It was an accident. It very well could've been intentional. Somehow, it didn't really matter at the moment. At least not to the two men standing in the debris and ruble of what had once been the Greengrass Summer House. It had been such a magnificent building. Not imposing in the slightest, but instead as warm as it was big. In any direction, the only other residence larger than Greengrass Summer House was the Malfoy Manor, but the two were as wildly different now as they were before. Malfoy Manor was imposing whereas the Greengrass residence was welcoming and inviting. Now, it was nothing more than rubble.

Draco Malfoy could not ignore the pang in his chest as he stared blankly around him. He willed the walls to reconstruct themselves and the bodies buried beneath them to rise again with life. No, the three bodies lost somewhere in the disaster were not his family by blood, but his heart had broken already. His wife, a surviving Greengrass, would not take the news of her parents and sister's death well, and his heart had already broken at the mere thought of telling her. Of course, in his line of work, more often than not, he had other more open and receptive men to deliver news such as that. Draco was terrible at it, but he knew he had no other choice.

Standing a number of steps away from him was none other than Harry Potter. No, Draco and Harry did not customarily work the same cases, but when threats had come against the upstanding Greengrass family, Harry had volunteered his time when Draco had begun to wear thin with his in-laws.

Of course all of this was pushed to back of his mind when the soft, unmistakable sound of a baby echoed through the still air. Harry slowly peered down at the small bundle in his arms, as had Draco. The little girl's face was covered in dust, as were the blankets covering her, and Harry had gently run his thumb beneath the child's eyes so that it would not enter her eyes as well.

"I guess this one is yours now." Harry spoke first, deciding on commenting a less tense topic than the explosion they'd somehow survived. Of course, young Ava Greengrass had survived as well by sheer luck. Daphne had just handed her daughter to Harry and had turned to retrieve one of the child's bags. Only moments before, Harry and Draco, working together, had convinced the new mother to move to more easily protected area with her child. Daphne, who was far more concerned with the safety of her daughter than herself, had certainly had her only wish granted even if neither Harry nor Draco could shake the pain of the girl's mother from their hearts and minds. As little Ava cried again, Harry swore he saw a tear slide down the marble skin of his former enemy, but had averted his eyes to the girl again.

Astoria had held her niece when she first cried. Draco had no idea what to do as he sat on the other end of the couch. Harry sat across from the married couple, watching Astoria cradle the baby as any loving mother would. Or father for that matter. In the few moments Harry had held her, he had been instantly reminded of holding his own infant children and even in the midst of the tragedy and its aftermath, he was suddenly far more excited about the coming birth of his first daughter.

When Harry turned to Draco, the men stared at one another, but neither said anything. Harry almost understood. He'd comforted his then-girlfriend through the death of one of her brothers, it certainly had not been an easy task. No matter how much surrounded the two men, neither seemed capable of handling it any better now than they could as school children.

Again, Harry was the one to break the silence. "She's still young."

Astoria turned her tear stain gaze to Harry, the confusion showing across her face. "I know." She responded, as though Harry were implying she did not know the age of her own niece.

"I mean, we're abroad. We can file a death certificate and apply for a birth certificate without too many people knowing or noticing. You can raise her as your own daughter." Harry said as gently as he could, but Astoria, whose emotions were left to run unchecked, hadn't fully grasped the concept Harry was presenting to them.

"And lie to her!"

"Astoria," Draco sighed as he reached to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Sometimes a little lie is better than the truth." Harry said simply, seemingly unaffected by her outburst. "Sometimes a baby just needs parents, not the story of why she has no parents."

Draco had averted his eyes immediately, knowing Harry had ventured into the private part of his life to extend heartfelt advice to the couple. In their line of work, professional life and private life were strictly separated, and for good reason Draco had learned the hard way. The piece of advice Harry had indirectly given was straight from his personal life, Draco knew. Astoria must've known as well, but her emotions and the pain of losing her family were overriding the rational thought she was capable of performing. Because it stemmed from the most delicate piece of Harry's childhood, Draco knew the idea had been said in the best interest of the child.

"And Scorpius?" Draco indulged in the idea for a moment, doing his best to ignore the angered stare from his wife. "What are we supposed to tell him, then?"

"He's just a little boy." Harry shrugged. "They don't understand the process of a child fully enough to see the inconsistencies. Albus has no idea that…" Harry stopped himself as he turned his gaze to the floor and ran his hand through his hair. He cleared his throat as he met Draco's gaze again with as professional of a gaze he could muster under the circumstances. "I can't image it'll be too difficult to call her his sister."

"You can't be serious, Draco!" Astoria cried out, and Ava had begun to cry as well. Astoria quickly recovered her composure as she rocked the little girl to calm her down. Harry and Draco swallowed at the sound of the girl's cries, neither stone enough to endure the sound. Yes, they'd seen battle, and war, and yet as father's neither could bear the thought of a child left with no parents, and crying at that. Draco had a strong feeling, however, that Harry was slightly more affected by Ava's unfortunate situation that he. Of course, if Ava wasn't his wife's niece, Draco knew he wouldn't have been concerned at all. In the back of his mind, he added that to the list of reasons Harry Potter was a much better man than he was. He wasn't sure if it should be ranked above or below the ink staining his arm, though. When the sounds of Scorpius' small footsteps running in the hallway behind them fell around the three adults, Draco was inclined to settle on above.

