Things Fall Apart, But Then You Build Again

Epilogue: Harry's 33rd Birthday

Author's Notes: This is a bit short, and I tried to rewrite it several times, but I just feel that this is the place to end it. Thank you for reading everyone, and please review. Even if you didn't like it, and more so if you have constructive criticism. I'm not sure what I want to write now. I am working on a book, but for some reason it's not moving forward. I'm also translating a romance my mum wrote.

Harry woke slowly. He was still gripped in the arms of sleep, but felt something warm engulfing his manhood. It felt wonderful. He opened his eyes, and looked down to see a head bobbing up and down under his white sheets. He smiled, and slowly uncovered ...

"Ginny? What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed, trying to escape from the woman's mouth.

"Happy birthday, Harry!" she said as she let him go, grinning up at him.

"No, get away from me!" he screamed.

Harry woke with a start. He looked around, then when he realised his vision was blurred, he scrambled to get his glasses from his nightstand.

The room was almost dark, with a sliver of light peeking through the curtains. His sheets were a soft green, and his bed a lot more comfortable than in his dream. He was startled as the door opened, and Draco walked in carrying a tray. He was wearing pyjamas, with his favourite dark green robe thrown over it.

"I see you're up already. Happy birthday, Harry!" he said, and placed the tray on the bed. He parted the curtains with a flick of his wand.

Harry cringed a little at the sudden light. He was looking at Draco a bit perplexed, as the fog that the dream had created slowly lifted from his mind. Then he recalled that the dream was actually a memory of his last birthday.

"You look surprised, Harry. Did you forget your birthday?" Draco suggested.

"No, I just had a strange dream. Nightmare really."

"What about?"

"My last birthday. Ginny was home," he grimaced, and that said it all to Draco.

"I'm sure this year is much better. Look, I made breakfast!" At Harry's raised eyebrow Draco blushed, and quickly corrected his statement. "Okay, the house-elves made it, and I brought it up. I thought we could have a nice breakfast together, and face the kids afterwards."

"Great idea," Harry said, and popped a berry into his mouth from a plate.

The proceeded to have a pleasurable breakfast together, which included feeding each other fruits, and eventually lead to the tray being discarded onto the floor. Harry found it a lot better way to wake up than the previous year.

Once they finally emerged from their room, fully clothed, they were greeted by their children in the garden. Hermione and her children were scheduled to make an appearance at around lunch time. The three of them had moved out a few months after the divorce, to the place where they lived before, and Ron had moved out. Once the red-head calmed down, he became a bit more reasonable. He still ignored Harry and Draco being a couple, but the public didn't.

Soon after Harry's divorce the news hit the papers, along with a photo of the two of them together in a restaurant. Harry was relieved to see that they were accepted, and heralded as the new force in wizarding politics. It went a bit too smoothly perhaps, but the Daily Prophet had never been known to go against the grain. The Quibbler did an article on famous wizard couples, and included them on the list. Thankfully, homophobia didn't exist in the wizarding world. Harry was a bit puzzled by this, but Draco explained to him that most homophobia stemmed from monotheist tribal cultures, where people were afraid that if not everyone reproduced, the tribe would die out. Since the Wizarding World always had a lower infant mortality rate, and longer life span, that attitude never developed. Now Harry just wished the Muggle world would also be more like that, but as he looked into the issue, he realised that the change was already happening, albeit slowly.

Harry was happy, and it scared him. He hadn't been this happy probably ever in his life. All right, at the birth of his children, but that didn't last. It must have been an effect of the drug as well, as all his emotions had been muted. However, since his divorce and establishing his relationship with Draco, he had been happy, and so had his new partner. Even the older Malfoys looked pleased. James took a while to come around, but after a while he realised that his father smiled more. He also happened to love the Quidditch pitch on the grounds of Malfoy Manor, once the winter cold passed. They had all started to think of the Manor as their home after a few months. They swam in the pool, had their personal house elves assigned, and the children had their own rooms which they filled with their things. Though usually, come morning, Albus was found in Scorpius' bed, the two of them having fallen asleep after playing. Harry was a bit concerned at how attached they were, but he decided that it was something that would evolve, or devolve on its own. Lili was the granddaughter and daughter to Narcissa that she never had, and was spoiling the little girl rotten. Harry was concerned, but also glad that his little girl had the female attention she craved. It was something else that needed time to resolve.

As Harry took in their garden, and their children as they played in it, he slipped an arm around Draco's waist. They were a family. Not perfect, and not the one he imagined having as he tried to imagine his future after Voldemort, when he attempted to convince himself that he would have one. However, it was the family that made his heart expand, with the man that made it beat faster, and he wouldn't have changed it for anything. He knew that the ring in his pocket was going a bit fast, but he was sure that it would be accepted. When he looked into the blue-gray eyes of his partner, he saw his own emotions reflected in them, and knew that they both wanted their relationship to last as long as they both shall live.