Harry mashed up his food as he tried to ignore the two men. He had lost his appetite and his shoulders felt tense. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He had been blind when he was younger and it enraged him, how easy he must have been to manipulate. His Albus had done it without a thought, all the while pretending he cared for him. Harry understood doing unpleasant things in the name of war but Albus had gone too far. He had led him by the nose right into his death and Harry had let him. He had been so desperate for someone's approval, for anyone to show him even a hint of positive emotions. He loved his Dumbledore but he hated him too. Harry still woke up in the middle of the night, visions of the killing curse hurtling towards him.
"So Harry, are you enjoying your stay? Scorpius is an excellent student and a joy to teach." Albus said as he took a bite out of his sandwich. Harry avoided his eyes before responding.
"Yes, thank you. Both of the boys are wonderful." He wouldn't let Albus exclude Atticus, even unintentionally.
"Oh yes! Congratulations on finding your voice, Mr. Malfoy!" Albus smiled gently at Atticus and the boy pressed closer to him before thanking the old man.
"So Harry, why do you look like you want to rip my husband's eyes out?" Grindelwald asked casually and his dad spat out his pumpkin juice.
"Gelly! Don't ask him that." Dumbledore hissed under his breath. The German man just patted his hand before turning to look at him.
"I'm just curious, my love. He has been anxious ever since we came upon them." Harry frowned at the man's observation. It was true but Harry usually didn't show his emotions so easily. He must be more upset than he thought.
"He's right. I don't like you, or I should say other you. You made it your life mission to control every single piece of my life and then had the audacity to die. I had a heck of a time cleaning up all of your messes." He said slowly. He really didn't want to take his frustrations out on a stranger. He didn't know why it was so hard to separate the two Dumbledore's when everyone else had been so easy.
"What do you mean by die?" Grindelwald asked furiously.
"Oh. Well he died during my sixth year. Snape technically killed him but it turns out he had asked him to do it. He had a Dark curse eating his life force anyways so it was probably a mercy." He muttered the last part to himself. It had to have been unbelievably painful.
"Where was I when this man killed my husband?" The blonde man snarled out. Harry couldn't help pitying him. It was obvious that the two men were deeply in love. He was curious if this is how his counterparts had acted before everything had gone terribly wrong.
"Gellert Grindelwald had been rotting in prison since he tried to take over Britain during the 50s. He was a Dark Lord who was defeated by Albus Dumbledore. He would later die by the hands of another Dark Lord during the Second wizarding war." The silence was loud as the two men took in what he said.
"Mr. Grindelwald isn't a Dark Lord. He raises unicorns." Scorpius giggled beside him and turned to stare at the other man.
"I have just been doing my part to help revive a dying species." He announced and Harry laughed.
"Good for you, mate!" He still kept Dumbledore in his line of sight as he filled Scorpius's plate up with more food.
"Eat up, Scorp. You're a growing boy." He smiled at him warmly.
"-can't believe she guessed on the exam and still passed. It's ridiculous!" A voice he had longed to hear shouted out as Remus walked through the doors, Snape beside him. He didn't know how he felt about Snape being his stepdad. It was a repulsive thought but this Snape obviously wasn't like his.
"Oh. I didn't realize we had guests." Remus's voice was stiff as he looked them over. He seemed to be avoiding Sirius and his dad, his gaze landing on Scorpius.
"Hello, Professor Lupin!" The boy waved wildly back and forth.
"Hello, Mr. Malfoy! I hope you're getting your summer homework done!" Harry stood up suddenly and Remus finally looked at him. He looked healthier than Harry had ever seen him look. His eyes were still the same though. He stormed forward and stopped in front of him.
"Hi Remy." He murmured and gently bumped their foreheads together.
"Hello Harry." Remus looked surprised but still smiled at him. Snape coughed and muttered "Hi Severus, it's nice to see you too. Oh? I'm doing well, thank you for asking." Harry rolled his eyes but turned to Other Harry's stepfather.
"Hi Snape. I hope you're staying healthy." He managed to mumble out and Snape beamed at him.