"How fast could you process the paperwork if I stay here?" Draco asked and Harry took a moment to think of the answer.

"A few days." Harry promised an exceptional time frame, but only Draco recognized how willing harry was to help them. Draco was all too familiar with waiting endlessly for months for paperwork to gather something as trivial as a signature to be put into act.

"I'll have Hermione expedite them." Harry explained when he recognized the doubting look on his co-worker's face.

"She would know too?" Draco asked and Harry nodded.

"But I'm sure she would be able to get them approved without anybody realizing what they mean together." Harry assured them. "To bypass Hermione, it'll be too difficult to declare Ava dead without the Ministry starting their own investigation. If we sign on the deaths," Harry started as he held Draco's gaze before he turned to Astoria, "you would be free to bury your family without any questions. Mark an empty grave with her name and in a few months, after she's grown a bit, you can return home with a daughter and nobody would doubt it at all."

For the first time, Astoria remained quiet, as though she were truly considering the idea. She pulled her eyes from Harry as she looked down at the sleeping child in her arms. In the silence, little Scorpius Malfoy approached the adults, and though he understood so little of the world around him, he saw the sadness in the faces of his parents and their new friend, whom he'd never met prior.

"Hello, Scorpius." Harry said gently as he smiled at the boy. It was remarkable how alike Scorpius and his father looked, but Harry felt the boy radiated quite a bit more innocence than his father.

"Who are you?" Scorpius' boyish voice was like music compared to the somber conversation between the adults.

"My name is Harry." Harry answered, still holding his gaze. "Are you having fun on vacation?"

"Yes," Scorpius beamed as he nodded his head up and down vigorously. "The sun is here! And it's more fun than at home!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." Harry replied as Scorpius stepped towards him, accidently knocking the end of the table. One of the glass bowls on the table had started to fall, and Draco had responded on instinct, but it was Harry who caught the bowl before it shattered into pieces on the floor.

"I'm sorry!" Scorpius called out as he turned to his father with wide eyes. Draco, who wasn't mad in the slightest, held his hand out to the little child. Harry set the bowl in the center of the table, a more secure location, as Scorpius put his little hand into his father's and took tentative steps towards him. Once Scorpius had neared him, Draco had lifted the small boy into his arms and pressed his lips to son's forehead. Draco's eyes had shut as he imagined what might've been had it been his family who had been targeted. He feared what might've become of his son, should he have survived, and as such, Draco held his child knowing in his heart of hearts there was nobody who would be willing to care for his son should anything happen to him and his wife.

It was a scary thought, and nagging him in the back of his mind, he knew Harry Potter was exactly the kind of man who could not see a little boy go through life without the loving support of make-shift parents. Though he'd never thought of Harry as much more than a somewhat important part of Wizarding history and a colleague, Draco suddenly realized Harry was a father just as he was, and the idea of parentless Ava had affect each of them greatly.

"I love you," Draco said to his son before kissing him again. When the boy returned the sentiments, his words were not plagued with the fear his father's had been. He was too young to understand, but Draco and Harry both felt as though that was Scorpius' greatest advantage. With the pain surrounding the three adults, Scorpius was still carried enough childlike innocence to smile at his father and put kisses on his face with a wide smile. It was certainly something he was envied for, but neither war survivor would take it away from the boy. He had a gift they wanted desperately to protect at any cost.

X

First, the most important parts of the Wizarding World—the Ministry, Diagon Alley, and the pureblood elite social circle—heard the news of the Greengrass family accident. It was much easier to rule the explosion as an accident, even though Draco and Harry knew it had been no accident. To deal with the loss, the Malfoy family remained abroad with their son. They did not stay near the Greengrass Summer House, but Draco watched carefully as the ruble was shifted through. During those first few months, he spotted Harry Potter and his sister-in-law, Hermione Weasley overlooking the remains as well. He knew their presence should've been welcomed, but instead it only reinforced Draco's complex that he truly could not hold his wife's family together without Harry's help.

In the distance, Draco could see the pair talking to a man, who had just finished pushing through as much ruble as he could in one day. Slowly, Draco continued approaching them, until he could finally hear the conversation.

"Three bodies, sir." The man said then slowly shifted his eyes to Hermione. She certainly had the look of a pregnant woman, but had Draco not known when she and her husband announced their pregnancy, he might've guessed she was only in the early months.

"That's not right." Harry said strongly, and Draco was surprised at how well he could lie. "There should be a child."

"Can't find it."

"Her." Hermione correctly strongly and the man cleared his throat as he looked away from the pair. Certainly, Harry and Hermione were not an easy pair to face, and Draco was not envious of the man who owed them a body that would never be found. "And go look again. We're not burying Daphne Greengrass without her daughter."

