Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Where Your Treasure Lies	By : Queenie_Mab Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 3167 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations from Harry Potter, created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Raincoast. No money is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Rationalisation

Present Day

"I ... I need to go back," Harry said, his voice breaking. "I have to at least say goodbye. I have to let him know I didn't leave him on purpose." He turned to look at his former mentor. "What about… Can I still become a ghost?"

Harry felt the desperate hope rise up inside him. Of course, why hadn't he considered it immediately? If he became a ghost, he'd be able to interact with the living again. He'd be able to explain everything to Draco, to beg his forgiveness, to be present to support him through whatever hard times he'd face in life.

"Harry, the existence of a ghost is not an existence I would wish on my deepest enemy."

"What do you mean?" Harry demanded. He thought back to the ghosts who inhabited Hogwarts: Nearly Headless-Nick had been dead for centuries and was a rather happy personality. It couldn't be as bad as Dumbledore was making it sound.

Dumbledore stroked his long beard for a moment and then invited Harry to sit on a nearby bench. Harry did.

Dumbledore began to explain. "Most ghosts become ghosts because they fear death and moving on; they cling to the only thing they've ever known and a half-life that they can never fully experience. I believe Muggles use the term 'hell' for where they think damned spirits go after death, yes?"

Harry nodded.

"There is no such place as hell, but for a spirit of the deceased, the closest thing to damnation is existence as a ghost."

"I don't understand, sir," Harry pleaded. "How can that be true?"

"Harry, your family is waiting for you; as soon as you are ready to move on, they will be ready to greet you. Your parents, your grandparents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and your children, Teddy and Scorpius, they are all waiting, just beyond the earthly veil."

"But Draco..."

"Draco is still a part of the world, Harry. When he dies and moves on, he will join you and you will be together again. But if you were to return to him now as a ghost, how do you think he would feel?"

"Well, I'd at least be able to talk to him, to explain."

"And when he broke down into tears in front of you, when he wanted you to comfort him in his grief, you would try to hold him, but instead of comfort it would feel to him that he was being doused in a bucket of ice water. You wouldn't be able to touch him or feel him and you would cause him physical discomfort if you were to try. Then your presence would become a nuisance. What if Draco decided he was ready to live again and have another chance at a family? He'd be torn between the constant reminder of what he had with you and what he could have again. He'd feel guilty for wanting more than you could give. He may grow to resent you, and even if all that doesn't happen, even if you are happy living in a semi-existence with each other, you would have to watch him grow old and eventually die. And then, Harry, he would move on. He would go to see your children again, and you would be trapped still, doomed forever to sort of exist as the world changed around you. You however, would not change with it. Do you see what I'm saying, Harry? Would you choose this sort of existence over what you could have?"

"No," Harry said glumly. "Of course not, but ... what is beyond? Can't I stay here and wait for Draco to join me? Then we could move on together."

"Harry, this is the gateway between the worlds, It will only be here for a time and nobody can be sure how long that is. You must make your decision, and soon."

"Dumbledore, I just ... I need to be sure he's going to be all right and then I'll come. Let me look again. Maybe after some time has passed. Will that work?"

"Time has been passing, Harry; see for yourself."

~*~

Harry looked back down into the fountain. He saw Draco was dressed in his dressing gown, the one he and Harry had picked out while on their honeymoon, and he was naked beneath it.

Harry felt like the breath had gone out of him. Draco was expecting company. Harry watched him light the oil lamps with his wand and turn on the wireless to a music station.

This couldn’t be happening. Harry wasn’t ready for Draco to move on without him. He knew deep down that the fact Draco was preparing to have a guest over for sex, for what else could it be, was probably a good sign, a healing thing, but it hurt so much to witness.

"Harry, Perhaps you shouldn’t watch," Dumbledore suggested. "I believe your children are just beyond the barrier. Why don’t we go and see them?"

Harry’s mind warred with his heart. He longed to see Teddy and Scorpius again, to hold them and tell them how much he missed them, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away from Draco.

"Dumbledore, I will come, but first. I really must say goodbye. I have to. I can’t move on fully until I have."

