We're almost done," Harry repeated. He rolled his eyes as his sons exchanged unconvinced looks. "I promise. Besides, you're going to want to hear what happens next..."
~*~*~*~*~Year 5~*~*~*~*~
"Really?" the wide eyed blonde gushed, biting her lip as she gazed at him shyly. "A secret agent? I didn't know the Aurors had those."
Blaise smiled thinly and returned to his drink. It had been a half-hearted play and he was frankly surprised that it had worked at all. He gazed down at the twenty something girl hanging on to his arm and decided that it was entirely possible they were getting dumber every day.
A few months back, this would have been a very good thing.
Blaise sighed. A few months back. Two to be exact. He had been flying solo ever since that little...altercation and he had to admit it wasn't exactly working. A part of him still firmly believed that he was just rusty, that he just missed working with a wingman. But he was starting to suspect it was more than that.
He found himself missing the little group he had come to consider his friends. Oh, he didn't want to - not in the least - but evidently he had no choice in the matter. Time and again, his thoughts would drift back to those idle evenings in the bar when he wasn't distracted by a pretty face. Movie night. Weasley griping about the Cannons, Hermione rolling her eyes at some of his admittedly more tasteless jokes, even Harry- cheerful and accommodating-offering to spring for the next round, staying back once everyone departed, promising to see a sloshed Blaise home safely.
There it was. As much as he disliked the man at the moment, Blaise missed Harry, too.
And then there was Ginny. His hands clenched around his glass, trying to will away the thought of her. It was, as always unsuccessful. But why would that change now? She had been in his thoughts for years.
Of course he'd noticed her the moment she had walked into the bar all those years ago. A man would have to be blind to look past those eyes, that smile and the graceful curves of her figure. Even then, he had wanted her. But Harry had needed a shove in the right direction more than he needed an evening with a pretty girl and Blaise had gone with his instincts, literally shoving them at each other. When Harry had fallen head over heels for her, he ignored the slight twinge of disappointment in his gut and contented himself with being Harry's wingman and her eccentric friend, nothing more. Even as he got to know her slowly over the years, he hid his fondness with cautiously feigned disinterest- side-stepping the serious conversations in favour of light banter, calling her 'Jennifer' or 'Genevieve' even though the name 'Ginevra' was all but branded in his head, committing himself to the general tomfoolery he had such a reputation for. And it had served him well. She never saw him. He kept his distance, refusing to be the one to come between her and Harry. He had precious few friends and he didn't want to lose them.
Except that he had. In the end, he had lost himself in a moment with her, wanting to be the one- just this once- to offer her comfort and a safe place. He had forgotten that it wasn't his place to offer those, and so had she. In the process, he'd lost her and Harry.
No, he hadn't seen her since that night. She had called, still called actually, but he was determined to ignore her missives. He had messed up her life enough. She was better off without him. They all were. In the end, he always messed things up.
And now, here he was. Alone again. With a girl he could care less about because the only one that mattered, the only one who had ever been more than a nice rack and a pair of legs deserved better than him. She had ruined him for other women with that one kiss and there was no going back from that. But there was no going back to her either. It was over...
"Um, hello?"
Blaise blinked as a hand waved in his face. His companion pouted, apparently miffed at being ignored. "Is there a problem?" she asked petulantly. "You haven't listened to a word I said."
"Annoying, isn't it?"
Blaise froze as a new, familiar voice broke into conversation. He turned and suppressed an oath as his suspicions were confirmed. Daphne Greengrass glided over, sedate and lovely in her green dress. Her smile was bland and polite but the look in those blue eyes spoke of murder. Blaise took a step back on instinct as Daphne approached, crossing over into his personal space.
"Hello, Blaise," she purred. "My, but you're a hard man to get hold of."
"Do we know you?" the blond asked, slipping a possessive hand around Blaise's arm.
Daphne didn't even spare her a glance. "You don't, honey," she replied smoothly. "But he does. Now run along and let the grownups talk."
"Hey! You can't..."
"Go," Blaise muttered, shrugging her off.
The girl stared at him incredulously before huffing and stomping off, leaving him in the snake pit. And if there was any Slytherin who did the house justice, it was Daphne Greengrass. Blaise vaguely wondered why shagging all the girls in his year had seemed like such a good idea at the time...
"So," Daphne stated without preamble. "It's nice seeing you again."
"You look well," Blaise replied. In the event that she did plan to eviscerate him, flattering her could hardly hurt. "It's been a while, yes? A year, I believe."
Daphne smiled coldly and flipped her long, blond hair over one petite shoulder. "Fourteen months, to be exact. Your little New Year celebration, remember?"
Blaise cringed. He had been hoping she wouldn't remember. They had both been rather drunk after all. "I absolutely meant to call you..."
"Imagine my relief," Daphne drawled. She looked like she was just about refraining from pulling her wand out. "I didn't track you down to listen to your inane prattling, Zabini. I have something to discuss and it can't wait. I suggest we take this somewhere private. Now."
Oh gods, she had 'tracked him down'. Now he was sure he was going to die. He absently wondered if Harry would be the Auror in charge of his murder investigation. Blaise tried and failed to find a way around this situation. But there wasn't. There was nothing to do but face the inevitable. So he nodded jerkily. "I know a little cafe down the..."
"Your flat," Daphne demanded.
"You're sure you don't want to go somewhere with a little more class? Ambience? Witnesses?"
Daphne muttered under her breath and whirled around, leaving him no choice but to follow. Blaise sighed and trudged behind her.
This was not going to end well for him, he just knew it.
It didn't. It didn't end well at all.
His hands shook slightly as he poured himself another drink. It went down quickly, just like the first two. Daphne sat across from him on one of the sofas, her expression unnervingly blank. She could have been commenting on the weather, for all the emotion she showed. Instead, she sipped leisurely at her wine as she finished dropping the proverbial bomb.
"She's yours."
Two little words that shook his world to its very foundations. Blaise swallowed and took another healthy swig of his drink. So, it had finally happened. A small, hysterical part of him wanted to laugh. Or scream like a banshee, he wasn't quite sure yet. The panic spiralled inside him, threatening to unravel his carefully built existence. It took a while to stamp down the gut wrenching urge to pour another drink. No, he needed to be sober for this...
"You could have told me, Daphne," he said finally, vaguely thankful that his voice wasn't shaky or high-pitched. The last thing he needed right now was to show this woman weakness. "I would have helped."
She laughed. It wasn't derisive or contemptuous. She sounded genuinely amused at the prospect. Somehow, that hurt more. "Oh, Blaise," Daphne sighed, shaking her head. "You always were good for a laugh."
To hell with appearances.
"I'm serious!" he barked angrily. "I could have done something if you'd had the courtesy to inform me that..."
"Excuse me for not wanting your continued presence in my life, Zabini," Daphne snapped. "The last time I checked, you weren't particularly keen on having me around, now were you?" She sighed and leaned back in her seat, looking tired all of a sudden. "This isn't one of my finest moments, I'll have you know. However, I find that I have no choice. You have to take her, Blaise. She's your daughter."
"A daughter I didn't even know I had until two hours ago!" he growled, standing up abruptly. "Do you know what you're asking of me, Daphne? What in Merlin's name makes you think that I'm the right choice for..."
"You're her father!" Daphne burst out angrily. "And I'd like to think that unsuited as you may be for the title, you're a lot better than mine!"
That got his attention. Blaise stopped pacing and turned to her. "What about your..."
"He wants me to put her up for adoption," she whispered. A slim frame trembled slightly. Her eyes welled up with tears and she wrapped her arms around herself, looking strangely vulnerable. Vaguely, it struck Blaise that this was probably the first time he had ever seen her show any kind of emotion. Daphne took a deep, shuddering breath and turned back to him.
"You have no idea what I've been through," she said quietly. "Thank Merlin for Astoria and Mother, they've helped. But it's getting harder, Blaise. Eventually, these things come out. People ask questions. I just don't know how long I can keep her with me anymore. Father just wants her gone and... don't you understand? I don't want to give her away to some stranger, thrown away like an unwanted plaything. I'll never see her again. She's mine! And she's yours too."
Mine.
