You'll Know Where to Find Me

Summary: Because, whether your mind remembers it or not, Potter, your body remembers, and it wants me. Just like it always did five years ago. I'll be waiting. You'll know where to find me.

Author: slytherin-nette

Pairing: Draco Malfoy / fem Harry Potter [1]

Genre: Romance / Drama

Rating: M

Warnings: Semi-AU, Post-DH. Spoilers from all seven books. Mature themes.

Notes: This is a short three-chapter ficlet that I couldn't seem to get out of my head for the past few weeks. The story is actually already finished but I'll be posting the rest of it in parts once I finish editing. In case of any confusion due to the fluctuating timelines, you may refer to the notes at the end of the chapters for reference. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Harriah 'Aria' Potter groaned and slowly forced her eyes open, wincing and squinting up at the shocking whiteness of the room around her. She blinked a couple of times, trying to let her eyes adjust to the light. When her vision finally cleared, however, she glanced down –noticing for the first time that she was lying on a hospital bed, her arms and legs wrapped tightly with thick white bandages. A thin white gauze was strapped securely onto the side of her head and she touched it gingerly, wincing when she was rewarded with a sharp, throbbing pain in her temple.

"Don't touch it. You'll need to give it time to heal."

Startled at the voice that had spoken, Aria blinked and looked up in surprise to see three persons standing by the foot of her bed. Two of them, her best friends Ron and Hermione, she recognized easily, but when she saw who the third person inside the room was, her surprised expression melted away into a suspicious glare.

What is 'he' doing here?

Before she could say anything, however, Ron and Hermione cut her off when they both suddenly crowded around her, their expressions creasing with concern.

"You had us worried there, mate." Ron said softly.

"Aria. How are you feeling?" Hermione's brown eyes were glassy with tears as she reached down and grabbed one of Aria's hands, squeezing her fingers tightly.

"Horrible. Everything hurts." Aria answered, cringing at the way her voice sounded dry and raspy. When neither Ron nor Hermione didn't say anything and instead, exchange a worried look, Aria sighed and forced herself to sit up on the bed.

She suddenly remembered the presence of the other person in the room.

"Why is he in here?" She asked coldly, voicing the question that had been in her head from the moment she had opened her eyes. "Did you two let him in here?"

"Aria." Hearing the derision in her best friend's voice, Hermione hesitated. She followed Aria's hateful glare to the tall blonde standing at the foot of Aria's bed.

"Aria, mate—" Ron glanced back and forth between Aria and Hermione. "You were hurt really badly after your final duel with You-Know-Who. You should rest—"

"I wasn't asking you about my health, Ron." Aria snapped back coldly at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously as they met a pair of weary, mercury gray eyes across the room. "I was asking you why you think I would feel secure waking up, not remembering a goddamn thing in a bloody hospital room and I see Draco Malfoy of all people standing in front of me!" She hissed, causing the defeated expression on Malfoy's face to tighten as the Slytherin swallowed and lowered his gaze to his feet.

At her words, Hermione paled and she shook her head.

"Aria—"

"He's a Death Eater, Hermione! He let the Death Eaters into the school last night! Don't you remember that he's the reason Dumbledore's dead?! Get him out of my room! I want him out of my sight!" Aria suddenly exploded in a loud, angry shriek, surprisingly causing both Ron and Hermione to wince and Malfoy to take a step back, the strange expression on his face closing off as he sneered back at her.

"Aria, please try to calm down." Hermione tried to push her back onto the bed but Aria just shoved her hands away and continued to glare poisonously at Malfoy.

"Dumbledore died last night, Hermione! Because of him! Don't you—"

"You should listen to your friends, Potter." Malfoy interrupted her in a soft, drawling voice – though Aria couldn't help but notice that the usual derision in his words seemed weaker than usual – and there was a strange roughness in his voice that gave Aria the impression that Malfoy was barely able to hold himself together.

Aria's eyes narrowed as she frowned at him, clearly confused by his answer.

"What does that mean?" She demanded, her eyes dark with suspicion.

Instead of answering her question, Malfoy averted his eyes and glanced pointedly at Ron, who surprised Aria even further when he sighed and spoke again.

"Aria." Ron interrupted, drawing Aria's attention back to him. "The night Dumbledore died? That was more than a year ago." He whispered in a hushed voice.

"What?!" Aria's green eyes widened in alarm and she stared at him as though he had just admitted to being a Death Eater. "That's impossible! It was last night—"

"It's the year 1998 [2], mate." Ron interrupted her again, shaking his head. "We – well – you defeated You-Know-Who about a month ago. You fought him in Hogwarts. The war is over, Aria. We spent the last year hunting and destroying all of the horcruxes." He glanced at her, taking in the utterly confused look on Aria's face.

"You really don't remember?" He asked carefully.

"I don't understand!" Aria answered shakily, shaking her head and falling back down against her pillows.

"If the war is over, then why don't I remember anything?! Why is it I can't remember only that one year?! What happened to me?!"

Ron hesitated, glancing uncertainly at Malfoy again but if anything, the strange way both men were acting – especially considering the fact that Ron had always hated Malfoy before all this – caused Aria's eyes to narrow even further. When they said nothing, she felt confusion and frustration building up in her chest.

Before she could ask anything, however, Hermione spoke up again.

"What was the last thing you remember?" Hermione asked as she helped the other Gryffindor up, reaching over to the table and handing Aria a glass of water.

