for you, is it?’ Harry spat angrily. Draco tried his best to maintain his calm, but the real Draco knew if he could see the memory of himself, his face would be telling a different story.

‘It’s our anniversary, Harry. I just want to spend a lovely evening with you, and you can go on a rampage about the injustice of it all tomorrow.’ This didn’t wash with Harry.

‘Why do you always talk like that? Like I’m being unreasonable. They’ve rejected you from healer training three times now Draco, when are you going to start standing up for yourself? You’re more than qualified for the course, you’re better than half the applicants they ept.’

Draco could see Harry wasn’t about to let this one go. It wasn’t that Draco wasn’t disappointed, he’d loved to have been a healer, but he couldn’t pretend like he didn’t have a bad track record. He’s not sure how he’d feel if his healer was a Death Eater either.

‘I understand Harry. I don’t like it any more than you do but I can’t make people believe I’m not who I was, or more to the point, that I’m not my father. I just have to ept that I won’t be a healer. It’s not the end of the world, there are other careers I can choose that will still help other people.’

They’d had this argument each time Draco had received a rejection owl. Harry didn’t seem to understand that Draco didn’t want to make a fuss, it would only drag his name through the mud even more.

‘Stop apologising for who you are Draco! You shouldn’t have to.’

Draco wished Harry had picked any other time. He was wearing the new suit Draco had bought him at a fancy new tailor, the dark grey really made the brilliant green of his eyes sparkle.

‘I’m not apologising for who I am, Harry. Is that what you think I should be doing?’ Draco kept his voice steady, but hearing it back now as a memory, it sounded low and cold.

‘What? No! Of course I don’t! I’m just saying. You don’t even fight for it anymore, you just let people treat you like shit! You never hurt anyone, you nevermitted a crime. Yet here you are, hiding from the world like a criminal.’ Ok, that had never been part of this argument before. Draco let hisposure go.

‘EXCUSE ME?’ He almost screamed in Harry’s face, ‘WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED, I’VE BEEN BUILDING A LIFE QUITE HAPPILY HERE WITH YOU, AND WITH TEDDY. WHAT EXACTLY IS WRONG WITH THAT? JUST BECAUSE I DON’T PARADE MYSELF DOWN DIAGON EVERY CHANCE I GET, SHOWING OFF MY ‘WHIMSICAL MARRIAGE TO THE BOY WONDER’, DOESN’T MEAN I’M HIDING!’ Draco had never been so angry in his life.

‘I don’t want you to parade me down Diagon, Draco, I’m not a bloody consolation prize! I just thought you’d fight for what you want just a little bit more. What’s so bad about that?’

‘A consolation prize?’ Draco faltered. ‘You think that’s what I think about you? You’re my husband Harry, I love you.’

‘Do you?!’ Harry shot back. ‘Because it seems to me that you’re just hanging around here for Teddy. The late nights, the constant potions brewing, you think I can’t tell when you don’t want to be here?’

The room was still. Draco wasn’t sure he could even process what he was hearing. Harry didn’t think he loved him anymore? Couldn’t he see that everything Draco was doing was for him? To make their life, their marriage, as happy as it could be.

The moment was lost. Draco had waited too long in his stunned silence. He could see it in Harry’s face. The anger dropped, and his face became a careful neutral, the kind of face Draco would have pulled before he’d met Harry, when he used to try not to give too much away.

‘I see.’ Harry said, his words choked.

‘No, Harry, I—’ Draco didn’t even know what to say to fix it.

‘It’s fine,’ Harry interrupted, ‘I get it.’ He turned tails and walked away. Draco stood there in a state of shock for he didn’t know how long, but Harry didn’te back.

The memory ended, and the present Draco found himself on the floor of his dingy little flat. In the end, Draco had taken the floo to Luna’s where he’d cried himself to sleep. When he’d tried to return the next day, Harry had blocked the floo. Weeks of unanswered owls had told Draco all he needed to know. In the end, Hermione had gone to the house to collect Draco’s things. A few weeks after that, divorce papers landed on Luna’s kitchen table and Draco wondered where in the world his marriage had gone.

After a while, he picked himself up off the floor and went into his bedroom. He routed around at the back of the small wardrobe he now had after he’d thrown most of his clothes away and picked out a small black box. He pulled it open with shaky hands and stared at the platinum band nestled in the cushion.

It wouldn’t matter if Draco was robbed at gunpoint or his flat burned down, nothing in the world would make him part with his wedding ring. It didn’t matter that the relationship it symbolised was nothing anymore, this simple band was a reminder that he’d even had Harry at all and he wouldn’t part with it for the world.

He slipped the ring on, the cold metal stinging his finger just a bit, and he hauled himself into bed, fully clothed. He fell asleep dreaming of jet black hair and green eyes.

That Friday, Draco was nearly bowled over when he arrived at his Aunt Andromeda’s by a blur of bright turquoise.

‘DRACO!’ Teddy yelled as he all but attacked Draco round the waist. Draco was takenpletely by surprise.