Blaise swallowed thickly. He had a daughter.
He had a child.
There was a child somewhere who would call him Father.
The thought would be exhilarating to some- magical and wonderful, or so he had heard. To him, the feeling roiling in his stomach was nothing short of full blown panic.
He couldn't do this. Him? A father? The man who made a sport of women. Who lied to them and left them and made another tally mark in his little black book. The man who played games and played people and was just so wrong for this, it made his head spin. The idea was laughable. How in Merlin's name could he raise a little girl? He would ruin her life, he knew it. One more woman he'd let down in somehow. What child deserved that? What child deserved him?
"She would be better off with strangers. At least they would raise her right," he said bitterly. "Anyone but me, Daphne. You know it, I know it, and everyone else knows it. I'm sorry but I can't do this. I can't be a father. The child..."
"Danielle."
He trailed off and Daphne smiled slightly. "Her name is Danielle," she repeated. "Danielle Zabini. She has your eyes, you know."
"Don't," he gritted out, clenching his fists. "Don't do that."
Gods, she really wasn't pulling punches, was she?
"She has your eyes and your smile, I think. She laughs a lot. Her favourite toy is a stuffed Hippogriff that Tori gave her. Her favourite colour is red- I hope that's just a phase. She's five months old and smarter than most kids her age. She's..."
"Stop it!" Blaise snarled. "Just fucking stop!"
He did not want to hear this. He couldn't hear this!
"She's a person!" Daphne screamed back. "You're not going to walk away from her because you're afraid! I won't let you do that! Not to my little girl. It's time to grow up, Blaise. Step up, be a man and raise your daughter because damn it, if you don't I will find you and make you pay!"
"And what if I can't?" he demanded. "What if I mess things up? I always mess things up."
Daphne sighed and got up from the sofa. Slim arms looped around him and Blaise sighed as he leaned into the hug, trying to draw strength from her. "You won't mess up," she told him. For a second, he almost believed her. "Not unless you walk away from her right now. She needs you. She needs her father."
"I need time to think," he replied. Years, probably. Perhaps decades. He didn't have much time but he would take what he could. He needed to think about this. He needed to stop himself from going off the deep end in sheer panic.
Daphne sighed and let go. "I want your answer in a month," she told him. "Oh, and take this. It might help."
She slipped a photograph in his hand. Danielle's, no doubt. He pocketed it without a glance. He couldn't look. He just couldn't...it was too much. He was too afraid.
"Goodbye, Blaise," Daphne said softly. "Let me know when you come to a decision."
And then she was gone, leaving him standing there with the world crashing down around him. Blaise shuddered and headed to the bar. He poured himself a glass of scotch, staring at the amber liquid for Merlin knew how long. And then he set it down on the counter.
No, he didn't need this right now. What he needed was someone to talk to. Someone sensible and supportive...someone like Hermione, maybe. Or Ron. Or Harry. But they weren't there anymore. He had messed that up too. He was alone in this. All alone with no one to help him.
No. He straightened up as the thought occurred to him. Not alone. Not yet, at least. There was someone else he could speak to. He steadied himself and picked up a pinch of Floo Powder. Gods, he hoped he remembered Draco's latest address...
The flames flickered and turned green. Blaise's panic receded slightly as a familiar face scowled at him from the fire.
"Really?" Draco groaned, rubbing sleepily at his eyes. "It's 3 in the morning here. Did we not talk about time differences last..."
"I have a daughter."
If he hadn't been on the verge of tears himself, Draco's shell shocked expression would have made him laugh. He seemed to have frozen mid conversation.
"A daughter," Draco repeated slowly. He sounded suspicious. As if he expected Blaise to laugh and tell him it was a joke. Blaise really wished he could oblige him. Instead he just stared into the flames, watching as Draco's eyes widened with the realisation that this was happening, this wasreal. Blaise swallowed thickly as the panic set in again.
"I fucked up, Draco," he whispered, hating that his voice shook a bit. "I need help."
"Shite, okay," Draco cut in at once. He was frowning, clearly considering their options. Blaise was thankful. He really needed someone else to make decisions right now. Evidently, his sucked. Finally Draco nodded and turned back to Blaise. "How soon can you get here?"
"Now. Maybe sooner." Blaise took a deep breath to steady himself. "Where's 'here' again?"
"Mumbai. How does a trip to India strike your fancy?"
Blaise shook his head in exasperation. "You know what? I'm not even going to ask. I'm getting a Portkey. See you in two hours."
"I'll be here," Draco replied with a terse nod. "And Blaise..."
Blaise turned and looked at him.
"We'll figure it out. It's going to be okay, mate."
It wouldn't. It would never be 'okay'. Everything was going to change. But at least he had help. Blaise nodded and cut off the Floo line.
In an hour and forty five minutes, he was gone. The glass of scotch remained sitting there, on the counter.
A week later...
And Jenkins makes a feint! He's got Williams right where he wants him!
Harry held his breath, hardly daring to believe it. Could it be? Was it even possible?
Ooh, direct hit!
"Oh Merlin, it's happening," he whispered to himself. His heart hammered as he leaned forward, trying to hear every hiss and crackle from his old Wizard Wireless Set. Another crackle and then the announcer was back again, talking nineteen to the dozen. Harry's eyes widened and he all but pressed his ear to the device, straining to hear...
Ladies and gentlemen, are you seeing this? I'm not sure I believe it! Puddlemere's Seeker makes a dive, misses....ooh, nice try at the Wronski feint. He's lost sight of the Snitch! But there's Gudgeon, closing in! Ladies and gentlemen, I can't...is this happening? It is! This is really happening! He sees the Snitch! He's spotted it by the outpost! And he's going for it! Williams is right on his heels...
"Come on," Harry whispered. "Come on, Gudgeon. Do it for the..."
He's got it! Ladies and gentlemen, Galvin Gudgeon caught the Snitch! I can't believe it! The Chudley Cannons win the Season! They're taking home the League Cup!
"Yes!" Harry howled, thumping the table. "Bloody hell, yes!"
This is a historic day! A miracle, ladies and gents! The Cannons are taking home the Cup for the first time in over a hundred years! We're witnessing history in the making...
Harry laughed out incredulously, raising a triumphant fist in the air. They did it! The Cannons finally did it! All those years, decades of making it to the semi finals and then crashing headfirst into failure but they had finally, finally rewarded his faith in them!
"Go Cannons!" Harry cheered. Gods, he wished Ron was around to...
"Potter, for Merlin's sake," Auror Robards hissed, poking his head in the break room. Harry grinned at him and gestured happily at the crackling wireless.
"The Cannons won!" he repeated excitedly.
Robards looked like he wanted to smile, but the quirk of his lips disappeared in favour of a stern frown. "Be that as it may, you should be back at your desk," he warned. "You don't want Dawlish throwing more paperwork at you, right?" He considered that and shook his head. "Actually, I take it back. With all the overtime you've been putting in, I'd think he'd just as soon put you on a mandatory leave of absence."
"It's not that bad," Harry replied evasively. He knew Robards had a point, though. He had been putting in a lot of hours. It was easy when you didn't have any friends to catch up with...
The older Auror just sighed and shook his head. "Go home, Harry. I don't know what's going on with you but you'd best sort it out. I've seen burnout before and it's not pretty. Get some rest, see your friends, all that rot. The office will be here tomorrow."
Harry nodded reluctantly. There was no point arguing. He wouldn't put it past Robards to assign him mandatory leave after all. The office wasn't much but at least he wouldn't rattling around alone in his flat.
"Fine," he sighed. "I'm leaving."
Robards gave him a small smile but he stayed where he was until Harry packed up his files and headed to the Floo. "Home, Potter," he called. "That's an order!"
Harry rolled his eyes and stepped into the Floo. Honestly, how had it come to this? Getting kicked out of the office for working too hard...there had been a time when Friday night meant excitement, mayhem and fun. But that had been when he was still friends with...
Harry shook himself as he landed in the living room of his own flat. He wasn't going to think about Blaise. Blaise was an arse. He was unreliable and selfish and frankly, Harry couldn't even remember why they had ever been friends in the first place.
