Second Chance (2025 Christmas Story) - Chapter 26

Title: Second Chance – Chapter Twenty-Six
Author: sesheta_66 || AO3: sesheta_66
Prompts used: slythindor100’s Bonus Prompt 2025—London New Year's Eve Fireworks (picture under the cut)
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 4.3K (this part; total 60K + upcoming epilogue)
Rating: R
Warning: none
Summary: This is the second Christmas for Draco without Astoria and Harry's first since Ginny remarried. Will best friends Scorpius and Albus be just what they need to rekindle something they'd thought fleeting and lost forever?
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Written for the slythindor100 Early Bird 25 Days of Draco and Harry and the dracoharry100 Christmas Challenge.

On LJ: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26

OR on AO3





Second Chance – Chapter 26


Harry arrived at Draco's after lunch on the 30th to pick up Al.

"They're just playing a game of wizard's chess – Scorpius got a fancy marble set from Blaise and he finally talked Al into playing."

Harry smiled. "Not Al's favourite game, that's for sure. Takes after me, I'm afraid."

"Well then, it should be a fast game."

"Fortunately he's not as bad as me, so maybe not too fast."

"Cup of tea?"

"Sure. I don't think the kids will destroy the place while I'm gone."

Draco led the way into the kitchen. "So, how are you doing?"

Harry sighed. He didn't like confrontation if he could help it. He could handle himself just fine – had to from a young age, and even more so in his job – but he didn't have to enjoy it. "I'm alright. Pissed, but alright. I spoke to Gin first and she's pissed too. She assured me, as I knew she would, that she would never dare deny me my kids. So you can relax about that."

"I'd hoped that was the case, but I just didn't know. I don't really know her." He brought two mugs of tea to the table.

"Thanks." Harry wrapped his hands around the warm mug. "How could you know? Anyway, she told me I should fire his arse."

Draco's eyes widened. "Did you?"

Harry thought about it for a beat. He didn't, but he wasn't yet sure if it would come to that. "Not yet," he said. "Told him to take a couple of weeks off to think about things." Draco snorted and Harry sighed again. "I know, a big ask. But we'll see. He isn't particularly reflective. Tends to be more emotional in his reactions, and he holds a grudge. For a long time. As you've obviously observed. I have no idea if he'll come round or not, but he needs to at least acknowledge and accept that what he did was out of line. Way out of line."

"And you said Ginevra is pissed too?"

Harry chuckled. "Told me to kick his arse and that she'd do the same next time she saw him. Which should be tomorrow night."

"I'd like to see that."

"Her hexes are better than Ron's and she tends not to hold back, so it should be amusing. She's also sneaky – had to be with six brothers – so she might get him when he's not expecting it. Might give him the chance to not have to face his mother's wrath as well, because I suspect she'd tear him a new one if she found out what he did." He pictured the scene. "Or maybe Gin'll just blast him into the next room and tell everyone present what bullshit he pulled." At Draco's horrified look, he added, "Don't worry. She wouldn't do it around the kids. She'd wait until it was adults only in the room, put up a privacy spell, and then let him have it."

Draco tried hard not to smirk but failed. Harry couldn't blame him. "She's tough, your ex."

"She is. Had to be in that house." Harry sipped his tea. Just as he liked it. "She told me you wrote to her, after the trials."

Draco looked surprised. "She did?"

"Mm hmm. Didn't tell me at the time, but did yesterday when we talked. Said she thought you'd been sincere. Also said you and Astoria raised a great kid in Scorpius and that that had to count for something."

Draco put down his mug and stared at Harry. "She did?"

"Yup. Said I could do worse." He grinned. "Said you were hot, too."

Draco laughed. "Now I know you're joking."

"Nope. Not one little bit." Draco's mouth fell open but he said nothing. "Might want to close that." Harry winked and Draco's cheeks went pink.

"I can't seem to process the fact that your ex-wife said that about me."

Harry ran his eyes over Draco, head to toe. "She's not wrong." He leaned in. "And I'd pay money to hear her tell Ron the same thing."

Draco coughed at that. "Fucking hell, that would go over well."

Harry chuckled. "Wouldn't it, though?"

The boys chose that moment to come downstairs. "Oh, hey, Dad. When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago. Scorpius' dad offered me some tea while you finished up your game." Harry got up, took his last sip and put his cup on the kitchen counter. "All set to go?"

He nodded and held up his overnight bag. "All packed."

"Thanks, Draco, for the tea. See you soon."

"See you later, Potter. And goodbye, Albus. I hope you enjoyed yourself."

"Very much, thanks Mr Malfoy."

"You're welcome back any time."

"See you tomorrow, Scorpius."

"See you, Al. Bye, Mr Potter."

Harry said, "Happy New Year, Scorpius," and they left.

After Ginny picked up the kids after dinner, Harry cleaned up the clutter and poured himself a Firewhisky. He didn't have it often, but he damn well needed one after the week he'd just had. No sooner had he picked up the book he'd abandoned when Parkinson had owled him than the fire lit up and Hermione's face appeared.

"Are the children gone?" she asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Good. I'm coming through." And without waiting for a response, she entered the room looking livid.

"Can I get you a cup of tea?"

"No you can't! How could you do that to Ron?"

"Excuse me?"

"During the holidays and everything. What are you thinking? And what could possibly justify what you did? You said you were just going out for a pint, and then Ron comes home ready to explode."

"Sit down," Harry said, not unkindly.

"I don't want to sit down. I want an explanation."

Harry sighed. It seemed he was not destined to ever read that book. "And I'll give you one, but you might as well get comfortable. Besides, I think you might want to be sitting for this."