‘Ted?’ He questioned. Teddy had been a cuddly baby but from about three onwards he’d only ever really hugged Harry. They’d alle to ept that Teddy wasn’t a particularly affectionate person, and now by eleven he was entering his ‘I’m too cool for hugs’ phase. Teddy just stayed clinging onto Draco and he was forced to wrap his arms around the boy’s skinny frame for fear he would knock him over if he didn’t.

‘mmfm.’ Teddy muffled into Draco’s shirt.

‘I didn’t catch that.’ Draco said, his eyes meeting Andromeda’s as she entered the drawing room to greet him. She seemed as astounded as Draco at Teddy’s unusual behaviour. Teddy lifted his head so that his face wasn’t squished against Draco and said much clearer.

‘Missed you.’ He said more clearly, his eyes glittering. Draco’s chest ached. It was made so much worse when Teddy’s bright hair turned the exact silvery shade of Draco’s own. He felt like something was trying to claw his heart straight out of his chest.

‘Woah, Teddy. What’s going on?’ Draco was not equipped to deal with an emotional child, this was always Harry’s thing. Draco pried Teddy’s arms off him and took him through to the living room. Back when Draco had lived with Harry, the kitchen had always been the hub of the house, where all the important conversations happened. Draco had never even seen Andromeda’s kitchen.

They sat down on the sofa together and Teddy all but crawled into Draco’s lap like he had when he was little. Except now he wasn’t shoving his stuffed pigmy puffs in Draco’s face.

‘Ted, you’re getting a bit old for this.’ Draco said, trying to distribute Teddy’s weight more evenly. Teddy let out a sob and all but buried himself in Draco. Draco was floundering, Teddy had never behaved like this before and Draco had no idea what he was doing. He decided the safest course of action was to, probably quite awkwardly, pat his back and wait to let him talk.

‘I don’t want to go to Hogwarts.’ He said. His voice was still muffled, but this time Draco was able to understand. Oh.

‘Teddy, you know that just because you’re going to Hogwarts soon, doesn’t mean that you can’t talk to me all the time. We’re all just an owl away. Harry will love sending you owls, he never got very many when he was at school.’ Draco remembered how Harry’s eyes would light up whenever he got an owl. Of course, Draco had hated him back then and he was obviously only watching him to make sure his mail wasn’t plotting Draco’s demise.

‘But…but…there’ll be even less time!’ Teddy cried. His grip on Draco was starting to hurt, but he said nothing.

‘Less time for what?’ Draco probed him gently. Teddy sometimes had trouble getting his words out when he got worked up.

‘I already have to-to take turns seeing you and seeing Dad and I haven’t seen you all week and-and when I go to school I’ll have to choose who to see at Christmas and—’ He babbled, almost running out of breath. It still hurt Draco hearing Teddy call Harry ‘dad’. He’d started doing it when he was five. Draco remembers how he couldn’t understand why Harry couldn’t be his dad when his first one wanted him to be. It was really simple logic, and no one quite knew how to argue with him so from then on, Harry became Dad.

Teddy lived with Harry now that Andromeda was getting on a bit. Draco had been furious when Harry had moved him in without consulting Draco first, but Draco hadn’t been able to stay angry for long, not when Teddy was so cute, and Harry was so smitten. The poor woman hadn’t been spared in any way though, since her home had be a half-way house so that Draco and Harry needn’t see anything of each other.

‘Hey, hey, don’t panic. It’s not so bad, you’re getting way too ahead of yourself. Just wait until you get there and you get engrossed in all your lessons and your friends. You’ll et all about us.’

‘I WON’T FORGET YOU!’ Teddy yelled frantically in his ear. Yeah, this is definitely why Harry always did this.

‘That’s not what I meant, Ted. I just meant that it seems like it’s a really big deal now, but you’ll be so excited that it’ll pass by in the blink of an eye and you’ll see us all again before you know it.’ Draco had no idea if he was saying any of this right. Once he’d decided that he wasn’t going to follow his father’s plan for him to marry and produce a Malfoy heir, he’d been resigned to the idea he’d never have children. That was before Teddy.

‘Love you, Draco.’ Teddy said. Draco’s chest swelled. Teddy didn’t say it very often, which only meant that it was so much more special when he did.

‘I love you too.’

Their little moment was ruined by a cough from across the room. Draco’s entire body tensed, and Teddy must’ve sensed it since he only gripped him tighter.

‘Potter.’

‘Draco.’

‘Dad?’ Potter’s stony gaze softened the minute he saw Teddy in a state. He came rushing over and for a brief minute, it was like nothing had changed.

‘Hey buddy,’ he said, kneeling down in front of Teddy. For the first time ever, Teddy didn’t turn away from Draco and go straight to Harry. Harry seemed to realise from this that something serious was going on.

‘Teddy’s a bit scared of going to school in September.’ Draco told Harry, trying to save some time.

‘No, I’m not.’ Teddy sniffled. ‘I’m scared of…’ Harry caught Draco’s eye as they waited for Teddy to figure out what he wanted to say. Draco’s heart was racing. This was the longest he and Harry had been in the same room together since the divorce, and Draco didn’t know how to feel. ‘I’m scared of you not being here when Ie back.’

Silence.

Harry looked like he was about to start crying and Draco would never ad

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