The Stars Above Us

by 606, Create_Serenity (Sivany)

Summary:

It started as an innocent day out taking Teddy to visit the local observatory. Somehow it became so much more.

Notes:

Author's Notes: Thank you to the mods for organising this fest and for all their patience! Thank you as well to our beta (she knows who she is!)
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.

“Harry? Oi, Harry–”

Harry Potter awoke with a start, his head snapping up from where he’d been nodding off against his shoulder. Ron Weasley raised an amused eyebrow, leaning back in his chair across the room. “Wake up, mate. Shift’s almost over. Might want to clean up there a bit,” he nodded at Harry’s shoulder.

“Fuck,” Harry hissed under his breath as he smeared the drool off of his uniform. Great, now it was on his gloves. He wiped the mess on his trousers, wincing at the darker stain still lingering. Ron snickered, enjoying his suffering.

Harry finally had the common sense to pull out his wand, vanishing the spot easily. He glared at Ron, who was still laughing at him. “What’s got you so tired? Up all night shagging some lucky soul?” Ron asked with a leering grin.

Harry snorted, searching through the scattered papers on his desk for his most recent report. “Hardly. I had Teddy over again last night – he had me up at dawn, ready to start the day.” Harry’s jaw clicked as he yawned. “And, of course, I’m taking care of him tonight too.”

Ron frowned, a small furrow appearing on his forehead. “’Dromeda’s still not feeling any better?” Harry shook his head as he triumphantly pulled the report from under an ancient issue of Witch Weekly.

“Healer Jones said she should stay in bed for another few days – she has somebody from the village there to look after Teddy when I’m busy, but she prefers having him with me.”

“Well, you know Hermione and I will gladly take him for a night if you need a break. We love having him around.”

Harry grinned at him. “Aren’t you worried she’ll be wanting children soon?”

Ron blanched, his many freckles contrasting starkly with his pallor. “Oh Merlin, don’t even mention that.” Harry laughed at his dramatics, pulling his favourite quill from his desk drawer before scribbling some notes on the margins of his report.

The enchanted clock in the corner suddenly shrieked, emitting a vibrant plume of red smoke. “Shift change! Shift change!” the tinny voice of the clock yelled before falling silent.

Ron and Harry shared a bemused glance. “Okay, then,” Ron said cheerfully as he began pulling his things together. Harry did the same, mind already on the dozen of concerns he’d need to take care of before picking up Teddy for the night.

Ron patted him on the shoulder before heading for the door. “Good luck with Teddy, mate. And we should be sure to get a pint sometime soon,” he made Harry promise before he was gone.

Harry sighed wearily on his way to the crowded Floos, feeling a decade too old.

 

 

*

Harry stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, cursing his existence.

“Harry! Harry! HARRY!” Harry groaned as Teddy jumped onto his stomach, knocking the breath out of him.

“Woah, woah, calm down,” Harry wheezed as he tackled Teddy to the bed. Teddy squealed in delight, squirming against his hold. Harry ruffled Teddy’s turquoise hair before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Why are you up so early?” Harry yawned, checking the watch lying on his nightstand.

“It’s SATURDAY,” Teddy yelled, beaming. “You said that we’d go to the park! The park!”

“Oh, really? Is that what I said?” Harry mused absently as he stood, stretching.

Teddy pouted. “Yes, you did! You said I could feed the ducks,” Teddy continued as he rolled atop the sheets, twisting them into a messy heap. Harry watched with amusement as he pulled on a shirt and some relatively clean jeans.

Harry pretended to let out an aggrieved sigh. “Well, if that’s what I said, I guess I have no choice.” He smiled down at Teddy, who cheered. “Now, go get dressed while I make breakfast.” Teddy scrambled out of the room after a brief struggle with the blankets and Harry headed down to Grimmauld Place’s kitchen.

He was setting a few pieces of toast on Teddy’s plate when his godson ran into the room, his bright green hair clashing horribly with his orange shirt. Teddy climbed into his seat, pulling his cup of apple juice across the table. “Can I have some bacon?” Teddy asked as he let Harry spread some jam on his toast.

Harry took a seat, taking a sip of his tea. “No can do. We’re all out. I’ll have to go to the shop soon.” Harry made a face before munching on his breakfast. He swallowed down the rest of the meal, laughing as Teddy practically pulled them out the door. “Hey, wait a second,” Harry chuckled within the doorway, forcing Teddy to a stop. He kneeled down, looking Teddy in eye. “Remember our rule about your hair?”

Teddy nodded, squeezing his eyes shut for moment. Harry watched as green changed to black. “Good. All right, let’s go.”

The walk to the park was short and pleasant, the weather surprisingly agreeable. Harry settled on a bench and greeted a few of the parents he recognised as Teddy ran to the swings. He closed his eyes, letting his neck rest on the back of the bench when a strong gust of wind blew some rubbish against his trainers.

Harry leaned down, picking up the scrunched ball of coloured paper. He stood, heading towards the nearest bin as he unrolled the flyer, feeling only passing curiosity:

VISIT ARCAS OBSERVATORY TODAY!
Experience the majesty of space with our famous telescope!
Family fun for everyone!
Only £5 admission!

Harry blinked, reading the advertisement again. He looked over at Teddy, who was playing tag with a few other children. He recalled the posters in Teddy’s bedroom and his dozens of spaceship toys. Might be worth a look, Harry mused, still holding the flyer in his hands.

He folded it, stowing it away in the pocket of his jeans.

 

*

Arcas Observatory was not quite what Harry had expected. Actually, he wasn’t sure what he had expected, but, if he had expected anything, he was pretty sure it wouldn’t have been this. The building looked shabby and poorly maintained, although the large satellite dish on the grounds gleamed white in the sunshine and still looked impressive.

“Wow,” Teddy sighed with awe as they walked towards the front steps. Harry grinned at his obvious excitement. “What does that do, Harry?” Teddy asked, pointing to the satellite dish. Before Harry could open his mouth, Teddy continued, “It gets messages from space, right? You can see images of stars and things, right? How does it work? Are there –?”

Harry cut him off. “You know, I’m not really sure. How about we go inside and ask?” he suggested pointedly, pulling Teddy through the front doors.

To his relief, the inside turned out to be in a better state of repair and, by the time Harry was handing over his money to the woman behind the small ticket counter, he was feeling less like the day would be a waste of time.

They went through the foyer into the room where the first of the displays was set out and were immediately greeted by a large mural of various features of the universe set out on a timeline. “Cool!” said Teddy, coming to a halt in front of it, before he frowned and added, “What is it?”

Harry pushed his glasses up his nose and squinted at the title. “’A Look Back in Time,’” he read aloud, scanning the nearest blocks of text quickly so that he could summarise them for Teddy. It explained the definition of light-years: that because telescopes and the naked eye were looking a long way into the distant universe, they were also looking a long way into the distant past because of the time the light took to travel to Earth. This was a concept Harry wasn’t sure he could explain adequately to an adult, never mind a five-year-old.

“Well?” Teddy prompted, eyes wide with interest. “What does it mean?”

“Er – oh, look, a game where you can catch shooting stars! Let’s go look at that!” Harry breathed a sigh of relief as Teddy scampered away, the crisis averted. He was content to watch Teddy dash around the various games and activities offered before eventually moving them on to the next room, where he repeated the process, browsing idly through some of the more complex adult explanations that littered the room.

It was only when Harry had finished reading a particularly absorbing piece on supernovas that he looked around and realised Teddy was nowhere to be seen.

He checked his initial well of panic: Teddy couldn’t have gone far, Harry told himself, trying to remain rational. Probably only the next room. And the place wasn’t exactly busy; Harry had only seen one other family in the entire time they had been here – Teddy would not be hard to spot.

All the same, he hurried into the next room a little faster than was dignified, speeding up even more when it turned out that Teddy wasn’t there, and dashing through into the next room at a pace that was probably embarrassing.

Harry came to a halt almost immediately as he jogged through the doorway – there was Teddy, his back to Harry, examining something on the wall with close attention whilst a man gave him a lecture on whatever it was they were looking at.

Harry’s heart leapt to his throat because Teddy knew not to talk to strangers – and this man was definitely a stranger – but then his brain kicked back in and he realised that the stranger was wearing the same shirt as all the other employees at the observatory. No wonder Teddy was happy to talk to him.

Harry let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and blinked at the pair of them. Whatever the man was saying was obviously fascinating to Teddy and Harry took a moment to collect himself, gazing vaguely at the back of the man’s head as he did so. Platinum blond hair, he noted, in the shade that always made Harry think of the Malfoys no matter how many years passed. He was telling himself very firmly that not everyone with that hair colour was a Malfoy when his eyes strayed to Teddy’s hair and he realised he had other things to worry about.

The tips of Teddy’s hair were turning blond, imitating the stranger. Oh, shit, not again. Harry stepped forward on autopilot and ruffled Teddy’s hair quickly, drawing his attention to it. “There you are,” he said with forced joviality, “What have you done to your hair?”

To his relief, Teddy responded to the subtle reminder and his hair was instantly back to black. Harry glanced up to check the employee hadn’t noticed anything unusual and gaped.

Then he gaped some more.

“Harry, this man was just saying that some of the stars are…” Teddy started before trailing off, noticing the expression on Harry’s face.

Harry continued to gape.

Draco Malfoy.

Draco fucking Malfoy.

What the fuck was he doing here in an observatory? A Muggle observatory?

“That was never a good look on you, Potter,” Malfoy drawled. He had been gawking at Harry too, but he’d recovered more quickly and was now sporting a familiar smirk. For some reason his words made Harry blush – but then he remembered who Draco Malfoy actually was and flushed with anger instead.

“What are you doing here?” he snapped, the thought that this was some weird kidnapping plan flashing through his mind.

“I work here, Potter.” The glare Malfoy pinned Harry with was enough to have Harry biting back a smart remark about the irony of Malfoy ending up working in a Muggle observatory. In truth, any potential remarks he might have made probably wouldn’t have been that smart anyway. Harry felt too off balance – like the world had suddenly gone off kilter and left him trying to walk on the edge of a precipice.

It really wasn’t helping that Malfoy was bloody gorgeous.

Harry shook off that thought quickly, because where the fuck had that come from? and regarded Malfoy with as much dislike as he could muster, which was rather a lot in the circumstances.

“Harry, he said he would show me the telescope and we could have a look at the ‘lectronyimagies,” Teddy interrupted before Harry could make any idiotic remarks.

“Um…” Harry hesitated, realising that if Malfoy had offered to do that, he’d offered it when he’d assumed Teddy was just another Muggle child and not actually the godson of his childhood enemy.

“Yes, I did,” Malfoy agreed amiably. “We’ve got some very interesting electronic images that I can show you. They’re just through here.” He indicated the nearest doorway and started heading towards it, as if this was not an unusual situation and he had been expecting Harry all along. Well, this is unfair, Harry thought – obviously Malfoy hadn’t been expecting them and was pretending it was all normal just to annoy him.

Well, he thought, as Teddy trotted off after Malfoy, two can play at that game. He set his expression into one of careful neutrality and followed them into the next room.

He wondered vaguely if Malfoy even realised that Teddy was his… cousin? Harry knew that wasn’t – strictly speaking – true. Tonks had been Malfoy’s cousin – there was another title for his relationship with Teddy, but Harry wasn’t quite sure what it was. Second cousin? Cousin twice removed? He made a mental note to ask Hermione later, and then wondered if it was a good idea to even bring this up with Hermione at all. Possibly if he uttered the words I saw Malfoy and he works at a Muggle observatory, she’d give him that concerned look she sometimes gave him when she thought he was working too hard and then very gently have him carted off to St Mungo’s and diagnosed with insanity. The whole thing sounded insane enough to his own ears, and he was right here with the proof in front of him.

His tumultuous thoughts came to a sudden crashing halt when he realised the topic had abruptly shifted away from the images on the screen.

“What’s your name?” Teddy asked suddenly as they approached another exhibit, unabashed in a way that Harry always rather envied.

“Draco.” Malfoy replied, which made Harry glance at him for a second, if only because it surprised him to hear Malfoy referring to himself as… well, Draco. He’d been Malfoy for so long that Harry had forgotten he wouldn’t introduce himself with his last name. Harry wondered briefly if Malfoy would think the same about his first name.

“I’m Teddy and this is Harry,” Teddy said casually, completely unaware that this was one of the weirdest situations Harry had ever been in.

