Endgame - A Drarry Fanfic (Harry Potter x Draco Malfoy)

Chapter 3: The Divorce

"Harry, I know why you want to talk." Dean's started right away. Harry had written him a letter asking to speak, and later that evening Dean's head appeared in his fireplace. "I'm sorry. I should have stopped it right away. I didn't want to leave her there though. I was worried she might stitch herself if she tried to apparate home. Nothing really happened, but everything that did is all on me."

"It's alright Dean, I know what happened. I'm not upset with you, but I wanted you to know that Ginny and I are getting divorced."

Dean looked sadden by this, "Harry, I never meant to mess everything up with you guys. Don't leave her over one drunk night flirting with a stupid ex."

"I'm not leaving her, be both decided to split. I'm sure it'll get out sooner or later, and I wanted you to hear it from me. And I kind of should say thank you." Dean looked puzzled but said nothing, "It started a conversation that Ginny and I should have had ages ago. Ginny and I have been having problems for awhile; this isn't your fault."

"Harry, I'm so sorry. I still feel like this is my fault. If you didn't have that conversation, you would still be together."

"But we aren't happy together, Dean. It's good that we are finally doing this." Harry was uncertain about the future but he wanted to be able to love freely, and more importantly, he wanted Ginny to be truly loved.

"Well, I wish you all the best, mate. Thank you for telling me."

"Dean, one more thing:" Harry said before Dean left, "Ginny really isn't into you. I just thought you should know, time to move on man." Harry wasn't trying to be mean, he was trying to do him a favor.

"I know, I know. I should have lost hope when you two got married. And if she's not married to you and still doesn't want to be with me, then it's definitely time." Hearing that from Harry, that Ginny really didn't have any feelings for him left, helped him cut the last string of hope. 

"I should go, but thank you again and good luck with everything. I promise I won't tell anyone, at least until it's in 'The Prophet!" Dean and Harry both gave a little chuckle.

"Thanks. I'll need it. We're telling the kids tonight."

***

"Why did you have to bring us home this weekend? I had plans to go the Hogsmeade with my friends." James asked his father in an annoyed tone. James, Al and Lily were all wondering the same thing - why did their parents have them sent home for the weekend?  They were all confused and slightly scared, even James, though he was trying the most out of the three to hide it.

Their father said, "Your mother and I need to talk to you in person, and we didn't want to wait until Christmas." The kids all had their suspicions confirmed now that it must be something bad.

It had been a few weeks since Harry and Ginny had their talk and they both didn't see any point in putting off the divorce or telling the kids any longer. Ginny had told her parents the same day Harry had talked to Ron and Hermione. 

Harry gave Ginny a look, asking her silently if she wanted to tell the kids or have him tell them. But she took a big breath and said, "Your father and I are getting divorced."

The kids were absolutely shocked, they had had a million different thoughts running through their head of what could be wrong but not a single one of them had thought of this. They all thought their parents were in love; they never fought and they seemed to be happy.

Harry and Ginny felt terrible. For a second, both of them wished they could take it back. Wait until the children were older. But they knew it wouldn't do any good. If they tried to stay together longer just for the kids, it would just put a lot of strain on the family. Both Harry and Ginny believed this was for the best. 

All of the kids were having so many thoughts race through their heads:

Al looked up at Harry, they had gotten so close since the time-turner incident. Al was thinking about how he had just gotten through to his father and now they were going to be separated. He decided in that moment if his parents were going to be separated, he wanted to live with his dad in the summer. He would miss Lily, but he would get a break from James. 

James was really upset by this, he loved and got along well with both his father and his mother and didn't want them to split. His life was perfect, and this was going to destroy everything. Then he remembered his siblings and knew that this wasn't just about him and decided he was going to be tough to help them get through this.

Lily wanted to cry, but she also wanted to be strong like her brothers. She loved her parents so much and now they wouldn't be together anymore. She couldn't stand the idea; she wished she was having a nightmare, but she knew it was real.

After a long moment of silence to let that sink in, Harry said to his kids, "This is not your fault at all, I really hope none of you think that. And me and your mom don't hate each other, we just don't... feel the same way we used to." Harry was not ready to come out to his kids, and Ginny agreed it was best not to put too much on them at once. 

"We love you guys so much, and we're so sorry we're doing this to you three." Ginny said, "But me and your father just don't belong together... anymore. None of you were a mistake, we both love you all dearly. You are the best things in our lives."

The kids started to find their voices again; James asked first, "So how is this going to work?"

"I've moved out." Harry told all of them, "Your mother is staying here. During summer you'll stay here with you're mom but I'll be around or you can come sleep by me sometimes. We'll all stay here together for the holidays still. How does that sound?"

The kids absentmindedly nodded, their minds elsewhere: 

Albus felt bad saying in front of his mother that he preferred to stay with his dad, so he kept quiet. He hadn't really processed the rest of what this would mean for the family. 

James, quite the opposite, was still internally freaking out about everything that was going to change. He felt like someone just turned his whole life upside-down. 

Lily just wanted to know why. What was so wrong with her parents that they didn't love each other anymore, but she couldn't bring herself to ask. 

They all felt beat, they didn't know what to do, but they all knew deep down there was nothing they could do. 

***

A few days after the kids went back to school, Ginny and Harry sat in a small office at the Ministry of Magic. There wasn't much to do since it was an amicable split and they each had their own incomes. After just a few short hours, a parchment, quill, and ink was laid in front of them. Ginny signed first, followed by Harry, marking the end of their marriage.