Skeeter took a deep breath as she stared into the fire, feeling like a sword was dangling over her head. Her floating quill was very still as she couldn't think of a damn thing to get out of this mess.

A knock on the door made her jump and turn alert to the door. "Miss Parkinson?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Skeeter, the editor is asking when I should let the printers know to make space for your next article?" She asked.

Skeeter nodded, looking back into the fire before her eyes filled with an idea. "Miss Parkinson, you are close to mister Draco Malfoy, are you not?" She asked. Her smile was stiff as she looked away.

"I don't know anything. I'll sue if you add me to the stories." She said, her eyes wide with barely concealed fear. Or was that anger?

"I know you've seen me with mister Davis before."

"Of course, I help with proofreading and organising the schedules. I've seen him come often enough." She said.

"His stories have run their course and witches and wizards are cancelling their daily prophet orders left and right, you know about that too?"

"Yes... the editor yells the numbers every day so loudly that the walls rattle."

"Have you seen mister Malfoy since those papers came out?" She asked.

"I already said I don't know anything."

"Alfred Davis' lover was found dead, poisoned by some kind of dark magic. You proofread my article on that story?" She continued.

"Ms. Skeeter if I could just, please, get your deadline."

"Aren't you worried that Draco Malfoy might also be found in a ditch somewhere?" She asked.

"I'm sure you'll find out everything that needs to be known."

"What if I have information I can't share?" She asked.

"With the newspaper? You'd hold onto a good story?" The disbelief in her tone was understandable.

"You want to be a reporter, don't you?"

"You'd feed me a story?" Skeeter despised the thought, but she couldn't keep this whole thing to herself if she wanted to be believed. One sensationalist writer can be enjoyed as fun gossip then forgotten. Multiple writers finding bits and pieces to build a fuller picture, that would be richer.

"No one has seen Draco Malfoy. You need to go visit the Malfoys. Confirm if he's even there or... if he's missing. If those stories can be disproven, you may just be able to restore mister Malfoy's honour."

"And why would I care about him?"

"Well, if not him, then you. Your parents don't let you go anywhere without a chaperone, correct? Very hard for a reporter to investigate the exciting stories with a companion up and about." Skeeter glanced behind her, seeing the whimpering house-elf sobbing under a table, but still keeping his eyes on her.

"The deadline?"

"Tomorrow... unless something more interesting comes up between now and then?" Skeeter watched her go and her usual look of confidence dropped as she kept thinking of what she'd seen, of what she'd heard in that horrible house.

oOoOoOo

Draco frowned in concentration as he scrubbed the plates with the yellow and green rectangle. He heard a click and a flash and turned to see Potter holding the camera he bought on the start of their adventure.

Potter looked amused and Draco felt irritated.

"Are you amused?" He asked slowly and Potter had the decency to look guilty but not regretful.

"I just wanted to remember this." He said.

Draco huffed and put the sponge down, washing the soap off his hands. His hands were sore from not having done this in his life.

"I'm glad my incompetence amuses you." He said trying to walk past him.

"Come on, how could I ever think that you are incompetent." Potter said holding onto his arm gently, stopping his escape. They turned to face each other and Harry took out a hand cream he used on his sore hands. Draco felt his heart speed up at the warmth he felt from the other.

"Did Hermione speak to you?" Draco asked softly. Potter nodded.

"I think we should talk about it."

Draco sighed and looked up defeated at him. "Fine, living room. Five minutes. Bring snacks."

Draco made his way to the living room and sighed taking out contract scroll. It made Potter do a double take when he saw it.

"Are you serious?" He asked, putting the tray down.

"...Yes." He said with a deep breath. He wanted to trust him. Deep down he felt he did. But something stopped him from just accepting Potter's words as they were.

"Fine." Harry sat down, but his tense features and coldness made it clear to Draco that he was angry.

"The terms are that we will tell everyone that you and I were lovers and the child was always yours to start with." Draco said. "You can't change the story, even if people somehow find out. You and I were lovers around the time I became pregnant after we met and bonded over our time before the war."

"Our time? There was nothing blissful about our time before the war." Potter said.

"Then call it sentimentality over the stupidity of our childhood arguments in comparison to the real darkness that was out in the world." Draco pressed on. The words must have left Harry speechless because he opened his mouth to argue but stopped himself thinking over his words. "Then you defended me during the trials and it drew me even more toward you. You'll have to come up with a time when you were drawn to me that is realistic." He said, writing down the points.

"Won't it look wrong if you were drawn to me before you even began searching for a fiancée?" Potter asked and Draco shrugged.

"As if I could ever act on my attraction for Harry Potter. No, that initiative has to come from you." Draco said.

