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Say My Name	By : Thunderbird Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 30143 -:- Recommendations : 10 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. I make no profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
A/N: Grrr... I was just cruising along this week, happy to write a super-relaxed chapter after all the angst I've been throwing at you recently. And then the damn party scene happened, and it took me forever. Long story short, sorry this is late again! I hope it's worth it, because God knows I'm not rewriting it.
As always, your reviews are the food fueling my insipiration. More, please!
Chapter 16: Formation
Harry wasn’t sure what he wanted to show Draco first as they entered Number 12 Grimmauld Place. There was certainly plenty for him to see with the completely redone first floor, but there were also all of the family heirlooms that had been declared safe and were waiting in their display cabinets, plus the Black family mural in the sitting room.
And then there was his bedroom, which, frankly, he wouldn’t have qualms about heading to first. It had been a busy week of mid-terms, with neither of them having much time or energy to have their own private fun. Harry was feeling that deprivation in full force.
But the way Draco was looking around the space and starting to wander towards the dining room, it was clear he was game for a tour, and Harry put his needy libido aside for the time being so that he could show him around.
“This looks great, Harry,” Draco said, running his fingers lightly along a hallway wall and its fresh coat of light blue paint. “I only came here a couple of times as a child; I don’t remember much, except that it was dark and sort of gave me the creeps.”
“Yeah, I think that was most people’s general impression.”
“A vast improvement. Kept some things, though.” He pointed to the spidery wrought iron chandelier above the dining room table. “That’s a Black original. Has to be.”
Harry shrugged. “Some things I liked,” he said simply. While the chandelier had been a bit creepy when the walls were dark and it was covered in cobwebs, with the lighter walls and the new furniture it looked quite modern.
They entered the kitchen, and Draco whistled, impressed. “So shiny,” he said. “Is this what all Muggle kitchens look like?”
“New, fancy ones, anyway,” said Harry. “Older ones look much like wizard kitchens. But Muggles have some extra appliances, since they don’t have preservation or cleaning charms.”
Draco opened the door to the stainless steel refrigerator. “I’ve heard about this. It’s a giant box that keeps things cold.”
“Yeah,” said Harry. “It’s called a refrigerator. Fridge for short.”
Draco nodded, then pointed to the microwave. “What’s that, then?”
“Microwave. It heats things up very quickly. Faster than warming charms, even.”
“You don’t say,” said Draco.
Harry laughed. “You know, if you’d taken a Muggle Studies course, you’d know all of this already.”
Draco gave him a “don’t be absurd” sort of look and made his way over to the microwave, where he started pressing buttons at random.
“It’s best if you put something inside first,” said Harry, coming up behind him and pressing “cancel” quickly as the microwave whirred to life. “I’ll show you later.”
Worried that Draco might start pressing every button he could find and accidentally start up the empty dishwasher, he guided them out of the kitchen and into the sitting room.
“I wanted to get a look at the progress of the mural,” said Harry.
“Look, I’m on here,” said Draco, pointing to the portrait of him that sat nestled under Lucius and Narcissa.
“Yeah, I know.”
“And so are you.”
Harry started. “That’s not possible.” He followed the trajectory of Draco’s pointed finger and saw, with a spasm of surprise, that his boyfriend was right. There was most definitely a portrait of him, where there hadn’t been before. It was linked by a gold thread to Sirius’ image.
“Because he named you his heir,” said Draco. “That’s what the gold means. Heirs are linked by gold to their parents, other children silver. Couples are linked in red, see?”
Harry could see the pattern now. He hadn’t put much thought into the colors. He’d been more concerned about the restoration of the portraits that had been blasted off. But now that Draco had pointed it out to him he could see that those who were married were connected by a deep, metallic red, while their children were linked by either silver, gold, or, in only a few instances, black. Sirius’ link to his mother was such an example. For the children who were disowned, Harry thought.
“I didn’t think I’d end up on here,” he said, his fingers lightly touching his own portrait, and then tracing the gold line all the way to Sirius’, which was now fully restored.
“You’re a Black now,” said Draco, coming up behind Harry and wrapping his arms around his waist. “Not by blood, but that doesn’t matter. The house knows your connection to the family anyway.” He pointed to his own portrait. “We’re not so far apart really.” Taking Harry’s hand, he traced their fingers along an invisible line from his portrait to Harry’s.
“Someday,” Harry said softly, imagining that line marked in red.
He felt Draco’s arm tighten just a little around his middle. “Someday.” He nuzzled into the back of Harry’s neck, then began placing his lips there with the softest of touches, sending shivers of pleasure and anticipation down Harry’s spine. “How about you show me your bedroom next,” the Slytherin said in Harry’s ear.
Harry smiled. His thoughts exactly.
***
Once they had thoroughly worked up an appetite, Harry decided he wanted to cook them dinner himself, so he could finally try out the new kitchen. He hadn’t had much of a chance the one day he was at Grimmauld over the Christmas break, since Kreacher had insisted on doing all of the cooking for him.
When Harry relayed that desire to Kreacher, however, the house elf seemed to not know what to make of it.
“Is Master Harry not being pleased with Kreacher’s cooking?” he asked in his feeble, scratchy voice.
“No, that’s not it at all, Kreacher,” Harry said, rubbing his neck and feeling a bit awkward. “I just haven’t gotten to use my new kitchen, is all. I’d like to try it out.”
Draco was a bit skeptical as well. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” he asked, looking on as Harry started prepping the ingredients for roast chicken and potatoes.
Harry rolled his eyes. “Of course. I’ve been cooking since I was small.”
“At your aunt and uncle’s? I thought they didn’t feed you much.”
“They didn’t,” said Harry. “I fed them.”
“They made you cook for them?” Draco had that tone in his voice he got when he was simultaneously amazed and incensed. Harry nodded. “And yet you still enjoy cooking, after all that?”
Harry shrugged. “Sure.” He couldn’t explain why being forced to cook for his relatives hadn’t put a damper on the pastime. It just hadn’t. “Any chance you’re going to give me some assistance?”
Draco hesitated. “I’d hinder you more than help, probably. I know nothing about the culinary arts.”
“How can a man already halfway through a Potions mastery not know how to cook?”
“How can a man who’s been cooking since he was a child not have any intuition for Potions?” Draco countered.
Harry considered that. “Touché,” he said. “Very well. Kreacher will help me, then.” Kreacher started at that, and then clasped his hands together happily. “Whereas you’ll be in charge of entertainment.” He pointed towards his stereo and the shelf of CDs above it. “Pick out some music for us, would you?”
Draco seemed pleased with the task, and started browsing through Harry’s CD collection. “The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones,” he read off. “I’m sensing a theme here.”
“Yeah, well, I know what I like,” said Harry. It was true that his CD collection wasn’t large, but it was well curated.
“Who are the Violent Femmes?”
“Folk rock band from the States. A bit angry, sort of neo-punk meets alternative country.”
He didn’t see Draco’s reaction, since he was busy seasoning the chicken, but he figured by the silence that Draco didn’t quite approve.
“The Clash?” Draco asked, sounding confused.
Harry had to look up at that. “Surely you’ve heard of The Clash.” Draco stared at him blankly from the stereo. “’London Calling’? ‘I Fought the Law’? ‘Rock the Casbah’? No? Nothing? That doesn’t register at all?” Harry shook his head in disbelief. “Sweet Merlin.” For all his talk, Draco clearly had some gaps in his musical education.
“You have basically no hip-hop at all,” Draco commented. “Where’s your Mos Def? Notorious B.I.G.? Tupac?” It was Harry’s turn to look blank. He had heard of those artists, but had little interest in their music. “You must have some Dre, at least,” Draco insisted.
“No, sorry.”
“Remind me what it is that keeps us together? Because it’s clearly not our taste in music.”
“Hmm, I had thought perhaps it was our profound love and mutual respect for each other,” said Harry, amused.
“And the brilliant sex,” said Draco, still skimming the collection. “Never forget the sex. Yes!” he shouted in triumph. “You have Michael Jackson at least. You have been redeemed.”
Harry rolled his eyes. Of course he had Michael bloody Jackson. He watched as Draco pulled Thriller off the shelf and started playing around on the stereo, trying to get it to open.
“Need some help over there, love?” Harry asked with mock sweetness.
“I’ve got it. Don’t be so impatient. I know how to work a bloody stereo.”
Draco did, in fact, have it under control, since only a minute later the funky beats of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” could be heard. Draco turned up the volume loud enough to fill the kitchen. Then, to Harry’s surprise and great amusement, Draco started to dance.
