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The Optimal Balance	By : TheMightyFlynn Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 17124 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belong to JK Rowling and associates. This was written for fun. I make no money from it.

Chapter List
- 1-The Optimal Balance
- 2-Ch. 2
- 3-Ch. 3
- 4-Ch. 4
- 5-Ch. 5
- 6-Ch. 6
- 7-Ch. 7
- 8-Ch. 8
- 9-Ch. 9
- 10-Ch. 10
- 11-Ch. 11
- 12-Ch. 12
- 13-Ch. 13
- 14-Ch. 14
- 15-Ch. 15
- 16-Ch. 16
- 17-Ch. 17
- 18-Ch. 18
- 19-Ch. 19
- 20-Ch. 20
- 21-Ch. 21
- 22-Ch. 22
- 23-Ch. 23
- 24-Ch. 24
- 25-Ch. 25
- 26-Ch. 26
- 27-Ch. 27
- 28-Ch. 28
- 29-Ch. 29
- 30-Ch. 30
- 31-Ch. 31
- 32-Ch. 32
- 33-Ch. 33
- 34-Ch. 34
- 35-Ch. 35
- 36-Ch. 36
- 37-Ch. 37
- 38-Ch. 38
- 39-Ch. 39
- 40-Ch. 40: Epilogue
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Harry’s shoes squeaked on the marble floor of the lobby of the Manor as he Apparated in, nearly sending him to his arse. He threw his hands out to his sides in an attempt to balance himself out and not fall over. It was probably lucky that he hadn’t managed to accidentally splinch himself, he figured, considering the haste with which he had left the Foundation. He’d known he was running late and for that to happen on the day that he had organised for Lucius and Narcissa to arrive at the Manor to discuss the wedding plans was just bloody typical, really.

“Good to see you haven’t lost any of your Auror reflexes.”

The drawling, sarcastic voice had Harry rolling his eyes automatically as he managed to regain his balance. A quick glance around showed Draco watching him from just outside the closed door to the informal living room, his arms crossed across his chest and smirk firmly in place. There was a superior look in Draco's eyes, but he didn’t look angry, which Harry took for a good sign.

“Bite me, Malfoy.”

“With pleasure.” Draco's smirk widened into a proper smile for a few seconds, causing Harry to grin back. “You may have to wait a few hours, however, considering the company we currently have.”

Harry’s eyes slid shut involuntarily. He really hadn’t needed the reminder that he was late to the meeting he had set up himself. Images of Lucius pacing the lobby in frustration had been invading his mind all morning, along with the lecture he was certain that he was about to be subjected to. Words like immature and irresponsible were only some of what he imagined would be flung at him, most likely snarled by Lucius. Harry had no idea why, but there were certain people who could still make him feel like an awkward teenager at times and Lucius Malfoy appeared to be one of them.

“Harry?”

“How late am I?” He could hear the reluctance in his own voice.

“No more than fifteen minutes.” Harry let out a breath, his eyes fluttering open as relief rushed through him. It seemed, however, that Draco wasn’t going to allow him to relax any time soon. “But don’t worry, Lily’s been keeping us all amused.”

Harry’s eyes widened as horror slid down his spine, causing his insides to tremble. “Lily?” He knew for a fact that this could be just as bad as his own faux pas in being late. “What has she done?”

One of Draco's eyebrows rose towards his hairline as he pushed off from the doorjamb. “She loves some of Mother’s suggestions for the wedding, especially the flower girl’s dress.” He uncrossed his arms and folded them behind his back as he made his way slowly across the lobby towards Harry. “The colours leave a little to be desired, but I do have to admit that the tiara suits her quite well.”

Harry rolled his shoulders automatically as the hair on the back of his neck rose. “You’re joking.”

A small smile tilted Draco's lips as he cocked his head to the side. “Try again.”

Harry’s stomach dropped into his shoes. “No, that’s not… Don’t mess with me, Draco. We weren’t going to have–”

“Dad? Is that you?”

There was an audible click as Harry’s mouth snapped shut. His eyes flicked over Draco’s shoulder to watch the door to the living room being thrown open to emit Lily. He instinctively knelt down when she came racing across the lobby towards him, but she stopped just short of him, a wide smile on her face.