"No, I—" Aria shook her head in response and immediately regretted her decision, wincing when she was rewarded with a sharp, throbbing pain in her temple. "All I remember is…bits and flashes of my final duel with Voldemort. I remember all those dementors. And then…nothing. I—" She paused again, her eyes dimming slowly with realization as she stared at the blank white wall in front of her in horrified panic. "—Before that, my last memory is the day Dumbledore died. I can't remember anything else, Hermione! What happened to me?! Tell me what happened to me!"

"Shhhh." Hermione bit her lip as she reached out and cupped the other girl's cheek, using the same gesture to pull Aria against her in a tight, comforting embrace. "Calm down, Aria. We've just come from a long battle and your memory might just be a little off. Just try to remember what you can…Anything at all, Aria."

For a few long minutes, Aria said nothing and simply stared blankly over Hermione's shoulder, her hands shaking as she struggled to calm down and piece together what they were trying to tell her. Unfortunately, the more she forced herself to dig through her memory for anything to come up, the more her head began to throb and she winced in pain, instantly causing Malfoy to glance at her in concern.

"Stop this, Granger. We're hurting her." He said sharply.

"I'm sorry." Hermione immediately pulled away and studied Aria's reaction closely, noting the way the other girl's eyes had clenched in pain. "Aria, maybe we should just let you rest. We'll come back some other time once you've gotten rest—"

"No, I can do it! Let me!" Aria snapped, wrestling Hermione's arms off when the brown-haired Gryffindor had tried to push her back down onto the bed. Unfortunately, her sudden movements caused her to wince again as another sharp pain suddenly seemed to slice through her skull, as though ripping her head in half.

"It was you!" Aria's eyes widened in outrage as she flicked her gaze back up and glared at Malfoy's pale expression, her fingers clenching slowly into tight, angry fists. "You were the one who hexed me in the hospital a few days ago! What the fuck did you do to me, Malfoy?! Why can't I remember anything?! She screamed at him.

"Aria, stop it!" Malfoy protested as he suddenly surged forward and grabbed Aria's hands, forcing the Gryffindor to still in place. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"What the fuck did you do to me?! What are you—let go of me! Stop!" Aria screamed furiously, struggling wildly against him as Malfoy tried to push her onto the bed. When this seemed to accomplish nothing but make Aria even more hysterical, however, as she began screaming and thrashing desperately against Malfoy and Ron's attempts to placate her, Malfoy paled and bit his lip when it began to tremble.

"Weasley, call one of the healers back in here." He whispered hoarsely.

"Aria, please." Hermione sobbed as Ron sighed and rushed out of the room, her eyes growing bright with tears as she covered her mouth. "I promise you that the answers you want will come. I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry. You have to trust us."

Unfortunately, before Aria had any chance to react to Hermione's pleas, Ron had already rushed back in with one of the healers. When the healer raised his wand and pointed it at Aria's thrashing figure, the girl-who-lived slumped back lifelessly onto the bed.

"I can't do this." Hermione whispered as she watched the healer carefully tucking Aria's small frame back into the bed and re-attaching the IV into her arm.

"It's a bit too late for that, Granger." Draco answered her in a defeated voice, reaching out and gently taking one of Aria's hands, lifting the lifeless limb to his lips.

"Was this really the best choice?" Ron demanded as he lifted his gaze and turned to Draco, noticing for the first time the mistiness in the Slytherin's eyes. "Malfoy, we erased fourteen months of her life! What right did we have to do that?!"

"It wasn't about the best choice." Draco answered weakly, his shoulders slumping as he sat down onto the bed with a sigh. "It was the only choice we had. She never would have been able to live the rest of her life anymore. Not…like that."

"I know, but—" Hermione's voice broke as she was overwhelmed by another onslaught of tears. "—Draco, is this what you really want?"

"She deserves to live the rest of her life peacefully." Draco whispered in a choked-up voice, his eyes never leaving Aria's face. "She deserves to be happy."

Neither Ron nor Hermione knew what to say in response to him so both Gryffindors chose to remain silent instead, watching as Draco leaned down, pressing a tender kiss onto Aria's hair before he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.

For a long moment, Draco didn't say anything, and it wasn't until ten minutes later when he spoke again, though his words came out as a hoarse whisper.

"I should leave before she wakes up again. I'm probably the last person she should be seeing right now. It's probably why she went crazy."

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances at that, both Gryffindors' expressions dimming with regret at the tenderness they heard in the Draco's voice. Finally, after another moment of silence, Ron stepped toward Draco and placed a hand on Draco's shoulder, causing the Malfoy Heir to stiffen and look up at him. In that moment, for the very first time in the seventeen years that he and Ron Weasley knew each other, the redheaded Gryffindor was looking at him with a mixture of respect and remorse.

"Those were your memories too, mate." Ron reminded him softly, causing Draco to clench his hands into fists. "Why would you choose to do this to yourself?"

"The healers said that there was a still a chance—"

"They said it was a one percent chance, Malfoy! A one percent chance of her regaining her lost memories! And that could take years!" Hermione exploded at him.

Draco swallowed the painful lump that had formed in his throat.

"It's a chance nevertheless."

"But…why, Malfoy?" Ron asked again with a heavy sigh.

"Because."

Draco finally lifted his gaze from Aria's sleeping face and he met Ron's solemn gaze, allowing the other man to see the broken anguish in his eyes.