“When I said you were in charge of the entertainment, I didn’t mean you had to literally provide it,” said Harry, although he was quite enjoying the show. Draco, unsurprisingly, was a good dancer. He had both grace and rhythm, and those nights he spent in Muggle clubs after his trial clearly paid off, as far as his repertoire was concerned. Still, there was something inherently funny about watching the Prince of Slytherin try to imitate the King of Pop’s signature moves.
“What is Master Draco doing?” Kreacher asked, looking somewhat appalled.
“The moonwalk, of course,” said Draco.
Harry found his laughter hard to control. Draco’s moonwalk needed some work.
“You can’t tell me this music doesn’t make you want to dance,” Draco said. “How can it not?”
“I’ve never been a good dancer,” said Harry. “So I tend to avoid it at all costs.”
“Bollocks,” said Draco. “You’re good at all things physical.”
“Not dancing,” said Harry.
“You just need practice, and confidence.”
“And rhythm. And I don’t believe I’ve ever moved my hips like that it my life.”
Draco danced his way up to Harry. “You have,” he said quietly. “Just not on a dance floor. You moved quite a bit like this when you were bollocks deep inside me not an hour ago.”
Harry felt his face flame, and was glad that Kreacher hadn’t overheard Draco’s remark. “It’s not the same thing.”
“It is the same thing,” Draco said. “I’ll take you out to a club sometime and show you.”
Luckily, Draco then allowed Harry to get back to his cooking, rather than forcing him to start dancing as well. He seemed perfectly content to dance alone, confident in a way Harry couldn’t help but envy. As Harry and Kreacher got the chicken and potatoes ready for the oven, Draco moved, snapped, and chanted along with the song, lost in his own world.
“Mama-say mama-sa mama-coo-sa.”
“And I haven’t even given him any wine yet,” Harry remarked to Kreacher, and thought he caught the elf smirking.
After a tasty and enjoyable dinner, Draco liked the idea of watching something on Harry’s fancy new television, so they moved to the lounge and took a look at Harry’s DVD collection. Like with his CDs, he didn’t have all that many, but what he did have, he loved.
“What are you in the mood for?” Harry asked him.
“Something scary,” Draco said, which didn’t surprise Harry in the slightest. “With lots of action.”
Harry pulled out Jurassic Park and held it out to him. “Have you seen this?”
“No,” Draco said, looking at the front, and then the back. “What are those things? Big lizards?”
“Dinosaurs. A bit like dragons, except they don’t breathe fire. And only some of them can fly.” He saw Draco raise a skeptical eyebrow. “But it has lots of scares and action, and really good special effects.”
“I don’t know what that last bit means, but sure, why not?”
They settled in together on the couch, and, as usual, within only a few minutes Draco was riveted.
Harry really enjoyed watching films with Draco. He talked a lot, which some would find annoying, but it was only because he became so quickly invested in the story and the characters. Harry wasn’t sure if it was just an inherent part of Draco’s personality or the fact that films were still a bit of a novelty for the pureblood wizard, but he didn’t much care. It was as entertaining to watch Draco watching the film as it was to watch the film itself.
“Oh, shit!” Draco cried as Laura Dern’s character ran for her life from one of the raptors. “Shield Charm! Why doesn’t she use a fucking Shield Charm?”
“She’s a Muggle,” Harry reminded him. “She can’t perform a Shield Charm.”
“Oh, right,” said Draco. “I always forget. It must be absolutely terrifying to be a Muggle. Just about anything could kill you at any moment.”
“Yes, like bloodthirsty dinosaur clones,” Harry said drily.
“These things aren’t real, right? Those velociraptors scare the shit out of me. Worse than dragons. They’re fucking stealthy.”
“They did exist at one point, before there were humans, but they’re extinct now.”
“Yeah, but all these smart Muggles were able to bring them back to life.”
“In the film,” said Harry. “But no one has done it in real life. It’s not clear if such a thing is even possible. It probably isn’t.”
“Thank Merlin for that.”
Harry laughed at Draco’s theatrics and snuggled closer to him.
Someday, in the not too distant future, he thought, it could be like this all the time.
He couldn’t wait.
***
“Harry, have you seen this?”
Harry looked up from the range, where he was scrambling eggs and frying bacon, to look at Draco. The blond was sitting at the kitchen table, holding up that morning’s edition of the Prophet.
“No, I haven’t read it yet. What does it say?”
“The Heirloom Declaration Act,” Draco said.
Harry waved his wand to flip the bacon over. “The what?”
“It’s some new legislation some members of the Ministry are trying to push through. It’s supposed to go before the Wizengamot for a vote in a few weeks. Apparently the people who wrote the bill feel that the Ministry needs to have awareness of and control over artifacts imbued with magical properties that have been passed down through wizarding families. They want owners of such artifacts to have to register them with the Ministry.”
Harry was silent for a moment as he absorbed that. The food was ready and he floated two plates over to him and divided the breakfast between them, then added toast to each plate. He then levitated the two plates to the table, and heard Draco’s quiet “thanks” as his food was placed in front of him. Harry sat down and picked up his fork before he finally asked, “Why? Why would they care about something like that now?”
Draco paused in the buttering of his toast to give Harry a wry smirk. “Why do you think? Who is most likely to have such artifacts in their possession?”
“Purebloods,” Harry said. That much was obvious.
“Exactly.”
Harry thought some more. “They’re targeting purebloods?”
Draco nodded. “Not all purebloods, either. Just traditionally dark families. They must be, otherwise, what would be the point? The Ministry doesn’t give a lick what sort of heirlooms old wizarding families own, even magical ones. They just want probable cause to go through our possessions in the hopes of finding something illegal.”
“They can do that?”
“If that act passes, they can,” said Draco. “According to the article I just read, the new law would let Ministry officials search pureblood estates if they have reason to believe the family owns dangerous artifacts they haven’t declared. And considering that most dark wizarding family have various dark artifacts rotting away in their basements… Never mind that no one uses them. The fact that they most likely exist will probably be justification enough for the Ministry to go snooping.”
As he chewed his bacon Harry opened the paper to see the article for himself. Skimming it, he saw that Draco was right. The Ministry claimed to be looking to crack down on the trade and use of “dangerous artifacts” in general, but was very clearly fixated on what pureblood families might have in their possession, specifically. “How bad is this?” he asked the blond. “How much of an impact will this have?”
“It’s hard to say,” said Draco. “It depends on how eager the creators of the bill are to get pureblood families in trouble. They could start enforcing the law right away, if they felt like it. Or nothing could come of it. But either way, it would give the Ministry power it didn’t have before.”
“How bad would it be for you or your mother? Could you two get in trouble?”
Draco sighed. “Mother and I went through a sizeable purge when we moved back into the manor. Of course, the Aurors had already been through the estate while we were in prison. They found plenty right there in plain sight, but seeing as how Voldemort and his minions had been using the house as their headquarters, they couldn’t pin anything on us. A lot of it was confiscated, but we didn’t lose anything too valuable. Most of our own heirlooms are hidden away and well protected. But when Mother and I got home we went through everything, removed dark magic from the objects that we could, and got rid of anything that was irreversibly cursed.”
“Why?” Harry asked.
“Because we were finally free and we didn’t want to give the Aurors any reason to chuck us back in Azkaban.”
Harry nodded. It was smart thinking. “So you’re probably safe from this, then.”
Draco sighed. “Probably. Hopefully. The problem is my father… my ancestors, too, they had all sorts of hiding places for things. And you’ve seen the size of the estate. It would be nearly impossible to find every possible hiding place, unless you already knew where they were. There is a very good chance that there are things Mother and I missed, simply because we didn’t know they were there. The Aurors might not be able to find them either, but what if they did? What if they got lucky and found just one secret room that happened to hold some dark artifacts? We’d be in a whole heap of trouble then, especially given our track record.”
“That’s so unfair!” said Harry. “How can you be held responsible for something you didn’t even know was there?”
“They don’t care much about ‘fair,’ I don’t think,” Draco said darkly. “The fact is, I own the estate, and my mother resides there and manages it, which means we are legally responsible for everything within the estate’s boundaries, whether we know it exists or not. And possession of certain kinds of dark artifacts is illegal, even if you never use them. So…”
Harry shook his head. “This is wrong. This is people just trying to get back at you for avoiding prison.”
“I won’t be arrogant enough to assume it’s only targeted at the Malfoy family,” said Draco. “Many pureblood families will be in a similar situation. But social power is in the hands of the Muggleborns and half-bloods now, since the end of the war. Being a pureblood is looked down upon, in some circles. It’s assumed we’re all bigoted and practicing dark magic. Except for the Weasleys, of course, or the other traditionally light families,” he finished bitterly.