Dumbledore sighed loudly. "It will only be harder to tear yourself away, the more you watch, Harry, but if you give me your word that after this visit, we will move on, then by all means, go ahead."

"Did you want to come with me? To make sure I come back?"

"Harry, I have already gone on. This gateway is yours alone. You may interact with the fountain, but I cannot go into it. I can only watch from afar."

Harry nodded. "I’m going now. I will come back. I need to see Teddy and Scorpius. I need to reassure them I’ve done all I can for Draco."

"Take care, Harry. Remember. You cannot alter what happens in the other realm; you and it are made of different stuff. You may say your goodbyes, but understand that you may not receive them in return."

Harry nodded again, his throat feeling tight, and then leaned over the misted surface of the fountain and plunged inside. As he felt himself pass from one world to the other, the life events that had led up to this point flashed through his mind in vivid detail.

Bonding

January 2003

Harry and Draco stood side-by-side, dressed in their finest robes. Everybody they loved had gathered to witness this moment, when he and Draco would exchange their vows and be bonded for life.

Harry always thought he'd be intimidated by the prospect of marriage, as he had done whenever he'd contemplated it in the past, but standing beside Draco now, before the eyes of everybody with little Professor Tofty presiding, he knew that this was exactly the path he was meant to take in life.

Looking at Draco beside him, Harry knew Draco was feeling the same, even though Draco's eyes did show a bit more terror than Harry's. Lucius and Narcissa were in attendance too, even though they heartily did not approve of the union. Draco had threatened to publicly deny them if they made a scene, and thankfully, they hadn't yet.

"So we gather today to join these two souls in marriage," Professor Tofty said, his voice whispery and faint. "Have you the rings?" he asked, looking at Harry and Draco over the top of the tiny glasses perched on his long nose.

Harry put his hand into his robe pocket and withdrew the ring he had designed for Draco. It was an Ouroboros with emeralds for eyes and he slipped it on Draco's finger without hesitation, watching the startled expression on Draco's face turn to a broad smile, the one reserved for Harry alone. Harry never expected to see it when they were in front of other people, but the fact that it was there made his entire body thrum with love for the man beside him.

Draco then placed the ring he'd chosen for Harry on Harry's ring finger and, at the instruction of the professor, they kissed. The moment their lips touched a ring of fireworks went off, exploding all around them in puffs of smoke and chasing each other through the twilit sky.

Harry slid an arm around Draco's waist and they turned to greet their friends and family as husbands for the first time.

Bad Timing

March 2003

Harry steadied himself, holding onto Draco’s thighs while Draco was folded over the back of the sofa, his face turned to the side while he braced himself with a tight grip on the cushion edges.

Harry drew back and then pushed in slowly again. He was so close to coming, but was mesmerised by the sight of his cock being swallowed by Draco’s body. Harry pulled out all the way, thrusting forwards once more, repeatedly stabbing Draco’s arse with his cock until he couldn’t take the slow pace another moment.

There was a large mirror hanging on their bedroom wall, positioned just right so Harry could see Draco’s neck arching as he bit the cushion’s fabric and groaned loudly as Harry battered him at the perfect angle.

"Harry!" a small child’s voice called out, startling Harry to the point he almost released Draco’s legs and dropped him on his face.

Harry’s eyes flew to the mirror where he hadn’t noticed the door had opened and his five-year old godson Teddy stared, wide-eyed, at the scene before him.

"What are you doing to Draco? You could hurt him!" Teddy’s hair changed from blue to black as the boy’s mood switched from fearful to accusatory.

Harry couldn’t move, couldn’t think what to do, but fortunately Draco came to the rescue, propping himself up on his arms and staring at Teddy in the mirror. "Close the door, Theodore. We’ll come and talk to you in a minute."

Teddy’s eyebrows narrowed suspiciously, but he did as he was asked.

When the door closed Harry was brought out of his shocked state when Draco chuckled. "Er— you want to let me down there, Potter?"

Harry shook his head, dazed, realising he wasn’t hard any longer. "Yeah, sorry," he said quickly. and helped Draco right himself on the sofa.

