Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belongs to J.K. Rowling, unfortunately not me.

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Chapter 6

Upon arriving back at the Manor, Draco banged his fist on the wall of his bedroom. What the blood fuck had he been thinking, just Apparating away like that? Of all of the un-Malfoy things he had ever done in his life, this one ranked pretty high on the list. Malfoys bid their dining partner adieu politely after dinner has concluded, and they certainly didn't completely lose their cool in public. He didn't have the slightest idea what had come over him, but he knew that as soon as the words had come out of Potter's mouth he absolutely had to get out of the pub.

Draco flopped back on his bed with a sigh. What was a flop in the privacy of his home compared to the utter fool of himself in public just minutes earlier? He had, to his surprise, genuinely enjoyed the dark-haired man's company. Potter was a lot more observant than he remembered him being from school, and it translated into a wicked sense of humor, especially at the expense of those around him. It never came out cruel, however, just a way to entertain. He also had enjoyed hearing the other man talk about his children. He could tell that Potter was a great father and cared for his family deeply, and that was something that Draco could relate to easily.

Why had Potter's words affected him so dramatically that he forgot all sense of decorum and simply Apparated away without explanation? Deep down, Draco had a pretty good idea that this may have something to do with how similar the words had been to Astoria's accusation preceding their divorce and the implications of this fact, but he simply refused to let that thought become a conscious one. Instead of dwelling on the evening for even a moment longer, Draco found himself a Dreamless Sleep Draught and instantly fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

The next morning came far too quickly for Draco's taste, and he did his best to ignore the sunlight streaming through his curtains to avoid the day a little longer. He did a fairly adequate job of this until he heard the telltale tapping of an owl at his bedroom window. He groaned, knowing that the chance of falling back to sleep was now close to zero. He slowly sat up in bed and stretched, before sliding out of bed and making his way over to the window.

Once he arrived at the window, he realized there were two owls hovering outside. One was a dignified Eagle owl, who was patiently waiting for Draco, whereas the other was a small Pygmy owl, that couldn't seem to contain its excitement about delivering its letter. The former owl seemed rather annoyed that he happened to be there at the same time as the enthusiastic puff of feathers next to him. Draco decided to put it out of its misery and reached for this letter first. The larger owl immediately took off after Draco had removed the message. The letter was sealed with the Hogwarts crest. His first thought was something wrong with Scorpius, but he then remembered that his son was already in the Hospital Wing so it was unlikely that anything worse could have happened since yesterday. Comforted by this thought, he reached for the other message before the owl it was attached to spontaneously combusted from sheer excitement. He couldn't help but be curious about who this annoying little owl belonged to.

The owl hovered for a moment before Draco shooed it away after giving it a few owl treats. He didn't even know who the message was from, let alone if he would be responding or not. He opened the letter from Hogwarts first to make sure that everything with Scorpius's recovery was going well.

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

I am happy to inform you that Scorpius has made a full recovery overnight. All of the bones have healed, and the bruises have faded to barely visible. There also seems to be no lasting damage from the concussion. Both boys have been properly reprimanded and punished for their reckless behavior.

Sincerely,

S. Merryweather

Draco smirked at the last line. He was glad that the school was holding the boys responsible for their actions, despite their injuries. He hated to think what would happen if Scorpius didn't learn his lesson this time. He shuddered at the thought before picking up the second letter he had received. As he scanned down to the signature line, Draco's heart stopped. He should have known this would happen.

Malfoy,

I wanted to apologize for last night, although I'm not entirely sure what happened. I was having a good time chatting with you, and I apologize if I offended you in any way. I was more than a little pissed at the end of the evening- couldn't even Apparate home, was too afraid I'd splinch myself. I had to ask to use the Floo at the pub. One of the perks of being the Savior of the Wizarding World, you know. I realize that probably came out rather arrogant on paper, but it was meant as a joke. Anyway, I hope that if I have offended you that you can forgive me, and maybe you'd like to get a pint or two again?

H. Potter

P.S. Sorry about the owl. I know he's a bloody pain, but I let Lily help pick it out, and she's absolutely in love with the damned thing.

Draco tried to suppress a grin at the bit about the owl, but he wasn't quite successful. He could just picture Potter trying desperately to convince his daughter to pick a different owl but not really being able to resist her. Draco had certainly been in similar situations with Scorpius enough times to know that there were some sacrifices that were worth making to see your child smile. For example, when Scorpius was 7 he had picked out the most god-awful tie that Draco had ever seen and given it to him for his birthday. It was green with silver dragons on it, which was a little tacky but fine except that the tie was a neon green and the dragons were a very sparkly silver that were charmed to moved around the tie. They tended to move around to the back of the tie much more often than Draco would have preferred and without fail would tickle him, making him giggle at the most inopportune times. Despite this, Draco wore that tie weekly for months because he couldn't resist watching his son's face light up every time he wore it.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he scowled at the letter from Potter. With a quick Incendio, the letter was gone. Draco was not ready to deal with the confusion and embarrassment of last night, and he certainly had no idea what to say to Potter to explain his actions. Instead, he would simply pretend nothing had happened. Yes, that seemed like a great plan to him. Surely Potter would be fine and wouldn't push the issue any further. After all, it's not like there was any truth to his batty wife's accusations.

Or at least that's what Draco would tell himself repeatedly for the next few months to justify not responding to Potter's multiple owls. No truth to it at all.