The Office

DISCLAIMER: Warning! I make no claim to any property of J.K. Rowling's, and am in no way profiting by this. I do offer her my sincerest thanks for allowing us this garden of the mind in which we play. Further Warning! This story...and likely any I ever write…are dominated by gay themes and characters. That's how it is, if this in any way makes you uncomfortable...do not read further.

Author’s Note: This chapter is dedicated to Thrnbrooke, who has faithfully reviewed so many fics with kindness and cheer J Thank you, Thorny!!


The Office-Part 5...by Samayel

It hadn’t been an easy time, these past few months, but Harry couldn’t really complain. The holidays had come around and Ginny had graciously made sure that Harry got plenty of time with Jamie and Lily. Draco had been busy making Cissy comfortable at the manor before her first year at Hogwarts, as well as making sure that her inheritance was in proper order. As it turned out, even Pansy’s insane largesse hadn’t managed to destroy the fortune she’d assumed control of, and Cissy had a very large inheritance remaining, of which Draco was now the executor.

Draco had been lavishing attention upon his daughter, who had at first been too shocked and quiet to express grief properly. She barely knew her father, but certainly seemed to like him well enough despite having only seen him for a few hours at a time over the past decade. Cissy was a pale and wistful little girl, with blonde hair and eyes like ice. Harry had only really seen her at the Ministry that first day, but his first impression had been a fair one. She was comfortable in an environment of wealth and class, but it hadn’t gone entirely to her head, and she appeared to be as social and even tempered as any child of her age. This left plenty of room for modest tantrums, since the average eleven year old is a fairly mercurial creature, but Draco was coping fairly well, even without the soft veil that alcohol could bring.

There had been shrieks of complaint from Pansy’s long widowed mother, and there had been an inevitable court appearance before Ministry arbiters, who ultimately found in Draco’s favor. This came about primarily because the Widow Parkinson went mad in the arbitration chamber, firing several Dark curses and at least one Unforgivable before she was Stunned and carried off by the staff. No one could say with any certainty why she had gone insane at that moment, but Harry, who had been there and had shielded Draco from her attack, understood the subtle reason for her antagonism. Draco had listened calmly to her initial snide comments, then stamped his foot twice and whickered. In the chaos that followed, no one cared to ask what that might have meant, but the widow Parkinson had certainly known…and that was that…Draco was a father again.

It had been strange in other ways as well. Ginny had been downright reasonable when they’d spoken about certain things. There were realities that had to be dealt with…and some of them were not things Harry had initially imagined when he’d made up his mind to at least try dating Draco Malfoy. It was all well and good to try dating a bloke, especially since the bloke was really decent at heart and good to be around now that he wasn’t jealous as hell and drunk to boot. It was all well and good, but people that mattered to him, especially Ginny, had a right to know what was going on. Anything that had a potential impact on his children was, by default, Ginny’s business as well as his own, and Harry had made up his mind to keep no secrets.

This was bound to become common knowledge eventually, and the press had already hinted at it more than a few times, but until a few months ago, Harry had been able to say with perfect honesty that he and Draco were no more than friends. This was no longer true, and Harry wasn’t much given to lying.

Admittedly, a case could be made that they weren’t lovers…since that term implied a level of intimacy that they hadn’t yet achieved, but still, when blokes snogged, it meant something!

It wasn’t really that different from snogging a woman. It was certainly heartfelt, and Harry could look back at those moments and say that they hadn’t repulsed him at all…quite the opposite in fact. In the aftermath of each of their kisses, when they’d had the leisure and privacy for more than a peck on the cheek, Harry had to admit that he’d been as ‘excited’ as he’d been for anyone else he’d ever cared about, and perhaps even a bit more than most. He was attracted to Draco, the way he’d once been attracted to Ginny, and Cho, and Luna, and while it was still very new and slightly unnerving…he wasn’t the least bit discontented.

Of course, there really hadn’t been time for any more than that, since they’d both been terribly busy, and weighed down by family obligations, for the past few months. The notion of actually being confronted with male genitalia was still a bit rattling, but given that they’d been dating when they could, and things were moving very slowly, Harry felt confident that he wouldn’t have to deal with that for awhile yet.