"For what?"

He got up and went to the kitchen. She followed. He made tea in silence, the only sounds his clinking and Hermione's nails tapping on the breakfast counter. Once he'd made the tea, he slid her mug over to her and took a seat at the counter. "I take it Ron just gave you one side of the equation?"

"He didn't give me any side. Just came home fuming, wouldn't talk about it. Eventually, I wore him down." Harry didn't doubt that. "But all he said was that you suspended him. I laughed, thinking he was joking, but he said it's no joke. And if I wanted to know more, I should ask the boss and his boyfriend."

Harry choked on his tea at that comment. "My what?"

"That's what I asked, but he just stormed off. We've been busy with the kids since then, so I waited until I knew your lot would be off to Ginny's and I came over. So. What happened?"

Harry, not inclined to protect Ron after what he'd done, proceeded to tell Hermione precisely what had happened. When he'd finished, her only comment was, "So Malfoy's your boyfriend?"

"Seriously? That's your takeaway?"

She shrugged and sipped her tea. "Well, you were perfectly within your rights to suspend him. And the fact that you did so off the record is to protect him, no one else, so I can't fault you for that. In fact, I'm not so sure I'd have been so kind. And I'm sure Ginny wouldn't have been either."

He chuckled. "She told me to fire him."

"No surprise there. Anyway, you are completely in the right and Ron was way out of line. So the only thing left is Draco. So you and he are …?"

He smiled at her summary of things, glad that she was not upset with him. "Seeing where things might lead."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

She finished her tea and got up. "Thanks for the tea and the chat." She kissed his cheek. "I'm off now to have a word with my husband."

He followed her to the front room where she stopped and looked at the book on the side table. "How is it?"

"I'll let you know if I can ever get five minutes of uninterrupted time with it."

She smiled and grabbed some Floo powder. "Happy New Year, Harry."

"Happy New Year, Hermione."

That night, Harry was finally able to settle in to read the book. He found it fascinating that the Muggles had been unable to solve some cases that seemed rather obvious to him, but otherwise it was good reading. He made a mental note to look more deeply into a couple of the cases, curious if the reason they hadn't been solved might have been more to do with magic than skill by the culprits.

The next evening, Draco Floo-called to let Harry know that he'd dropped off Scorpius and that he could come over any time. Inexplicably nervous all of a sudden – it would be the first time in two decades that they'd be alone together for more than a stolen minute – he took a few minutes to get ready before heading over. They hadn't discussed formal versus informal, so Harry decided on casual but smart. He put on a pair of black dress trousers that Ginny had always told him made his arse look great – he had no idea if she was right, but he went with it anyway – and a dark teal button-down shirt that he knew complemented his eyes.

Before stepping into the Floo, he cast a repelling charm and hoped for the best. When he stepped out, he was pleased to see that it had worked, and Draco noticed too. He'd stepped up to wipe the ash away, then rested his hands on Harry's chest instead. "Nice."

Harry smiled and took a moment to check out his date for the night. Charcoal trousers, fitted just right to emphasise his long, lean legs and gorgeous arse. Soft blue sweater that softened the grey eyes and accentuated the blond hair and pale skin. The man's pointy features as a teen had softened over the years and he'd filled out nicely since. "Ginny was right. You are hot."

Draco leaned in for a brief kiss, pulled back and smiled. "You're not so bad yourself."

Harry handed over a bottle of wine – one of Hermione's favourites, so he figured he couldn't go wrong – and followed Draco into the kitchen.

"Speaking of your ex-wife, I had an interesting chat with her when I dropped off Scorpius."

"You did?"

"Indeed." He got two wine glasses down from a rack, giving Harry ample opportunity to ogle, then poured a healthy measure into each. He handed Harry his and leaned back. "She said that her brother was out of line and that she would never do anything to hurt your relationship with your children."

Harry smiled. "Glad she confirmed that."

Draco lifted his wine in a toast, and Harry clinked glasses with his and they both took a sip. "Then she told me that her brother had nothing on her and if I ever hurt you, she'd hex off my balls. That's a direct quote."

Harry laughed. "Did she really?"

"She really did. Then she wished me a Happy New Year and sent me on my way."

"I guess there's something to be said for maintaining a good relationship with your ex."

"Indeed."

"Speaking of, you have a good friend in Parkinson."

"I do indeed."

"Took a lot of guts to come see me, in my home no less. Especially since there's no love lost between us."

"She wanted to go see Weasley and hex him."

"I think she might have to get in line." Draco raised his brows in question. "Hermione wasn't pleased when I told her." Draco opened his mouth to say something but Harry stopped him. "She came to give me shit after Ron said I'd suspended him but didn't say why. So I merely clarified the situation. And Gin already said she'd hex him. And if his brothers find out what he did, they might want to have a word or two with him. And then there's Molly." He took another sip and raised his glass. "I don't fancy Ron will be having as nice an evening as I will."

"Oh, really? And how did you plan on that?"

Harry took Draco's wine and put both of their glasses on the counter, then took Draco's hand and let him to the sofa. "Come here and let me show you."

He turned Draco around, pushed him gently onto the cushions, then straddled him. He stood there, staring, hardly able to believe this was finally going to happen.

"Are you going to get on with it, or just stare at me all night?" Draco quipped.

Harry leaned over him, hands on the back of the sofa, eyes boring into Draco's. "You know I've been wanting this for weeks, yeah?"

Draco closed his eyes and let his head fall back. "Mm. Me too."

"Gorgeous." Harry took advantage of his exposed neck and swept his tongue up to Draco's ear and whispered, "I missed this."

Draco lifted his hips in response. "You did?"

