Author: HatefulRodeo

Story: A Photo of Past Ghosts

Notes: Sort of Epilogue Compliant, OOC, and Yaoi; Don't like it? Don't read it! I think that's it for warnings but if there's more I'll post them at the beginning of the chapter. Albus/Scorpius and past Harry/Draco; maybe future Harry/Draco but we shall see. Also, a bit of Weasely bashing but nothing to mean...hopefully! : ) Alright Enjoy LOVELIES!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I will make no money from the posting of this story.

~*~*~*Chapter 1~*~*~*

Harry looked down at the picture clasped in his left hand; the photo was sent along with Albus' weekly letter from Hogwarts, updating his dad on the goings on in his teenage life. The Man-Who-Lived felt happiness bubble up within him as he stared down at the moving wizard photo; the picture showing his tall, gangly sixteen year old son hugging the slighter, shorter body of Scorpius Malfoy tightly to him.

His son was smiling like he'd won the best prize in the world and maybe, Harry thought, Albus had. The picture while making Harry happy for his child made him feel soul deep regret and shame as well. The two sixteen year olds in the photo were so reminiscent of another set of teenage boys from long ago; as if the ghosts of Harry and Draco's teenage selves had appeared on film.

It hurt to think that if Harry hadn't been such a coward he could have had a photo like this of him and Draco, both smiling at the camera like they didn't give a damn. But unfortunately Harry was a coward, still is as a matter of fact, because if he wasn't he would have broken away from the life he'd forced himself to live. If he wasn't so afraid he would have run away from a wife he didn't love and a life of dull monotony.

Was it too late now for him to break away from all of it? Had his and Draco's ship truly sailed away all those years ago when Harry broke the blonde's heart when they'd finally graduated Hogwarts after their eighth year? Was the straw that broke the Hippogriff's back when he'd turned his back on the man he adored and treasured because he didn't want to deal with the drama their love would cause.

Harry wasn't sure but it was probably too late now anyway. He'd made his choice, as incorrect as it was, and left Draco. Instead of staying with the man he loved he'd left a broken man in his wake and got back together with Ginny Weasely like everyone expected.

Being with Ginny was alright, it was safe and easy since he was already familiar with her and her family. Not to mention no one would speak against their union; as a matter of fact Harry remembered the full page spread on the front page of the Prophet announcing his and Ginny's engagement.

No one knew of his and Draco's affair so no one spoke about it; it was almost as if those late nights and early mornings making love hadn't even happened. And sometimes Harry wondered if those hallowed, stolen hours spent with his blonde angel weren't a fantasy, a product of his vivid imagination.

But then he'd watch the Pensieve memories of their times together and he'd see those beautiful grey eyes full of lust and love and the emerald eyed wizard knew everything they'd done together did happen and it was all Harry's fault that it would probably never happen again. Harry was to blame for their separation, he was the guilty party here and Draco the innocent victim in Harry's cowardice and fear.

When the Weaselys were told he was with Ginny again everyone was pleased with his choice and for a long time Harry could push away the longing thoughts he had for the beautiful blonde man out of his head. But just like all things one wants to avoid they refuse to stay gone forever and soon after James was born Harry's mind once again turned to thoughts of Draco; what he was doing? Where was he? Was he doing alright?

Harry didn't know anything about Draco's life now; after they'd split up after eighth year Draco moved to France and stayed under the radar. It wasn't a year after James was born when Harry saw the article in the Prophet announcing Draco's nuptials to Astoria Greengrass; Harry spewed his tea across the table when he read the article. He felt angry and betrayed that Draco would marry someone else and then he wanted to hex himself for feeling something so blatantly unfair.

How could he be mad about Draco getting married? Hadn't he dropped Draco like a hot stone and gone off with Ginny? Yes, he had and it would be hypocritical for him to hold the fact that Draco was moving on against him. It was a cold comfort that he knew his blonde was gay and was probably marrying the Greengrass girl to satisfy his parents' wishes for an heir to continue the Malfoy line.

But it pained him that someone else would be bonded to Draco, someone else would be giving Draco a child. It hurt Harry because it should have been him marrying the blonde, it should have been Draco carrying their children. He blinked his eyes rapidly to stop the burning tears he felt welling up in his green orbs and looked back down at the picture of his son and his new boyfriend on their very first Hogsmeade date.

