It was the middle of May and there was only one month to go for the end of the school year. Exams were upon them. So it was a very busy time and most of the students, particularly the upper years, were studying themselves crazy. It was a busy time for the teachers as well and everyone, it seemed was looking forward to the summer.

Harry and Draco were still keeping their relationship under wraps, intending to tell everyone sometime during the summer. But the fact that Harry was now a free man had made them relax a little and soon they realised that they didn't care who knew about them.

They didn't make any big statements, nor did they change their behaviour towards each other. But they let go of that constant vigilance, the constant monitoring of everything they said and did in public. And soon enough, the entire school knew about them. It was not something that someone discovered and started gossiping about. It was just something that everyone came to realise.

Surprisingly, no one was shocked. Considering how close the two men had been, it seemed like a natural next step. The entire staff was supportive. There were a few homophobic rumblings among the students, but they were too few to bother about. A lot of the girls thought that they made a gorgeous couple and they weren't shy about voicing that opinion, even going so far as to congratulate them on occasion.

There were a few raised eyebrows among the Weasley kids who accosted their cousins with questions. James, Albus and Lily made it abundantly clear that they were very happy about their father's new relationship and once that was established, there was nothing left for anyone else to say.

The papers got hold of the news and made a big deal of it, but being at school made it easy to ignore what everyone was saying, particularly since McGonagall was considerate enough to ban all newspapers and magazines for the next couple of weeks. She was very proud of the men that Harry and Draco had grown into and she was not about to let them become an object of gossip among the students.

Harry knew that the entire Weasley family would be upon him soon. It was an event that he had dreaded for months, but now that it had come to it, he found that he didn't really care what anyone said or did. His children had accepted his relationship with Draco. They were happy about it…even James, who had bonded with Draco over several games of chess and now looked forward to spending time with him.

So yeah, Harry didn't care. He didn't care when Ginny came storming into his rooms asking him what the hell he thought he was playing at.

"I'm not playing at anything," he replied calmly. "I'm in love and I'm happy. And I don't mean to be rude, but it is none of your business."

"Of course it's my business! You're bringing that man into our children's lives."

"And that is a good thing, because he's a good man and he'll be a wonderful influence on them."

"He was a death-eater!"

Harry sighed. "It's been twenty-five years since the war, Gin. He's been nothing but good in all that time. I'd say he's redeemed himself. Just…get over yourself, will you?"

"But Harry…"

"But nothing. I'm in a relationship with Draco. I love him and I intend to marry him. It's the sort of thing that people do every day. Stop making such a big deal out of it. I know you don't like it, but you no longer have a say in anything that I do with my life. And you don't have to worry about our kids. They like Draco and they're perfectly happy with my decision to marry him."

Ginny's mouth fell open at that.

"What?!" she said.

"Yes. Talk to the kids, they'll tell you."

Ginny was confused. She had no idea what to make of this. Her first reaction on hearing the news had been disbelief. She had half expected Harry to tell her that it was just a silly rumour. That there was no way he was in a relationship with a man, and with Malfoy at that.

"Since when are you gay?" she said finally.

"I'm not gay. It's just Draco. I fell in love with him and the fact that he's a man made no difference to my feelings…"

"Not many straight men would say that."

"Then maybe I'm not as straight as I thought I was. How does it matter anyway?"

"Are you sure it's love and not some midlife crisis?"

"I should be offended by that question," Harry said mildly.

He thought for a minute, wondering how to explain it. "This isn't a midlife crisis. This is me finally finding someone who makes me feel special. Someone who loves me deeply, someone who made me realise that I don't have to settle for what happiness I can get…"

Ginny winced at that. She couldn't deny the truth of those words, but they hurt, nonetheless. She had never been there for Harry. She hadn't been able to love him the way he deserved to be loved. He hadn't been able to do that for her either. But that was the point wasn't it? They had both settled for something less than ideal. Harry it seemed, had finally found the kind of love he wanted. So who was she to get in the way?

"But…does it have to Malfoy?" Ginny said. She was trying, but she simply couldn't wrap her head around that.

"Yeah. I'm starting think it had to be him. There was always something between us. No one ever got under my skin like he did…"

"I don't think I will ever understand that."

"No offence, but I don't care either way."

That was not the response Ginny had expected. Harry had always cared about what everyone said and thought about him.

"You've changed," she said.

"Yes I have. I've learned to stand up for myself. I've finally understood that I do not have to put everyone else ahead of me all the time…"

Ginny had never seen Harry be so assertive and she had no idea how to deal with him.

"I don't want to fight with you," she said finally. But I just don't like that man and I never will. And no matter what you say, I am not comfortable with the idea that he is going to be a part of our children's lives. I cannot believe that he will be a good influence."

"There's nothing you can do to keep me from marrying him and the kids are going to be around him because I am and I have always been their primary parent. Maybe you can counteract his evil influence by being around more."

"Don't mock me, Harry."

"What else do you expect me to do? The war is long over. Stop judging people by the choices they made decades ago."