"Mm hmm." He nibbled Draco's earlobe. "The taste of you." He took a long inhale, breathing the scent of sandalwood that took him back in time. "The smell of you." He lowered himself so that his hard length pressed against Draco's and the blond's moans echoed Harry's. "The feel of you." They rocked back and forth, a promise of what was to come. "Forgot what I was missing until you walked in that day. Could have thrown you on the desk and–"

Draco grabbed Harry's shoulders and bucked his hips up. "Should have." Harry groaned. "Wouldn't have stopped you."

Harry grinned and rocked his hips forward. "Oh yeah?" He pictured Draco's lean body bent over his desk as he thrust into him, knocking everything onto the floor. That was something he'd really like to experience.

"Mm. Couldn't have if I'd wanted to. One taste of you and I'm done." He grabbed Harry's hair in his fist and pulled him back just enough to stare into his eyes, the grey of his own nearly swallowed by his pupils. "Done."

That was all Harry had to hear before he flipped Draco onto his back and lowered himself until their bodies lined up perfectly. Just like he remembered. "So long I've wanted this without even knowing. Fuck, what you do to me!"

Draco said something but his words were lost in Harry's mouth as he kissed him for all he was worth, rediscovering every part of the other man's mouth. Through the flavour of the wine, he tasted every bit like Draco, and Harry drank his fill.

Harry gently dragged his teeth over Draco's tongue as he pulled back from the kiss, reluctantly releasing his lips before running his hands down the sides of Draco's torso. He ran his fingers gently along and just under the waist of his trousers, eliciting a shudder from the other man, then slowly pulled Draco's sweater up and over his head, revealing the muscled stomach below. Starting from Draco's shoulders, Harry caressed every inch of bare skin, planting kisses along the way, running his tongue over the rippling abs. "Mm, you've filled out nicely since last I was this close." He dipped his tongue into Draco's navel and got a sharp intake of breath for his troubles.

"Potter, if you don't take off your shirt too, I'm going to rip it off!"

Harry liked his shirt, so he opted to remove it himself, all the while watching Draco's chest lift and fall, the skin flushed and glistening with a thin layer of sweat. Fuck if he wasn't the most gorgeous man Harry had ever seen. To be fair, Draco was the only man he'd seen this up close and personal, but that was beside the point. By the time he'd removed his shirt and tossed it aside, Draco was staring, open-mouthed at him.

"Fucking hell, Potter."

"What?"

"First of all, Pansy was right – you do look delicious in uniform. I could have devoured you at the press conference."

"Parkinson said what?"

"Never mind that. Uniform. You. Delicious. But fucking hell that uniform doesn't come close to what you're hiding underneath." He ran his hands over Harry's arms, chest and stomach. Harry's cock twitched in response. "Where the hell did all those muscles come from?"

Harry shrugged, definitely not flexing said muscles in the process. "Auror training. Need to stay fit."

"Mm." He ran his hands all over Harry's muscles again. Fuck, that felt good. "How about you come here and show me just how fit you are?"

Harry grinned and proceeded to do just that.

As they lay entwined on the sofa, a soft blanket draped over them, Harry's stomach growled. Draco laughed and said, "Okay, Mr Auror. Let's feed those muscles of yours."

Harry smacked him playfully and they got up, threw on their clothes, and made their way to the kitchen where Draco had laid out a spread of crackers, cheeses, meats, tea sandwiches and cakes.

"This is delicious," Harry said. "I didn't realise how famished I was."

Draco eyed him slyly. "Well, you did work up an appetite."

Harry grinned back. "Mm. Too true."

Draco leaned over the counter and kissed him. "Eat up. You'll need energy for round two."

Harry nibbled on Draco's lower lip. "Ah, yes, I do remember you were rather insatiable."

Draco popped a pastry into his mouth and winked. "No more than you, if memory serves."

"That may be, but I think I need a little more recovery time these days."

"That's okay. We have all night. Besides, we have twenty years of catching up to do in the meantime."

Harry found he enjoyed hearing about Draco's life. He was glad that he'd found Astoria and they'd been able to build a life together, like he and Ginny had. And while he mourned the lost twenty years, they were wizards, so they still had many more years than that ahead of them. Years that he hoped they'd be spending together.

Before getting to the point where Astoria had fallen ill, Draco shifted gears and reached out for Harry's hand. "Round two, Auror Boy."

Auror Boy? Harry didn't ask. His cock certainly didn't argue, as it came to near full attention at the suggestion. He just laughed and allowed himself to be led into Draco's bedroom. Before he had time to take in the décor – expensive and tasteful he noticed – Draco had pushed him down onto the bed and straddled him. With a wave of his wand, their clothes vanished and in a swift move he descended on Harry and took his full length into his mouth in one go.

So surprised by the abruptness of it, Harry bucked up, nearly choking Draco, and said, "Oi! Give a guy some warning!"

Draco drew back achingly slowly, trailing his tongue and dragging his teeth from base to tip before releasing him and grinning up at Harry. "I did. I said round two. What did you think I was talking about?" And that was the last talking they did for some time.

Sweating and sated, Harry turned on his side, trapping Draco under his leg, and ran a hand over Draco's cooling body, enjoying the feel of his well-defined muscles. It was familiar between them, but different. They were men now, and Harry thought that whatever had brought them together the first time had been just a teaser of things to come.

