Since Draco wanted to go through with the divorce, Harry let his lawyer proceed. No sooner had Harry signed the papers to start the process and had them officially filed with the Ministry than Narcissa Malfoy paid him a visit. He filed the papers Friday towards the end of his work day and Cissy was there Saturday morning.
It was a weekend and true to his word, Draco had let Harry have Eiona. Harry had just been feeding his daughter some breakfast at Grimmauld Place; oatmeal, which he cooked himself. The kitchen was a bit of a mess, because he hadn't gotten a chance to clean. In fact, the house was a mess. It turned out that Draco must've been doing some of the cleaning or preventing Kreacher and Eiona from making some of their messes, because without him the place really fell apart. Kreacher had actually used applesauce to scrub the tub, the dozy elf, and now there was a mass of black ants swarming the antique tub. That was first on Harry's list of things to clean.
"Cissy? What are you doing here?" Harry asked, looking around at the pile of pots, pans, and dishes in the sink, the full garbage bin with its flies, the scorch marks above the stove, and then at the marbles on the floor. "Careful, Eiona got into a vase of marbles and let them loose." The place was filthy.
"My I have a seat? I have something I would like to talk to you about Harry," Cissy answered, toeing aside a marble that was in her way. Harry nodded and she sat, transferring the pile of linens that were on the bench, which were left by Kreacher, to the table. "I have been informed that you went ahead and filed divorce papers yesterday." She said it like an accusation.
"Um, yes, I did."
"Are you happy without my son?"
"What? Why?"
"Because you listed your unhappiness as one of your primary reasons for divorcing my son. So I ask again Harry, are you happy now that Draco is out of your life? Is your life better? Is it easier? More fun? Is there more sex? Less work?"
"No, none of that. I'm not any happier now than I was when he was here causing problems." In fact, Harry downright missed Draco. It was so hard to walk away from Malfoy Manor with just Eiona yesterday. It was his birthday weekend and he ought to have his husband with him to help him celebrate. It was one of the days of the year when he was guaranteed sex, but he wouldn't be getting any sex for his birthday this year.
"And you blame him for your unhappiness. I think you need to examine your situation more carefully. I don't think my son's illness on its own could cause your unhappiness."
"It didn't. I need another elf; that's a big part of it," Harry admitted.
"That is what my son said all along."
"I know. Is that all you wanted to talk about? I don't blame Draco for this divorce. It's just as much my fault as it is his."
"That is utterly untrue. It is entirely your fault. My son has done nothing to deserve the misery you have bestowed upon him. Nothing, except love you." Cissy's words were scathing, but her face was icy as her eyes bored into Harry.
"Look, I'm sorry and I tried to apologize to Draco. I said I'd give him another chance." Harry's arms rose as he spoke, emphasizing his frustration.
"It is you who needs another chance."
"I know, I know. But he wouldn't hear it," Harry said and Cissy cut him off.
"Again, untrue. You wouldn't hear him out, but I know for a fact that he heard you out. He just did not like what he heard."
"Right. Well he didn't want to give it another go. I don't see what point there is diddling about the bush, so I filed the papers. I'm sure he'll be much happier as soon as this is all squared away."
"He is miserable without you. This situation is entirely unfair to him."
"Look, I'm sorry, but what more do you want me to do?"
"I want you to think very hard about this divorce. Lucius and I will not give our approval for you to marry our son a second time. I have reason to believe that there is something you are not aware of that will have you changing your mind. Draco has forbidden me to tell you, because he fears you will stay with him for these other reasons, and not because you love him. So if you love my son, Harry, I strongly urge you to think long and hard about this travesty you have started before it goes any further," Cissy warned.
"Okay, I will. Thank you Cissy. Is there any chance you will tell me what it is without his approval?"
"None. I quite agree; you take my son back without knowing about this extenuating circumstance or you lose him forever. I must go; Draco will never forgive me if he knows I've come."