"Those choices reflect the kind of people they are!"

"People change! Draco has changed. If you're not mature enough to see that, I cannot help you. And stop making this about the children. I know perfectly well what is good for them and don't you dare question that."

They argued like this for a little while longer. Ginny had come to see Harry in the hope that she would get him to change his mind. It became painfully obvious that that was not about happen. She felt a bit defeated as she left Harry's chambers and went looking for her kids. Did they really like Malfoy as much Harry said they did? Was that actually possible?

Apparently it was. It was obvious from everything they told her that her children were fond of Malfoy. It gave her a pang to realise that Albus probably loved Malfoy more than he loved her. But that was her own fault. She hadn't tried hard enough. She hadn't cared enough and her kids had picked up on that.

"Do you miss dad? Do you wish you'd stayed with him?" Lily asked her.

"No, honey. This isn't about that. I stopped loving your dad a long time ago. I really am happier now."

"So what is this about?" Albus said.

"I just…I don't think Malfoy is a good influence on you, that's all."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Please, mum. Not that again," he said.

Lily and James seemed to agree with that sentiment. Clearly, Ginny was looking at another lost cause.

"I just…I don't want to lose you guys," she said.

"You're not losing us," Lily said. "We'll come stay with you as often as we can. Nothing has to change just because dad is seeing Professor Malfoy."

"I see you guys have talked about this," Ginny said.

"Yeah we did. It's going to be fine, mum."

Yes, this was definitely a lost cause. If she wanted her children to be a part of her life, she would have to make time for them, show them that she really did care. She was trying to blame Harry for this unease that she felt, this fear she had of losing her children or having them turned against her. But this was not about Harry and his choices. This was about her and the fact that she had been absent for most of her children's lives. And while that was something that she could not undo, she could certainly do better form here on.

…

The confrontation with Ron was louder and far more dramatic.

"I can't believe you left my sister for that ferret!" Ron began.

The very predictability of that statement made Harry want to burst out laughing. He held his laughter in check, however, and heard Ron out. His objections were pretty much the same as Ginny's had been. Harry listened as patiently as he could and then he told Ron that he had absolutely no need to explain or justify his actions.

"It is really none of your business, Ron. I don't need either your approval or your permission. This is my life and I honestly do not care whether you approve of my actions or not."

Ron glared at him. "So you don't care about me now, is that it? That ferret is all that matters."

"Call him that once again and I will not hesitate to hex you," Harry said.

That shut him up.

Harry sighed. Ron would never understand. What made it worse was the fact that Ron had spent the last three months trying to mend his friendship with Harry. He'd written him a letter at the beginning of the term, apologising for being hasty and judgemental. Harry had forgiven him and they had begun to mend their friendship. And yet, here they were again.

"What was the point of all those letters if you're not even going to try to understand me?" Harry said. "You said you don't want to lose my friendship. So how about you try to be my friend for once, try trusting me instead of leaping to conclusions. You've done this so many times, Ron. You're always ready to assume that I've lied to you and that I'm in the wrong. You don't trust me and you never have. So why talk of friendship?"

"Don't talk to me about trust!" Ron said. "I was the first person to offer you my friendship. Heck I even gave you a family. You're the one who's been keeping all the secrets. You don't tell me anything anymore. Whether it was the divorce or your new job or this…I have to find out from the papers or from your kids. But never from you. Is that friendship?"

"No it isn't. But ask yourself why I didn't tell you. Because I knew that you wouldn't understand. I knew that you wouldn't even try to understand. You would do exactly what you've done now. Storm in here and start hurling baseless accusations. You're the Head Auror, Ron. The least you should do is think."

Things went far more smoothly with Hermione. She was the only one who made an attempt to get to know Draco and make him feel that at least one of Harry's friends was happy for him.

The rest of the Weasleys were shocked and most of them had no idea how to react. Arthur and Bill came to see Harry one day and they talked to him openly, telling him in the end, that as long he was happy they didn't care who he was with. Arthur made it a point to let Harry know that he would always think of him as his son no matter what.

Molly was hurt and unable to understand how any of this had happened. Everything had been perfect, just a few months ago. How had all of that changed? And why? It took her a while to wrap her head around all of it…But hurt as she was, she missed Harry. He may be a grown man with kids of his own. But to her, he would always be the shy eleven year old who had come up to her at Kings Cross station asking for help.

By the time the summer was over, Molly had come around. Hermione had talked at Ron loud and long until he capitulated and apologised to Harry who forgave him again. Their friendship would never be as good as it had been when they were younger, but in one way or the other, Ron would always be his friend. Ginny stopped complaining about Draco and set about repairing her relationship with her kids.

The storm that Harry had been dreading had come and gone and it hadn't been anywhere near as terrible as he had feared. When it finally came down to it, he'd had all the courage that he'd needed to stand his ground. Too long had he lived his life weighed down by the burden of others and their expectations. He had finally come into his own. It had taken him a long time but he finally had the life that he wanted and he was not about to give that up for anything.