Of course, sometimes he still missed the bloke but then he remembered that night and he pushed it all away. He didn't need Blaise. He had outgrown him and if it hurt a bit, so what? He would get used to it...
"Harry."
He jumped and whirled around, wand at the ready. Ginny took a step back, holding her hands out.
"Whoa there, soldier," she said dryly. "I come in peace."
Harry sighed and pocketed the wand again. "You really shouldn't sneak up on me," he told her. "Old habits die hard."
"I think we've all learnt the importance of knocking these last few days," she retorted, raising an eyebrow.
Harry scowled at her not so subtle reference and turned away. "Did you want something?"
"Actually, yes. I have some questions." Her hand was on his shoulder now. She turned him around slowly. Harry sighed as worried, brown eyes stared at him. "How angry are you with me?" she asked carefully.
"I'm not angry with you," Harry muttered. "I'm not angry with anyone."
"Oh?" Her grip tightened, holding on tighter now. "Why are you avoiding us then? Why haven't I seen you in a month? Why haven't you returned any of my calls? All I ever hear is that you're busy at the office or busy in the field or..."
"I've been working," he snapped.
"Yeah? Because I think you've been avoiding me. And really, Harry, I understand that. But what about Ron and Mione? They haven't seen you either and..."
"I met Ron at the bar last week!" Harry protested. Well, okay that was a bit of a stretch but...
"He said you took off and went back to the office!"
"I told you I've been busy..."
"No!" Ginny snapped, pointing an accusing finger in his face. Apparently, she had reached the limits of her very finite patience. "You do not get to use that excuse again! That's what it is, an excuse. You don't want to see me, fine. But I am not going to be the reason you walked away from all of us! We promised each other that wouldn't happen, remember? We promised we wouldn't hate each other if it didn't work out! You promised! Well, here I am and clearly, we didn't work out. So what are you going to do? Are you going to deal with this and stop being angry with me some day or are you just going to keep being a complete prat?!"
"It's nothing like that," Harry snapped. "I've just been bus-ow!"
Harry yelped and shielded his head as she reached out to smack him. He wasn't sure when they had gone from talking to arguing to Ginny actively trying to assault him but there he was, trying to fend off an angry redhead from disembowelling him.
"You are such a prat!" she screeched, punctuating each word with a hit.
"Ow!" Harry squawked. He might have flailed a bit too, not that it did any good. "Ginny, stop it!"
"Prat prat prat!" she shrilled angrily. "You haven't even tried to be around! You just left! You've been so angry with me, and it's driving me crazy! You don't even know what happened, you jerk!"
"I told you I'm not angry with you!" Harry snapped. "I'm angry with Blaise!"
She stopped then. Her nails were still digging painfully into his shoulder, but he held still. Finally, she let go and stepped back, allowing him to sit up. Harry winced and rubbed his arm. "I'm angry with Blaise," he repeated quietly. "He's the one that crossed the line, not you. You and I were done with...with that part but he still owed me something. He was my friend and he shouldn't have...I just wish it wasn't you."
"Harry, do you even know what happened?" Ginny demanded. "Did you even talk to Blaise?"
"What's there to talk about?" Harry muttered. "I saw everything I needed to see."
Ginny sighed and pulled him over, leading him to the sofa. "Sit," she ordered. "We need to talk."
Twenty minutes later, they were still sitting together in silence. Harry didn't really know what this gut wrenching feeling inside him was, but he was pretty sure guilt had a lot to do with it.
"I've been a real jerk," he said finally.
Ginny nodded slowly. "Yes," she agreed. Harry winced, but then she smiled and nudged his shoulder gently. "Don't worry about it. We've all been there. Believe me, it wasn't a lot of fun hearing about that Skyler bloke."
Harry chuckled weakly. "I don't even know what I was doing back then," he sighed. "I think I was looking for something real to fill the gap. You know, when you left. Skyler was just...well, there."
Ginny cocked her head and regarded him curiously. "You've changed a lot since we last talked to each other. I mean, really talked. I feel like I don't really know you anymore."
"I feel like I don't know you anymore," Harry muttered. "I wish we'd done this long ago. Talked about stuff, I mean. I meant what I said, Gin. You'll always be important to me. But things happened so fast. And then we broke up and..."
"And now we're just two friends getting back together," she cut in. He smiled tentatively. He wouldn't go as far as that. But it was nice to know that they would get there someday.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked suddenly. "About the..."
She looked faintly amused when he faltered. "You can say it, you know. I won't ever have children."
"I'm sorry," he replied sincerely. "And I'm especially sorry that you had to go through that alone. How are you doing with that?"
She frowned as she considered that. "I don't know. At first, I was shocked. And I was angry that it hurt so much because... well, you know kids just hadn't figured in my plans until then. But the thought that I couldn't...that scared me. I was scared there was something wrong with me. Something broken."
"You're not..."
"I know," she interrupted firmly. A rueful smile tugged at her lips. "I've done a lot of thinking about it. I figured that I'll take things one step at a time from now on. Things just happen sometimes and we have to deal with them."
"I'm just sorry you had to go through it alone."
"I wasn't alone," she replied. "Ron and Mione have been great. Mum keeps handing me adoption pamphlets..."
"I have a huge collection of those, if you're interested," Harry added.
She laughed and nudged him again. "One step at a time," she repeated firmly. "Anyway the long and short of it is that I've had a lot of help from my family and my friends. Especially my friends."
Harry sighed and scrubbed a tired hand through his hair. "And that's what Blaise was doing that night," he finished. "He really was trying to be there for you."
"He's a good friend," Ginny said quietly. "All things considered, he comes through."
"Just a friend though?"
She smiled and shrugged. "For now. We didn't plan this, you know."
"I know." He cringed as he remembered his last meeting with Blaise. "I didn't even give him a chance. I was just so convinced he was being...well, Blaise. I should have tried harder."
"That's actually what I want to talk to you about." Ginny sat up, looking rather worried all of a sudden. "Harry, Blaise is gone."
"What?" Harry bolted up as well. "What do you mean gone?"
"I mean exactly what I said," she replied impatiently. "Seriously, why do you do that? No one's seen him for two months and well, I stopped at his flat the other day to see how he was doing. The place was empty. I...you don't think something happened to him, do you?"
"I don't know." Harry shook his head firmly. "No, I don't think so. Not Blaise. He probably just took off for a few days or something."
"Harry." She reached for his hand and her voice dropped to a quiet whisper. "He left his suits behind."
Harry froze. His eyes widened in horror. "That's the kind of thing you start the story with!" he informed her. Oh, this was bad. He had only known Blaise to abandon his precious suits on two occasions and one of them involved a fire in his building. Harry got up to pace again. "Something must have happened to him. He would never have taken off like that unless it was some big."
What if he was gone? And the last thing Harry had ever said to him was...
"No," he declared firmly. "We have to find him."
"And what if we can't?" Ginny asked quietly. "What if he's gone for good?"
She looked so miserable at the thought. Harry gave her a rueful smile and pulled her into a hug. "You know, the Cannons won the League Cup today. And I got one of my best friends back. I'm thinking it's a day for miracles."
Ginny laughed into his shoulder and pulled away. "I guess it is," she grinned. "Wait. Did you say the Cannons won the Cup?"
Harry nodded and her grin widened just a little bit. "Interesting," Ginny murmured. "I wonder if he'll remember."
"Who..."
She shook her head. "Nothing. Just talking to myself. Let's go, yeah? Ron and Mione will want to help..."
She started moving towards the Floo and Harry followed, still wondering what the slight smile on her face was all about.
Mumbai: A week later...
Until very recently, Blaise had had a very simplistic view of 'the weather'. There was hot and there was cold. Occasionally, there was rainy. If you lived in London, rainy was less 'occasional' and more 'every single time you needed to step out for a bit'. But there you had it. Hot, cold, rainy. Easy. Just like most of the women he'd pulled, self five.
But India had taken it upon herself to prove him wrong. The weather wasn't 'hot'. Oh no. There was hot and then there was this sweltering, blazing, simmering assault that Mumbai bore witness to everyday - and if Blaise could think of any more adjectives to describe what this place chose to term as 'everyday weather', they would be added to the list with immediate effect.
