself. "Before the curse, Pansy actually liked you. She treated you like a second son. It makes me wonder, though, how long she knew about BJ's crush on you."
"I just can't believe that he and I were actually friends," James frowned. "Are you sure you didn't imagine that part?"
"I'm quite sure," Harry laughed. "You and he were inseparable since the moment you two met. When you went to Hogwarts, you were even worried that you wouldn't be placed into Slytherin like you knew he would be. Though some of that might have been Draco's fault."
"I wanted to be put into Slytherin?" James asked in disbelief. "I don't think I want my memories back. That other James seems a little off his rocker."
Knowing that James didn't really mean it, Harry laughed at his son's predicament. It was at that moment that the door to the sun room opened and Scorpius walked in.
"Sorry," the blonde boy said when he saw who was inside. "Have you seen my father? My mother sent me to find him and told me that he would be here."
"Did she now?" Harry said, sure that Astoria knew full well that Draco was in the library, looking into every book he could find on the Mirror of Erised. "Have you tried the library?"
"That was where I thought he was, but Mother said to look here first. Sorry about the intrusion."
"There's no need to apologize," Harry smiled before the small boy closed the door, leaving the brunettes alone again.
Harry didn't understand that woman. Even though they were actually helping her get what she wanted, she still went out of her way to push Harry's buttons. Sending Scorpius, of all people, to look for Draco, knowing full well where everyone was. It was only a means to get under Harry's skin. One thing Harry knew for sure, though. The sooner he and Draco got her and Flint married, the sooner she would be out of their lives for good.
"Sorry," James said as he watched his dad pick at his food.
"What are you apologizing for?" Harry asked with a chuckle that fooled no one.
"It must be hard hearing Scorpius call that woman his mother."
"Not as hard as it is for your father to hear the rest of you guys calling Ginny your mother."
"I haven't called her that since I found out the truth," James assured.
"And Draco is eternally grateful for that," Harry smiled.
"But you guys are looking for a way to put things back the way they were, right?"
"We've already found a way. But there are certain … things we need to do first."
"Not doing anything I wouldn't do, I hope," James smirked.
"Well, considering that we're not planning on blowing anything up, I'd say you're going to be disappointed."
"Shame," he said in disappointment.
"Father," Scorpius said when he finally found the blonde man where first thought he would be.
"Scorpius, I thought you were playing with Albus and Lily," Draco said, closing his book as his son walked up to him.
"I was, but Mother wanted me to find you. She wanted to make sure that you started getting ready for the ball. She says that she's very excited about tonight."
"No doubt," Draco said, refraining from rolling his eyes. "Thank you for reminding me," he smiled as he got up before placing his hand on his son's shoulder. "You should be getting ready as well. Harry will be taking you with everyone else not joining me at the ball."
"Are you sure you can't come with us?" Scorpius asked hopefully. "Albus said that he and his family have the same tradition as we do. They go to the theater until it closes just like we do. We could share this tradition with them."
"I don't think that would be possible this year. I have something very important I need to take care of at the ball," he told his son. "I'll see you when I get back, though," he added at the defeated look on the young boy's face.
"Very well," Scorpius said with more maturity than he felt.
As he watched his son leave the library, more somber than when he came in, Draco cursed Astoria. Though she probably wasn't aware of their tradition, nothing meant more to Draco than his family. Spending any time away from them, especially if it was in order to be in her company, was not something he was looking forward to doing. But Draco kept telling himself that the sooner he got that irritating woman and Flint together, the sooner she would be out of their lives for good. It was the only thought that made this day worth wild.
"I must say, you do look quite dashing," Harry smiled as his house elf brought him to his and Draco's room.
The sight of his husband in his black dress robes made the shorter man temporarily forget that he was supposed to be taking the kids out tonight. Though he wouldn't mind missing this event if it meant spending that time taking the robes off of his husband.
"When do I ever not look dashing?" Draco smirked, as if there was ever any doubt.
"Hard to say," Harry pondered as he trailed his hand up and down the blonde's chest. "But in this, you could be the next James Bond."
"Well, I do have an affinity for martinis," Draco smiled with a raised brow as he wrapped an arm around Harry's waist before leaning forward for a kiss.
Harry's hand immediately went into Draco's hair, combing his fingers through the silky strands. He moaned as their tongues entwined, thoughts of the theater gone from his mind. Draco was no better. He trailed his hands underneath Harry's shirt before running his fingers along his love's spine, something he knew drove Harry wild.
And wild Harry was driven.
With his hormones on high alert, Harry's toes curled and his skin tingled at the touch. He moaned once more, pressing himself up against the blonde. He pulled at the blonde's clothes, trying to be rid of the fabric that was keeping their flesh apart. They were so into their little tryst that they failed to notice the cracking sound moments later.
"Excuse me for interrupting," a tiny voice said. "But Mistress Narcissa is wanting Marble to be retrieving Master Draco to help her greet the guests."
Slowly, with Draco nibbling onto Harry's lips as he pulled away, the two reluctantly pulled apart. After righting his clothes, and with one last peck on the lips, Draco grabbed onto his mother's house elf's hand.