Harry ignored Draco’s slight dig at his best mate’s family, too focused on what they could possibly do about this. “Surely this wasn’t Kingsley’s doing. Surely he hasn’t signed off on this.”
Draco shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”
“He wouldn’t,” Harry said definitively. “This is some other group within the Ministry and the Wizengamot trying to make this happen. But it can’t possibly pass, can it? There are still a lot of purebloods with seats in the Wizengamot who would probably vote against it.”
“Unless they don’t want to be seen as favoring purebloods too much, or are afraid it will appear they have something to hide.”
The back of Harry’s neck prickled unpleasantly. This had flavors of the anti-Muggleborn policies that the Ministry implemented while under Voldemort’s control, only in the other direction. It was based in fear, suspicion, and prejudice.
“I’m going to write to Kingsley about this. He has to do something, if he isn’t already. This can’t pass. I won’t let it.”
Draco smiled at him. “You’re going to declare political war on the Ministry for me, Harry?”
He knew Draco was only joking, trying to lighten the mood, but Harry decided to take the question at face value. “You’re damn right, I am,” he said.
Draco stared at him, seeming surprised by the determination in Harry’s expression. As if to punctuate his point, Harry leaned over and gave Draco a sound and heartfelt kiss. Draco returned the kiss with enthusiasm, and was smiling softly as Harry pulled away. For a moment he thought perhaps Draco was going to make some crack about Harry being his “shining Gryffindor hero” as usual, to break the tension, but he didn’t say anything of the sort. He seemed, if anything, quite moved by Harry’s words.
“I’ll write to Kingsley this morning,” said Harry. “And then afterwards, we can get up to whatever you want. We have the whole day ahead of us.”
“Sounds perfect,” Draco said.
And with that, they returned to their breakfast.
***
“Harder!”
Harry grinned against the back of Draco’s neck, all too happy to oblige. Holding onto the blond’s arms for leverage he drove inside him with renewed force, relishing the way it made Draco mewl with abandon.
“Yes, yes, yes! Harry! Fuck, yes!” Draco was arching against Harry, meeting him thrust for thrust, riding the Gryffindor’s cock from underneath. It drove Harry wild in the absolute best possible way, although it did have one downside.
“Keep that up and this will be over way too soon,” he said through gritted teeth.
“What? This?” Draco asked, his breathless voice laced with mischief as he ground into Harry and clenched around him deliberately. It stole Harry’s breath, and he had to pause to avoid coming immediately.
“Oh, you naughty boy,” Harry said in his ear, pinning down Draco’s hips so he couldn’t move. “Someone needs to remember who’s in charge here.” He slammed into Draco as hard as he could, making the Slytherin scream unintelligibly. Harry did it again, and Draco writhed beneath him, trying to absorb the pleasure. “Who’s in charge, Draco?” Harry asked in his most dangerous voice. He slammed into Draco again.
“You are!”
“Who owns you, Draco?” Another slam.
“You do!”
“You are mine. Don’t ever forget. And that means, you don’t ride my cock like that unless I tell you to, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
Sir? Oh, Harry liked that. He liked that very much.
“Good boy. Now take what I give you.”
Draco’s fingers clutched the pillows for dear life as Harry started pounding away again, aiming for Draco’s prostate and trying to keep his own impending orgasm at bay. Now that he had Draco’s compliance he wanted to reward the Slytherin with extended pleasure.
Draco trembled and moaned beneath him, and Harry could tell the blond was doing his best to follow orders and not to grind into Harry.
“That’s it, Draco,” he said, finding Draco’s sweet spot and rubbing his cock against it again and again. “Does that feel good?”
“Yes, sir!”
Again with the “sir.” Harry thought he might lose his mind. The need in his cock was building dangerously.
“You are so fucking hot, Draco,” Harry told him. “You are incredible. You are everything.”
“Harry,” Draco groaned in response. “Harry, please.”
“Ride me, Draco,” Harry commanded, knowing it was time. He reached around to grasp Draco’s hard, heavy cock in his hand. “Give me everything you have.”
Draco didn’t hesitate, slamming back against Harry as Harry thrust in.
“Fuck yes!” Harry cried. “That’s it, baby. Ride my cock. So fucking good!”
Draco wasn’t holding back, practically fucking himself on Harry’s cock, and Harry could feel the pleasure building, threatening to spill over. He knew needed to feel Draco’s orgasm around him, and soon.
“Come for me, Draco,” he said. “Come for me, baby.”
Two more strokes and Draco did come, spilling all over Harry’s hand and the sheets below them, tightening around Harry and sending him over the edge.
“Draco,” Harry moaned, erupting inside the Slytherin, grinding into him to wring every last drop of pleasure out of his orgasm. He then collapsed on top of Draco, unable to move, trying to get his heart rate and breathing under control.
He knew Draco wouldn’t like being crushed for long, though, so he made himself pull out and roll off after a minute. Reaching for his wand, he cleaned them off as usual, then opened his arms to make space for Draco to curl around him. But Draco didn’t move.
“Draco?” Harry asked.
“Mmmm?” the blond replied, his face half buried in a pillow.
“You all right?”
“I’m… incapable of moving, at the moment.”
Harry chuckled. “I’m sorry. I worked you pretty hard.”
“Sorry?” Draco said incredulously, managing to lift his head just enough to turn it to face Harry. “For the love of Merlin, don’t be sorry. That was the best fucking shag in the history of shags.”
Harry laughed, relieved. “Yeah, it really was, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know how you do it,” Draco went on, still breathing heavily. “I honestly don’t. You’re amazing. What you do, what you say… Gods.”
“It’s you,” Harry said. Draco snorted delicately. “No, really,” Harry insisted. “You bring it out in me.” It was the truth. He’d been decent with Ginny, he was pretty sure. He’d always known how to push her buttons and make her feel good, and she’d always responded well to him. But Draco took Harry to another level. There was no self-consciousness, no overthinking. It was just instinct, pure and primal. When he was touching Draco, kissing him, inside him, he just knew.
“Whatever the reason,” Draco said, finally appearing to get his breath back. “That was one for the books.”
Harry hummed in agreement and closed his eyes. He had notions of drifting off then and there, but then a question he’d been meaning to ask popped into his head. “Draco?”
“Hm?”
“How did you know you were a bottom? Before you ever had sex, I mean.” Draco had made it clear pretty early on what he wanted their roles to be, and at the time Harry had believed it was because Draco was already experienced. But that turned out not to be the case, and Harry had always wondered how Draco knew what he wanted before he’d tried it both ways.
“Hmm…” said Draco. “That’s a good question.” He didn’t continue right away, rolling over onto his back and looking up at the ceiling in thought. Harry waited, watching him. “If I remember correctly, it was something I decided fairly early on, after I finally learned what anal sex was. I didn’t exactly get that education through formal channels; it was all what I picked up from older Slytherins. There were a couple of gay men who were 6th and 7th years when I was a 4^th year, and they told me most of what I know. Thankfully their information was pretty much accurate.”
Harry nodded in understanding. He remembered the way his fellow Gryffindors talked about sex, and how much of it turned out to not really be true. He was glad Draco hadn’t had the same issue for the most part.
“That’s how I learned about tops and bottoms, and how some people are one or the other and some like both. They said it all depends on the couple, and everyone’s a little different. That was helpful.” He paused, thinking. “And after that… well, I suppose at some point I must have figured out what I liked. Mostly through wanking and playing around. When I fantasized about sex I always imagined I was the one getting fucked. It just felt right to me. So I figured I was a bottom. And, actually, now that I think about it, I had some qualms with that at first. I thought Malfoys weren’t supposed to be the type to bottom. But I got over that, I guess. Probably around the same time I accepted that I was really and truly gay, even though my father would hate it.”
“Mm,” Harry turned on his side and put an arm across Draco. “That makes sense.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Curiosity, mostly. When I was thinking about being with men… or really… you specifically, I really didn’t know what role I would want. I thought I could go either way.”
“Well, you’re an excellent top,” said Draco.
“I like topping,” said Harry. “It’s a lot of fun. But I am… curious, about what bottoming feels like.”
Draco hummed. “It’s quite good. Or it is with you, anyway.”
“Would you ever consider reversing roles?”
That seemed to bring Draco up short. “I… I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.” Harry didn’t say anything. “You’ve been thinking about it, though, obviously.”
“Yeah, a bit.”
“Are you… unsatisfied, with the way things are?” He heard Draco’s voice tighten, just a little.