Draco stood up, immediately drawing Harry’s eyes to the red imprint of the back of the sofa across his hips. Draco crossed to the wardrobe and grabbed his and Harry’s dressing gowns, then returned and handed Harry his. Draco’s eyebrow raised questioningly as he slipped into his own. "Let’s go and do damage control."

Happy Birthday

February 2009

Harry laughed heartily as Scorpius’s eyes grew wide at the pile of presents sitting on the sideboard.

"All for me?" he asked in amazement, struggling in Harry’s arms to be put down so he could investigate.

"That’s right, Scorpius," Harry said. He set him down and watched his face split into a wide grin. "It isn’t every day a son of mine turns four, after all."

Scorpius turned slowly back to Harry and held up his arms to be picked up again.

"What about Teddy? Does he get a present?"

Harry nuzzled his nose against Scorpius’s small one. "Teddy isn’t turning four today. Did you have a nice kip?"

Harry carried Scorpius to the drawing room where all the guests were assembled. The Weasleys were all there with their assorted children. He looked for Draco, finally spotting him standing on the porch outside the french doors and arguing with his father.

Harry frowned. He carried Scorpius to where Molly Weasley and Narcissa Malfoy were exchanging stilted conversation, though Harry had discovered that Scorpius's presence was just what it took to lighten the atmosphere between the women at family gatherings.

"Here are your Nanas, Scorpius." Harry put Scorpius down on the sofa between them. "You mind watching him for a moment?" Harry asked, pleased to see the tightness of Narcissa's lips had relaxed and the frowning crease in Molly's forehead had smoothed out.

"Of course not, Harry," Molly said and reached out to ruffle Scorpius's hair with her hand, while Narcissa smoothed out the wrinkles in Scorpius's trousers.

Harry excused himself and wove his way through the crowds of people standing in groups of three and four, peppered with two more groups of children playing games on the floor. He pushed open the door to the porch and stepped outside, just as Lucius strode away. Draco remained with his arms folded, looking out to the garden.

Harry stood next to him, and put his arm around Draco's waist. "What was that all about?" Harry asked tentatively.

Draco chuckled dryly. "He's just being his usual self. He wanted to let me know that his solicitors have told him that as Scorpius was conceived between myself and a woman outside of marriage, that he is not considered legitimate enough to weigh in as my heir." Draco sighed and turned towards Harry, folding himself in Harry's arms. "You're warm."

Harry nuzzled his nose against Draco's cheek, noticing the barest trace of stubble was there. It was unusual for Draco to allow it to grow even that much when they were entertaining guests.

"You're cold," Harry answered. "Didn't think you needed a coat in January?"

Draco slipped his hands under Harry's jumper and touched his back, making Harry jump with shock from the cold, though Draco didn't release him.

"Okay," Harry said, exhaling shakily. "I suppose I deserve that. You want to talk about it? Your father, I mean."

"Not really," Draco said back, his hands starting to grow warm as they soaked the heat up from Harry's skin. "He can take the Malfoy name and fortune and be buried with it for all the care I have about it." Draco pushed his face into the crook of Harry's neck, muffling his voice. "We have everything we need right here."

Working on it

January 2011

Harry rolled up his lime-green sleeves and knocked softly on the open examination room door to announce his arrival.

A small girl with mousey-brown hair sat on the table with her mother fussing at her side. The mother turned as Harry entered, revealing the girl’s face, complete with a fully-formed elephant trunk in place of her nose and tears streaming down her cheeks.

He stifled the grin that threatened to spread, and tried to look kindly concerned.

"What seems to be the trouble?" he asked, pulling a clean handkerchief out of his robe pocket and handing it to the little girl.

"Uncle Zim told me it would stay like this if I kept making faces and he was right!" the little girl wailed, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief while her trunk snuffled and dripped onto the floor.

Harry shifted his eyes to the mother, raising his brows.

"She’s a metamorphmagus, Healer," she explained. "This hasn’t ever happened before. Normally she’s able to put her face to rights instantly, but my brother was teasing her tonight, and this happened. Can you do anything to help?"

Harry felt his throat grow tight. He’d thought he’d just be dealing with a jinx gone wrong, but the mention of her metamorph nature brought Harry’s recent loss right back to the forefront of his mind.

