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Things Fall Apart, But Then You Build Again	By : zeldaofarel Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 13943 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Author's Notes: Here I go again. Quite a quick upload for me. I know, I'm not the best at updating, but I hope I make it up in the quality of the chapter.

I wrote the chapter after Christmas. Not really seasonal now, but it does have an important point to make. Actually, now that I think about it, it has several points.

The next chapter is going to be a big one, I'm sure you'll figure out what will happen there. I haven't started chapter 14 yet, shame on me. I am gradually progressing into Drarry territory, so I'm going to look for Drarry inspirations. The Drarry Shippers page will be a lot of help, which you should all like, by the way. While you're on Facebook, like the page with my pen name too. I'm going to be using a lot of visual inspirations soon and you'll be able to see them on my page. Plus the delicious things from the previous chapter, since some of you commented on the food in it.

Ramble over. Thank you my lovely Faye, for everything. Also, thank you Icicle, for working through all my comma mistakes. I confess, I'm terrible at commas. Then again, I'm terrible at them in my native language, so why should it be any different in my second language? I should progress with my Japanese. No commas.

Chapter 11: Christmas

Harry sat at the head of the table having breakfast and looked down at his wife. He had spent more time with her than ever before during their marriage. He had completely quit the Aurors and didn't miss it at all but was busier than ever. Instead of a regular job, he went around the Wizengamot members and courted them, just like Draco told him to. He had become a politician. It wasn't his chosen profession and he sincerely hoped he didn't have to do it all his life. Ginny was always by his side and he didn't even have to ask her. She enjoyed all the gatherings and dinners, which made her the perfect companion for his new job. Harry made sure that the men he meet saw him guide her at all times, asserting his authority. He didn't take pleasure in any of it one bit, but he was getting better at pretending he did.

It was the end of November and on that day, they were scheduled to go Christmas shopping. The previous years they had not gone together. His wife was always at some remote location and only arrived home for Christmas Eve, laden with foreign gifts, so Harry bought his own. He was determined that the kids would not get any less though.

An hour later, Harry was strolling down Diagon Alley with his wife on his arm. He wasn't all that sure what he was going to buy. Just like with most things, he liked to pick gifts out on the spot, no plan, just improvise. He would look in the windows and think about his children, thinking of whether they would like something from there. However, his wife had other ideas. She enthusiastically dragged him to the first shop she saw, which happened to be Quality Quidditch Supplies. She led him straight to the latest racing broom design and just stared at it. Harry got bored quickly. He still appreciated the broom, but he wasn't as excited about Quidditch as he used to be. He still went to games with his children, though James was the only one who enjoyed them. Albus took a book to read and Lily something to colour and some papers to draw on. Harry had considered leaving the two younger ones at home, but he wanted it to be a family outing and hoped that they would catch on as well.

"Oh, Harry! I can't wait 'til the kids are old enough to get brooms," she enthused and Harry nodded in agreement.

However, he didn't think it likely that Albus would want one.

He tried to look around to see if he could buy a present from the shop while his wife got in a lively conversation with the proprietor over the Nimbus Apocalypse. Apparently, the broom got its name from the Muggle belief that the world was going to end that year.

Harry found a toy Snitch and decided to get one for James as he often said that he wanted to follow in his parents' footsteps and become a Seeker just like them. He had completed his purchase, but Ginny was still engrossed in the conversation. He squared his shoulders and got ready to ascertain his authority as a proper husband. A month earlier, he would have just let her enjoy herself, but now he had to change.

"Ginny, if you're not going to buy anything, we need to go."

"But Harry!" she whined and he felt a bit better for dragging her away. He couldn't stand it when she used that tone of voice.

"Do you want to buy something or not?" he repeated and could not be dismissed.

"No," she admitted and let herself be dragged out.

They walked along the Alley arm-in-arm. A chilly wind swept through the street and Ginny cuddled closer. Harry looked down at her face and could see that she was still a bit cross with him. She wasn't paying attention to him, as instead, she was eyeing the package in Harry's hand.

