And All Over Again (16)

[fathomlessspite]

Title: And All Over Again (16)
Author: fathomlessspite
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy and the rest of them
Warnings: (eventual) slash, DH SPOILERS, epilogue compliant :(
Rating: PG thus far 
Word Count (thus far): 20,661
Chapter 16 Word Count: 1208
Summary: It's Lily Potter's first year at Hogwarts, it'll be the first year in thirteen since Ginny and Harry had the house to himself. But as Ginny has decided to take a course at a wizarding college in Egypt Harry accepts a teaching position at Hogwarts. With old friends and enemies surrounding him, questions about his slowly disintegrating marriage are hard to ignore.
Chapter Summary:  “What are you giggling about Potter?” he heard Draco snap, which just set him off again. Laughing, not giggling. He was too old for giggling.

CATCH UP: --PROLOGUE-- , --PARTS 1&2--, --PART 3--, --PART 4--, --PART 5--, --PART 6A--, --PART 6B--, --PART 7--, --PART 8--, --PART 9--, --PART 10--, --PART 11--, --PART 12--, --PART 13--, --PART 14--, --PART 15--
 

Head hidden in the crook of his elbow resting on the table, Harry tried suppressing his rather undignified fit of laughter.

“What are you giggling about Potter?” he heard Draco snap, which just set him off again. Laughing, not giggling. He was too old for giggling.

“I think he found Neville’s story amusing,” Oliver said, poking at the crown of Harry’s head.

It had been amusing, very amusing. Maybe not fits of hysterics amusing but Harry appeared to appreciate the irony on a level they didn’t. Neville Longbottom was teasing Draco Malfoy.

“Maybe it was the whiskey,” Draco added dryly.

Or maybe it had been the whiskey.

“Should we have let him drink so much?” Neville asked concern evident in his tone.

“He’s a grown man, Nev,” Oliver responded.

“Hmm, and I think he’s earned the right to overindulge a little if he wishes, haven’t you Potter?” Draco asked. Harry nodded into his arms, laughter now dissipated. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face though as Draco pressed his leg against Harry’s gently under the table. Good thing no-one could see it, it was probably far too telling.

“Harry,” Oliver said, rattling the kitchen table in the hopes of destabilising him.

“C’mon Potter, don’t want you suffocating now do we?” Draco said, gently sliding his hand into Harry’s hair and pulling his head up out of the crook of his arm.

Harry blinked for a minute adjusting to the light and shivered slightly as Draco’s grip tightened momentarily before he slid his hand out of Harry’s hair to rest where his shoulder met his neck.

Oliver smiled at him and Neville slid the whiskey bottle out of his reach across the table before they both turned to face the living room where Harry distantly recognised the sound of the floo.

Harry however had been distracted by the movement of Draco’s thumb rubbing small circles just behind his ear. Draco seemed to be unaware he was doing it; his eyes focused as they were in the same direction as Oliver and Neville’s.

“Harry,” the new arrival said. Harry frowned, still looking at Draco whose eyes had slid briefly to Harry. With a small quirk of his lips he withdrew his hand and nodded behind Harry.

“Ron! Hey!” he greeted, getting unsteadily to his feet. Three pairs of arms reached out to steady him. (Neville having to lean over the table to do so and narrowly avoided knocking the firewhiskey bottle over in the process).

“You okay?” he frowned as he crossed the living room and entered the kitchen area.

“You’ve known him all these years and you don’t know he’s a lightweight?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Am not,” Harry grumbled.

“Potter you’re swaying,” Draco admonished, gripping Harry’s forearm and guiding his hand to hold on to the edge of the table. “How did you get in here anyway Weasley?” Draco asked.

“Through the floo.”

“Of course through the floo, idiot. You shouldn’t have been able to though, its password protected,” he explained.

“Oh I opened it,” Harry said. “In case Ginny wanted to use it,” he added for clarification. Draco let go of his arm and folded his hands in front of him.

“So, Harry, I need to talk to you. It’s kind of important,” he added, glancing at the other three. 

Oliver snorted, “I hardly think he’s any state for an important conversation, Ron.”

“I’ll get some sobriety potion. I have some in my rooms,” Draco said and pushed himself out of his seat.

“Thanks Draco,” Harry said, smiling gratefully at him.

“No problem,” he said with a returning smile with significantly less wattage than Harry’s. “Back in a minute,” he said, pushing Harry gently back into his seat by the shoulders as he passed.

“Well I guess that’s our queue to leave as well,” Oliver said, standing up as well. Neville snagged the whiskey from the table and put it in a cupboard.

“Night guys,” Harry waved them out. Ron dropped into the seat next to him. “Is everything okay?” Harry asked him.

“No mate, not really,” Ron shook his head. Harry felt a brief surge of panic that he had whenever someone said there was bad news. He’d never managed to get out of the mindset that that phrase meant someone was hurt or had died.

“Is everyone okay?” he rephrased.

“No-one’s hurt,” Ron said, immediately understanding Harry’s concern.

“Good,” Harry said, momentarily relieved.

Draco returned a few minutes later. He handed Harry a small bottle of red potion, squeezing his shoulder briefly before walking to the sink where he poured Harry as glass of water and place it on the table in front of him.

“Make sure you drink that as well,” he instructed.

“Okay,” Harry said with a smile, resting his chin on his hand as he did so.

“Potter,” Draco said raising an eyebrow.

“Hmn?”

“Drink it,” he said in exasperation.

“Oh okay,” Harry said still smiling. Draco watched him down the potion and bade them goodnight. Harry’s head just began to clear in time to watch Draco close the door behind him.

“You feeling okay, he didn’t spike it did he?” Ron asked suspiciously.

Harry rolled his eyes, “I’m fine. Do you want to get to the reason you came?” he asked, irritation at the interruption to his evening growing as the effects of the alcohol dissipated.

“When did you speak to Ginny last?” Ron asked.

“She owled me a couple of days ago, apologising for not coming by. She said you had all been really busy and she didn’t want to miss out on anymore time with the children,” Harry told him, managing to keep out most of his doubt over the truth of that out of his tone.

“She turned up at ours yesterday mate. I wasn’t there when she arrived, by the time I came home she was crying her eyes out on Hermione’s shoulder,” he told him.

“Why? Is she ok?” Harry asked; despite their recent gradual estrangement Ginny was still his family. “What happened?”

“I probably shouldn’t even be telling you this, not my place,” he added a he picked at the surface of the table with his fingernails. “I mean she’s my sister, but you’re my friend, and you don’t deserve…”

Harry inhaled sharply, suddenly realising where this conversation was going. He’d suspected but he had just thought he was being paranoid

“I’m sorry Harry, she had an affair, with some tutor on her course,” Ron said, watching him carefully for a reaction.

Harry was still waiting for it himself.

“That’s why she was crying, told Hermione she couldn’t take hiding it anymore,” Ron continued when no response was forthcoming. 

Harry barked out a laugh, “Well it was nice of her to let Hermione know,” he commented as the situation began to sink in. Ginny had had an affair. She had sat holding his hand, committing to work on their problems and yet had failed to mention this.

It didn’t hurt as much as it should.

“I’m so sorry, Harry.” And Harry wished Ron would stop saying that. Because at the moment almost the only thing he was feeling in response to what he was hearing was completely overwhelming and all encompassing relief.

--Part Seventeen--