"I love her."

~~ FIVE YEARS LATER ~~

"I'm just saying, Aria! You know, it might do you good to commit to a serious relationship already. Maybe it's time you thought about…settling down?" Hermione pointed out, sighing in exasperation when, instead of answering her, Aria just laughed and bent down, scooping little Rose Granger Weasley up into her arms and bouncing the adorable 3-year-old. When Hermione continued to glare at her in question, obviously not letting the matter slide, Aria sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh 'Mione, give it a break, will you? We've been through all this before." Aria reminded her, glancing over her shoulder to give her best friend a quelling glare.

"I'll settle down when I find the right person. I just… Well, I just haven't found him yet!"

"What is it exactly you're looking for? Need I remind you, Aria Potter, you've already had – well what is it now – four serious relationships in the last five years?"

"Four failed relationships." Aria corrected her, making a face.

"Exactly my point." Hermione stood up from where she was sitting on the couch and extracted her giggling daughter from Aria's arms, causing her black-haired best friend to let out an another annoyed sigh. "All I'm saying is…I noticed how you seem to be afraid to commit to anyone. I'm really worried about you, Aria."

"Hermione, really. You worry too much." Aria managed a wry smile at the other girl's words. She reached out and tickled Rose's tiny feet, causing the toddler to giggle and squirm in her mother's arms. "The truth? I guess I'm still trying to make the most out of my life after all that's happened." She let out a sheepish laugh and raised a hand to scratch the back of her head. "—I guess I don't see myself settling down like you and Ron and having kids and all that. Of course, not that I'm judging you two or anything, I'm happy for you both. And I love little Rosie here." Aria paused and winked at Rose, causing the toddler to gurgle and smile back at her.

"Maybe I'm just not cut out to get married and have a family."

"Aria, don't say things like that." Hermione's expression sobered as she slowly set Rose back down onto the carpet and moved forward, giving the other woman a brief hug. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm coming off as pressuring you. I really do just want you to be happy. Especially after everything you've been through during the war—"

"You see that's the thing, Hermione! I don't have any recollection of all that." Aria pointed out with another exasperated sigh before she sank back down onto the couch in the living room. "I mean, you and Ron tell me stories all the time about the stuff that I did and how I almost died and how I fought Voldemort but…well, I still don't remember any of it all, 'Mione. And I think that's the problem." Aria admitted.

"I'm not sure I understand, Aria." Frowning, Hermione sat down beside Aria, making sure to keep a close eye on Rose as she wandered around their living room.

"What do you mean by that?" She prodded.

"It's like—" Aria was silent for a few minutes and bit her lip as she tried to figure out how to explain herself. "I'm still trying to look for something missing. And I'm not just talking about the lost memories, it's more of…trying to find a huge puzzle piece of my life that's missing because of those memories." She looked up, meeting Hermione's brown orbs with wide green eyes. "It may be the excitement or the danger I missed out on during the war, or that feeling of uncertainty. I don't know if that makes any sense." She smiled ruefully and shook her head at herself.

"It makes more sense than you think." Hermione assured her gently, reaching out and placing her hand on top of Aria's to give her fingers a squeeze. "That day you woke up after the war, you'd lost more than a year's worth of memories, Aria. You don't have to be ashamed of feeling like a whole chunk of your life is missing."

"I still don't understand how it happened." Aria frowned at her. "You said it was because of all those dementors that Voldemort had sent on me before he died?

"Yes, we think so." Hermione answered slowly, refusing to meet Aria's eyes as she spoke. "He knew he had lost. He just wanted to hurt you." She whispered.

"But…then, why just wipe out a year's worth of memories?" Aria blinked a couple of times and looked up at Hermione again, causing the other girl to flinch. "Why didn't he finish the job and erase all of my memories completely?" She asked.

Hermione stilled and opened and closed her mouth a few times.

Fortunately, before she got the chance to say anything, they were interrupted when they heard the sound of the floo-connected fireplace roaring to life in the other room, followed by the sound of Ronald Weasley's cheerful voice breaking the silence.

"'Mione? I'm home!"

"We're in the sitting room, Ron!" Hermione called back, her voice sounding a little too relieved for Aria's liking. Before she could comment on it, however, Ron had already strode into the room, causing Rose to squeal and rush into her father's arms.

"Daddy!" She giggled as Ron laughed and swept her up easily, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. In spite of herself, Aria smiled at the sight as she and Hermione both stood up and Hermione greeted her husband with a brief, chaste kiss.

"Oh hey, mate. I didn't realize you were here." Ron gave her an apologetic grin as Aria leaned in and greeted him with a customary peck on the cheek. "Since you're here, why don't you stay for dinner? It's been awhile since we've caught up."

"I'm good, mate. I should probably get going, I have an early Quidditch match to prepare for tomorrow. Our last game of the season." She reminded them.

"Oh, right!" Ron's eyes widened in realization and he glanced excitedly back and forth between Hermione and Aria. "It's Puddlemere United against the Cannons championship match tomorrow! Hey, what happened to those tickets I asked you—"

"Here." Aria rolled her eyes, laughing as she reached into her pocket and handed Ron a pair of Top Box tickets. "It's why I came over, actually. I was going to invite you guys to watch the game. And to watch me win, of course." She winked.

"Don't be so cocky, Aria." Hermione warned her with a tut of disapproval.

