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The Optimal Balance	By : TheMightyFlynn Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 17125 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belong to JK Rowling and associates. This was written for fun. I make no money from it.

Chapter List
- 1-The Optimal Balance
- 2-Ch. 2
- 3-Ch. 3
- 4-Ch. 4
- 5-Ch. 5
- 6-Ch. 6
- 7-Ch. 7
- 8-Ch. 8
- 9-Ch. 9
- 10-Ch. 10
- 11-Ch. 11
- 12-Ch. 12
- 13-Ch. 13
- 14-Ch. 14
- 15-Ch. 15
- 16-Ch. 16
- 17-Ch. 17
- 18-Ch. 18
- 19-Ch. 19
- 20-Ch. 20
- 21-Ch. 21
- 22-Ch. 22
- 23-Ch. 23
- 24-Ch. 24
- 25-Ch. 25
- 26-Ch. 26
- 27-Ch. 27
- 28-Ch. 28
- 29-Ch. 29
- 30-Ch. 30
- 31-Ch. 31
- 32-Ch. 32
- 33-Ch. 33
- 34-Ch. 34
- 35-Ch. 35
- 36-Ch. 36
- 37-Ch. 37
- 38-Ch. 38
- 39-Ch. 39
- 40-Ch. 40: Epilogue
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- 4
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Reader: Yes, you will get to see that at some point :)

The sudden drop in the temperature caused Draco's sinuses to throb the second they landed back in England on Monday morning. It brought back unpleasant memories, causing him to place the palm of his hand flat against the bridge of his nose and press, hoping to alleviate the pain. Harry’s hand landed in the small of Draco's back almost the second Draco closed his eyes, both guiding him along the path and offering a small amount of wordless comfort. Draco knew Harry worried about the lasting effects of the injury he had sustained the year before, but he was fairly certain that the times his sinuses throbbed like this were just sharp reminders of what had happened, rather than something to worry about. He thought of it being like an old injury that ached to let him know when rain was around. Shaking his head, he tried to focus on something else to distract himself.
His mind landed on the damnable English weather and he found himself incredibly grateful that he had thought to layer his robes on over the top of his normal clothing when his skin pimpled despite the fact that it was actually a clear and rather sunny day. As focussed as he was on both the sudden shock of pain and how cold he suddenly felt, he didn’t realise exactly where it was Harry had Apparated them to until he almost stumbled over an uneven pathing stone.
“Harry, where…?”
Lowering his hand, Draco trailed off as he took in the sight of the rolling hills of Ottery St. Catchpole stretching out before him. The Burrow squatted not that far off, surrounded by scraggly-looking chickens running between their pen and a wooden shed that had definitely seen better days. His footsteps slowed automatically as reluctance at seeing the Weasleys so soon after their holiday spread through him, but it was soon eased by the thudding footsteps of a small ginger whirlwind.
“Dad!”
Lily sprinted out of the house and down the path towards them, her hair flying out around her. Watching as Harry knelt and scooped Lily into his arms with a laugh, Draco couldn’t help grinning. A warmth that pulled him up short spread through him as Lily’s laugh joined Harry’s; it had only been two days since he had seen Lily, but he now realised that he had missed her much more than he had first expected to. Out of all four of their children, Lily had been the one constant source of support for the two of them, the only one to never really question Draco's role in Harry’s life. Not that he loved any of their boys any the less for it; nor could he blame Harry’s boys for their hesitation – or Scorpius’ over Harry – as he was fairly certain he would have had the exact same reaction had he been in their position. Lily’s immediate acceptance of both him and their relationship was something Draco would always be thankful for, however. She had managed to make his life a little easier as well as helping to ease her brothers into the transition. He automatically knelt down and spread his arms the second Harry released her.
“Hullo Draco.”
“Good morning, Princess.”
Lily giggled as she pulled back so she could hold him at arms’ length. The unusual sensation of being scrutinised so openly sent an involuntary shiver of worry down Draco's spine and his eyes flicked briefly up to Harry, who merely shrugged. Lily only studied him for a few seconds, however, before nodding in a businesslike way and patting his shoulders in a way that reminded him somehow of Molly Weasley.
“You look happy,” she announced with another satisfied nod. “Come inside; Grandma just made tea and we have biscuits and cake.”
