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The Stag and the Fox - Drarry

Summary:

Y'know that moment in The Prisoner of Azakaban movie where Draco walks up to Harry during their Hippogriff lesson, biting his lip and obviously checking Harry out? Yeah, that's a good moment...
Harry's on a track that he can't seem to get off of, while Draco feels like he's completely derailed and needs to get back on. They meet again at the emotionally loaded 10-year memorial service for the Battle of Hogwarts, finally ready to laugh about the endless taunting of each other during their youth, all while stealing coy glances at each other for the entire evening and- get this, the following morning as well...
When help is requested overseas, they decide to offer their services. It's just a lucky coincidence, that Harry and Draco can help those in need while finding themselves at home with each other when they are so far away from what they are used to.
More feel-good and adorable Drarry-moments than doom and despair in this fic, because they're cute and deserve each other and the world xx

Chapter 1: The Sweet Things

Chapter Text

The crack of dawn- the promise of a new day, accompanied by the vivid pink and orange of a sunrise, reflected in the trademark round glasses that sat upon Harry Potter's nose. His kitchen window had the most breathtaking early-morning view he'd come across, even if he may say so himself, especially since he was drinking a cup of steaming tea while soaking up the first golden rays of the day.

Harry smiled to himself as a rabbit dashed through the dew that glistened over his unkempt back garden, which had grass at irregular lengths, weeds, common flowers and a few bushes growing throughout the sizeable piece of land. He really must get around to tidying all that wild vegetation up... If only to be able to sit at a small table, in his back garden, fresh dawn air surrounding him, while he sipped his morning tea. Another smile, another thought skipped through Harry's mind, one including two young children giggling as they ran through daffodils that he could picture growing right at the back, in the left corner of the garden.

He nodded, to no one in particular really, checked his watch, quickly finished his tea and left the mug in the sink. After pulling on his jacket and picking up his bag, Harry cast a quick look around to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, locked up the house, and took a minute of leisurely strolling, before he Apparated to the front door of a charming, flower-covered stone house.

Knocking on the door to mimic a nursery rhyme, Harry took a step back when he heard the scrape of a chair and shuffle-y footsteps behind the door. "Good morning," he smiled, as the wooden door was swung open, something that was becoming slightly more effort by the day, because of the cascading deep green vines, entangled with pops of purple and bright pink flowers, which had grown down to hang in front of the door. He held up the bag he was carrying, "Brought fresh flapjacks."
Ginny, stood in the doorway, still in her pj's, red-orange hair sticking up in all directions, like the lashing flames in a fire, chuckled sleepily, followed by a yawn, "Mmh, morning to you too," she responded, stepping aside as Harry walked into the home. Ginny looked from Harry, back outside before closing the door, "No Ted?"
"Oh, no, he's with Andromeda until tonight, they've gone to the seaside for a couple of nights."
Ginny nodded understandingly, knowing Andromeda liked to have time at the beach to reconnect with little Teddy. "You'll be extra popular today then," she said, moving the topic of conversation onward, following him into the kitchen where he had produced the biscuit tin, and set it on the counter top.
"Well, that's the plan, can't be falling out of favour with them, now can I?"

The grin on her ex-husbands face had Ginny mock a disappointed shake of the head, before caving and smiling with him. She returned to the seat she was sitting in before Harry's arrival, the chair he'd heard scrape across the floor as she'd stood up. It was half-painted, with a light teal, uneven coat, presumably because Ginny had been distracted while doing the little job. She was reading The Daily Prophet now, the sports section. "Gin," whispered Harry, still smiling, as he was hanging his coat up, earning him not much more than raised eyebrows and a questioning hum of attention being paid, "You know you can't edit it anymore? It's gone, whoosh, printed. Already on everyone's kitchen table. No point re-reading your own article-"
"Yes, yes, I'm aware... Whoosh, gone, no more calling it back. I'll still read it though..." She trailed off, furrowed brows and pursed lips.
Harry busied himself with setting oats and milk out, then found bowls, spoons and a plate. He eyed the fruit basket warily, "Was it apple or banana those two misfits are refusing to eat at the moment?"