The heat seemed to seep into the walls, into his skin and right down to his bones. If he listened carefully, he thought he could hear his insides snap and crackle like a box of Filibuster Fireworks.
That wasn't even the best part.
Blaise was a man who enjoyed excitement. The thrill and action of a big city came naturally to him. Hell, he had survived London. But there was 'busy' and then there was bedlam. Chaos didn't even begin to describe the streets.
From the balcony of Draco's little flat in Andheri, he spotted a cyclist expertly swerve to avoid one of those incoming yellow and black monstrosities that Draco called 'rickshaws'. Apparently, they were a popular form of public transport. Blaise however, would just as soon jump into a Basilisk pit than sit in one of those contraptions. The Basilisks had to be more merciful, he was sure of it.
There was a certain charm to it though. Twenty one million people thriving on this small stretch of the coast, seemingly drawing off an unwavering spirit of the city itself. They took every day as a battle, fighting their way to their destinations and back again, untiring and indomitable. There was life here. Standing still was an affront to the city and her people knew it. It was an unending cycle of people and their journeys and he felt a grudging respect for the brave souls who would go so far as to call this chaos 'home'.
"Brilliant, isn't it?" Draco grinned, coming over to stand next to him.
"I may never leave home again," Blaise replied dryly. "Gods, it's terrifying."
Draco shook his head in amusement. "That's how things work here," he explained. "You come here for a week and you hate it but if you make it through a month, you can't imagine being anywhere else." He paused and took a bite out of his breakfast. Blaise shuddered as he eyed the...the thing. It was some sort of 'sandwich' - if one wished to use the term loosely. A deep fried potato mash wedged into a bun and seasoned with a completely unreasonable amount of spices and ginger. And it was literally all Draco ate these days. By all logical reasoning, he should be the size of a house by now.
"It's called a 'vada pav'. And if you keep staring at it, I'm going to assume you want one," Draco warned.
"What was that? I can't hear you over the sound of your arteries screaming."
Draco just smirked and went about demolishing the rest of his meal. Blaise gave up. Absently, he wondered what Narcissa would have to say about Draco's erratic lifestyle. Did she even know where he was? Draco didn't talk about home much, not that Blaise blamed him. He hadn't looked back since his last argument- well actually, the last argument - with Lucius. Did Draco even think of home as 'home' anymore?
"So," Draco spoke up, breaking into his thoughts. "You're a father."
Blaise's hands tightened on the rails. He fixed his gaze on the street below, trying to distract himself with the mass of humanity milling about in all directions. Somehow, the bedlam of his own thoughts seemed to fade with the constant movement of the city. Huh. Maybe this was why people liked it here. Maybe this was why Draco liked it here.
At the moment however, Draco just looked concerned. "Blaise, come on," he insisted. "We need to talk about this."
"There's nothing to talk about," Blaise replied tersely. "I think we can all agree that I'm not Father Of The Year material. Danielle will be better off without..."
"I'm sorry, 'Danielle'?"
Blaise sighed wearily. "That's her name," he explained. "My...the baby."
"Huh," Draco mused. "Danielle Zabini. I like it. Very elegant."
"She's not 'Danielle Zabini'," Blaise snapped. "She can't be, don't you understand? I'll ruin her. I'll wreck her life and..."
"Give it."
"Excuse me?"
Draco waggled his fingers impatiently. "That picture you've been holding on to for two weeks. The one you're too scared to even look at. Fork it over."
Blaise had half a mind to argue but Draco was clearly up to something. Finally, he relented and took the slightly crumpled photo out of his pocket. "Here," he grumbled. "Don't get any of your sandwich grease on it."
Draco snatched it up. Blaise watched keenly as his grey eyes lit up in delight and he grinned. He didn't even realise he was waiting for a verdict until Draco spoke up again.
"Gorgeous," he announced. "She's got your eyes."
Why did everyone have to say that?
"You're going to be beating the boys off with sticks in twenty years," Draco went on.
"Draco..."
"Blaise, enough. We both know what's going to happen next. You're going to panic and spiral into denial and run around screaming for a few days. And then you're going to go home and raise your daughter because you know you want to. If you didn't, this..." Draco waved the photograph in his face. "...wouldn't be in your pocket."
Blaise sneered and turned to storm off, but Draco put a firm hand on his shoulder. "Blaise," he said quietly. "She needs her father. If you walk away now, you'll fail her in the worst way possible."
"Do you know how many 'fathers' I've had?" Blaise snapped. "Seven, Draco. Seven. Sooner or later, all of them left. Every time I dared to hope that someone might stick around, they proved me wrong. Over and over again, until I just stopped caring. I don't know the first damn thing about raising a child. I practically raised myself. I don't...I don't want to put Danielle through that. If I can't come through for her..."
"Merlin, you're so dramatic," Draco replied, rolling his eyes. "You're not your father. Fathers. Whatever. You're there for the people you care about. And I know you care about your daughter. You're scared for her and you're scared you're going to mess this up. But you're not, Blaise. You've got this."
"You don't know that," Blaise whispered. "You can't know that."
"I do," Draco told him. The iron like conviction in his voice was comforting, even if Blaise still didn't believe him.
"You really think I can do this?" he asked. "All by myself?"
Draco leaned against the rail, his eyes trained on the city below. "Go home, Blaise," he said softly. "Go home to your life and your family. It's where you belong." He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "You know, at this point I think I'm handing out this speech at least once a year."
Blaise had half a mind to ask what that meant, but he had a feeling Draco wouldn't tell him anything. He sighed. He missed the days when Draco had no secrets from him. When he was still there instead of in Merlin knows which corner of the world. "Where do you belong, Draco?" he found himself asking. "When are you coming home?"
Draco smirked. "Let's just say I'm waiting for a sign."
All this cryptic conversation was giving him a headache. Blaise squeezed Draco's shoulder and headed back inside. It was a nice little flat, if a little spartan. But then, considering how much Draco moved around it was probably best if he didn't invest in anything frivolous. Like a bed, apparently. The bass guitar however, was clearly a must-have. Blaise rolled his eyes. At least the git had a working wireless set.
"Yeah, that's not going to work, mate," Draco drawled, as he watched Blaise fiddle with the set. "We're too far away from a magical station to pick up on..."
"I can do it," Blaise informed him. "Maybe you can go without knowing what's happening at the home front, but some of us would like to know how Puddlemere fared at the League Cup last week."
"That was last week?" Draco approached, looking far more interested now. "Try the knob thing again..."
"No, it's this one here..."
"Okay, now it's playing Bollywood music..."
"That's actually pretty catchy," Blaise commented. Suddenly, a thought struck and he perked up. "Oh, wait! My third father had a trick for this. Iknew that one was good for something..."
It was a simple enough spell and it worked like a charm.
And, we're back with sports...
"Success!" Blaise announced triumphantly as the frequencies changed and WWN came back on air.
"Shh," Draco admonished, waving him off. "I want to hear the scores."
Blaise suppressed a grin and knelt beside him, pressing an ear to the set too. There was a lot of static but if he listened closely he could hear...
...quite the amazing victory, wasn't it Ginevra?
Right you are, Dean. And here we are, one week later and fans are still celebrating all over the country.
Ginny.
Blaise froze and his breath hitched.
"So that's the Weasley girl," Draco mused thoughtfully. "Funny, she sounds different in pers..."
"Shh!" Blaise hissed, leaning closer to listen. It felt like ages had passed since he'd last heard her voice. How long had it been anyway? Did she miss him? Did she wonder where he was or what he was doing? Did she even...
...never thought it would happen in my lifetime.
Blaise half wished he could reach into the set and cast a Silencio on Thomas. Damn it, he wanted to hear Ginny again! As if on cue, she chirped up.
And considering their performance this past decade, no one would blame you. But there we have it, the Cannons staged an astonishing comeback and they are definitely holding on to that League Cup this year.
Draco jumped like he'd been hexed. "I'm sorry, what did she just say?!" he yelped.
"Draco, will you please just let me listen?" Blaise snapped.
And there you have it, folks. It's a miracle but it's finally happened. Cannons fans all over the country can hold their heads high once again. I for one, am definitely joining in the celebration. What about you. Ginevra?