Draco blinked after her with a slight shake of his head. Lily was one of the most unusual children he had ever met: mature beyond her years at times and giggly and childish at others. The different aspects of her personality always kept him on his toes, but he knew he wouldn’t want her to change. Harry was grinning at him when Draco stood and met his eyes.
“You do look happy,” Harry informed him. There was a sparkle to his eyes that held much more than simple happiness. “It suits you.”
With the Burrow in his sight just behind Harry, Draco knew he couldn’t afford to allow himself to give in to the warmth spreading through him. He knew that the Weasleys were Harry’s family and therefore wouldn’t do anything to him out of respect for Harry’s feelings – or at least he hoped they wouldn’t – but that didn’t stop him from holding them at bay with the same shield of pride showed everyone else. The trust he had in Harry had taken a while to build and he was unsure if he would ever be able to bring himself to have the same kind of trust in the Weasleys. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly, mentally building his Occlumency shields as he did, just in case. The small smile he offered Harry in return felt stiff.
“A bit of warning before we arrived here would have been nice.”
Harry grinned again. “Would you have come if I’d given you warning?”
Draco just barely resisted rolling his eyes as Harry’s hand landed on the small of his back, once again guiding him towards the house. “I wouldn’t have and you know it.”
“Exactly.” Harry stepped in front of him before Draco could enter the house. He placed his hands on Draco's shoulders, much in the same way as Lily had a minute before. “You and Scorpius are my family now just as much as Molly and Arthur and every single one of their children and grandchildren. Hell, I’ll even include Astoria in that equation if she ever wants to be included, considering the amount of encouragement she’s given you over the months. It would be nice if you could all get along some day.”
Choosing to ignore the shot of guilt the second part of what Harry had said sent through him, Draco did not resist rolling his eyes at Harry’s mention of Astoria. “There’s a difference between encouragement and interference, you know.”
His breath caught in his chest as Harry leant in close. The earlier sparkle to Harry’s eyes returned with a vengeance as his grin turned devious.
“Flourish and Blotts would never have happened if it wasn’t for her and you would still be denying how much you want me.” One of Harry’s hands slid down so one finger could tap the centre of Draco's chest. “You can’t deny that.”
Draco knew Harry was right: if it hadn’t been for Astoria’s interference that day in Diagon Alley, he would have gone along with his plan to never see Harry again. Because of Astoria, Draco had been forced to confront what he had been feeling for Harry and their relationship had deepened. Not that he was willing to give Harry the satisfaction of admitting that, of course. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted.
“Da–ad!” The sound of Lily’s voice from inside the house had Draco stepping away from Harry and bowing his head as a slight blush turned his cheeks pink. “Come on, why are you still outside?”
She appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, hands on her hips. Harry seemed to not have been as embarrassed at almost being caught as Draco was, as he spun and scooped Lily into his arms again, tipping her upside-down.
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for school, miss?”
Lily kicked her legs until Harry righted her, giggling all the while. “Grandma said I could wait until you and Draco got home.”
“Well…”
Harry placed Lily down and spread his hands to his sides, leaving his meaning open for interpretation. Draco could see the disappointment that filled her eyes as she stared up at her Father and it was all he could do to just stay quiet. He was now in complete sympathy with Harry for being unable to say no to Lily on certain things, especially when confronted with her wide brown eyes staring up at him like he had just murdered her favourite Crup. He knew that Lily knew exactly how to play the both of them to get her own way and that he really shouldn’t find it amusing when he saw Harry slipping, but he couldn’t help the smile that threatened to break on his face when Lily hung her head and bowed her shoulders.
“But I…” She sighed. “Do I really have to? Can’t I just stay with you?” Turning her gaze on Draco, she added a slight tremble to her voice. “Please?”
“Don’t let her fool you.”
Draco nearly jumped at the sound of the amused voice from behind him. Taking a steadying breath, he spun to see Percy making his way up the path leading from the village, a cup of takeaway coffee in his hand and a pleasant smile on his face. Draco immediately pushed the warmth and ease he always felt around Harry and Lily as far to the back of his mind as he could manage, effectively closing Percy out. Percy seemed to either not notice or not care about the change in Draco's demeanour, however, which Draco found himself thankful for.