At least one of the Potter men was brave enough to go after the Malfoy they wanted and Harry would support his son in this relationship; to hell with Ginny and Ron. If anyone didn't like Albus' choice in partner they could kindly shut the hell up or face the Potter Lord's wrath.

Just as Harry had defended Albus when he was sorted into Slytherin he would defend him now; everyone deserved to be with the one they loved. No one, regardless of who they were, had the right to keep them apart just because their families didn't always see eye to eye on things. Harry lost his chance to be with the man he loved and he would be condemned to the seventh level of hell if he allowed that to happen to Albus.

With a sad smile on his face the raven haired man conjured a beautiful rectangular silver frame with emerald green snakes at the corners and slipped the picture of his son and his companion inside. When the photo was set Harry placed it on the desk in his office and went back to reading his son's letter. So far he'd read about Scorpius and Albus' first date and now they were moving on to how Albus was doing in his studies.

Harry smiled as he read through the rather long piece of parchment, committing any important pieces of information to his memory so he could inquire about it in his return letter. He may not be happy with his wife or some aspects of his life but he adored his kids and he thanked the gods every damn day for them.

No matter what happened in his life Harry would continue to love and support them through anything; as long as they were happy, healthy, and not doing anything illegal Harry would stand by them. To hell with the rest of the world.

~*~*~*Time Skip~*~*~*

Harry sat in his favored chair by the fire, contemplating life and the curveballs it throws you; he seemed to be doing this a lot lately, ever since he received the picture of Albus and Scorpius together. He began to think back to when he was younger; at the tender age of eleven he was introduced to a whole new world; a magical world. He finally entered the world he was meant to be in and he felt so grateful that night in the hut when Hagrid told him he had a place in this new and amazing magical world.

Then he'd move onto the other events that occurred during his time at Hogwarts. He still loved Hogwarts it was the scene of some of his biggest triumphs and greatest heartaches. It was within Hogwarts that he came face to face, for the first time in his memory, with his parents' murderer and survived relatively unscathed.

It was like that meeting with Hagrid on his eleventh birthday was the beginning of a rollercoaster ride that lasted over eight years. Don't get him wrong he loved magic and most things about the magical world; Harry wouldn't give it up for anything but their world left much to be desired at times. The people were fickle, just as likely to hug you as spit on you depending on what slander the Prophet vomited out for the public to read that day.

Also, most magical people still to this day felt some sense of entitlement to him and information on his life; most of the time it was inconvenient but every now and again it became overbearing and obstructive. He remembered the circus created when James was born; the press along with the public were clamoring to get a photo of their savior's firstborn son. Hell they'd stalked Harry until he'd had to give some kind of statement if he ever wanted a peaceful moment again.

But of all the things he found lacking in this world they were nothing in comparison to what he felt was lacking in his marriage and he only had himself to blame for that shortcoming; it was his fault after all. He shouldn't have married Ginny to please others; Harry should have pleased himself and in doing so pleased those around him who mattered because his closest friends would want him to be happy no matter who he decided to be with.

His wife seemed to want things that he held no desire for. She enjoyed the parties and social gatherings while Harry shunned them like the plague unless he was ordered to go. Harry being Head Auror meant his boss was none other than the Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt and unless the chocolate skinned man demanded his presence Harry was happy to shirk off any invitations; much to Ginny's annoyance.

She just didn't understand him; how could she? Ginny wasn't stared at like some sort of attraction ever since she was eleven; she'd never had to endure the crushing weight of thousands of eyes watching her every move, waiting for her to screw up. No, to Ginny these parties and gatherings were fun, a chance to dress up and flaunt their status.

To Harry they were the equivalent of watching paint dry while being smothered by nosy well-wishers and glad-handed by sleazy politicians. He despised those events with every inch of his being and over the past few years he'd avoided them all, much to Ginny's anger, except for the annual Ministry Ball. Kingsley would drag Harry to that function himself.

It became more evident every day that their marriage was coming to an end; it was only a matter of time before their already strained bond broke for good. Harry wasn't sure if he should feel sad or relieved that it was coming to an end soon. The raven didn't know why he knew his marriage was dying he just did; call it intuition and his intuition had never let him down before. As a matter of fact if he would have listened to his intuition all those years ago he would be happily married to Draco.