“Yes, I went to school with your–” Draco faltered briefly, his eyes flicking over to Harry for the first time since they’d entered the room. It was the first sign he’d shown of being anything less than perfectly at ease and, oddly, it made Harry feel better. A small victory was better than nothing at all.

“Godfather,” Teddy piped up before Harry could say anything. “Harry’s my godfather. Were you friends at school, then? I’ve never seen you before.” He looked at Draco appraisingly, as if testing the likelihood of this theory. Not wanting to give Draco the satisfaction of saying anything cutting, or the opportunity to say anything inappropriate, Harry interrupted.

“I didn’t know M– uh, Draco, very well at school,” he said, which was at least a half-truth. He’d known trivial things about Malfoy – and he’d known Malfoy was a prat – but beyond that, what had he really known? Harry comforted himself with the thought that he wasn’t really lying to Teddy and risked glancing over at Malfoy.

To his surprise, Malfoy was looking right back at him, his face frozen in an expression that Harry could only describe as shock, mixed with something that looked very much like wonder. When Malfoy realised Harry was looking, he bit his lower lip and averted his gaze, turning quickly back to the images on the screen and clearing his throat. It was an odd reaction, and one that Harry didn’t entirely understand – but then, when had anything Malfoy did been at all normal?

He mused on that whilst Malfoy talked to Teddy about the various stars and planets in the images. Harry was so caught up in thinking about what Malfoy was doing here in the first place – and why he was making conversation with a five-year-old as if this was something he was both practised in and good at, not to mention why he’d given Harry that look – that he was startled when Teddy suddenly spoke to him.

“We can come, can’t we, Harry? You’ll bring me, won’t you?”

“What?” he said, startled and then embarrassed that he hadn’t been listening. Malfoy was looking at him again, his cheeks flushed slightly pink and his expression defiant as if he really didn’t care what Harry said next. Not that Harry had anything to say – what on earth was Teddy talking about?

“The astronomy club, Harry,” Teddy said, with the impatience of a child who was having to repeat something very obvious to someone who should know better. “Draco said it’s tomorrow night and we’ll be able to go outside and look at the stars through real telescopes and he’ll show me the consternations.”

“Constellations.” Malfoy corrected, and when Harry glanced up at him, still thoroughly confused, Malfoy looked surprised at himself for speaking.

“Yes, those,” Teddy said impatiently.

“What astronomy club is this?” Harry asked, addressing Teddy solely so as to avoid looking at Malfoy again.

Teddy sighed dramatically, as if Harry was really being very difficult about the whole thing. He opened his mouth, probably to simply repeat what he’d said already, when a piece of paper was flourished under his nose.

“It’s a club we run for children on Friday evenings,” Malfoy said, his words sounding rushed, as if he was trying to get them all out before he changed his mind. “We set up the telescopes outside and teach them how to use them. It’s usually for slightly older children, but I thought Teddy might like to come anyway. Maybe his parents can bring him or something?”

Harry gaped at Malfoy, his brain alternately thinking, what the hell, and who the fuck is this and what have they done with the real Draco Malfoy, even as he realised that this meant Malfoy didn’t know who Teddy was at all.

“My parents are dead,” Teddy announced, with the abrupt thoughtlessness of a child who was not yet old enough to regret the loss of two people he didn’t remember at all when there were plenty of people in the world to care for him. The thought sent a familiar pang through Harry’s chest: regret that Teddy would never really know his parents, nor they him, and relief that Teddy would never know the pain of his own childhood in spite of their deaths.

“Oh,” Malfoy said, his cheeks turning a deeper shade of pink. Harry watched in detached fascination, still trying to catch up with the entire conversation. He tried to pretend he hadn’t been looking when Malfoy glanced at him, Malfoy’s expression clearly reading, help!

“Uh, yes, that’s right,” Harry said, completely thrown by the expression and even more thrown by the fact that Malfoy had directed it at him of all people. “But don’t worry, I can bring him.”

He regretted the words as soon as he’d said them, because why the hell was he subjecting himself to spending more time in Malfoy company? He regretted his words slightly less though when Malfoy looked startled at the declaration, because throwing Malfoy off his game was always something Harry considered a victory.

“Right, okay, well…” Malfoy cleared his throat and pulled himself together. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then, yes?”

“Yeah!” Teddy said enthusiastically, catching hold of Harry’s arm and beaming up at him in delight before turning to beam back at Malfoy. “See you tomorrow, Draco!”

Malfoy gave Teddy a grin that startled Harry so completely he actually physically stumbled, even though he hadn’t really been moving, and then nodded curtly to Harry, his expression so instantly back to the carefully guarded, cold one Harry was used to that he actually wondered if he’d imagined the grin.

He found himself watching as Draco walked away, through a door marked “staff only” and only just resisted the urge to run after him and yell until Draco told him what the fuck this whole thing was about: working in a Muggle observatory, being nice to Harry’s godson, and generally acting like he might actually be at least partially human and not a complete and utter arse.

“Come on,” Harry said to Teddy, who was still clinging to his arm, gritting his teeth and trying to smile normally. “It’s time we went home.”

To his surprise, Teddy didn’t object, and it was a measure of just how shaken Harry felt that they were half way home before he even registered that as surprising.

 

*

He didn’t even attempt to get out of taking Teddy to the Astronomy Club, not when Teddy had been so eager and Andromeda was still too unwell to take him herself.

The first week he’d managed to studiously ignore Malfoy, as the other man gave the children a simple, straightforward introduction to some of the constellations and then wandered around their semi-circle of telescopes giving pointers and chatting to the parents. He’d spoken to Teddy, but it seemed he had the same idea as Harry about keeping some distance between them and the only acknowledgement of his presence had been a slight tilt of Malfoy’s head when they’d arrived.

The second week had been much the same.

The third week had been no different.

By the time the fourth week had rolled around, Harry was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable with the impasse. Not only was it odd to be spending so much time in Malfoy’s company in the first place – even if it was as part of a group of at least ten other adults and children – but it was clear that Teddy admired Malfoy – Draco – hugely. After each class he was full of ‘Draco says this’ and ‘Draco says that’ until Harry had found it almost impossible to believe that this really was the same man who had been his insufferable classmate at school.

Far be it for him to change the status quo though. When Malfoy made his usual stop to talk to Teddy, Harry steadfastly ignored him as normal, tilting his head back and looking at the stars, feigning an interest he didn’t really feel, until he became aware that Malfoy was no longer talking to Teddy but was instead regarding him with a pale, unwavering gaze.

He tilted his head back down and raised a questioning eyebrow, bracing himself for some sort of derogatory comment.

“You keep bringing him back.”

Harry blinked in surprise, partly at the words and partly at the tone in Malfoy’s voice. It was soft and low, far gentler than anything Harry had heard from him before. Finding himself embarrassed for no particular reason he shrugged half-heartedly.

“He likes coming,” he said, feeling that at least some explanation was needed.

Malfoy frowned, as if this didn’t really explain anything. “He doesn’t live with you though, does he?” he asked.

Harry blinked in surprise, wondering why Malfoy was asking. He wondered if it was simply that he liked Teddy enough that it had overcome what must surely be a natural aversion to speaking with Harry, although that thought sat uncomfortably – just one more thing that didn’t fit in with his idea of who Malfoy was.

“He lives with ‘Dromeda,” he said, giving another half-shrug and shifting his weight slightly.

“’Dromeda?”

“Andromeda.” Harry realised that giving her full name probably wasn’t that helpful and added, “his grandmother.”

He hadn't really thought before he’d said it; hadn't given even a passing moment of consideration to the name, but now, watching what little colour Malfoy had drain from his face – he realised his error.

“Andromeda?” Malfoy repeated faintly, the hint of a question lingering in his voice, “As in Andromeda Black?”

“Uh...” Harry shuffled uncomfortably. He knew Malfoy hadn't been aware of his relationship to Teddy and this was hardly the way Harry would have chosen to reveal it. “Well Andromeda Tonks really, but, yes, she was a Black before she married.”

“And Teddy is her grandson?” Malfoy said, less a question and more of a statement, as if he needed to say it out loud in order to confirm it. “So he's my cousin?”

“Well yes, sort of, I guess. I mean, his mum was your cousin; I’m not sure what he is really.”

Malfoy waved a dismissive hand as if the nuances of familial connections were singularly uninteresting and then looked over to where Teddy was still peering through his telescope seemingly oblivious to the conversation. “I didn't know she'd had a baby before she...”

Died. The word went unspoken and Harry saw Malfoy flinch visibly.

He swallowed and latched on to the other implication of the statement, saying, ”Your mum never mentioned it?” before he considered the wisdom of bringing Malfoy’s parents into the conversation. To be honest he couldn't imagine it being discussed in the family as a point of pride or joy, but surely Narcissa would have at least mentioned it in passing if only to disparage Teddy’s lineage?

“I wouldn't know.” Malfoy shrugged and Harry’s head snapped round to gaze at him curiously. His tone had been casual but there was a stiffness behind the words that spoke of something more. The tone made Harry want to question it but he hardly knew Malfoy well enough to pry so he pressed his lips together and remained silent.

”I don't speak to my parents and they don't speak to me. I don't think they even appreciate me using the family name anymore, although I'm not entirely sure whether they’ve actually disinherited me yet or if that was an empty threat.” Malfoy shrugged as if none of this mattered, but Harry – looking at Malfoy washed out into monochrome paleness under the faint starlight – could see the tension in the sharp lines of his face and the stiffness of his shoulders.

“They don't talk to you at all?” Harry couldn't help but ask despite his resolve not to pry. “Why?”

He thought of the last time he'd seen the family together, huddled close in the Great Hall after the battle, their love for each other the thing that united them – the thing that ultimately saved them from imprisonment. It was hard to imagine them reaching a point where they cut their only son off from them completely, but then the Malfoys had been nothing if not strange.

”Look where I work, Potter,” Malfoy pointed out, gesturing vaguely at their surroundings. “You think my parents were supportive of my ideas of working with Muggles?”

Harry blinked – Malfoy had a point and Harry intended to say so, but instead he found himself asking, “Why are you working here?”

“Because Muggles don't judge me,” Malfoy replied simply and Harry caught a glimpse of vulnerability lurking in the shadowy depths of his pale grey eyes. He opened his mouth even though he had no idea what to say, but another parent came up to them and the moment passed. Malfoy was forced to move away, leaving Harry to tilt his head up to the night sky and gaze unseeingly at the scattering of stars gleaming faintly in the vast expanse of unforgiving darkness.

 

*

By the time they’d made it through six weeks of attending the Astronomy Club Harry felt a little better about the whole thing. Malfoy had gone back to mostly ignoring him, although only ‘mostly’ now, rather than ‘completely’, which meant that he made small talk occasionally, usually about the stars or about Teddy, which was fine with Harry. Both were relatively safe topics of conversation, providing they both ignored the family connection between Malfoy and Teddy.

He hadn’t informed Teddy of his relationship to Malfoy, but that was simply because he didn’t feel it was his right to do so. It was up to Andromeda, and though he was pretty sure ‘Dromeda had probably realised who was running the Astronomy Clubs based on Teddy’s endless chatter about Malfoy, she had said nothing about it. Harry hadn’t either. He’d noticed the way ‘Dromeda’s lips thinned and her expression tightened every time Teddy mentioned Draco’s name, though it was never obvious enough for a five-year-old to catch.

However she felt about the situation she kept her lips firmly sealed on the matter, and Harry felt oddly compelled to do the same, for fear of disrupting the delicate sense of equilibrium.

 

*

At the end of the seventh class Harry was busy helping Teddy dismantle his telescope – at least in theory he was helping, but in reality he was doing all the work whilst Teddy chattered to Malfoy about goodness knows what – when he was startled out of his own thoughts by Teddy’s high, insistent voice.

“We can go can’t we, Harry?”

Harry blinked and straightened, turning to look at Teddy and very much aware that last time he’d heard those words it had resulted in him bringing his godson to an astronomy club run by Malfoy.

“Go where?” he asked cautiously.

It got him a roll of the eyes that he could see even in the dim light, and Harry experienced another moment of déjà vu before Malfoy cut in.

“Teddy wanted to know if he could come and have a look at some of the pictures I have in my office,” he said softly. “I promised him I’d show him them sometime. Now seems like as good a time as any, if you don’t mind accompanying him?”