Blaise thought he heard a smile in her voice as she answered.
You know what, Dean? I think I'm going to be collecting on an old wager. Somebody out there owes me big time. And that's all the time we have for today...
Draco burst out laughing, nearly drowning out her voice. The set crackled a bit and finally fell silent.
"What?" Blaise demanded, watching warily as Draco held on to a table for support. He took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself and turned to Blaise, eyes still sparkling with mirth.
"Nothing at all," he grinned. "I just can't believe the Cannons won. Talk about miracles, eh?"
Blaise smiled back, but his eyes drifted wistfully to the wireless. When he turned back, Draco was watching him with a keen look in his eye. Blaise cleared his throat and averted his eyes at once. "She's a friend," he explained finally.
"You've mentioned," Draco replied. "She seems alright. You know, for a Weasley."
Blaise chuckled. It was nice to know some things never changed, even in a world where the Cannons won the League Cup and he was a father. In a world where everything was suddenly different.
But that was just it, wasn't it? Whether he liked it or not, this was happening. Danielle was here and she needed him, and that wasn't going to go away. Oh, he could run from it. Blaise happened to be something of an expert in that department. But then what? Most likely, he would never see Danielle again. And she would grow up without ever knowing him. And one day...
Every time I dared to hope that someone might stick around, they proved me wrong. Over and over again, until I just stopped caring.
The very thought made his stomach twist. It had happened to him, after all. Could it happen to little Danielle? And could he live with himself if hewas the very first one to let her down?
"Give it," he heard himself saying.
Draco retrieved the picture without another word, handed it over and Blaise took it with hands that just shook a bit.
This was it, he decided. Time to grow up.
He turned the photograph over, seeing his daughter for the first time ever.
And that was the moment when Blaise Zabini finally fell in love.
She really did have his eyes- dark with long lashes. Curly hair. Daphne's heart shaped face. She was smiling at something off camera, waving a chubby little fist around. She looked so small and delicate. She was quite possibly, the most perfect thing he had ever seen. And now that he was looking at her- his little girl (Merlin, she was his) - he wondered how he could even think walking away from her was an option. He couldn't.
"Told you she's gorgeous," Draco said softly.
"Yeah," Blaise managed a choked laugh. "Looks like I really will be beating the boys off with sticks."
Draco smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "You've got this, Blaise," he repeated.
Blaise nodded, his eyes still trained on the picture of that beautiful, perfect little girl. "You know, I may not really know what a father is supposed to do," he said softly. "But I'm an expert at what they're not supposed to do. And running away is probably at the top of that list." Blaise smiled and shook his head. "I guess I'm going home. To raise my child. I...have a little girl and she needs me."
"You're going to be a great father," Draco grinned. "Trust me. Now, let's see about getting you that Portkey, yeah?"
"No time like the present," Blaise replied, getting up gingerly. "I don't suppose you'll consider coming back with me? You've got responsibilities too, you know. Hell, you're an uncle now."
For once, Draco didn't refuse. Instead, his eyes drifted back to the wireless and he smiled. "Well, a deal's a deal," he murmured, half to himself. He nodded and turned back to Blaise. "Soon. I promise."
It was better than nothing. Blaise figured it would do. He would see Draco again. He knew he would.
But for now, it was time to go home.
"Hold on, Danielle," he whispered. "Daddy's coming home."
They had never realised just how quiet things could be without someone prattling incessantly in the background.
"Okay," Ron announced, breaking the stifling silence. "Is it weird that I miss him?"
Hermione sighed despondently. "It's too quiet," she muttered, picking at a loose thread on a placemat.
Harry's gaze drifted from one morose face to another. He felt completely helpless. Who would have thought that Blaise's abrupt departure would leave them all feeling so lost?
"You know what's funny?" Ginny said, nudging Harry out of the way and sitting on the sofa. "We've been friends with him all this while, and this is the first time we've ever seen where he lives."
Harry followed her gaze, looking around Blaise's flat. It wasn't really what he had expected. Then again, he had been pretty sure he was going to walk into some sort of kinky sex dungeon, so the comfortable, spacious living room was a bit of a surprise.
Today was the fourteenth day that they had all gathered at Blaise's place. By mutual, unspoken consent movie night and evenings at the bar had been put on hold until further notice. Nobody felt liked doing much, except waiting. Even Harry. Especially Harry, who couldn't help but feel that he was probably the reason Blaise had left in the first place. A part of him still didn't believe that because it was Blaise, for Merlin's sake. For all his reckless and irresponsible behaviour, the man was a constant in their lives and he wouldn't take off without a good reason. But...then where was he?
Why had no one heard from him?
Was he gone for good?
More importantly, was it time to call in the other Aurors and start a formal investigation? He had to do something.
"You know," Ron sighed. "If he comes back, I might even consider calling off the slap bet."
"Okay, did everyone hear that? Because I'll call witnesses if I have to."
Several things happened all at once. Ron yelped in alarm and upset a table. It fell with a crash, nearly knocking Harry over as he surged to his feet. Hermione and Ginny whirled around and shrieked in unison.
"Blaise!"
"Well, this is nice," Blaise drawled, sauntering in- suit and all. "Was the Leaky closed today or something? Please tell me you didn't find my stash of aged Firewhisky."
Ginny was the first. She closed the distance between them and looped her arms around Blaise pulling him into a fierce hug. "I'm so glad to see you," she whispered fervently. Then she pulled away and smacked him on the head. "Are you insane? What the hell were you thinking taking off like that?!"
"Well, it's nice to see things haven't changed much here," Blaise drawled, rubbing his abused head. He smiled and his expression softened as he regarded her. "It's nice to see you too, Genevieve."
"You had us all worried sick," Hermione scolded.
"You ruined Cannons Appreciation Week!" Ron accused indignantly.
"Ron!"
"And we were worried sick!" Ron added. "Just for that, I'm reinstating the slap bet."
"Imagine my surprise," Blaise drawled. Ron grinned in anticipation and Blaise rolled his eyes. "Ugh, fine. Go ahead..."
SLAP!
"That's three," Ron announced. Blaise rubbed his jaw and scowled as Ron squeezed his shoulder. "Good to see you again, mate. Where the hell have you been?"
"India. Nice country, very colourful. I'd recommend a lot of sunblock but..."
Harry just stood there, watching them. His friends. They were here. All of them. He had never been more thankful for anything in his life.
"Blaise."
Blaise stiffened slightly, but he turned around.
"Harry," he greeted quietly.
Harry sighed and approached him. It was time. He couldn't put this off any longer. "I've been an arse. I'm really sorry, mate."
Blaise just watched him for several seconds, absolutely expressionless. Harry was half expecting a punch to the face but then Blaise approached and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry too," he muttered gruffly. "I never should have..."
"You didn't," Harry cut in, clapping his back. "It was all me. Just...don't pull something like this again, yeah? I need you around. You're my wingman."
"Oh, good," Ron said dryly. "I was worried this wouldn't be mushy enough."
The rest of them laughed as Harry and Blaise practically sprang apart with a lot of uncomfortable throat clearing and jacket brushing.
"Brilliant," Ginny grinned. "Now who's up for some of that perfectly aged Firewhisky Blaise mentioned?"
Blaise's smiled faded slightly. He swallowed and his eyes darted from one face to another. Harry could have sworn he looked...uncomfortable. There was very little that made Blaise uncomfortable.
"Actually," Blaise said quietly. "About that...can we hold off on the drinks for a bit?"
His request was met with some pretty confused glances. "I don't think I know what any of those words mean," Ron commented.
Blaise scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I suppose there's a better way to do this but now that you're all here...there's... there's someone I want you to meet."
He left them in the living room, moving towards the hall. Ginny stared after him, looking a bit bewildered.
"Hold off on the drinks?" she repeated blankly. "Are we sure that's Blaise and not an impostor?"
Harry waited with the rest of them until he heard his footsteps again, signalling a return.
"Oh," Hermione gasped.
Harry stared and instinctively caught hold of a table for support.
"Well," Ron blurted. "Didn't see that coming.