“She and Hugo have been trying to convince every single member of the family who have shown up over the weekend that they can have today off school. Draco.” Percy didn’t break stride as he nodded to Draco and slapped a hand down on Harry’s shoulder in greeting. “Harry.”
Percy Weasley had always been a hard one to figure out for Draco. He knew that Percy sympathised with Harry over the way he had been treated by the family after the mess with Ginevra had come to light, but whether that sympathy had developed into support of the both of them was another question entirely. He absentmindedly frowned after him as Percy disappeared into the house.
“Keep scowling like that and you’ll get wrinkles.”
“Bite me, Potter.” Narrowing his eyes at Harry’s responding chuckle, Draco offered up a bland smile to Lily, who was watching the whispered interaction closely. “You mentioned cake?”
A sense of unease spread through Draco as he entered the house behind Harry. Whether it was due to his knowledge of the damage he had caused the various occupants of the house over the years, or the lingering resentment between him and Ronald, he had no idea, but there was simply something that had his muscles tensing every time he entered the house. He took a deep breath and tightened his shields as he followed Harry into the kitchen.
You can do this, he told himself firmly as his senses were assaulted by some wonderful scents.
“Harry, we’ve been expecting you. I – Oh!” Molly stopped halfway through pulling a chair out for Harry at the table next to Lily. “Draco. It’s always nice to see you too, dear, of course. Come, come; take a seat, have something to eat.”
The change in Molly’s attitude when she had spotted Draco standing behind Harry was obvious to Draco, although whether Harry had noticed it was up for debate. Smiling and laughing with Lily, Harry reached across the table and pulled the various plates towards himself, filling his plate with delicious-smelling food as well as Draco's. Discovering that it wasn’t actually necessary for him to respond to whatever it was Harry was blathering on with, Draco allowed his mind to wander as he ate, going over his current position in Harry’s life.
The Weasleys were always going to be a part of Harry’s life, Draco knew that and knew it would never change. Nor would he ever want it to change; he knew how vital a good support system was. The problem he faced was whether he would ever be able to convince the Weasleys both that he would never intentionally hurt Harry – which he was sure was at least part of why he was finding it difficult to get to know them – and that he had changed from the selfish, cruel boy he had been in school. He knew buying his way into being accepted probably wouldn’t work, as each of Molly and Arthur’s children had managed to find well-paying jobs after the War. Perhaps he could work on them individually, rather than as one? Bill and George, unfortunately, seemed to be lost causes when it came to him, but the others had potential, especially Percy…
“Draco?”
Draco almost jumped when Harry touched his forearm to get his attention. He cleared his throat and blinked his eyes to refocus. Molly had seated herself across from he and Harry at the table while he had been lost in thought, as had Percy. Realising just how rude he must have come across, Draco’s eyes closed briefly. No matter how much he may dislike and distrust the two people before him, there was never an excuse for being undeservedly rude to someone in their own home. Fighting back a blush, he turned to Harry beside him.
“Yes?”
“We were just discussing all the birthdays we have coming up and wondering whether we should just have one big celebration for them all together. That way we could have smaller, more private parties with our other friends and family members.”
Draco's mind raced. He knew from what Harry had told him that Percy’s birthday was maybe in the middle of August. Lily would never allow him to forget that hers was at the very end of August; she had been giving him and Harry ‘subtle’ hints at what she wanted for nearly a month now. Harry’s, of course, was at the end of July. He was just about to ask if he was missing anyone when Molly spoke up quietly.
“Obviously Ginny won’t be able to attend anything this year, but it would be so nice if the children…”
She trailed off as Harry stiffened. Watching him from as closely as he was, Draco couldn’t have missed the mix of emotions that crossed Harry’s face if he had wanted to. Disbelief seemed to be the prominent one as he stared at Molly, but Draco also caught a glimpse of an anger that he knew Harry would be fighting against showing. As subtly as he could, he slipped a hand beneath the table, placing it on Harry’s thigh to try to prevent him from doing anything rash.
“As always, Molly, if my children choose to visit their Mother, we will let you know.” Shoving Draco's hand off him, Harry stood. “Lily, do you have your things packed?”
