Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

19 Years and 5 Minutes Later	By : TheMightyFlynn Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 58416 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any characters related to that series; they are JK Rowling's. I make no money from this.

Chapter List
- 1-19 Years and 5 Minutes Later
- 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
- 41-Ch. 41
- 42-Ch. 42
- 43-Ch. 43
- 44-Ch. 44
- 45-Ch. 45
- 46-Ch. 46
- 47-Ch. 47
- 48-Ch. 48
- 49-Ch. 49
- 50-Ch. 50
- 51-Epilogue
- 42
- 43
- 44
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Good to know Edwards is doing his job :D
“Are you absolutely certain? Because I can take them back to Grimmauld with me right now; it’s no problem.”
“Nonsense! I have never once described one of my grandchildren as being a problem and I will not start now.”
Stepping out of the way as Molly bustled around the kitchen of the Burrow, Harry nodded. He had gone straight there after the court case had been adjourned for the day as had been his original plan for the day. He had found the boys busy in the orchard, playing a game of one-on-one Quidditch and Lily had claimed Hermione immediately to explain something that she had found in a textbook, leaving Harry to wander into the kitchen behind Molly. He bit down on his bottom lip as nerves fluttered through his stomach, although whether he was more nervous about being alone with Molly in the Burrow or about confronting Draco a little later on, he had no idea.
Both Richardson and Astoria had assured him in strong terms that everything would be alright, with both the case and Draco respectively. If anything, Richardson seemed more confident now than he had that morning. He’d declared that if Edwards was resorting to trying to demonstrate that Draco hadn’t changed since his days as a Death Eater, then they stood a great chance of winning. The evidence is with us, he had informed Harry before sending him on his way.
Astoria had been equally confident, about both the case and Draco, but had warned Harry that Draco would most likely stay in a foul mood the rest of the day. Despite this warning, Harry had the full intention of going to the Manor to check on him. His stomach fluttered and he decided that it was definitely Draco he was nervous about seeing rather than Molly. He hadn’t had to deal with a properly angry Draco for a while now and he really didn’t want to have to dodge hexes cast at him if he could avoid it. The sound of the refrigerator closing behind him dragged Harry out of his thoughts. Ron offered up a small smile as he grabbed a bottle of Butterbeer from the fridge and exited the room. Shaking his head, Harry refocussed.
“Thanks, Molly, it means a lot to know they’ve got somewhere safe to stay.”
She smiled and waved him off out of her way as she continued making lunch for the entire family. Not only was she cooking for Harry and his kids, but Hermione, Ron, Percy, Audrey and George had all shown up both for the courtroom and lunch as well. Deciding to give her the room she was obviously requesting, Harry wandered through the house, knowing that he had to speak to Ron before taking off for the Manor. He found him sitting outside on the same bench Harry had sat on with Arthur a few weeks back.
“House a bit noisy for you?”
Harry smiled, hoping that Ron would respond. It took a few seconds, in which Ron took a slow sip of the Butterbeer and wrapped his jacket around himself against the chill air, causing Harry’s nerves to jump again. They hadn’t really spoken since that day in Fortescue’s, but Harry was ever hopeful that things would work out. Stretching his legs in front of him, Ron offered up a mock-grimace.
"Bloody house is always noisy.”
Relief flooded through Harry, but he still couldn’t help noticing that Ron hadn’t looked at him, or offered part of the seat. Keeping his smile firmly in place, Harry decided to just get on with what he was there to say.
“Look, I need to thank you for giving me that warning about Ginny. If you hadn’t, then the Aurors wouldn’t have been watching as carefully as they were and who knows what could have happened.”
Ron nodded. “No problem.”
Thinking that that was about the best he could expect, Harry moved off back into the house again, to say his goodbyes to Molly and Arthur. It was as he was exiting the house that Ron spoke again, almost startling Harry out of his skin.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
Harry spun around and grinned when he saw Ron waving as he entered the house again. His breath fogged in front of him as he walked the few steps to the Apparition point and he wrapped his arms about his middle before Apparating to Grimmauld. It made much more sense for him to floo into the Manor from Grimmauld than to Apparate and knock on the front door and he took a few seconds to shed his coat in the living room of Grimmauld.