“No, not at all. Not even a little. The sex is brilliant, honestly. I just… well… I had this thought. Maybe you would think it’s silly.”
“Try me.”
“I was thinking about, you know… virginity. And how I was your first time.”
“Yeah…”
“And how… I liked that.”
“I liked it, too. I wouldn’t have wanted my first time to be with anyone else.”
“I’m glad. But it… it doesn’t bother you that it wasn’t my first time?”
“It was your first time with a man,” Draco pointed out.
“That’s true.” Harry hadn’t thought about it that way. And he had to acknowledge that, though his experience was limited, being with a woman and being with a man were very different. “But, I don’t know… being the top. It’s different, somehow.”
“So, you want me to take your anal virginity.”
Harry let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t know, Draco. It was just a thought I had.”
“Hmmm.” Harry could practically hear Draco’s brain whirring away beside him. “I will admit, the idea is… intriguing.”
“That was my feeling exactly.”
“I like the idea of you giving me something like I gave you. But… I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a top.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t think I have… the confidence, I guess.”
“The confidence.”
“Yeah.”
“This coming from the man who doesn’t think twice before moonwalking across my kitchen.”
“It’s different.”
“According to you, dancing and fucking are basically the same skill set.”
Draco laughed. “I did say that, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did.”
“All right, well…” He sounded uncertain.
“If you don’t want to top for me, Draco, I understand. I just thought… you know, I’d ask. I just wanted to know what you thought of the idea.”
Draco was quiet for a minute. “Who am I to deny you the wonders of the prostate, though? I sort of can’t believe I haven’t asked you before. Makes me feel a bit self-centered.”
“You shouldn’t,” said Harry. “I could have easily said something, too, before now.”
“Anal sex has to be worked up to anyway. But there is a lot you can do in between, to enjoy yourself. I haven’t gone there with you, fingering or toys or anything, because you never asked and I wasn’t sure you were interested in that.”
“Well, I never gave you any indication that I was.”
“But if you’re curious, we can always explore.”
“I like that idea.” It seemed they would be shelving the possibility of Draco fucking Harry for now. But Harry was all right with that. The working their way up to it sounded quite fun on its own. “But let’s start tomorrow. I’m spent.”
Draco laughed. “Not surprising, considering we fucked this morning, and last night, and that morning, and the night before…”
“It’s this house! Knowing no one is around, except Kreacher, who’s tucked away in his little cubby hole downstairs, we can be as loud as we want. No one is going to walk in on us or get in our way. It makes it quite easy to jump you constantly.”
“Hey, I’m not complaining,” said Draco. “I’m just pointing out that you shouldn’t be hard on yourself that you’re not game for a second round. You’d have to be superhuman.”
“Fair enough.”
“So we’ll start tomorrow, then. After Teddy’s party.”
“Oh, right, the party,” said Harry. The break had flown by in a blur, so much so that he hadn’t realized it was almost Thursday already. “Remind me to wrap presents in the morning. And I picked out a card we can both sign.”
Draco smiled. “How very…. domestic of you.”
Harry squirmed. “Yes, well… I didn’t want you to feel obligated to get him anything yourself.”
“I bought Teddy presents of my own.”
“Oh.”
“But we can sign the card together. I like it. It’s very… couple-y.”
“Couple-y? I’ve never known you to be one to make up words.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I do. And I like it too. So we can just be couple-y together and revel in our couple-ness and our couple-ocity and our couple-itude.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “You’re a prat.”
“Yes, I know. But I’m a great shag.”
“That’s why I keep you around.”
“I knew there had to be a reason.”
“All right, smartarse,” Draco said, sighing. “Time for actual sleeping, if you can turn off the witty banter long enough.”
Harry yawned. “Consider it turned off.”
“I’ll get the lamp, then.” Draco reached for his wand before remembering that the lamps were electric. He made for the switch underneath the light bulb.
“One more thing, actually, before you do that,” said Harry.
Draco flopped down and looked at him. “What is it?”
Harry turned on his side and rested on his elbow so he could look at Draco full on, amused at the exasperation in Draco’s voice. “I just felt the need to mention that I love you more than words can possibly express,” he said matter-of-factly. “Just thought you ought to know… that you might be interested in the fact that I love you more than anyone has ever loved anyone. That’s all.”
Draco blinked up at him, and then his mouth formed a disbelieving smile. “You bastard. You absolutely perfect bastard. You’re never going to let me get over you, are you? You’re going to make sure I’m desperately in love with you for the rest of my life.”
Harry grinned down at him. “Yeah, something like that.”
“Well…” Draco said. “It’s working. Congratulations.”
“Yes, I’m quite pleased,” Harry said, kissing him.
“Saying things like that to me,” Draco went on, almost grumbling, barely kissing him back. “Making me feel like my insides are on my outsides all the time.”
“In a bad way or a good way?”
“Both,” he said. “It’s wonderful, but I just… I have no armor anymore. If you…” He looked Harry directly in the eye, to let him know that he was serious. “If you break my heart, that’s the end of it for me. I’ll be finished. Absolutely destroyed.”
“I will never break your heart, Draco,” Harry said, with such sober honesty that it calmed Draco almost immediately. “I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t bear being without you.”
They stared at each other for what felt like a long time. Finally, Draco nodded. “All right.”
Harry leaned down to kiss him again, and this time, Draco kissed him back fully. “You’re it for me, Draco,” he said softly. “I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life.”
“Good,” Draco said. “Because you’re it for me, too.”
“Good.” He kissed Draco again. “Can we sleep now?”
“Yes, by all means.”
Draco switched off the lamp, and rolled over to curl into Harry, finally. Harry held him, listening to his breathing until it evened out before finally letting himself drift away.
***
Harry could already hear the sounds of the party as he and Draco approached Andromeda’s house laden with presents.
“Sounds like a full house in there,” Draco commented. “The Weasleys really are loud, aren’t they?”
But they discovered, as they entered the house and made their way to the back parlor, where most people seemed to be congregated, that there were many more people than just the Weasleys in attendance. Andromeda, it appeared, had invited the whole neighborhood, or at least those who were parents with little ones of their own. Harry was reminded of something he often forgot: that Andromeda, as a single parent who had lost most of her own family, had certainly sought out the help of her community in raising Teddy. Harry and the Weasleys weren’t the only people important in Andromeda’s life.
It was clear, though, by the warm smile she gave Harry as she spotted them, that she had been anticipating their arrival. She squeezed the shoulder of the woman she was talking to, excusing herself, and made her way over to them.
“Harry,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re here. It feels like ages since I’ve seen you.”
Harry gave her a kiss and a warm smile. It certainly did feel like ages since Christmas. “It’s great to see you, too.”
“And Draco,” Andromeda said, turning to her nephew. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot.”
“My pleasure, Aunt,” Draco said, giving her a kiss as well.
“Look at all these presents you brought! Honestly, Teddy is the most spoiled child in the world, I think.”
Harry grinned. “What are godfathers for?”
“The gift table’s just there,” she said, pointing to the other side of the parlor. “And there is plenty of food and drink in the kitchen, so please help yourself.”
“And the birthday boy?” Harry asked.
“He’s outside, with the rest of the children. I didn’t want to keep them all cooped up, since it’s such a nice day.”
Harry and Draco dropped off their gifts at the table Andromeda indicated, which was already piled precariously with packages, then went out into the backyard, where they were immediately greeted with the happy squeals of children playing, toddling, and running around. Teddy, of course, not being able to walk yet, was not among them, and Harry scanned the yard until he spotted Hermione with a familiar little boy in her arms.
“Harry!” Hermione smiled warmly as they approached. “Draco! There you two are.”
Hugs and kisses were exchanged, and Harry took a moment to get a good look at his godson.
“Look how big he is!” he exclaimed, and he almost felt a little upset. Three months was way too long to go without seeing him. The last thing he wanted was to blink and miss Teddy’s childhood altogether. He vowed silently to himself that he would see Teddy every week once he was finally finished at Hogwarts.
“He’s been waiting for you,” Hermione said, and it was immediately apparent that she was right as Teddy reached for him.
Harry took him, bouncing him a bit to feel the added weight in his arms. “Stop growing, Teddy,” he said to the boy playfully. “At least until I finish school. I’m missing all the good stuff.”
Teddy just smiled up at him and then patted his face.
“So, how’s your break been so far?” Draco asked Hermione.
“It’s been lovely, actually. Very relaxing. Ron gets on very well with my parents, thankfully, and they are really happy to have us.”