Malfoy’s tone had stiffened towards the end, as if he wasn’t really sure whether he wanted to invite Harry to his office or not. Harry half thought about refusing but then his eyes met Teddy’s and his childish gaze was so innocent and guileless that Harry found his objections fading away.

“Okay, yes. Fine,” he said nodding, thinking that things really couldn’t get much weirder than they already were.

“Yeah!” exclaimed Teddy and set off running in the direction of the Observatory, leaving Harry and Malfoy to hurry to catch up by some silent and probably ground-breaking agreement that they absolutely did not want to be alone in each other’s company.

 

*

Five minutes later Harry found himself standing in Malfoy’s office, a cup of tea in one hand, watching Malfoy patiently explain the variously shaped galaxies in the photographs to an enraptured five-year-old. It was actually quite sweet and Harry found himself thinking unwillingly that Malfoy was actually good at this. He knew how to speak to children. He knew how to soften his voice and alter his vocabulary without being patronising, and he was patient and kind and so many other things that Harry had never expected. The thought made his heart give an unexpected jolt and he cleared his throat before he realised he was doing it, looking away quickly when Malfoy glanced at him questioningly.

Since Malfoy didn’t say anything, Harry assumed he’d gone back to looking at the pictures, but he kept his eyes firmly on the office walls. It was definitely not a good idea to start looking at Malfoy too closely, nor to start applying words such as ‘sweet’ and ‘kind’ to a man who was bound to still be a complete and utter dick under all the layers of… well of whatever the hell this was that he was doing now.

He frowned at the wall and distracted himself by examining the office in more detail, despite the lack of things to see. It was a lot plainer than Harry had thought any office of Malfoy’s would ever be. The only decorations were the various astronomical charts on the walls, and a complex model of the solar system that Harry knew was definitely not a Muggle contraption, despite being very blatantly on display to any Muggles that entered the room.

Strangely, Harry didn’t feel inclined to report him to the Ministry for the misdemeanour.

“Do you want to stop by tomorrow?” Malfoy said, when Harry finally looked away from the solar system and back to where he was still standing next to Teddy. “I’ll show Teddy the main telescope and you can have a look around behind the scenes if you want.”

He looked almost shy for a second, though the look was gone in an instant, replaced by a mask of indifference which Harry suddenly felt like he could see right through. Malfoy was nervous about being rejected!

Harry felt a momentary thrill of triumph at his inference – not quite so oblivious as Hermione always claims I am – and afterwards put his immediate “yes that would be nice,” down to the fact that he was distracted by his own brilliance.

He kept his word though and took Teddy back to the observatory the next day, where Malfoy showed him all the things he had promised and then ended the visit by smiling in a way that made Harry’s knees feel a bit funny and telling them they could come back anytime.

They went home with Teddy buzzing with excitement and Harry trying to calm the odd pitter-patter of his heart.

It was the start of their visits to the observatory and the start of an odd sort of understanding that seemed to grow between him and Malfoy, twisting and changing as they spent more time in each other’s company.

 

*

“Draco! Draco!” Teddy called as he ran through the echoing halls of the observatory to Malfoy’s office several weeks after their very first visit. Harry followed slowly behind him, muttering awkward apologies to the few other patrons. The five-year-old burst through the office door without a knock, startling Malfoy, who sat behind his desk.

“Oh, hello, Teddy,” Malfoy smiled at the little boy, as he scrambled into his lap, already babbling something incoherent. “Potter,” Malfoy greeted with a polite nod as Harry shut the door behind him. “Please take a seat. Can I offer you some tea? Or coffee, perhaps?”

“Uh, some coffee would be brilliant,” Harry said with a smile, pulling up a rather tired-looking armchair that creaked mutinously under his weight.

“I want some too!” Teddy whined, his blond hair dulling to an upset grey.

Malfoy raised a cynical eyebrow as he looked down at Teddy. “Oh, really?” Malfoy picked up a cup from his cluttered desk. “Here, try a sip of mine,” he suggested as he held the cup to Teddy’s lips.

Teddy took a small drink, his face immediately twisting with disgust. He pushed Malfoy’s arm away, spilling the coffee onto Malfoy’s pristine, white shirt. “Yuck!” Teddy cried as Malfoy frowned at the mess on his clothes.

“Shi- sugar, sorry about that,” Harry winced, frowning at Teddy. “Teddy, apologise to Draco for getting his clothes dirty.”

Teddy pouted, squirming out of Malfoy’s lap to shuffle his feet and stare at the floor. “Teddy,” Harry said warningly.

“Potter, really, it’s fine,” Malfoy cut in with a roll of his eyes, pulling out his wand to vanish the stain. “And I think Teddy was punished enough with tasting the coffee. Wasn’t very good, was it?” Teddy raised his eyes, hesitating for just a second before shaking his head.

Harry watched Malfoy, who simply smiled at Teddy before conjuring up some juice for him. Malfoy stood from his desk, going to the counter to pour a mug for Harry. “Here,” he offered before ruffling Teddy’s now-pink hair.

“Thanks. So, how’s…all of this going?” Harry asked, gesturing around the office. Draco raised an unimpressed eyebrow, but his lips twitched into a smile as Teddy climbed back into his lap as he took his seat.

“Attendance is still low unfortunately.” Malfoy’s mouth tightened. “If this continues for too much longer I’ll have to shut this place down.”

Harry opened his mouth to offer his condolences, but Teddy beat him to it. “We wouldn’t come here anymore?” Teddy asked, his hair turning pitch black. Harry winced, and Draco nodded slightly. Teddy stuck out his lower lip and looked beseechingly up at Harry. “But that means I won’t get to look at the stars anymore or see Draco or…”

“Hey,” Malfoy cut in, with more gentleness than Harry would ever have thought him capable of, “don’t you worry; I’m not going to disappear, even if this place closes. We’d just have to go somewhere else to look at the stars.” He smiled at Teddy, a gentle curve of his lips that made Harry stare, awestruck. “All right?”

Teddy looked up at Draco for a long while before nodding, throwing his arms around Draco’s neck. Harry’s stomach squirmed strangely when Draco looked at him over Teddy’s shoulder, bemused fondness softening his sharp features.

What the hell? Harry thought, feeling askew.

 

*

Harry stared at the two bags of crisps in his hands, completely torn. He wanted both, but could hear Hermione’s voice in his head berating him for his lack of concern about his health. You’re twenty-four, Harry – not eighteen, he could imagine her saying. But, well, he really couldn’t decide–

“Potter?”

Harry jumped, closing his fists around the two bags, which crinkled with disapproval. He turned, blinking at an equally surprised Draco Malfoy. “Uh, ‘evening, Malfoy,” Harry said with a smile. He took in the trolley that Malfoy was pushing, its contents ranging from vegetables to cheap wine. “Doing some shopping?”

Malfoy blinked, his expression of surprise lasting for only another second before cooling. “Yes, of course. I assume that’s what everyone does in a supermarket.”

Harry’s grin grew a bit. “You’d be surprised, actually.”

Malfoy raised an eyebrow, but didn’t push. “Where’s Teddy?”

Harry shrugged, looking back at his two bags of crisps. “’Dromeda’s feeling better, so she has him for the next few nights.” Malfoy was quiet for a long moment, so Harry glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Malfoy looked rather pale.

“I didn’t know that Andromeda wasn’t well.”

Harry suddenly remembered their conversation about Malfoy’s separation from his family – and realised that Teddy was probably not the only thing Malfoy didn’t know about. He set the crisps back on the shelf, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Er, yeah – that’s why I was taking care of Teddy for those few weeks. She’s getting older, you know, and – well, she fell down last month and hurt her hip pretty badly.” Harry peeked at Malfoy, whose expression was blank. “Teddy was the only one there, so the Healers were called a bit too late to do much.”

“Oh.” Malfoy finally said.

“Uh, would you maybe want to go get a drink?” Malfoy blinked at him, and Harry immediately regretted the offer. Did he feel bad…for Malfoy? Either way the offer was obviously not a sensible one – despite their newfound tolerance of one another, he and Malfoy had spent absolutely no time together without the binding influence of Teddy to force them together.

“Sure, Potter. I’ll have to stop by my flat first. Would you care to accompany me?” Harry gaped a little for a moment, surprised at the readiness of the acceptance, but nodded.

He shuffled awkwardly by the exit as Draco paid for his shopping and offered to help him carry the bags. They walked down an alley, where Draco shrunk all of the bags before grabbing Harry’s elbow as they Apparated.

They arrived in an alley next to Draco’s building. Harry looked around the street, surprised. “You know, I thought you’d live somewhere a bit more…”

“Lavish?” Malfoy finished as they stepped through the hall, heading for the stairs.

Harry cleared his throat. “Well, yeah.”

“It’s funny how little money one makes from running a poorly-attended observatory while being disowned by one’s family,” Malfoy said as they climbed, finally stopping on the fourth floor. Harry didn’t know what to say in reply.

“Here we are,” Malfoy said as he pulled out his key, opening a plain-looking door with a brass 8 stuck above the peephole. Harry followed him inside, standing in the living room as Malfoy headed towards the kitchen. Harry tried not to seem nosy as he peeked at the few pictures on the side table next to Malfoy’s couch. They were all unmoving, Muggle photographs, Malfoy standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, laughing with a man Harry didn’t recognise, shaking hands with a woman in front of Arcas Observatory.

“Shall we go get that drink, then?” Malfoy suddenly said from behind Harry, making him jump.

“Er, right. Is there a good pub around here?”

Malfoy looked at him oddly. “You want to go to a Muggle pub?”

Harry rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward. “Yeah, well,” he paused. “The attention can be pretty annoying in the Wizarding ones.” Malfoy narrowed his eyes – Probably doesn’t believe that I don’t like the fame, Harry thought – but didn’t push further.

“Very well. There’s an adequate one a few blocks from here. After you, Potter.”

 

*

“Ah, Draco!” The beefy, bearded bartender yelled with delight as Harry and Malfoy stepped through the door. Harry blinked, thoroughly unnerved when Malfoy grinned in reply and led them to the bar.

“Callum,” Malfoy greeted, propping his elbows on the counter as he leaned in. “I’ll have a scotch,” he glanced at Harry, who ordered the cheapest beer in the place.

“Coming right up. Be sure to treat this one well, lad,” the bartender – Callum, apparently – advised Harry. Harry blinked, blindly nodding. He turned to Malfoy while the bartender went to get the drinks.

Malfoy smirked at the look on Harry’s face. “I used to date his son until Callum and I both agreed I was too good for the cheating bastard,” he explained blithely as Harry stared at him. Malfoy said something else, but Harry’s mind was still ringing with the news that Malfoy was gay.

Callum returned, handing them their drinks. Harry took a deep swig before following Malfoy to their table in a dark corner. The pub was pleasantly crowded, the light hum of conversation and warm laughter creating an enjoyable background.

Harry sipped at his drink, looking off to the side as he felt Malfoy’s gaze on his face. He’s gay? Harry was still thinking. Didn’t he date Pansy Parkinson at Hogwarts?

“Something to say, Potter?” Malfoy suddenly asked, his eyes sharp as Harry turned back towards him.

Harry swallowed, setting his drink on the table. “No, nothing.”

“Oh, really?”

But Harry’s curiosity couldn’t be suppressed. “Weren’t you straight at Hogwarts?”

Malfoy smirked. “That’s more like it. No, Potter, I have always been gay. Pardon me if I didn’t flaunt it at school.”

“Huh,” Harry added eloquently, taking in Malfoy’s relaxed pose, those long, pale lashes, those intelligent, silver eyes, that thin, pink mouth... Harry swallowed again. Okay, he could see how a guy could be interested in Malfoy’s appearance.

“See something you like?” Malfoy sneered.

That personality was a sticking point though.

 

*

Harry hiccupped loudly as they stepped out of the pub, the cool night air washing over his flushed skin. Yeah, I’m a little sloshed, he noted as Malfoy – Draco – giggled at him.

“You’re drunk, Potter,” Draco continued to chortle, his own cheeks a tad pink.

“So are you!” Harry exclaimed, pointing crookedly at Draco as they walked by a pair of annoyed-looking women on the street.

“Hardly,” Draco snorted, reaching out an arm to keep Harry from walking into the busy intersection. “I know better than to get completely pissed with the Saviour of the Wizarding World.”