Not moments after he'd mentioned them, two pairs of feet came thundering down the stairs. Well, that is to say, one came thundering down while the other squealed for his brother to wait for him, to no avail. James ran through the hallway and practically launched himself, with a battle cry of "Daddy!" into Harry's arms- prompting a winded 'Oof' from the recipient of a two-going-on-three year old rocket. The younger Albus, still whingeing about being abandoned halfway down the stairs, waddled into the kitchen with a severe case of nearly-two-year-old pouting going on, which his father couldn't help but laugh at. Putting James down and scooping Albus up, Harry pointed out the tin of flapjacks to them both, which cured Albus of his sticky-out-y bottom lip, and made him wiggle out of his father's arms to rush over to the counter. Ginny had gotten up from her chair, now had one foot on the first step up the stairs, but had paused to watch the three of them interact. When Harry turned to see her still there, she placed a hand over her heart with a wide smile, then went up the stairs to get ready for her day.

The arrangement that Harry and Ginny had come to suited them both as a perfectly fine solution to a relationship that had gone unattended and ultimately fizzled out, something that had saddened them both greatly but didn't hold against each other. Busy schedules from high-demanding and time-consuming top careers, mixed with a close and large family that was regularly visited, left them with few moments to spend, just the two of them. A rocky start to a last year's Quidditch season on top of an already stressful day job and the resulting lack of sleep for Ginny didn't improve her irritability. The joint decision to terminate her third pregnancy in its early stages was something that Ginny felt grateful for, however sad it was to lose a child. She felt better now, knowing that it had been the right choice. She couldn't imagine any of the steps that she and Harry had taken to end their marriage would have been very pleasant with a newborn involved, and she had never wished to bring another child into such a tense and unhealthy environment.

Now, Harry came by Ginny's home every morning, saw to it that their two sons ate breakfast and got dressed, which gave all three of them a good start to their day, then Harry would leave for the Ministry while Ginny wrote her articles at home. In the evenings, Harry would swing by again if he had time after work, put the boys to bed, and occasionally have late-night conversations with Ginny about this, that and the other whenever Ted was with Andromeda. They kept each other company, both made sure the other was okay, because they did still care for one another.

Harry rescued the tin from James, who had climbed onto the counter (with the assistance of a strategically placed chair), and was preparing to bash the elusive metal case, withholding what he knew for sure to be something sweet, against the wall. Before James could burst out a tantrum, Harry popped the tin open and handed him and Albus a flapjack, before cheekily eating one himself. He picked James up, who made a gurgling sound, as if he were an explosion, before stuffing another bite in his mouth when he was back on the floor. Albus mimicked the sound before giggling loudly, which started a who-can-laugh-the-loudest contest between both toddlers.

Wand in hand, Harry charmed a knife to chop an apple, hoping it was bananas which his sons had decided to reject for a while. Really though, it was James who was very picky, and once he had decided that something was not worth eating, Albus would unquestioningly go along with him.

The chopping board tipped apple slices into two bowls which Harry then put on the table. He helped Albus into his highchair, while James clambered onto a chair with a pillow on it to raise him to table height, a solution Ginny had come up with when he'd started fussing about being in the aforementioned highchair. With two little boys, all red cheeks and munchy silence, Harry washed up the previous night's dishes the muggle way, just so he could keep his hands busy.

Ginny came back down the stairs just as Harry was wiping porridge remnants off Albus' face, after having dressed them both in dungarees over red t-shirts. "Well, would you look at you two! Aren't you just dashing?" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
James, holding a stuffed hippogriff toy, beamed at her, while Albus looked from his mother to his father, then made grabby hands at the latter, who picked him up with a smile. After glancing at the clock on the wall, Harry moved through the kitchen to the hallway, transferring Albus to Ginny on the way. In discontentment, Albus whined and reached for him again.
"Traitor!" gasped Ginny, bringing a smug look to Harry's face.
"I knew those flapjacks would shift the odds in your favour, but I didn't think they'd swing so far your way..." she mumbled, winking at Harry, who pumped a fist in the air, "I should bake more often!" He kissed Albus' head, then picked James up and tossed him into the air, the boy giggling with glee, until Harry planted a kiss squarely on his nose. Protesting being back on the floor, James squealed "Again!" and jumped, throwing his toy. Harry picked it up, and crouched down to him, "Dad's going now, I'll throw you again this evening, okay?"
James put a finger to his mouth, thinking about this suggestion for a few moments, then nodded and hugged him.
"See you later buddy..." Harry stood up to shrug his jacket on, then ruffled Albus' hair and kissed both of Ginny's cheeks, "'Till tonight."