Harry rolled on top of Draco and pinned him in place, their bodies lining up in all the right places, and looked down into the depths of those grey eyes, nearly losing himself. "I don't want to sound like a sap. Or, Merlin forbid, like a girl." He traced his tongue along the outline of Draco's lips then dove in once more, drinking in the taste, the feel of the man beneath him. "But this feels so … right. Inevitable. The two of us. Together." He brushed a few errand strands of hair out of Draco's eyes and let his fingers trace the line of his jaw. "It's as if everything in our lives – even the twenty years apart – had been leading to this. I can't explain why, but it's like everything just … clicked into place. Like we're two parts of a whole."

Draco stared at him through glazed over eyes, face flushed, heart racing and breathing laboured. Then he reached up and ran his fingers through Harry's hair. "Fucking hell, Potter, you do sound like a sap."

Harry tried to pull back, embarrassed at being so open, so soon. Too soon. He'd fucked it up before it had even begun. He had no experience with this. There had only ever been Draco and Ginny. It's not like he'd had a chance to figure out this dance. He'd fought like hell with Draco, then been drawn to him. They'd come together with few words and a lot of pent-up energy. Passion. Rage. Whatever it had been that had drawn them together, it hadn't needed words. And it had been amazing while it lasted. They'd had their time, and no matter how raw, intense, and fiery it had been, they'd realised that it couldn't work – they couldn't work, at least not back then – and had moved on. Had done what was expected of them. Had made the best of things. And he'd loved Ginny, really he had, and her family had been his family, so it had been easy. They'd just sort of fallen together.

But now … now he couldn't deny his feelings. If tonight was the only night they had together, so be it. He had to be honest, even if just for himself. He didn't want to play games with this man. And it was too late to take back the words anyway.

Draco tightened his grip on Harry's hair and held him in place. "But damn if I don't feel the same way." Harry smiled broadly and kissed him again.

They eventually got out of bed and spent the rest of the night sipping wine and talking about what they'd done over the past year and what they each had planned for the new one. No resolutions, just things they hoped to do. Harry's mind reeled with ideas for what they could do together in the next year, but he thought he'd said enough already. They had the whole year to work those sorts of things out. And, if all went well, a lot more time after that.

Harry realised that he hadn't asked Draco if he wanted to do something more social for New Year's. It wasn't really Harry's thing, unless you counted ringing in the new year with friends and family. And since the divorce, that wasn't in the cards for him. But lots of other people liked to attend big, showy events. It was past eleven but they could still apparate to London in time.

"Want to go to the Thames to watch the fireworks over Parliament?"

"I'm not letting you out of my bed tonight, Potter."

Harry laughed and patted his hand on the sofa cushion. "I hate to break the news to you, but we aren't in your bed."

"You know what I mean." He reached up and tweaked Harry's nipple through his now rumpled shirt. Harry absolutely did not squeak like a mouse. "I'm a spoiled, only child and I don't share well. We lost twenty years together and I'm not about to share you with anyone tonight." He emphasised his point with a deep, probing kiss.

Harry sighed with contentment. "Point taken." Relieved that they were on the same page, he said, "You know, I may not have been spoiled as a child, but I don't much like the idea of sharing you either."

"Good." Draco nodded, looking very serious all of a sudden. "Glad we got that settled."

As the minutes of the old year wound down, Harry reflected on his life and how he'd got here. Something he'd thought fleeting and lost forever had been reawakened in him, and he wondered how he'd let it go in the first place. Recalling what he'd said to Draco earlier, he thought maybe he did know. It hadn't been their time. Who knew where they'd be now if they hadn't walked away when they had. He was as certain now as he had been then that those two teenaged boys would not have survived the world's scrutiny and judgement with an intact relationship.

They'd both had a good life apart from each other. They'd had wonderful children and – until a few years ago for Harry – good marriages. They'd grown as men, become more confident in who they were and what they wanted to do with their lives. And then fate – aided by a nasty drug dealer – had brought them together again. All things happen for a reason, as the story goes.

"What are you thinking about, Potter?"

Harry gave him the side-eye. "That maybe you ought to start calling me Harry."

"Now why would I do that?"

Harry chuckled. "I was thinking about the saying that whatever you're doing when the clock strikes midnight is what you'll be doing for the rest of the year."

"Well then, we'd best get back to bed."

Harry laughed and they did just that. And when midnight struck, they clinked glasses of champagne and wished each other a Happy New Year.

In the end, they did watch the fireworks, but on the telly, from the warmth and comfort of Draco's bed, in each other's arms. Exactly where Harry wanted to be.

Happy New Year indeed.

** Epilogue to come shortly **

Second Chance (2025 Christmas Story) - Epilogue

Title: Second Chance – Epilogue
Author: sesheta_66 || AO3: sesheta_66
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 5.1K (this part); total 65.3K
Rating: R
Warning: none
Summary: This is the second Christmas for Draco without Astoria and Harry's first since Ginny remarried. Will best friends Scorpius and Albus be just what they need to rekindle something they'd thought fleeting and lost forever?
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Written for the slythindor100 Early Bird 25 Days of Draco and Harry and the dracoharry100 Christmas Challenge.

On LJ: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Epilogue

OR on AO3



Second Chance – Epilogue

It turned out Ronald Weasley did not have a good New Year's Eve. In fact, he didn't have a good January at all.

It started even before that, when Hermione arrived from Harry's place. Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea for Ron to tell her. First, that Harry had suspended him, and second – probably more importantly – to go ask him what it was about. Turns out, Hermione sided with Harry.

"What the hell were you thinking, Ronald?"

"Huh?"

She put up a privacy spell so young ears wouldn't hear. "I just came from Harry's where we had a cup of tea and a chat." She stood, hands on hips, glaring at him. "Care to venture a guess about what?"

"He was out of line, Hermione."

"He was out of line? In what universe is Harry the one in the wrong here?"

