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The Optimal Balance	By : TheMightyFlynn Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 17124 -:- 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
- 5
- 6
- 7
“Dad?”

Reclining back in one of the soft chairs in the Manor’s informal living room, Harry had to bite back a sigh at the sound of Lily’s voice. Saturday mornings had always tended to be quiet when the boys were at Hogwarts and Harry much preferred to just read the newspaper until he was awake enough to interact with the rest of the world. He shook the sports section in his hands, considering not even placing it down when he answered, but the sound of Lily climbing up onto the lounge across from him soon put those thoughts to rest.

“What’s up, Lil?”

Harry flipped the front of the paper down so he could see her in front of him. Lily was already dressed for the day in a ruffled green dress with her hair in ribbons that Harry was certain must have been Astoria’s doing: he had never learned to do anything as intricate as Lily’s hair looked and Draco had no reason to know how. He raised an eyebrow at her, causing her to giggle.

"Draco does that all the time.”

“Yes, usually at me when I’ve done or said something he considers particularly stupid,” Harry mumbled before shooting Lily a grin when her giggles turned to proper laughter. He folded the newspaper up and placed it aside when it became obvious that Lily was there to stay. “Is that why you’re in here? To compare me to Draco?”

“No,” she managed as soon as she got her laughter under control. “You’re too different to compare.” Before Harry could react to that statement, she changed the subject. “Can we go to Diagon today? I already asked Draco and he said I had to ask you.”

It struck Harry as a little odd that Lily would ask Draco before him, causing him to wonder exactly what she was up to. “Why do you want to go to Diagon?”

“So we can look at Eeylops.”

The sentence was stated so simply it made it sound as though Harry’s question had been unreasonable. Lily’s eyes were wide and she tucked her legs up beneath her as she waited for him to respond, giving her an innocent look that Harry knew was completely false. If there was one thing Harry knew about his daughter, it was that she should never be underestimated. Lily had managed to inherit both his stubbornness and Ginny’s determination, meaning that Harry knew that most of the time when she asked him for something with that look, he was being manipulated in some way. His eyes narrowed automatically as he studied her.

“Lily–”

“You said I could get a pet before I went to Hogwarts,” Lily interrupted quickly. If possible, it seemed that her eyes widened even more as she stared at him. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to get one soon so it can get used to me?”

“Yes, it would, but–”

“James and Al both got their owls before they went to Hogwarts, so–”

“Lily!” Harry raised his hands in defeat. “Alright, we can go to Diagon today, but only if you stop nagging me now.”

The smile that Lily offered up in response was dazzling. “Thanks, Dad!” Launching herself off the lounge, she threw her arms around Harry’s neck. “I’ll get my list and then we can go.”

This time Harry did sigh. The past few times Lily had seen Hermione, she had been peppering her with questions about what was best for her to get before she went off to school. Hermione, of course, had been more than willing to oblige and had given Lily a long list of items that she herself had found incredibly useful her first year. The latest edition of Hogwarts: A History was apparently right at the top of that list. Harry discarded his glasses on the table beside him and scrubbed his hands through his hair and down over his face as Lily made her way out of the room.

“He said yes!”

Harry’s head snapped up at Lily’s excited voice. Grabbing his glasses back, he shoved them onto his nose. When he could focus again, he saw Lily grinning up at Draco, who was leaning against the doorway of the living room. Harry considered it a testament to how not-yet-awake he was that he hadn’t even noticed Draco's arrival.

“Did he indeed?”

The drawl could have come straight from the Draco Harry had known back in school, as could the raise of an eyebrow which caused Lily to giggle again. It was the look of amusement that Draco shot Harry over Lily’s head that made all the difference; that changed him into the Draco Harry now knew.

“Yeah, so we can go soon. I’m just going to go get my list.”

Harry frowned as Lily almost skipped out of the room. “‘We’?”

The amusement didn’t leave Draco's face as he turned his gaze to meet Harry’s eyes. “How many times has she been in to ask you about Diagon?”

Suspicion crept down Harry’s spine as he reached down to pull the lever that would straighten the recliner out properly. “That was the first, why?”

He watched as Draco's head dropped, an obviously unwilling smile spreading across his face. Draco raised a hand to run through his hair, mussing it up from its normal neatness before meeting Harry’s eyes again.

“She’s played the both of us.”

The amusement changed to disbelief as Draco shook his head, but it wasn’t Draco's expressions that Harry was interested in anymore. Draco's long legs were crossed at the ankle, one hand planted firmly on his hip and the other swinging by his side when he dropped it from his hair. It was one of the most casual and relaxed poses Draco allowed himself and it was an incredibly rare sight. Shaking his head to prevent himself from drifting off into fantasies that were entirely inappropriate this early in the morning as warmth flooded him, Harry cleared his throat before standing.

“I figured something was going on. Let me guess: she told you that I told her no, right? That got you to say yes and now she’s going to claim we can all go together.”