"Yes, Ma'am." The man nodded before he turned and left the pair. Harry turned to Hermione after he had gone, and the two whispered to one another. Once Hermione spotted Draco nearing them, she tilted her head at him, and offered a small smile in his direction. Harry noticed and turned to look at Draco over his shoulder.

"How is Astoria?" Hermione asked kindly. She and Draco had not associated with each other much since the war, but Hermione was perfectly capable of holding up pleasant conversation, or at least comforting words.

"A little better now." Draco answered as he looked out at the remains that had once been tall beautiful walls. He could not tear his eyes from the scene, but neither Harry nor Hermione could fault him for it. "We got married here." Draco finally said as his eyes shifted to the area that had used to be the gardens. Instead pieces of wall and floor had collapsed over it and the place he had first kissed Astoria as her husband was not discernable.

"It was a beautiful choice." Hermione replied and Draco turned to her again. A few other Ministry workers had passed by as they continued their work on the fallen building. Draco paid them more attention than he should, while Harry and Hermione held their facial expressions that should make any self-proclaimed Slytherin jealous. "How is the pregnancy?" Hermione asked finally, and Draco could not stop staring at her. She was so perfectly poised with her hands collapsed over her small belly. The slight smile across her lips looked so natural; he almost believed his wife actually had been pregnant.

"A girl," Draco answered, clearly having a difficult time holding up the charade Harry had so easily put into place with his and Astoria's blessing. Harry and Hermione certainly noticed, but knew they could explain his odd behavior as being shock at the deaths of his extended family.

"Girls are wonderful," Hermione said, her smile actually genuine. Harry smiled as well, thinking of his own daughter, only a few days old.

While Draco had been so focused on what was to happen to Ava's true identity, he had completely forgotten her new one. He was to be her father now, and it hadn't donned on him until Hermione's comment had completely sunk in. Scorpius he was good with, after a couple hundred encounters with him and his odd way of moving through life. Until Scorpius was two, Draco was sure he wasn't even human. Now to repeat those first two years, but with a girl? Quite a daunting task, indeed.

"Is there a name picked out?" Hermione asked and Draco shook his head as he looked to Harry.

"Perhaps your wife would like to honor your niece." Harry suggested and Draco's gazed shifted to Hermione. From the comforting smile across her lips, Draco was almost convinced Harry had convinced her of Ava's death as well as the rest of the world.

After sometime, Ava Greengrass was declared missing with Harry's signature and Hermione's department seal. It was customary for the official missing person's department to meet with the family to get a better picture of who they were looking for. Under Hermione's order, the Malfoy family was left to grieve in peace away from the prying eyes of the media. It was a decision that did not draw any attention, considering that nobody doubted the death of the small child. As such, Hermione set the case of Ava Greengrass to the side, as she and the Malfoys waited the year to declare her official dead, should a body never be recovered.

Within a few months, Astoria and Draco Malfoy returned to the public eye, young Scorpius standing at his father's side. Though Scorpius had always been a popular subject among the media, all cameras were flashing in the direction of the newest addition to the Malfoy family. Watching from the side, purely to ensure the safety of Ava, Harry admired Draco's talent for spinning his family's image in the most beneficial way.

Not only did the Malfoy gain the sympathies of the entire Wizarding World, they were also regarded as a new era of Malfoys. They'd famously help put an end to Voldermolt's regime, just before that was forgotten; they had a second child to present to the world. That of course was breaking the mold of the Malfoy family as well.

The newest Malfoy, Ava Daphne Malfoy, was famously named for her missing cousin, and deceased aunt. Somewhere around her first birthday, Ava Greengrass was officially declared dead at the request of Draco Malfoy, and Daphne's estate was added to Astoria's inheritance. Again, Draco had called upon Harry and Hermione's help to divide the estate so that Ava Malfoy, and her new brother, could have inheritances of their own when they became of age.

When Astoria expressed her wish to decide what would happen to their small children should anything impede her and Draco's abilities to parent, the former enemies were again pushed into a difficult situation.

To Ginny and Astoria, who had become close friends over the course of several years after the war, it wasn't nearly as awkward. The decision took several months to be agreed upon, but eventually, Ginny and Harry signed the copies of Draco and Astoria's wills, stating that Scorpius and Ava Malfoy would be put in the care of Harry and Ginny if their parents could not care for them. In addition, Draco and Harry agreed on how the Malfoy and Greengrass inheritances would be divided among the two, including a small amount to be given to Harry and Ginny for the purposes of caring for the children.

It was an understandable fear that Draco and Astoria had been unable to overcome, but it was something else entirely about the agreement that lingered in Draco's mind. Endlessly throughout their intertwined lives, Harry proved himself a much better man than Draco, in Draco's eyes. Now, as Draco rest assured he knew exactly what would happen to his son, and his new daughter in the event of his own accident, he felt as though the score could level out. Not by Draco's own actions directly, but in another way entirely.

If anything were to happen to himself and to his wife, Draco knew Harry's heart could not abuse the two children he would find himself caring for. By ensuring his children a good childhood surrounded by the love Potters and Weasleys could not help but radiate, Draco Malfoy was finally able to consider himself as good a man as Harry Potter.