"Are you kidding me, 'Mione?" Ron blurted out, bouncing Rose in his arms as he held the tickets up to the light with a wide, ecstatic grin. "Aria's the best seeker that Puddlemere United's had in ages! Unfortunately I'm still a die-hard Cannons fan until the end but even I have to admit that Puddlemere's the team to beat this year."

"Hey!" Aria scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Weasley, you didn't tell me that you were for the Cannons when you asked me to get you those tickets."

"You never asked." Ron answered back, grinning.

"Alright you two, that's enough." Hermione interrupted, laughing at Aria's disgruntled expression. She reached out and took Rose from her husband, gathering the toddler back into her arms. "I don't want another Quidditch debate in my house."

"Like you could ever avoid those." Aria pointed out, her lips twitching in amusement as she watched Rose whining and tugging on her mother's hair. Shaking her head, she walked over to her and leaned down to give Rose a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. Be good for your parents, okay? So next week, you could finally go with your cool godmother and I could take you flying!" She cooed.

"I don't think so, Aria." Hermione deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

Aria grinned helplessly at Rose and shrugged.

"Eh, it was worth a shot."

"—so before this championship match officially begins, I'd just like to take this opportunity to do this now, before the thousands of people watching this morning."

Austin Flint, Captain of the Puddlemere United Quidditch Team, paused in the middle of his speech and smiled slowly, turning his gaze until he was staring at his girlfriend's shocked expression. From where she was already out in the pitch, sitting on top of her broom with the rest of her teammates, Aria gaped at him and arched an eyebrow, clearly confused as to why he was making such an announcement in front of their thousands of fans gathered around the massive Quidditch stadium.

"Harriah Potter?" Austin's boyish grin faltered slightly as he swallowed and reached into the pocket of robes, pulling out a small red box. Then, fingers slightly shaking, he held his wand up to his throat again and met Aria's stunned green eyes.

"…Will you marry me?"

Before Aria could realize what exactly it was Austin had asked, or before she could even register his words correctly, their audience went absolutely crazy – cameras flashing everywhere, reporters and journalists rushing as fast as they could towards the front stands so that they could take a picture of the ring Austin was holding up in his hands. Breathing heavily, Aria blinked a few times with a dazed expression on her face before she glanced at Austin again, unsure of what to answer.

Oh god, oh god…Oh god. Trembling slightly, Aria shifted her gaze around the growing crowd of fans watching her, almost cringing when she realized that all of the magical screens plastered around the stadium were enchanted so that each one showed a close-up of her face. Biting her lip, she shot a glance at Ron and Hermione again. To her surprise, both of her best friends were watching her with strangely worried looks on their faces. More importantly, for all her talk about settling down the other day, Hermione's features were drawn tight and she was watching Aria very closely with a pained, uncertain look on her face that Aria had never seen before.

Well, Hermione always 'did' say that I should settle down soon, did she not? Maybe this is the chance for that. Aria thought to herself as she finally met Austin's nervous expression again, chuckling at the way her boyfriend seemed just about ready to fall off his broom as he waited for her answer.

Maybe she's right. Maybe it's time for me to get married and start my own family. Have children…and be happy.

"Austin Flint."

Sighing, Aria finally allowed a small, nervous smile to curl her lips as she glanced at Austin again, ignoring the way her teammates around her were all grinning from ear-to-ear and nudging her playfully. Slowly, she allowed her smile to grow into her trademark grin, making their audience scream even louder.

"I would love to marry you."

At the ecstatic, handsome smile that Austin gave her in response, the audience exploded into another chorus of cheers, shrieks and catcalls.

It was only about half an hour later – when the reporters finished their picture taking and the spectators had calmed down when officiators finally signaled for the game to start.

Still smiling widely, Austin threw one last wave at the audience before he rejoined the rest of the Puddlemere United Team. Before he took up his position with the other Chasers, however, he stopped his broom beside Aria's. After they shared a sweet, albeit laughing kiss, he lowered his head to hers and whispered into her ear.

"I told you we're the fan favorite 'ship'." He teased, using the term he and Aria had learned the past few weeks from their interview sessions with their fans.

"Get to your post, Captain, or I'll sink yours. You're going to pay dearly later for proposing to me in public." She quipped back, making a face and causing Austin to chuckle again. He slipped the beautiful diamond ring onto her finger, gave her one last kiss on the lips, and then finally flew off to join the rest of the other Chasers.

Where is that bloody snitch?!

Aria adjusted the goggles strapped onto her face and surveyed the Quidditch area carefully, oblivious to the thousands of fans and onlookers screaming and cheering her on around the stadium. A few feet away, she could make out Austin and the rest of her teammates flying furiously around the pitch, tossing the Quaffle back and forth between them as they tried to evade the other Chudley Cannon Chasers.

Sighing, she withdrew her gaze from the other players and studied the pitch carefully again, narrowing her eyes in search of a glint of gold. Fortunately, after a few seconds of this, she caught a quick glimpse of what appeared to be the snitch a couple of meters above the Top Box and she flew towards it, grunting in annoyance when she saw that the Chudley Cannon's Seeker instantly charged right after her.

Just as she was thinking of a way to shake the other seeker off by plunging into a dive, another brief flash of gold caught her eye and her gaze automatically flicked towards it. Sure enough, at the sight of the familiar miniscule golden ball hovering just a few inches above the Top Box railings, Aria allowed herself a grin in triumph and flew furiously toward it, causing another chorus of excited fan screams.

