Chapter Text
“Harry, I’m leaving.”
He was sitting in his living room across from his wife of 10 years. He’d just got home from a long day at the shop. He could still smell the last tank he’d been cleaning and was longing for a shower. But Ginny said she needed to talk, so he’d been ready to listen. But now he was sure he had heard her wrong.
“Come again?” He choked out.
Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m not happy.” It was barely a whisper.
“Oh honey, oh okay, what can I do?” He asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.
“You can let me go.”
“Go? Go where?” He asked, face scrunched in confusion.
She looked down at her hands which seemed to be shaking, “Well I think it’s best if you didn’t know that, for now. I need some space and if you know where to find me I’m worried you’ll just make this worse.”
“Okay… Okay hun, whatever you need, you know your happiness is all that matters to me, how long will you be gone?”
It was silent for a minute, Ginny was looking at him through her eye lashes, her whole body frozen.
“I’m not coming back.” A pause. “Harry I’m not telling you about a vacation, I’m asking for a divorce.”
Harry choked. “D-divorce? What! Wait, woah, woah, what are you talking about divorce?”
She stood, tears falling down her face, “I won’t let you make me feel guilty about this, this is just as much your fault as it’s my choice. I’m not happy, haven’t been in years.”
Harry stood approaching her with his hands up in surrender. “What can I do, name it, I’ll do it.”
“I know you would… which should be enough, but it’s just not.” Ginny gave him a sad smile. “I don’t want to fix this, or change you, I just want to move on.”
“What about the kids?” Harry asked, unable to even process what she was saying.
She sighed, “I won't fight you for custody. I’d like to see them from time to time… talk to them on fire call. But I’ll take what you give me.”
“From time to time? Gin… What is going on? Can we just, can we just sit down and talk?”
“No.” She said firmly. “I’ve left letters on the table for the boys. I have to get going,” she checked her watch, “my international portkey leaves in 30 minutes, I need to get to the ministry.”
She adjusted her purse and he remembered it was the one Hermione had given her for yule that had extensive extension and lightening charms. She’s already packed. He realized.
“You’re leaving the country?” He asked, his voice sounding strangled.
“I’ve been promoted to international researcher,” She worked for the prophet, “I start tomorrow.”
“Daaaaadd I’m hungry!” James called from the top of the stairs. You could hear the gentle creek of the floor boards as he walked down each step. Harry looked back to his wife to see her tossing floo powder into the fireplace turning it green.
“Gin - please don’t do this.” He pleaded, he considered getting on his knees but it didn’t feel like he had time.
Her eyes flicked to the stairs where any second their son would appear, the look on her face was one of pure fear. “Goodbye Harry.” she whispered and then practically jumped into the flames as James walked around the corner.
Harry stared as the flames turned back to red. He waited for her to come back. For the flames to turn green and her come back and tell him she couldn’t leave, that she just needed them to work on their marriage. Or to say she needed to change jobs, or they needed to take up a hobby, go on a vacation, anything that he could fix. He was frozen, unsure what to do next.
He had always been the one to fix things, to save people, he was the hero, but he had no idea how to fix what had just happened.
“Dad!” James finally yelled loud enough to get his attention.
“What, son?”
“Where’s mom going? What’s for dinner? Where’s Alby?” He asked in quick recession as he fiddled with his rubix cube.
Harry just stared at him, a million thoughts running though his mind.
“James I need Mione.” He could feel the panic rising in a way that it hadn’t in years. “I need you to get Mione and then I need you to floo to the burrow and tell Nanna I’ll come get you later.”
James looked worried but nodded walking towards the kitchen where the phone was. Something occurred to Harry and he turned to see two pieces of paper on the table, he waved his hand and they flew to him.
“What are those?” James asked, the phone pressed to his ear.
“Nothing” Harry murmured. He would hold on to them. No need for the kids to know their mom almost left them… If he could just get to her on time.
“Hey Aunt Mione, dad needs you.” He said, focused on his cube. “I dunno, he doesn’t look so good tho’” He murmured. “Sure, one sec - hey dad, aunt Mione wants to know how important this is.”
Harry swallowed, “code snakeface.”
“Hmm. He said - oh you heard him?” James said and a second later the floo flared and Hermione rushed through her cell phone still pressed to her ear.
“Yes I heard him.” her eyes met Harry’s and she gave him a nod.
“James go to the burrow and -” She started.
“I know I know, dad told me, I’m going.” James mumbled, never even looking up from his cube as he walked across the room and through the floo.
