hd_familyfest | FIC: Seizing Second Chances

Authur: momatu
Prompt #: 20 Draco meets Albus and forms a special bond with him because he is the same age as Draco's son would have been that died in child birth.Which leads to many outings with newly single Harry and his other children and a Weasley or two
Title: Seizing Second Chances
Paring: Harry/Draco
Summary: Five years after Draco lost his infant son to complications following his premature birth, he sees a happy, healthy dark-haired child the same age his own little boy would have been playing on the swings in a Muggle play park. One year after the sudden loss of his wife, Harry sees Draco quietly watching children play in a Muggle play park. If they can put the past behind them, can they be each other's second chance at happiness?
Rating: NC17
Disclaimer: Disclaimer – All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Warning: Based on the prompt, there is necessarily some heaviness to this fic, but while I did bear in mind the need to deal with the grief both Harry and especially Draco have experienced, I tried to keep the overall theme of the fic one of healing and rebuilding. Draco will talk about the loss of his son, but it is not the dominant thread of the fic.
Epilogue Compliant?: Partly
Word Count: 28,300
Author's Notes: I would like to thank my awesome betas, eidheann_writes and kohaku_imaki55, for all their help and, as always, also thank you to all the lovely Brits at hp_britglish for helping this American to British her writing up a bit. Thanks also, of course to dragon2stars, I hope you'll be happy with how the story came out.

Seizing Second Chances

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This is such a moving story.I am so glad you wrote for my prompt.I was so touched by Draco's character you could feel his pain and loss and Narcissa was just how I imagined a mother would be facing a loss like this with her child.I loved Harry as well and the struggle to remove the wedding ring.I love this story and all the emotion it is so well done.Thanks so much I can even picture a happy future with Draco finally having another child with Harry to add to their family.Just loves!

I'm so glad you liked it! I wanted to deal with the grief they'd both still have after their losses, but I really wanted the overall theme to be one of healing. I love writing Narcissa. I see her every bit as devoted to Draco as Lily was to Harry. I think it's telling about Narcissa that not only did she defy Voldemort twice to protect Draco, but she did not speak out against Andromeda when Voldemort mocked them over Tonks and Remus' marriage. I particularly loved writing the scene were she reacted to Draco's saying he wasn't going to go when Harry invited him out for ice cream. I definitely picture another child in the future. I wanted to include, or at least elude to that, but I just ran out of time.

I'm really happy your were pleased with it!

That was lovely. I love the pace of this. I know it all happened in a few days, but the way their feelings developed, the way they healed together was beautiful.

I felt so much for Draco and his pain, god, breaks the heart, but it was so beautiful, too, that he opened himself to happiness with Harry. I loved that.

Narcissa was brilliant. I loved her outrage at Harry telling people, and then just like her I got all the reasons. Wow, most excellent there.

LOL @ Rita! I shouldn't laugh, really, XD but hey, how was Ian was to know? And she was totally snooping. I laughed all right.

And then the ending, intense and loving and wonderful. This was awesome, thank you so much for this. <3

I'm so glad you liked it! It did all happen kind of quickly, I know, but I wanted them to have a foundation of friendship growing first.

Given the nature of the prompt, the fic had to deal with a good bit of grief, but I wanted to balance it with healing and I always try to have a little humor in my fics.

I do love writing Narcissa. I see her every bit as devoted to Draco as Lily was to Harry. I also think it's telling about Narcissa that not only did she defy Voldemort twice to protect Draco, but she did not speak out against Andromeda when Voldemort mocked them over Tonks and Remus' marriage. I got a kick out of her thinking of Harry as an impetuous Gryffindor for telling people about Draco's experiment, when he was doing what Draco asked him to, and then he took it upon himself to protect Draco by telling his friends and Andromeda. I'm glad you liked it too.

I have to admit--I laughed when I squished Rita Skeeter! A beetle might be a good disguise to sneak around in, but it does leave one rather vulnerable.

Thanks for reviewing!

this was touching in so many ways!
i liked so many points in this story it would be a really long list so i just give you some examples:
best funny moment: the death of skeeter! (she deserved it XD)
best sad moment: the beginning, the kids, draco it's just so sad and awesome touching
best romance moment: the taking off of the ring!
best unexpected charactertrade: ginny- you made her awesome with the whole into man stuff!!!
best kissing scene: the kiss that never happened!
best oh noo i need to read faster so i know how it ends: the potions ingredient scene with all of them at the manner
best bounding moment: second meeting!
and so on and so fourth
it kept me up for quite a while, but as i started it, i could not put it down again
so really great work!

Sorry I kept you up, but I'm glad you liked it!

I was laughing as I wrote the scene with Rita Skeeter getting smushed! A beetle might be a good disguise to sneak around in, but it does leave one rather vulnerable.

The beginning was very sad, and I was a little afraid it would put people off. Given the nature of the prompt, the fic had to deal with a good bit of grief, but I wanted to balance it with healing and I always try to have a little humor in my fics.

As much as I love H/D, Ginny is one of my favorite characters, so even though I pair Harry with Draco, I like to see her a positive character if she's part of the fic.

Thanks for reviewing!

This was wonderful. It was gentle and touching, funny and exciting. My heart instantly went out to Draco who was so sad and yet so eager to love. Harry was darling with how readily he reached out to Draco and accepted his developing feelings. And I loved that he called his children the Stooges. *snickers*

I loved Narcissa being so protective of Draco and perfectly willing to tell him what he needed to hear. It was also very touching to see her mourning for her grandson even as she tries to be strong for her son. You really conveyed the grief without losing the hopefulness, which I loved.

I loved Draco blowing bubbles in his drink and then Ron and Hermione's reaction to the story. It is such a childlike thing to do, and it humanizes Draco for them and for the reader.

There was so much to love and enjoy in this story. Thank you for sharing it.

I'm so glad you liked it! I did want Harry to reach out to Draco when he learned Draco had lost a child, so I'm glad you liked it.

I loved writing Narcissa. I see her every bit as devoted to Draco as Lily was to Harry. I also think it's telling about Narcissa that not only did she defy Voldemort twice to protect Draco, but she did not speak out against Andromeda when Voldemort mocked them over Tonks and Remus' marriage. Only Bellatrix did. Narcissa didn't say a word. Given the nature of the prompt, the fic had to deal with a good bit of grief, but I wanted to balance it with healing and lighten the fic in spots with a little humor where I could.

Blowing bubbles in his drink was a very childlike thing to do. Humanizing Draco was exactly what I wanted with that scene, so I'm glad it worked for you.

Thanks for reviewing!

Thank you for sharing this story. I loved the pace of it and how well you used so many of the characters. Narcissa especially. Oh oh and Harry's kids they were spot on!

I'm so glad you liked it! loved writing Narcissa. I see her every bit as devoted to Draco as Lily was to Harry. I also think it's telling about Narcissa that not only did she defy Voldemort twice to protect Draco, but she did not speak out against Andromeda when Voldemort mocked them over Tonks and Remus' marriage. She's a character I like to dig into.

Thanks for reviewing!

FIC: Seizing Second Chances

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