"How kind of you, Harry!" Harry walked back to his seat and flopped down. Atticus crawled into his lap and whispered "We can leave if you want to, Mummy." Harry patted his head.
"It's okay, lovely." He handed him some chocolate he had snatched from Remus's pocket before doing the same with Scorpius.
~~~~~~
Draco watched Harry feed his children chocolate. He had been surprised at how warmly he had greeted Remus Lupin. His whole face had lit up with joy. The atmosphere had turned awkward as the other adults tried to ignore each other, unsuccessfully. Sirius kept glancing at Remus while Remus talked loudly to Albus.
"Are they always like this?" Harry asked and the room went silent.
"Pretty much." Draco answered and Harry looked confused.
"Are they not friends?" He said quietly while staring at them. The two men pretended not to hear him.
"It's complicated." James replied. Harry opened his mouth but someone walked in. Draco frowned when he saw who it was.
"Oh! Hi Hadrian." Cho Chang said as she joined them, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"Hey Cho!" Harry waved from his seat before ignoring the girl. He knew she had been close to Hadrian before he had died. It annoyed him how often she would cover for his behavior.
"Chang." He said and she nodded her head at him.
"Alright, boys! It's gotten very awkward so how about we go thank the House Elves for the food?" Harry announced and everyone stared at him.
"Oooo I've never been to the Kitchens before!" Scorpius said happily before standing up, his brother following him.
"You want to come with, Remy?" Harry asked and Sirius answered before he could.
"I'm sure Remus is busy, pup." Remus gave him a nasty look before smiling at Harry.
"I would love to!" They waved goodbye to everyone before leaving the Great Hall. He could see Harry's shoulders finally relax.
"I'll make sure you don't run into the Headmaster often, Harry." The other man looked shocked but gave him a hesitant smile.
"Thanks, Malfoy." He couldn't help his answering grin.
"So Harry, I'm assuming we're close in your universe?" Remus asked and Harry nodded.
"Well we were until you died." He added and Sirius gasped.
"Remy too?" Harry was quiet before he said "Yes, Remus was never the same after your death. Almost as if he died from a broken heart." Sirius was staring at Remus, his eyes full of sorrow. Harry grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hall, the boys running ahead.
"Is that true?" James asked, his eyes narrowed.
"Nope!" Harry announced, his eyes sparkling.
"Remy actually got murdered by Greyback during the battle. I'm just trying to get them to make up." Severus laughed before patting his back.
"That was very sneaky, Harry. I approve." The boys came running back before jumping on him.
"I can't wait to see the House Elves, Father!" Atticus squealed, his smile bright. They stopped in front of a portrait of fruit and Harry leaned forward.
"Alright, children. Pay very close attention. To enter the Kitchens, you must tickle the pear." Harry ran his finger along the fruit and the frame opened up. They entered and hundreds of House Elves stared at them.
"Hi! We just wanted to thank you for the wonderful lunch you made!" The boys shouted their thanks and the closet Elf burst into tears.
"The Hogwarts Elves are happy to feed the guests!"
~~~~~~
Harry sighed as he dried his hair off. They had explored the castle some more before heading home. It had been nice to see Hogwarts again, her magic welcoming him like old times. Seeing Dumbledore alive had been a shock but in a twisted way, he was happy the old man was happy. Seeing everyone living their lives almost felt like a reward for all of the pain he had suffered. Sure, he had the Weasley family but that was it. He was trying not to get too attached to the children but they already had a place in his heart. He knew it would break once he was able to go home. Someone knocked on the door and he opened it to find Zabini on the other side. The Malfoy's had decided to stay the night and obviously their little boyfriend would stay too.
"Hello Harry, may I come in?" He gave him a suspicious look before opening the door wider. He probably wanted to tell him off for hanging off of Malfoy Sr the other day. He sat down on the edge of his bed, forcing Harry to stand.
"There seems to be some miscommunication between us." He said, his eyes focused on his face.
"Because you've shacked up with Other Harry's in-laws? I don't see how that's any of my business." Zabini pinched his nose before taking a deep breath.