“CONSTANT VIGILANCE,” Harry suddenly remembered, shouting the words into the night. Draco startled, glaring at Harry, who laughed. “Do you really think I’d do something to you?” Harry asked as they continued to make their way down the street. “And where are we going?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Back to my place, Potter. You’d splinch yourself if I let you Apparate back to whatever hovel you live in. You can use the Floo in my flat.” Harry nodded, slinging an arm around Draco’s shoulders. “What are you doing?” Draco asked, amused, as they turned right down a quiet street.

“Being friendly, Draco. You might want to learn the meaning of the word,” Harry smirked as Draco raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t shrug off his arm.

Harry yawned, his burst of tipsy energy beginning to dissipate. “Oi, don’t fall asleep on me, Potter,” Draco ordered as he nudged Harry’s stomach with his pointy elbow. Harry grunted in return, noticing that they’d turned onto a different street, this one slightly busier.

As they passed by a similarly inebriated group of women, Harry heard one of the Muggles coo, “Oh, look at them – what a cute couple!” Some of the other women giggled and shushed her before they stepped around the corner.

Harry swallowed, glancing at Draco, who was either ignoring the comment or hadn’t heard it. If only he wasn’t such a prick… Harry blinked, surprised at his own thoughts. Sure, he’d always been rather open-minded about the whole sex thing – but Malfoy? He was attracted to Draco Malfoy?

“Huh,” Harry muttered as he unconsciously tightened his grip around Draco’s shoulders. Draco looked at him.

“What?”

I just realised I would rather like to kiss you.

“Nothing. Are we almost there?”

“Yes. It’s on the next block.”

Harry was silent for the rest of the walk, finally pulling his arm back when they began walking up the stairs to Draco’s flat. Draco unlocked the front door, stepping inside with Harry at his heels.

“The Floo powder is on the mantle,” Draco said as he headed to the kitchen, stepping out of sight. Harry swallowed, suddenly not wanting to go home to an empty Grimmauld Place.

“You’re not going to offer me a nightcap?” Harry called, running his fingertips along the back of the couch. Draco appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.

“I figured you’d had enough alcohol for one night.” Harry shrugged, staring at his feet.

“Very well then, Potter. I’ll get some brandy.”

Harry nodded, looking up only when Draco had left for the kitchen once again. What the fuck am I doing?

Draco entered the room with two glasses. He handed one to Harry, who took a gulp of the brandy. The fiery liquid burned down his throat, bringing the warmth back to his cheeks. He watched Draco take a small sip, those grey eyes staring back at him questioningly.

“Something on your mind, Potter?” Draco asked, his expression softened in a way Harry had only ever seen directed at Teddy. Harry swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. He set his drink down on the side table, at a loss for words.

Fuck it.

Harry leaned in, reaching out a hand to cup Draco’s cheek. He could feel Draco’s jaw shift under his fingertips as he closed his eyes and kissed him, just a soft brush of his lips against Draco’s.

He pulled back after a moment, feeling simultaneously nervous and satisfied with his bravery. He opened his eyes.

Draco stared at him, his knuckles white from strain around his glass. “Potter,” he said softly, dangerously. Harry felt the pit of his stomach drop as horrible embarrassment filled his chest. Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. “I think you should leave,” Draco stated quietly, eyes blazing with something – anger, probably – as he gestured to the fireplace.

Harry nodded, mortified. He grabbed a pinch of the Floo powder, quietly muttering his destination. He glanced over his shoulder, only to find that Draco had left the room.

Well, that was a fucking disaster, Harry thought as the fire whooshed him away.

*

Harry slouched in his chair, not really reading the words on the parchment before him. He sighed, giving up to stare at the ceiling. He could feel Ron watching him.

“Everything all right over there, mate?”

Oh, only my every thought is consumed by Draco fucking Malfoy. But, yeah, other than that, I’m brilliant.

“Yeah. Just a bit tired.” Ron nodded, yet still looked concerned.

“Teddy keeping you up again?”

“No – ‘Dromeda’s been taking care of Teddy for the past few days. Missed him, I think. I’m taking him this weekend, though.”

“Would you two like to come over for dinner? Hermione’s attempting to make spaghetti – so we’ll probably end up ordering in.” Harry grinned, feeling a sudden rush of thankfulness for his friends.

“Yeah, all right. That sounds like it’d be fun. Saturday?”

“Saturday,” Ron confirmed.

“Get back to work, you two,” Kingsley ordered as he walked past their open doorway. Harry and Ron shared abashed grins before sticking their heads back into their paperwork.

 

*

Harry took a long swig of his wine, enjoying the lazy, relaxed atmosphere in Hermione and Ron’s house. He looked at the familiar pictures on the kitchen’s walls – the three of them at the last Quidditch World Cup – Ron and Hermione on their wedding day – all of the Weasley clan, and Harry and Hermione, of course, at a long-past Christmas – Hermione with her parents at their ranch in Australia – Ron and George at the reopening of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes…the walls were filled with life and memories.

“Ron and Teddy are asleep on the couch,” Hermione said with a fond smile as she stepped into the kitchen. Harry nodded, taking another bite of his now-cold curry. Hermione took a seat across the table from him. “So how are you, Harry? I feel like we never get to talk anymore.”

Harry shrugged. “Nothing special to report, really. Just work and taking care of Teddy. I’m sure your life is much more interesting, Miss secretary-for-the-minister-herself.” Hermione smiled bashfully, but didn’t let the topic slide.

“Surely there must be someone special in your life. I mean, you and Ginny ended over two years ago, right. You’re not still –?”

Harry snorted. “No, I am not still in love with Ginny, Hermione. You know that we ended that as friends.”

Hermione nodded, standing to begin cleaning the dishes. Harry went to help her, drying the plates as she handed them to him.

“I ran into Malfoy a while ago though,” Harry blurted, immediately kicking himself when Hermione stared at him.

“Malfoy? As in Draco Malfoy?”

“Yeah. He runs an observatory close to Grimmauld Place. I take Teddy there sometimes.”

Hermione was silent, only the sounds of sloshing water and wet cloth passing between them.

“Harry, are you bisexual?”

Harry jumped, dropping the luckily plastic cup he’d been drying. “Hermione! You can’t just –”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. “I can’t what? Ask if my best friend likes men too? Am I required to wait forever for you to share the news?”

Harry gaped at her. “So you knew?”

She rolled her eyes, turning back to the dishes. “You weren’t exactly subtle, Harry. Ron guessed about a year ago. He owes me a Sickle now, actually.”

Harry laughed, long and loud, unable to contain himself. “I love you guys,” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around Hermione’s shoulders in a brief hug.

Hermione patted his arm as he pulled back, picking up another dish to dry. “So are you dating Malfoy?” Harry gaped at her again.

“No, I am not dating Malfoy! Why would you –?”

Hermione stared at him, unimpressed. Harry flushed.

“Okay, so I fancy him a little bit.”

Hermione smiled smugly. “Now Ron owes me two Sickles.”

Harry’s grin faded, and he winced. “But he can’t stand me. He rejected me pretty clearly.”

Hermione’s mouth bowed into a pitying frown, and she rested her hand against his arm. “I’m sorry, Harry. I’m sure it’ll work out somehow.”

Harry didn’t reply.

 

*

“Harry? Harry!” Teddy sang as he ran into Harry’s office, a big smile on his lips.

Harry sighed, annoyed that his concentration was broken. Kingsley needed this report tomorrow, and he really didn’t have any time to spare. “What, Teddy? I told you that I couldn’t play tonight.”

“Could we go see Draco tomorrow?” Teddy asked excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “He said that I could use his telescope–”

Harry grimaced, remembering Draco’s expression when Harry had kissed him – the shock, anger, dread –

“No. Go and play in your room.”

Teddy frowned. “But you said–”

“I said no, Teddy. Now go to your room!” Harry snapped, turning his eyes away from Teddy’s teary expression. He glared at his report, not reading a word as he heard Teddy give a loud sob before running out of the door. He heard his footsteps travel down the hall until they fell out of earshot.

“Fuck,” he cursed quietly as he threw his quill onto the parchment. He leaned back in his seat, reaching under his glasses to rub at his eyes. Fucking Malfoy. This is all his fault… But Harry knew that was a lie. It was his own.

He shook that truth from his mind, forcing himself to focus on his work. He’d just deal with the mess with Draco and Teddy later.

 

*

Harry groaned, rubbing at his eyes before checking the time. Merlin, was it really that late? He stumbled out of his office, heading down the stairs to knock on Teddy’s door. When he got no response, he pushed it open, sure that Teddy had fallen asleep.

The room was dark, only fuzzy light from the street lamps outside providing any illumination. Harry crept across the carpet, taking a seat on Teddy’s bed. He reached out a hand to pet Teddy’s hair and felt –

The pillow.

Harry frowned, reaching over to flick on the lamp.

Teddy’s bed was empty. Harry gazed around the room. Empty. Probably fell asleep in front of the telly, Harry thought, walking to the stairs.

“Teddy?” He whispered as he walked into the salon, yet the room was empty. His heartbeat thumping a little quicker, Harry raced to the kitchen. The flighty panic in his chest only grew when it was empty as well.

Harry pulled out his wand. “Homenum Revelio!”

“Fuck!” Harry shouted, raking his hands through his hair.

Teddy was upset.

Teddy was not in the house.

Teddy was gone – alone in the dark, scared and vulnerable.

“FUCK!” Harry yelled again before running to the Floo. He tossed a pinch of powder into the flames, thinking of the first person that came to mind. He stepped out of Draco’s fireplace, immediately raising his hands in a sign of surrender when he saw Draco’s wand pointed straight at him.

“Merlin, Potter,” Draco sighed with relief, putting his wand away before crossing his arms across his chest. “What the hell are you doing here? It’s almost one in the morning.”

“Teddy’s run away,” Harry choked, his throat feeling tight.

Draco’s eyes grew wide, yet became serious almost instantly. “How long has he been missing?”

Harry raised a hand to his forehead, trying to think clearly. “I yelled at him about two hours ago – he probably left around then.” The bottom of Harry’s stomach seemed to drop away at the thought of all of the horrors that could have befallen Teddy in the course of two hours. “Fuck, this is all my fault,” he hissed.

“Stay focussed, Potter,” Draco snapped. “Does Teddy know how to use the Floo?”

“No.”

Draco nodded. “Good. Then he couldn’t have gone too far from your home. Are there any places near where you live that he’d know how to get to?”

Harry frowned. “We’ve been to the park a few times, the supermarket, a few cafes, and the library. Everywhere else we either take the Floo or use the tube.”

Draco visibly swallowed, his brow furrowing as he took a seat on his couch. Harry rested a shaking hand against the back of an armchair, his skin crawling with fear. A minute of stressed silence had passed when Harry spoke up. “Maybe I should call another Auror in – they might be able to be a bit more objective about this–”

“What did you argue with Teddy about?”

Harry blinked, cursing the blush he could feel rising on his cheeks. “Well, he wanted to visit you at the observatory tomorrow, but I didn’t…I said no.”

Draco stared at him intensely. “How do you normally get to Arcas?”

Harry stiffened, hope blossoming in his chest. “We walk.”

Draco jumped up, drawing his robe tighter around his pyjamas as he strode to the fireplace. He tossed in some Floo powder. “Arcas Observatory!” he said as he stood in the green flames. Harry followed him seconds later, stumbling out of the fireplace into Draco’s office.

“Come on, I lock the front doors at night,” Draco said before he and Harry were jogging through the dark, empty halls. Harry yanked open the door, heart beating like mad as he stepped outside.

“Teddy? Teddy?” he called desperately.

Horrible silence greeted him.

“Harry?” A quiet voice asked from the darkness.

“Oh, thank Merlin,” Harry moaned with relief as Teddy shuffled out of the dark. Harry dropped to his knees and hugged Teddy against his chest, squeezing him tightly.

“I’m sorry,” he heard Teddy mumble against his shoulder. He pulled back slightly, wiping at Teddy’s tears.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shouted at you before. But don’t ever scare us like that again, all right?” Teddy nodded, sniffling. Harry pulled him into another hug, standing up and cradling Teddy against his chest. He smiled at Draco, who hung back in the doorway, watching the scene.

“Thank you,” Harry whispered. Draco nodded. The three made their way back to Draco’s office. Teddy was snoring gently on Harry’s shoulder by the time they stood in front of the fireplace.

Harry turned his head to look at Draco, not knowing what to say, yet knowing he needed to say something. “Would you like to come back with us? Have a cup of tea to calm down or something?”

