Chapter Text
Draco Malfoy had never imagined that at 25, she wouldn’t be the perfect pure-blood wife, but she wouldn’t change anything about her current life. Being a single mother to a nearly three-year-old boy with the sweetest smile in the world was more than her past self could have ever asked for. Scorpius was her everything, and fortunately, she had the support of her parents and friends, especially Pansy, who were always there when she needed them. Even more so since she had left France and returned to England due to a special request from the Ministry. However, that night, everyone had unexpected plans.
"I'm sorry, darling," her mother said through the Floo Powder. "Our portkey was delayed, but we'll be back next week."
Draco sighed in defeat but assured her mother that it wasn’t important and that she and her father should enjoy the rest of their stay in Italy.
"Blaise has dragged me to an unbelievably dull dinner with his mother," Pansy complained. "You know that if I could, I’d be delighted to stay with my godson."
Draco knew Pansy meant it because there was no one in the world she loved more than her godson, so she nodded as she closed the connection. She held her son tighter in her arms, running a hand through Scorpius’s fine curls as he played with a stuffed Hippogriff, his favourite animal of the past month. What an irony.
Draco knew she could ask Andromeda, but she would undoubtedly ask questions, and Draco couldn’t even admit to herself that she had a date with Harry Potter.
In truth, she wasn’t even sure she could call it that.
She and Harry had crossed paths several times over the past few months.
Their first encounter had been when Draco used the Floo Network to call the Granger-Weasley household to inform Ronald about what she had discovered regarding the illegal potion trafficking case, and the first thing she saw was Harry Potter’s smile as he immediately started asking her what she had been up to in recent years. Of course, Draco had only said something along the lines of, "Step aside, Potter," before stepping into the house with the relevant case files.
Harry had followed her like a loyal puppy and didn’t leave her side, even though Draco made it clear that the case was confidential and he had no business being there.
It took a very pregnant Hermione grabbing Harry by the arm and dragging him away to get rid of him.
When the meeting ended, Hermione wanted to invite Draco to dinner, but she apologised, saying she needed to return to Scorpius. Hermione nodded understandingly and asked if, when she had the chance, she could bring little Scorpius to meet Rose, who was currently asleep in her father’s arms.
Draco had wanted to refuse, but she agreed when Hermione mentioned that, despite having many older cousins, Rose struggled to fit in and might feel more comfortable playing with someone her own age. Draco knew it would be best for Scorpius as well, as he didn’t really have anyone to play with.
With a promise to return soon, Draco said her goodbyes and tried to ignore Harry’s satisfied smile when he remarked that he would see her again. Just as she stepped into the Floo Network, she thought she heard Harry ask Hermione, "Who is Scorpius?"
Two days after that meeting, Draco got Scorpius ready to visit Hermione and Rose. Scorpius was, to say the least, thrilled at the idea of meeting new people.
Fortunately, everything went wonderfully, because the moment Scorpius and Rose saw each other, they started playing with the building blocks in the living room while trying to chat about their favourite magical creatures.
From that moment on, Hermione was determined to include Scorpius and Draco in her weekday gatherings, arguing that their children adored each other and that she and baby Hugo, who would be arriving in less than two months, could use some company.
The near-daily visits led to Scorpius and Rose becoming inseparable, which meant Draco spent far more time in the company of the Granger-Weasley family than she had ever imagined.
Harry, though undoubtedly another member of that little family, wasn’t around much due to the new Quidditch season, except on weekends.
Scorpius barely recognised Harry. He had only seen him for a few minutes one Saturday when Draco and Scorpius visited to give Rose a storybook that Scorpius wanted to gift her. Rose had been beyond excited, jumping up and down with the book in her hands. Then, she had run off to show her godfather Harry what her best friend had given her.
Timidly, Scorpius had approached them, and Harry had introduced himself to the little boy, crouching down to be at his level. Afterward, he had tried to continue chatting with Scorpius and his mother, but Draco had made it clear that it was a brief visit. She had taken Scorpius by the hand and told him to say his goodbyes.
However, since her mother insisted that Draco go out at least twice a week to take a break from work and the exhausting task of raising a baby alone, Harry Potter always seemed to be nearby on those outings. As a result, she began to get to know him beyond Hogwarts.
After about twenty encounters, Draco found herself terribly enchanted by the man she was getting to know, but she constantly reminded herself that someone like Harry Potter would never be interested in a woman like her: a former Death Eater, from a family that had been on the wrong side of the war, and a single mother.
Of course, Draco believed that all their meetings were purely coincidental.
At least, until the evening before.