He'd even become an Auror to satisfy the public and Ginny's expectations. They all wanted their savior to become a polished, highly decorated Auror and Harry did. He joined the Auror Corp. shortly after graduating Hogwarts and getting back with Ginny. He became a very successful Auror just like everyone wanted and was awarded the position of Head Auror about four years ago.

He liked his job well enough but it wasn't what he loved to do. If he'd been normal he would have looked into getting his Mastery in Defense but alas he wasn't normal he was Harry James Potter; the Man-Who-Lived, the Savior of the Wizarding World, etc.

Harry had to face the fact that he and Ginny had grown apart over the years and by the time Lily was born they'd settled into a very bland and routine existence interspersed with fighting about Harry's lack of wanting to go to parties or go on thousand galleon vacations, or whatever Ginny wanted to do that he had no desire to go along with.

At least they didn't fight about money; Merlin knew Harry had enough of it with the Potter and Black vaults along with his salary. Nope, money was not an issue for them. But they still fought viciously about what Harry should do about this or how he should go about that. Ginny somehow believed that Harry would be lost without her; that belief was so far from the truth it was laughable.

If anything Harry took care of her far more than she had ever taken care of him. He wasn't some mindless moron, he was capable of managing just fine on his own and parenting his children. His children loved him more than their mother as sad as that sounded; his kids knew Harry wouldn't blow up at them in anger or rag on them until they caved like Ginny did. The emerald eyed wizard supported his kids no matter what, giving them the all the love and care he'd never received as a child.

That was why Albus wrote to him about Scorpius and not both his parents; his second son knew his mother would not take the news of Albus' choice in partner well and Harry couldn't blame the teen in not wanting to deal with his mother's irrational, and no doubt loud, response.

James and Lily did much the same when things arose in their lives that they needed advice on. His wife still saw the world in black and white; Slytherins were evil and Gryffindors were always good. That Pettigrew was a Gryffindor and a traitor was completely ignored by Ginny along with the little factoid that Severus Snape was as Slytherin as they came and the bravest man Harry had ever known.

They were just too different to ever truly work out together; Harry grew up fast and had to open his eyes to the reality of life. Ginny, on the other hand, was sheltered and give all the care in the world; her whole family had shielded her from the harsh realities of life and even seeing some of the gruesome things that had taken place during the war had not opened the red headed female's eyes.

His mind went back to the thought that it was only a matter of time before he was free of Ginny and the Weaselys. Well not all the Weaselys; Harry still wanted connections with Arthur, George, Charlie, and Bill. Those four men didn't take Ginny's side by default when she ran home to rant about how horrid Harry was or whatever else she railed on about when she returned to The Burrow.

Several times Arthur or George or even Bill would floo over to ask Harry's side of the story and often found themselves siding with the raven haired man once they had the whole situation laid out for them. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Ron. His friend always took Ginny's side in the argument no matter how wrong she'd been just like Molly did but Harry wasn't that surprised about it.

At least he didn't have to worry about dealing with Percy; the bespectacled Weasely son now lived in the U.S. as an attaché with the American Ministry of Magic and maintained very little contact with his family except for visiting during the holidays. Harry would miss having Ron as a friend but just like his relationship with Ginny had gone downhill so had his close friendship with Ron.

After Hogwarts the two of them just drifted apart more and more; when there was no life or death situations or schoolmates to keep them occupied Harry realized he and Ron had very little in common. And the distance between them only grew as he matured and went to work as an Auror and Ron went to work with George in the joke shop at Diagon Alley as a Floor Manager.

From what he knew Ron was good at what he did but it wasn't exactly an environment that encouraged personal growth; not that Ron had ever been particularly mature in the first place. Where George knew when to act the fool and when to buckle down and be serious Ron did not. The youngest Weasely son continued to live in a suspended state of a seventeen year old.

His immaturity eventually cost him his relationship with Hermione. The brightest witch of their age was proud that her boyfriend had procured a decent job right out of Hogwarts but she began to dislike it when Ron would come home and set up pranks around their flat. After a few years, and many arguments over the red head's childish behavior, Hermione got tired of dating, and living, with an overgrown child and left.

His best female friend was now a very well-known and sought after Healer at Saint Cassius' Hospital for Magical Injuries in Paris. She visited England a few times a year and they would meet for dinner when she came into town but more often than not most of their interactions happened through owl which was fine with Harry since it gave him something to look forward to.