With that, Cissy turned on the spot and disapparated away, leaving Harry to think and finish feeding Eiona. He had his entire birthday weekend to think. The Weasley stopped by and helped him clean the place up as a favor to him, instead of throwing him the usual party. This year he was in no mood for a party and what he needed was cleaning, so that's what they did. It was a lot of manual labor with nothing else for him to think about other than his divorce. Did he love Draco? Was that why his chest felt like it was aching and he was miserable without the wizard? Now that Draco had a diagnosis, might he turn back to his normal self?
Draco already seemed more like his old self, but Harry didn't know if he was normal all day. Even through the worst of it, Draco had had a period of lucidity each day and it just might be that that period now corresponded to the time Harry was to pick Eiona up. Draco certainly was never around when Harry returned their daughter, Cissy taking the child from Harry each night. Cissy always said Draco was tired and sleeping, which Harry thought was a bit suspicious. If Draco was better, why was he still sleeping all of the time? Of course Hermione had an answer to that, insisting that Draco's body must just need the time to recover from the illness.
There was no way for Harry to know for sure whether he'd be happier with Draco back unless they tried it. Thus Harry returned Eiona early Sunday evening, at five O'clock, because he knew Draco was usually still awake at that time. Sure enough, Draco and Cissy were in the dining room with Dromeda and Teddy of all people. The dining room was opulent with a golden crystal chandelier just as big as the one in the main drawing room and gold-veined marble floors. The feet and legs of the ancient walnut table were carved into the shape of griffin limbs with the claws out, matching high-backed chairs surrounding it.
Harry hadn't seen Dromeda since the divorce thing started and she gave him a scowl worthy of any pureblood when she saw him.
"Eiona!" Draco exclaimed, standing up quickly at the sight of his daughter. He rose too fast and had to stop to steady himself, because he was dizzy.
"Are you okay Draco?" Harry asked, stepping forward to catch Draco should he fall. Harry still had Eiona in his arms, so he put his daughter down, freeing his hands.
"Yes, just a little dizzy," Draco replied, sitting back down. "Come here sweetie; Father missed you very much."
"I see that. You've invited another toddler over," Harry said.
"Well now that I don't have to deal with you and your nonsense, I have more time for my aunt and cousin again," Draco replied.
"Harry, why don't you and Eiona sit down and join us for dinner. I'm sure Vile Thing will be able to scrounge up extra plates," Cissy suggested sweetly.
Harry always hated the name of the Malfoy's main house elf. Vile Thing had come from the Blacks, was related to Kreacher, and had been named in a similar vein. She had two children from her late husband Dobby, Dobson and Dotty, the former finally old enough to work on his own, the latter still in training to be a proper elf. There were also two more elves in the family: Dobby's parents Doddy and Bobbie. Doddy, Dobby's father, made computer chips which the family sold to muggles for a great profit. Bobbie, Dobby's mother, stayed primarily to the kitchen and helped with the cleaning when she wouldn't be seen. Bobbie was an ugly sight, having come to the Malfoys from the Macnair family, who were fond of disfiguring their elves with a family brand across the face. Compared to the Macnairs and the Blacks, the Malfoys were downright civilized in the treatment of their elves.
It was supper time and Harry hadn't eaten yet, his nerves about speaking with Draco getting the best of him. The delicious smell of Bobbie's cooking made Harry's stomach growl, so he sat down and agree to dine. Draco sat Eiona on his lap until Dobson return with a second highchair for the toddler. Then Vile Thing appeared from the kitchen with two additional plates of food.
The food was good, but Harry was still nervous and couldn't finish it. Instead he put his fork down when Draco did and asked, "Can we talk Draco?"
"Yes. Mother, I trust you and Aunt Dromeda will be alright with the children," Draco replied.
"Yes, go ahead dear," Cissy answered. "Come along Eiona, let us play with Teddy."
Cissy and Andy led the children away in the direction of the playroom, while Draco led Harry back to his sitting room. The room was decorated with an ancient grey and green Kidderminster carpet, green walls, and dragon themed tapestries lining the walls. It was a comfortable room, although it still managed to look old and expensive with perfectly placed eye catchers, such as the emerald green Ming vase depicting a moving Chinese dragon on the stone fireplace mantel.
