Chapter 2: 10th October 2021

Draco heard the front door slam shut, pulling his thoughts from the book he was reading. Only a moment later, Theo fluttered through the sitting room and straight up the stairs towards the guest room without a word to Draco. Turning his attention back to his book, Draco groaned when he heard Theo reappearing at the foot of the stairs.

"Portia is moving back home." Portia, Draco knew, was Theo and Granger's eighteen year old daughter who'd recently graduated from Hogwarts and was currently working on a mastery. Nearly as soon as she'd finished school, Draco remembered Theo mentioning the girl getting a flat in Diagon Alley with a friend to be closer to her job and whatever master she was working under.

When Draco didn't say anything and just kept his gaze on Theo, the other wizard threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "She couldn't wait to move out of the house when I lived there, but now that I'm gone–" Theo cut himself off, throwing himself into a wingback chair positioned near the fireplace. His head dropped into his hands as his body began to tremble with the emotions that were warring within him. He ran his fingers through his brown curls, messing them up even more than usual.

"Hermione called me last night after she spoke with McGonagall. Apparently Remus is close to expulsion. He looks so damn much like Harry, and– I don't know what's going through his head. He just keeps picking fights left and right, won't go to class, quit the quidditch team." Draco continued to watch Theo with his shoulders hunched forwards as he spoke about his youngest son. "They hate me, they all do."

Still, Draco didn't say anything. While Theo was his best mate, there was only so much emotional suffering that Draco could process. Eleven years earlier, Theo had shown up at Draco's home after his husband, Harry Potter, had gone missing. At the time Draco had been an Auror and had pledged that he would find the missing famous wizard, but the trail had gone cold and Potter was never found. Since then, Draco knew that Theo and Hermione's relationship had struggled.

Potter had always been the emotional pillar that the family needed, while Theo was the silent helper that would observe their needs and address them equally silently. Granger had been the mother, who worked tirelessly for them all and made sure that everything ran smoothly. They'd been the picture perfect family. Once Potter was gone, a crucial piece to their dynamic had been lost and for that, the family had suffered.

Draco knew that Theo had a tendency to throw himself into work when he would feel overwhelmed by life, but this had gone to a whole new level. It'd honestly been a surprise to Draco that Granger hadn't asked for the separation sooner.

"They don't know you," Draco commented, unfolding himself from his chair. He walked over to where Theo sat, his head still in his hands and rested a palm between his shoulders. "You just have to make an effort so they can see how much they mean to you."

When Theo still didn't move, Draco tilted his head back so that he was looking up at the ceiling. Salazar help him, he was going to regret this. "Come on, I think you could use a change of scenery."

ooo

Draco's hand fell to the small of Theo's back as he ushered the other wizard inside the dodgy pub located at the edge of Knockturn Alley closest to Diagon Alley. The Demon's Dragon wasn't a very well known place, attracting a rougher crowd than his pureblood upbringing had allowed for him to interact with in his youth. In the years since Astoria's death, well, Draco just didn't care about what was expected of him anymore. The need to marry and have an heir died along with her.

Even though he didn't drink, the pub was still a good place for Draco to people watch and make contacts for his job as a private investigator. It also doubled as his apothecary to get his dreamless sleep since his healer now refused to prescribe any for him.

"This seems a bit seedy," Theo commented as the pair slid into a couple of high top chairs at the bar. Theo raised his hand, motioning for the barmaid, looking around at the small crowd consisting of witches, wizards, faes, vampires, goblins, and others. "Do I want to know how you found this place?"

Draco only shrugged his shoulders, accepting the fizzing soda the woman slammed down in front of him.

"Cheery," Theo muttered, taking a sip of the firewhisky that the grumpy woman had caused to slosh over the top of his tumbler when she'd delivered it.