As soon as the flames died, “Ginny wants a divorce. She’s leaving the country in 22 minutes unless we can stop her. She wouldn’t talk to me. Mione I’m so scared…” He started to hyperventilate and Mione rushed across the room to catch him before he fell.
She drained a calming draft down his throat and pulled them to the floo, no questions asked.
When they got to the ministry Hermione did all the talking. By the time they got to the international travel department they should have had 3 minutes to spare. The witch behind the counter frowned and shook her head. “Ms Weasley-Potter was given her portkey yesterday so she could travel from home. She was never here.”
Harry felt his heart start to break. “She knew I would follow her. She told me the ministry so I wouldn’t be able to find her in time.”
He looked down at his watch, and watched as the seconds ticked by and it hit 6:30 PM on the dot.
“She’s gone.” He whispered, and then promptly fainted.
***
Four months passed before they heard from Ginny again. It was a letter requesting Harry remove the personal investigator that had been following her. Attached were divorce papers, she had already signed her part.
It took Harry a week to work up the courage to sign the papers. It had been Molly who helped him get there.
“You promised to love her through better or worse. This is the worst, and she she needs you to let her go. If you love her, sign the papers. This is the last thing you can do for her as her husband. You’ve always given her what she wanted, what she needed, don’t stop now just because she’s asking for something you don’t also want.”
He called off the PI, he’d only hired them for safety. In the beginning he was worried that Ginny was unwell, or in danger. He could accept her leaving him, no matter how shocking it was, but he just couldn’t accept her leaving the boys. But she had. And she seemed happy. The PI had sent him pictures of her smiling and laughing at a coffee shop in Berlin, pictures of her running in a park in India, and dancing in a club in Belize.
She was happy. So Harry signed the papers and the magic swirled around his ring loosening it. It took him another week before he actually took it off. He put it back in the vault. He kept going.
He spent four days a week at the bestiary he owned with Luna. When he worked Saturdays the boys came with him and played with the animals. He still went to dinner at the burrow on Sundays. He talked to Hermione every night on the phone. Ron would meet him for a beer when he had a weekend off. Neville would come over once a week under the premise of wanting to work on Harry’s garden. Luna would show up randomly, typically with a trinket that was going to help Harry, he kept them all. Maybe they could help. Maybe anything would.
The night before James left for Hogwarts Ginny fire called the house.
It had been 8 months.
Harry didn’t speak to her, he didn’t know what to say.
The call lasted two hours. He overheard most of it, including the part when Alby asked his mom in a small voice if she would be home for Yule. There was a pause and he was silently begging her to just say yes. But she said no. Said she couldn’t but she wished she could.
James stopped talking after that and his goodbye was rushed. He locked himself in his room before Harry could say anything. Albus just went back to playing with his legos. He’d been building a house for a few days but when Harry came back down stairs the house had been destroyed.
“Whatcha building now, buddy?” Harry asked, approaching his son.
“A train.” Alby said, focused completely on the legos.
Harry hummed and watched him work for a few minutes. At Least he could be there for one of his kids.
James went off to Hogwarts, sorted into Hufflepuff with his god brother Teddy and seemed as happy as could be. Neville was his head of house.
Time went on and before Harry knew it he’d been divorced for 6 months.
“Come to dinner with Wes and I.” Hermione insisted one night in late October.
“You know how I feel about leaving Alby, he needs consistency as much as possible.” Harry reasoned.
Hermione pouted, “what if we went somewhere with private rooms? He could bring some legos and just play.”
Harry considered it, he hadn’t been out to eat in close to a year. Leaving the house just seemed unnecessary. He preferred the home he had built, despite having to redo most of it after Ginny’s departure had sullied most of the house for him.
“I’ll ask him but if he says no, that’s final.” Harry punctuated with a finger.
“Perfect! I’ll call Romilda’s and get us the green room, Alby’s favorite.” Hermione kissed his cheek before turning to leave the store.
Harry sighed and went back to tending to the snakes.
“ Harry is in distress, I can taste it.” Said Phillip the blue garden snake.
“ Would you like a hug, Harry?” Hissed Barbara, the python who mothered him as much as Mrs Weasley.
“ Thank you, I’ll pass. I need to clean 3 more cages before the end of the day and aparently I have to go to dinner with my friend now.” He hissed in reply.
“ Oh is it Mione? The human who was just here? She smells like honey and books.” Little Abby hissed, she was one of Barbara’s babies, an albino python, very rare.
“ Yes it’s with Mione, who I love, I just don’t really want to go out for dinner tonight.” Harry reasoned, standing from his crouch and stretching his back.
