Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belongs to J.K. Rowling, unfortunately not me.
A/N: Officially hit 50,000 words! Enjoy!
Chapter 31
"Draco, let's go!" Harry yelled in dismay. Their shower activities had taken much longer than they had intended, and now they were on the verge of being late to meet their respective ex-wives. "We're going to be late!"
"I'll be right out! I was ready this morning until you dragged me into the shower. My hair is mess," Draco whined.
"I didn't hear you complaining earlier!" Harry pointed out.
Draco appeared in the doorway of the bathroom a moment later. "All ready," he announced. "You simply can't rush perfection." He gave Harry a haughty smile.
Harry shook his head and chuckled affectionately. "Of course. Now go meet Astoria! She's probably already at the Manor."
"Alright, alright. But one last kiss first," he demanded with a pout.
"Bloody needy ponce," Harry murmured lightly as he pulled the blond man into what he planned to be a quick kiss, but Draco apparently had other plans. He pulled him in closer and deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into Harry's mouth.
After a few delectable minutes, Harry pulled back and raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend. "What?" Draco asked innocently. "Just in case I have to wait a whole week. I'll see you at King's Cross. I'll be the one checking out your arse." With a wink, Draco Disapparated, leaving Harry alone and slightly bemused. He shook his head with a small smile and Disapparated as well, following Draco's lead.
A minute later, Harry found himself in the front hallway of his former home. "Gin? I'm here," he called.
"Oh good," Ginny responded, coming out of the kitchen and giving him a quick hug. "Just in time. How are you?"
"I'm doing well. How have you been?" Harry asked, slightly apprehensive about the answer.
Harry clearly had nothing to worry about as Ginny's face blossomed into a content smile. "Great, actually! The empty house took awhile to get used to, but it's nice to have more time to myself. I actually joined a Quidditch team. It's just for fun, but it's been great to be out on the pitch again. And I may have started seeing someone," she responded, her cheeks turning slightly pink.
"Good to hear, Gin! Anyone I know?" Harry teased.
Ginny's face flushed further, answering Harry's question. "Yeah, um, it's Oliver Wood," she mumbled, not meeting Harry's eyes.
"Oh, wow. That's great! You two seem like a good match."
"Thanks, Harry. How are you and Draco?"
Now it was Harry's turn to blush. "We're doing really well. Sometimes I can't believe that this is the same person that used to terrorize me at school. I think I'm going to tell James and Lily while they're home," Harry responded, trying not to gush too much.
"You look happy," Ginny commented with a smile. "I'm glad. I was planning on talking to the kids about Oliver too. Hey, why don't you come to dinner tonight so we can all spend time together, and then we can tell them together so they know that we're both okay with it?"
"Sounds like a plan!" Harry agreed happily. "Now, we should probably get to the Station."
Ginny nodded in agreement, and the pair Apparated to King's Cross. As they made their way through the crowd at Platform 9 ¾, arms linked and chatting amicably, Harry made sure to observe the crowd around them. He saw a crowd of red hair to their left and immediately turned his head the other way. His eyes met Draco's from across the platform, and he shot him a quick smile before turning to face Ginny.
Harry was listening to Ginny talk about one of her recent Quidditch matches, nodding enthusiastically and enjoying the excited smile on her face. As the pair broke out into laughter over her anecdote, there was an awkward clearing of someone's throat behind them. Harry turned around and found himself face to face with Ron, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Harry, could we maybe talk?" he asked, a hopeful expression on his face.
Harry paused for a moment before nodding reluctantly. "What can I do for you?" he asked evenly.
"I uh, wanted to apologize," Ron began, looking terribly uncomfortable. "I talked to Ginny the other day, and she was telling me about how great she's doing. I haven't seen her this happy in a long time. It turns out you both were right about what's best for you. Imagine that." He gave a slight shrug.
Harry clasped his friend on the shoulder. "It's alright. I know it came as a shock, but it really was for the best."
"You look really happy, mate."
"I am, and I know that you probably don't approve, but it has a lot to do with Draco."