Potter stared at him and smirked. "So, how about, I had heard your engagement from the newspaper and realised I hadn't seen or heard from you in a while. Then, six months after breaking up my own relationship, I saw you standing next to your fiancée, looking bored out of your mind in the charity event your mother was managing."

Draco stared at him in shock with a frown. He opened his mouth to ask but he didn't know what to even say. He had been to a few of his mother's charity events, he recalled Potter coming to one or two of them, but he never stayed long.

Potter reached out and touched his hand and Draco felt his soothing energy. "I'd spent years in Hogwarts with you so the boredom in your face made me want to reach out." He paused. "So, I did." But he never did. "We met, and we remembered our time before the world turned dark and then we spoke of the future." He looked up at Draco. "I pointed out that you did not look happy. That I couldn't understand why you were even marrying someone you didn't really care about, someone who didn't make you feel alive, someone you didn't have to be 'prim' and 'proper' around." Draco felt heat on his face and had to turn away embarrassed at the look Potter was giving him. "You pushed me away, you tried to do the right thing, but I was drawn to you and I began seeking out any opportunity to speak with you and sabotage you and your fiancée's outings."

Draco laughed at that imagining how that would have happened. "We'd need witnesses, what is the likelihood that you were in any of the places we had our dates?" He asked.

Harry chuckled. "Well, think of anything that went wrong in any of them and let me know how I can take the blame for it." he suggested and Draco thought about it and sighed.

"Nothing was ever wrong... it was always... pleasant... bland... boring." He looked away and sat back but Potter sat down next to him and reached out to hold his hand.

"Then we'll say that. I was so memorable that you kept thinking about me, about the excitement I could bring to your life." Draco scoffed rolling his eyes at him and Potter leaned closer and Draco shuddered as he whispered their invented romance into his ear.

When they were done Draco added conditions and Potter finished it with his own. Draco barely read them before he signed his name and stormed out of the living room and up to his room, worried that the heat on his face was visible to Potter in the form of a blush.

oOoOoOo

Harry watched him go and chuckled covering his eyes with his hands. He thought back amused at their supposed romance, thinking how Draco had peaked his attention, maybe he hadn't been romantically drawn to him at the time, but he had caught his attention all the same. Draco always caught his attention. One way or another. From the day they met.

He thought of Draco's rationale for even getting engaged with someone that bored him to the core. It didn't make sense to him. He couldn't imagine getting married to someone he didn't love, let alone someone that bored him.

He looked up the stairs and walked up, knocking on the door, entering when he was granted permission to do so. He sat Draco looking in the mirror, deciding between some wizard robes and some of his muggle clothes for what to wear to the party tomorrow.

The cradle beside Draco's bed called to him and he walked over to it, smiling warmly at the fact that Draco had left the little touches that Harry added.

"Let's go out on a date." Harry said.

He looked at Draco's reaction. Draco glanced at him on the mirror and turned around to face him. They'd discussed how their story had started, but not what their story currently was.

"Muggle or wizarding world?" He asked.

"Well, because I'm worried you'll think I'll be pretending if we go to the wizarding world, then let's do the muggle world for today."

"Very well."

"Now, where would you like to go?" He asked. Draco scoffed.

"You want me to take you seriously?"

"Um... yes?" Draco glared and Harry cleared his throat. "I mean yes. Yes, of course."

"Then don't ask me where I'd like to go."

"But how will I know you even want to go there?"

"You'll know." Meaning he'll know if he messed up only once they were there.

"But..." Harry frowned very concerned.

Suddenly he recalled how terrible he was at dating and looked at his watch making his way back down, thinking what they could do.

oOoOoOo

Draco felt excitement brewing. He was happy that he still wasn't showing enough to see through his winter outfit. It meant he could be himself, rather than a woman, on their first date in the muggle world.

He loved how nervous Potter was. In truth... he didn't really care where they went. He just began to find it more and more adorable as he saw Potter's eyes start to fill with hints of panic.

They ended up going to the National Gallery. Draco was fascinated by the grand palace full of art from different periods.

It creeped him out though. There was something unnerving about not seeing any of the images move. As if he was somehow walking through frozen time.

He was fascinated with the muggle pieces, though he could feel here and there the odd lingering energy of a painting with spells like he would feel in Hogwarts. Whether they were staying still for the muggles, or the spells were incomplete, he couldn't tell.

"This is amazing." Draco said looking at the Renaissance section in awe. He was so enthralled he didn't notice Potter yawning beside him until he did it once more on their way out. "You were bored." Draco stated and it soured his mood.

"No, I wasn't." Potter defended himself.

"Yes, you were. You don't give a hoot about fine art." Draco insisted. Potter looked amused.

"I enjoyed what I saw all the same." he winked at him and Draco felt heat rush to his face, looking away in embarrassment.