He swallowed thickly. "I believe I can," he said, trying to keep the quivering out of his voice. "Tell me," Harry said, addressing the girl. "What is your name?"

She sniffled, her trunk making a horrible snuffling honk. "Elisabeth."

"Well, Elisabeth, do you know I just happen to have personal experience with this very same thing?"

The little girl looked up at Harry, her eyes growing wide and hopeful.

Harry blinked a couple of times and cleared his throat. "Yes. This same thing happened to my godson at about your age. He was a metamorphmagus too."

"Did it go back to normal?"

"It did," Harry said, nodding gravely. "The trick is to understand that sometimes adults tell jokes and then when kids hear the jokes, they think it’s real. So your uncle told you it would stay like that? He was just joking and when you’re ready to try to make it go back to normal it will. Are you ready to try?"

Elisabeth furrowed her eyebrows, confused. "You mean he lied to me?" she asked, eyes widening.

"Um …" Harry stuttered, looking to the mother who was shrugging her shoulders and not being helpful in the slightest. "Well, it wasn’t a mean lie. It was a joke. Like when you’re trying to make somebody laugh by being funny."

Elisabeth shook her head and the trunk retracted into her face returning to a normal nose shape with a strange gushing sound. She frowned. "I don’t think it was funny at all."

Harry frowned too, forcing a serious face. "I think you’re right. Are you going to tell him that he wasn’t funny when you get home?"

She nodded and held out her arms for her mother to help her down.

"How old are you anyway?" Harry asked when she was standing upright beside him, coming up to about his hip.

"Four, going on five," she said, immediately brightening.

"Promise to keep the trunk for special occasions only?" he asked.

Elisabeth nodded, grinning broadly, and pulled away from her mother.

"Thank you, Healer Potter," Elisabeth’s mother said, shaking Harry’s hand. She squeezed it, giving him a sad little smile that told him she knew exactly how hard it must be for him to treat her daughter after the news of his loss had hit the Daily Prophet. Then she followed Elisabeth out of the room as the child had made a mad dash for freedom.

Harry held it together until he was alone at last and then threw an Imperturbable Charm at the door.

Tragedy

July 2010

Harry sloshed tea over the sides of the pair of cups he was carrying from the kitchen to the drawing room as two pairs of feet thundered down the stairs behind him, making the picture frames rattle on the walls.

"Hey now, slow down," he said, as Teddy, home for the summer from his first year at Hogwarts, chased the five-year-old Scorpius through the foyer into the drawing room.

"What’s the big idea?" Harry heard Draco ask as he entered on Teddy's heels and handed Draco a cup.

He took his seat on the sofa beside Draco, loving how Draco’s hand immediately snaked out to rest on his thigh.

"We want to try out my new broom!" Teddy said, grinning broadly. Harry had taken the boys to Quality Quidditch Supplies earlier in the day, so Draco could focus on his his latest children's book without interruption. They had only been home half an hour.

"I don’t know," Harry said, taking a sip of his tea. "I think we’d better let Daddy give it a once-over before you take it out for real. What do you think, Draco?"

Draco nodded his agreement. "Tell you what, go and bring it to me now and I’ll have a look right away."

The boys shrieked and tore off to fetch the new broom with another house-shaking thundering run.

Harry chuckled.

"What kind did you end up getting him?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It’s a Firebolt," Harry said. "I know it’s an older model, but it’s a tried and true design and I’ve always favoured them."

Draco nodded, taking a sip from his tea and giving Harry’s knee a squeeze.

The boys rushed back into the room, their faces flushed with excitement.

Draco put his cup on the side table and moved his hand off Harry’s leg, holding it out for Teddy to place the broom in.

Harry’s thigh felt cold where Draco’s hand had been. He wanted very much for this examination to finish so Draco would put his hand back where it belonged.

Draco ran his wand over the broom handle, checking the charms. "Looks good to me," he said. "Are you both planning to fly?"

Scorpius hopped from one foot to the other, dancing with excitement. "Teddy’s gonna take me, Daddy! I’ll be really good!"