Ron grimaced. "I don't know if I'll ever understand how or why it happened, but if he makes you happy then that's all that matters. Hermione says you're really great together," Ron conceded.
"Thanks, Ron. That means a lot. And don't worry, I won't make you spend time with him yet," Harry assured with a smile.
Ron smiled back. "I appreciate that, mate. I promise to make some effort, but I just need a little more time."
"I completely underst-" The rest of Harry's statement was cut off by the whistle of the Hogwarts Express pulling into the Station. "We'll talk more later, yeah? Maybe grab a pint after the kids are back at school?" Harry suggested.
Ron nodded in agreement before making his way back to his wife. Harry turned back to Ginny, who was watching him with a smile. "That looked like it went well."
"It did. How much did you have to threaten him to make that happen?" Harry asked with a teasing smile.
Ginny smacked him lightly on the chest. "I did no such thing!" she exclaimed.
The silly debate was interrupted by the crowd of students pouring out of the Hogwarts Express. Harry scanned the group, searching for the familiar sight of his children. He glimpsed a pair of teens, one with white blond hair and one with messy, black hair. The pair hugged before going their separate ways, Albus making his way over to Harry and Ginny. Harry gave his son an enthusiastic hug, as did Ginny. The other two children appeared a moment later, hugging their mother first and then, much to Harry's relief, hugging him as well.
"You're both here!" Lily shouted in excitement.
"Of course we are! We were actually planning on having dinner at the house tonight, all of us together, if that's alright with you lot," Ginny informed them, turning her cautious gaze to their eldest. If anyone was going to protest, it would be James.
James smiled and nodded. "Sounds good. You both look happy," he said quietly. "I'm glad we can all spend time together."
Harry beamed at his family, ecstatic about the way that things had turned out so far. All his kids seemed to have adjusted to the divorce, and tonight they would all have dinner together. "Well, Al, why don't you say we head to my flat and get you settled in? Then we can meet the rest of the family at the house later this evening," Harry suggested.
Albus looked around and nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, sounds good, Dad. I actually need to grab something from Scorpius real quick. Let's go grab it, and then we can go," he said, not meeting his father's eyes.
Ginny watched them with an amused expression on her face, snickering to herself. "Sounds like a plan. Come over anytime. Let's go, James, Lily," With that, the three of them were gone.
Harry turned to his son and cocked an eyebrow. "You need something from Scorpius?" he asked skeptically.
Albus nodded innocently. "Yes, sir. Plus I thought you might also need something from Mr. Malfoy."
Before Harry could respond, Al took off to find his friend. Harry sighed exasperatedly but smiled to himself as he followed his son. When he caught up to him, the boys were sneaking away, leaving him alone with Draco. "They are something else," Harry muttered.
Draco smirked and looked around the platform, that was now practically empty, except for a few stragglers making their way to the exit. "I must say I don't mind," he responded quietly as he leaned forward to kiss Harry.
Harry smiled into the kiss and slid his arm around Draco's neck. "I guess I don't either," he whispered into Draco's neck as he nuzzled there.
"Ooooh," came a teasing squeal to Harry's right. He lifted his head to see both of their son's watching them intently. Harry groaned and buried his head back into Draco's neck.
"Draco and Harry sitting in a tree. K-I-S-" the pair sing-songed until Draco glared at them, shutting them up.
Harry pulled back reluctantly. "Well, I guess we should go get Albus settled in. We're going over to Ginny's tonight for dinner."
"That sounds lovely. Perhaps Albus would like some company while he settles in," Draco suggested with an innocent widening of his eyes.
Harry sighed, trying to look annoyed, but he couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face. "I suppose that's up to Albus."
"I would love to have Scorpius keep me company while I unpack!" Albus called to them quickly.
Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed his son's arm. "Well then, I guess to the flat we all go," he resigned.
Draco held out his arm to Scorpius so that each boy had someone to Apparate them. "So Draco has access to your wards, huh?"
Harry groaned in mock exasperation and Disapparated in lieu of responding.