"I'm not in a relationship with the Malfoy's." Harry still didn't know what that had to do with him.
"Okay?" He said awkwardly.
"Merlin, Hadrian was never this thick. I was seeing you!" Harry felt his mouth fall open before he scowled at him.
"That's why you've been hanging around? Because you have some crush on me? Merlin, Malfoy's kids are in the house!" He hissed, curling his hands into fists. Zabini had been one of Other Harry's lovers? He opened the door before glaring at him.
"Get out." Zabini froze and stared past him. Harry turned and saw Malfoy poised with his fist in the air, as if he had been about to knock. Harry quickly yanked him before shutting the door again.
"Did you know about this?" He asked angrily, motioning to Zabini.
"Ah, about Blaise shagging my husband?" He said casually and Harry gawped at him.
"Yes! And now he's strutting around the Manor!" Harry couldn't believe Malfoy hadn't cursed him yet. Zabini slept with Other Harry and now seemed to be close with Malfoy's parents while Malfoy was the odd one out? How was that fair?
"Do your parents know?" Malfoy rolled his eyes before sitting down on the ottoman.
"No and it will stay like that. Blaise and I have an agreement." Harry looked back and forth between the two of them.
"Fine. Zabini, get out. Draco and I have some things to discuss." He said coldly and he could see Malfoy's shock at him using his first name. Zabini looked sad as he left and Harry didn't care. He whirled around and grabbed Malfoy by his shoulders.
"Are you insane? Zabini has always been a little twerp and yet you're letting your parents think he's some great guy?" He asked, gently shaking him.
"I don't understand you." He continued. This Malfoy was nothing like his. He was nice to Harry. He hadn't even made one Scarhead joke! Why was his life so terrible then?
"I told Zabini I wouldn't tell Father anything as long as he kept the affair private. I don't want the children to know." He said softly and Harry dropped his head on his shoulder.
"You're such an idiot, Malfoy." It seemed Malfoy had no one to turn to. Sure he could speak to Regulus and his dad but they were still Hadrian's parents. It would be hard to vent about his cheating spouse to them. He stood up and nodded his head to himself.
"Alright." He turned and started digging through Other Harry's drawers.
"I was snooping through his things when I found this!" He held the bottle up. It was an old bottle of fire whiskey.
"We're going to get completely sloshed, Malfoy and I'll listen to all of your woes." Malfoy opened his mouth to agree when Harry covered it with his hand.
"Shhh, Harry's talking. You obviously don't have anyone to complain to so I'll step in. It can't be healthy bottling up all of that." He gestured to him.
"Fine." He sighed. Harry grinned before opening the bottle.
"-and then Mione socked him right in the nose!" He howled with laughter as Malfoy wheezed.
"Merlin, I sound like a total jerk!" Harry snickered before nodding.
"He is but you aren't!" He decided he liked this Malfoy. He was funny.
"Thank you, Harry." He snorted.
"The children like you." He said abruptly and Harry gave him a sappy grin.
"I love them. I've always wanted a big family, like the Weasley's." He flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, imagining little children running down the halls of Grimmauld Place. At the rate he was going, he'd have to adopt since everyone only liked him because he was the Chosen One.
"Perhaps you could stay for a while?" Malfoy's voice interrupted him. He had laid down beside him and Harry rolled over to look at him.
"I don't know if that's a good idea." He said slowly and Malfoy raised his eyebrows.
"I have really bad luck. Like horrible. I tend to ruin everything." He would never forgive himself if something happened to the poor kids because of him.
"Sounds like an excuse to me." Malfoy taunted and this was familiar but different. Malfoy was teasing him, not mocking him.
"Is not!"
"Are you sure?" He asked and Harry pinched his side.
"Fine, I'll stay for a while." Malfoy grinned up at him and Harry blinked the stars out of his eyes. Merlin, had Malfoy always looked like that when he smiled? Not that he would know, his Malfoy never smiled at him. They talked back and forth the rest of the night, laughter echoing down the hall.