Draco smiled, ruffling their small son’s blond hair with his fingers. "All right. Teddy, I don’t want you to go higher than three feet while he’s on it, and keep the speed down too. We’ll take it out for a proper flight to test its capabilities later tonight."

"Yes! Thanks, Draco!" Teddy said, snatching his broom back. They disappeared without another word.

The back door slammed closed behind them.

He settled back beside his husband, and picked up Draco’s hand, putting it back on his thigh with a grin.

"Oh?" Draco chided. "Did you miss me, Potter?"

"Always," Harry said and leaned in for a quick kiss.

~*~

Harry sat beside Draco in the front pew of the small reception hall, his hand on Draco's knee. On the platform at the front of the hall sat two small coffins while the music rang out loud and heavy, clanging against Harry's ear drums. Nothing made sense any more. Music was no longer beautiful; air was no longer sweet. It hurt to breathe. Even now, his lungs ached.

The same bald old man that had presided over Harry and Draco's bonding ceremony walked with his head bowed to the podium at the centre of the stage between the coffins, lifting his ancient face as the last chords played.

Harry could feel Draco's stillness beside him, his posture frozen. Harry reminded himself that he needed to be strong right now so if Draco needed to break it would be all right; he would be there to pick up the pieces.

"I want to thank you all for joining Harry and Draco in their time of intense sorrow," Tofty's voice wavered. Harry could hardly make out a word, he was concentrating so hard on staying strong that his eyes burned.

Harry caught snippets of the eulogy, but his eyes were focused on the coffins on the stage.

"… young to be taken from this world … malfunctioning braking charm … accident … loss most keenly felt …"

Beside him, Draco's shoulders trembled. Harry could feel the tremors in the thigh beneath his hand. He turned to look at Draco, needing comfort himself more than he could say, but saw instead absolute devastation in Draco's face.

Harry slipped his arm around his husband, and pulled him into an embrace that Draco melted into, the sobs breaking free and tears flowing hot and wet down Harry's neck. Harry closed his eyes and held on tight, praying the nightmare would end.

Working it out

January 2011

Harry sat on the floor of the exam room with his back against the door and his knees drawn up to his chest. The tears came though he tried to hold them at bay. He felt raw.

It had already been six months, but even the most random thing would bring the memories flooding back as if it had just happened.

After a while he found himself staring straight ahead at the cabinet on the opposite side of the room, wondering how long he’d been doing it.

He glanced quickly at his watch. It was nearly five o’clock and, considering nobody had come pounding on the door, he figured it was safe for him to venture out to leave for the day.

He stood up, feeling returning to his limbs in a rush of pins and needles. He wiped his eyes with his hands and took off his glasses, drying them on his robes.

A brief look in the mirror showed his face was puffy and covered in red blotches, but that was easily remedied using a few spells and glamours. The important thing now was to be strong for Draco. Harry didn’t think their relationship would be able to survive if they were both a rotten mess.

He opened the door, pasting on a smile with a deep breath of forced calm, and strode out to face his colleagues.

~*~

In the lift to the fourth floor of St. Mungo’s, Harry shifted his weight from one foot to the other, reminding himself that the most important thing for him to be right then was a pillar of support. Draco needed him to be strong, and so he would.

The lift clattered to a stop, the doors opening to the locked ward.

Harry ran his wand over doorknob and it unlocked to admit him, recognising his Healer’s pass.

Harry waited at the front desk to speak with the Healer on duty.

Healer Fitzpatrick met him after a couple of minutes.

"Ah, Healer Potter," he said, shaking Harry’s hand. "Busy day down in Magical Accidents?"

"You could say that," Harry said with a forced smile, hating the pleasantries. "How’s Draco today?"

Fitzpatrick pulled out a handkerchief from his robe pocket and mopped the bald patch on his head nervously. "About the same," he answered non-committally.

"All right," Harry sighed. "Where is he? I’ll see if I can calm him down."

"He’s in the garden," Fitzpatrick said. "But he’s told me to tell you that he’d prefer it if you stop wasting his time and yours and to just go home." He said it quickly, as if frightened Harry would bite his head off for delivering Draco’s message.

"I will bear that in mind," Harry said, frowning to himself.

