Second Chance (2025 Christmas Story) - Chapter 26

[sesheta66]

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 **

Comments

[piratesmile331.livejournal.com]

*sighing happily * What a lovely story!

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hon ❤️

Should be posting the epilogue in the next half hour or so.

[enchanted-jae.livejournal.com]

Huzzah! And, I hope the Weasley clan hexed Ron six ways to Sunday.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Epilogue is up now, so you can see what happened with Ron 😉