“You have no idea what you’re allowed to do at a wedding! You and Draco are doing it the boring way!” She stepped forward and leant in, almost as though she was telling him a grave secret. “Cissa says that there’s all kinds of traditions we should have. There’s these special robes that shimmer and crowns and special music that you can see and…” She paused to take a deep breath, seeming to want to build up the tension before her last announcement. “And Lucius says that we’re allowed to use his peacocks in the ceremony! They can fly the rings down the aisle! How pretty would they be with their wings spread? Can we?”

Harry blinked, his mind going blank as shock settled over him. “‘Cissa’?”

A muffled snort of laughter dragged his attention over to Draco, who had settled his hips against the end of the bannister of the stairs. Despite the fact that his head was ducked, Harry could still see the smile he was fighting to hide from his position kneeling on the floor. Draco's shoulders shook with silent laughter, causing Harry’s eyes to narrow.

“Yeah, Cissa says that it’s tradition for the children to be involved in the wedding ceremony! Come on, I’ll show you.”

Harry watched as Lily shot away towards the living room again, her hair flying behind her. He shook his head as he stood to face Draco.

“You knew.”

It took a few seconds for Draco to look up and when he did, his eyes were still sparkling with humour. “Knew what?”

“That she’d focus on Lily. That Narcissa would try to get Lily on her side so we wouldn’t have a choice but to say yes to anything she suggested.”

“Harry.” Draco sighed as he reached for Harry to pull him close enough so he could slip his hands into the back pockets of his trousers. “I distinctly remember being worried that she’d terrify you. Not having been raised in a pure-blood family, I thought you would be horrified by the things she would suggest; that you’d think I was just as bad as them and not want anything to do with me any longer.”

“Draco–”

“Why shouldn’t the children be involved?”

That brought Harry up short, clearing his mind of any objections he had been about to voice over Draco's fears that he would leave him. Considering this was a second wedding for the both of them, they had thought, originally, that it should be a small and quiet affair. They both hoped, of course, that the press wouldn’t find out any of the details, and a smaller wedding would help with that. Lily’s obvious enthusiasm over the prospect of being allowed to join in with the festivities, however, added something else to the equation. Blinking, Harry refocussed on Draco, who was watching him with a questioning look.

“You think they should be?” Harry smiled when Draco's grip on him tightened. “Can we change it at this stage?”

“I think…” Draco paused to take a slow breath. “I think being involved in the ceremony in some way will help all four of them to feel as though this is real. We’re trying to blend two very different families here and I think any little thing that would help them to feel as though we are one big family now would be useful.”

Harry grinned as warmth flooded through him. Without even pausing to think about it, he dragged Draco into a deep kiss, sliding his tongue in and over Draco's teeth. Family. It seemed like that one little word had been the driving force in Harry’s life since he had first discovered that there was so much more to his own family than what his Aunt and Uncle had told him. He had actively sort out and made his own family over the years and now it was expanding beyond what Harry had ever thought to imagine. Draco was to be his husband in a month’s time. The idea was kind of mind-boggling when Harry allowed himself to think about it properly. A shiver rippled through him when he pressed closer and broke the kiss.

“What was that for?” Draco's voice was only just above a whisper, causing Harry to smile.

“Because you deserve it.”

“Dad, Draco, come on!”

The exasperation in Lily’s voice had Harry chuckling. He reluctantly stepped back from Draco and was graced with a warm look that he was certain Draco had never bestowed on anyone other than him. Smiling back at him, Harry grabbed his wrist and spun him around to face the living room.

“Come on,” he murmured, his lips pressed close to Draco's ear from behind. “If I’m going to be horrified, you can be horrified with me.”

*~*

“…now, if you want to combine the robin’s egg blue with the silver, then I would suggest using the silver sparingly. There is only so much of a standout colour like that that your audience can endure before they have to look away and we wouldn’t want people looking away from you on your wedding day, would we?”

Draco held his breath in an attempt to hold back his laughter at the look on Harry’s face. He was fairly certain that Harry would like nothing more than to be able to sink into obscurity for the rest of his life, especially after Narcissa was done with him.

“No, no, I, er… I guess not.”