The little girl gurgled happily and curled a fist in Blaise's shirt. Blaise swallowed and hoisted her up gently, but when he spoke his voice was clear and firm.
"Everyone, this is Danielle. My daughter."
~*~*~*~*~Present Day~*~*~*~*~
"And that's the story of how we all met your cousin Dani."
"I love Dani," Lily announced happily. "She's like the coolest big sister ever."
"Ah, Dani," Al murmured dreamily. "I had such a crush on her when I was younger."
"You had a crush on her until last week," James pointed out.
"I just said I was younger," Al huffed. His brow furrowed as he went over the story again. "It's hard to think of her as a baby. She's just so..."
"Stop," Scorpius cut in flatly. "I'm begging you."
Harry chuckled and shook his head fondly. "Believe it or not, she was five months old once upon a time. And now, look at her. Captain of the Holyhead Harpies. Gods, we were all so proud when she made the team. Of course, your Uncle Ron wanted her to play for the Cannons but he's never missed a Harpies game since. I think we did okay considering how lost we were when we first met her."
James spoke up after a beat of silence. "So, let me see if I've got this. Aunt Mione met Father, Aunt Ginny met Father and obviously, Uncle Blaise met him too. So basically, everyone ran into Father except for you?"
"Yeah, we're getting there," Harry retorted. "Now back to the story. So Danielle entered our lives one fine day and I'll admit, things were a little rocky at the start..."
~*~*~*~*~Year 5 (contd.)~*~*~*~*~
"Help me!" Blaise shrilled as he barged into Ron and Mione's flat, cradling a sobbing Dani. The toddler hid in the crook of his neck, wailing like the damned. Blaise looked about one second from following her example.
"Oh for..." Hermione approached quickly, taking the little girl from him. "There there, angel," she cooed affectionately. "What did Daddy do this time?"
Ron for one, found the whole thing rather hilarious. "Two days," he quipped. "That might be the longest you've gone without making a girl burst into tears."
"Ha ha," Blaise mumbled, falling face down on the sofa. A whine of pure misery escaped him. "I'm so tired. She hates me and everything I do is wrong. She's tired, she's hungry, she needs changing, she never wants to sleep..."
"Maybe we should rethink this having kids thing, Mione," Ron muttered uneasily.
"Oh no," Blaise snapped, pointing a dramatic finger at him. "If I'm going down, I'm taking everybody with me!"
"She's fine," Hermione chided, bouncing Dani on her hip. "See? She's calming down already. Aren't you, sweetling?"
Dani snuffled miserably into her side, turning sad, teary eyes on her father. She extended a chubby hand and grappled for him.
"See?" Hermione smiled. "She wants you."
"Why?" Blaise mumbled sullenly. "I suck at this."
"Oh, stop that," Hermione scolded, handing Dani back to him. Blaise curled a protective arm around his daughter as she settled. "This is all new for her, remember? All these strangers and new faces...a little reassurance would be nice."
Dani started sniffling again, as if to lend some credence to Hermione's theory. She whimpered fretfully and tucked herself into Blaise's chest. He sighed and ran a hand down her back. "What is it, darling?" he asked softly. "Just tell me what it is so I can make it better. All this guessing is killing me."
"Try feeding her," Ron suggested.
"I fed her an hour ago," Blaise muttered.
Ron shrugged. "Well, that's all I've got."
Dani started keening again and Blaise suppressed a groan. Instead, he focused on soothing and shushing her. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "I'm doing my best, sweetheart. And I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Dani calmed down a bit, apparently responding to the soothing voice and the strong, firm arms around her. Blaise smiled and ran a gentle finger down her cheek. "You are the love of my life. Everything I have and everything I am from this day forward is yours. For the rest of my days."
"Oh, that's just precious!" Hermione beamed as Dani smiled shyly and patted Blaise's cheek.
"The sweet-talking works," Ron added, blinking dazedly. "Merlin, he really has a superpower."
Blaise sighed in relief when Dani finally yawned and curled into his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Mind if we crash on the sofa?" he asked, hoisting the baby up gently. "The Floo will wake her for sure."
Ten minutes later, Hermione and Ron were watching as Blaise and his daughter napped on the sofa. Dani rested in the crook of Blaise's elbow while he sprawled inelegantly and snored. It took all of Ron's self restraint to not snap a picture.
"It's a little hard to believe, isn't it?" Hermione asked softly. "That little girl did what nobody else could."
Ron nodded. "She fixed Blaise."
Hermione suppressed a laugh and leaned into him. "You know, if someone had told me five years ago that Blaise would be the first one of us to have a kid, I would have laughed in their face."
Ron wrapped his arms around her. "Makes you want one of your own, doesn't it?" he asked wistfully.
"Someday," Hermione promised.
Ron just smiled and leaned in to kiss her. "Someday," he agreed.
Sooner or later, Blaise did get the hang of the whole father business. Of course, he had a lot of help. Hermione as always, was a godsend in a crisis. She knew what to do when Dani caught a cold and she figured out how to handle an entire spectrum of baby moods- from almost-but-not-quite crying to Oh-Dear-Merlin-the-world-is-ending bawling to let's-all-laugh-at-that-spot-on-the-wall-for-two-hours. Of course, she always tried to ply Blaise with books on the subject so once in a while he turned to Harry, who shockingly turned out to be a natural at the whole baby thing. Unfortunately, there was still someone who was terrified of the very sight of Dani.
"No!" Ginny screeched, cowering behind Ron. "No no, a thousand times no!"
Ron rolled his eyes. "I knew this would happen. I said it would happen. Why doesn't anybody ever listen to me?"
Dani didn't seem particularly concerned by the terror she was inciting. She just gurgled happily in her father's arms, trying to grab Ginny's hair again.
"Why?" Ginny wailed. "Why am I her favourite?"
Blaise had just about had it with this nonsense. "Look," he announced firmly. "If I can do it, you can do it. Now just, hold out your arms and..."
"I can't! I'm sorry, I just can't!"
"Ginny, we've all done it," Hermione soothed, pulling her out from behind Ron. "You're going to be fine."
"I'll just drop her," Ginny mumbled miserably. "I'll drop her or make her cry and then I'll be a terrible person."
"Blaise is a terrible person and she likes him just fine," Harry pointed out helpfully. He smiled and patted Dani's cheek. "Don't you, baby girl?"
"Gah!" Dani agreed happily. But she still squirmed urgently in Blaise's arms, trying to reach out for Ginny. Ginny whimpered in pure fright and tried to stage a hasty retreat, but Ron clamped an arm around her. "Hermione and I are going to have kids some day," he told her sternly. "Are you going to run every time you see them?"
"Maybe," Ginny mumbled sullenly. "Why can't I just buy them stuff?"
"Because you're a part of this too," Blaise informed her firmly. "Look, I know you're not comfortable with kids. Believe me, I know. But Dani is here, and damn it Ginny, you're going to be a part of my child's life. Now just...okay?"
It took a bit more coaxing and fussing (more from Ginny than Dani) but eventually, Dani was being bundled into her slim arms. Ginny stared at the toddler- wide eyed and frozen- literally a hair's breadth from panicking but Dani just gurgled in delight and grabbed on to a strand of her hair. Ginny blinked and bounced her hesitantly. Dani squealed in delight and clapped her hands.
"I'm doing it," Ginny said, sounding awestruck. "Guys, look! I'm doing it!"
"That's my girl," Harry said, ruffling her hair.
"See?" Blaise grinned. "You're a natural."
"She likes me," Ginny whispered, smiling in delight at the happy little girl in her arms. "She really likes me!"
"She's not the only one," Blaise replied with a grin.
Ginny stopped and stared up at him. Her cheeks coloured just a bit and Blaise looked like he had just realised what he had said out loud. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I mean, everyone likes you," he managed. "You know, because you're great. Of course, you could be awesome with a lot of practice but you're...really...great. And stuff."
Ginny smiled hesitantly. "Thanks," she murmured. "Hey, Dani and I are going to take a walk. That okay?" She smiled and jostled Dani a bit. "Come on, kiddo. You're really not that scary after a bit..."
Blaise watched her go with a slightly wistful expression. He didn't notice Harry watching him with a thoughtful look on his face.