Ron gaped at his wife. Surely she didn't … "It was personal, not business. He had no right to suspend me."

"Honestly!" She stomped to the counter, pulled out a mug, and boiled some water. "He had every right to fire you!"

"What?"

She spun around and stomped over to him, poking her finger in his chest. "You broke. The. Law." She poked him to emphasise each word.

"I didn't!"

"You did. You tried to blackmail Draco into leaving Harry. Blackmail, Ronald. That's against the law."

He threw his hands up in the air. "Says Harry."

"Says the law." She stomped back to the counter and made her tea, left it to steep and stormed back over. "And in case it's escaped your notice, your job is to uphold the law. That means it's worse for you than for any regular citizen. You've breached the public trust as well."

Ron just stood there, staring at Hermione, having trouble processing what she was saying. Sure, Harry had said something similar, but that's just because it was Malfoy.

"Harry has done you a favour, only suspending you. And doing it off the books. No one else need ever know this happened. Which I would ordinarily have a huge problem with – it reeks of favouritism and corruption – but …"

"Hold on a minute! There's no corruption going on here. I was just helping a friend."

She barked out a laugh. "Helping? You think this is helping Harry?"

"Well … yeah."

"Argh!" She went back to the counter, added milk to her tea, then sat at the table, holding her mug with slightly shaking hands. Shit. She must really be mad. "First of all, sit down." She waited for him to sit and took a long breath. "Now, Harry is a grown man. He – and only he – gets to decide what choices he makes. Right or wrong, they're his choices to make, not yours."

"Yeah, but it's Malfoy"

"It doesn't matter. I daresay you would not be impressed if someone tried to pick your partner for you."

"Yeah, well, everybody loves you."

She didn't smile as he'd hoped. "Ronald, you don't get to choose for other people, no matter whom they decide to be with. If it's a mistake, it's your job as their friend to help them get through things if it all comes crashing down. It is not your job to interfere. Be there as a friend if and when Harry needs you, but otherwise stay out of it."

"But it's Malfoy."

"I don't care who it is!" She slammed her hand down on the table, making Ron jump.

"Stupid ferret."

She gulped some tea, nostrils flaring, then put her mug down on the table. "Your opinion doesn't matter, do you hear me? It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that Harry is happy. And if it's with Malfoy – yes, Draco Malfoy – then that's the way it is. And by the way, he isn't the boy we went to school with any more. You do realise that? He's an accomplished potions master, a stand-up member of the community, and a guess professor at two schools. And from all I've heard, he is an excellent father and was a good husband. He's not stepped a toe out of line since the war, and in case you've forgotten, he helped Harry even back then.

"Only to save his own arse."

"Oh, really? You think lying to his father and his aunt, dedicated followers of Voldemort, was in his own best interest?"

"Well–"

"The best you can say on that front is that he'd thought Harry was his best chance of escaping the hell his father had created for him and his mother. But that still came with risk. And it meant that even then he had faith in Harry's ability to defeat Voldemort. That's saying a lot based on his upbringing."

"I–" He'd never thought of it that way before.

"And the other way to look at it is that he looked Harry in the face and just couldn't imagine handing him over to Voldemort. For all of their petty and not so petty disagreements in school, he couldn't be the one to cause Harry's death."

"I–" Damn it, why was she making him sound better than Ron knew him to be?

"Personally, I think it was a bit of both. Which would mean that not only did he not want harm to come to Harry, but he looked up to him with hope for the future. And for someone who was raised – or rather, indoctrinated – into thinking that Harry's entire belief system and support network was wrong, and in fact harmful to the wizarding cause, that's saying one hell of a lot."

"Fucking hell, Hermione. He tried to kill me."

She let out a long-suffering sigh. "No he did not, Ronald."

"And what about Katie?"

"We've been through this before. Harry has told you this. Draco only ever tried to harm Dumbledore." Ron tried to comment, but she held up a hand to stop him. "Now, I'm not excusing what he did, but I am trying to give you context. He was sixteen years old, his father – the man he looked up to his entire life – had just been broken out of prison and was in utter disgrace. Voldemort had made no secret of ridiculing and tormenting the man. You saw him at the end, he was a shell of the man he'd been before. And yet Voldemort was living in their home, conducting his business under their roof, torturing and killing people in front of Draco. And then he threatened Draco and his parents with death if Draco couldn't perform an impossible task – which was so obviously a punishment for Lucius. Draco would have had no doubt in his mind that Voldemort would follow through.

"So, imagine yourself in that situation. Your mother, your father, and you under threat of death unless you killed someone. And that someone happens to be the man most responsible for the fact that wizards had to live in hiding, in secret, removed from society. Because that's what Draco had been told, had been taught. If Draco killed the one man who was destroying their way of life, he could save his parents. That, Ronald, is what Draco was trying to do: save his parents. He wasn't a killer, so he grasped desperately for some way to succeed without having to face what he was doing, even though he'd been taught to believe Dumbledore was their enemy. And not just their enemy, but the enemy of wizarding kind.

"You and Katie got caught up in that. There's no denying that you were both hurt in the process, but in no way can that accurately be called a deliberate attempt on either of your lives. Dumbledore knew that and he tried to protect Draco. He even had Snape do the deed for Draco, so he remained free of the guilt of murder."

Ron had heard this all before but had never really listened. Wasn't ready to listen, he supposed. Didn't have a compelling reason to try. After all, who was Malfoy in the grand scheme of things? Just some spoiled brat whose father had tried to humiliate Ron's father every chance he could get. Flaunting his money and status at every opportunity.