"You got something."

"Yes. A toy Snitch for James."

"He'll love that!" she exclaimed. "You forgot to have it gift wrapped. Anyway, I know what I want for Christmas. That new broom. It's great!"

"I like to wrap my own gifts. And you're not getting the broom." Inside Harry cheered himself. Sometimes being assertive was a good thing.

"Harry! I want it!"

She was whining once more and it only served to irritate her husband all the more. She acted as if she were one of the children and Harry was not amused by it.

"If I got you the broom, you would ride it at home and the kids would want to go too. That would be dangerous for them. Besides, you have no need for a new broom. You hardly ever ride the one you have." He felt justified in his denial.

"That's only because it's old. I got it when I was playing for the Harpies. Harry, I promise I won't take the kids up." She was trying to be persuasive but failing.

"You know you can't promise that. I'll get you something else." He patted her hand on his arm and steered her towards Flourish and Blotts.

They entered the bookshop together and a jolly Christmas tune was playing. Harry looked around and noticed that above the entrance instead of a chime they had a fir tree with a face that animated itself upon their arrival and sang Jingle Bells. The proprietor behind the counter greeted them with a smile on his face.

"Mr and Mrs Potter! How good to see you! Albus run out of books again?" he asked.

"Not yet, Mr Blotts, but I was sure that we could find something for him here for Christmas," Harry informed him.

Ginny extracted herself from his arm and disappeared in the direction of the romance novels. The two men watched her go and Mr. Blotts returned behind his counter.

"I have put away a couple of things for your young prodigy. I know how much he loves potions. We have a new book by Nocer Picard. I remember your son saying how much he enjoyed his last book." He pulled out a rather large volume.

"Oh yes, I seem to recall the name myself. Though I can't see why." To Harry one Potions book was like the other. All dull and boring.

"It's the details, Mr Potter. Mr Picard is very precise and always explains everything in great detail. He also likes to introduce Potions in a rather novel way. He actually spins a story around them. So his books are not just informative but exciting as well. They also need to be read in order."

"It's actually a novel then?"

"Yes, but it has more details and actual science in it. The stories are in fact detective stories where his main character, Eileen Prince, a brilliant private detective uses innovative methods in Potions to solve cases."

"Eileen Prince?" Harry caught the name. "But that was Severus Snape's mother!" he exclaimed.

"I know, it said so in the first book. The author wished to pay homage to the great war hero and Potions master, Severus Snape," Mr Blotts informed him.

"Interesting." Harry supposed that in the Potions circles probably many people knew Snape and admired him. The man was brilliant; after all, he made the Wolfsbane Potion.

As he was contemplating the book in front of him, staring at the woman on the cover, he heard Jingle Bells again. He turned around to see Draco Malfoy enter the shop. He had to school his features to hide the delight he felt upon seeing the man who was becoming his friend and ally in the recent months.

"Well, if it isn't Potter," he sneered, though his eyes twinkled with more amusement than malice.

"Malfoy. So you crawl out of your hole once in a while," Harry replied.

"I could hardly call the grandeur of Malfoy Manor a 'hole', Potter. That describes your house better."

"At least I have three children to fill it with." He actually knew that it was a rather sore spot, as during one of their conversations Draco mentioned that he wished he had more children. The blond did flinch a little.

"Not all people want to breed a herd of little Weasleys." Draco stepped to the counter as he spotted the book lying there. "Nocer Picard? Isn't that rather above your intellect?" he asked Harry.

"It may be, but my six-year-old adores him."

"Oh, he uses the pictures for colouring?"

"No, he actually reads them."

Harry saw that the news surprised Draco. Albus was rather remarkable, and Harry knew he had a little genius on his hands. He sometimes worried that he could not cultivate said genius well enough -as while he wasn't stupid, he still used his intellect for practical things. Al, on the other hand, would probably become a great Potions master one day to rival the likes of Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore. It was quite fascinating how the boy got his name from the two men he was probably destined to suppress.