He wondered how Hermione would react when she heard about his thoughts on leaving Ginny. Harry snorted internally; the bushy haired witch would be pleased that he was finally taking steps to make himself happy again. She knew how Harry felt about some things regarding his life but not all of it. Hermione remained clueless about Draco but knew that Harry wasn't content in his marriage.

Maybe in his next letter to her he'd lay all his cards out on the table. Tell someone all the things that were on his mind and in his heart. Hermione might even have some good advice for him to follow; she usually knew exactly the right thing to do in any situation. Now that he was thinking on it he should write Hermione a letter, it might be therapeutic to pour his heart out for once, get it all off his chest.

The shrill voice of his wife shouting his name startled Harry out of his staring match with the fire, making him jump out of his seat and run toward the sound of his spouse's raised voice. He found her in the study for some reason, the conjured silver picture frame clasped tightly in her hand; Harry entered the room warily, wondering where this little chat was going to go from here.

Until he knew what was going on he would stay quiet, no need to give more away then Ginny knew at this point. The petite red head raised her eyes from the photo of Albus and Scorpius and glared at him, showing the picture to him so he could clearly see the moving picture of his son and the smaller blonde; "What is this, Harry? Why do you have a picture of our son hugging that bastard's child?"

The raven's eyes narrowed slightly in anger; "I think it is pretty clear what it is, Ginny. It's a picture of our son hugging Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius; who just happens to be Albus' boyfriend. I have it because Albus sent it to me and let me know they're dating now." Though Harry could feel his anger brewing inside of him he kept his voice calm and only slightly patronizing; it wouldn't due to lose his cool now and have this little spat escalate into a full blown fight.

They fought enough as it was and the emerald eyed savior was frankly tired of fighting with the woman he'd chosen to marry. Ginny stomped towards him; when she was close enough to him she jammed the frame hard into his chest. Harry snatched the frame out of her hand and held it at his side; he wouldn't allow her to destroy it in her anger and the possible subsequent tantrum she'd throw when he told her the score; Ginny would leave Albus and Scorpius alone no matter how much she disliked their romantic relationship.

His wife's raised voice brought his green eyes back up to her face; "And you're okay with our son dating a Malfoy?! They're all Death Eaters and that boy is probably a filthy little bigot, just like his father. That family is nothing but no good bastards and I won't have that prat's spawn corrupting our son!"

Well now she'd done it, Ginny had finally done it, she'd finally pushed Harry too damn far. Yes, they'd had their fights and they'd exchanged heated words but he would not let her sit back and demean the man he still secretly loved or his son; who had done nothing wrong but to be born a Malfoy.

Taking a deep calming breath he spoke, letting Ginny know exactly how things were going to be; "You will leave Albus' relationship alone, you will not meddle or interfere. Scorpius makes Albus happy, damn it, and I won't have you ruining it with your ignorance and intolerance just because the boy's a Malfoy."

"And what has Draco ever done to you besides said hurtful words to us during our school years, and trust me we gave back as good as we got. Besides from what I recall he turned a new leaf during our eighth year at Hogwarts and barely conversed or acknowledged you or Ron at all."

"You will respect my wishes on this, Ginny. I can guarantee you will not like the consequences that will be befall you should you try to split them up. Is that understood?" The red headed woman just stared at him in shock; Harry couldn't blame her. He very rarely asserted himself like this but when he did you didn't go against him unless you wanted hell to come down on you.

Finally, his wife stopped looking like a Largemouth Bass and spoke in a voice full of stunned disbelief; "Then you agree with our son being a queer and dating a Malfoy? You're going to stand there and let our son be corrupted by that...that fag?!"

Harry just stared coldly at the shrew in front of him and felt all the years of repressed feeling boil up inside him; all the times he'd shut up and bore it, all the times he'd turned the other cheek and kept silent for the sake of keeping the peace.

All those feelings and emotions surged up and choked him, making his swallow reflexively. Taking a deep breath he ordered his words so he could let Ginny know where he stood in this matter; "No, Ginny, I don't have a problem with our son's relationship with another man. Albus could date a fucking Unicorn and I wouldn't give damn as long as he was happy."

"And I'll have you know that Albus isn't the first Potter to be corrupted by a Malfoy. So no I don't have an issue with our son being corrupted by; what was the word you so disrespectfully used? Ah yes! That fag." He would take her anger but he would not let her degrade his son or Scorpius' sexual orientation or who they chose to be with. He was done with this woman! How dare she speak that way about their child!