The living room of the Manor was empty when Harry stepped from the floo. Instead of waiting or a house-elf to appear, he walked swiftly out into the marble-floored lobby, intending to make his way upstairs to where he assumed Draco was. He was stopped by Lucius Malfoy stepping from a doorway down the hall.
“How nice to know that my family’s ancestral home is open to anyone who would care to enter.”
Harry froze just before stepping onto the first stair and took a few steps backward so he could see Lucius completely. “Mr. Malfoy.” He offered a small bow of his head, but annoyance rippled across his shoulders when Lucius made no reply. “I have actually had full access to the Manor via the floo for a while now. Draco trusts me.”
Lucius seemed to be examining Harry closely as he walked slowly towards the front of the house and Harry found himself thankful that he had worn trousers and a shirt rather than jeans and a flannelette shirt beneath his robes. Harry couldn’t tell if Lucius’ hair was still the same pale blond as it had been when he was younger, but the stark contrast between it and the pitch black of his formal robes was striking. He would have made quite the intimidating figure if Harry had ever been afraid of him.
“My son’s irregularities aside, it is bad manners to simply enter someone else’s home without a proper invitation.”
Rolling his shoulders in an attempt to rid himself of the annoyance that continued to flow through him, Harry met Lucius’ eyes without hesitation. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you, Mr. Malfoy, but all I intended to do was check on Draco.”
“And we are not going to prevent you from doing so.”
Harry had to bite down on the inside of his lip to stop himself from grinning as Narcissa appeared from one of the other doorways behind Lucius. The brief look of displeasure that crossed Lucius’ face was quickly replaced by a blank mask so reminiscent of Draco that Harry stared in surprise for a few seconds.
“Draco is in his rooms.”
Recovering from the slight shock as quickly as he could, Harry nodded his thanks to Narcissa before mounting the stairs and almost jogging through the house. His interactions with Lucius and Narcissa had always had the potential to be strained at the very least, but it seemed to him that Narcissa was willing to at least be civil. He figured that that was probably all he could ask for at that moment.
Forcibly pushing all thoughts of Draco's parents to the back of his mind as he came to the door of Draco's suite, Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Now that he was alone again, all of his earlier nerves had returned with a vengeance, causing his hands to clench by his sides. He flexed his fingers before reaching to knock on the door. When there was no response, he pushed the door open and stuck his head into the first room, hoping he wouldn’t be met with flying hexes. He almost considered the sight he was greeted with worse: Draco stood at the floor-to-ceiling window, his back stiff and his hands resting at the small of his back. His formal robes lay over the back of one of the soft chairs, looking as though he had simply flung them there. It left him clad in his usual ‘casual’ clothes: form-fitting black trousers, a white, long sleeved shirt and a black vest. Harry licked suddenly dry lips, although whether they were dry from nerves or lust, he had no idea at this point.
“Draco?” His voice was low and he could hear the nerves, but he moved to enter the room anyway, standing just inside the door.
“Do come in, Potter. You’ve never asked for permission before, so why start now?”
The tightly controlled anger in the words caused Harry to flinch involuntarily. He had known that Draco would most likely be angry with him over what had happened, no matter how irrational that sounded. He pushed his nervous reaction down as far as possible, however, and took a few cautious steps into the room, automatically glancing around. Usually he ignored this room, using it only as a means to get to the bedroom, but now he looked around it with new eyes: he needed to know all the exits and places to hide to dodge spells that had been cast at him. It wasn’t a large room, but Draco had managed to fit three soft armchairs as well as a cooler that Harry knew housed alcohol of all kinds. He almost jumped when Draco’s voice sounded close behind him.
“I’m not going to try to murder you, so you can stop looking for an escape route.” Draco crossed behind him towards the sideboard above the cooler that held the alcohol that didn’t need refrigeration. “No matter how much you may deserve it.”
Well, at least that solved one of the nagging questions Harry had: Draco did blame him for what had happened in the courtroom. It was a logical reaction that Harry had seen many times during his years as an Auror; people tended to lash out at the most convenient target. That was him for Draco, as it was his ex-wife who had caused all the trouble. Taking a deep breath, he was about to respond when Draco spoke again.
“Drink.”
Harry blinked. “Er, no, thanks.”
“I wasn’t asking, Potter. Have a drink.”