“ Friends are important. Try to have fun.” Barbra hissed.
“ Yes ma’am.” He whisper-hissed before moving on to the moon calf pin.
The Pandora’s Box Beastiary had been Luna’s passion project after the war. The day after Harry quit the Aurors Luna was waiting for him in his kitchen with a cup of tea and a job. Not an offer, a job.
“I always pictured doing this with a partner, but it was never clear who. Then I woke up this morning and knew it was you. I supposed you quit the Aurors? Lovely. Shop opens in 20 minutes, you can wear that or would you like to change?”
As Harry had learned to do, he followed Luna’s lead. She had never steered him wrong. So many saw her as loopy or out of touch but Harry was sure if anyone on earth actually knew what they were doing, it was Luna Lovegood.
Harry loved their shop. They’d hired Rolf Scamander, grandson of the late and great Newt Scamander to redesign the whole space. It was now the size of the Hogwarts great hall. They currently had 43 species in the shop, almost all were rescue. They took every animal they were given, and once they were there the animals were given the best care possible. Charlie had gotten his mastery in magizoology after the war and commuted from Romania to care for all of their animals.
Kids were free to roam freely, any animals with violent tendencies or injuries had a collar on them that warded them from anyone under 18. It was everything Harry loved about magic. He didn’t know how he would have survived his divorce without it.
He found Alby in the back room that had been set up as a play room for the boys to stay in while Harry was working.
“Hey love, how’s the Pheonix coming?”
A week prior Albus had announced he was building a Pheonix for his next legos project.
“Wings.” Was all he said.
Harry hummed. “Aunt Mione wants us to go to dinner with her and Uncle Wes at a restaurant. We’ll have a private room and you can bring your legos. Wanna go?”
Albus stopped, looked at his dad with a scrunched face. Harry just stared back patiently waiting.
“Can I have cheese toastie?”
“Absolutely. I’ll make some before we go.” Harry said grinning.
“Okay.” Albus shrugged, staring to collect his legos.
Harry cast the normal traveling charms he used for them and lead Albus through the floo to their house. He quickly made a cheese toastie and packed it in the Lego lunch box Albus preferred.
One more floo trip found them waiting in a dim lit room at Romilda’s. It was swanky and a bit much in Harry’s opinion but they had the best pasta in England so Hermione went every chance she got.
“Harry!” She giggled, wrapping him in a hug. “I’m so proud of you.” She whispered.
He kissed the top of her head. It felt good to make someone proud. He couldn’t remember the last time it had happened.
Hermione crouched down to say hi to Albus and Harry turned to shake the large hand of her husband Wesley Zabini.
He still remembers the first time he had shook the mans hand and thought ‘ that must be the biggest hand I’ve ever held besides Hagrids’ , the man was an impressive 6’8 with chocolate skin and light blue eyes. He had broad sholders and hints of grey in his beard that only stood to make him more handsome.
The Zabini Heir who had been cast aside for Blaise on Wesley’s 6th birthday when he was officially diagnosed a squib. He’d been sent to muggle boarding school, and had never been spoken of in public.
But when Wesley turned 18 he bought a flat in Diagon Alley and got a job at Florish and Blotts where years later he met their most loyal customer, one Hermione Granger.
Their romance was fast, they just fell together and never seemed to come up for air. Within a year they were married. Over the years Hermione had been able to mediate a relationship between his mother and Wesley again and his mother actually gave him back his title. He was Lord Zabini, the first squib to have a lordship in over 400 years. When his mother dies, Hermione is in position to become the first muggleborn lady Lady in magical history.
Harry is just grateful that someone finally took over the lime light he’d been stuck in for most of his life. Hermione and Wesley were the ones on the front page of most issues. People didn’t ask for his autograph anymore. Infact once someone had asked for a picture and he assumed it was with him but then they went and stood next to Hermione. She’d just rolled her eyes while Harry couldn’t stop grinning for days.
“Busy day at the shop?” Wesley asked, his grip firm.
“Oh for sure, Nox should be giving birth any day now!” Harry said excitedly. His favorite Thestral was about to have her first child. It was going to be beautiful.
“Oh wow, magnificent creatures.” Wesley couldn’t see thestrals. Probably one of the only young adults in wizarding Britain who couldn't. Luna had shown him sketches of the skeleton horses and he had been amazed that it existed and was invisible to him.
Harry could go on for hours about Nox and Wesley often let him.
“Your table is ready, Lord Zabini.” The waiter called.