"Fascinating," said Draco. "How the Weaselette and you could produce such a child should be studied. Are you sure he's yours?"

"Quite."

"I can assure you Albus is Harry's," came Ginny's voice as she stepped out from among the paperbacks. In her hand, she held a book with the title Romance over the Cauldron and the cover depicted a blonde witch in the arms of a dark-haired wizard, both moving towards each other to stop just short of a kiss.

Draco clearly sneered at her choice in literature and headed towards the back of the shop, clearly dismissing the couple.

Ginny frowned at him and moved next to Harry to place her intended purchase on the counter.

"Did you find something for Albus?" she asked.

Harry just nodded and paid for the two books. After saying goodbye to Mr Blotts, who had clearly enjoyed witnessing a banter by the legendary rivals of Hogwarts, the pair left the shop.

Back on the streets, the weather was getting worse. The last of the autumn leaves swirled around and Harry burrowed his face in his scarf. They hurried into Fairyland, one of the toy shops on Diagon Alley that opened after the war.

The place was clearly designed with girls in mind and followed the fairies theme to the letter. Most of the things around them were pink. Pink walls with flowers blossoming on the paper, darker pink soft carpeting under their feet that they could enjoy once they took off their shoes at the door according to the policy. As always, little girls were running about and the shopkeepers looked on with amusement. They probably cast Unbreakable Charms every day, as most of their merchandise would have suffered in their absence.

They parted at the door and Ginny headed to the clothes section in the back. They mostly sold costumes, but children often enjoyed dressing up in their everyday lives. Harry loved picking something out for his little girl and looked around in a loss as to what he should get Lily. He spotted a section above which said 'Dragons' in glittering letters. Lily had a fascination for dragons of late and he was sure to find something there.

On the shelves many dragons stood. Some moved, some didn't as was indicated on their packaging and they ranged in size. The really large ones were on the ground though. One was about as big as Lily and Harry had a vision of that dragon taking up residence in her bed and her sleeping snuggled up to it. The thing was mostly green, with blue eyes and yellow stripes on its tail. He was sure he had found a great present and motioned for a shopkeeper.

"Mr. Potter, how can I be of service?" the pretty young witch asked him.

"I would like to buy this dragon, but I need it delivered to my home tomorrow morning," he explained.

"Of course, Mr. Potter. Would you like anything else?"

Harry contemplated it and just as he was about to say no, he noticed a colouring book on one of the dragon-shelves. He took it down and quickly paged through it.

"Please add this to it as well." He gave the book to the witch, who nodded and headed towards the cashier. Harry followed her and looked around, searching for his wife. She was coming out of the clothes section with a fairy costume in her hand.

"I finally found something for one of the kids," she said as they met at the counter.

"What ages is that for?" he asked, eyeing the apparently too-small garment.

"It's for 3-4."

"Lily wears the ones for 4-5," Harry informed her with a frown. He would have expected her to know that.

"Oh. Could you change this to a bigger size?" she asked, turning to one of the shopkeepers.

"Certainly, Mrs. Potter. We'll send that along with the dragon and the book."

"You got two things?" Ginny inquired from her husband.

"It's just a colouring book, Ginny. I'll give it to her before Christmas so that we don't break our rule of two gifts each," Harry explained.

She just nodded and they exited the shop. Outside, the clear signs of a large storm were gathering. The sky had darkened to almost night and the wind threatened to blow them away. At the first sign of thunder, Ginny almost jumped into his arms.

"Let's go home," Harry proposed and Ginny just nodded. They both Apparated home.

Harry was satisfied with the day's work as he managed to get something for all of his children. For him, only the extended family was left. His wife, on the other hand, had most of her shopping before her.

* * *

Harry sat in the uncomfortable couch in his living room. He took a sip from his cup of mulled wine as he was looking at the large Christmas tree and got lost in the events of the past year. It was hard to believe that the next day was Christmas morning already.

