A Love So Belated
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
44
Views:
46,683
Reviews:
358
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
44
Views:
46,683
Reviews:
358
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
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 32: Be Nice
Chapter Number/Total: 32/44
Chapter Title: Be Nice
Words: 2111 Words
Harry watched happily as Teddy played on the floor with Draco, rolling his car around and throwing his various stuffed toys, along with some that were not so stuffed. He caught a rather heavy feeling toy horse as it hurtled through the air, headed straight for a glass flowerpot. "Merlin, that kid's got an arm," he remarked, tossing the horse back.
Draco rolled his eyes, lying back on the floor as the boy piled toys on his chest. "We may have to put Cushioning Charms on everything in the house."
Harry laughed. "Probably," he said, watching Teddy. The little boy crawled over to them and put one of the stuffed animals on Draco's forehead.
"I have a hippogriff on my head," Draco drawled at the child.
Teddy laughed and took the opportunity to pile more toys on Draco's face, no matter that they just fell off again.
Draco closed his eyes, face scrunched up, but didn't protest.
Harry chuckled, lifting Teddy into his arms to tickle him. Teddy giggled loudly, batting at Harry's face excitedly.
Draco smiled up at his lover and the child. He laughed but tried not to move all the toys. "He's dangerous when he gets worked up," he said.
"Which one of us are you talking about?" Harry asked, waggling his eyebrows.
Draco laughed harder, several toys falling around him. "Both."
Harry snorted, setting Teddy back on the floor. The baby crawled over and began pushing the toys off of Draco.
"Am I to be freed now?" the blond asked the child, arching an eyebrow.
Teddy mumbled a string of unintelligible words, pushing more of the toys away.
Harry laid on the floor too, watching with his head propped up on his arm. No sooner had he laid down though, did he hear a faint knocking sound. Someone was at the door. He sat up and frowned, knowing that whoever it was probably didn't have anything nice to say to him.
Draco frowned, too. He had been enjoying their peaceful day with Teddy. He didn't want any more screaming, especially not in front of the boy.
Harry sighed, pushing himself to his feet. "Be right back," he said, leaving the room and moving down the hall. He opened the door and swung it inward.
"Safe to come in today?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
Harry blushed but was relieved. "Yeah," he said, closing the door behind her. "Teddy's here."
That brought a smile to her face.
"So is Draco."
The smile slipped a little, but she looked almost amused. "I thought he would be."
Harry sighed and shrugged, waiting for her to take off her coat before walking with her to the sitting room where Draco and Teddy were still playing.
Teddy had climbed on top of Draco and was sitting on his chest, pulling the blond's lower lip.
Hermione's amused smile grew and she raised her eyebrows. "Hi," she said to Draco, and waved to Teddy as well.
Teddy smiled to show his teeth.
Draco reached up and gently pried the child's fingers off of his lip so he could speak. "Hello," he managed, rolling his eyes.
She shook her head, taking a seat in an armchair.
"What's up?" Harry asked, feeling like he could probably guess. He sat on the sofa, Draco and Teddy at his feet.
"Ron," said Hermione, raising both her eyebrows.
Draco tried not to snort.
Harry sighed again. "I figured as much," he said. "Come running to you as soon as he left here?"
She nodded. "He's really upset, you know."
Harry did snort.
"He is," Hermione insisted.
"Yeah, he was 'upset' when he left here," said Harry, rolling his eyes and leaning back into the cushions.
Draco forced himself to keep his mouth shut, the effort leaving his lips pressed into a tight line. He picked up the toy car and began rolling it on Teddy's leg to distract him from the conversation.
"Well, Harry, you did cheat on his sister," Hermione quietly reminded him in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
Harry snorted again. "Yeah, and he was prepared to forgive me for that one, was even sympathising. But when he found out who I'd cheated on Ginny with all sympathy was gone."
She sighed. "Why did you tell him anyway?" she asked. "Ginny didn't."
"Would you rather I lied to him?" Harry countered, raising his eyebrows.
"No," she sighed.
Harry smiled at Draco, but it didn't last long as he looked back to Hermione. "Well, I told him the truth and he's being completely mental about it."
Hermione sighed once again. "Did you really think he would take it any differently?"
"No," Harry answered. "But what really gets me is that all he cares about is that it's Draco."