Unfortunately, before she or the other seeker trailing after her even managed to reach the Top Box, Aria was distracted when another shining color – this time, it was an unnervingly familiar shade of platinum silver – appeared near the snitch. Glancing toward it, Aria only had enough time to register the fact that the snitch had vanished and in its place, what appeared to be a young, silver-blonde child was bending very dangerously low over the edge of the railing, before her eyes widened in alarm and she immediately forced herself to fly faster towards the toppling child.

"That child is about to fall off the edge of the railing!"

"Somebody catch him before he falls!"

Aria could barely make out the panicked yelling of the announcers and the screams of the occupants of the Top Box as she raced as fast as she could towards the railings, making it just seconds before the child finally slipped and toppled over. Amidst the screams of the spectators gathered around them, the child plummeted a few meters through the air before Aria finally flew under him and broke his fall when he landed in her arms, causing the Seeker to let out a pained grimace at the impact.

"Oomph! Okay, that hurt." Aria winced as she slowed in mid-air and glanced down incredulously at the little bundle in her arms. Her eyes grew wide in shock, however, when she was met with big green eyes staring back up at her with a look of utter admiration and star struck awe pooling in their depths. "Are you okay, kid?"

"You caught me!" The child squealed, his pale, handsome face breaking out into a wide smile as he stared up at her, taking in her flabbergasted expression. "I knew you wouldn't let me fall! And I caught the snitch for you!" He declared proudly as he raised one of his fists up, allowing Aria to see the snitch trapped in his hand.

"Merlin's beard, kid. Are you mental?" Was all she managed to say after a few minutes of staring blankly at his gleeful expression. "What were you doing anyway?!"

"I wanted to catch the snitch like you!" He told her, frowning at her reaction. "You're my favorite Quidditch player! And I want to be just like you when I grow up!"

"You almost died!" Aria said with a laugh, shaking her head. "Next time, just try to be a little more careful, okay little sport?" She gave him a small, teasing grin.

"I wasn't scared." He declared again with a haughty, knowing smile.

"And why not?" Aria arched an eyebrow at him.

"Because!" He mirrored Aria's grin right back at her, his big green eyes bright with exhilaration. "I knew that you would be right there to catch me!" He told her.

Aria blinked and stared at him for a few seconds as she tried to make sense of what he was trying to say. "I'm flattered but why would you assume that?"

"Scorpius Abraxas Malfoy!"

As she hovered above the Top Box, she never got to hear the boy's answer as she slowly lifted her gaze, recognizing the tall, familiar blonde man hurriedly making his way over to where Aria hovered above the stands. He took a step back in alarm at the sight of her, his wide eyes flicking back and forth between her and the child she was carrying in panic, before the expression on his face slowly hardened.

Clearing his throat, he gestured quietly to the child she held.

"I believe that's my son you're holding there, Potter." He said quietly.

"Draco Malfoy." Aria gaped at him, glancing back and forth between the blonde child who was clinging tightly onto her and Draco's strangely uneasy expression.

"This little kid here is your son?" She sputtered, gaping openly at him.

"What's the matter, Potter? Is it so hard for you to accept that I'm capable of producing a child?" Draco's expression hardened even more at her reaction and he sneered at her before he stepped toward and held his hands out to the child she was carrying. "Scorpius, you are in very big trouble. Come on, we're going back home."

"But I don't want to go! I want to finish the game!" He whined.

"Now, Scorpius."

Scowling, Scorpius bowed his head but acceded to his father's request as he reluctantly released the grip he had around Aria and reached out, allowing his father to gather him back into his arms. As soon as he was back safely behind the railings of the Top Box, Aria leaned back and she allowed herself to hover for a while longer.

"Aw come on, don't punish the little kid, Malfoy. He was probably just excited. The exhilaration of Quidditch and all. I'm sure you can understand that." Aria tried to cajole as she watched Draco fussing over Scorpius for a few minutes, checking to see if he got injured. When Draco didn't say anything in response, Aria continued. "In any case, it's…weird but great to see you, Malfoy. Last I saw you was…5 years ago?"

"Potter."

Aria almost flinched at the sharpness in his voice when Draco finally lifted his gaze from Scorpius and eyed her carefully, his lips curling into his trademark sneer.

"Are you trying to make small talk?" He mocked.

"The operative word in that statement is, in fact, 'trying'." Aria quipped back with an awkward laugh.

When Draco just arched an eyebrow at her, Aria shrugged at him and pointed to Scorpius, meeting the blonde's wide grin with one of her own.

"He's a cute kid." She commented idly.

"I'm not a kid!" Scorpius declared loudly, glancing up at her and giving her a slightly indignant glare. "I'm already five-years-old! I can tie my own shoelaces!"

"My apologies." Aria grinned, her eyes lighting up with mirth.

"What I meant to say was that, I think he's a very adventurous, daring young man." She teased, causing Scorpius to grin cheekily up at her.

"Suddenly, you seem to know my kid so much, Potter? By talking to him for what? Three minutes?" Draco challenged her, narrowing his eyes at her in disbelief.

Aria smiled as she glanced at Scorpius again, giving him a wink. "Any kid willing to risk falling off the top of a stadium to catch the snitch is okay in my book."

In spite of himself, Draco's lips twitched slightly at her words and to Aria's surprise, the tension on his face melted away, only to be replaced by a decidedly amused smirk.