Sure, Harry had chosen his friendship with Ron over an alliance with the ferret – that had felt good, seeing the smarmy git's face when Harry had refused his hand. But then Harry had got more and more preoccupied with him in school. And in sixth year? Even when he and Ginny had started going out, Harry had stalked the ferret, had become obsessed with him. Harry had said he was just trying to catch him at whatever he'd been up do, but Ron remembered those days. It was always Malfoy this and Malfoy that. Like there was something brewing there, even then, under the surface.

And now they were what? Together? Like together, together? Ron shuddered. He didn't have a problem with Harry being with another wizard. He'd given it some thought, and it really didn't bother him. Just … why Malfoy?

"But all this is beside the point," Hermione said, bringing his focus back. "The point is that you – as Head Auror – cannot blackmail or even intimidate a member of the public for wanting to date your friend. And you – as Harry's best friend – have no business telling him who he can or cannot date."

Ron nodded. "I hear you."

"Do you, Ronald? Do you really?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"I certainly hope so."

That done, Ron had thought he'd be left to his own thoughts on the matter. But it wasn't to be. Because he had to go to his sister's for New Year's Eve. And Harry had spoken to Ginny. And Ron knew he was going to get an earful.

He'd got more than that.

Gin had taken it upon herself to tell the whole family what Ron had done. Not Percy because, in her words, he'd have arrested Ron himself, thrown him into Azkaban and sold the story to the highest bidder. But everyone else knew.

"Ronald, we need to talk," his mother had said, very calmly, when they first arrived. Never a good sign. He'd much rather deal with a howler than a calm Molly. "But this is not the time or the place – everyone around, you know. Come over for lunch tomorrow and we'll chat over a meal." She smiled at Hermione then looked back at Ron. "Just you, dear." Fuck. No buffer. Not that, after their conversation the day before, Ron thought Hermione would be of much help, but still.

George had pulled him aside shortly after that. "Not cool, man. Not cool at all."

"I know, but the ferret …"

"You know, for someone who moaned about Harry being obsessed with the guy in school, it looks to me like you're the one obsessed now. Just let it go. Move on. It's been over twenty years now."

"I know, but now Harry wants to … wants to … fucking hell, I can't even say it."

George laughed at his discomfort. "For the record, I don't give a shit if you want to tell Malfoy to back off, and, let's be honest, it would be hypocritical for me to tell you not to use your position at the Ministry, but you used Gin and Harry's kids, mate. That's low."

"I wouldn't have–"

"Doesn't matter. You had no business. Malfoy can handle himself. Same with Gin and Harry. But using kids is crossing a line. And the fact that those kids are family is even worse. I don't know where you go from here. And I don't know if their parents will ever forgive you."

Ron thought he might be sick. He'd only tried to help Harry. He wasn't trying to hurt anyone, except maybe Malfoy. He didn't give a shit about Malfoy. But he'd never … Gin and Harry had to know that he'd never …

George hadn't said anything else to him – that had been plenty, thanks very much – but Ron had come across a rather alarming number of trick food items over the course of the evening. So much so that, following twenty minutes in the loo after he'd consumed a particularly strong puking pastille (disguised as a caramel chocolate), he'd stopped eating altogether.

Fleur cornered him later. "But I thought 'arry was your friend? Zat is not ze way to treat a friend. You let zem choose, zen 'elp to get revenge if the person 'urts zem. You do not get in ze way of love." He almost choked on the word 'love' but couldn't help remembering how his mother had not been accepting of Fleur back in the day, and yet now she was family, accepted by all.

Bill had shaken his head disapprovingly. "Wow. The absolute nerve of you. Just wow. Very disappointing. If I weren't firmly convinced that Ginny could handle herself, I'd have more than a few words for you. But remember this: Harry's your brother. He has the right to move on with his life."

That was a punch to the gut. Bill was the cool older brother, the coolest of the lot of them – even cooler than Charlie and his dragons. Ron hated to see that disappointment in his eyes.

It was at the end of the night, as he, Hermione and the kids were getting ready to leave, that Ginny asked him to stay. "I just want to have a chat with my brother," she told them. Hermione, now firmly on everyone else's side, wished her a Happy New Year and left with the kids.

"Let's walk."

They bundled up and went outside. Wanting to head her off at the pass, Ron said, "Gin, I'm sorry."

"Hmm," she said, hands in her pockets, looking up at the night sky. "Are you, though?"

"Of course."

"I'm not so sure." She stopped walking and turned to face him, fierce brown eyes boring into his. "For what, exactly, are you sorry?"

He thought about what everyone else had already said to him. "For using my position, for using you and Harry and the kids – even though I wasn't actually planning on doing what I'd said to Malfoy – for all of it."

"Huh." She turned from him and resumed walking. After a time, she asked, "Did you give a moment's thought about what you did and how it would affect me or the kids?"

"Er …"

"I didn't think so. See, I've had a few days to think about this and yes, I'm angry that you brought up my children in an effort to intimidate someone, but it's more than that."

He knew he might regret asking, but he said, "How so?"

"Let's see. You went behind my back and told someone that I was essentially at your beck and call. That I would use my own children against their father to advance your agenda, whatever the hell that agenda was." Once more she stopped and turned to face him. Tilting her head, she said, "Doesn't paint a very nice picture of me, does it?"

"I–"

"Fast forward and, had I done your bidding – which of course would never fucking happen – or had Malfoy gone public, what do you think would have come out in court? Better yet, in the media? That I helped my brother intimidate a citizen by threatening to keep my own children from their father? Oh, and their father just happens to be the fucking Chosen One who saved the fucking world at seventeen." She laughed. "And also the head of Magical Law Enforcement who has spent his whole life serving the public. Yeah, that would go over well." She turned back around and walked away from him. When he caught up, she said, "How do you think my kids would feel if they read about that in the paper?"