Draco decided his ribs would crack if he let the boy bounce on them any more. He sat up and put Teddy on the ground beside him, shaking one of the toys to distract the boy from grabbing his hair again.
"No," said Hermione. "He does care about what happened to Ginny, but he was prepared to overlook that because she was acting like she wasn't bothered by it. You know how she is." She frowned sadly, shrugging a bit.
Harry winced, nodding.
"Anyway," said Hermione. "I'm supposed to be over here getting his cloak. He left it."
Harry rolled his eyes. "He can't even come over here to get his cloak?"
"You know how he is, too," Hermione replied. "It's going to take him a bit. I'm trying to talk to him."
"He'll probably never talk to me again," Harry groaned, not meaning to sound miserable but he couldn't really help it. Ron was his best mate, after all.
"Yes he will," Hermione said reassuringly. "It's just, well, your news was a bit ... much."
Harry huffed, but didn't protest because he knew that she was right.
She sighed and sat back and they were silent for a few moments. "He will come around. He just needs a little time."
"Yeah," Harry said, unconvinced.
"Harry," Draco spoke up from his place on the floor. Teddy was climbing him at the moment. "She's right. Give him time."
Hermione looked over at Draco. "Were you here yesterday?" she asked. "When he came over?"
Draco looked to Harry to see if he should answer. They hadn't told anyone he was living there yet.
Harry huffed again, leaning back like Hermione. He didn't see any point in hiding the truth. "He lives here now."
Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You've already moved in together? How long have you even been ... dating?"
Teddy took a hold of Draco's hair with both hands and yanked. "Oww," Draco complained, reaching up a hand to massage his violated scalp.
"Teddy," Harry chided gently, bending over to pry little fingers away. "Don't pull hair. Be nice." He sat back again. "Since November," he answered Hermione. "I asked him to move in on Christmas."
Hermione still looked surprised. "Oh," she said.
Another short period of silence passed.
"So, you're dating Draco Malfoy and you live with him," she mused. "Not that, you know, I have any particular qualms about it - it's just, well, not something I thought I would ever say."
Draco smirked. "Surprised me, too," he said, looking up at her.
"What? Harry was the one to ... initiate?" she asked, raising eyebrows again.
Harry flushed slightly. "Not like you would think."
Draco's smirk grew as he fought a massive grin. "Kissing me didn't count?" he asked his lover.
Harry looked at Draco and gave him an eye roll with no real heat behind it.
"I just ... didn't know you liked men," said Hermione quietly, looking at Harry. "I didn't know you did either," she added to Draco.
"Among my faults, bragging about my intimate experiences was never one of them," Draco drawled. "And it isn't likely to go over well with my father."
"Does your mum know?" Hermione asked. "Well, I suppose she must if you're living over here."
"Yes, well, Harry visited the Manor quite a bit before, so she figured that part out before I told her about moving," Draco admitted.
"Ah," said Hermione with a short nod. "I'm not going to lie," she continued after a moment. "This is very strange."
Harry shrugged.
Hermione gave him one of her looks. "I'll talk to him, Harry," she said. "And I am glad you finally told her. She needed to know."
"I know," said Harry quietly.
Draco nodded. He was happier with Harry having confessed, but probably for different reasons than the others. It meant he no longer had to share Harry with Ginny.
"Well," said Hermione in a tone of finality, "I guess I better get him his cloak. I know he's sitting and counting the minutes. And I don't want to bother you."
"Okay, but, Hermione?" said Harry.
"Hm?"
"Is she okay?"
She gave him a sad smile. "She's going back to school on Monday."
"Yeah, I know," Harry nodded, not really getting the answer he wanted. He gave Hermione a look, prodding for her to continue.
"Well," Hermione said slowly, catching the hint. "She's hurt. You know that already. And she's angry because you lied, and she doesn't understand why you're with a man."
Harry sighed.
"I think she'll come around too, though," Hermione finished quietly, standing up and patting his leg.
"Do they all know?" he asked.
"Ginny hasn't told anyone," said Hermione. "I only told her I knew already and that's why she talked to me. She doesn't even know Ron knows."
"So he didn't tell anyone?"
"He wanted to," she answered. "But I talked him down."
Harry was relieved. "Thank you," he said. "If he would have told them now-"
"He would've made it sound a lot worse than it really was," she finished for him. "I know."
