“eleven?” harry asked ulled away. “you sure had a funny way of showing it.”
“you’re all i ever wanted, harry. i was terrified of that want, i was terrified of you.”
“you were muh sarier than i ever was,” harry breathed.
“you were almost like…ay. an idol. yer than all of us. and somehow, i was the u went and fell ih you,” drao replied.
“unluky?” harry asked raising an eyebrow.
“unluky that it was you that i feel for when i am who i am. who i was. luius malfoy’s sohe boy who lived? he would have tor. more than he already did,” drao expined.
“i guess that is pretty unluky,” harry agreed. he ould feel his whole body teion of drao’s father, but deided not to omment any further. drao k about his father. his own ses probably weren’t too far off from harry’s.
“it had a way of w itself out, apparently,” drao smiled at him, touhing harry’s hand that still rest on upon his heek.
“do all mushy and start talking about fate and all that kind of stuff,” harry ughed.
“don’t tell me you, of all people, doe. you’re a living prophey.”
“it ould have been anyo deided it was me. not fate,” harry said.
drao shook his head.
“otter. you’re the o brought fate up. but maybe now i’ll say it was fate that brought us here, just to annoy you.”
“wouldn’t that be just like you,” harry answered.
“wouldn’t it be?”
epilogue
“unle harry!”
&he walk of grimmauld pe, trippioes whehe steps. harry smiled as the toddler mbered up the stairs, piking her up and hugging her whehe door.
“how are you, rosie?” he asked.
“unle harry, where is phantom?” rose asked, peering over his shoulder down the hall.
harry ughed.
“he’s around here somewhere, i’m sure. why don’t you go look for him?” he asked, settile girl down and sehe house.
hermione was following lose behier, shaking her head.
“i still ahat le o it?”
“he said he wouldn’t abide a name like snuffles. you know he aher… opinionated,” he said, shooting a look over his shoulder as he heard rose shriek with ughter iing room.
“well, he an all himself whatever he wants as long as he keeps making rosie ugh like that,” ron said, appearing at hermione’s shoulder.
“and makes harry happy,” hermione added, giving her husband a look.
“well, of ourse that, too,” ron said, spping harry on the shoulder as he passed.
“remind me, i have a hink dra—phantom will like. i’ll give it to him when rosie goes do,” hermione said, following harry into his home.
drao y ohe sitting room, smiling to himself as he listened harry and the graalk. he had wor pying tug of war, somethihought was below him until harry’s niee was born (hermioed to rose as drao’s he felt odd aepting the h an unle if his he was a dog. heless, he adored her).
“i take it phantom is a big hit with the students, then?” ron said, steering the oion away from nnierm’s lessons. that was always hermione’s favorite topi of oion, still u enough of shool, but ron always liked hearing about what the students got into outside of ss.
&he favorite part of the ourse. they like him more than me, whih is a first,” harry said, gning at drao with a snarky smile. drao huffed out a breath of aner ab to harry like he uood him in mixed ompany, but they had all deided when herminant that while the baby may not knoerson, that didhey ouldn’t knoeial ki dog.
&o be a big hit with little ooo,” he said, readjusting rose, who was sat on his p, resting her head on his shoulder. she was struggling to keep her eyes open. “speaking of, i am going to go put her down upstairs, or else we will have a very urip home.”
hermione and harry wathed as rohe room, both azes turning to drao eared frht.
“that’s your ue, phaeased.
drao hanged his form almost immediately, straightening out his shirt as he stood up.
“hi, “mione,” he smiled at her as she rossed the room to hug him.
&ely went into a ta about a new book she had brought him, expining all the reaso it was just his sort of thieively, nodding as she spoke a mile a minute. his gaze ame to rest on harry for just a moment, the smile on his parti in an instant. he was learly so happy that they all got along, that he had this little family, strahough it py, too. so what if he had “died.” he had goer all.