“Harry–”
“I’m sorry, Molly, but both Draco and I have work to get along with and Lily has to go to school. If you’ll excuse me.”
There was a tightness to Harry’s voice that betrayed his anger to anyone who cared to listen. He turned and almost stomped out of the kitchen, leaving Draco seated at the table with Percy and a shocked-looking Molly. Pushing his chair back softly, he nodded his head to the both of them before turning to exit the room.
“Draco?”
Molly’s voice was thick; it was obvious she was holding back tears. Pausing in the doorway, Draco braced himself for what was coming.
“I’m sorry.”
He stood still, waiting for her to explain or elaborate. When all she did was dab at her eyes, he frowned.
“You have nothing to apologise to me for.” It was unsubtle and childish, but this wasn’t the first time Molly had suggested something of the sort and Draco knew that it wouldn’t be the last. He glanced over to the front door as it banged shut. Sighing as he heard Molly sniffle, he turned back to her and summoned all of the Malfoy-bred politeness he could muster. He could do this. “I’ll speak to him.”
It was all he could offer, as he knew that Harry would never force any of the children to visit Ginevra if they didn’t want to. He nodded again in farewell and made his way out of the house towards the Apparition point. Harry and Lily were nowhere to be seen, so Draco took a guess and Apparated straight to Grimmauld.
“Come on, Lil.”
Draco followed Harry’s voice up the stairs and along the hallway to the doorway to Lily’s bedroom. He found Harry leaning on the doorjamb, his shoulders still stiff. Placing a hand gently on Harry’s back caused him to jump, but Draco didn’t allow him to flinch away.
“I need a word.”
Without even glancing back to see whether Harry was following him, Draco made his way into the drawing room just down the hall. It became obvious that Harry had followed him in a matter of seconds, however, as the door slammed shut and Draco felt a Silencing charm being cast. He turned to face Harry, ready to have it out with him over what had just happened.
“How the fuck can she think that I would agree to something that stupid?” The shouted words were accompanied by a wave of Harry’s hand, causing a vase to smash against the far wall. “James is still in therapy and Lily is clingy and nervous about being left alone. How can she want them to visit that bitch?”
Watching as Harry’s eyes slid closed and he ran his hands through his hair, Draco shook his head. He knew he had a choice to make here: either he could further damage Harry’s opinion of Molly by agreeing with him and voicing opinions that he knew he shouldn’t, or he could lie and inform Harry that Molly had apologised. As incredibly tempting as it was to take the first choice, he knew he couldn’t; knew he had to continue to take the high road when it came to the Weasleys. Moving quietly up behind Harry, he wrapped him in his arms and placed a soft kiss on the back of his neck.
“She wanted me to apologise to you for her.” Harry scoffed, but relaxed back into the embrace, causing Draco to smile against his skin. “You knew going into this that it would take a lot of effort.”
Harry was silent for a few seconds. “All I want is for the kids to be safe and happy.”
Draco's chest ached in sympathy at the tired tone to Harry’s voice. Tightening his grip around Harry caused Harry to adjust his position so Draco could comfortably bury his nose into the hair at the base of his neck. Harry’s scent washed through Draco, sending a delightful shiver through him, but he pulled back, ignoring the want that washed through him.
“No one would deny you that, not even Molly.”
“Are you actually standing up for her?”
Draco huffed out a small sound that was part-sigh, part-laugh. “You love Molly and Arthur like they are your real parents. I wouldn’t want you to be deprived of that relationship just because Molly is a bit careless sometimes when it comes to Ginevra.”
Harry sighed before spinning around in Draco's arms. He slid his hands up Draco’s chest, a small smile touching his lips. “I love you.”
Draco mock-scowled, causing Harry to grin. “You had better after putting me through all of this.”
Harry’s laugh echoed back to Draco as he cancelled the Silencing charm and exited the room. Standing where he was for a time, Draco took a few seconds to take in everything that had happened over the course of the morning. It seemed to him that, no matter how much he loved Harry, this relationship was going to prove to be challenging from all fronts. If it wasn’t the media harassing them, it was one of the children having issues; if it wasn’t their families’ disapproval, it was society. Taking a couple of deep breaths, Draco allowed himself another small smile. He would deal with it, though; he could deal with it. What he had with Harry was worth it all.
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The Optimal Balance