Lily had been trying to convince the two of them that it would be perfectly fine for all three of them to go out to Diagon Alley, but both Harry and Draco had been resisting. They were wary enough of being seen together in public, what with the press and the people who wanted to both congratulate and abuse them. It had also only gotten worse after the front page picture they had accidentally given them the day of Ginny’s sentencing. The picture of Draco kissing Harry in a moment of complete elation over hearing Ginny’s sentence had spread throughout the wizarding world in what had seemed to be a matter of seconds and had caused a frenzy for more pictures that had lasted months. Harry knew that the press would have a field day if they managed to get pictures of the three of them together in public and he really didn’t want to subject Lily to that if he could avoid it. It was one of the major issues he was having when it came to giving Lily as normal a childhood as he could manage: he wanted her to be able to do all the regular things a child did, but he also knew he had to protect her from the kind of attention he had received from the press as a teenager. He grinned when Draco straightened and began to tidy both his hair and clothing.

“I’m so glad you find it amusing that a ten year old has outsmarted me.”

Harry stepped forward, closing the gap between them when Draco tried to cast the charm that would set his hair to its usual orderliness. Replacing Draco's hand with one of his own, he grinned before messing Draco's hair even more than it already was, earning himself a glare.

“That tends to happen regularly with Lily. You’ll get used to it eventually.”

“Leave my bloody hair alone, Potter,” Draco grumbled, ducking in an obvious attempt to get away. “I was under the impression that it was only you she ever tried that on.”

Harry allowed him to step away, if only because he knew Lily would be arriving back downstairs any second. “Family, actually.”

Draco's head snapped up at Harry’s quiet response. “Excuse me?”

“She has only ever tried to sweet-talk members of the family before.”

Harry watched as Draco's expression changed from the slight shock he had been showing to completely blank. Even if Harry hadn’t known the blank stare meant that Draco was trying to hide something he didn’t feel comfortable showing, it would have been obvious in the stiffening of his posture. What wasn’t obvious to him was the reason behind whatever Draco was attempting to smother. A tiny thread of worry shivered through Harry as the thought occurred to him that that had been the wrong thing to say, although why it would be was completely beyond him. His pulse quickened a little with nerves as Lily raced down the marble staircase and landed beside Draco, grabbing his hand and grinning up at him. Draco didn’t lose the blank stare; if anything, he seemed to stiffen even more. Biting back the shock of disappointment that raced through him, Harry cleared his throat quietly.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

“Oh, but Dad–”

Harry held up a hand to silence Lily. “I, er, I think it would be nice if we could find something we could all do together, however.” He had to resist the urge to shake Draco when he was subjected to the blank stare again as Draco turned from Lily. “You don’t have to, but I… Well, we would both appreciate it if you’d come with us.”

Draco's hesitation and reluctance was so obvious to Harry he was a little surprised it didn’t have a physical presence. He opened his mouth to reassure Draco that it was fine if he didn’t want to face the press like this, but before he could, Draco glanced down to where Lily stood beside him again, her eyes wide and hopeful.

“Alright.” There was a beat when no one said anything – Harry hardly daring to even breathe – before Draco continued. “Just allow me to change out of my work clothes.”

Harry watched as Draco disentangled his hand from Lily’s, then proceeded up the stairs Lily had just jumped down. His muscles twitched with the need to follow him and ask what had gone wrong, but he held himself back, thinking that giving Draco a few minutes alone was probably his best course of action at that point.

“Dad?”

“Hmm?” He refocussed to see Lily frowning up at him.

“I think he’s been inside too long.”

Harry blinked at Lily in confusion for a few seconds. “What?”

“Draco,” she stated, her tone indicating that that should be enough of an explanation. When Harry merely shook his head, she sighed and planted her hands on her hips. “Draco has been inside too long. Being outside in the sun always cheers people up; Uncle Charlie told me that the last time I saw him.”

Shaking his head, Harry chuckled. “I’ll make sure to mention it to him, Lil. Look, why don’t you wait for us in the living room? I’ll go up and see what’s keeping him.”

He waited until Lily had disappeared through the door across the hall that led into the formal living room before racing up the stairs. A combination of nervous energy and a slight fear that Draco was going to be upset with him over this fuelled his steps, pushing him to move faster before he reached the floor with their bedroom. His paces only slowed as he crossed the small outer room before entering the bedroom.

“You took your time.”

The amusement clear in Draco's voice seemed to drain all of the tension from Harry’s body and he sagged against the doorframe for a few seconds. Draco was standing in front of the mirror attached to the inside door of the wardrobe, adjusting the fit of his white shirt before moving his fingers to the line of small buttons. Harry shoved himself to his feet properly and made his way over so he could replace Draco's fingers with his own.

“You’re not angry.”

He could hear the relief in his voice before he glanced up into the mirror. Draco leant back against Harry’s chest, but refused to meet his eyes, his gaze falling instead towards the floor. His voice was quiet when he responded.

“I never expected to have a daughter.”