“No, of course not. This is yours and Draco's day and we want everyone’s eyes on the both of you. Now, with the robin’s egg blue, we could go rustic, with burnished gold accents and a variety of creams…” Narcissa paused to hold up three swatches of material, one a very light blue, one a creamy-white and the other a dark gold. Harry nodded, appearing to Draco as though he had absolutely no idea what was going on, but Narcissa smiled anyway and barrelled on. “The other option – which I personally do not like as much – is to go with a more earthy approach with browns and greens integrated along with the blue.” Pausing again, she replaced the gold and cream material with a selection of greens and browns, with the blue the main, overarching colour. Harry’s eyes flicked briefly over towards Draco, causing Draco to have to stifle a chuckle at the lost look he saw there. “It is my personal belief that going with this option would cheapen the day for everyone involved, however. The gold accents give everything a much more sophisticated touch, I believe.”

“And it’ll look so good with the peacocks.”

Unable to help it, Draco grinned at Lily’s interjection. He had been so stressed over this meeting that it had never occurred to him to think that things would go so differently this time around. He had no idea whether it was Lily’s presence, or the fact that his parents had both mellowed a little with age, or whether they actually just genuinely wished them both well – Draco nearly snorted with laughter again at that thought – but Narcissa hadn’t suggested anything close to what Draco had been fearing she would. Not that Harry looked like he was grateful at the direction the day had taken, but Draco knew this was probably the best outcome, considering the way everything could have gone.

“Draco.”

Draco's head snapped up at the sound of his Father’s quiet voice just off to his left. Lucius was standing over by the fireplace, a glass of what appeared to be brandy in his hand. He hadn’t lost any of the imposing presence he had cultivated over the years and, staring down at Draco as he was, Draco knew that if he wasn’t so used to it, he would feel incredibly intimidated.

“Father.” He stood and made his way over to the fireplace, taking his cue from Lucius and keeping his voice low. “Is something wrong?”

Instead of answering straight away, Lucius merely watched him for a few seconds, his grey eyes appraising. Draco held his gaze before cocking an eyebrow in question. Lucius nodded and moved over to the sideboard, poured two fingers of brandy into a second snifter and handed it to Draco. Without really thinking, Draco raised the glass in a silent salute before taking his first sip. He followed silently when Lucius made his way slowly over to the windows that showed the expansive front gardens of the Manor.

“Your Mother came here with only the best intentions today. She means to do well by you with this wedding.”

Draco nodded. “I’m aware of that.”

“Are you?”

Draco's head snapped towards his Father so fast he could feel his muscles objecting. Lucius was still staring out the window, but Draco could see the tension in the death grip he had on his glass.

“Father?”

Lucius let out a quiet sigh before turning to look Draco in the eyes. “It was never our intention to make your life difficult when we insisted that you marry and propagate the family line. Marrying the correct person and producing a proper heir has always been the main duty of the heirs to pure-blood family fortunes, you know that. It was drummed into my head growing up, just as I enforced the idea on you when you were a child. It is the unspoken rule that all of us must apparently follow, no matter our orientation. Since the end of the War, however, all your Mother and I have wanted is for you to find the kind of happiness that you deserve.”

“I am happy, Father.”

“That has become abundantly clear over the past few months.” Lucius reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out what appeared to be a small piece of paper, causing Draco to frown in confusion. “We are fully aware that neither of you have the need for any kind of financial assistance, but it is my hope that you will accept this. Put it towards the honeymoon, or away for the children; it makes no real difference. You may consider this an apology for forcing you back into the closet in the name of keeping up appearances.”

Draco automatically grasped the hand Lucius held out for him to shake, his confusion increasing by the second. The piece of paper was forced into Draco's hand just before Lucius turned to move back towards the rest of the group in the living room. Draco quickly glanced down and had to hold back a gasp. 20,000 Galleons! He reached out and grabbed the edge of the sleeve of his Father’s robe, pulling Lucius to a halt a few steps from him.

“Thank you, Father.” Draco put as much sincerity into the words as he could manage. “I really do appreciate everything you and Mother have done for me over the years.”

A small nod was Lucius’ only response, but it felt to Draco like he had just been granted the greatest gift anyone had ever received. Seeking his parent’s approval had been one of the main motivations behind so many of Draco's actions for as long as he could remember that the moment seemed a little surreal. He had known for a while now that he and Harry had received his parent’s blessing for their relationship, but this was so much more. True approval was something that was rare from Lucius and Draco allowed himself to wallow in the sensation before returning to the group with a smile that he didn’t have a chance of preventing.

*~*

“I am absolutely–” Harry let out a loud groan as he landed face-first on top of the bed. “–exhausted.” A deep chuckle from the doorway that led into the outer rooms of their suite had him smiling down into the mattress. “You seem happy.”