"I think someone needs a nap," Draco spoke up, rocking a suddenly whiny baby. "We should probably put him in his cot." He paused. "Granger?"
She looked down at him. "Yes?"
"I know your friendship means a lot to Harry," he said sincerely. "Thank you for coming over."
"Well," she said with a small surprised smile, "no thanks needed. His friendship is important to me, too."
Harry gave her a small smile as well, getting to his feet. "Walk you to the door?" he offered.
She nodded. "I suppose I'll see you around," she said to Draco, raising an eyebrow.
Draco nodded, still rocking the boy who was falling asleep in his arms.
She gave him a genuine smile before walking with Harry to the door, taking her coat and Ron's cloak. "Well, Harry," she said. "I wish you would have told her in the first place."
"I know," he said. "Me too."
She nodded, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. "Be seeing you."
"See you," Harry agreed, opening the door for her. He walked back to the sitting room when she was gone, seeing that Teddy had fallen asleep, his hair a very deep blue again.
"Want to put him in the cot?" Draco asked from where he sat with the boy.
Harry nodded, smiling as he bent down to gather Teddy into his arms. He walked carefully across the room, lying the baby inside his cot and hoping he didn't wake. He did stir a little, opening his eyes and raising his head before flipping around and going right back to sleep.
Draco got up off the floor, stepping over the toys strewn everywhere and making his way over to Harry.
"He's out," Harry said quietly, staring down at the little boy.
Draco wrapped an arm around his lover's waist. "He looks so different when he is asleep. You would never guess the mischief he gets up to by looking at him now," he whispered.
Harry chuckled. "I know," he agreed, taking hold of Draco's arm. "He's a right little monster sometimes."
Draco grinned and turned his head toward his lover. "I guess so am I," he teased, whispering in Harry's ear and nipping at the lobe.
"Ooh, but you're a good kind of monster," Harry grinned. A shiver went through him as he felt Draco's breath on his skin.
"How long do you figure he will sleep?" Draco asked, moving his lips and teeth down to graze on Harry's neck.
"Are you suggesting something?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow as he tilted his head to the side. His heart began to beat a little faster.
Draco sucked on Harry's neck for a minute before lifting his head. "I figure we have at least an hour," he said, grinning.
Harry smiled back. "I reckon I would agree."
Chapter Title: Be Nice
Words: 2111 Words
Harry watched happily as Teddy played on the floor with Draco, rolling his car around and throwing his various stuffed toys, along with some that were not so stuffed. He caught a rather heavy feeling toy horse as it hurtled through the air, headed straight for a glass flowerpot. "Merlin, that kid's got an arm," he remarked, tossing the horse back.
Draco rolled his eyes, lying back on the floor as the boy piled toys on his chest. "We may have to put Cushioning Charms on everything in the house."
Harry laughed. "Probably," he said, watching Teddy. The little boy crawled over to them and put one of the stuffed animals on Draco's forehead.
"I have a hippogriff on my head," Draco drawled at the child.
Teddy laughed and took the opportunity to pile more toys on Draco's face, no matter that they just fell off again.
Draco closed his eyes, face scrunched up, but didn't protest.
Harry chuckled, lifting Teddy into his arms to tickle him. Teddy giggled loudly, batting at Harry's face excitedly.
Draco smiled up at his lover and the child. He laughed but tried not to move all the toys. "He's dangerous when he gets worked up," he said.
"Which one of us are you talking about?" Harry asked, waggling his eyebrows.
Draco laughed harder, several toys falling around him. "Both."
Harry snorted, setting Teddy back on the floor. The baby crawled over and began pushing the toys off of Draco.
"Am I to be freed now?" the blond asked the child, arching an eyebrow.
Teddy mumbled a string of unintelligible words, pushing more of the toys away.
Harry laid on the floor too, watching with his head propped up on his arm. No sooner had he laid down though, did he hear a faint knocking sound. Someone was at the door. He sat up and frowned, knowing that whoever it was probably didn't have anything nice to say to him.
Draco frowned, too. He had been enjoying their peaceful day with Teddy. He didn't want any more screaming, especially not in front of the boy.
Harry sighed, pushing himself to his feet. "Be right back," he said, leaving the room and moving down the hall. He opened the door and swung it inward.
"Safe to come in today?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.
Harry blushed but was relieved. "Yeah," he said, closing the door behind her. "Teddy's here."