Draco sat in a comfy grey armchair, pulling a throw blanket over himself and covering up his growing waistline. Harry noticed that Draco was fatter, but chalked the weight gain up to the wizard's new diet; he supposed that any diet that called for constantly eating would cause one to put on a few pounds.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Draco asked, his demeanor cool and calm.
"First, I want to know if you are alright," Harry started.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You were dizzy at dinner…"
"It's the anemia. I'm on a potion to correct it."
"Anemia? You didn't tell me you were anemic."
"I found out at the same time I found out about the hypoglycemia. I was also dehydrated at the time, but that's been cleared up. Is there anything else you would like to know about my health?" Draco left out the mention of the malnutrition, because that was hard to explain without mentioning the pregnancy and he was not under any circumstance about to tell Harry about the pregnancy.
"No, but…" Harry trailed off, trying to figure out where to start.
"Yes?"
"I've discovered that it wasn't you making the messes. I'm sorry I blamed you."
"Apology not accepted."
"Why not?"
"Because you were a right sodding prick about it. You knew I didn't know how to clean and I asked to bring my own elf over. I tried my best, but you still complained. Buy your own elf and clean up your stinking house. Otherwise, don't come asking for my forgiveness again."
"But Kreacher…"
"Can move to the attic and die for all I care. How many times do I have to tell you that you can have more than one elf in a house?"
"Yes, but the Manor is huge; Grimmauld Place is much smaller."
"Take my advice or leave it Harry, I don't care. It's not my problem now that we are getting a divorce. You are tiring me and it's almost my new bedtime, so if there isn't anything else you want, you may show yourself out."
"That's something else I wanted to talk to you about: would you consider giving us another go? I've had time apart to think about it and I really do miss you. I'm miserable alone with just Eiona and Kreacher." Harry tried his best to convey that he was sincere, but he was unsure of himself, not know if it'd be enough to get Draco to come back.
"And I'm miserable with my shattered heart, but I don't see what good could possibly come of sticking a plaster on it and pretending everything is alright." Draco's tone was harsh, but not scathing.
"Draco, I've put a lot of thought into what you said and I'm willing to have a more open mind about purebloods from now on. I'm sorry I overreacted and assumed the worst and I won't do it again. Next time I will ask you for clarification before jumping to conclusions."
"I've had time to think and that's not the only issue that bothers me. What about how you refused to take care of me when I was sick? You kept telling me I was overreacting and that there was nothing wrong. At least if you'd encouraged me to see a healer instead of jumping down my throat when I had memory loss I would've been diagnosed sooner. Do you have any idea how dangerous hypoglycemia is?"
"Ah, yeah, I pulled you off the balcony." Harry was almost about to ask if Draco remembered, but then recalled that Draco had amnesia concerning that night and the two after it.
"See, just like that. I put myself in a dangerous position, because I wasn't thinking straight. You should've taken me to hospital and found out what was wrong with me, instead of leaving me on the floor to wake up alone and confused."
"But I saved you."
"You pulled me off the ledge, but I still could have died from dangerously low blood sugar."
"How was I to know? Your own mum said that acting spacey was normal for you and to just put you to bed."
"Healer Smith now thinks my childhood fits were likely undiagnosed hypoglycemia. They stopped before he took over the practice from his father; he thinks his father didn't cast all the right diagnostic tests. My mother was relying on an old diagnosis and she was wrong. She is fallible Potter, same as anyone else. I still should have been taken in for a checkup in the morning."
"Why didn't you schedule yourself one and go in. I work all day."
"Because I wasn't thinking clearly. Why didn't you ask my mother for help if you couldn't handle it?" Draco's tone was accusatory.
"Because I didn't realize there was anything wrong with you. I'm sorry. We know you have a serious condition now and I won't let such a lapse happen again," Harry replied, starting to feel the exasperation set in. It seemed like all he was saying today was sorry.
"Won't you? Maybe you'll get help if you recognize the symptoms, but what if it's something different next time? What if I have a heart attack or a stroke and you don't take me to St. Mungo's?"