Harry would admit the situation took some getting used to. One minute they were all young, carefree, mostly single people wondering what it would be like to have kids some day, and then all of a sudden, there was one right in their midst- this small, completely helpless and yet oddly fearless little person who made everything else seem trite and meaningless in comparison.
The time he spent with Dani was overwhelming. She was tiny and curious and absolutely exhausting. He was vaguely aware that just being her favourite uncle was taking everything out of him. He wasn't even sure he could handle being a father. But then there were times like this, when they sat together in the park and he was the centre of her world, and he couldn't imagine not having one of his very own.
"Look at that, Dani," he exclaimed, pointing at the flowerbeds. He was sitting cross-legged on the grass with Dani settled on his lap. "Look at the butterfly. Can you say butterfly?"
"Bubub," Dani obliged, staring in wonder as the butterfly took off again.
Harry chuckled and kissed her head. "That's my smart girl," he murmured. "You know, I think you might just be a Ravenclaw but don't tell your Daddy I said that."
From the corner of his eye, he spotted Blaise and Ginny sitting in the grass, just talking. Ginny was lovely as ever in a pale green sundress. It brought out the fiery red of her hair. She looked so pretty. Sometimes, it took Harry back to the time when they had been together. He had been absolutely mad for her. He wondered why she only inspired a passing fondness in him now and not the passion he vaguely remembered. Then again, he had to admit that he had never looked at her the way Blaise seemed to these days. He was practically hanging on to her every word. She said something and he threw his head back and laughed. A group of young women passed them. One of the blonds in that group shot Blaise a flirtatious smile. He didn't even bat an eyelid, too caught up in Ginny's story.
"Your Daddy's got it bad," Harry whispered to Dani. She gurgled seriously and tugged at his sleeve. Harry just smiled and indulged her with a few funny faces until Ron strode over.
"Remember when we were cool and used to hang out at a bar?" he sighed, sitting next to Harry. "What was that like?"
Harry chuckled and handed Dani over to him. Ron picked her up with practiced ease, smiling widely when she tugged at his hair. "You know what today is? It's exactly four months since we got you," he told her seriously. "That's right. Four months ago, we had a life that didn't involve changing diapers every two hours."
"At least there's no more crying and sobbing with that part," Harry pointed out.
Ron frowned in confusion. "Dani doesn't cry when she gets changed."
"I was talking about Blaise and Ginny."
Ron burst out laughing. "That was a good day," he agreed. His eyes drifted to them as well. "They're better now, though. I don't think I've seen Ginny smile this much since...well, ever."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "And you're okay with this...thing," he enquired carefully. "You know, with Blaise. I mean, it is Blaise."
Ron frowned. "Well, they've been dancing around each other for months. But with Dani and everything, I really think he's getting better. I thinkshe's getting better. And no, it wasn't exactly fun finding out that my sister snogged the bloke but she's a big girl now. Besides, Blaise and I sat down and talked- you know, a mature, sensible discussion..."
"You slapped him."
"That's four," Ron agreed with a snicker. "Damn, I've only got one left. Can you believe it's been four years since the Slap Bet?"
Four years. Five, if you went back just a little further. Five years since they had started hanging out together, being a part of each others' lives. It had been one hell of a ride. Just thinking back on everything they'd been through made Harry a little dizzy. "Do you think we've changed?" he asked Ron.
Ron snorted. "Do I think we've changed?" he repeated incredulously. "Let me refer you to Exhibit A," he continued, gesturing at Dani.
"No. I mean, do you think we're different people now? Like, from when we started out?"
He waited as Ron considered that. Finally, his friend shrugged. "How could we not be? Five years is a long time. I mean, look at me and Hermione. I thought we would always be happy together, but it turned out it was more complicated than that. Now, she's working with kids and we're planning one of our own and I know it looks like things just went back to the way they always were, but it's never that simple. We've grown and learned from each other. Gods, you want change? Look at Blaise and Ginny. Blaise is a father now, and if you repeat this I'll deny it but he's good at it. And Ginny used to run screaming from kids, she used to think she could have a family or a life of her own. Now she's Dani's favourite person in the world and she's finally understanding that it's not all or nothing. If that's not change, I don't know what is."
It was, wasn't it? Harry sighed wistfully as his eyes drifted to Blaise and Ginny. Ron followed his gaze and groaned. "Please don't tell me you're thinking about starting something with Ginny again," he said sternly. "Because seriously, Harry? I'll deck you myself."
"What? No!" Harry sputtered. "It's not...no, it's not that. I mean, I'll always love Ginny in a way but...we've been broken up for two years now. Gods, has it really been that long? And I look at her and Blaise and somehow, they're good together. They fix each other. They just...you know, fill in all the cracks. That's something I couldn't do for her. She couldn't do it for me."
"So, what's the matter then?"
Harry smiled and shrugged. "It's...everything you just said. You and Mione, Blaise and Ginny...you've all moved on. And where am I? Still where I was five years ago, waiting for someone to come along and fix me. I just wonder if it will ever happen. If I'll ever have that."
"Mate, of course you will," Ron exclaimed. He sounded incredulous that the alternative was even a possibility. "I can't even...look, do you see that?" He gestured at Blaise and Ginny again. "If those two can find each other, there's no question about it. You're not even half as messed up as Blaise."
Harry laughed at that. Ron grinned and slapped his back. "Trust me, Harry. Things change, they always do. But we're here because of the past, because of the good times and the bad. They made us who we are. And one day, you'll be right here with The One and you'll look back on this conversation and remember this day. And you'll be thankful for it because it played a part in the tomorrow I know you're going to have."
And that right there was why Ron was his best friend. Harry smiled and clapped his shoulder.
"Thanks mate. You always know just what to say."
"It's what I do," Ron grinned. "Now come on. Someone- and I won't say who- is due for a diaper change. I'm not getting stuck with that again. Oi, Blaise! Come here a second..."
Harry obliged and followed Ron, still mulling over his words. The past, the good times and the bad - that was something to think about. A grin broke out on his face as inspiration struck. Now that he thought about it, New Years was right around the corner. And Harry knew just how they would be celebrating this year.
New Years' Eve...
"I have to hand it to you, Harry," Blaise said, watching the fireworks go off in the distance. "You really pulled out all the stops this time."
"This is amazing," Ginny agreed, hoisting Dani on her hip and keeping a careful distance from the railing. "How did you get McGonagall to agree to this?"
Harry shrugged. "Well, I figured she owed me a favour. I did save the world, you know."
"Once," Blaise retorted dryly. "Don't let it go to your head."
Harry grinned and gave him a shove. "Long story short, it's still technically Christmas break and there are hardly any students around. She said as long as we don't get in trouble, the Astronomy Tower is ours for New Years."
"You'd think after all these years, she'd know better," Ron quipped. "By the way, has anyone seen my wife?"
"Loo," Ginny answered. "She'll be back soon. Merlin, this is beautiful."
They fell silent as they looked out into the sky. The stars were out and the fireworks went up every now and then. The Astronomy Tower was absolutely majestic- spiralling up against the dark sky. Dani absolutely loved it. She squealed and clapped her hands every time the fireworks were set off. Ginny smiled and kissed her forehead. "You like that? This is Hogwarts. It's where we all met, pretty much centuries ago. You're going to live here some day."
"Actually, I was thinking of sending her to Beauxbatons," Blaise countered with a frown. "I'm not sure I like the look of these Hogwarts lads."
"You don't like the look of the boys in Hermione's playschool," Ginny snorted.
"Hey, I saw that kid looking at my daughter."
"Blaise, he was two years old."
"Do you want me to tell you what I was like at two? So, I had this nanny..."
"Please stop," Ron blurted.
Harry chuckled and shook his head fondly. Nutters, all of them- and there was no one he'd rather be with than them. The school grounds spread out in front of him, the stars above... this place held so many memories, and he wouldn't lie - not all of them were good. The Astronomy Tower itself could testify to the darkness that these walls had held once. But it was a part of who he was, who he would be. There was no better place for a new beginning than right here.
