Different View by Maeglin Yedi [Reviews - 6] 
Different View
by Maeglin Yedi
Characters: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: JKR owns the epilogue, and the rest of the world of Harry Potter. I just play with them for fun.
Summary: Sometimes, things are not what they seem. Ficlet set right after DH's epilogue. Contains DH spoilers.
This starts the moment the DH epilogue ends. Just a little ficlet that is as much a reassurance to myself that not all is lost in slash terms, even when taking the epilogue in account, as it is an idea that came to me that I just want to share.
First published: July 2007
****
Ginny cleared her throat and slid an arm around Lily's small shoulders.
"Right. Let's go," Harry said, feeling in the pocket of his jeans for his car keys. "I'll drive you home."
"I promised Lily we'd go to Diagon Alley for ice cream," Ginny said, and Lily aimed a huge grin at her father. "We'll take the floo home from the Leaky Cauldron."
"Oh." Harry nodded. Five years since they'd split up and he still had trouble sometimes remembering that her house wasn't his anymore. He crouched down in front of Lily and stroked his thumb across her cheek. "I'll see you this Saturday. Bye, sweetheart."
"Bye, Daddy," Lily said, and gave him a fleeting hug, clearly more than ready for one of Fortescue's famous sorbets. Harry managed to press a quick kiss on her red hair before Lily grabbed her mother's hand and tugged on it.
"Mum," Hugo said, eyes wide at the prospect of missing out on ice cream.
"Sorry, mate," Ron said, patting Hugo's head with a large hand. "We've got to go to work, but I bet that Grandma will have some cauldron cakes waiting for you."
Hugo sighed, but apparently the promise of Molly's cauldron cakes was enough to ward off any further protest.
"You're still coming over for dinner this Friday, Harry?" Hermione asked.
Before Harry could answer, another voice spoke up. "Did I hear someone mention dinner?"
Teddy wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders. Today he was a head taller than Harry, and he grinned in a way that was eerily similar to Tonks.
"Yes," Harry said to Hermione before glancing up at his godson. "And I think Teddy's coming, too."
Hermione shook her head, yet a smile curved her lips. "All right. See you then."
"Roast beef would be splendid!" Teddy called after them while Harry raised his hand in farewell. When they were the only ones left, Teddy focused his attention back on Harry. "How about it? You up for a pint at the Leaky Cauldron?"
"It's eleven," Harry said. "In the morning."
Teddy shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, which promptly changed from deep brown to bright blue. "I think I'll go see what Uncle George is up to, then. You coming?"
Harry considered it for a moment. He hadn't seen George in a while and catching up with him might be a good way to spend his afternoon off from work. Then he spotted a lone figure standing in the shadows of one of the stone pillars, and he offered Teddy a quick smile. "You go on. Give George my best, and I'll see you on Friday."
"All right." Teddy crossed the empty platform with confident steps. Once he'd disappeared through the barrier, Harry looked back at the stone pillar.
Draco Malfoy stood there, watching him with cool eyes. Harry took a step towards him, and at the same moment Draco pushed away from the pillar and approached him in turn.
"Malfoy," Harry said by way of greeting.
"Potter," Draco replied with a nod.
They looked at each other for a while, and Draco was clearly as lost as Harry was about what to say next. Nineteen years suddenly seemed like an eternity. Harry hadn't seen Draco since that disastrous day at Hogwarts, and he'd only read a few announcements about him in the Daily Prophet over the years. How Draco had finished his five-year sentence to Azkaban, how he'd bought out Obscurus Books and spent his days publishing half of Hogwarts' schoolbooks, and how he'd married some German witch with a name Harry couldn't pronounce, who had given him a son named Scorpius Lucius Malfoy.
"So." Harry cleared his throat. "How's your mum and dad?" He had no idea why he asked that, since Draco's parents had never been friends of his, to say the least. But it was easy to remember Lucius' pleas to Voldemort to let him go search for his son in the castle, and how warm Narcissa's hand had been on his chest when she'd assured Voldemort he was dead.
"Fine," Draco said. "They retired to France after..." He didn't finish, but looked away instead.
Azkaban, Harry added silently. "That's good."
"How've you been?" Draco asked, still not meeting Harry's eyes.
"Can't complain. You?"
"The same."
Harry stared at his shoes for a moment, and when he looked up again he met Draco's eyes.
"I heard you and Weasley separated," Draco said.
"You and the rest of the world," Harry said, and managed to sound only a little disgruntled. It had made headlines for weeks, and it had added to Harry's fame in ways he hated with a passion. The only positive thing of it was that the press hadn't been able to figure out why he'd separated.
"I also heard you had a passionate affair with the Minister for Magic," Draco said with a smug grin.
But apparently, some people did know. Harry gaped at Draco, and after a moment remembered to school his features into something less betraying of his guilt. Kingsley Shacklebolt was the longest running Minister for Magic in history, and he'd indeed been Harry's dirty little -- well, not so little, to be honest -- secret for a number of years, until they both got tired of sneaking around and broke things off. But until that moment, Harry'd been sure only Ginny, Ron and Hermione knew of it.
"No comment," Harry said lamely, annoyed Draco bloody Malfoy still had the power to throw him off guard as if they were mere Hogwarts students competing in a Quidditch game. "So how's your wife?"
"Irmtrud," Draco said, still grinning. "She's fine. She'll be returning to Germany now that Scorpius has started Hogwarts."
It took a moment for the implications of that to sink in, and Harry frowned. "You're separated as well? So who did you fuck around with?"
Draco let out a burst of laughter. "None of your business."
"Right. Well." Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets, unsure what he was feeling besides trepidation that Draco knew at least one of his well-kept secrets. "Been nice catching up with you. You look good, even if you're getting bald."
Draco snorted. "No more than you getting ugly, Potter."
Despite himself, Harry sniggered. "See you around."
Nodding, Draco reached for his wand, apparently meaning to apparate. But at the sight of it, Harry remembered something, and he raised a hand.
"Wait," he said. "I still have your wand. The Hawthorne one. Do you want it back?"
Draco blinked, and lowered his wand. "You kept it? For almost twenty years?"
Shrugging, Harry looked down. "It's a good wand. I beat Voldemort with it, didn't I?"
"It's a very good wand," Draco agreed. "And if you want to part with it, yes, I'll want it back."
"All right. It's in my flat. We can get it now, if that's convenient for you." Harry pulled out his car keys, jingling them in his hand.
"Sure," Draco said, and his eyes widened at the sight of the keys. "Wait, you drive an automobile?"
"Yep. Easier than travelling by floo with a dozen trunks and owl cages. It's just a quick drive to my flat." He eyed Draco's response with interest. "Unless you're scared of driving through London?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Lead the way, Potter," Draco said with an all too familiar sneer.
And Harry did, pleased to see that even after nineteen years, some things never changed.
~~ fin~~
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