“And how are they, with everything?” Harry asked, knowing that Greg and Jean Granger still had trouble on occasion with confusion and memory loss, after the powerful memory charm Hermione had to use on them during the war to keep them safe.
“Doing all right,” Hermione said. “Dad still goes a bit wonky in the afternoons. Forgets he doesn’t live in Australia anymore. But Ron’s really wonderful with him, actually. Half past three rolls around and they have the same conversation, where Ron reminds him where he is and who we are and what happened, and then he remembers again. You would think it would drive Ron crazy, answering the same questions over and over. But he’s quite patient.”
Harry smiled, glad to hear that Ron was pulling his weight when it came to getting their relationship back to being as strong as it used to be. Helping her care for her parents had been a big part of that ever since they had returned from Australia.
“And where is the ginger in question?” Draco asked.
Hermione gave the blond a knowing look but didn’t comment. She indicated a shaded area that was set up with some patio furniture. “Getting to know Percy’s girlfriend, Audrey.”
“Percy brought her finally?” Harry asked, surprised. There had been hints at Christmas that Percy had met someone he was fairly excited about, but he was very tight-lipped about it. Molly had spent a good portion of the break trying to get information out of him to no avail.
“It sounds like things have gotten pretty serious,” Hermione said. “I guess Percy thought it was time to introduce her.”
“Molly must be thrilled.”
“Relieved, I think,” said Hermione with a smirk. “Because she seems fairly… normal. Likeable, even. You know, friendly, down to earth, easygoing…”
Harry grinned. “What were you expecting? A female version of Percy?”
Hermione looked pensive. “Yes,” she said, sounding surprised. “I suppose I was.”
Harry laughed and switched Teddy to his other hip.
“Well, I’m off to grab some food then, if you’re good to handle Teddy for the moment,” Hermione said.
“Sure,” said Harry. “We’ve got him.”
Hermione went back inside and Harry and Draco decided to make the rounds of the party, to see who else was around. Bill and Arthur were making conversation with a neighbor of Andromeda’s who worked down the hall from Arthur at the Ministry. They greeted Harry and Draco warmly and introduced them to their friend, who was, like most people, quite excited to meet the Savior. They didn’t linger long, though, as the discussion came back around to the minutia of Ministry policies and Harry had little patience for it.
They wandered over to Ron and George, who sat looking relaxed with bottles of butterbeer in their hands and chatting with a pretty brunette that Harry had to assume was Percy’s mysterious but apparently quite likeable girlfriend.
“There you are, mate,” said Ron, when he spotted them. He waved a cautiously friendly hello at Draco as well.
“You brought him with you,” said George to Harry, by way of greeting, as he looked Draco up and down with a sly grin. “A snake among lions. It takes courage, I’ll give you that.”
Draco made a point of looking around the backyard: the warm day, the flowering trees, and the laughter of children, and said, with an arch of his brow, “Somehow I think I can handle it.”
George laughed. “We’ll see, Malfoy. The thing about me is, the fact that Harry is absolutely mad for you will not stop me from having my fun. In fact, his clearly undying love and deep attachment only makes me want to prank you more. So I’d watch out, if I were you.”
“Oh, stop it, George,” came Angelina’s voice as she sat down next to him with a plate of food. “Everyone knows you’re mostly talk these days.”
“Mostly talk?” George balked. “Mostly talk? How dare you!”
“You’re only encouraging him, you know,” Harry said to her.
She smiled up at him. “Yes, I know. Hi, by the way. It’s been forever!”
“Yeah, I know! How are you?”
They made small talk for a few minutes, as Angelina told him about her job working for Nimbus and the new broom line they were developing to rival the Firebolt. Harry sat down with Teddy in his lap and Draco sat too, between Harry and Audrey. He turned to Audrey and introduced himself quietly.
“Oh, right!” said Angelina. “You guys haven’t met Audrey yet! She’s Percy’s girlfriend.”
“We’ve heard,” said Harry. He looked at Audrey. “You’re practically famous. Everyone’s been wanting all the details on you, but Percy’s been very hush hush about the whole thing.”
“That’s Percy for you,” said Audrey with a smirk. “I told him I was perfectly happy coming for a visit at Christmas, but you know how he is. He’s so private.”
“Count yourself lucky,” said Harry. “A Weasley Christmas is not an experience to be undertaken lightly.”
“Oi,” said George, nudging Harry with his foot. “You love us and you know it.”
Conversation continued idly as Harry caught up more with Angelina and made a point to get to know Audrey. Hermione was right; she was quite easygoing and down to earth. She worked at the Ministry doing foreign relations, which was how she met Percy, but she had a sort of deprecating and amused way of talking about her work that Harry liked.
As they all chatted Teddy was passed from one person to the next, wanting to be in the middle of the action as usual and spend some time with everyone.
“He’s a little social butterfly, isn’t he?” Audrey said as it was her turn and she bounced the baby on her knee.
“He’s just really relaxed,” said George. “A laid back sort of kid. Kind of like Tonks.”
“More Tonks than Remus, that’s for sure,” said Harry.
“I bet he has his dad’s brains, though,” said Ron. “By all accounts Remus was top of his year at Hogwarts, even with that furry little problem of his.”
“And Teddy didn’t even inherit that furry little problem,” said Harry, making faces at his godson, who smiled at him from Audrey’s lap. “So he’s just about perfect, isn’t he?”
“You’re smitten,” said Angelina. “That’s bloody adorable.”
“Proud godfather,” said Harry. “It’s in the job description.”
Teddy was passed back to Harry, finally, who stood and said, “I think I’ll go find Molly and say hello. I haven’t seen her yet.”
“I’m going to grab some food,” Draco said, standing as well. “Do you want some?”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” Harry said, giving him a peck. “Thanks.”
“Anything in particular?”
“You know what I like.”
“Blimey, you guys are practically married already, aren’t you?” said George. “I bet you have pet names for each other and everything.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “No pet names,” he said. “We’re not that bad.”
“Although, you did call me ‘baby’ last night while we were-“
Harry smacked Draco on the arm to shut him up, and the entire group burst into laughter.
“Uh-oh,” said George, seeing the look on Harry’s face. “Someone’s in trouble.”
But Draco was smiling widely. “It’s ok. I get in trouble a lot. Harry likes doling out punishment.”
This made the group laugh some more, especially George, who couldn’t get over the flaming blush on Harry’s face.
You’re really going to get it tonight, Harry thought at Draco. He wished he could say it aloud, but that would only confirm that Draco was implying. Apparently, though, his face was conveying plenty, because Draco was grinning at him wickedly, with an undercurrent of excitement.
“You really are in trouble,” he said, pointing at Draco. “Bring me some food. I’m going to find Molly.”
Draco grinned even more widely. “Yes, sir,” he said.
Harry turned away from the group, face still flushed. “Oh man,” he heard Ron say behind him as he walked away. “That was an insight I really didn’t need.” This was followed by another round of laughter.
“Your cousin is a prat,” Harry said to Teddy. Teddy stared at him solemnly, as if in agreement. “You’ll learn in due time, I’m sure.”
Even though he was sure that the group they’d left behind was undoubtedly still talking about him and Draco, Harry pushed the embarrassment from his mind as he made his way around the backyard, greeting the people he knew with a wave and avoiding avid looks from people he didn’t know but clearly knew who he was. He couldn’t see Molly anywhere, and realized she was probably inside, but he came across Percy and Kingsley talking near the back gate and paused to say hello.
“Hi, Kingsley,” he said. “I didn’t know you’d be here today.”
“Harry,” Kingsley said with a knowing smile. “Good to see you. I took a couple of hours off today. Wouldn’t have missed it.” He waved at Teddy. “Happy birthday, little one.” Teddy smiled as though he understood, then put his fingers in his mouth.
Harry turned to Percy. “I met Audrey by the way, just a few minutes ago. She’s great. Well done.”
Percy turned a bit pink but raised his chin just a fraction. “Yes, she’s quite lovely, isn’t she?”
“She told me she volunteered to come by at Christmas, but you wouldn’t let her.”
“And throw her into that proverbial lion’s den for her introduction? Not a chance. I actually like her, you see. I didn’t want her to go running for the hills.”
Harry laughed. “I made a similar point to her, don’t worry.”
“I should actually probably go track her down, make sure she’s doing all right.”
“I think Ron and George are keeping her well-entertained,” said Harry, knowing exactly what Percy’s reaction would be.
His eyes widened. “Sweet Merlin. I really should find her, then. It was great talking to you, Kingsley.”
“You too, Perce. I’ll see you at work.”
Percy waved to both of them, and Harry turned immediately back to Kingsley, only to have the next words he was going to say preemptively cut off by the Minister.