"If it's something serious, of course I'd take you in right away!" Harry protested.
"What if it's not something serious? What if it's just the flu or the common cold? Remember I was sick last winter with that flu and you left me to my own devices while you went off to work?"
"Yes, but you went to your mum's and she took care of you."
"It will never be you taking care of me, will it? You can spare all of the time in the world to chase bad guys, but you can't take a day off from work to tend a runny nose and a fever."
"Sorry, I'm not used to playing nursemaid. I didn't know it bothered you so much or I would've stayed home. I just thought my sick days were better spent on holiday."
"It didn't bother me so much until now. I told you I couldn't remember and you still left me alone the next morning to wake up alone and confused again. Do you have any idea how that made me feel?" Draco asked, face scrunched up like he was about to cry. Then he did cry, hiding his sobs behind his hands, his pregnancy hormones getting to him.
"I'm so sorry Draco. I didn't know," Harry said, standing up and going over to put a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder.
Draco didn't respond, other than to take a large gasping breath and let out another sob. He continued to cry for several minutes, during which Harry wondered when the emotional theatrics would stop. He'd hoped that they'd disappear now that Draco's his blood sugar was being monitored, but apparently he was wrong.
After a few minutes, Draco seemed to be calming down. "Will you show me how to cast the spell that measures your blood sugar level? You know, just in case?" Harry asked in order to distract Draco and Draco nodded.
Draco pulled himself together, staving off the tears as best as he could. It took him a few more minutes, but he eventually managed. He then taught Harry the spell and how to interpret it.
"So you are in the normal range right now," Harry concluded, studying the numbers on Draco's blood sugar chart. Draco nodded and Harry wondered what was up with the tears, if it wasn't Draco's blood sugar. He decided it must be some side effect that took longer to go away after the episodes and also that he shouldn't mention it. "Will you come back and give me another chance Draco, if I promise to do a better job watching after your health? I won't accuse you of overreacting again, I promise. Instead I'll schedule you an appointment with Healer Smith and see that you go."
"You are making a lot of promises Harry and I don't think you can keep them." Draco was calm and collected again.
"I will do my very best to try. Isn't that enough?"
"No, not entirely."
"What else do you want from me? Whatever it is, I'll do it, Draco, I swear to Merlin I will."
"Have you ever noticed Harry that I've gone out of my way to be nice to your friends and family?"
"Sort of. You were alright with them before, you know, before the incident with Victoire."
"I was being nice even then. Nasty would've been me ripping the veela spawn's finger off in return."
Harry almost accused Draco of overreacting again, but held his tongue just in time. Instead he chuckled, shook his head, and said, "Alright."
"Well you never once returned the favor. You have only met my very closest relatives; my mother and my grandparents. You never even agreed to so much as a family dinner with the Smiths or Rosiers and the only time you have all been in the same room together was at our wedding. How many family dinners have I gone to with the extended Weasley clan? Why couldn't you ever do the same for me?"
"I'll do it now. Name the date and time and I'll be there, even if I have to take time off work."
"What if I asked you to go, without agreeing to take you back? Would you go just to get to know my family? Your daughter's family?"
Harry almost said no, but bit his tongue, before nodding. "I will. Just tell me when." This could be his chance to prove he could act civilly to Draco's family. If it went well, Draco might just agree to give him another chance.
"I will ask my mother to arrange something, but you know, it's not just my family you have snubbed. You were always rude to my friends when they came over. Towards the end, Daphne and Milli wouldn't even come over. Last month, when I invited Astoria over for the first time, she refused, because of the complaints she'd heard about you from her sister. Pansy and Blaise only came over so often, because they could come during the day, while you were away. Do you know how annoying it is that my friends won't come over, because you can't behave yourself?"
"No, I don't. I'm sorry. I'll try to be nicer to them from now on," Harry promised.
"I'm very tired. I wish to go to bed now. Kindly see yourself out," Draco said with a yawn.
Author's Note: So Harry has finally realized that Draco isn't the problem; that's a start. Up next there will be the family dinner that Harry just promised to attend.
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