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

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Chapter 7

The next several weeks passed in much the same fashion as previous ones had for Harry. Before he knew it, it was the day before his children were set to come home for the Christmas holidays. And thank Merlin for that. The tension between he and Ginny had reached an all-time high, to the point that some days they didn't speak at all. One or the other would stay at work late and only return after the other was long in bed. And the days they did get a chance to talk, the conversation seemed forced and uncomfortable, that is if it didn't end in an argument. Harry kept telling himself that it was just a phase, but it was getting harder and harder to believe that it would get better. The couple had yet to address the issues, but he knew it was only a matter of time before they'd have to discuss it.

Because he and Ginny spent so little time together these days, Harry spent a lot more time than he would like to admit thinking about the night with Malfoy many weeks ago. He had written him three separate times, attempting to get an explanation for his odd behavior, but all his letters went unanswered. This bothered Harry to the point of fixation. He just didn't understand why the other man had reacted the way he did. Until one day he came to the conclusion that Malfoy must have been so utterly disgusted with the possibility of Harry's obsession that he simply couldn't handle being in his company any more.

Upon coming to this conclusion, Harry was forced to reflect on just how much time he had spent obsessing, because there was really no other word that accurately described his attention to the subject. This made him realize that perhaps Ginny was right, and he was a tad obsessed with Malfoy. That was only natural though, right? He had spent so many years in school constantly wondering what the other boy was up to next that it was only natural to stay curious about the man he had become. Or so Harry told himself repeatedly.

Every once in awhile Harry would start to contemplate alternative explanations for his obsession, but he would quickly abandon this train of thought. He was not prepared to embark on that sort of self-discovery at this point in his life. Plus, he was sure there was nothing to discover. Or at least, fairly certain.

Harry sighed when he heard the front door open, signaling Ginny's arrival. He exited his study, hoping for silence or a short conversation but bracing himself for yet another fight about nothing of importance. It was with this thought that Harry realized it was time to have a serious conversation with his wife.

"Hi, Gin," he called as he descended the stairs.

The only response was a slight wave when he reached the entryway where Ginny was hanging up her robes in the closet. "Gin, I think we need to talk."

This time, Harry definitely got a response. Ginny's head snapped up, and she turned to glare at him, her eyes devoid of all emotion. "This is not the time, Harry. The children will be home tomorrow, and we will have a happy Christmas holiday as a family. When the kids are back at Hogwarts if you still think we need to talk then we'll talk then." With that, she swept past her husband and up the stairs, locking herself in their bedroom.

Harry stared at the spot that his wife had just stood for a moment before shaking himself out of it. He supposed Ginny had a point about waiting until after the children returned to school to talk, but he didn't like that she had put it all on him. If he thought they needed to talk at that time, she had said. As if she had no concerns and didn't feel that the talk was needed. If that was the case, his wife was far better at deluding herself than he was.

The next morning Harry woke up to the sounds of an owl tapping on the window of their bedroom. He was about to go retrieve the message until he heard Ginny make her way over to the window. He heard a short exhale from her and then felt a light pressure on his head. "It's for you," Ginny intoned.

Harry looked at her in bemusement before examining the letter that had landed on his head. Upon seeing the crest, he immediately understood why Ginny had acted so coldly towards him. The letter was sealed with the Malfoy crest. Harry felt his insides seize up with what exactly he wasn't sure - some sort of emotion he couldn't quite place. What could Malfoy possibly want from him at this point?

Potter,

I hope all is well with you and your family. I apologize for my lack of correspondence as of late, but I have been terribly busy with work. As the Christmas holidays are upon us, I wanted to inquire if you would still be gracious enough to allow Albus to spend Boxing Day at the Manor. I know that Scorpius would be thrilled to have him there for his birthday.

Best regards,

D. Malfoy

Harry snorted after he came to the end of the letter. Why Malfoy felt the need to be so damned formal with all of his letters Harry would never understand, but he was glad that he had finally heard from the other man. He had been somewhat concerned that after the strange incident at the pub that Malfoy would rescind the invitation for Albus to go to the Manor. Thinking about it now, Harry should have known better. If there was one thing he had learned about Malfoy all those weeks ago now, it was that he loved his son very much and would do almost anything for him. Overcoming a small, awkward incident would not have stopped Malfoy from letting Scorpius see his friend on his birthday, and he would bet that Malfoy knew it wouldn't prevent Harry from letting Albus go to the Manor. What Malfoy probably didn't anticipate was that Harry was going to stick to his original plan and accompany Albus in an effort to figure out what had happened.

Harry smiled to himself with that thought and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. When he stood up, he found himself face-to-face with a furious Ginny. "What exactly could he have said to have you smiling like that?" she demanded.

Harry sighed, he would not let this escalate into a full-blown fight. It just wasn't worth it. "Nothing, Gin. Can't a man be happy that he gets to see his children in a few hours?"

Ginny looked as if she wanted to argue that, but she changed her mind. "You're right. I'm excited to see them as well. I'm sorry I overreacted."

Harry gave his wife a small grin. He hadn't heard an apology from her in months. They usually just fought and then ignored each other until the tension dissipated slightly. Then the cycle would repeat when one of them blew up about something else. "Let's have some breakfast and then go get our children."

Ginny smiled back and nodded. She grabbed her husband's hand to pull him in for a brief kiss. Their children were coming home, and maybe everything would be fine. After she made her way down to make breakfast, Harry quickly scrawled a response to Malfoy to inform him that Albus would be at the Manor around 10 am on Boxing Day. And if he conveniently forgot to mention that he would be accompanying his son, well, that was just a small oversight on his part.