Fuck, fuck, fuck. "I didn't–" He didn't … what? Didn't mean it? Didn't think about it? Of course he hadn't thought about it. That was kind of his thing, acting without thinking. "I wouldn't–" The fact that he wouldn't have actually done anything about it might not have mattered, if Malfoy had gone to someone like Skeeter. "I–"

"Spare me, Ron. You fucked up, royally. Like you've done time and time again. Only this time you dragged me and Harry and our kids into your shit show." Abruptly, she did a one-eighty and headed back towards her house. "You are so fucking lucky that Malfoy is the bigger man here, Ron. Because I can't even imagine what I would do to you if he went to the papers with this. Which, by the way, if he were half as bad as you seem to think he is, he most certainly would have done. Because rest assured, Rita Skeeter and her vile kind don't give a shit what they do to kids; they'll print anything, consequences be damned. Think about that while you're off." She stopped to face him once more. "I thought more of you. Now I can't even look at you." And she hurried off towards home, leaving him standing there in the cold.

The next day was no better. Hermione would not hear of him getting out of a visit with his parents, so off he went to the Burrow to be raked over some more coals.

After ensuring he'd had enough to eat – Molly would always be his mother first – she asked Arthur to give them a few minutes alone and got down to business.

"I was so very upset to hear what happened. You do know that poor Harry never had choices as a child. First, Voldemort took away his parents, then Dumbledore whisked him out of the wizarding world to live with those horrible relatives of his. The way they treated him! Then when he comes back he has the entire wizarding community telling him what to think, where to go, what to do. Dumbledore grooming him to die for the cause – gives me shudders just thinking about it.

"And he just did it. Everything everyone ever asked of him. And now here you are trying to take his choices away as an adult. After all he's done for you and this family, not to mention, well, the world. Fine way to repay that and a piss poor way to treat a friend."

He had nothing to say to that.

When his dad returned, he patted Ron on the shoulder. "Come with me." They went out to the shed where he had a now life-sized Volkswagen Beetle sitting in the place formerly occupied by the Ford Anglia. Something else Harry had done for his family. Fuck

"Bit of a turn you took, eh?" Arthur said.

"Yeah."

"Why do you think you did all this?"

He shrugged. "Thought I was helping Harry."

"Really? By doing what? Making his decisions for him?"

"I don't know. It's just … well, it's Malfoy."

"Ah." His dad began tinkering with the car. "So do you think it maybe has a lot more to do with you than Harry?"

"How do you figure?"

"I must admit, Draco's father and I … well, we didn't set a great example on how to get along."

Ron gaped at his father. "You're joking! Lucius Malfoy took every opportunity to degrade you, belittle you."

"But so long as I didn't let it affect me, he had no power over me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Ron, that we can't control what other people say or do, only our own reaction to it. There's a reason forgiveness is said to be sublime."

"I can't forgive Malfoy."

He shrugged. "That's entirely up to you. But forgiveness isn't a gift to the other person, it's for ourselves. It allows us to move on with our lives. To not allow negativity and anger to fester and poison us from within, destroying our own moral compass." He stopped tinkering and looked Ron in the eyes. "It can make us do things that we wouldn't dream of doing otherwise, turning us into someone we barely recognise ourselves."

When he got home, head throbbing, Ron had a letter waiting from Charlie. Well, he thought, might as well get it over with. The letter was succinct and straight to the point.

Ron,

Gin told me what happened. I reckon everyone else will tell you in great detail how you fucked up, which you did. Here's all I have to say on the matter: it's up to you to make things right.

Charlie.

"So what did Charlie have to say?" Hermione asked when she saw him toss the letter into the fire.

"That I need to make things right."

She sat down on the sofa and wrapped her arms around him. "And how do you propose to do that?"

"Dunno." He shrugged. "Maybe I should quit the Ministry, go work with George. He's been asking for years."

"Is that what you want?"

"I'm not sure I have much choice."

She released him and took hold of his hands. "If you do it because you want to, I'll support you. If you do it because you have to, I'll also support you. But if you decide to leave so you don’t have to face Harry, I'll have something to say about that."

He groaned. He couldn't even catch a break when he was trying to do the right thing. "But what if Harry doesn't want to see me?"

"Then that's up to him. But you can't run away from what you've done. Face it, take the consequences, and then figure out where you go from there."

He nodded. "You're right."

She hugged him again. "Of course I am."

***

A week into January, Harry gave Draco an update on the drug case. "The team managed to break the code to his journal. Turns out the kid was bullied relentlessly during his one year at Hogwarts. None of the professors saw anything."

Draco thought about his time at Hogwarts and all the things the professors didn't know were happening. "No surprise there."

Harry snorted. "Too true. Anyway, he'd never really interacted with other kids before, so he didn't know how to handle it. So he just internalised everything and let it fester. Channelled all that energy towards his work and the anger towards future retribution."

"Sounds about right."

"That's pretty callous."

"Not callous, just realistic. Push people often enough and prevent them pushing back, one day they'll explode. Just stands to reason. Like building up pressure inside a bottle."

"I suppose." Harry ran his hands along Draco's shoulders and massaged the muscles. "Turns out you were right about the latest version too."

"Naturally." He grinned, leaned back and accepted the kiss Harry offered. "To be clear, how precisely was I right?"

"He'd used the first batches as a test run. He wasn't out to make money, or at least that wasn't the main purpose. He released them to create demand. The casualties hadn't been his goal. The next version, however, had been intended to kill."

"Shit."