Ginny had only shook her head in amazement when Harry had explained the nature of his friendship with Draco. She’d been reasonable, but Harry suspected that she still didn’t completely believe him.

“If it were anyone but you, Harry Potter, I’d know they were taking the piss like my idiot brothers! Draco…Malfoy? I should have known that two people who acted like they hated each other for that long…must have been holding back something! I’ll…I can take your word for it, but I assume you’re telling me this for a reason.”

“Well…yeah. You’re the mother of my children. You have a right to know these things. Believe me…it isn’t anything I planned, but anything that might eventually involve Jamie and Lily involves you by default. I figured we needed to decide what’s appropriate for them to know…and what isn’t.”

Ginny smirked outrageously, then planted her hands on her hips in a frighteningly similar gesture to her mother’s habits.

“Harry Potter, the press has been calling you Draco’s new beau for most of a year. Do you think the kids went to school in a vacuum? Anyone who doesn’t know you’re dating Draco has been hiding under a rock or on top of a mountain! Granted, I just assumed it was all the usual nonsense, but the only thing left that the children could accidentally learn is what positions you two are in when you shag…and as long as they don’t know anything like that…we’ll be fine.”

“But…are you telling me they already know?! Why haven’t they said anything? Why haven’t you? I’ve been trying to keep this under wraps for months! Don’t tell me that everyone knew about this except me!”

“Not as such, Harry, but get real. You went to an opera with him! You don’t even like opera. You’ve cooked dinners for him, for Merlin‘s sake! It would have been more subtle if you’d just blown each other on the steps of the Ministry! We knew it was either happening or about to happen months ago. The kids asked about it as soon as they got home, and I just told them that the press is full of silly people, and even if it was true, it didn’t matter one way or another. People like who they like, and that’s all there is to it. Their father would tell them if there was anything they needed to know, and I’m assuming they were just too happy to see you to pester you with any hard questions.”

“Fuck me…”

“I have…it was pretty good. Good enough to make two kids at least. So…are you two a real item yet, or are you flitting about the edges of it like you usually do before diving in?”

“No! Nothing like that! We haven’t done anything…except a bit of snogging here and there. The kids were about…ours and his…and you know we wouldn’t do anything like that in front of them! You’re okay with this? Really?”

“Gods, Harry! It isn’t like there weren’t gay kids at Hogwarts when we were there! These are different times. No one cares about that kind of thing as long as you’re reasonably discreet and gentlemen about the whole thing. If Malfoy floats your boat…sail him to shore already.”

“There were gay students at Hogwarts?! Who? I mean…I’m sure there were, but I never heard about all this!”

“Duh! You couldn’t spot Colin? You have no gaydar at all, do you? That boy was like a vacuum for cocks after his fourth year! And your hero Oliver Wood! You think that rivalry he had with Flint was for real? They had a standing bet that the winner had to bottom the night after the game. Why else do you think Wood practiced so hard? It was his ass on the line…literally!”

“Well Sweet Fuck All! No one told me! Stap me fucking vitals…Oliver…and Flint! It’s a deal. The kids won’t see or hear anything they shouldn’t, but you’d be okay if Draco and Cissy joined me and the kids for the annual trip to Diagon Alley? It’s just…I take them every year, and Draco is taking Cissy for the first time, and he’s a bit stressed out. I just thought I’d be nearby for moral support.”

“Just because I think he’s a bit of a prat, it doesn’t mean I don’t trust you. I know perfectly well that you look after Jamie and Lily just as carefully as you always did. Go on then!”

And that had been that. All in all, Harry was more than a little bemused by the twists and turns his life had taken this past year, but he couldn’t honestly complain. Ron and Hermione had reacted similarly, although Ron had spent a lot of time staring helplessly into his glass of beer and muttering about Harry finally going ‘round the twist. Still, no one had said a single harsh word over the entire matter, and that had to count for something.

The Floo flared bright green, and Draco stumbled out hurriedly, dusting off his clothing quickly before turning to Harry with a wild eyed look of panic.

“Harry! Help! I think I need a drink…so I came here first. It’s…it’s been a tough day.”

Harry stood up from his chair and greeted his clearly stressed out, sort-of lover with a kiss and a hug.

“Let me grab some tea then. Is Cissy alright? We’re on for Diagon Alley, by the way, but what happened? You look rattled.”