Without even looking at him, Draco recapped the bottle he had poured his own drink from and crossed over to sit on one of the seats. Harry scrubbed a hand along the back of his neck as the hair stood up, his skin prickling. Sighing, he figured there was no harm in having a drink, especially if the day ended the way it appeared as though it was going to end. Not that he was going to give this relationship up without a fight and fight he would, if it came down to it.
His mind raced as he poured himself a glass of expensive-smelling bourbon. Draco's past fits of anger had resulted in physical altercations followed by some of the most amazing sex Harry had ever had, but this time was different. The past few times Draco had confronted him had been just that: confrontations. This silence and outward appearance of calm was completely disturbing and he had no idea how to react to it other than to keep his guard up. Clenching his hands around the glass, he moved over to sit on the edge of the chair opposite Draco.
“I, er…”
“None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for you.”
Harry almost flinched again as he felt his stomach drop into his shoes. There was still a tone of tightly controlled anger to Draco’s voice that caused Harry’s nerves to sing with tension and he gulped down a mouthful of bourbon in reaction.
“I…”
Harry paused, unsure of how to respond. Technically, Draco was right: if they hadn’t gotten involved, none of this would be happening. At least, none of it would be happening to Draco; Harry hoped that he would have seen through Ginny’s lies sooner rather than later without Draco's interference. Then again, he considered, it hadn’t been him who had made the first move in that bathroom two months ago. If anything, Draco was just as much to blame as he was.
“You’re not even going to respond?”
The contemptuous look Draco shot him caused anger to flare in Harry’s chest. “If you’re waiting for me to apologise, you’ll be disappointed. You letting Edwards get to you like that had nothing to do with me.”
Draco stood and crossed to stand in front of the window again so fast it was almost as though he had Apparated. Amber liquid sloshed in the glass Draco had abandoned, almost spilling over the sides. Harry watched it for a few seconds before downing the rest of his own drink and placing the glass on the table. Standing, he took a deep breath and pushed his own anger as far down as he could before speaking.
“Richardson doesn’t think the case has been ruined. He thinks that they just want to put you off your testimony enough so that they can use your past against you.” He paused and took another deep breath when Draco scoffed. “What?”
“I have just made a complete fool of myself in one of the most public arenas I have been in since the end of the War and you think it’s the fucking case I’m angry over?” Draco's eyes flashed as he spun to grace Harry with a scornful look. “But of course everything is about you.”
A strong sense of confusion sent Harry’s head spinning and he began to speak before he could clear it. “How the hell is that fair?”
“‘Fair’?” The level of scorn in Draco's expression had seeped into his voice, causing Harry to flex his shoulders as annoyance tensed them. “Life isn’t fair, Potter. You should be used to that by now.”
Draco turned and made to stalk off into his bedroom, but Harry was faster. He grasped Draco's wrist and pulled him back so they were face-to-face. Draco's eyes steeled with anger in the few seconds they stood staring at each other and he tried to yank his hand out of Harry’s, but Harry was determined that he would be heard.
“I have given you everything I can over the past two months. I’ve let you into every aspect of my life, including introducing you to my kids. I don’t know what else you could possibly want from me.” Harry’s free hand clenched by his side when Draco rolled his eyes, but he forced himself to release his grip on Draco's wrist and step backwards. No matter how angry he was at that moment, he knew that if he continued he would most likely end up saying something he would regret later. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down a little before speaking. “You might want to sort out what it is you do want by tomorrow.”
Turning and exiting the room before Draco could respond, Harry flexed his hands, trying to expend some of the anger and frustration before he went back to the Burrow. He was stopped just before entering the living room to use the floo.
“Harry?” Astoria stood at the bottom of the grand staircase, a worried crease forming between her eyes. “What happened?”
Sighing, Harry ran a hand through his hair. “I should have left him to sulk on his own until tomorrow.”
“He’ll calm down; he always does.”
Astoria offered up a small smile, but all Harry could do in response was shrug. He was regretting his words already, but knew that he would have time the next day to make it all up with Draco; there was no way he was risking going back up there now.