"Indeed. But thanks to the efforts of all involved, including a world-renowned potions master, we managed to get to him before his poison reached the market."

Draco imagined the damage that could have been done with just the quantity they'd confiscated. Who knew how much he'd have produced before releasing it. "Do you have a court date?"

"First appearance next week, but with all we have, we're confident he'll remain in prison until the trial begins. That won't likely happen before February or March at the earliest."

"Let me know when you'll need me to testify."

Harry nodded and started towards the kitchen. "Going to make some tea. Want some?"

Draco laughed. "Shouldn't I be offering you tea? It is my house, after all."

Harry peaked his nose back around the corner. "I'm an Auror. I can do all sorts of things!"

"Mm. Don't I know it?"

A minute later, when Harry was busy in the kitchen, Draco's Floo lit up and one of the last people Draco wanted to see appeared in his fire. "Malfoy, can we talk?"

Draco glared at the head of Ron Weasley. "You shouldn't be here."

"I know, but I wanted to talk."

"No, really, Weasley, you should not be here."

"Look, I know I fucked up. I'll leave my wand on the table and I promise you I won't do anything to–"

"Did I hear a voice?" Harry stopped dead in his tracks as he entered the room and saw Ron's face. "What the fuck, Ron?"

"Harry!"

"I warned you, Weasley."

"You are already on leave, Ron. What do you think you're doing? Are you asking to be fired?"

"No, no, you've got it all wrong!"

"The hell I do." Draco held out an arm to hold back Harry, who was marching towards the fire, wand out.

"I just wanted to – oh, hell, I was going to apologise."

"What?" Draco and Harry said at the same time.

"I fucked up and wanted to tell you so," he said to Draco. "And I was going to talk to you when I went back to work," he told Harry. "Figured you didn't want to see me before then."

"Got that right," Harry said.

"Look, can I come through, say what I have to say, and then leave?"

Harry looked at Draco. "You don't have to let him in here. Ever." He turned to Ron. "You shouldn't be here."

"I know, I know. But I promise you I didn't plan to say or do anything but apologise."

Draco patted Harry on the chest. "It's okay. Maybe make a pot?" Harry looked at him incredulously. "It's only polite."

Harry rolled his eyes, threw his hands up in the air and stormed out of the room. Draco looked at Weasley's head, still hovering, still waiting. "Well, get on with it. No telling how long he'll be able to keep a lid on his temper."

Weasley stepped through and, true to his word, placed his wand on the side table and sat down. "This is gonna be hard, so if you could just let me get it all out at once, it should make things go faster and then I'll get out of your hair." Draco nodded, not sure what to expect. Weasley took a deep breath, stared at the floor for a moment, then faced Draco. "Look, Malfoy, I was out of line. Way out of line. I let what happened years ago affect my judgement. I knew what happened then, but I couldn't let go of our past enough to really understand what happened.

"I was pissed at Harry for standing up for you, really pissed. I couldn't believe he testified for you in court. I guess I thought that he was siding with you against me. He told me what you went through, but I didn't listen, couldn't hear anything that would excuse anything you did." Draco was about to interject when Ron held up a hand. "Not that it should matter to you, but there it is. Anyway, I never really got over that, just shoved it down and never thought about it again. Not really. Then fast forward twenty years and there you are. In my world. I thought I was rid of you, but then there you were.

"I didn't like it, not gonna lie, but Harry made it clear that you were going to be working on the case and I needed to deal with it." He looked down, flexing his hands in what looked like an attempt to maintain his composure. "It was like the court case all over again. Harry was siding with you against me." He held his hand up before Draco even tried to say anything. "I know, I know, it was never about me. I see that now. But I didn’t then. So when the case was over, I thought great, everything would go back to normal. Except you were still there. Fucking everywhere. Then I saw the two of you and I lost it."

"You know it's still not about you."

"Yeah, I know." He shrugged. "But what can I say? Old habits die hard. Anyway, I used my position at the Ministry to get access to you, then used my position as Harry's friend and Ginny's brother to get to you, and cocked everything up in the process." He looked down at the floor, presumably unable to maintain eye contact. "I never intended to go to my sister, to manipulate her into lashing out at Harry. I'd never do that to my niece and nephews. Or Harry or Ginny." He looked up then. "I guess I just saw it as my only leverage against you and I acted on it without thinking."

Draco couldn't resist. "Seems you have a habit of doing that."

Weasley's ears went red but he chuckled. "Don't I know it. Anyway, I do mean it when I say I'm sorry. It won't happen again. It never should have happened in the first place. What you choose to do is up to you, but please, whatever you do, don't take it out on Harry or Ginny. Or, Merlin forbid, their kids."

Draco scowled. "Why would I do something like that? And how could I?"

Weasley shrugged. "I've been informed by more than one person that you could file charges and/or go to the media. But I ask that you don't. Not for me – though I acknowledge I would benefit – but for the kids. Especially for the kids."

"Weasley, you really are an arse. I would never do anything to hurt a child. Certainly not my own or Harry's. I won't pretend that all is forgiven, or that we will ever be friends, but I do acknowledge that my actions as a child affected you and your family. You may recall I reached out to you to apologise for that?"

He nodded. "Like I said, I wasn't ready to listen then."

"I refuse to pay for my actions as a minor for the rest of my life, but I have tried to contribute in a positive way since then." Another nod. Draco returned the gesture. "Right. I do hope we can move on from this."

Weasley smiled. "Okay, then. That's all I can ask. Thanks for listening, and tell Harry I'll see him back at work."

"I will." And he was gone.

"Did you hear all that?" Draco called out.

"Of course I did." Harry entered the room carrying two mugs, not three.

"And?"

"It's a start."