Chuckling softly, he shook his head at her in exasperation.

"You would say that."

Aria laughed at that, her shoulders shaking with hilarity, and the reporters around them went crazy again, snapping pictures left and right of their entire exchange.

Unfortunately, Draco seemed to notice the amount of attention they were drawing and looked uncomfortable. He grabbed Scorpius' hand and gave Aria a nod.

"You have my gratitude for saving my son, Potter. I'm in your debt. But I should leave now before the reporters get even crazier. Good luck with the match—"

"Wait, Father! Wait!" Reaching his hand back into his pocket, Scorpius held the snitch out to Aria and waved his hand haphazardly in front of her face.

"Here's the snitch, Aria! I think you need it to win the game." He pointed out in a knowing voice.

"Appreciate it, kid. You made my job much easier." Aria agreed, smiling as she held her hand out and allowed Scorpius to deposit the snitch into her palm.

"You know, you should be a Seeker. You seem to have the talent for it." She told him.

"Really?!" Scorpius' face lit up at her words and, practically bouncing in his father's arms, he turned to Draco and gave him a wide smile. "Did you hear that, Father?! Aria Potter said I could be a Seeker too!" He exclaimed, the genuine excitement in his words causing Draco to sigh in defeat and nod reluctantly at him.

Oblivious to their little exchange, Aria slowly raised the snitch in her hand up in the air, indicating to the referee watching near the end of the pitch. Almost instantly, as soon as they recognized the winged, golden ball fluttering in her hand, the referee's eyes widened and he blew his whistle, signaling the end of the match.

"PUDDLEMERE UNITED WINS THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!"

With a loud pop, Aria apparated smack in the middle of Diagon Alley.

Hmm. It's been awhile since I've been here.

She thought idly to herself in amusement as she began weaving her way through the crowd of bustling wizards and witches, her eyes darting around in search of the pub Austin and his friends were talking about. Just as she was passing this old quidditch shop she used to frequent all the time when she was a kid, Aria's eyes widened in mild surprise when she saw the two occupants inside the store. Frowning, Aria glanced at her watch again, inwardly debating whether she had time to drop by and talk to them. Then, with a careless shrug, Aria figured to herself that she was already late in meeting the rest of her teammates anyway and grinned, heading down the small street to the shop.

Amusingly enough, the minute she opened the door and got wind of the interesting argument the store's occupants seemed to be having inside, she laughed.

"—Scorpius! This is a professional quidditch player's broomstick! You're too young for this model!"

"But I need a Flashbolt, Father! I'm going to be a Seeker!"

"I'll buy you a better broomstick when you're older."

"But I want one now!"

Scorpius scowled up impatiently at Draco from where the two blondes were standing in front of the counter, arguing in front of the elderly storekeeper who was watching them in amusement. Neither one of them didn't seem to have noticed Aria's presence as Scorpius scowled again and stamped his foot loudly onto the floor.

"I want it!" He whined.

"Why do you want this broom so much?"

"Because it's the same broom that Mommy uses!"

"Scorpius." Draco sighed in exhaustion. "I thought we talked about this."

"I don't care! I want it!" Scorpius practically screamed back at him.

"Uhm, not that I'm an expert on children or anything, Malfoy." Aria finally spoke up from where she had been watching the entire exchange by the door, instantly causing Draco to jump at the sound of her voice and whirl around in alarm. "—but I'm pretty sure your son is 10 seconds away from throwing a tantrum. Maybe you should consider giving him what he wants?" She kidded.

To her confusion, Draco's eyes widened and he seemed to pale when he realized that she had been standing there the whole time.

"Draco, are you okay?" She asked, her smirk dissolved into a worried frown at his unexpected reaction. "Er…You look like you've seen a ghost." She commented.

"I—I'm fine." He blinked a couple of times in shock at the way Aria had addressed him by his first name and shook his head, his pale cheeks flushing slightly as he grabbed Scorpius by the shoulders and began wrestling the young Malfoy Heir back into his coat.

"Scorpius, put on your coat. We're leaving." He urged in a tightly clipped voice.

"But we haven't bought anything yet—Miss Aria!"

His temper tantrum temporarily forgotten, Scorpius' eyes suddenly widened at the sight of her and, to both Aria and Draco's surprise, Scorpius tore himself from his father's grip and bounded towards Aria, jumping at her and wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"Wow." Aria managed a confused laugh in spite of herself and awkwardly patted the 5-year-old on the back.

"It's great to see you too, kiddo. How are you?" She chided.

"He's just fine, Potter." Draco answered her curtly, interrupting Scorpius just as the latter had opened his mouth to answer. "Anyway, we'd better get going—"

"I never got to thank you for saving me." Scorpius declared pointedly as he blinked his green eyes up at Aria again, earning a smile from the Gryffindor.

"It was impolite. And grandmother says that a Malfoy should never be impolite." He added.

Kneeling down slightly so that she was level with his height, Aria chuckled at the conviction in his words – particularly the way Scorpius spoke with such self-assurance – and nodded, obliging him with a serious look. "Yes, that's true. Your grandmother was very smart in saying that." She agreed, causing Scorpius to smile.

"Thank you for saving me, Miss Aria!" He chimed, his young features lighting up as he stared up at her.

Still chuckling, Aria nodded and ruffled his hair.