“I know exactly what you’re going to ask me, Harry,” he said good-naturedly. “And yes, I received your letter, and yes, I was planning to reply. But it’s been one hell of a week and I hadn’t gotten around to it.”
Harry smiled. “I’ve been told I’m predictable. I guess that’s turning out to be true.”
“I just remember the very… should we say… passionate wording of your letter. It’s clearly an issue you feel strongly about.”
“Yes, I do,” said Harry, not wanting to beat around the bush. “It really worries me, Kingsley, I’ll be honest. I don’t think a lot of people realize how dangerous a law like that could be. And what’s next, then, if it passes? Are we going to start digging into pureblood rituals and customs, too, telling them what they can and cannot do?”
Kingsley looked chagrined. “Dating Mr. Malfoy has really changed your perspective on things, more so than I expected. I never thought you’d be an advocate for pureblood rights.”
“I’m an advocate for everyone’s rights,” said Harry. “I believe in choice, the right for anyone to live their life how they want to live it, and not be penalized for their blood status or the deeds of their ancestors. Most purebloods aren’t practicing harmful dark magic, as you well know. And those that were are already in Azkaban.”
Kingsley sighed. “I agree with you, Harry. And my office is doing what it can. I have not thrown any support behind the bill.”
“But have you publically renounced it?” Kingsley hesitated, and that gave Harry his answer. “You need to, Kingsley. The people look to you; they trust you. It’s like you said, everyone’s afraid right now. And the rhetoric from the writers of the bill is that purebloods have held too much power and they need to be controlled, and that’s only making people more scared. Someone influential needs to share another perspective, calm people down a bit.”
Kingsley was looking at Harry with a wry smile.
“I know what you’re thinking,” said Harry.
“What am I thinking?”
“That I should be the one to do it, not you.”
“Your words, Harry, not mine.”
Harry huffed and bounced Teddy a little. “I’m not a political animal, Kingsley. I think I would only make it worse.”
Kingsley shook his head. “You are self-aware in many ways, Harry, but not in this one. The only thing that makes someone a political animal is that they care deeply about people and issues. The rest… the diplomacy, the maneuvering, the strategizing, that’s all learned skill.”
“Yes, but, not necessarily skills I want to learn,” said Harry. “Or even skills I think I could learn easily.”
“You’re a force of nature when you want to be,” said Kingsley. “More so even than Hermione, sometimes, if the issue affects someone you love. If I thought for a moment that you’d accept, I’d offer you a position in my office without question.”
Harry stared at Kingsley, surprised. “Here I am harassing you, and you’re saying you want to give me a job?”
Kingsley smiled. “A good leader needs people who disagree with him and will stand up to him. And that’s one of your most admirable qualities. You speak truth to power all the time. You don’t even think twice.”
Harry furrowed his brow at him. “We’re getting off the subject.”
“You caught that, hm?” Kingsley’s laugh was deep and sardonic. “This is what I’m talking about.”
Harry shook his head, wanting to get back to his original point. “If you don’t have an issue with the bill, Kingsley, and you want to sit back and let it pass, that’s your prerogative. But if you believe, as I do, that it’s wrong, I hope you will say something. That’s all I wanted to say.”
Kingsley eyed him for a few seconds. “Very well, Harry. Point taken. But let me make one in return. I am hardly the only person in this conversation who has the power to affect major social change. One does not have to hold elected office to be influential. You know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you feel strongly about something, you cannot sit back and hope the politicians do the work for you, either. If you want something done, do it yourself.”
Harry rolled back on his heels and considered that. Kingsley had a point as well. “Yes,” he said. “You’re right.”
“I’m not saying you haven’t done enough already,” Kingsley said, more conciliatory now. “Merlin knows none of us would be here now if it weren’t for you. But one war is over and another has begun, of a different nature. And there’s so much more to do. You have to decide where your place in all of it is.”
Harry nodded, making it clear that he had heard Kingsley’s words, though he didn’t know what to say in return. Thankfully, they were soon joined by another Ministry member, and Harry took the opportunity to thank Kingsley and go wandering again, his head reeling from everything the Minister had pointed out to him. He made his way back in the direction of Ron and George, wondering suddenly what had taken Draco so long with the food. But he was distracted again when he ran into Ginny and Dean, who were looking cozy by the drinks table.
“Well, well, well,” he said, with a pointed look at their entwined fingers. “Look at you two.”
“Hi, Harry,” said Ginny with a friendly smile. “And hello to you, birthday boy.” She put a finger to Teddy’s soft little cheek, making him giggle. “Have you been lugging him around all afternoon?”
“Practically,” said Harry. “But I don’t mind. Just getting some quality time in. How’s your break been so far?”
“Really good,” said Ginny. “I went for a tour of the Hollyhead Harpies’ facilities yesterday. They need two new Chasers and a Beater, so they were doing an open house for potential new recruits. I talked to one of the managers and she said they’ll be sending a scout to watch us play in the final.”
Harry grinned. “Fantastic.”
“Yeah, so, no pressure,” said Dean.
“We’ll crush Slytherin,” Ginny said with that familiar tenacity of hers. “I’m determined to.”
“Either way, they’ll like what they see from both of you,” said Harry.
“I’m not looking to go professional, at this point,” said Dean. “But Ginny will get a spot no problem.”
“I have no doubt,” said Harry.
“Where’s your Slytherin, then?” Ginny asked.
“No idea,” said Harry. “He went to get food what seems like ages ago. I’ve just been on a whirlwind tour of the entire backyard and I don’t see him anywhere.”
“Probably got caught up with a guest inside who wants to talk his ear off about something or other,” said Ginny. “There are a surprising number of Ministry workers here and they all think their work is very important. Dean and I got caught up with some wizard for twenty minutes who was prattling on about… what was it?”
“The regulation of the import and export of unicorn hair,” said Dean.
“Ah yes, that was it. Riveting stuff, really. Got a good nap in, at least.” Ginny took a sip of her butterbeer. “So perhaps Malfoy’s been accosted by him, and he’s just too polite to make a run for it.”
“When has Draco Malfoy ever been too polite to do anything?” Dean asked.
“Now, now,” said Harry in mild warning.
“He’s quite polite to me, actually,” said Ginny. “And we all know he can’t stand me, so that’s something.”
“That’s… not true,” said Harry, trying to keep a straight face. “He absolutely adores you, didn’t you know?”
Dean snorted into his butterbeer and Ginny rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Hilarious, Harry. Really witty.”
Harry felt a hand slide across his back and turned to see the Slytherin in question sidling up next to him, holding a plate of food. “What’s witty, Harry?” he asked with a knowing smile.
“Nothing,” Harry said. “I’ve been wondering where you went.”
“I got accosted,” Draco replied, holding the plate out to him so Harry could grab a cheese and cracker off of it.
“I told you,” said Ginny.
“By Molly Weasley,” Draco finished.
Harry swallowed his mouthful of cracker quickly. “Really? What did she say to you?”
“That I’d better be good to you or she’ll hex my bollocks off and keep them in a jar under her sink.”
“She did not,” said Harry.
“All right, not in those exact words. But I understood the subtext.”
Harry shook his head and helped himself to a piece of shrimp cocktail.
“And how are you two today, Dean, Ginevra?” Draco said pleasantly.
Dean chuckled and said, “Fine, Draco, just fine.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Actually,” said Ginny to Harry. “Might I steal the little one from you? I haven’t gotten to hold him since Christmas.”
“Sure,” said Harry. “I’ve hogged him long enough, I suppose.” Still, as Teddy left his arms and got comfortable in Ginny’s, Harry felt suddenly and unexpectedly at a loss, like he didn’t know what to do with his hands.
“I think we’ll go look for Hermione and Ron,” Ginny said. “I haven’t seen them since we first arrived.”
They waved goodbye to Harry and Draco both, taking Teddy with them. Draco immediately turned to Harry, distracting him from the slight wistfulness he was feeling. “There’s something else. Guess who’s arrived?” He gave Harry a significant look as he took a bite of his shrimp.
There was only one person whose arrival could draw such a look of simultaneous surprise and worry from Draco, so it was easy to guess. “Your mother.”
He nodded. “She’s talking to Andromeda. Right now. I spotted them on my way back out here.”
“Well, how did they look?”
“Awkward.”
Harry ate some more food off Draco’s plate and waited for the blond to elaborate, as he knew he would.
“You know, a stiff embrace,” the blond went on. “Stilted, formal conversation, from the both of them. Damn our pureblood upbringings sometimes, I say. We’re not supposed to show our feelings in public, so in situations like this we just end up looking clumsy and inelegant, which is the opposite of how we’re supposed to look. I hate it.”