*~*
The heels of Draco's boots thudded softly on the thick carpet as he paced the length of his bedroom. It seemed to him that he had been destined to fuck that day up spectacularly no matter which way it went; first with his testimony, then with Harry. He had spent the past few hours running over everything that had happened that day in his mind and had to come to the conclusion that there was nothing he could have done differently when it came to the case. Edwards had had him in his sights since the second he had entered that courtroom and there was absolutely nothing that would have swayed him from that course. Harry, however…
Draco sighed. Harry was another matter altogether. He still had mixed feelings about what had happened there, but one thing was clear to him: he needed to apologise. He knew that most of what he had said had no meaning whatsoever, but had just been something to say to provoke a response from Harry. What he did remember clearly, however, was Harry’s reaction: you might want to sort out what it is you do want by tomorrow. Most of his anger was still directly solely at himself, but being issued an ultimatum like that had brought him up short. Draco had been in need of an outlet for his anger and Harry had borne the brunt of it when he had entered the room. He had been unable to respond before Harry had stomped out of the room, but now he knew he had to.
Pausing in his pacing as he reached the now dark windows, he ran a hand through his hair. He hated apologising, but there was no way he was going to allow himself to lose Harry over something as ridiculous and trivial as this. The decision having been made, he spun on his heel and stalked out of the room, pausing only long enough to grab his wand from the table where he had thrown it.
The Manor was quiet as he made his way down to the living room, his boots clicking on the floors. He knew it was rather late to be calling on someone and the clock in the lobby of the Manor confirmed it as it struck ten. Draco hesitated only a few seconds before throwing a handful of powder into the fire and giving Harry’s address.
“What are you doing here?”
The sight Draco was met with as he stepped through into Grimmauld shouldn’t have surprised him: James and Albus had obviously been playing chess on the lounge in front of the fire, but James had stopped the second the fire flared. Standing with his hands on his hips, he was glaring at Draco with all he was worth.
“I need to speak to your Father.”
“Yeah? Well maybe he doesn’t want to speak to you, have you thought about that? I told him this was a bad idea but he didn’t listen to me and now look what’s happened!”
“James, maybe we should go get Dad?”
“No!” James spun to face his brother with the same glare. “Don’t you see that he’s the reason Dad’s been upset all afternoon? He went over there and when he came back, he didn’t even want to talk about it with Aunt Hermione or Uncle Ron.”
James continued to snarl at his brother but Draco tuned out. Hanging his head, he knew James couldn’t realise that he had just given Draco all the information he needed to know that what he was there to do was the right thing. Harry had been right that afternoon when he had accused him of being unfair, as it was only logical for all of Harry’s thoughts to be focussed on the trial. Draco raised his head when a deeper voice spoke in a reprimanding tone.
“Enough! Go up to bed, both of you.”
Draco watched as both boys moved slowly out of the room. James shot him one last glare before leaving the room, but Draco ignored it. He took a small step forward when he was alone with Harry, but was stopped when Harry spoke again.
“Are you looking to piss off every Potter you can find today? Lily’s asleep upstairs, maybe you want to go up and tell her she’s not smart enough to work with those potions she’s always reading about?”
Spreading his hands in a placating gesture, Draco took another step forward. “I’m here to apologise, not pick another fight.”
Harry sighed and removed his glasses, throwing them onto the table beside the lounge before jamming the heels of his palms into his eyes and scrubbing hard. His eyes were unfocussed when he removed his hands and it gave him such a vulnerable look that Draco had trouble not reaching for him. His fingers twitched anyway and he took another step forwards, but Harry held a hand up to stop him.
“It’s been a hell of a long day.” He sounded so tired and Draco's chest ached in response, but he held back. “We’re both overstressed and obviously not thinking straight. Maybe we should just do this tomorrow, once I’ve had time to clear my head.”
Draco nodded his agreement, but couldn’t help speaking again. “You told me to sort out what I wanted before tomorrow. You need to know that what I want – what I have always wanted – has never changed.” Fighting against the instincts that were screaming at him to not allow himself to be too exposed, he took a deep breath and ignored them. “I love you and some stupid argument isn’t going to change that at all.”
With that, he turned and stepped back towards the fire. He fully expected to be allowed to just leave, but Harry grabbed his wrist before he could throw the powder into the fire. He looked even tireder up close and Draco again had to resist the urge to touch him. Harry, it seemed, had no such qualms. Leaning in, he brushed a soft kiss across Draco's lips.
“Tomorrow.”
Watching as Harry turned and left the room, Draco took a steadying breath. He had a lot to sort through before the morning.
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19 Years and 5 Minutes Later