"It's not great if our first date bores you to death." Draco pointed out. Harry reached out to hold his hand and Draco felt embarrassed at how shy he felt, so he covered it up with annoyance.

"I enjoyed how much you enjoyed it." He said. Instead of pulling his hand out, Draco held his hand in return, feeling giddy that this was happening.

"We'll have to find something we both enjoy." Draco said.

"We both like quidditch." Harry argued. "But we can't go to a match until after you give birth. Protective barriers or not, I've seen enough bludgers slip through those barriers to last me a lifetime."

"Sounds like a plan for the future." He said.

Potter stopped and turned to face him. Draco noticed they were relatively alone after walking round the back of the gallery, with the only person passing already ahead. "So will you accept coming out with me again?" He asked. Draco looked at him, his heart starting to race.

"To make sure we are not misunderstanding. To me, if I go out with someone, it's because I expect them, and me, to very quickly decide whether we want to get married." He said very clearly.

Potter stared at him in silence for a few seconds. "Ok." He said and Draco wondered if he understood correctly. He decided to continue.

"To my family, that also means you'll take my family name."

"Not happening." He said bluntly.

"Ok... well... where does that leave us then?" Draco asked, looking at their joint hands.

"Why do we have to decide all of this now? Can't we enjoy each other's company first, see if we work as a couple and then decide?" He asked.

"But... why continue when you are very clear that you will not join my family?" Draco asked.

"Why can't I just keep my name? Or why can't you take my name?"

"Because... I'm the heir to my house." Draco let go of Potter's hand and held his own hands. "Unless I have a little brother." He said. "Or I've been disowned already." He sighed. "To me my family name is very important."

"My family name is very important too. It's a permanent connection to what was taken from me." Potter said, and the feeling in his eyes showed Draco that it indeed meant a lot to him.

"Then..."

"Why can't we just keep our own names?" Potter said.

"It's not how it's done." Draco shook his head. "Would we even be married if we don't even have the same family name?" The idea confused and unnerved him as much as seeing an entire gallery of unmoving paintings. "What name would our child even have?" He continued.

"Well..." But Potter seemed as stumped for an answer as Draco was.

Draco thought about it. Was he ready to give up this chance with Potter just over a name? As much as it hurt... he didn't have many other choices. With or without Potter, no other family worth marrying into would accept him with a child fathered by someone else.

Davis had succeeded in taking everything he ever dreamed of for his own future. He smiled bitterly.

"You're right. I can take your family name if you did ever want to marry me." He said. He would at least enjoy this remaining illusion. However long it might last. He reached out and held Harry's hand.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." He lied. "I don't want to ruin a perfectly nice date." He said and they kept walking, hands held.

"You're not ruining it. I like how we can talk about these things." Harry said and stopped them again. "What other rules are there in the meantime?" He asked.

"It's... it's stupid, we don't need to follow the rules. I've broken enough of them already." He said laughing, though he internally grimaced as it sounded fake.

"Stop it." Potter insisted and Draco sighed.

"I'm sorry, it's just dawning on me that nothing I envisioned for my future is going to happen. And I have Alfred and myself to blame for that. It's not your fault Potter. In fact, I owe you my life, again. And my child's life." He said and reached down to caress his stomach. He felt a little flutter under his touch and his eyes widened.

"What? What's wrong? Are you ok?" Potter began clucking questions in panic and Draco smiled pulling his hand down to feel. Instantly Potter quieted down waiting. Draco waited for the baby to do it again and just as expected, the baby kicked firmly and Draco looked up with excitement.

"Did you feel that?" He asked happily.

"You felt the baby?" Potter asked in wonder.

"You didn't feel it?" Draco said, feeling deflated. Harry smiled brightly in response.

"That's normal, I was reading about that, it takes a couple of more months before the baby's kicks can be felt from the outside." He said, still looking thrilled and kneeling before him to be at eyelevel with his stomach. "My baby... keep growing strong." He said with a warm, gentle tone that made Draco's eyes fill with tears. Surnames and rules, all of that went out of his mind as he saw how much Potter cared for his child.

As Harry stood up and cupped his face, Draco felt the gentle pull from him and leaned in to the kiss that followed. If his child could have that love and affection, then Draco would give anything for that. Damnit he could feel his heart already surrendering to Harry, his crush evolving to more as he saw how gentle and loving he could be.

It really was too late for him. And if this was only an illusion, he would cherish these moments for the rest of his life once reality woke them up.

"Come on, we're going to be late." Potter said and pulled him along to the rest of their date.

That night Draco had wonderful dreams. Even with Harry still placing the pillows between them. He had beautiful dreams of Harry, Draco and an energetic toddler running from parent to parent, looking happy, healthy and loved.