Harry made his way through the locked ward’s corridor to the end where it opened into an enchanted patio garden, complete with Atmospheric Charms so the patients could take in some sun on occasion.

He wound his way over the worn stepping stones set into the grass and found Draco seated as usual on a stone bench with his back to Harry, facing the edge of the charm which made it appear as if the space before him stretched out as far as the eye could see with beautiful topiary gardens, but in reality was the wall of the hospital building.

Puffs of smoke rose around Draco’s slumped shoulders at regular intervals, as he’d taken to chain smoking whenever Harry came to visit because he knew Harry detested the habit.

"Fuck off, Potter," Draco said, not turning to look as Harry approached.

Harry felt his heart squeeze tightly in his chest, but reminded himself that Draco wasn’t in his right mind, hadn’t been since the accident. He sat down beside Draco on the bench, his hands shoved into his trouser pockets, having shed his Healer robes at the end of his shift.

"I missed you," Harry said softly, trying to keep from ruffling feathers.

Draco took a long drag on his cigarette and answered by blowing his smoke in Harry’s direction.

Harry hated the feeling of their grief coming between them as if it were a solid barrier. He didn’t have the first idea how break it down and get Draco talking to him again.

"Talk to me," Harry said finally, desperate to just have words again, even if they were harsh or tear-filled. "What have you been thinking?"

When Draco said nothing still, but continued to stare straight ahead, throwing out the butt of one cigarette to join a pile of them littering the ground and lighting another, Harry pulled his hands out of his pockets and raked his hair out of his face.

"How can I fix it, if you won’t tell me what’s wrong? I’m trying, Draco. God help me; I’m trying so hard to give you time and whatever you need, but I’m really at a loss here. Please! Throw me a bone, something! Just say something!"

Draco’s eyes met his at last, a look of resolution resting in their depths. "I want to move," he said at last, pausing, turning back to look forwards again. "I can’t live in that house any more."

Relief flooded Harry’s system at finally receiving a response. "Fine!" he agreed readily. "That will give me something I can do. I’ll put the house up for sale and start looking at other places tonight. We’ll find somewhere else to live. We can start over again and things will be good."

"No," Draco said, closing his eyes; the hand holding his cigarette trembled where it rested on his knee. "That isn’t what I meant. I want to move — and I want you to stay."

It felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the very air. Harry couldn’t breathe. His lungs ached. He thought his heart would break free from his chest. "You," he stammered, throat tight. "You want — a divorce?"

"Look," Draco said coldly, tossing his half-smoked fag away and turning to face Harry on the bench. "It’s a wonder we made it as long as we did, Potter. You and me, well, we knew from the start that this was a long shot. I just can’t keep doing this anymore. I can’t keep feeling like I’m falling short. Compared to you, I am nothing. It isn’t fair to me and it’s time for me to take care of myself for once."

"What the hell are you even talking about?" Harry demanded, eyes filling with tears. He couldn’t believe the words he was hearing. "We’re soul mates, Draco. You’re everything to me!"

Harry couldn’t stay strong any more. The more he tried to hold his tears back, the faster they seemed to come, regardless of how many he’d shed earlier. He fell to his knees in front of Draco, staring up into his stony grey eyes as they widened minutely. He couldn’t do this. Not here, not today. Hell, not any day. He would not let Draco go without a fight.

"Don’t you understand?" Harry choked, sobbing. "I’ve tried so hard to stay strong for you, when all I’ve felt like doing is curling up into a ball and dying. With the kids gone …" His words caught in his throat as another cascade of tears flooded his face, making him feel swollen and hot. "I’m so sorry, Draco. Please forgive me! It was all my fault! I shouldn’t have bought that broom; I should have been out there watching them; I should have done so many things differently and then we wouldn’t be here and you wouldn’t hate me."

Harry buried his face in Draco’s lap, unable to hold back his terrible grief and guilt. The tears fell faster and the sobs shook his entire body, making his back ache and his head pound.