His wife just stood there staring at him with her mouth agape, tears filling her eyes; "What do you mean Albus wasn't the first Potter to be corrupted by a Malfoy?" Harry stared directly into her eyes and smiled a smile that showed way to many teeth to be called friendly; "What I mean is Draco and I were together for a short time many years ago and it was the best time I've ever had in my life."

"I loved him more than I could ever love another, still love him if you must know, and I regret the day I left him because I caved to the pressure of others. I never should have let him go but hindsight is always twenty-twenty as the muggles say." Ginny was crying in earnest now, her tears flowing freely down her red, splotchy face, but Harry could see the anger brewing in her eyes and he knew it wouldn't be long before she began to yell at him.

Knowing his time to get any words in was running short he dropped the proverbial bomb on her; "I want a divorce. This relationship isn't working, hasn't worked for a long time and I deserve to be happy and I'm not. I don't want to be with you any longer and after what you said about Albus I don't even want to look at you."

"You're his mother and you can still degrade him and his sexual preferences so cruelly. I should have known when you reacted like a shrieking Banshee when he was sorted into Slytherin that your love for our kids was conditional but I hoped I wasn't right. I was wrong and I refuse to stay with someone so blatantly ignorant and blind to the world around them."

Without another word Harry strode out of his office and towards their bedroom, the picture frame still held tightly in his hand. Once he reached their room Harry began to pack his clothes and other necessities so he wouldn't have to come back for a few days. Harry would be leaving this house and going back to Grimmauld Place; thank Merlin he'd kept the old place and had it renovated just in case he'd ever decided to sell it.

Now he had a place to go seeing as he no longer desired to live in Ottery St. Catchpole, not when Molly Weasely would surely be on the warpath when she heard about Harry divorcing her precious daughter. Well to hell with her if she didn't understand why Harry wanted to be out of his marriage with Ginny; it wasn't Molly's place to understand or approve his decision anyway.

He'd bowed under other people's whims long enough and he was done with it and had no intention of living for anyone but himself and his children.

After he was finished packing he closed his trunk, shrunk it down, placed it in his pocket and exited the bedroom. Before he left the house he went back to his office and closed the doors, warding them to the nines so Ginny couldn't get in and do something stupid. His office was the one room in the house that was Harry's and it held all his precious possessions; his father's invisibility cloak, the photos of his parents, his ancestor's journals and all his important legal and financial documents were kept within that room.

If any of those things were destroyed they would be difficult if not impossible to replace. The doors warded he strode toward the foyer so he could apparate to Number Twelve; unfortunately his soon to be ex-wife had other plans and grabbed his bicep hard, effectively stopping him in his tracks unless he wanted to pull her along with him.

Taking a deep breath he turned his head and stared at her, silently asking her to get on with it so he could leave. "Harry...please you can't do this! What's happened to you? Did you get hexed or something?! This isn't like you!" The raven rolled his eyes and jerked his arm out of her grip; "I'll ask you not to touch me like that again. As for what's happened to me; I've finally woken up and decided what I want in my life and what I don't."

"I'm not hexed, or under a potion; I'm just done with you and this miserable marriage. As for me not acting like myself...do you even know me and when I say know me I mean me, not Head Auror Potter or the Man-Who-Lived, I mean Harry just Harry? Do you know my favorite color? Do you know my deepest secrets? No, you don't because you never cared to find out. You wanted to marry me since you were eleven years old because I was your hero and knight in shining armor."

Ginny snarled; "Than why did you marry me then?" Harry grimaced; "Because it was easy. No one cared or objected to me being with you since it was expected so I didn't have to deal with any backlash from anyone. I thought I could make it work and for a long time I tried to but after a time I gave up and just drifted through life, going to work and coming home, spending time with the kids; so you know our children are the three things I will never regret about our marriage by the way."

"Now, Ginny, if you'll excuse me I have to go before this situation deteriorates more than it already has." Harry swiftly walked into the foyer and spun on his heel, with a sharp crack he was gone, leaving his former wife screaming at him with enraged tears streaming down her face. He couldn't bring himself to care.

Well that concludes the first chapter of my newest, sort of cliched, story and I hope you enjoyed it. Updates may be sporadic since I've currently got several open fics that I'm hoping to finish so bear with me for a little while.

Next chapter we will have a flashback to Harry's eighth year and how he and Draco managed to get together.

All Mistakes Are My Own!