The words were muffled, as Harry couldn’t even be bothered to move his head from where he had landed, but it seemed Draco had understood him well enough. He listened to the soft thuds of Draco's steps nearing the bed, trying to judge how long he had before he would have to roll over.

“There’s no reason for me not to be happy.” The bed dipped, but before Harry could even consider turning over, Draco placed a hand in the centre of his back, holding him in place. “Stay there.”

Completely unwilling to object, Harry relaxed down into the soft mattress with a sigh. Draco's hands moved down his legs and Harry smiled when he felt him begin to tug his shoes off. There had been something different about Draco that afternoon, but Harry had been too distracted by Narcissa and the parade of multi-coloured material to pay too much attention to it. Now, however, he was determined to get to the bottom of it. Turning his head so he could see Draco's side of the bed, he opened his mouth to start questioning him, but Draco beat him to it.

“Did you and Mother come to any decisions today? Or should I say Mother and Lily?”

Harry couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. “You should definitely say ‘Mother and Lily’.” Warmth flooded through him when Draco joined in with his laughter. “Those fucking peacocks, I swear to God…”

“Father prizes those stupid things, you know. I believe he even considered showing them at one stage when I was young.” The bed vibrated when Draco collapsed down onto his back beside Harry with a sigh. “So did they come to a decision? Mother seemed quite determined about some of those designs.”

“She is.” Harry let out a small sigh. “Lily isn’t helping either. Everything even slightly outrageous, she likes. If it was up to her, you would have peacock feathers weaved through your hair and I would be wearing the matching robes.”

Draco chuckled and stretched his arms above his head, arching his back like a cat. “Did Mother bring those robes?”

Narrowing his eyes, Harry reached out to dig his fingers into Draco's ribs, earning himself a very satisfying grunt. “The live peacocks are going to be bad enough, thank you.”

“You couldn’t talk her out of it?”

“Feel free to try yourself if you want, but I doubt that she’ll give up now that the idea’s in her mind.”

“No, I’m fine.” Rolling to his side so he was facing Harry, Draco smiled. “Father offered me something today that I think you’ll be interested in.”

“Mmm?”

Running his eyes over Draco, Harry couldn’t help thinking that Narcissa was right: Draco would look absolutely stunning in the blue and cream robes she had chosen for him for the wedding. He was of the rather strong opinion that he would look incredibly frumpy in comparison in the matching cream and gold robes she had chosen for him, but he hadn’t really been able to object. It wasn’t like he knew the first thing about fashion or what would look good, so he had simply given up in the end and wound up agreeing with almost everything that Narcissa had shown him. He found that going with whatever she liked had been the best option for most of the afternoon and he could only hope that he wouldn’t end up looking foolish.

“Harry?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry. What?”

“You really are as tired as you look, aren’t you?” There was laughter in Draco's voice as he reached to run a hand down Harry’s back. “I’ll keep it short then. Father handed me a check for twenty thousand Galleons this afternoon and told me to use it on something that makes me happy.”

Shock rushed through Harry’s veins, causing him to blink rapidly. Shoving himself up onto his elbows, he stared down at Draco, trying to tell whether he was joking or not.

“Twenty thousand Galleons?”

“I was thinking maybe all of us could go on holiday before the kids have to go back to school. Or maybe we could invest it as a little extra income for them before they get jobs themselves. I mean, it’s not either of us need it, so–”

Draco's words were cut off as Harry lunged forward and smashed their mouths together. He made a small sound of objection, causing Harry to soften the kiss. Pressing forward, Harry rolled Draco so he was lying on his back again, their lips still sealed together. He enjoyed the sensation of having Draco beneath him for once for a while before he broke the kiss.

“Harry?”

“I’d kiss Lucius instead, but I think it would be a race to see which one of the three of you would murder me first.”

“Mother would definitely win that one,” Draco chuckled before rolling them over again. “Just how tired are you?”

Harry grinned. “Not tired enough to stop you from doing whatever’s on your mind.”

“Good. I believe I have a promise to follow up on.”

He didn’t give Harry any chance to question him before he ducked and clamped his teeth onto one of Harry’s collarbones. Harry let out a sound that was half-surprised gasp and half-groan as the memory of his arrival home that morning returned to him. Bite me, Malfoy. He grinned and relaxed back into the pillow again, surrendering himself to the sensations more than willingly.
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The Optimal Balance