That brought a smile to her face.
"So is Draco."
The smile slipped a little, but she looked almost amused. "I thought he would be."
Harry sighed and shrugged, waiting for her to take off her coat before walking with her to the sitting room where Draco and Teddy were still playing.
Teddy had climbed on top of Draco and was sitting on his chest, pulling the blond's lower lip.
Hermione's amused smile grew and she raised her eyebrows. "Hi," she said to Draco, and waved to Teddy as well.
Teddy smiled to show his teeth.
Draco reached up and gently pried the child's fingers off of his lip so he could speak. "Hello," he managed, rolling his eyes.
She shook her head, taking a seat in an armchair.
"What's up?" Harry asked, feeling like he could probably guess. He sat on the sofa, Draco and Teddy at his feet.
"Ron," said Hermione, raising both her eyebrows.
Draco tried not to snort.
Harry sighed again. "I figured as much," he said. "Come running to you as soon as he left here?"
She nodded. "He's really upset, you know."
Harry did snort.
"He is," Hermione insisted.
"Yeah, he was 'upset' when he left here," said Harry, rolling his eyes and leaning back into the cushions.
Draco forced himself to keep his mouth shut, the effort leaving his lips pressed into a tight line. He picked up the toy car and began rolling it on Teddy's leg to distract him from the conversation.
"Well, Harry, you did cheat on his sister," Hermione quietly reminded him in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
Harry snorted again. "Yeah, and he was prepared to forgive me for that one, was even sympathising. But when he found out who I'd cheated on Ginny with all sympathy was gone."
She sighed. "Why did you tell him anyway?" she asked. "Ginny didn't."
"Would you rather I lied to him?" Harry countered, raising his eyebrows.
"No," she sighed.
Harry smiled at Draco, but it didn't last long as he looked back to Hermione. "Well, I told him the truth and he's being completely mental about it."
Hermione sighed once again. "Did you really think he would take it any differently?"
"No," Harry answered. "But what really gets me is that all he cares about is that it's Draco."
Draco decided his ribs would crack if he let the boy bounce on them any more. He sat up and put Teddy on the ground beside him, shaking one of the toys to distract the boy from grabbing his hair again.
"No," said Hermione. "He does care about what happened to Ginny, but he was prepared to overlook that because she was acting like she wasn't bothered by it. You know how she is." She frowned sadly, shrugging a bit.
Harry winced, nodding.
"Anyway," said Hermione. "I'm supposed to be over here getting his cloak. He left it."
Harry rolled his eyes. "He can't even come over here to get his cloak?"
"You know how he is, too," Hermione replied. "It's going to take him a bit. I'm trying to talk to him."
"He'll probably never talk to me again," Harry groaned, not meaning to sound miserable but he couldn't really help it. Ron was his best mate, after all.
"Yes he will," Hermione said reassuringly. "It's just, well, your news was a bit ... much."
Harry huffed, but didn't protest because he knew that she was right.
She sighed and sat back and they were silent for a few moments. "He will come around. He just needs a little time."
"Yeah," Harry said, unconvinced.
"Harry," Draco spoke up from his place on the floor. Teddy was climbing him at the moment. "She's right. Give him time."
Hermione looked over at Draco. "Were you here yesterday?" she asked. "When he came over?"
Draco looked to Harry to see if he should answer. They hadn't told anyone he was living there yet.
Harry huffed again, leaning back like Hermione. He didn't see any point in hiding the truth. "He lives here now."
Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You've already moved in together? How long have you even been ... dating?"
Teddy took a hold of Draco's hair with both hands and yanked. "Oww," Draco complained, reaching up a hand to massage his violated scalp.
"Teddy," Harry chided gently, bending over to pry little fingers away. "Don't pull hair. Be nice." He sat back again. "Since November," he answered Hermione. "I asked him to move in on Christmas."
Hermione still looked surprised. "Oh," she said.
Another short period of silence passed.
"So, you're dating Draco Malfoy and you live with him," she mused. "Not that, you know, I have any particular qualms about it - it's just, well, not something I thought I would ever say."
Draco smirked. "Surprised me, too," he said, looking up at her.
"What? Harry was the one to ... initiate?" she asked, raising eyebrows again.
Harry flushed slightly. "Not like you would think."