A year before, he was alone, and now his wife was sitting next to him, watching the fire. Before, Ginny arrived to their home just in the very early hours of the morning, in time for the children to wake up. They had not spent so much time together since Lily was born, and instead of warming to her, he secretly wished she would feel an unquenchable desire for a remote island already. Though he had to admit, she was useful when visiting the Wizengamot members.

The month of December had passed quickly and was blissfully almost over. He had been very busy, but his efforts had paid off. The voting for his seats was scheduled for January 9th, which was ironically Snape's birthday, as Draco had pointed out. Once that was done, he could finally end the charade. He wondered how Ginny was going to react, since the break with Light Wizards also meant a break with her family. He found himself not particularly caring.

His musings were interrupted by his wife when she got up and suggested a bit of fun in bed. He sighed and cast a last look at the tree to make sure that all the presents were under it, then reluctantly headed upstairs.

When they were both exhausted, Ginny turned to him as was usual for their Christmas evening ritual. She had her own present for him. Harry eyed the small package and wondered what it was going to be. Before, she would usually have an exotic decorative piece for him, as if to say that she had thought of him while away. When he opened it, it was indeed a decorative thing, but in this case it happened to be a golden 'W' pin with what appeared to be gemstones covering it. It glittered in the candlelight and Harry had to force back the grimace that was threatening to break out over his face. It was a garish ornament and he bemoaned the fact that she would probably make him wear it all the time. He could just hear how Draco would ridicule it. However, he did what every husband would do to keep peace; he thanked her and assured her he loved it.

She beamed at him but was trying to sneak a peak over Harry's shoulder, as if asking where her gift was. Harry took his wand and Summoned the package from the attic. It was also rather small but bigger than hers had been. She opened the obvious jewellery box with barely contained glee and gasped when she saw the content.

"Oh my, Harry!" she exclaimed as she placed the box on the bed and took out the long, gold chain to examine the teardrop ruby at the end of it. "I love it! I'll wear it for the next ball we attend!"

She quickly placed the necklace back and caressed it, her hand passing over the similarly shaped earrings as well.

"Such beautiful things! Thank you!" With those words she placed the box on her nightstand and attacked Harry with kisses all over his body.

Harry just wished that they could go to sleep already. After all, the children would wake them up early in the morning.

* * *

The next morning, he was woken in the usual way, as he had every Christmas morning since James was four. Their bed was invaded by their excited children, all demanding that they get up and go down with them to open their presents. Harry loved these mornings as they reminded him that his children had a happy childhood. They quickly put their dressing gowns on and hurried downstairs.

The children squealed at the sight of their gifts and dived straight in. Harry stood watching the ruckus with a wide grin. In these moments, he sometimes remembered the time when he was heading towards the Forbidden Forest, ready to die. He thought it was all over, and he would never get a taste of real happiness. How wrong he had been. He looked over to Ginny, who had made it all possible and wanted to thank her. However, he was stopped by the frown on her face, and then he recalled how she always grumbled about the wrapping papers beings thrown about the room. She was always so afraid that her expensive furniture would get damaged in the commotion. He was about to wrap his arms around her to make sure that she would not interrupt them, when Dinky appeared and gave them both a cup of hot chocolate. Harry smiled down gratefully at the little elf.

The children were very happy with their presents and wanted to enjoy them straight away, but Harry told them that they needed to have breakfast first. They grudgingly settled down at the table and ate their fill. Harry looked around and thought of Hermione. It was her first Christmas without her children and she must have been devastated. He hoped that it was going to be her last.

Even in Hermione's absence, their day progressed the way it usually did. After some playtime, which for Al was reading time, they all got dressed to visit their grandparents. All the Weasley children and grandchildren gathered for a Christmas lunch at the Burrow. After eating, the women helped clear away the remnants of the meal, and the children went out to play in the snow. That year they actually had a white Christmas. In some years the adults had to conjure snow. Harry joined in on the vigorous snowball fight and took special delight in dousing Ron with as much cold as possible. He felt he really needed to make him feel the chill. Once exhausted, he went inside to warm up with a cup of tea he found in the kitchen.