"You're quite welcome, sport. Oh, and there's no need for the formality. Just call me 'Aria', okay?" She waited until Scorpius grinned at her again and nodded before she finally stood up and chanced another glance at Draco, noting the way the blonde Slytherin kept shifting uneasily.

"Anyway, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I was just passing by and I saw you two in here. I just wanted to check up on Scorpius to make sure he was okay. I mean, that was quite a fall he took the other day." Aria offered with a shrug, to which Draco answered by giving her a sneer and narrowing his eyes at her in anger.

"Why do you care so much about my son, Potter?" He hissed back.

Almost instantly, at the tone of his voice and the familiar sneer on his face, the friendly smile on Aria's face vanished and was replaced by an angry glare.

"Like I said, I just wanted to see if he was doing okay."

"He will be once you're gone." Draco snapped.

"Damn it, Malfoy. I am not trying to antagonize you at all. Why are you being such a jerk?!" Aria growled, gritting her teeth as she sought to control her temper.

It wouldn't exactly do well for her to react the same way she used to back when she and Draco were enemies in Hogwarts. That was more than 5 years ago, even before the war, and she would have liked to think that both she and Draco had matured from the petty insults they had used to fling at each other back and forth.

~~ Flashback: Hogwarts 1st Year (1991) ~~

"Hey Potter!"

Aria gritted her teeth as she pushed past the doors to the Great Hall and hastily began to make her way over to the Gryffindor table. Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy seemed completely oblivious that Aria was determined to ignore his existence altogether and trailed after her with a wide, cocky smirk on his smug, annoying face.

"I heard you made the quidditch team yesterday."

"That's right, Malfoy. Why? Are you jealous?" Aria mocked loudly.

"Not at all." His smirk grew wider as he towered over her seated form on the table. "In fact, I think it makes sense. McGonagall must feel really sorry for you, seeing as you have no parents and all, that she thought letting you join the quidditch team despite your lack of talent would distract you from your life as an orphan—"

"Shut the hell up, Malfoy!" Aria shouted at him, seething with anger.

"Awww what's wrong? Did I hit a nerve, Potter? Are you going to cry now?" The vicious sneer on Draco's face widened and he leaned in closer, towering over Aria's seated form on the table so that their faces were mere inches apart. "It must be so hard for you, isn't it? Growing up without any parents. You must be so desperate for attention all the time. Tell me Potter, do your relatives hate you?"

"Malfoy, I swear to god, if you don't shut up right now—"

"Do you miss your mudblood mother, Potter? Do you cry yourself to sleep—"

The rest of Draco's taunt ended up as a scream as Aria finally snapped and she launched herself at him, tackling his form onto the table and punching his face.

~~ End of Flashback ~~

Blinking a couple of times to clear the memory away, Aria flicked her gaze back up to see Draco looking at her with a slightly apologetic look on his face.

Sighing, he shook his head and raised his hand, massaging his temples in thought.

"You're right, I'm sorry." He managed an empty laugh and glanced at her, one corner of his mouth tugging upwards into a wry smile.

"Old habits die hard, I suppose." He admitted.

"And by 'old habits', I gather you mean your favorite pastime of thinking of carefully constructed insults to make fun of me." Aria deadpanned, causing Draco's lips to twitch in amusement. He arched an eyebrow at her and gave her a smirk.

"Well, it was so much fun." He remarked dryly.

"Is that right?" Aria rolled her eyes, shaking her head in annoyance before she glanced at Scorpius again, marveling at his remarkable resemblance to Draco.

"So…Exactly who is this little tyke's mother? It's not Pansy Parkinson, is it?" She quipped, inadvertently causing Draco to make a face and shake his head at her.

"Very funny, Potter." Draco scoffed before he beckoned Scorpius over, waiting until the 5-year-old reluctantly let go of Aria's hand and walked back behind him, allowing his father to wrap an arm around his shoulders.

"Actually, Scorpius…doesn't have a mother." Draco admitted after a long moment of tense silence.

"What?" Aria blinked at him in stunned confusion. "How the bloody hell—"

"Potter, you git. Of course he has a mother. Biologically speaking." Draco rolled his eyes at her reaction. "What I meant was, he doesn't have a mother anymore. He did but…Well, we…we split up five years ago. So I raised him by myself." He explained.

"I…see."

The confused expression on Aria's face immediately sobered at Draco's words and suddenly, she felt incredibly ignorant and guilty for asking him such a question.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's fine." Draco shook his head at her and waved her guilt away. "It was a long time ago. Besides." He reached down and ruffled Scorpius' hair again, instantly causing the young Malfoy Heir to scowl and to glare up at his father in annoyance. "Scorpius is getting along well. And right now, that's all that really matters to me."

"That's…great, Malfoy." Aria managed to say after another long, awkward silence.

She gave him a small but genuine smile. "He does seem like a great kid."

"You're his favorite Quidditch player, you know." Draco told her.

Aria couldn't help but notice the way Draco's eyes lit up and his whole expression softened whenever he spoke about his son. "Whenever we talk about quidditch, it's always…Aria Potter this and that. It's insulting to my pride, really." He let out a dramatic sigh and the smirk that he gave her caused Aria to laugh in spite of herself.

"And you used to taunt me by saying I was a horrible flyer." Aria cheeked, grinning as she recalled their squabbles over quidditch when they were younger.

"Ah, the beauty of poetic justice."

"Piss off, Potter."

"How very eloquent of you."

"After all these years, you're still ruining my life."