Draco paced nervously, throwing off his coat and strolling back and forth in front of the fireplace while he wrung his hands.

“Cissy is fine. She’s in bed. The house-elves know to keep tabs on things if I step out now. Just…you know…this parenting thing is a bit harder than I’d imagined. There are…permutations…ramifications…situations I couldn’t…who could imagine these things?! Too much! Too much! It was…it was horrible!”

Harry carried over a cup of soothing tea, handing it off to Draco, who gulped it down like a man who’d spent a week in the desert.

“Good God, Draco. Calm down and breathe deep. What happened?”

“Harry…Harry. We…Cissy and I…we went…shopping…”

“Yeah? I’d have thought you’d have loved that. I know you love Cissy, and you think shopping is a competitive sport as well as a form of exercise. How bad could it have been?”

Draco looked at Harry with eyes that seemed haunted, the look on his face like that of a man who had stared into the very abyss of hell itself.

“You don’t understand…we went shopping…”

“Yeah? So?”

“…for training bras.”

Harry suddenly flinched. The thought hadn’t even occurred to him. Ginny must have taken Lily shopping for things like that. Harry had been blissfully out of the mix. Poor Draco had just been dragged headlong into a world where angels, and fathers, feared to tread.

“Oh…oh, damn. Let me get you another cup of tea!”

Draco flopped into place on Harry’s couch, rubbing his temples and handing over his cup.

“It was horrible, Harry. Horrible. No father should have to endure something like that. I’m not cut out for it. What do you say to the little girl you remember, when she asks if it flatters her figure? What do you say?! My baby is beautiful! Boys will look at her! Not just look…you know…look! I’ll…I’ll put a curse on it! One that will blind them if they stare for more than a second! The filthy little pigs! Or maybe one that will induce painful flatulence! No one…no one will get away with ogling my baby girl!”

“Hey…relax! Breathe! Your daughter is eleven years old. So she’s developing a little early…so what? It’s still a good long while before you should really worry over anything like that.”

Harry stood behind Draco, handing over a cup of tea, and took to rubbing Draco’s shoulders. Draco closed his eyes and sighed with relief.

“Ahhh. Gods. That’s better. Let them say what they will in the press, but you have brilliant hands. You’re right…and I know it, but…I never had to think about these things. I spent the last decade wishing I could see my daughter for more than a few hours a month. I wasn’t really prepared for…for this kind of thing! Bras! Bras, Harry! My daughter needed bras! Ooo…don’t stop…that feels wonderful.”

Harry kept at his task, working the knots from Draco’s shoulders. “I always liked giving a good massage. I hate seeing a partner that tense. And you are tense!”

“You’re bloody right I am!”

Draco sighed again, letting his head loll back, staring mournfully into the face of his ersatz lover.

“Harry. You are so very good to me. Not that I haven‘t done wonders for your sense of taste and decorum, but you are a wonderful man. Maybe it isn‘t…the right time…but…I know what would…distract me. Would you…at least consider…perhaps…coming over to the Manor tonight?”

Harry’s hands froze. They’d discussed this only a few times before, never quite settling on a date. It wasn’t that he didn’t find the idea appealing, but the prospect of finding himself naked in bed with another man was…well…still a little daunting. He was going to say yes, but he lingered overlong, hands paused and practically shouting his apprehension to Draco.

“It’s too soon…isn’t it? I’m sorry, Harry. I shouldn’t have even asked. You’ve already done me as much good as anyone or anything possibly could. I just…I haven‘t the right to ask more tha-”

“Yes.”

And it was out. He wasn’t even sure where he’d got the nerve, but Ginny’s haunting reminder that he either skirted the edge of things or dove straight in was fresh in Harry’s ears. Draco had waited with a patience that no one would have expected of him, for months, and Harry had kept him waiting, hanging on the edge the entire while. The time for waiting was over.

Draco stared up in silent shock, not sure of what he’d just heard. Harry took the initiative again, all pretense dropped now that he’d made up his mind, and leaned down to kiss the one he’d made wait so long, one hand gently cupped beneath Draco’s chin. The faint spice of tea was on Draco’s breath, and his various products surrounded him with scents that were positively intoxicating, whether intended for a man or a woman. Draco answered in kind, his tongue sliding across the nacre of Harry’s teeth, slipping deeper, brushing softly against Harry’s own.