They got situated in the private room, Harry had set Alby up and ordered himself a grilled fish. He was sipping on a glass of elf wine and listening to Hermione and Wesley talk about their work days when his interest was peaked.
“Olivander wandered into the shop today. I had to call Drake.” Wesley said sighing.
Olivanders was next door to Florish and Blotts which was now a Zabini asset having bought the store a few years back.
“Oh dear,” Hermione sighed before turning to Harry, “he’s nearing 200 nowadays and his mind just isn’t what it once was… Drake insists that keeping the routine of working is helping him but sometimes I wonder…” she trailed off with a sad smile.
“He just gets confused. Heather Blotts had been his daughters best friend. The girls would run back and forth between the two shops during the day while their parents worked… so when he can’t find Claire, his daughter, he goes looking for her.” Wesley said with a shake of his head.
“That’s awful.” Harry whispered. “Where is his daughter?”
“Dead.” Hermione said with a wince. “She was a sick child, her core was very unstable. I think that’s why Olivander became a wand maker, he was fascinated with focusing raw magic and stabilizing it. I think he was trying to find a cure for Claire… but eventually she became too unstable. I think she was 16 or so when she died. His wife couldn’t take it and took her own life. Awful story, I’m sorry-“
“No no… I had no idea.” Harry said, leaned forward on his elbows hanging on to every word. “So he‘s having memory problems, what do wizards do for that?”
“I’m not sure, to be honest,” Hermione confessed, “I don’t think it’s a field that’s been explored too much… he takes potions but forgets them. I hate that he lives alone.”
“Drake would take him in, in a heart beat but Ollie could never leave the shop. Plus that flat is where Claire grew up. I think taking those memories away from him would be cruel.”
“Who is this Drake?” Harry asked, swirling his wine in consideration. He loved a project, someone to help. He was already brainstorming ideas for Olivander.
Wesley cocked his head, “what do you mean? You know Drake, you all were the same year at Hogwarts.”
“Drake Drake…” Harry mulled the name over in his head. “Not that I can recall, no, what house was he, Mione? … Mione?” He narrowed his eyes.
Hermione was blushing. Which meant Hermione was lying. Or she was about to lie considering she was looking anywhere but me.
“Oh Slytherin if I recall.” She said with a shrug.
“He was my brothers best friend, surely you remember Drake.” Wesley said taking another sip.
Harry choked on his wine. Blaise’s best mate had been none other thank Draco Malfoy. But that couldn’t be who they were talking about… surely?
“Erm - Mione? Care to explain?” He asked eyes wide, fixed on her.
She huffed, “see this is why I never said anything. I knew you would make a big deal out of being friends with Draco-“
“ FRIENDS?” Harry squeeked.
“Yes Harry! Alright friends. I’m friends with Draco Malfoy who anyone who’s known him since he was a baby, calls him Drake, that’s what his mom calls him and maybe I used it as a way to not have this happen.”
“What do you mean by this?” Harry asked crossing his arms.
She shot him a very pointed glare. “ This as in this thing that you do any and every time Draco is involved.”
Harry rolled his eyes “that’s absurd I don’t do a thing .”
“Harry you’ve shown more expression and interest in something for the last 3 minutes than you have the last 10 months. Look at how shocked Wesley is!” She gestured and Harry followed it to notice she was right.
Wesley was looking at him like he’d grown three heads. Which he wouldn’t totally mind because maybe that would be enough brain to figure out what on earth was going on.
“This is absurd. How did this happen? What is Draco doing with Ollivander?” Harry asked, his leg bouncing with anticipation.
“He’s Olivander’s apprentice.” Hermione said sipping her wine.
“He’s what?!” Harry exclaimed.
“Help me out here.” Wesley said looking to his wife, face full of confusion.
She simply waved him off, “just let him tire himself out - trust me - I’ve been doing this for close to 20 years now.”
Harry narrowed his eyes. “I’m not overreacting.”
She laughed, “no I guess it wouldn’t be considered over reacting considering the topic is Malfoy.”
“Exactly, the idea of Draco being friends with you is the part worth overreacting too.” Harry said, huffing.
“No Harry it really isn’t - look.” She set her glass down, “Drake has changed a lot since Hogwarts. I say this not to annoy you but you don’t even know who he is anymore.”
“Oh trust me I know exactly who Draco Malfoy is.” Harry argued.
She sighed sitting back in her chair with a shake of her head.
“How could he be Ollivander’s apprentice? When I took Jamie to get his wand I didn’t see him there.” Harry reasoned.
Hermione shrugged. “He mostly works behind the scenes. He spends a lot of time in the basement harvesting the materials for Ollie. He really only works the desks on the bad days when Ollie can’t seem to grasp reality.”