"I need contacts, it's a good place to meet where I don't have to worry about being cursed in the back. Not too far into Knockturn, so people tend to keep it to muggle fist fights." Draco looked across the pub where he saw a couple cuddled together in a corner booth, the shadows cast hiding them from being recognized. "It's also good for finding a hooker."

The firewhisky came spurting out of Theo's mouth at Draco's last sentence, and he coughed, pounding his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Draco hid his smirk behind his glass, but Theo saw it all the same.

"You're a right prick, you know that?"

Draco lifted a shoulder in response, raising a hand to get the barmaid's attention to get Theo a refill. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence, each nursing their drinks and watching the other patrons coming and going with their own affairs. A couple of witches, who actually were selling themselves, easily found clients – who were some Ministry higher ups – that slipped off to the upper level where there were rooms to rent for the night. A group of rowdy wizards walked in, one of them punching another in the face causing blood to spray all over the floor were reprimanded by the elderly barmaid before being given a bucket to clean the mess they'd made. A hag was peddling her goods to an unsuspecting couple, but otherwise there was nothing of too much importance for Draco to take note of.

Overall, the night out was going much more smoothly than Draco could have hoped for after the turmoil that was Theo's middle two children. The brunette wizard finished off three tumblers before Draco finally told him that it was getting late and they ought to be heading back to his townhouse. While Draco fished around in his pockets for the gold to pay their tab, Theo slid from his stool and stumbled slightly towards the door.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here!?" He heard Theo's voice boom near the exit, and Draco only had one guess as to who he could be talking to.

"I'm out with a friend, same as you I expect." Granger's response came clipped and Draco pushed his way towards the crowd that had filled the small space until he caught sight of the witch and wizard walking out into the cool night.

"Oh, you've gotta be fucking joking," Draco muttered as he took in the sight of Granger and the dragon keeper Weasley brother standing on the street facing the pub.

"My friend doesn't put his hands on me like that!" Theo shouted, causing Draco to blush. He most certainly had just had his hand on the small of Theo's back just as Weasley was touching Granger, though he wasn't going to correct his friend just then.

"What do you want, Theo?" Granger had her arms crossed over her chest in a protective manner, her stance wide as if she were readying herself for a fight. Draco had been around somewhat the last few years since Potter had gone missing, but in all that time he'd never been witness to one of their rows.

"I want him to get his fucking hands off my wife," Theo spat, his eyes narrowing at the burly redhead standing behind Granger.

"I'm not yours anymore, Theo! You made sure of that yourself!" The witch yelled, drawing attention from the nearby Diagon Alley shoppers. Even though it was more than twenty years since the war, Granger was still one of the most recognised faces in the wizarding community.

Just as Draco thought things couldn't get worse, they did.

"Charlie!?" Draco's head fell back and he let out an audible groan as he heard the voice of the most irritating human that had ever walked the face of the Earth.

"Ron?" The other Weasley – apparently also known as Charlie – said from behind Granger. "What are you doing here?" The other man asked, drawing Draco's full attention to him. The older Weasley was much shorter than his younger brother, but what he lacked in height he made up with his thick muscles. Long red hair with streaks of grey was pulled into a leather strap at the base of his neck and a dragon tooth earring was on display with the hairstyle. The scars and tattoos that were on display were clear evidence that this man had lived a life much different from the cushioned one his younger brother had.

"I'm with my wife, what I don't understand is why your hands are on that homewrecker instead of being home with your husband!" Weasley snapped and that was when the Indian witch who Draco vaguely recognised stepped back from Weasley. Her nose scrunched in disgust as she looked at the group gathered, as if she were better than them.

"I don't have a husband," the scary Weasley growled, sounding much like the dragons he worked with.

Draco watched with interest as Granger moved behind the terrifying Weasley, using him as a barrier between herself and the idiot Weasley. Interesting. Draco knew that there had been a falling out between them after Potter had disappeared, but he'd never asked or cared at the details behind it. It was after all the reports that Potter hadn't been abducted, but instead had run out on his wife, husband, and their four children that tensions between idiot Weasley and the remaining Potters had grown.