"So who wants to dance?" he asked. The music had been playing for a while now, and he wouldn't even ask why or how Blaise had seen fit to equip the Tower with mood lighting and jazz. But it was here and they would be pretty foolish not to take advantage of it.
"You're on your own," Ron told him. "I'm going to find Hermione."
"I'll take you up on that," Ginny grinned. "Here, Blaise. Take your kid."
She bundled Dani into Blaise's waiting arms and pulled Harry over to the makeshift dance floor. Harry waltzed with her to the music and he couldn't help but think how easy this was- being her friend. Being her boyfriend had been exhausting, but this felt right. Maybe this was how it was always meant to be.
"Look at you," Ginny teased gently. "You've come a long way since the Yule Ball."
"That's one way of putting it," Harry smiled. "I think we've all changed. Look at you, for example. With the babysitting and the domesticity- you're sure it's not contagious?"
Ginny huffed and smacked his arm. "Yeah, fine. Go ahead and make fun of me. But I'll have you know that Dani is the biggest adventure I've ever had. She's...you know, she's a little person and I get to be a part of her growing up. That's exciting. Honestly? I don't think anything else compares."
"And you don't miss it? The adventure of the open road and all that?"
Ginny ruffled his hair. "You know, this bloke I met in Argentina once told me that life doesn't have to be all or nothing. It's just life."
Harry considered that. "That's sound advice," he offered.
Ginny smiled softly. "Yeah, it is."
Harry would have asked her more about it, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Do you mind if I cut in?" Blaise asked with a hopeful smile.
And in that moment, Harry really didn't. If he made Ginny happy and if Ginny made him happy, then that was all he wanted for them. "Not at all," he said. Blaise squeezed his shoulder- just the slightest indication that he understood, that he was grateful. He didn't say anything. Neither did Harry. They didn't need to.
So, he just smiled as Dani was handed over to him, watching fondly as Blaise swept a smiling Ginny up in his arms. And Harry let him.
"Come on, pretty girl," he said to Dani as he left them twirling to the music. "Looks like you're my date tonight."
Dani gurgled happily as they stood out on the Tower, watching the fireworks again. Harry dropped a kiss in her dark curls. "Take a good, long look, sweetheart," he whispered. "This is where it all started."
"We're counting down!" Ginny announced suddenly. "The New Year starts in ten seconds!"
"Here we go," Harry murmured.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
"Five seconds," Blaise informed them.
Four.
Three.
Two .
"One," Harry whispered. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Dani's chubby cheek. "Happy New Year, baby girl."
Dani giggled and clapped her hands as Blaise and Ginny kissed under the stars. "Yeah," Harry told her. "I think they look good, too."
"Harry."
He whirled around to see Ron standing next to him. "Hey mate," Harry greeted. "You just missed the..."
"Harry," Ron repeated. He was pale and his eyes were wide. Harry felt a trickle of unease down his spine at Ron's dazed expression. "Ron," he said slowly. "What's going on?"
Ron blinked and shook his head slowly. "Hermione..."
"What about her?" Harry demanded, looking around frantically. "She's okay, right? Where is..."
"Right here," Hermione spoke up from behind him. She approached Ron slowly and took his hand. Her eyes were misty and... okay, Harry was really worried now. "What is it?" he demanded again. Ginny and Blaise were coming over as well, looking concerned.
"Is everything okay?" Ginny asked. "Mione, are you crying?"
Hermione bit her lip and pulled out her wand. Harry didn't recognize the spell but he couldn't be bothered to think about it when something was obviously terribly wrong. Hermione was still crying and there was a light floating out from her wand now. A red light which floated placidly over her stomach and...
Red.
Harry froze.
"Oh!" Ginny gasped. "It's..."
"Red," Blaise confirmed, blinking rapidly. "Definitely red. Everyone's seeing this, right?"
It was red.
It was red.
"I'm going to be a Dad," Ron mumbled, still looking like he had been run over by the Hogwarts Express.
"We're having a baby," Hermione whispered.
And hell broke loose.
Ginny shrieked in delight and launched herself at them, Blaise laughed and thumped Ron on the back, Dani squealed and gurgled and issued other sounds of general baby approval and Harry was suddenly caught up in a torrent of laughing, shouting, cheering people with his arm around Ron and Hermione, Ginny and Blaise by his side and Dani in his arms.
A baby.
His best friends in the world were going to be parents.
He laughed out loud and joined in the chaos that just never seemed to end with this group.
It was the best beginning to a New Year he could have asked for.
~*~*~*~*~Present Day~*~*~*~*~
"Okay, I have to say it," Scorpius broke in. "Now it's just getting depressing."
"Blondie's got a point, Dad," James added. "I mean, it looks like everyone got their happily ever after except for you."
"Thank you. And don't call me Blondie."
"Whatever you say, Blondie."
Harry smiled and poured himself another drink. "I'm not going to lie- at the time it felt like I was all alone. But that's the thing about life, kids. It pulls a Wronski Feint on you when you least expect it. For example, there was no way I could have known that at that exact moment..."
~*~*~*~*~Year 5 (contd.)~*~*~*~*~
New Year's Eve: Kings Cross Station
Gwen wasn't crazy about working the late shift on New Year's Eve. There was something unbearably sad about the concept. Of course, it didn't really matter much considering that Malcolm was in Guatemala with Healers without Borders. It would hardly do to go back to an empty house. Still, it was New Year's and everyone was with their friends and families and here she was, watching the last train trundle on to the station.
A lone passenger stepped out. Gwen frowned and leaned over her counter to get a better look. Poor bloke. Apparently, she wasn't the only one on her own tonight. He hoisted a guitar over his shoulder and approached. Gwen raised an eyebrow in evident interest as she noticed his lean, tall frame and those pretty, grey eyes.
Malcolm, she reminded herself firmly.
Still, no harm in looking, right?
"Hi," he said, approaching her counter. "Is this the International Portkey Office?"
"That's us," she replied with a bright smile. Oh, he was cute. And a musician too, apparently. "Can we- well, I - help you?"
"I need to turn this in," he said, tossing something on the counter. She picked up the guitar pick and cast the usual spells on it. Definitely a Portkey. "Of course," she said. "I just need to run a few tests on it. It will only take a few minutes."
He nodded, so she went about with the usual. Okay, so what did we have here? Belgium. France. The Netherlands. Italy. Argentina. Brazil. India...
"My, haven't we been busy?" she mumbled, half to herself. One of those wanderer types, apparently. Shame. Someone should have tied down a handsome bloke like that...
"Everything's in order," she said finally, pocketing her wand. "I'll make sure it reaches the offices. Shall we see about issuing you a new key, Mr..." she frowned and checked the name again, "...Malfoy?"
He smiled slightly but shook his head. "No thanks. I think I'll stick around here for a while."
She nodded and flashed him another smile. "Well then, let me be the first to say- welcome home, Mr Malfoy."
He laughed. "You might be the only one to say it," he told her. "But thank you. Have a nice night."
She watched his retreating back until he was out of sight.
Damn.
Gwen sighed and flopped down in her seat again, resolving to owl Malcolm first thing tomorrow.
~*~*~*~*~Present Day~*~*~*~*~
"Oh, thank Merlin," James exclaimed.
"What are you so happy about?" Al demanded. "It took them six years to end up in the same country!" He shook his head and turned to Harry. "Seriously Dad, it's a miracle you found each other at all."
"Honestly? I'm inclined to agree with you," Harry grinned. "And it would never have happened, if it wasn't for the wedding."
"The wedding?" Lily piped up.
"Your Uncle Blaise and Aunt Ginny's wedding, to be exact," Harry told her. "It's where Father and I met."
Scorpius threw his arms up, apparently exasperated. "And you couldn't have just mentioned that before? How's this for a story, Dad? Father and I met at a wedding. Simple, yet effect-ow!"
He yelped and nursed his ribs as Lily rubbed her elbow. "You're ruining story time," she informed him severely.
"Yeah, pipe down," Al added. "We still don't know where the pineapple came from."
Scorpius huffed and subsided. "No need for violence," he grumbled sullenly.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Shall I continue?"
There was no protest, so he did.
"The wedding took place late in the year. Of course, we were all pretty excited back then. But nobody guessed just how eventful it was going to be..."