It's time you pick your battle and I promise you this is mine

Job Talk

The holidays passed by and Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione had to go back to Hogwarts too soon for their likings. Harry had passed by Andromeda's two more times before they left, of which the Malfoy's joined them for one. Andromeda and Narcissa dominated the conversation during that afternoon but Harry did not mind at all. Although comfortable because of their casual domesticity and desire to please their host, Harry's conversations with the Malfoy's were awkward and he'd rather listen to them and play with Teddy than think of something to say. Something that does not involve the war or the Dark Arts. Because Draco might be comfortable talking about it in Harry's presence, Harry was... not.
No one minded Harry sitting down on the floor and taking some of Teddy's new games to play with him. It was general knowledge that Harry was there because he was Teddy's godfather and not because he wanted to spend time with any of the three of them. If anyone would have dared to say that out loud, Harry would have said that he and Andromeda had become friends during the time he spent here during the summer and the presence of the Malfoy's at her house neither changed that nor did he mind it.
Harry soon noticed Draco participating less and less in the conversation of his mother and aunt and caught him glancing towards Teddy and him.
"Do you mind if I join?", the Slytherin asked cautiously when the two women have walked away into the kitchen to make some tea.
"No", Harry slid his legs under his body to make place, while Draco hurried down from the couch.
When the Black sisters stepped back into the living room, they found the two boys playing quietly with the infant.

Back at school, the Seventh year students found themselves thrown back into the NEWTs stress. Ron started complaining again extensively, as much that Harry feared Hermione breaking up with him out of pure annoyance. It ended with her snapping at her to "Just leave already! Nobody is keeping you at school if you so desperately don't wanna be here." Ron closed his mouth dumbfoundedly. Judging by the looks on his friends' faces, Harry wasn't the only one who felt reminded of an incident in a forest a little over a year ago. Ron stopped complaining and none of them ever mentioned it again. They all knew that the last thing Ron wanted was to leave without them. He would stay at school as long as Harry and Hermione were staying. And both of them were determined to finish this school year.
Harry felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. He knew he was using the calmness, security and normalcy of Hogwarts to delay a choice he knew he would ultimately have to make. And he wasn't sure anymore if his choice was the one that his friends thought it would be.

Even though Harry liked his Potions classes with Slughorn much more than he had the Potion classes with Snape, Harry dreaded the first class after the holidays. It was neither Slughorn's fault, nor the subject's, nor his homework's or even the NEWTs' fault. But Harry, yet only having met him twice at Andromeda's, had liked the version of Draco in his little family circle. It wasn't that Harry and Draco had suddenly grown close or that Harry hadn't told his best friends that he had met Draco at Andromeda's place, but there were only two ways the two of them sitting next together could go down now and Harry didn't have the slightest wish for any of those to happen.
Either, Draco would smile at him as he had when seeing him at Andromeda's and continue to treat him like he had while they had been playing with Teddy, leading to surprised stares from his best friends and uncomfortable conversations. Harry thought this to be very unlikely though, as Draco might have become nicer to him in school, and even helped him in Potions, there was no way he would show the same kind of friendliness and openness in front of Ron and Hermione. And Harry desperately did not want to go back to how they were before.
Harry had to admit to himself, that there were reasons why he used to hate Draco. And that these are the same reasons his best friends were still wary of him. Valid reasons. But still, Harry now felt a longing to be friends with the Slytherin he once so despised. The beginning of the school year had showed Harry that Draco needed friends, the time they ran into each other while Harry had a panic attack showed that they could be friends, and now that he's seen Draco in an unassuming environment, he realised he wants to be friends with the boy Draco is developing into.
The boy that Draco did not show at school and therefore Ron and Hermione did not know. They would not understand. Ron would judge and although Harry could understand, he was already getting mad at him for it.
He had to get to Potions class eventually anyway, so Harry refrained from taking some Skiving Snackboxes to skip this one, instead bracing himself for whatever might happen and discourage him.
As he had assumed, Draco was hesitatingly friendly, unwilling to be too open, but not unwelcoming. Harry could not help but shoot him a small smile when his friends were not looking, surprising and flustering the boy sitting next to him. Content, Harry got out his books and ingredients and relaxed.
They worked on their cauldrons, trying to perfect the potion Slughorn wanted them to do today. Draco helped Harry every now and then when he needed it but still, Harry's potions were far behind Hermione's and Draco's.
"Excellent, as always, Mrs Granger", Slughorn passed their table at the other side.
"Haven't you forgotten to stir it?", Draco asked with a look towards Harry's side of the table.
"Oh, yes, thanks", Harry looked into the book and back to his cauldron.
Slughorn had rounded the corner and was now standing behind them. With a look in their cauldrons, he asked: "What profession do you plan on pursuing after your NEWTs, Mr Malfoy?"
Draco shifted uncomfortably at his place.
"Oh, no need to be nervous", Slughorn chattered on, "but as you know, I used to be retired and now it's been three years since I'm back without a hint of Headmaster McGonagall searching for a replacement. As a consequence, I wanted to take matters into my own hands and ask among my most talented students. Mrs Granger over there will surely want to go into politics, so I won't bother her with some petty teaching position." He winked. "You, Mr Malfoy have always shown some interest in Potions and have really found back to your top form this year of which Professor Snape had informed me when I first came back to teach and it looks like you also did a good job in teaching Mr Potter some of your tricks." Slughorn gave Harry a small pat on the back. "So, Mr Malfoy, if you're interested and get the appropriate NEWT results, I might consider you a suitable successor." He took a few steps back. "Don't feel pressured in any way. I understand if you have another career envisioned. For you young people, teaching might not look like the most exciting job. Nicely done, Mrs Patil. Although it could use some more eye of newt." Slughorn continued his tour through the class.
Harry looked over at Draco, whose cheeks have taken the colour of strawberries.
"Your mother is gonna be so happy", Harry could not help but say.
"Shut up, Potter", Draco muttered, turning away to hide that the colour of his cheeks had gone from strawberries to tomatoes.
Harry stifled a laugh at his flustered reaction but quickly returned to his own potion, highly content with the fond undertone.