"Have fun," Harry said in a raspy voice before the two of them left.
Harry sighed after they were gone. He ran his hand through his hair and gave in to a shiver. His body still tingled where Draco had touched him. After looking into the mirror and making sure that he didn't look so debauched anymore, Harry called for his own elf so he could leave the room as well.
"Well, you do look handsome," Astoria greeted with a certain bit of hunger.
"So I've been told," Draco said, paying her little mind as he approached his mother, who was standing a few paces away from them. "Mother," he said as he pecked the woman on the cheek.
"Draco, darling," Narcissa smiled. "Handsome as always," she approved. "The guests have already started arriving. Astoria is already here helping me greet them so you can help your father entertain who's already here."
"Of course," Draco nodded before dismissing himself.
Draco then headed for the ball room. Once he reached there and opened the doors, he found inside full of their guests. He hadn't been to one of these parties in such a long time, but Draco was surprised at how many people still attended. They were mostly older couples, parents and such of his friends from school. There were still a few people his own age though. Besides himself, Pansy, Blaise, and Astoria later on, Astoria's sister Daphne and her husband Theodore Nott were also there.
After a while of mingling with the guests, starting with his friends in order to ease himself into the atmosphere, he came face to face with the reason he was even at this gathering.
"Marcus Flint," Draco greeted pleasantly enough. "I wondered if you would be joining us this evening. I had heard that you retreated to France with your family."
"I would hardly call it retreating," Flint scoffed as he held his glass of wine. "I merely found London to be entirely too small for my tastes."
"And I'm sure finding out that your wife's a half-blood had nothing to do with it."
"How was I to know she wasn't?" Flint sneered. "Her family was one of the twenty-eight. Now I've wasted a decade of my life. I'm stuck in this farce of a marriage and all I have to show for it is a daughter whose blood isn't pure and wouldn't even be able to carry on my family name."
"Wasn't Millicent pregnant with a son?" Draco asked, feigning an interest when he really wanted to get as far away from the man as possible.
"That thing is long gone," Flint said with no remorse. "And good riddance too. I wouldn't want a son carrying one my name when he were only pretending to be pure."
"Sorry to say, but I'm glad I'm not in your shoes," Draco chuckled.
"You were always the lucky one Malfoy," Flint said with some envy. "You managed to find a wife that is as pure as snow and a son to carry on the Malfoy name."
"What can I say?" Draco gloated. "Malfoy's always have the best."
Draco refrained from gagging then. The thought that Astoria was 'as pure as snow' was a far from the truth as night from day. The woman was as dirty as they come. But for his purposes, Draco would pretend that she was Salazar himself reincarnated if it piqued Flint's interest.
"But Astoria only did what she was bred to do," Draco continued as he swirled his wine between his fingers.
"What do you mean?" Flint asked, looking completely dumbfounded.
"Well Malfoys know how to separate need from want," Draco explained as slowly as he could, refraining himself from using big words. "I needed a wife to get me an heir. Astoria gave me that in one go. I don't need her anymore. She's good in bed," he pointed out with a smirk, which he knew caught Flint's attention. "But now I can look for other forms of entertainment."
"Makes sense," Flint nodded as though he was still trying to figure it out. "You don't plan on ending up like the Weasley's," he sneered. "They breed like rabbits. I hear Potter's got himself three children now. But you expect that from a half-blood and blood traitor," he said before downing the rest of his drink.
Draco clenched his fist as Flint looked away to get himself another drink. It had been a long time since he had associated himself with the older wizard. Now he remembered why. When it had become public knowledge that Draco and Harry were together, Flint had been one of the few people who had avoided all contact with him. To them, Harry was considered a half-blood and, as such, anyone who associated with him was considered a blood traitor.
"You know I almost pursued her," Flint said as he sipped at another glass. "But then I was introduced to Millicent and I thought, why not?"
"Why not indeed," Draco chuckled. "You must be wondering what life could have been like had you gone after Astoria," he said and found himself wishing that had actually been the case.
"Indeed," Flint said slowly as he seemed to be looking over Draco's shoulder.
As if she could hear where their conversation was going, Astoria appeared next to them just then. Flint was obvious in his desire for her, though she feigned ignorance as she turned to smile at Draco.
"Draco, darling," she smiled brightly. "Come dance with me," she said as she held out her hand.
"Of course," Draco said, placing his drink down before it vanished moments later.
Draco took Astoria's hand then, and led her towards the centre of the room. When he wrapped his arm around her waist, he led her into a slow dance.
"So how are things with you?" Astoria smiled conversationally. "I saw Flint leering at me and figured it was time to present myself."
"Things are moving smoothly. Did you know that Flint was going to pursue you before he settled for Bulstrode?"
"I am aware, since I was the one who introduced them," Astoria said thoughtfully, but continued at the blonde's pointed look. "At the time, I found Flint lacking in many areas, looks … intelligence … to name a few."
"And now…"
"Now I find myself realizing that a sense of blood pride is all I really need in a husband."
As they continued their waltz, Draco realized that Astoria was getting a little too comfortable in his company.
"I hope this isn't another one of your plans to try and lure me away from Harry," Draco said as Astoria rested her head on his shoulder.