"I missed you too, Malfoy."

They smiled at each other just then – both of their expressions soft as they held each other's gaze for a long time – and for a moment, Aria felt a strange feeling of déjà vu stirring in the pit of her stomach. It was gone the instant Draco tore his gaze from hers though, and Aria blinked a few times, suddenly feeling disoriented.

~~ Flashback: Hogwarts 2nd Year (1992) ~~

"I hate you, Scarhead."

Startled, Aria looked up from the book she was reading in the far corner of the library and found herself staring up at Malfoy's cold, mocking sneer. As usual, Crabbe and Goyle huddled close behind him, leering at her over Malfoy's shoulder.

"Should I feel bad about that, Malfoy?"

Seeing the boredom on her face, the glare on Malfoy's face intensified and he slammed his palms down onto the table. "Do you think that just because you beat me in that last Quidditch game, you're a much better seeker than me now, Potter?"

Aria blinked at him and arched a single eyebrow in growing annoyance.

"What the bloody hell do you want, Malfoy?"

"I want a re-match." He growled back, his hands clenching tightly into fists. "You intentionally distracted me from catching the snitch during our last game—"

"Malfoy, the blasted snitch was right in front of you!" Aria retorted, glaring at him in angry exasperation. "If you hadn't been so busy yakking away all that hot air and hurling stupid, useless insults at me, you might have seen the damn thing!"

"Like I said, you were distracting me!" Draco scoffed, oblivious to the way Madam Pince was already glaring at them at all the noise they were making. It didn't help that Crabbe and Goyle weren't being particularly discreet with their sniggers.

"Do you really think you could have beaten me?! You're a horrible flyer!"

"Oh please, I could fly circles around you, prissy boy." Aria challenged.

"Is that a challenge, you pathetic orphan?!" Draco sneered.

"It's a warning, you blonde twat!"

"Why you—"

Right then and there, just when it looked as though Draco was about to wrap his fingers tightly around her throat, Madam Pince finally swooped down on them.

"Potter! Malfoy!" She screeched, unwittingly causing all the studying students around them to wince at the sharp sound and look up in alarm to watch the scene.

"No fighting in the library!"

~~ End of Flashback ~~

"Are you okay, Potter?" Draco asked when he saw her dazed expression.

"Y—yeah, I'm fine. So anyway." Aria shook her head to clear the haziness away and finally looked up at him again, nodding. "I should probably take off now."

"You're leaving?" Scorpius suddenly peered up at her again from behind his father, his green eyes dimming with disappointment. "Can't you stay a bit longer?"

"Scorpius." Draco warned, trying to meet his son's eyes but Aria just chuckled and obliged him by squatting down onto the floor so that she could meet his gaze.

"I'm afraid I have to, kid. My team is waiting for me. You did help us win that Quidditch match, you know. So we're celebrating." She winked at him, causing Scorpius' shoulders to slump as he nodded in understanding. Smiling at his adorable reaction, Aria shrugged and, ignoring the look on Draco's face, she spoke up again.

"You're welcome to join us, if you like." She told him.

"Really?! I can?!" Scorpius' green eyes immediately brightened in happiness and he looked up, tugging excitedly onto his father's hand. "Father, can we go—"

"No."

Hearing the harsh tone that had suddenly laced itself into Draco's voice, Aria blinked and she glanced up, startled at the ominous expression she saw on his face. Sneering, he ignored his son's pleading cries and grabbed tightly onto Scorpius' hand.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Potter. You see, my son and I have another appointment to go to. And besides, we wouldn't want to intrude." He drawled curtly.

"I'm sorry, I was out of line. I just thought that he might want to meet the other players—"

"Well, you thought wrong." Draco growled back, causing Aria to flinch.

"I'm really sorry." Aria offered again, unsure of what else she should say.

"Father, I want to go! I want to go with her! I don't want her to leave again!" Scorpius began to sob loudly and tugged on his father's hand, trying to get away.

"Scorpius, we're going home. Now." Draco scolded him sharply.

"No! I don't want to lose her again! " When the blonde 5-year-old's cries only seemed to get worse and he began wailing and sobbing hysterically, Draco paled and he bent down, scooping his crying son into his arms and heading towards the door.

As she watched them go, Aria bit her lip, watching in utter confusion as Scorpius continued to wail and reach his tiny arms out toward her from over Draco's shoulder.

Before they reached the doors to the shop, Aria called out to him again.

"Draco!"

He froze in the middle of reaching for the doorknob and turned around, his eyes wide as they peered directly into hers, as though in search of something.

Aria just shrugged and gave him one last, uncertain smile.

"It was nice seeing you again."

At the emptiness of her words, Draco's eyes dimmed and he seemed to wilt for a few seconds, his gaze falling to the floor.

"You too."

Then, as quickly as his strange reaction had appeared, he met her gaze again, and Aria was taken back by the guarded look in his eyes.

"Congratulations on your engagement."

"Thank you."

Before he left, Draco paused and he cast her one last, reluctant look over his shoulder.

"You'll know where to find me."

When Aria just blinked and stared back at him in confusion, Draco sneered at her and turned around, leading his son out the doors of the shop.

Notes:

[1] I got the nickname Aria for fem-Harry from Little Red by babyvfan. Go and check it out, it's a wonderfully dark, sexy little story featuring DM and femHP.

[2] In canon, Voldemort was defeated in 1998. The beginning of this story takes place right after.