Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belongs to J.K. Rowling, unfortunately not me.
A/N: Not sure how I feel about this chapter. I was a little stuck, but next chapter should be better and written faster!
Chapter 17
I've waited, what? Over 20 years? I think I can wait a little bit more. Harry couldn't stop smiling as he lay in bed later that night, replaying the other man's words over and over again. When he had first proposed that Draco wait for him to divorce Ginny, he had been terrified. He couldn't quite explain why it mattered so much to him to explore whatever was going on between them, but he knew that he didn't want to give it up. Harry was oddly calm about this. He would have thought that after his chat with Draco he would have some sort of moment of panic. Not only had he just agreed to date a man, something he had never even considered until the last couple of days, he had decided to date Draco Malfoy of all people, his nemesis from his Hogwarts days.
In some odd way, it all made perfect sense. Harry had spent 6 odd years at Hogwarts following him around and doing anything for his attention. At the time it had seemed to be such obvious hatred. In retrospect, Harry wasn't so sure. He thought back to the day before when he had awoken from a very vivid, very erotic dream that had taken place in their Hogwarts days. As he had attempted to calm himself down, his mind swirled with dreams in the past very similar to the one he had just woken up from. He had dreamed about Draco many times while at Hogwarts, particularly during sixth year, most of the time he was hexing him, but there were definitely times he was kissing him. These dreams had been long forgotten, but Harry couldn't deny that they had happened. At the time, he always woke alarmed but also incredibly aroused. He would immediately push the dreams out of his mind and attempt to fall back to sleep. Inevitably, he would end up wanking while pretending to fantasize about Ginny, but Ginny didn't have piercing grey eyes, short blond hair, or a hard, chiseled, decidedly male chest. His fantasies may have started out as Ginny but by the time he was cumming silently into his hand, the only images of in his head were of Draco. By the time he woke up the next morning, he would convince himself that it had been images of Ginny that did the trick. Talk about repressed sexual desire.
None of that mattered now, however, because once his kids were back at Hogwarts he would have the chance to explore his feelings further. With that lovely thought, Harry slipped into a peaceful sleep.
The next morning Harry woke up feeling well-rested. As he sat up to stretch, he became aware that Ginny was no longer in bed next to him and the sun was streaming in through the blinds much brighter than he expected. Both of these indicated that it was probably later that Harry had intended to sleep once again. With a shrug, he climbed out of bed and slowly padded down the stairs. He stopped when he heard his name from the kitchen.
"Is Harry really still sleeping? It seems odd for him," a voice that sounded like Hermione's commented.
Harry heard Ginny huff. "Yes, well, he was out with Draco, last night. They've been spending a lot of time together, getting piss drunk until all hours of the night," Ginny responded snidely.
It was silent for a moment before Hermione responded, "I think it's great that they've managed to grow up and put their childish hatred behind them."
Ginny snorted derisively and muttered something that Harry couldn't quite catch that sounded something along the lines of, "As long as that's all it is."
This was followed by an indignant response from Hermione, "Ginny! How could you say such a thing?" Harry picked up the tiniest bit of doubt in her voice and hoped sincerely that Ginny didn't detect it. He decided that it was time to make his presence known. He descended the last couple of stairs as loudly as he could.
"Good morning," he called into the kitchen.
The women fell silent before both calling back. "Good morning, Harry!" "About bloody time you crawl out of bed." Three guesses who said which. He smiled at both of them before pouring some coffee into a mug. He may have slept in later than he intended, but he was still tired. He attributed it to all of the drinking and late night bonding he had been doing with Draco as of late.
"We were just talking about New Year's Eve," Hermione informed him with a smile. He knew that she was lying through her teeth, but he played along anyway. She was giving him a suspicious look out of the corner of her eye that was making him nervous.
"Alright I'll bite. What's the plan ladies?" he asked with as much interest as he could muster.
"Well we were thinking we should attend the Ministry ball this year," Hermione said with an innocent smile.
Harry groaned. They both know how much he hated Ministry functions. "Must we?"
"Yes," Ginny snapped in response. "We haven't been to a Ministry party in ages. Besides, the Minister himself requested our presence."
Harry cringed inwardly at the tone of his wife's voice. "You're right, you're right," he appeased. "I'm sure we'll have a lovely time."
Ginny didn't respond, instead she stood up and left the room. Harry just sighed and plopped down into her spot. "Go ahead," he said to Hermione. "Say whatever it is that's been eating away at you." Hermione hesitated for a moment. "Oh c'mon, Mione, we've been friends forever. I can tell when you have something to say."
Hermione smiled at him. "Well, alright. When did you get so observant?" she teased. Harry simply grinned in return and watched his friend relax. "So...Ginny says you've been spending a lot of time with Malfoy."
Harry could feel his cheeks getting hot, despite the fact that he knew this is what she was going to bring up. He squared his jaw and answered somewhat defiantly, "Yes I have."
"No need to get defensive. I'm just making conversation is all."
Harry regarded his companion over the rim of his coffee mug as he took a long sip. "I think you have a point to this."
Hermione sighed. "I'm just worried about you and Ginny is all. It's obvious that the two of you have been having some issues lately, and it just seems like an odd time to suddenly be hanging out with Malfoy."
"I will admit that Ginny and I have hit a bit of a rough patch, but I don't know what that has to do with Draco."
Hermione stared at the table and chewed her bottom lip nervously. "Well nothing really...if it's really Malfoy that you're spending time with."
Harry stared at his friend in shock. He wasn't sure if he should be appalled that she would think he had a secret lover and was using Malfoy as a cover or relieved that she didn't suspect the truth. "Hermione what exactly are you accusing me of?"
Hermione snapped her head up to look at him finally. "Nothing, Harry! I shouldn't have said anything. Of course you wouldn't cheat on Ginny. I'm sorry. I guess we're all just surprised about your new found friendship," she said sheepishly.
Harry nodded and gave her a warm half-smile. "It's okay. I know it's strange, but it turns out that he and I get along really well. We got drinks a couple months ago when Al and Scorpius ended up in the Hospital Wing so I decided to go with Al to the Manor for Scorpius's birthday. Every time we've spent time together we end up getting pissed and bonding. He's changed a lot since Hogwarts."
Hermione nodded and smiled. "I'm glad you're getting along, especially with your boys being so close. I'm proud of you for putting the past behind you. He's not the only one that's changed." Harry chuckled softly. "You know, he'll probably be at the New Year's Eve event at the Ministry. Maybe you can re-introduce us."
The sentiment warmed Harry. He knew the next couple of months wouldn't be easy, but it made him hopeful that Hermione was showing some signs of making an effort to accept Draco in his life. He knew it would be much different if he and Draco were to go public as a couple, but it was a start. And then the panic cut through his warm feelings. Ginny and Draco would be in the same room for an extended period of time. How was Harry supposed to play the doting husband when the person he really wanted to be kissing at midnight was only a few feet away? He was sure he was in for one unforgettable New Year's Eve one way or another.
"Well, I should head back home," Hermione said, cutting into his thoughts. Harry nodded as she collected her things. The two of them walked to the living room so she could Floo home. She went to grab Floo powder but stopped and turned to face Harry instead. "About your rough patch...things have a way of working themselves out," she said, with a gentle squeeze of his arm.
"Thanks, Hermione. I'll see you later." He gave his friend the most convincing smile he could manage. Things would work themselves out, but not in the way that Hermione was implying.