Draco's smirk grew as he fought a massive grin. "Kissing me didn't count?" he asked his lover.
Harry looked at Draco and gave him an eye roll with no real heat behind it.
"I just ... didn't know you liked men," said Hermione quietly, looking at Harry. "I didn't know you did either," she added to Draco.
"Among my faults, bragging about my intimate experiences was never one of them," Draco drawled. "And it isn't likely to go over well with my father."
"Does your mum know?" Hermione asked. "Well, I suppose she must if you're living over here."
"Yes, well, Harry visited the Manor quite a bit before, so she figured that part out before I told her about moving," Draco admitted.
"Ah," said Hermione with a short nod. "I'm not going to lie," she continued after a moment. "This is very strange."
Harry shrugged.
Hermione gave him one of her looks. "I'll talk to him, Harry," she said. "And I am glad you finally told her. She needed to know."
"I know," said Harry quietly.
Draco nodded. He was happier with Harry having confessed, but probably for different reasons than the others. It meant he no longer had to share Harry with Ginny.
"Well," said Hermione in a tone of finality, "I guess I better get him his cloak. I know he's sitting and counting the minutes. And I don't want to bother you."
"Okay, but, Hermione?" said Harry.
"Hm?"
"Is she okay?"
She gave him a sad smile. "She's going back to school on Monday."
"Yeah, I know," Harry nodded, not really getting the answer he wanted. He gave Hermione a look, prodding for her to continue.
"Well," Hermione said slowly, catching the hint. "She's hurt. You know that already. And she's angry because you lied, and she doesn't understand why you're with a man."
Harry sighed.
"I think she'll come around too, though," Hermione finished quietly, standing up and patting his leg.
"Do they all know?" he asked.
"Ginny hasn't told anyone," said Hermione. "I only told her I knew already and that's why she talked to me. She doesn't even know Ron knows."
"So he didn't tell anyone?"
"He wanted to," she answered. "But I talked him down."
Harry was relieved. "Thank you," he said. "If he would have told them now-"
"He would've made it sound a lot worse than it really was," she finished for him. "I know."
"I think someone needs a nap," Draco spoke up, rocking a suddenly whiny baby. "We should probably put him in his cot." He paused. "Granger?"
She looked down at him. "Yes?"
"I know your friendship means a lot to Harry," he said sincerely. "Thank you for coming over."
"Well," she said with a small surprised smile, "no thanks needed. His friendship is important to me, too."
Harry gave her a small smile as well, getting to his feet. "Walk you to the door?" he offered.
She nodded. "I suppose I'll see you around," she said to Draco, raising an eyebrow.
Draco nodded, still rocking the boy who was falling asleep in his arms.
She gave him a genuine smile before walking with Harry to the door, taking her coat and Ron's cloak. "Well, Harry," she said. "I wish you would have told her in the first place."
"I know," he said. "Me too."
She nodded, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. "Be seeing you."
"See you," Harry agreed, opening the door for her. He walked back to the sitting room when she was gone, seeing that Teddy had fallen asleep, his hair a very deep blue again.
"Want to put him in the cot?" Draco asked from where he sat with the boy.
Harry nodded, smiling as he bent down to gather Teddy into his arms. He walked carefully across the room, lying the baby inside his cot and hoping he didn't wake. He did stir a little, opening his eyes and raising his head before flipping around and going right back to sleep.
Draco got up off the floor, stepping over the toys strewn everywhere and making his way over to Harry.
"He's out," Harry said quietly, staring down at the little boy.
Draco wrapped an arm around his lover's waist. "He looks so different when he is asleep. You would never guess the mischief he gets up to by looking at him now," he whispered.
Harry chuckled. "I know," he agreed, taking hold of Draco's arm. "He's a right little monster sometimes."
Draco grinned and turned his head toward his lover. "I guess so am I," he teased, whispering in Harry's ear and nipping at the lobe.
"Ooh, but you're a good kind of monster," Harry grinned. A shiver went through him as he felt Draco's breath on his skin.
"How long do you figure he will sleep?" Draco asked, moving his lips and teeth down to graze on Harry's neck.
"Are you suggesting something?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow as he tilted his head to the side. His heart began to beat a little faster.
Draco sucked on Harry's neck for a minute before lifting his head. "I figure we have at least an hour," he said, grinning.
Harry smiled back. "I reckon I would agree."