Harry sat back in his chair shaking his head incredulously. “I can’t believe you just… how is it possible that…”
“He has a son.”
“WHAT.”
“Sweet Salazar.” Wes said with a wince.
Hermione laughed, “I figured I’d just get it over with.” She patted her husband's hand. “Yes Harry, Drake has a son, Scorpius Malfoy. We call him scorp. He’s actually a year younger than Alby.”
Harry was shocked and silent. A father. A wand maker. A friend of Hermione’s. None of it meshed with the idea of who Draco Malfoy was. And that irked him but more than anything the driving force of his irritation was the possibility that somehow, despite it being 10 years since seeing the man, it was possible that Harry didn’t know who Malfoy was or what he was up to.
The man was a constant in his life. He was supposed to stay predictable. He was supposed to be the petty enemy of Harry’s life story but here he’d gone and mucked it all up turning his life around and changing his character. It was unsettling and Harry found himself shifting in his seat as if the idea of Malfoy being anything but a spoiled prat was making him physically uncomfortable.
“I don’t like this.” He said finally.
Hermione narrowed her eyes taking in her best friends body language. After 20 years she thought herself the expert on the one and only Harry James Potter.
She predicted he would throw a ‘fit’ and she predicted he would be dramatic but this lingering uncomfy feeling was not something she had guessed would happen. She wasn’t totally sure what was causing it but she wanted to explore it.
“We should have dinner. Let the boys meet. I think Scorp could be a good friend for Albus and with Jamie off at school it would be good for Albus to have a child around him regularly.”
Harry was instantly against the idea of exposing his son to someone new but another part of him was screaming YES at the idea of getting to see this new and improved Draco Malfoy.
“I dunno Mione.” He said, pushing his glasses up to rub at his eyes.
“I’ve actually been considering asking you to meet with him. I’ve observed some behaviors of Scorpius’s that make me think he might be autistic like Albus. You’ve said before that it’s a spectrum of abilities and no two kids are the same but from what I’ve read up on autism, I think Scorpius should be assessed. I don’t think Draco has any idea what Autism is and I thought it might sound better coming from a parent as well as someone who had personal experience.” Wesley said calmly.
Hermione cocked her head, “really? You hadn’t mentioned this to me.”
“Well to be perfectly honest I only thought of it the other day when I saw Scorpius stimming. It was a fleeting thought and then I got distracted with a customer. I would have probabaly thought of it again and brought it up to you but I just hadn’t yet.”
“Understandable.”
“A lot of people stim. That doesn’t mean he’s autistic.” Harry said, completely side tracked by the new topic.
When Albus had been diagnosed at 2 years old he’d thrown himself into the autism community. He’d wanted to learn everything he could about how his son’s mind worked. It was then that Luna had very calmly explained that he already knew someone who was autistic. It was her. They’d had a long conversation about how all these mannerisms and preferences that Harry had always associated as “Luna being Luna” were actually her autistic traits. And how magical creatures were her special interest. And how she never wore shoes because she hated socks. Or how her clothes never matched bc she always put an outfit together based on texture and not color. And how she counted her fingers was a stim.
He thought himself an advocate and would happily go up against anyone or anything that sought to treat differently abled individuals as less. He was big on educating people about what autism really was in hopes that by the time his son was an adult there would be less of a stigma around the condition.
“Of course. It was just one of the several things I’ve noticed but never really put together until I saw the stimming which was a larger indication in my eyes.” Wes reasoned.
Harry hummed in acknowledgment. “Well if you really think I could help Malfoy and his son at all, that’s all that matters to me. By gones be by gones and all that.” He waved his hand. “Let’s set up a dinner, but maybe find a way to have it at Malfoy’s place? Assuming he’s not still at the manor? That way Scorp can be in his safe environment when he’s introduced to a bunch of new people?”
Hermione nodded, “good plan. And no, they have a cottage in Green Hollow. The village across the way from Diagon. Lovely place.”
“Which you’ve been to.” Harry jumped on the piece of information, quickly jumping back to his fascination with Hermione’s new ‘friend’.
“Yes I’ve been there.” She sighed, her head falling back in exasperation.
“What’s it like?” Harry asked leaning forward.
“She rolled her eyes. Well the living room is quite quaint. My favorite feature is that I’ve never bleed on the hard wood floors. Does that satisfy your curiosity?”
Harry felt properly chastised. “Sorry Mione. I’ll keep an open mind, I promise.”
She nodded, “see that you do.”