Harry smiled, unable to help it. “I never thought I’d ever hear those words coming our of your mouth, Draco Malfoy. This is a historic day indeed.”
“Shut up,” Draco said with a sigh.
“I think, personally, that it has nothing to do with the fact that your mother and your aunt were raised pureblood and everything to do with the fact that they haven’t seen each other in a very long time and things are bound to be awkward in the beginning.”
“I just think their first encounter should have been in a more private setting,” said Draco. “Not at a party, where everyone can see it.”
“Well, why didn’t you say that before?” Harry asked, aghast. “I asked you about it multiple times. If you didn’t want me to suggest that Andromeda invite your mother, you should have told me so.”
Draco shrugged. “I didn’t think of it until just now.”
Harry sighed, exasperated.
“You were quite giddy playing matchmaker with them,” Draco said. “I didn’t want to ruin your fun.” Harry rolled his eyes. “And I really did think my mother would appreciate the invitation, but I never in my life believed she would actually show up.”
“Well, then, this isn’t my fault at all,” said Harry. “She’s the one who chose to make their first encounter in a public setting.”
“I never said it was your fault.”
“You were implying it.”
“I wasn’t, Harry,” Draco said, in the forced patient tone that he used when he was feeling just a little irritated. Then his tone softened. “You honestly believe I’m going to blame you if my mother and my aunt can’t work things out? Your martyr complex really knows no bounds.”
Harry shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “Like you said, I’ve been playing matchmaker.”
“Those two women are way too self-possessed and strong-willed for your suggestions to have any real effect on them. You may have been a catalyst of sorts, but they are reaching out to each other because they want to, not because of you.”
“If you say so,” said Harry.
Draco put his arm around Harry and kissed his temple, letting his mouth rest there for a moment. “I get to be nervous and worried about this without it meaning that I hold you responsible. I’m just afraid someone will get hurt. That’s not on you. It’s just… the situation.”
Harry nodded, enjoying the feeling of Draco’s nose pressed into his hair. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” They remained that way for a silent moment. “Maybe we should go in and say hello to your mother, then. Ease some of the tension.”
Draco pulled away, taking a deep breath. “Yeah. I suppose we should.”
Andromeda looked nothing short of relieved as Harry walked through the back door. It was clear that the conversation with her sister had been emotionally fraught. But neither sister, Harry noted, looked particularly upset, per se, only a bit at a loss as to what to do next, and Harry thought that was a good sign.
Narcissa embraced and kissed them both in that reserved way of hers, though she gave Draco as warm a smile as Harry had ever seen on her.
“You look good, my love,” he heard her say quietly to Draco. “Happy.”
“I am,” he replied, just as quietly, and Harry smiled to himself. “Come into the yard with us and sit down,” Draco said more loudly. “It’s lovely out.”
“I’ll grab some drinks for us,” said Harry. “Pumpkin juice, maybe?”
“Perfect,” said Draco. He led Narcissa outside, his hand resting on the small of her back, leaving Harry alone with Andromeda.
“How are you?” he asked her.
Andromeda took a deep breath. “Surprised,” she said. “And… pleased, I suppose. I’m not quite sure yet.”
Harry smiled. “It’s all a bit complicated, I bet.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, thank you. For inviting her, I mean. I think it meant a lot. It’s certainly a step in the right direction.”
Andromeda nodded. “We’ll see,” she said simply.
Harry went into the kitchen to fix the drinks, but ran into Molly on the way and got sidetracked yet again. He pretended to scold her a bit for threatening Draco and she whacked him on the arm in jest.
“I did no such thing, Harry,” she said. “I merely… implied that, seeing as your essentially one of my own, it would be quite unfortunate if he treated you with anything other than love and respect.”
Harry laughed. “A subtle distinction, I think,” he said. But he had to admit that, on the inside, he was secretly pleased.
By the time he’d emerged into the backyard again with the drinks, Narcissa and Draco had themselves well-settled at a table in the shade. Harry was also surprised to see that his godson was sitting quite happily in Narcissa’s lap. He thought it looked a bit odd, considering Narcissa’s expensive, tailored robes, glittering jewelry, and sleek hairstyle, but she looked quite content to be holding him.
“You’ve met Teddy, then, I see,” he said as he placed a glass in front of each of them.
“I snagged him again from Hermione,” said Draco. “Figured Mother should get a turn.”
“I had no idea he was a Metamorphmagus,” Narcissa said, indicating how Teddy was currently sporting white blond hair the same shade as hers. “I’d forgotten Nymphadora was as well.”
“Yeah,” said Harry. “Although she always favored pink hair, if I remember correctly.”
“Perhaps when he goes through a phase of adolescent rebellion,” she said, “he’ll sport something similar.”
“More than likely.” It was hard for Harry to imagine, in fact. What would Teddy be like as a preteen, a teenager, an adult? “I guess we’ll find out.”
Narcissa passed Teddy to Draco, who bounced him on his lap and made faces at him while Harry and Narcissa chatted about how the term was going. She asked about his apprenticeship and he did his best to dodge the issue, mostly, a burning mix of shame, anger, and confusion still churning in his gut at the memory of his last interaction with Kemp.
Luckily, Draco and Teddy together was quite a distracting sight, and Harry and Narcissa’s attention was pulled there frequently. Draco was making different funny sounds with his mouth, from a motorboat noise with his lips to a rapid rolling of the letter “r” on his tongue that sounded almost like a purr. Teddy stared up at Draco in wide-eyed awe, occasionally placing his hand over the Slytherin’s pale mouth, as if trying to understand the strange sounds by feel.
Harry couldn’t help the low, pleasant tugging in his navel that he felt while watching them. One glance at Narcissa found her watching Harry, rather than Draco and Teddy, a knowing glint in her eye. Harry realized he probably looked a bit dopey and glassy-eyed, but he decided he shouldn’t bother to be embarrassed. It was better, wasn’t it, for Narcissa to see just how deeply Harry loved her son?
Teddy started to tucker out after a while, and fell into a doze against Draco’s chest.
“It’s been a full afternoon for him, I suppose,” Narcissa said, looking at the sleeping boy.
“Yeah, this party was a lot bigger than I expected,” said Harry. “And not really what I imagined a one-year-old’s party to be.” He glanced over at the group of small children kicking around a football and riding on toy brooms, the only indication that this was a child’s party at all. The rest of the guests were all grown, milling about with drinks in their hands, talking and laughing.
“He’s only one,” said Draco. “It’s not like he’s going to remember it anyway. I imagine this was more a party just to have a party.”
Harry thought Draco was probably right. It reminded him a bit of the Weasley’s Christmas party. Just an excuse to get together and celebrate that they were all alive and in one piece.
Without Teddy to distract him Draco fell into an easy conversation with his mother about the next year of his Potions apprenticeship and preparations for his NEWTs, and Harry relaxed back in his chair a bit, content to close his eyes, feel the sun on his skin, and listen to the measured cadence of the Malfoys’ voices.
***
“That really was surprisingly exhausting,” said Draco, adjusting his posture in the rickety plastic chair.
“Yes, it really was,” Harry agreed. They’d stayed on at Andromeda’s after most of the other guests had left, helping her clean up and put things away, and to give Teddy some extra attention. While it had been an enjoyable party, all of the socializing had been tiring for both of them, and after they were finished cleaning up they decided there was nothing they wanted more than to curl up with some takeaway and a film at Grimmauld Place. They were now at a restaurant, awaiting the curry and samosas they had ordered. Harry took Draco’s hand. “I’m so glad you were there.”
“Me, too,” said Draco.
“You were wonderful today.”
He heard Draco snort. “You were expecting me to be awful?”
“No,” said Harry. “Of course not. I just wanted you to know that you were especially wonderful. I was trying to give you a compliment and express my gratitude.”
“So does that mean you’re not going to make me pay for the things I shared about our sex life with George and Ronald?”
Harry huffed. He’d forgotten about that. “That depends,” he said.
“On?”
“How much energy I have.”
Draco laughed. “Fair enough.”
“Or perhaps the real punishment would be if I refused to fuck you at all.”
Draco pouted, and Harry was chagrined at how sexy he found the expression. “Now that’s just cruel.” He stared at Harry with those wide, pleading eyes that were always the Gryffindor’s downfall. “You wouldn’t do that to me, would you?”
Harry had to look away. “You dangerous creature,” he said. Though he couldn’t see it, he knew Draco was smiling next to him.