Harry couldn’t see Draco’s expression in the darkness and couldn’t read his tone of voice when he replied with a simple, “Sure.”

Harry swallowed, hoping Draco couldn’t see his expression either. “All right, then. 12 Grimmauld Place,” he said clearly as he threw in some Floo powder. Draco stepped in next to him and they were soon spat onto the kitchen hearth.

“Um, I’m going to go tuck Teddy into bed…” Harry’s voice trailed off.

“Can I come?” Draco asked quietly, eyes oddly soft. Harry was suddenly struck by how clearly Draco cared for Teddy – of course he’d have been scared by this as well.

“Of course,” Harry gave a small smile before he headed towards the hallway, Draco following him as they quietly climbed up the stairs, Teddy still fast asleep in Harry’s arms. Teddy squirmed as Harry lay him down and tugged off his shoes before pulling up the covers. Harry ruffled his hair, cementing the image of Teddy, safe and sound, in his mind before turning away.

Draco stood silhouetted in the doorway, the light from the hallway casting a halo around his head. Harry was struck with an odd bolt of lust as he took in Draco’s ruffled appearance – the hastily tied robe, the striped pyjamas peeking out from underneath, the mussed hair usually so perfectly styled.

Harry shut the door to Teddy’s bedroom behind him, flexing his fingers around the doorknob as he stared at Draco. He cleared his throat. “So, some tea, then?”

Draco smiled a sharp, rough grin. “I’d prefer some brandy, actually, if you have it.”

Harry had to swallow again, throat dry. “I don’t keep alcohol in the house with Teddy being so damn curious about everything.” Draco’s stare was intense, watching Harry from across the landing.

“I see.”

A charged silence settled between them and Harry mustered up the courage to take another step closer to Draco.

“Potter,” Draco whispered, close enough that Harry could see the flecks of blue in those stormy grey irises.

Harry licked his lips.

“I –” Harry stammered helplessly, held back by thoughts of that aborted kiss a few nights ago.

Draco rolled his eyes before reaching out to cup Harry’s jaw. “Just fucking kiss me, Potter.”

Harry’s stomach swooped – or was that his heart? – as he complied, gripping Draco’s hips firmly as he pressed their lips together. He groaned as Draco’s tongue slid into his mouth, his skin buzzing with arousal.

Harry pressed Draco against the wall, slotting his thigh between Draco’s legs and savouring the choked-off moan that followed. Fucking hell, Draco is hard too.

“Do you–? Can we–?” Harry panted as Draco kissed and nibbled at his jaw. Draco pulled back, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. He seemed to understand what Harry was asking, licking his lips before nodding.

Harry stumbled back, feeling the heat on his own cheeks. He grabbed Draco’s hand before heading up the stairs. What the bloody hell am I doing?

Harry paused momentarily at the door of his bedroom, wishing he’d thought to clean up or something – but it’s not like he’d ever thought that bringing some stranger home was a possibility, let alone the idea that he might be bringing back Draco Malfoy. He pushed open the door, barely allowing Draco to cross the threshold before he was on him again, pressing him onto his mattress.

“Fuck, Potter,” Draco murmured before kissing Harry, rolling them so that they lay sprawled on the bed, Harry partially atop Draco.

“You’re wearing too many clothes,” Harry said seriously as he pulled off his own shirt. Draco blinked up at him, allowing Harry to tug at the knot holding his robe together. Draco shimmied out of his pyjamas while Harry worked at the suddenly complex issue of his flies.

“Potter, really,” Draco admonished impatiently when Harry finally got the zipper unstuck. He climbed into Potter’s lap, only Draco’s pants maintaining any of his modesty. Harry removed his glasses, setting them on his nightstand before Draco attacked his mouth again, those long fingers pulling at his hair.

Harry ran his fingertips up the smooth plane of Draco’s back, loving the feel of every knob of Draco’s spine and the soft, thin skin that shivered under his touch. Draco fidgeted in a way that suddenly made Harry’s erection a very pressing concern.

“Shit,” Harry gasped when Draco repeated the movement. Draco smiled against his lips, moving one of Harry’s hands from his back to his stomach, leading it down, down, down.

“Come on,” Draco urged as Harry pulled back his pants, finally wrapping his hand around Draco’s cock. Harry was mesmerised by the look of pleasure on Draco’s face– those wet, red lips, those rosy, flushed cheeks, those sweaty, muddled locks of hair.

Draco shivered as Harry continued to jerk him off, Draco’s fingernails clawing at Harry’s bare shoulders painfully. Harry thrust his hips against Draco’s arse, his cock still trapped by his jeans. That didn’t seem to be too much of a problem, though, since Harry was embarrassingly close to coming.

Draco pressed a messy kiss to Harry’s mouth, the kiss more of an exchange of gasps and groans than anything else. “Fuck, you’re so bloody gorgeous,” Harry confessed, hypnotised as Draco choked out another breathy moan.

“Fuck – Potter – don’t – ah!” And then he was coming all over Harry’s hand, his entire body trembling with the aftershocks as Harry continued to stroke him. Draco squirmed in Harry’s lap, making Harry gulp for air as his cock throbbed.

He was so close, just –

“Do it, Potter. Come for me,” Draco ordered before grinding down against him. And Harry saw stars, his fingers scrambling at Draco’s hips as he came in his pants like some horny teenager.

He was still panting for breath when Draco pushed at his shoulders, causing him to fall back onto the pillows. “Draco – what – we…?”

“Hush, Potter. Just go to sleep,” Draco said as he settled in at Harry’s side, turning to face the wall. Harry stared at that pale back, a few red marks from his own fingertips appearing on that pristine canvas.

Sudden, intense lethargy took hold of Harry’s eyelids, a heaviness caused by the day’s many unexpected turns. 

“Draco, I –” Harry yawned, unable to stop himself.

“Goodnight, Potter.”

Draco didn’t say more, so Harry made the bold decision to draw an arm around Draco’s stomach, pulling him back into his embrace before he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 

*

Fucking blackbirds, Harry thought as he was pulled into consciousness, the obnoxious tittering of the birds outside his window grating against his ears. He rolled over, eyes stubbornly closed. He stretched out his legs, dozing lightly when his foot brushed someone else’s.

Harry bolted upright, scrambling for his glasses. “Oh, shit,” he mumbled as he stared down at Draco, who continued to breathe deeply in sleep. Shit, Harry continued to think as the morning daze began to clear from his mind.

He winced as he slid off the bed, the dried come from last night grating against his crotch. This is fucking ridiculous, Harry thought as he headed for the shower, shuffling oddly in the uncomfortable jeans. What is he going to say when he wakes up? Are we a thing now? Harry ignored the way his chest tightened at that idea. Are we going to get to do this again?

Oh, fuck. What is Teddy going to think? Harry hissed as soap got in his eye. What a fucking lovely morning.

He was pulling on a shirt and walking into the hallway when Teddy came bounding up the stairs, smile as wide as ever. “Good morning, Harry!” he exclaimed, running up to hug Harry’s legs.

Harry smiled weakly. “Morning. Want some breakfast?” Teddy nodded eagerly, already turning to run to the kitchen. “I’ll be down in a minute,” Harry called before turning to face his bedroom door. He sighed, praying that his night with Draco was just an elaborate hallucination and that Draco was not currently sleeping in his bed.

Mustering his courage, Harry pushed open the door. He stepped over to the bed, pausing to simply look at Draco for a moment. His face was slack in slumber, softening harsh edges and making him seem younger and less threatening.

“Oi, Draco. Uh, wake up.” Harry mumbled, tentatively reaching out to shake Draco’s shoulder.

“Urgh,” Draco grunted, face scrunching up in displeasure. Harry wanted to kick himself for finding it adorable.

“What time is it?” Draco asked groggily as he sat up, rubbing one of his eyes.

Harry stared, awestruck at the sight of Draco Malfoy with such horrendous bedhead. “Er, around seven, I think. I have to head into work soon, so I figured you might want to get up.”

Draco continued to look confused for a long moment before his eyes widened. “Oh, shit,” he hissed. Exactly, Harry thought humourlessly as Draco climbed out of the bed, picking up his pyjamas off the floor. Harry tried not to stare at his arse as he bent down, but found himself looking anyway. He cleared his throat, blushing and turning away when Draco straightened.

Draco pulled on his clothes, picking up his wand and charming them into a more suitable set of robes. Draco ran a hand through his hair, facing Harry with a blank expression. “Does Teddy know that I’m here?” He asked calmly.

Harry shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. “No. He’s downstairs. We’re about to have breakfast. Want to join us?” Harry smothered the small spark of hope that was growing in his stomach.

Draco narrowed his eyes. “Do you really think that’s a good idea, Potter?”

Harry blinked, shrugging.

Draco folded his arms across his chest. “Do you normally bring your one-night-stands to breakfast with your godson?”

Harry’s stomach dropped unpleasantly, and he frowned. Well, considering you’re the first one in months, if not years… “Of course not, but –”

“Then I should be treated no differently,” Draco finished frostily.

Shame and disappointment simmered in Harry’s chest and he clenched his jaw tightly. Well, that clarifies things a bit. “Fine,” Harry finally bit out. “Would you like to use the Floo?”

Malfoy shook his head. “I’ll Apparate. Just make sure Teddy doesn’t see me – we hardly need to bring him into this.”

Harry glared at his feet, turning to rest a trembling hand against the doorknob. “I couldn’t agree more. You can find your own way out, I hope,” Harry said before heading out of the room, trying to ignore the boiling anger in his veins as he moved towards the kitchen.

Fucking Malfoy, Harry thought viciously before taking a deep breath. He flinched when he heard the front door click shut from down the hallway. He paused for only another moment before entering the kitchen, making sure to smile cheerfully at Teddy as he began preparing breakfast.

How could I have messed things up so completely?

 

*

“I said I needed the report by today, Potter. I don’t see how there could have been any confusion on the matter,” Kingsley stated as he leaned forward in his chair.

Harry squirmed in his seat, extremely uncomfortable. “Yes, sir, I understood the deadline. There was just a very sudden personal matter that occurred last night that distracted me. I’m very sorry.”

Kingsley narrowed his eyes, letting the dead silence stretch on for a while longer. He finally leaned back in his chair, gaze softening. “Look, Potter, you do good work and seem dedicated to the force; however, I can’t afford to have you distracted. You understand that you are practically the symbol for the Ministry, right? If you aren’t focused, the papers will claim that the Ministry – and the Aurors – can’t do their job anymore.” Kingsley gave Harry a pitying smile. “So just try and concentrate during your shift. I’ll give you an extension on the report, but this is the last time, all right?”

Harry nodded, stiffly standing and saluting. He left Kingsley’s office, shuffling his way back to his own. He pushed open the door to find Ron sitting on top of his desk, idly casting bubbles with his wand.

“Oh, you’re back. So, what happened?”

Harry sighed, walking around his desk to plop into his chair. He pushed Ron off his paperwork. “Nothing much. He’s disappointed that I seem distracted, and he gave me an extension on the report. I’m not fired or anything.”

Ron nodded, yet stared at Harry. “Is there anything you want to talk about, mate? You have been a bit out of it lately.”

Harry shook his head, not making eye contact as he tried to focus on the file.

There was a long moment of silence, and Harry thought that Ron finally might’ve dropped the matter.

“Is this about Malfoy?”

Harry jumped, smearing ink on the parchment. He gaped at Ron, who watched him closely. “Wha–? How did you–?”

Ron rolled his eyes, smiling. “Hermione told me about your little talk. And it isn’t exactly hard to figure out, what with those scratch marks on your back I saw in the locker room.” Harry flushed, feeling an odd swirl of emotions as he unconsciously ran a hand against his shoulder. Ron’s grin widened. “So you two are–?” Ron’s face suddenly twisted in disgust. “Oh, Merlin, I can’t believe I was about to imagine you and Malfoy going at it.”

Harry let out a surprised bark of laughter, pushing Ron completely off his desk and onto the floor. Ron snickered as well, getting to his feet. “Horrible mental image aside, are you two…together now or something?”

Harry’s smile faded, and he stared stonily at the parchment in front of him. “No, we’re not. Draco just wanted to fuck, apparently.” Harry let out a pathetic attempt of a chuckle. “I guess I was rather stupid for wanting something more than that with the git.”