“Thank you.” It came out a breathy whisper, just as tongues parted, and Draco stood up, taking Harry’s hand from his shoulder and holding it as he rose. “Harry Potter, there is nothing I could want more…than finally waking up beside you…somewhere other than your floor. We could just take the Floo to my suite. Bring along clothes and we can tell Cissy that you Floo’d in for breakfast. She knows you’re the best friend I have. It wouldn’t be inappropriate at all…and it would be a long awaited pleasure. Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“No…but that never stopped me before, did it? Hah. We came this far…and it hardly seems right to let this wait any longer. You waited long enough for me to figure out what I do or don’t feel ready for. Let’s go…alright, love?”

Draco had always liked the way that word dropped easily from Harry’s tongue. It was a common expression of affection, but Harry hadn’t once used it until they started properly dating. It never felt forced or strained, and Draco had spent too many years observing people to be fooled by false assurances. Harry was nervous, but resolute, and that was as true for Draco as it was for Harry. Not that Harry needed to know that!

Harry gathered a few things from his bathroom and a change of clothes for morning, and joined Draco in the Floo, scattering a handful of powder across the coals before calling out Malfoy Manor by name. A second after Draco crossed the threshold, Harry stepped from the fireplace into Draco’s suite, only to find Draco speaking in whispered tones to a house-elf while Harry dusted himself off.

Draco shook his head and motioned for Harry to stay quiet, and as soon as the conversation ended, he tip-toed toward the hall exit, pointing at the huge four poster bed as Harry followed quietly behind. Blond hair peeked out from under the thick blankets and sheets, and Harry realized that, at some point, Cissy had entered the room and decided to sleep there while her father was out. They worked their way out into the hall and down a fair way before Draco softly pounded his head against a tapestried wall.

“I’m a horrible father! Pathetic! Inept! Pansy was right to keep Cissy away from me! What kind of man runs off as soon as he thinks his daughter is asleep, just to piss and moan over a shopping trip! She woke up missing her mother…and the elves had to let her sleep in my room after swearing up and down that I’d be back! She was terrified! I should be shot by Muggles! Maybe pilloried! And whips! They should call up old Filch and let him have at me ‘til there’s nothing left! I shou-”

“Stop it! You’re getting hysterical again! Just stop! The only thing wrong with you is a lack of experience…and we both know why that happened. I’ve been saddled with acting as a part-time father for most of a decade, and I don’t always get it right either. Neither do Ron or Hermione or even Ginny. Everyone just makes it up as they go along, and you’d be used to that if Pansy had let you get a little more practice in. Don’t ever say that kind of thing in front of me again! I swear I’ll kick your ass if I hear anything like this in the future. You already meet the basic requirements that put you ahead of the pack. You love your daughter very much, and you want to be a good father more than anything else in the world. With a combination like that, no one can bollocks things up completely. Got it!?”

Draco took a few deep breaths, rattled by Harry’s forceful tone, then turned and flopped against the wall.

“Where did you learn so much, O Savior Of The Wizarding World? You know I hate it when you sound all-wise and all-knowing. I appreciate it just the same, but it still rankles.”

Harry chuckled softly. “Got nothing to do with knowing anything. I just accept that sometimes I don’t know what to do. Or that there is no easy answer. That’s normal. Anyone who acts like they always know what to do…is usually screwing up monumentally and just knows how to make it look purposeful and cool while they do it. Relax, love. Go be a father. There will be another night for us. Okay?”

Draco composed himself admirably, standing to his full height and smoothing his coat and shirt.

“You’re right. Another time, Harry. The kids will be in school soon enough. Tonight, I’m pulling a chair up next to my bed, and sleeping in it so that if she wakes again I’ll be right there. But first, you’re not leaving without a decent snog…lover.”

Draco leaned into Harry’s arms, reflecting mournfully on what fine arms they were, savoring the faint feel of stubble against his lips and chin. After all those years of mocking Harry for being so ridiculously hirsute that his beard was evident early in the afternoon, it seemed fitting that he enjoyed the feel of that face so near his own.

There would be another time for more than this, with Harry, when other more important tasks were done and done well. But for now, it was time…to grow up…and be a father.


TBC!!!