"You have to admit, we do look good together," Astoria smiled mischievously.
"I thought you said that you were done chasing after me," the blonde said, wondering if this was such a good idea.
"A girl's allowed to change her mind when it suits her."
"You don't seem to get it, do you? There was no time in my life where you and I would have worked out," Draco said even as they continued their dance.
"Because you have children with Potter," Astoria guessed. "But you and I would have been so good together. I would have given you an heir that could carry on the Malfoy name," she said as she looked into his eyes. "That's why I created this world. It was a chance for us to have the life that we should have had. I even gave Potter a chance with that Weasley girl. Everyone wins. If it wasn't for Potter luring you back to him…," she pouted as she rested her head back on his shoulder.
"First off, I pursued Harry, not the other way around. Secondly, Harry and I are literally meant for each other," he explained, but quickened to continue since he was starting to sound like her. "Magically, our souls are a perfect match."
"That's impossible," Astoria scoffed in disbelief as she looked back up at him. "You two used to fight all the time."
"Though it is true that we were always at odds with each other, from the moment we stopped fighting and put away our differences, we were instantly drawn to one another. In fact, we were probably drawn to each other before then, but our pride or prejudice kept us from realizing it."
"So when I used Scorpius to try and force you to leave Potter…"
"You and I could never have gotten married or started a line together. Harry and I are just too perfect for one another. Just look… Even with this curse you cast, we found a way back to each other before we got our memories back."
"So while you were out mating with your perfect match, I was left with a man that barely constituted as a husband."
"You say that like I told you to sleep with him."
"It was just supposed to be a one-time thing, a distraction," she said more to herself. "How was I to know that I was so fertile?"
"Surely it's none of my business. But if that were true, why only the one child?"
"The first time was the last time with that man," she said with distaste. "He was fine with it that way. The only reason he even wanted to get married was because being magically bound to me meant that it was impossible to procreate with anyone else should he find someone … appealing to him. And McLaggen found a lot of people appealing."
"Including Harry," Draco said with distaste. "Are you telling me that McLaggen used your marriage as a way to fornicate without repercussions?"
"Exactly. He already had Hector to carry on the McLaggen name. But with our marriage, he could proposition anyone he wanted, without having to worry about any more accidents."
Draco went over Astoria's words and realized that, even though he didn't think it was possible, he found myself hating McLaggen even more. The man was a letch, Draco knew that. But what he didn't know was the length he went to in order to fully realize his lecher lifestyle. If he didn't despise Astoria so much, he would have felt sorry for her. As it were, the blonde didn't feel anything for her predicament. But this knowledge did present an interesting question.
"If McLaggen is using you to be the world's biggest letch, won't he object to you leaving him? Wouldn't that ruin his lifestyle?"
"I don't give a damn about his lifestyle. But in regards to him stopping me… Well, that's why I'm not lifting this curse. As long as this curse is active, to the world, I'm Astoria Malfoy, and McLaggen can't do anything to stop me."
"In other words, you're using me the same way McLaggen used you," Draco summed.
"We're all using each other, my dear. Or would you rather we stayed married?" Astoria asked, with the same glint in her eyes.
"Absolutely not," Draco said, straight-faced.
"Pity," she said, just as their dance ended.
"So here are your passes," Harry said as he handed out the free admission passes to everyone. "With this, you can watch any movie you want until the theater closes."
"Are you sure you wouldn't want to go with them?" Hector asked BJ as they were handed their passes.
"And miss out on seeing Thor," BJ smirked as they walked away from Harry and the younger ones who were going to see the new Star Wars movie.
"Save your breath," James said nonchalantly as the boys followed him. "The only way he's seeing another movie is if we see another movie and I have been waiting to watch Thor for ages. That man is a god."
"Of course. Everyone knows that Thor is the god of thunder," Hector scoffed.
"That's not what I meant," James laughed cheekily.
BJ and Hector shared a look then, one of the only ones they would ever share that wasn't filled with complete contempt for each other, before following James towards the concession stands.
When they finally got their food, the two groups found their respected theater. After finding a place to sit in his theater, Harry and the three kids waited for the movie to start. The theater was packed. But even as the lights began to dim and the volume rose, signalling the start of the movie, people were piling into the theater. When someone took a seat next to Harry and placed their hand on his thigh, the Auror turned to find a cheeky blonde sitting next to him.
"I thought you were staying at the ball," Harry said, unable to hide his delight that Draco was there.
"And miss this?" Draco asked as he took some of Harry's popcorn.
"How did you even know where we were?"
"Lily mentioned it before you left," he explained, waving to the redhead that was smiling at him from Harry's other side.
"What about Astoria and Flint?"
"They are hitting it off as we speak. Apparently, the thought of stealing my wife from under me is quite appealing to him," the blonde said, causing his love to laugh. "Besides, I wouldn't be properly celebrating the new year if I wasn't with you and the kids," he whispered in Harry's ear.
Harry couldn't help the bright smile that lit up his face.
"So," Draco began as he picked up more popcorn. "Where are the other three?"
End of Chapter: And a Happy New Year