"If she wasn't such a fucking whore–" the fool began to say, but the satisfying crunch of his brother's fist making contact with his jaw cut off his rant. Watching the blood trickle out the corner of his stupid mouth brought Draco a level of joy he didn't know he could still reach.

"Charlie, no!" Granger screamed, but the fight was on. The corner of Draco's mouth lifted in amusement as he watched the brainless wonder stagger before making a swing at his brother. He didn't even come close to making contact, his brother used to working with fucking dragons wasn't about to be taken out by the pathetic waste of magic.

Though, as entertaining as the pounding Weasley was receiving was to watch, Draco turned his attention towards the hysterical witch yelling at her date to not kill his brother. Theo clearly had noticed the turmoil that Granger was in as well, because per usual, he was drawn to her. When Theo reached her side, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest.

She was still sobbing, even as dragon Weasley backed away from useless Weasley, who was leaning heavily on his own wife for support after being pummelled. Draco couldn't hear what they were muttering as the couple began to move away, but dragon Weasley growled, making their retreat quicken.

The sound of a slap echoed through the alley causing all eyes to turn towards the source. Granger stood next to Theo, her eyes blazing with rage and her hand still raised while his cheek was already red from where she'd assaulted him. "You don't get to comfort me, not anymore," she seethed and before she could swing at her ex again, Draco moved swiftly forwards and caught her dainty wrist.

"You will want to keep your hands to yourself," Draco snarled, levelling the witch with a glare that would cower most others. Of course, Granger was a fucking exception. She did, however, pull her wrist free, Draco releasing her, but keeping himself firmly between her and Theo.

Draco watched as she took Weasley's hand in her own before pulling him down the street and away from the pub without another word.

"I'm sorry!" Theo shouted at their retreating forms, though neither acknowledged him beyond Granger's shoulders tensing.

"You have nothing to apologise for." Draco turned towards his friend. She was Theo's bloody wife, and had been with him for over twenty years. There was no possible way she didn't know about the horrendous abuse Theo had suffered at the hands of his father. For her to feel as though she could raise a hand to him was appalling, and Draco couldn't stand by and watch it happen.

Draco opened his mouth, but before he could continue, Theo turned towards him. Anger rolled off the brunette in waves that caused Draco to bite his tongue.

"She's still my wife, you have no right to put your hands on her. You don't understand what I've put her through, for years! Her anger towards me is justified, regardless of how she shows it." Theo's hands were in the air now as he gestured impotently in his rage at himself. "Do you have any idea what a piece of shit husband I've been to her since we got married. Well before Harry disappeared even!

"I've only been focused on my career, I've willingly missed so much of our life that I couldn't even tell you what bloody house Portia had been in. I spent more nights at the office than at home, and at first it was fine because Harry was more than enough to fill the void I left. Once he was gone, my absence was glaringly obvious.

"I missed holidays with my family because I was so busy just working instead of spending time with them. I missed birthdays, celebrations. Hell, I missed the fucking birth of Lilian because no one could get ahold of me for two days!

"To be fair I told Hermione that I got stuck in a time warp, but I actually almost died in an explosion. We have a clinic in the department, they had me in a magical coma for a while. It was touch and go. I never told her or Harry that though." Theo sighed, his lip twitching as he fought back tears and his hands balled into fists at his side.

"So, when I say this separation is all my fault, I truly mean it."

Draco bit back what he wanted to say in response, to tell Theo that Granger hadn't been the picture perfect wife that he believed she had been. That Potter hadn't always been around to bridge that gap and his disappearance had never been properly processed by either Theo or Granger.

It wasn't going to help anyone if he pointed out the lack of grief counselling the Potter family had done, plus he'd look like a hypocrite. Instead, he shoved his hands in his trouser pockets and looked at his broken friend.

"Let's go home then," he sighed after the silence had stretched on too long.