Ron’s hand was suddenly on his shoulder, patting him comfortingly. And although it stung slightly, Harry appreciated the contact all the same.

 

*

“Good afternoon, Harry,” Andromeda greeted warmly as she let Harry in.

“It’s good to see you, ‘Dromeda. How’s the hip?” Harry asked as they headed towards the kitchen.

“Oh, much better. Healer Jones says I’ll be functioning fully by the end of the week.”

Harry couldn’t help the flash of disappointment that hit him. He hid it behind a smile, and accepted the cup of tea she handed him. “Oh, that’s wonderful. I suppose Teddy will go back to living with you full-time, then?”

Andromeda watched Harry closely as she took the seat across from him at the table. “I suppose he would, yes.”

Harry nodded, chest feeling a bit tight. “Unless there is an alternative that makes everyone a little happier.”

Harry looked at her, confused. “What do you mean?”

Andromeda smiled. “Teddy adores you, Harry; surely you must know that. And I know that you love Teddy as well.” Harry nodded, still not following entirely. “Well, my accident showed me that I might not be as young as I like to think I am –” She held up a hand to stem Harry’s protests. “– and I think it’s a good idea for Teddy to spend some time with someone a bit younger, a bit more active. I think his godfather is as good of a choice as any, don’t you think?”

Harry gaped, a small spark of hope forming in his chest. “You mean I could see Teddy often?”

Andromeda nodded, taking a dainty sip of her tea. “I believe our current arrangement is rather nice. When I’m busy or too tired, Teddy can spend time with you; and when you’re out on a case or otherwise occupied, I’ll be here for him.” She smiled softly. “Teddy will reach the age soon when he starts to realise all that he’s lost – having you, along with Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys, will help curtail that feeling of loneliness, I hope.” She paused. “But, of course, this can be quite the responsibility. Merely say the word, and you can bow out, Harry. I wouldn’t want to limit your life in any way–”

“No!” Harry cleared his throat. “Um, no, that won’t be a problem. I think this plan sounds perfect. Even though it can be exhausting, I love having Teddy around.”

Andromeda nodded. She opened her mouth to say something–

“HARRY!” Teddy ran into the room, climbing up into Harry’s lap to hug him fiercely. Harry laughed, rubbing his back.

“Hello, Teddy. All ready to go?”

Teddy nodded, beaming. “Can we go back to the observatory soon? I was telling Grandmother all about the stars and space and Draco and –”

Harry stiffened, looking over at Andromeda, who was gazing back at him with the usual expression she wore whenever Draco’s name was mentioned. Well, shit, Harry thought. Not only did I introduce Teddy to her estranged nephew without asking permission, I also ended up shagging him. Great.

“Uh, yes, that –”

“It’s fine, Harry. I believe that you and Teddy should be off soon if you are going to go see Draco at the observatory before it closes, right?” Andromeda smiled as she collected their cups. Teddy nodded, bounding out of Harry’s lap and heading towards the Floo.

“Uh, right,” Harry blinked, a little dazed. “Thanks, ‘Dromeda.”

“Of course, Harry. Have fun, and I’ll see you two on Monday.” Harry nodded, smiling at her one last time before walking into the lounge, picking up Teddy before throwing some Floo powder into the grate.

“Arcas Observatory!”

 

*

Draco arched an eyebrow at the pair of them as they stumbled out of the fireplace in his office. “I see that the front door was too much trouble then?” He sneered at Harry as he set down the book he was putting on the shelf. His frostiness faded away as Teddy hugged his legs, babbling excitedly.

“Teddy wanted to see you, so I figured you might not mind,” Harry mumbled, not making eye contact with Draco.

“Hmm. And how are you today, Teddy? It’s a little late for you to be showing up, isn’t it?” Draco asked as he picked Teddy up, propping him against his hip.

“Harry just picked me up at Grandmother’s! I’m staying with him for the whole weekend!”

Draco smiled, raising his eyebrows. “The whole weekend? How exciting. Want to see some new images that I got in today? They’re of a supernova star very, very far away.” Teddy nodded eagerly, already asking questions as Draco lowered him back to the floor.

Harry shuffled his feet, unsure of where to look, or what to say. How do you interact with the person who you’ve seen naked yet doesn’t like you?

“Potter?”

Harry startled, caught off-guard as Draco stared back at him questioningly.

“I asked if you would care for some tea,” Draco repeated very slowly. Harry flushed, accepting the offered cup.

He took a seat on one of the old chairs in Draco’s office, watching Draco and Teddy discuss the pictures of the supernova as he drank his tea, eyes wandering around the office, taking in the tasteful painting, the crowded bookshelves, the stacks of paper and fliers on Draco’s desk.

Harry’s brow creased as he sneakily spelled one of the brightly-coloured fliers to float into his hand:

VISIT ARCAS OBSERVATORY!
Closing Day!
23rd July, 9.00 – 18.00
Free admission!

Harry frowned. Closing day? Is Draco shutting this place down? He looked up, watching Draco with new eyes. Now that he was looking for it, there did seem to be a tired slump to Draco’s shoulders, a darker shadow under his eyes.

Well, fuck.

 

*

Harry leaned against the mantle of the fireplace in Draco’s office, lost in thought.

Draco walked into the office, an unfolded cardboard box in his arms. “Oh, Potter, you’re still here. I assumed you’d have taken Teddy home by now.” Draco walked to the bookshelves, pulling out his wand to silently begin filling the box with books.

“I did. I dropped him off with Ron and Hermione. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” Harry watched Draco’s back tense, then forcibly relax once again.

“Oh, like what?” Draco didn’t turn around, still directing the flying books into the box.

“Like how Arcas is closing down.”

The books’ flight path stuttered unevenly for a moment before smoothing once again.

“I assume that’s a rather simple concept to understand, Potter. The observatory was making no money, therefore I have no way to pay the rent, and thus I have to shut it down. I thought even you could draw the necessary conclusion.”

An odd bolt of pity jolted through Harry. “Oh,” he said, scrubbing one hand through his hair awkwardly, not really sure what to say. “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?” It was a stupid thing to say, Harry realised, because what on earth could he do to make this better?

“Don’t worry,” Draco said, turning around and looking at him with a twisted sort of smile that made Harry’s heart ache for him. “Worse things have happened to me.”

Harry looked at him and thought that was probably simultaneously true and not true: after all, a lot of things that had happened to Draco could be very much said to be not his fault, whereas this… Well this wasn’t really his fault either – there was nothing more he could have done – but Harry still very much got the impression that it felt a lot more personal to Draco than anything else had.

Harry paused, not really sure what to do and then decided to hell with it and walked forward, reaching out to pat Draco on the arm in what he hoped was a sympathetic fashion. “Don’t worry,” he said, accidentally mimicking Draco’s words. “I’m sure something will work out.

Draco gave him a faint smile and then lowered his eyes to his arm. Harry followed his gaze and realised that instead of pulling away as he’d intended at the end of the gesture, somehow his hand had – of its own accord – decided to stay resting on Draco’s arm.

Harry felt torn – he wanted to comfort Draco, to take him in his arms and make the pain go away…but Draco had made his feelings about their relationship rather clear the other night, and Harry didn’t want to take advantage when Draco was vulnerable…

Undecided, he lifted his eyes to Draco’s face only to find Draco was now looking at him, those pale eyes inscrutable as they tracked his features.

There was one wild moment when their gaze met and the world seemed to shine, and then unexpectedly Draco leaned forwards and kissed him.

Harry flailed wildly with his free hand even as Draco raised his and cupped Harry’s jaw, holding him firmly in place. Harry tried desperately to collect his thoughts, which was difficult because Draco was a bloody fantastic kisser, but eventually he managed gasp, “Wait, Draco. Wha–? This isn’t – we shouldn’t –” which wasn’t exactly coherent but at least had the effect of stopping Draco kissing him, even if he only pulled away slightly.

“Oh, for goodness sake, Potter,” he grumbled, “you talk far too much and, although I never thought I’d hear myself say it, you think too much as well.”

Harry blinked rapidly, trying to balance the fact that Draco seemed to want to kiss him against the fact that he might only be doing this because he was upset.

“But –” Harry began, only to be cut off again by Draco’s lips.

“Shut up,” Draco muttered into the kiss – and Harry did until his brain managed to get itself sorted out enough for him to pull back, panting slightly and looking at Draco properly. This time he got as far as “What are you–?” before Draco cut him off.

“I’m kissing you – or at least I’m trying to,” he snapped petulantly. “You keep thinking too much and spoiling it.” Harry moved his lips soundlessly. “See, there you go again,” Draco pointed out. “Honestly, Potter, I can practically hear you thinking. Do stop it, it’s terribly off-putting.”

Harry frowned. “Yes, but what are you doing?” he said again, his brain trying desperately to rephrase the question into why are you kissing me, and failing miserably to issue the correct instructions to his lips.

“I’m kissing you,” Draco repeated, as if Harry were being inordinately stupid about the entire thing. “And then when we make it to my flat, I’ll be fucking you. Let’s save the thinking and the talking till after we’ve finished, shall we?” His lips twisted into a smirk of amusement that did funny things to Harry’s brain. He half wanted to just agree – because Draco’s kisses had been good and fucking Draco again seemed like the best damn idea he’d ever had – but he also knew that there was no way he wanted to do this now whilst Draco was vulnerable and then have to pretend it had never happened again.

“What will we talk about?” he asked desperately, to give his mind something to focus on that wasn’t the growing tightness of his trousers.

“Oh, I don’t know, probably about the fact that I’d quite like you to be there in the morning,” Draco muttered, his smirk growing impossibly wider. Harry’s head whirled as Draco rolled his eyes at him and pulled him towards the Floo, his hand clenched tightly around Harry’s.

They tumbled into Draco’s flat and Harry didn’t think much about anything other than how soft Draco’s lips were against his and how warm his hands were when they slipped beneath his shirt and splayed across his stomach.

There was a few moments of stumbling where Draco seemed to be propelling them across the room and then the odd twisting sensation of Apparation before Harry realised they were in Draco’s bedroom.

Harry started on Draco’s buttons and suddenly it seemed terribly urgent that they get their clothes off as soon as possible.

They fell onto the bed in a tangle of wandering hands and searching lips, Harry trying to get closer, more, faster, and Draco half chuckling into his mouth, probably at Harry’s complete lack of co-ordination.

Not that Harry cared.

“Clothes, off. Now,” he panted, and was gratified to hear Draco’s faint gasp and see the gleam of something deep in his eyes that Harry thought was desire mixed with something else. Whatever it was he sat up and pushed Harry’s hands away, tackling his own buttons with alarming efficiency, revealing smooth, pale skin faster than Harry’s mind could process.

He stared and stared, until Draco looked up from the last button and shot him a grin that sent his mind careering off in a new direction. Damn it, they were still overdressed.

Ripping his t-shirt off was far easier than Draco’s fussy shirt had been, and Draco managed to kneel and undo his own trousers whilst Harry was placing his glasses on the bedside table. Draco pushed them down over his hips along with his boxers, sliding them down his thighs until they caught around his knees and Harry mind went blank as he stared at Draco’s cock, hard and already leaking.

“Fuck,” he mumbled, and licked his lips when his voice came out sounding a whole lot more desperate than he would have liked. Draco arched an elegant eyebrow and Harry decided that enough was quite clearly enough. He wasn’t waiting any longer.

Without warning he pressed Draco back onto the bed, dipping his head and shuffling awkwardly between his legs until he could nuzzle his nose along the hard line of Draco’s erection.

“Potter.” There was a warning in Draco’s voice, which Harry gleefully ignored, instead pressing his lips to the base of Draco’s cock and then giving it one long lick, all the way to the tip. The resulting gasp was all the encouragement he needed to do it again and he inhaled sharply, his head swimming with the scent and taste of Draco, even as part of his brain screamed, what the fuck are you doing?

He ignored it in favour of taking Draco’s length in his mouth and swallowing down as much of it as he could take.

Draco’s hips jerked and for a moment Harry couldn’t breathe, choking very inelegantly until he managed to get one hand up and pin Draco’s hips to the bed. He heard a mumble from above that might have been sorry, and decided that this meant Draco was far too coherent for his liking. He set about putting that right immediately by sucking lightly and bobbing his head up and then down again, swirling his tongue around the head on the upward stroke and pressing it flat as he swallowed down again.