Fingers smoothed back his hair with gentle strokes, sending a calming rush through Harry’s nerves, soothing him as if they were a balm. He sniffled, his face pressed against the cooling mess his eyes and nose had made on Draco’s lap. He let Draco caress his hair as his tears finally ceased. He felt raw, so open and weak, laid bare before Draco, confessing his sins, but the gentle tugs against his scalp were like heaven in that he hadn’t touched or been touched by Draco in so long.

"Potter, look at me," Draco said, his voice sounding more gentle than it had in ages.

Harry shook his head, squeezing his eyes closed, feeling his glasses biting into his face, but unwilling to move lest the magic of the moment break and he not be allowed to touch any more.

"Harry," Draco said this time.

Harry pulled back at last, sitting on his feet, his legs numb from the position. His glasses were fogged, and smeary, but he could just make out Draco’s face if he peered over the rims, though it was blurred.

Draco lifted Harry’s glasses off his face and wiped them clean using the bottom of his shirt. He put them back a moment later, allowing Harry to see the tear tracks on Draco’s face.

"Please," Harry begged. "Don’t leave me."

"This is the first time you’ve shown me you’re human since it happened, Harry," Draco said softly. "I was afraid you were beyond help."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused. His knees protested at being pressed into the stone slab in the ground before the bench, but he refused to move until he knew there was hope.

Draco sighed, frowning sadly. "It wasn’t your fault, idiot. It was mine. I was the one who checked the safety of the broom and gave them permission to use it. It’s my fault it happened, not yours."

Harry watched a fresh batch of tears building in Draco’s eyes and reached out to catch them before they fell, wiping them away with his fingers. He shook his head, feeling his own eyes filling again, wondering how many tears he could possibly have left.

"No, please don’t blame yourself," Harry pleaded, his hands gripping Draco’s thighs through his trousers. "I need you. I’ve missed you so much."

A moment later Harry was on his back, his legs sore and numb, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered in the world was that Draco was on top of him, they were holding each other, sobbing, and kissing, and it was wet and messy and altogether perfect.

To our Future

January 2012

Harry spun out of the fireplace and dusted the ash off his travelling cloak; as he hung it on the hook, his nose perked up. Something smelled delicious.

"Draco?" Harry said, loosening the top button on his shirt as he entered their kitchen.

"Potter!" Draco said, spinning around surprised, a spatula in one hand and flour dusting his nose.

Harry grinned and sidled up to Draco, an eyebrow raised. "We're back to Potter now, are we?" he asked, taking Draco's slim hips in his hands, loving the feeling of Draco's sharp hip bones beneath his woollen trousers. "It smells wonderful. What's the occasion?"

Draco narrowed his eyes, giving Harry a look that Harry instantly understood meant he was to get his head out of his arse and pronto.

Harry winked and brushed his lips against Draco's. "I know what day it is. I'm not as stupid as I look."

Draco pushed Harry back, though gently enough that Harry understood he wasn't being rejected. "Wash your hands. Dinner is waiting in the dining room."

After dinner, Harry sat on the sofa in the drawing room, waiting for Draco to show him the surprise he'd promised.

Harry had to shift his hips and adjust his cock, thinking up all the possible perverted ideas Draco may have in mind for a surprise.

Draco entered a moment later, guiding a levitating platter with his wand. It came to rest on the coffee table and Draco took a seat beside Harry, his grey eyes open and searching Harry's eyes. "It's been one full year since we decided to live again. This is our future cake. I want us to always remember that we will live for each other and for our future no matter how hard life gets."

Harry nodded, taking in the image of Draco in the low light of the oil lamps that peppered the room. Draco's face shown in the light, lit as if from within with such a fantastic beauty, took Harry's breath away. His eyes lingered on Draco's lips, small, thin and pink, curving ever so slightly into his customary smirk as if he could read exactly what Harry was thinking just by looking at him.

"I love your lips," Harry said finally, unable to put more ideas into words. He was drawn to Draco right then, full of pure want, but before he could act on his impulse to just throw Draco back on the sofa and have his way with him, Draco had pushed himself into Harry's lap, knocked the glasses off Harry's face and they were kissing. Harry stopped thinking altogether.

Taking a Leap

Late January 2015

The end of the day couldn’t come fast enough for Harry.