The man behind the counter called their order up and they retrieved it gratefully. It was only a few blocks to Grimmauld Place and the evening was unseasonably warm, so they decided to walk the distance, hand-in-hand, mostly in happy silence. Harry contemplated the contentment he felt at the prospect of a night in, not to mention three more whole days of break in which he and Draco could have to themselves and do whatever they wanted.
When they turned onto Grimmauld Place, however, something immediately felt off, and by the time they’d covered half the distance to the stoop of Number 12, Harry could see what.
Reporters, a whole swarm of them, were waiting outside of his house.
“You have got to be kidding me,” he said.
They paused outside the light of a streetlamp, and luckily the reporters hadn’t spotted them yet. But they were obviously waiting for him to arrive. They had to believe he wasn’t already yet inside.
“How did they know we’d be coming home?”
“Who knows how long they’ve been there? Maybe hours,” said Draco.
“Yeah, but…”
“And think about how many people were at the party. All those people we didn’t know, but who undoubtedly recognized you.”
“You think someone called a reporter? Because we attended a child’s birthday party? Why would they care?”
Draco shrugged, but Harry thought perhaps Draco did know why they might care, and just didn’t want to say it aloud.
“Well, we can’t Apparate directly inside,” he said. “We could try landing right inside the wards but their coverage is smaller than it used to be. It doesn’t even include the stoop anymore. I should probably do something about that.”
“They’re just reporters,” said Draco. “They won’t hurt us.”
Harry nodded. “We’ll just push through, nice and quick. You remember what to do?”
“Stay close to you and don’t say anything,” Draco quoted.
“Right.” This was Harry’s general rule for dealing with journalists. They always tried to ask leading or provocative questions to elicit and response. The best way to win their game was always to refuse to play.
Putting a protective hand on Draco’s back, Harry spurred them forward, and they’d only taken a few steps when the group finally noticed them and began swarming them in a buzz of excitement.
“Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter!” they all cried.
“Did you attend your godson’s birthday today, Mr. Potter?”
“Are you and Draco Malfoy living together?”
“Did you really bring a Death Eater to a war orphan’s birthday party?”
So this was what they were so riled up about? What absolute rubbish, Harry thought as he bowed his head, keeping his face out of sight of the camera flashes, and maneuvering Draco swiftly to the door.
“Mr. Potter! How long do you plan on staying with Mr. Malfoy?”
“How do your war hero friends feel about you dating a Death Eater?”
“Is he the reason you’re not going to become an Auror?”
“Mr. Malfoy, do you feel the Heirloom Declaration Act unfairly targets purebloods such as yourself?”
Harry almost didn’t catch the question with the din the other reporters were making, but there was something about it, when it did finally register, that gave him pause. Perhaps it was the fact that the reporter had addressed Draco directly, or something about the tone or the question itself. He turned.
“Who asked that?” he called out to the group. “About the Heirloom Act? Who asked?”
A hand raised amongst the crowd, and Harry saw that it belonged to a wizard with thick dark hair and mahogany skin. “What’s your name?”
The wizard cleared his throat in the silence. “Jalil Safar,” he said.
Safar. Harry knew that name. He’d been seeing it in the byline of a lot of articles about his relationship with Draco. But unlike most of the others, Safar’s perspective was usually favorable, or at least reasonably balanced. He was one of the first to see Harry and Draco’s relationship as a good thing, rather than a problem that had to be solved.
The silence dragged on as Harry looked at Safar, and then over the crowd of reporters, who all had quills poised at their parchments, ready to write down anything he said. Harry could feel Draco’s bewilderment behind him, but he ignored it for now, looking for a particular face. Finally, he spotted her.
Skeeter.
He met her eyes and she stared at him. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was reading on her face. The usual bloodthirstiness was certainly there, and the relish of his discomfort, and he thought perhaps he could see triumph glinting in her eyes, too, as though she believed she had already bested him. He smirked at her.
“Mr. Safar,” he said, loudly and clearly, turning back to the wizard who was still awaiting his response. “I’d love to speak to you about the issue of the Heirloom Declaration Act.” There was a quiet murmur amongst the crowd. “What would you say to an exclusive interview with me?”
The buzz grew louder as the reporters looked around at each other, shocked. Still, Harry could hear Safar quite clearly when he replied, “Of course, Mr. Potter. I would be honored.”
“Send me an owl tomorrow,” said Harry. “And we’ll arrange something.” He looked around at the crowd, and his eyes fell on Skeeter again. The glint in her eyes had gone steely, and she was clutching her quill so tightly that it seemed in danger of snapping in two. Harry’s smirk widened, and he didn’t take his eyes off her as he said, “As for the rest of you, you can just go slouch back to the dirty holes you crawled out of. Goodnight.”
He turned then, grabbing Draco by the elbow and pulling him towards the door. He felt the familiar tickle of the wards wash over them as they crossed the threshold and stepped into the house. Harry closed the door and locked it, for good measure. When he turned back, Draco was balking at him.
“What in the name of all things magical was that? What happened to stay close and don’t say anything?”
Harry found himself smiling. “Safar asked an interesting question.”
Draco ran a hand over his face, then looked up at the ceiling as though he would find some understanding there.
“All right, so it was a bit impulsive,” said Harry.
“Yeah,” Draco said with a huff.
“But I just think… maybe it’s time I realize that this sort of thing is going to happen to me for the rest of my life. Happen to us. After all, if our future is together, and we really do move in together, and get married, and have children, they’re going to have a field day every time we take a new step in our relationship. There will always be questions, and they will always write stories. Maybe it’s time I accept that, and actually try to shape the story.”
“This is about us?” Draco asked. “I thought it was about politics.”
“It’s both,” said Harry. “They’re all wrapped up together for me. I want to speak out. I want to say something about this horrible bill they’re trying to pass, but the reason why I finally do is because of you. Anything I can do to protect you, I will.”
Draco stared at him for a few beats, then turned and set the takeaway bag on one of the foyer tables. He approached Harry, a hand coming up on either side to clutch Harry’s face gently. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes,” said Harry. “It feels right.”
“And this… this Safar guy. You think he’ll give you a fair shake? You think he’ll do right by you?”
“By us,” said Harry. “He already has. He’s written in favor of our relationship. He wants the wizarding world to move on from its obsession of who’s a Death Eater and who’s a pureblood. I’ve read it directly from his articles. I remember because they’re among the few I can actually stand to read.” He put his hands on Draco’s hips as Draco’s hands slid down his neck. “I want you to do the interview with me.”
Draco blinked, his brow furrowing slightly. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Yes,” Harry insisted. “You’re more articulate than I am. You can help me get my point across. And I’ll be braver if you’re there.”
Draco looked into Harry’s eyes as if trying to x-ray them. “All right,” he said finally.
Harry face broke into a smile. “Really?”
“Really. Anything for you, you know that.”
Harry closed the distance quickly, pressing his lips to Draco’s, and Draco returned to kiss with fervor, his hands still cupping Harry’s neck. They both opened their mouths and let their tongues battle for a moment, before Draco pulled away. He turned and cast a stasis charm on the food, presumably to keep it warm.
“Sex now, food later,” he said.
Harry grinned. He was game for that. “You still want that punishment fuck?”
To his surprise, Draco shook his head. “No. I want it…” He swallowed. “Sweet and slow, like that time… I want to feel you again.”
Harry’s heart swelled to bursting at Draco’s request, at his willingness to even admit that was what he wanted.
“That sounds perfect,” he said, capturing Draco’s mouth again.
Absolutely perfect.
goddess-of_dragons: Well, here you go, as requested!
As to your questions, I’m not going to give away who wins the house cup, since it sort of pertains to the plot. So you’ll just have to wait on that one :) But no, Ron is not Head Boy. I figured McGonagall would name two 7^th years Head Boy and Girl, since the 8^th years are kind of a special circumstance for this one year only, and aren’t even living in their house dormitories. None of the 8^th years really have prefect status, even if they were prefects before, since they already have privileges to come and go as they please and aren’t always on campus to see to prefect duties. I hope that explanation made sense and satisfied your curiosity!
A.R. Fleets: Awww… gee, thanks :)
djaddict: Lol yeah I guess we all saw that coming. The real story on Kemp will be coming up next chapter, which will address your suspicions.
Dedicated_Reader: Lol how dare you accuse me of such things? I never tease; I always deliver ;) In all seriousness, I really did have an idea for a scene with light bondage or something for a later chapter, before you ever made a comment about liking the D/s, and at this point I am thinking I will follow through on that idea. I’ve just haven’t written a lot of BDSM smut so I’m nervous about making it good!
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