“Fuck!” Draco thrashed under the firm hand Harry had on his hip and Harry hummed in satisfaction as a hand fisted in his hair, repeated the motion with even more enthusiasm. “Fuck, Harry! Oh– I– fuck!”

The hand tightened in his hair and Harry suddenly found himself being tugged away with enough strength that he was forced to comply or risk having his hair pulled out. He looked up into steel grey eyes, pupils blown wide with arousal and felt himself grow impossibly harder, his still fastened jeans conspiring to make the whole thing rather painful.

“Don’t,” Draco gasped, clearly not in control of his speech, which was fine by Harry because he couldn’t really remember how to form a coherent sentence. “I want… Fuck me.”

“Oh.” It was about the best Harry could do. Draco was underneath him, mostly naked, all long and lean and impossibly pale, looking up at him with a heated gaze and hair that looked like he had already been fucked, and asking Harry to fuck him. “Oh,” he said a bit louder, because things like this only happened in his wildest fantasies.

It was all a bit of a blur after that. There were hard, desperate kisses and more fumbling with awkward fastenings, and the smooth wetness of lube slicked fingers sliding into tight heat and Harry only came to his senses when he was buried deep inside Draco and the man below him made a noise that set every nerve in his body on fire.

Draco sounded like sex.

“Fuck,” Harry gasped, feeling himself twitch inside Draco and fighting every instinct in his body that was screaming, move now, trying to give Draco time to adjust.

Draco gasped and writhed and eventually his breathing steadied fractionally and he looked up into Harry’s eyes with a gaze that was almost feral.

“Move Potter,” he ordered, and Harry couldn’t even find it in him to complain that he was back to his last name. His hips snapped forward of their own accord and the resulting groan from Draco had him pulling out and thrusting back in harder than he’d originally intended.

“Yes, yes, fuck!” Apparently it didn’t matter that he wasn’t being gentle, at least not if the way Draco twisted his hands in the bed sheets and wrapped his legs around Harry’s hips, forcing him deeper was any indication.

“Shit, Draco,” he gasped, and hooked on of those ridiculously pale legs over his shoulder to get a better angle. It worked, because when he thrust in next time Draco practically wailed and went still beneath him, and Harry stopped, searching his face in case he’d inadvertently hurt the other man.

“Don’t. Stop.” The words were forced out between gritted teeth, but when Draco’s eyes flew open and Harry saw the expression there he didn’t need any more convincing. He thrust his hips forward again and again, losing himself in the sensation, until his mind went on a loop of need, more, harder, want.

Beneath him Draco seemed to have been reduced to incoherent curses and occasional half formed pleas that consisted of harder, faster and Harry’s name, repeated over and over as if it were some sort of incantation. He managed to adjust his balance enough to wrap one hand around Draco’s cock, and although it meant he couldn’t thrust quite so deeply he felt Draco start to shake, his pleas becoming louder and more desperate until his whole body suddenly stilled, and then tensed the long, elegant lines of his body pulled into a perfect arch as he came hard, Harry’s name spilling from his lips.

It was all Harry needed to take him over the edge as well. Draco’s muscles clenched around him and he thrust just once more before his climax hit, flinging him over the edge of his orgasm with more force than he had ever thought possible. The world narrowed to nothing but pleasure and then his vision darkened as he forgot how to breathe, how to speak, how to do anything except lose himself in overwhelming ecstasy.

By the time he came back to reality his ears were ringing and Draco was lying boneless underneath him looking at him with an expression of smug contentment.

“Well, that was rather spectacular,” he said, sounding far too in control for Harry’s liking. What had happened to the man who had been falling apart underneath him just a few moment’s ago?

He gave a muffled grunt, too exhausted to speculate on the question and flopped down, mindful enough at least to twist to the side so he didn’t crush Draco.

“Ugh, sticky,” Draco complained, wriggling around. Harry felt too warm and lethargic to move, and was surprised when he felt the sudden tingle of a cleaning spell wash over him. Draco must have retrieved his wand, he realised with a jolt. Clearly Draco was not basking in the lazy contented after-glow of amazing sex. Clearly Draco was… what?

Harry’s brain jolted into action, spurred on by as a sudden slew of doubts hit him. What now? he wondered vaguely, thinking of what had happened last time and Draco’s earlier words in his office. Did he really mean it? Did he really want this to be something more, or had that all just been manipulation? The latter seemed likely considering Draco didn’t seem to be at all moved by any of this now that it was over.

“You’re thinking again.” Draco’s voice startled him, but not quite so much as the sudden press of hands on his shoulders and hips, pressing and manipulating until he was curled up on his side. “I told you not to do that.”

Draco’s voice was warm with unvoiced laughter, and a moment later Harry felt a pair of arms slip around him and draw him close until he was pressed up against the solid length of Draco’s chest.

“Go to sleep, Harry,” he muttered and pressed a kiss to Harry’s shoulder that made his heart skip a beat. Maybe he did mean it after all?

Harry lay still, listening as Draco’s breaths became slow and even, feeling his muscles soften into sleep as he drifted towards unconsciousness. The curtains were still open and from this angle Harry could see a dark strip of sky scattered with stars whose brightness was washed out into almost nothing by the harsh glare of the streetlights. Their light was soothing, friendly in its familiarity and Harry found himself trying to pick out some of the constellations Draco had spoken about at the astronomy club.

He was not at the right angle however, and it wasn’t long before his own eyelids grew heavy, lulled by the warmth of the body curled around him and the soft whisper of Draco’s exhales across his skin. His eyes drifted shut one final time and he followed Draco into sleep.

 

*

The sun was fairly high in the sky by the time the light broke through Harry’s slumber. He struggled briefly through the layers of consciousness, until he managed to persuade his eyes to open and his mind to process enough to work out why the situation felt so unfamiliar.

Of course, this was Draco’s bed. He and Draco had…

He became conscious of the fact that there was no warm weight against his back anymore. In fact, the bed – and the room – were empty.

Half-panicked and half-embarrassed he rolled over, running a hand over the mattress to find it still warm – wherever Draco was, he hadn’t been gone for too long. He was still lying there trying to work out whether this was a good thing – Draco had slept with him all night and wasn’t currently yelling at him to get out, or a bad thing – Draco hadn’t actually remained in the bed and could possibly have bolted in shame the moment he’d awoken, when Draco solved his dilemma by sauntering back into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair still dripping.

The sight made Harry’s brain abruptly short-circuit as what had merely been a morning inconvenience became a pressing problem between his legs.

“Morning,” Draco said, as if there was nothing unusual about Harry being in his bed, and as if he’d completely failed to notice what Harry was sure must be a very obvious flush on his cheeks. “You can use the shower if you like.”

“Uh…” Harry was still struggling to get his brain back in working order and Draco shot him an amused glance that suggested he knew why. Harry was pretty sure he had gone the approximate shade of a tomato and started fumbling for his glasses in order to cover it up. “Yeah, thanks,” he managed eventually, once he’d crammed them onto his face and disentangled his legs from the bedclothes.

He fled for the bathroom whilst Draco was occupied digging through one of his drawers and didn’t emerge again until his body was well and truly under his control.

 

*

Harry knocked on the front door to Ron and Hermione’s home, shuffling his feet as he waited for someone to come. Moments later, the door swung open, revealing a tuft of bright fuchsia hair.

“Harry!”

Harry grinned, kneeling down to scoop Teddy into his arms. “Good morning, Teddy. Did you have a nice night with Hermione and Ron?”

Teddy nodded his head enthusiastically and babbled as Harry carried him back into the house, shutting the door behind him.

“Harry, is that you?” Hermione called from the kitchen.

“Yeah, it’s me. Where’s Ron?” Harry asked as he stepped into the room, setting Teddy down at the table, where his breakfast sat, unfinished.

“I’m here,” Ron yawned as he shuffled through the door, making a beeline for the cup of tea Hermione was holding out for him. He waved sleepily at Harry, only seeming to blink himself awake after he’d consumed the entire cup.

“Want some eggs?” Hermione offered, dumping some onto a plate. Harry accepted them with a thanks, pulling up a chair at the table. He ate as Hermione bustled around the room, disappearing shortly to dress into her Ministry uniform. “So, are you going to explain your little ‘emergency’ last night?” She asked knowingly as she returned, searching for something in her bag.

Harry flushed, glancing at Teddy, who was pushing the last of his food around his plate.

“Hey, Teddy, why don’t you go put on your clothes, all right?” Ron suggested, and Teddy nodded, scurrying out of the room. “There,” Ron smirked as he leaned against the cabinets. “Now you can give us all the dirty details.” He made a face. “Not that we want to hear them, if they are about Malfoy.”

Harry grinned. Ron groaned and Hermione laughed, holding out a hand to receive the Knut her husband placed in her palm. “Damn it, Harry – you’re bleeding me dry, here!”

Harry frowned. “Are you always going to bet against Draco and me?”

Ron shrugged, unabashed. “Yeah, probably.” He took another sip of his tea. “But things are going well with you two?”

Harry paused a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I think they are. But thanks for taking Teddy for the night – I owe you guys one.” Hermione beamed at that, glancing at Ron, who rolled his eyes but nodded. Harry watched them, confused.

“Well,” Hermione began, taking a seat across from Harry, “you can make it up to us by agreeing to become a godfather once again.”

Harry blinked. “Huh?”

Ron snorted, and Hermione’s grin grew. “Harry, we want you to be our baby’s godfather.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “So, hypothetically, or…?”

Ron rolled his eyes, unable to smother his smile. “No, mate – Hermione’s really pregnant. And I’m really going to be a dad. And we really want you to be the baby’s godfather.”

Harry gaped at them. “Oh my- Congratulation!” he exclaimed, practically leaping across the table to engulf Hermione in a hug. She laughed, embracing him back while Ron wrapped his arms around them both. “You’re having a baby!”

“Hey!” Teddy’s voice came from the doorway, and Harry felt little arms encircle his knees.

It was a mess of laughter (and tears), and Harry had never felt happier.

 

*

Harry stood at the end of the long path leading to Arcas Observatory, an odd sense of déjà-vu striking him as he looked at the grand, crumbling building. “Come on,” Teddy urged, tugging on Harry’s hand.

“All right, all right.” They passed through the front doors, greeting the familiar murals of stars and galaxies and space. Harry couldn’t help but feel rather melancholy about knowing this was his last visit here – this building had been a rather special place, in the end.

“Draco!” Teddy yelled as they passed into the main auditorium, where Draco stood on the stage, flicking through a presentation seen by no one. Draco turned, and Harry’s stomach couldn’t help but flip at the brokenness he could see in those stormy eyes – and the gentleness that softened his features as Teddy scrambled up onto the stage.

He only hoped that Draco could look at him with the same warmth now.

“Uh, hello,” Harry greeted quietly as he climbed the stairs. Draco gifted him with a soft smile in return, one that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Potter…I’m glad to see you two,” Draco admitted, ruffling Teddy’s hair. “As you can see, Arcas closing down hardly matters to most.” He gestured half-heartedly at the empty seats, his voice echoing in the vast room. “Come on, I could use a drink.”

Harry followed Draco to his office, holding Teddy’s hand as they walked through the empty halls, their footsteps sounding louder than normal in the silence. Even Draco’s office was a memorial to bareness, cardboard boxes lining the walls, with bookshelves and tables empty of any personal effects.

Harry could see that the sombre mood was even getting to Teddy, who squeezed on tighter to Harry’s hand and pouted significantly. He took a seat atop one of the boxes, pulling Teddy into his lap as Draco pulled out some lukewarm bottles of lemonade from a smaller box under his desk. He chilled them wandlessly, causing Teddy’s eyes to light up with interest for a small moment before asking for Harry’s bottle.

Harry gave it to him, a treat to make up for the otherwise-dreary day. “I really am sorry about all of this, Draco,” Harry said sincerely as he watched Draco settle on another box nearby. He ached to reach out and pat his knee, or give some sort of comfort, but couldn’t with Teddy perched on him. Also, I don’t really know how we left things last time… Harry violently pushed aside the memory of Draco under him, lost in pleasure.

Draco nodded, staring stonily at the wall above Harry’s left shoulder. “Thank you – even if your pity can’t do anything for me now.” Harry frowned at Draco’s icy tone, looking down at the crown of Teddy’s head. He heard Draco sigh unhappily. “I apologise, Potter.” Harry looked up, surprised at Draco’s pained expression. “This is a rather horrible day and I seem to want to make everyone else miserable as well.”