He looked down at his clipboard, thankful to have reached the end of the list of patients waiting to see him, then knocked on the examination room door.

"Hello, Mrs Pillsworth, and Amelia, I take it?"

The woman looked up as Harry entered, relief spreading over her face. She stood beside the exam table, holding her young daughter by the ankle while the poor girl floated three feet off the ground.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry was fastening his travelling cloak when he felt his journal vibrate in his inner pocket.

He smiled as he opened it, reading:

I am freaking out, Harry. The Scamanders will be here in fifteen minutes and I forgot to pick up the future cake from the påtisserie in Diagon Alley. I can't face them alone, but I also can't invite them inside without offering proper refreshments.

Harry chuckled to himself, though he was feeling just as nervous as Draco. It wasn’t every day you sat down to discuss the prospect of hiring a woman to carry a baby for you. He pulled out his quill and answered:

Don't worry about it. I'll stop by Diagon Alley and pick it up. I'm on my way right now.

Are you nervous?

Draco’s handwriting was shaky.

Terrified! But I’m also excited. I’ll be home as soon as I pick up the cake.

Please hurry. I can't do this alone. I don't want to be alone.

I will always come for you.

Promise? Are you trying to sweeten me up?

Maybe … Of course I promise. After they leave I’ll show you just how much I will always come for you.

~*~

The bell to the shop tinkled as Harry entered.

"Oh, Mr Potter," a young man dressed in a white apron said, looking up from where he was kneading dough as Harry approached. "I have your cake. I was expecting Mr Malfoy to pick it up hours ago."

Harry watched the baker pick up his wand, and clean his hands with a spell. The man then fetched a large square box from the glass display case. He set it on the counter and opened the box for Harry to look inside.

It looked divine. It was round and white with two layers, one set on top of the other and edged in yellow icing. The centre of the cake bore the words, Our Future. Harry thought it was fitting that their fourth "future" anniversary coincided with the day they would set out to become parents again.

Harry smiled up at the baker. "It's perfect. How much do I owe you?"

He left the shop a few minutes later, cradling the cake box in his arms as he wound his way to the closest Apparation point.

A scream rent the air, and Harry felt like time slowed down in an instant while his focus narrowed, like a video camera zooming in close up. "My baby! Somebody save my baby!"

He saw smoke rising up from behind the roofs of the shops; the cake box fell out of his hands, hit the cobblestones and smashed in a great smear of icing, but Harry already had his wand in his hand and had dashed down the road, taking the corner to the next street over.

A crowd of people had gathered in front of a burning cottage. The flames were enormous and licked up the walls, catching the thatched roof.

The screaming came from a woman lying prostrate in the street, clinging to the legs of a man who was bent over, holding her in place.

Harry took only a moment to assess the situation before he'd cast a Bubble-Head Charm over himself and blasted the front door off its hinges. Smoke billowed out, burning hot as he forced his way inside, the sounds of the people on the street muffled by the charm.

Harry's eyes began to ache despite the fresh air the charm provided, though he wasn't stupid enough to rely on it holding out much longer.

He ran up the staircase, which was thankfully not yet aflame, though the fire was spreading rapidly. He ducked through the narrow hallway, searching for the missing child, while all around him flames began licking at the wallpaper. The house gave a great shudder and the floor in front of him fell, leaving a wide chasm between him and the end of the hall. The little girl stood on the other side, her eyes wide and face streaked with ash. Her hair was blonde, though the layer of ash sitting on top of it made it look as if it were grey.

Harry cast a Bubble-Head Charm at the girl and Summoned her to him, folding her close against his chest, resting on his hip to protect her from the growing flames with his travelling cloak.

Harry turned around and stopped short at the sound of a low grinding coming from above. The rafters were giving out, and a glance at the stairs showed him his exit was blocked.

Harry turned back, legs bent, ready to leap the gap in the floor to reach the window. He aimed his wand at the window, and sent a blasting hex at it, jumping at the same time.

The window and front wall burst apart outwards. Harry landed, barely catching his foot on the remains of the floorboards, and used his momentum to throw the girl away from himself, out into the night. A roar filled his ears and everything went dark.
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Where Your Treasure Lies