Harry finished with the buttons and looped his arms loosely around Draco's waist. “I really don’t think Lily is going to give you a choice in this one. I’m pretty sure you won her everlasting devotion that first night when you played along with that ridiculous curtsey she offered you.” The smile that stretched across Draco's face in response held a fondness to it that sent warmth spreading through Harry’s limbs. “I’d say you now have a daughter whether you want one or not.”

Draco's fingers traced along Harry’s arms for a few seconds, the fond expression still in his eyes. Harry found himself quite tempted to say something else to prolong the moment, but he knew not to push Draco when it came to things like this. The very fact that Draco had allowed himself to open up this much was something that Harry considered damn-near a miracle; there was no way he was going to do anything to discourage Draco from continuing on this path. The look melted from Draco's eyes in the next few seconds as he straightened and finally met Harry’s eyes in the mirror.

“We’d better get going or she’ll be up here herself to drag us out.”

Harry grinned and placed a soft kiss behind Draco's ear before stepping back. The day was beginning to look as though it was going to prove interesting.

*~*

Harry in protective mode was an amazing sight to witness. It had been a while since Draco had seen Harry in any situation where he obviously thought someone near him needed protecting and he had almost forgotten the quiet power Harry was capable of projecting. Draco had no real idea why, but there was simply something about watching Harry stare down someone down that sent a delightful shiver up his spine.

“Come on Draco, this one is really good!”

Draco had to smother a smile as he watched Harry and Lily enter a clothing store just off Diagon Alley. Shopping with both Lily and Harry was a fascinating experience: Lily had spent the morning informing Draco exactly which stores she liked and why, and dragging the two of them from store to store, quite oblivious to the strange and curious looks they had been receiving. Harry, of course, had been hovering not far from Lily’s side all morning, keeping a watchful eye on her and the people around her. Harry had stopped Lily every time they had come to a side street in Diagon, guiding her down the smaller alleys away from the crowds more often than not. Draco was fairly certain that Lily didn’t know that she was being watched over so closely and he found it interesting to see the subtle differences in Harry’s behaviour depending on where they were.

“Draco!”

Biting back a grin, Draco entered the shop behind Harry. He was immediately hit by a cloud of incense so strong his eyes instantly began to water, causing him to automatically squeeze them shut and scrub a hand across his face. When he re-opened them, it was to see that he had entered a small shop crammed wall-to-wall with clothing racks full with ruffled clothing. The mix of colours combined with the strong smell of incense caused him to blink in astonishment for a few seconds before Lily made her way out from behind a clothing rack, grabbed his hand and dragged him further into the shop.

“Lily, I–”

“Dad says I can get some new clothes.”

The excited tone to Lily’s voice made it impossible for Draco to disappoint her. “Where is your Father?”

Glancing around the tiny shop, Draco thought it strange that he had managed to lose Harry in the few seconds it had taken him to enter the room. Lily’s reaction of just shrugging didn’t prove to be very helpful.

“Probably in the back with Deborah, the lady who owns the shop. Come look at this.”

They spent the next half hour in the cramped store, with Lily trying on numerous outfits that she insisted both Draco and Harry admire. It turned out that Harry had been in the back of the store with the owner, who didn’t make another appearance until Lily had decided on a number of outfits that she absolutely had to have. The reason for her absence soon became clear to Draco, who found himself receiving the cold shoulder as she served Lily and Harry with a stiff smile. He quietly exited the store, leaving Harry and Lily to pay for the purchases in peace.

Standing outside in the shade of the tall buildings, Draco spent the next few minutes simply people watching. It was an activity that he had always found both interesting and useful, but this time it was more to just fill in the time until Harry emerged from the shop. He didn’t have to wait long until the door was thrown open and Lily bounced out into the alley.

“We’re going to Eeylops now!”

Draco was unable to prevent a smile when Lily grinned at him and began to make her way towards Diagon. He pushed off the wall he had been leaning against and made to follow her, but was held back by Harry grabbing his wrist.

“I’m sorry about that store. I did try to convince Lily that we shouldn’t go in there, but she insisted and…” Harry trailed off, but his regret was written across his face. “I knew Deborah wouldn’t be too happy.”

A quick glance around told Draco that no one was paying much attention to them. “I’m used to people reacting that way towards me, Harry.”

Harry sighed. “You shouldn’t have to be.”

Draco found himself hard pressed to not smile as gratitude at Harry’s reaction spread through him. “And you believe that you can change opinions people have held about ex-Death Eaters for longer than either of us has been alive by simply talking to them?”

“Of course not.” Harry rolled his eyes. “I was trying to change her opinion about you personally.”

Staring into Harry’s eyes there in the little side alley running off Diagon, Draco knew he couldn’t afford to give in to the urge he was suddenly hit with to grab him and kiss him senseless. It was a close thing, though. Closing his eyes briefly, he ducked his head until he was back under control of the urge.

“Come on.” He could hear the warmth in his voice that caused Harry to shoot him a ridiculously wide smile, but he didn’t want to try to control it. “We should find Lily.”
- 5
- 6
- 7
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The Optimal Balance