Harry nodded, mustering up the courage to nudge Draco’s foot with his own. He tried not to flush when Draco raised an eyebrow at him before sharing that secret smile for a too-short second.

“Can I have more lemonade?” Teddy suddenly asked, already vibrating from the sugar. Draco suddenly laughed, a loud, genuine laugh that Harry loved the moment it left Draco’s mouth.

“I don’t think so, Teddy. You don’t want to rot your teeth, do you?” Draco chuckled, reaching out to playfully pinch Teddy’s cheek, who squealed and batted the hand away.

Harry watched the interaction, the warmth in the pit of his stomach seeming to fill him up with giddiness.

Merlin, please let this be real.

 

*

Teddy snored, curled around himself in Draco’s chair – the last remaining furniture to be moved out of Draco’s office. Harry watched him from the doorway, dust and sweat on his brow from helping Draco carrying the objects outside. If only we could use magic, Harry thought ruefully, wiping his filthy hands on his shirt.

“Potter,” Draco called from the hallway.

Harry turned, rolling up his sleeves in preparation for more manual labour. “Yeah?”

He was not prepared for the lips that suddenly pressed against his, or the hand that settled on his neck, holding him steady. Harry gasped as Draco pulled away, “Uh…?” he asked eloquently.

Draco smirked. “That’s your reward for today.”

Harry gawked at him for a moment, thoroughly turned-on. “Oh. All right. No problem.”

Draco snorted, leaning back against the opposite wall. With his tousled hair and flushed cheeks, Harry couldn’t help but remember the other night – the way Draco had sounded, had tasted…

“Potter, I need to talk to you about something,” Draco was saying very seriously, avoiding Harry’s eyes.

The pit of Harry’s stomach seemed to drop away. Oh, fuck. He’s breaking this off, isn’t he? Fuck, fuck, fuck. “Um, okay? What is it?”

Draco sighed, running a hand through his hair, aggravated in a way Harry had never seen before. He finally looked at Harry, gaze intense. “You know that with Arcas shutting down, I’m out of a job?” Harry nodded. “Well,” Draco started, turning away again, “I’ve actually received some impressive offers from a few observatories looking for personnel. Another small one near London, a larger one near Edinburgh –”

“Oh, congra–”

“And an amazing opportunity in Arizona,” Draco finished.

Harry shut his mouth, cutting off his congratulations.

Arizona.

America.

Draco was moving to America?

“I haven’t accepted the position…not yet, anyway,” Draco added quietly.

Harry stared at his shoes, dumbstruck. “Uh,” he finally croaked, feeling Draco’s stare, yet unable to return it. “And will you? Accept it, I mean?”

Please say no…Please.

“I don’t know.”

Those three words haunted Harry as he took Teddy home, tucking him into bed. They consumed his mind as he stripped before slipping under his sheets. He stared up at the ceiling, horribly awake.

I don’t know.

Fuck, Harry thought succinctly before he fell into a fitful sleep riddled with unpleasant dreams.

 

*

“And it’ll be another few weeks before they can tell the sex, but ‘Mione thinks it’ll be a girl but personally I want a boy,” Ron admitted before chugging down his beer. Harry hummed in acknowledgment, not really listening.

Harry could practically feel Ron’s gaze pinning him to the seat and forced himself back to reality.

“What?” he finally prompted, remembering his own drink in front of him.

Ron rolled his eyes. “Mate, you’ve been out of it the entire night. And you’re not exactly hiding your misery very well. So, go on, tell me about whatever Malfoy’s done this time. I promise not to judge too much.”

Harry smiled weakly, a rush of gratefulness rising in his chest. He paused, staring at the large selection of bottles on display behind the bar. “Well, Draco’s been offered a really great job in America…and he doesn’t know if he’s going to take it or not.”

Ron was silent for a long while, long enough for Harry to look at him questioningly. He was surprised to find Ron scrutinising him closely. “You really care for the git, don’t you?” Ron finally asked, an odd kind of awe colouring his tone.

Harry swallowed, looking down at his hands. “Yeah, I guess so,” he muttered.

“Merlin’s saggy bollocks,” Ron swore loudly, causing Harry to glance at him, alarmed. Ron took a long drink of his pint before slamming the mug onto the counter.

“I can’t believe I’m about to say this – but you should tell Malfoy that you care, Harry. Who knows, maybe that’ll get the git to stay?” Ron’s face twisted as though he’d sucked on a lemon.

Harry couldn’t help but laugh. “I appreciate the thought, Ron, I really do…but Draco shouldn’t base his life around my feelings,” he said mockingly, “or what-not. After all, he doesn’t care for me the way I do about him, so why should he stay? What’s keeping him here, except for Teddy?” Harry let out a heavy sigh before taking a swallow of his horrible-tasting beer. “I’m fucked, aren’t I?” He asked with a wince.

Ron smiled pityingly at him. “Yeah, you are.”

 

*

It was raining.

The weather seemed determined to match Harry’s mood and dampen his spirits even further.

“Harry, can we go out and play?” Teddy asked from his upside-down position on the couch, bored with whatever nonsense was on the telly.

“No can do. We’d get soaked.” Harry sank further into the armchair, feeling lethargic.

Teddy rolled over, his face flushed. “Well, can we go visit Draco? It’s been a whole week,” he whined. Harry frowned, picking at the fraying arm of the seat.

“We can’t do that either.” Harry paused. “The observatory is closed now, remember?”

Teddy pouted. “Does that mean we’ll never see Draco again?”

Harry wasn’t sure what to say, and instead looked out the window, watching a sodden piece of rubbish float through puddles down the street.

“I don’t know Teddy.” Harry startled when Teddy was suddenly climbing into his lap, wrapping his arms around Harry’s shoulders. Harry rubbed his back soothingly as Teddy snuggled further against his chest.

“I’d be sad if I couldn’t play with Draco anymore,” Teddy mumbled against Harry’s collarbone.

Harry closed his eyes, smothering the sudden pain that welled up in his chest. Fucking hell, how did Draco become so important to our little make-shift family so quickly? he thought helplessly, listening to the rain as it continued to pour.

“Me too, Teddy. Me too.”

 

*

Harry stood in Grimmauld Place’s sad excuse of a garden, leaning against the splintery back fence. He blinked up at the stars gleaming silently in the night sky, which seemed to mock him with their beauty. He didn’t feel that life was particularly beautiful right now – in fact, right now his life felt as if it unravelling around him, which was stupid because the only thing wrong was that Draco was leaving… and surely that shouldn’t be making him feel like this?

He still had Teddy. He still had his job. He still had Ron and Hermione and ‘Dromeda and all his other friends. He didn’t really need Draco in his life – hell, Draco hadn’t even been part of his life until recently.

Why, then, did he feel like this?

Why, then, had the night sky never looked more cold and distant?

He sighed and passed a hand across his eyes, tipping his head down to gaze back towards the house and jolting with surprise when he realised there was a figure standing there, watching him, the light spilling out from the back door casting the figure into silhouette.

Draco.

He recognised him even before Draco stepped forwards, striding across the garden and leaving behind the harsh glare until he resolved into a muted figure of silver blonde hair and pale grey eyes, washed out by the pale illumination of the starlight.

He stood and regarded Harry in silence, and although he looked as well put together as ever, something on the edge of his expression made Harry’s stomach drop through the ground. This is it, he realised. Draco had made his decision and had come to tell Harry he was leaving.

“Hello,” he said when he realised he’d been staring for longer than was polite and that Draco didn’t seem inclined to take control of the situation. He felt an irrational surge of anger at that – Draco was the one abandoning him, wasn’t he? He should be the one to do the work.

Draco looked at him for a moment before saying, with greeting or preamble: “Where’s Teddy?”

“At ‘Dromeda’s,” Harry informed him, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. He knew it wasn’t fair; he could hardly expect Draco to throw away the career opportunity of a lifetime in favour of their… their what? It was hardly a relationship – it was barely even a fling. Harry felt the anger drain out of him in a sudden rush of sadness at the idea that their whatever would never be anything more than what it was now.

He looked up at Draco when he realised he’d fixed his eyes to the ground, just in time to see the expression of relief cross his face. “Good,” he said, then paused and added, “I mean, not that I don’t want to see him, but I was hoping to talk to you alone first.”

That makes sense, Harry supposed. This way he could warn Teddy before Draco said goodbye and hopefully avoid the worst of the upset.

Harry turned away, tilting his head back upwards to look at the stars. They had seemed so friendly of late, but now they were nothing but cold, untouchable points in the darkness. Things he could look at, but never hold.

He tore his gaze away, suddenly unable to stand the sight of them.

“It’s about America, isn’t it?” he blurted out, because Draco was just standing there looking at him, as if unsure how to start, and suddenly Harry didn’t care who was the one doing most of the work in the conversation – he just wanted the conversation to be over.

“Yes, I –” Draco started, but Harry, in his haste to bring the conversation to its inevitable conclusion, carried on.

“You’re going to take the job offer aren’t you? I think it’s a good idea, it’s a much better position. More money, more prestige. They’ll have much better equipment than any of the observatories over here. You could make a great discovery – maybe one day you’ll even be famous.” He paused, only to see Draco looking at him in surprise, his mouth slightly agape. Was this not the reaction he was expecting? He fished around for something more to say that didn’t involve him throwing himself at Draco’s feet and just begging him to stay, which was what he really wanted to do.

“It’ll be strange not having you around, you know. I’ll mi–” he cut that sentence off as being a thought he really didn’t want to voice right now. “I suppose we could come and visit you,” he babbled, “and you’ll come back and visit Teddy sometimes won’t you? He really likes you and you did promise that you’ll…”

“Harry!” Draco’s voice was loud and insistent, cutting across Harry’s stream of words and forcing his mouth closed.

“What?” he asked in response to the look Draco was giving him, because the look was affectionate, but contained a good deal of you’re an idiot as well, which confused Harry right up to the point he realised he had been babbling rather idiotically.

“I’m staying.” Draco said simply and Harry had to blink at him at least four times before the words sank in properly and he felt a dizzying sort of hope start to grow in his chest.

“You are?”

“Of course I am,” Draco replied simply.

“But…why?”

“What would be the point of leaving?”

Harry stared. Draco, still pale and washed out in the half-light of the stars, looked back, his gaze softer and more open than Harry had ever seen it. He swallowed one, twice, because his brain seemed to have stalled and suddenly the night didn’t seem quite as cold as it had a moment ago.

“You’re really staying?” he said, because he just had to make sure.

“Yes, Harry, I’m really staying."

“Where?” Harry blurted out, which was not what he’d intended to say at all, but the hope blossoming in his chest was making his mind whirl with new ideas, new dreams that could now be reality.

“In England,” Draco said, looking confused.

“No, I mean,” Harry tried to pull himself together, although his mouth had gone suddenly dry and he was beginning to wish he’d never started this part of the conversation at all. He took a deep breath and tried again. “You gave your landlord notice already, right? Where will you stay? I mean –” He realised he was in danger of babbling again and took another deep breath. “You could stay here if you like,” he said uncertainly. “’Till you find another place, I mean.”

“Oh,” said Draco softly, and he sounded almost disappointed.

“I mean,” Harry said hastily, “Only if you want to. You don’t have to. If you’ve got somewhere else you’d rather stay that’s fine too. I just thought I’d offer. I mean, I’d like you to stay here, but if you don’t want to...”

“Oh,” said Draco again, though this time he sounded more like he’d just had a revelation. He grinned and that shut Harry up rather more effectively than anything else had done. “Actually,” said Draco slowly, the grin widening impossibly, until Harry felt like it outshone the starlight. “I was rather hoping I could stay here on a more permanent basis. In fact, I was thinking of forever.”

“Oh.” Harry blinked some more, and then said, “Oh,” again, a bit louder.

“Is that a, yes, Draco, of course you can stay?” Draco asked, the grin twisting into a much more familiar smirk. It seemed suddenly as if everything had clicked into place. Draco was staying. Draco was staying so he could be with Harry. It seemed both highly improbable and so completely ludicrous that it suddenly seemed to make absolute perfect sense.

“Yes, Draco, of course you can stay.” he said, grinning back and hooking his fingers into the collar of Draco’s jacket to pull him into a kiss. “You can stay forever.”

 

*

“It is the stars – the stars above us, govern our conditions.”
– William Shakespeare, King Lear
~*~
Fin
~*~

Notes:

You can leave your comments here or on LiveJournal. :)