He stepped outside, closed the front door and Apparated to the Ministry, swiftly walking along with the throng of people on their way to work. He stepped into an elevator, and stepped back out on Level Two, where he encountered Luna. She smiled sheepishly, "Hello, Harry. How are you today?" she asked in her usual soft tone, "Did you have a good morning?"
"Hi Luna, I'm good, thanks." He gestured for them to keep walking, and after shifting the files (as well as an old Quibbler) she was holding a bit, so they were no longer slipping from her grip, they walked down to Harry's office. "The boys were pretty good this morning, Ginny was a little bit quiet though. S'pose she's a bit nervous about the article in today's Prophet, re-reading it at the kitchen table and all..." His recount of the earlier hours wasn't a long one, for Harry had accidentally caught the eye of one of his colleagues, who seemed to have recently shaved, a particular thing that had always stirred a feeling in Harry, a kind of feeling that made him bite the inside of his lip to distract him from... Well, the distraction that this man had caused him. Shaking his heated cheeks, he quickly moved his staring from the smirking man down to the floor.

"Yes," Luna lifted her eyes after a few moments of studying Harry's flushed face, "I should think one might be a bit on edge after receiving some negative critique on one's work." She pulled one file from the stack she was carrying as Harry led her into his office, "Here, all the information we have on kappas. It wasn't easy, you know, finding all of the relevant old archives. Some of them are nearly one hundred years old, and no one's done any research on them since then..."
Harry nodded, skimming over the pages and flicking through them. "If we can fit the knowledge needed to keep a kappa alive to our suspects, I'm sure we can narrow down the potential smugglers."

The clock chimed six, and a few moments later there was a soft knock at Harry's office door. "Enter," he mumbled absently, crossing a line through another name. He looked up to see a head poking around the corner. Not recognising who the brown head of hair belonged to, he furrowed his brow and jutted his chin out, evoking a giggle from who he now knew was Ted, and the brown hair turned blue, "Fooled you!"
Harry stood up and smiled, "Cheeky."
Trying to contain the smile pulling up his cheeks, Ted wandered over to the shelves as Harry started organising his papers, deciding to take a few home with him. Ted was reaching for a slim, red, leather-bound book, with gold lettering on it's spine, until a stern voice stopped him,
"Edward..." was all his grandmother had to say to stop his hand mid-air. Harry laughed when Teddy's eyes cautiously met Andromeda's, estimating his chances of getting away with grabbing the book anyway.
Carrying his jacket and bag, Harry patted Ted on the back, "C'mon you rascal, best not get in trouble over a book about the intricacies of knitting a pattern of the Gryffindor lion into scarves." They all stepped out of the office, both adults chatting while Ted stared around with wide eyes, as if this wasn't his umpteenth time in the Ministry.
He suddenly turned to Harry, a flush of red to his cheeks from the all of the buzz around him, "Can we Apparate to Ginny's house today?"
Harry looked at Andromeda, "Well... Only if Granny Anny says it's okay..."
Ted cast a pleading, hopeful look at her, and after a few moments, she nodded. Ted whooped and dragged Harry out of the elevator, who barely had a second to tell Andromeda he'd see her tomorrow. They both waved at her, until she turned to head for the corridor to travel home by the Floo network.
"Alright," Harry held out an arm for Ted to take, "Ready?" He nodded determinedly.
"If you have to vomit, try not to get it on yourself, okay? Or on me, for that matter. What did you have for dinner?"
"Erm... Beef and potatoes. And beans."
Harry cringed, "Good solids," he clapped Ted on his back, "Aim at some grass, if push comes to shove. Or food comes to fly, in this case, I suppose."
Teddy nodded again, this time less sure of himself, and clutched Harry's sleeve. Harry told him to take a deep breath, then apparated to Ginny's house.

Ted stumbled, falling, were it not for Harry catching him, "How're you doin'?"
He breathed deeply a few times, and gulped, "I feel like I've been through a bloody blender."
Harry chuckled and swatted the back of his head, "You've been spending too much time with the Weasleys. Just 'cause you apparated for the first time, doesn't mean you can swear, young man."
Ginny must have seen them through the window, because Albus and James came running down the drive and into Harry, who picked them both up and spun them around, both tight to his chest and their laughs and delighted squeals echoing through the street.

In the house, Harry tucked James and Albus into their beds and cast a simple spell over the room as he silently exited it. When he wandered back downstairs, Ted was happily eating an evening snack in the living room, but the mood was doused in the kitchen, where Ginny was sat at the table, a cup of tea between her hands, an envelope in front of her, Hogwarts' seal pressed into the wax.