Practically everyone was outside and as he sipped his hot drink, he observed the extended Weasley family. If everything went according to plan, this would be the last time his children got to play with most of their cousins. He was sad for them, but he hoped that in school they would still meet, or that the rift that his decision was going to cause would heal over time. He wondered if it was worth it. The people outside had been through so much with him over the years. They lived through a war together, shared their losses. His heart clenched at the memory of the dead, and for a moment, he doubted that he could actually go through with the plan. Then he remembered all that Draco had said about what the Light Families were doing, of Hermione, of all the reasons why he started on the path in the first place. Still, he knew that the Weasleys were his family, and they would leave a hole in his life that he doubted anyone could fill. He was going to lose his family again, but at least he would not be left alone. It still hurt, but Hermione's absence hurt as well. It should have hurt the Weasleys too, but it didn't appear to. They seemed to dismiss her, close their doors in front of her and not care anymore. That didn't feel right to him and he considered that perhaps to all those people she once called family she didn't matter as much as they let her to believe. Were they the same with him? Only time would tell. With a sigh, he let it all drift away from him in the wind and made peace with the situation. He was ready to face whatever came his way.

The children could only be dragged into the house once night fell. Harry silently thanked whoever came up with Warming Charms; as without them, undoubtedly all of the kids would have gotten the cold. Even the promise of presents couldn't tear them away from their play. The bottom of the great Christmas tree in the living room was filled with packages. Everyone received a Weasley jumper, and they all quickly put them on to make the great Christmas family photo in front of the tree. Molly probably started to make them in January every year, since the family was so big with all the children, even though Charlie didn't have any, not even a wife, much to his mother's dismay, who never failed to bring it up at some point during the family gatherings. The dragon-keeper just shrugged and evaded the subject every time. The children also got a little something from their grandparents, but the adults didn't as by agreement.

The exercise outside got everyone hungry and they soon had dinner. After that, the children resolved to play inside and the adults scattered about the house, cleaning up or just chatting about things. Harry sought Arthur out and sat with him to talk about the Great Vote, as he had started to think about it.

"Are you sure they're going to give me power over my votes?" he asked anxiously.

"Oh I'm quite sure, my son." Arthur patted his hand reassuringly. "You have nothing to worry about."

"But do the members like me enough?"

"They positively love you! Recently, all I keep hearing about it what a great man you've grown up to be. I'm very proud of you for deciding to go into politics. It'll make a great career for you." He beamed at the man in front of him. "Molly and I are also glad that we no longer have to be afraid of you getting hurt by a villain. We just wish Ron would take interest in a safer position as well." He sighed at that.

"Maybe he will." Harry tried to set his father-in-law's mind at rest. However, he found that he didn't really care himself. The rift between him and Ron appeared to be final in his heart.

"I'm glad that you and Ginny are spending more time together," Mr. Weasley began. "She had been travelling so much after Lily's birth, we were afraid that your marriage was in jeopardy."

"I can assure you, that it was not the case. Ginny just wanted to see the world as she couldn't before and since my job kept me here, I volunteered to take care of the children while she was away."

"Now, all my friends in the Wizengamot are taken by how good a politician's wife she is." Arthur appeared to wipe a proud tear from his eye.

"Oh yes! She also enjoys it a lot."

Arthur just nodded and then he was called away by Percy. Harry was glad that the conversation was over, as the subject of Ginny was an awkward one for him. However, he wasn't sure why exactly.

After a few more hours spent in the Burrow, the children were ready to sleep, and the adults decided to break up the party. They all returned to their homes, except for Charlie, who would take one of the International Floos the next day.
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Things Fall Apart, But Then You Build Again