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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
- 19
- 20
- 21
A/N: The final chapter is here! I can't believe this is the end *sniffs* I've had such a good time writing this fic, and it's all thanks to you, my amazing reviewers. In all seriousness, you made it both worthwhile and fun. I don't know what I'll do without you!
Actually, I do. I've decided a sequel is most definitely in order, and my brain is currently churning as I work out what I want to do exactly. At this point I'm thinking something set a few years down the line, when our beloved characters are considering new steps in their lives, like marriage and children. And I want to explore more povs beyond just Harry. Anyway, it will probably take me a couple of months to get it all worked out. Thoughts and suggestions are always welcome.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this last full chapter. There's some angst to resolve, then it's all flufftastic fluffiness, as it should be.
A short epilogue will follow in the next few days. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 20: Be With You
Harry took a sip of his firewhiskey and looked around the room, enjoying, for the time being, a chance to be little more than a fly on the wall. Being who he was, these moments were rare.
It was the evening before the graduation ceremony, and Hogwarts was throwing a party for the graduates and their close family. Harry, of course, had no interest in inviting his relatives to the event (not that they would have come), so he had appropriated the Weasleys as his family instead. For now, though, Molly, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, Percy, and George were all preoccupied, and Harry found himself on his own. And he was perfectly happy for it.
He’d been in an odd mood since the previous day, when he and Draco had decided that they would be living apart after all. It had been disappointing in the moment and saddening the more he sat with it, but he had no idea what to do with these feelings. He wasn’t even sure what he was feeling exactly.
In many ways, nothing had changed. Certainly how he and Draco felt about one another had not changed. And Draco was behaving normally, as though their living situation two days from now made no difference to him. He was as affectionate and emotive as ever, as enthusiastic in bed and as certain of their success as a couple.
Harry tried to match him, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was simply playing along. Because the choice didn’t sit right with him, and he was struggling to understand why Draco didn’t feel the same way.
I’m not going to lose you over this, Draco had said. He was determined for it to be true. It was like he was insisting that it didn’t change things, like by sheer force of will he could make their relationship be and feel the same as it would have been if they were able to live together, like a proper couple.
But it did change things, a voice in Harry’s head kept insisting. How can he not see that?
Who’s the overthinker now? another internal voice chimed in, this one sounding indignant and frustrated that Harry was obsessing over this. Don’t ruin this. If you keep thinking in circles like this you’re going to ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to you.
He couldn’t lose Draco either. He wouldn’t.
“Harry?” The soft, dreamy voice of Luna Lovegood cut through the fog, and his attention was brought jarringly back to the present.
“Hey, Luna,” he said with a small smile. “Enjoying the party?”
“A bit, yes,” Luna said, in that honest way of hers. “But I’m not sure how much longer I’ll enjoy it, so I may go to bed soon.”
Harry nodded. He felt much the same way.
“You don’t seem to be enjoying yourself much.”
Harry chuckled. “It’s not that, I just… I was just thinking.”
“Yes, I noticed. I thought about not interrupting you when you were so deep in contemplation, but then the thoughts looked quite painful, so I thought perhaps you wanted to be interrupted.”
Harry chuckled again. “Thanks, Luna. Yeah, I should probably quit thinking and try to enjoy myself.”
Luna tilted her head. “I wouldn’t say you ‘should’ do anything, really. But you could.”
Harry wasn’t sure what to say, or what Luna meant, exactly, so he scrambled for another topic. “Did you decide about what you’re getting up to next year?” He knew she had been considering a number of different options, from Ministry work to helping her father at The Quibbler, but he hadn’t heard if she’d landed on anything.
She smiled. “Yes, I have. I’m going to travel.”
Harry raised his eyebrows, surprised. “Really? Travel where?”
“I’m starting in Mongolia,” she said. “I don’t know how long I’ll be there. As long as it feels right, I suppose. But I plan to explore other parts of the Asian continent. I’m very intrigued by shamanism, you see, but I’ve only read about it. I’d like to see some of it firsthand, and witness how their magic is compared to ours.”
“That’s great, Luna,” Harry said, meaning it. “What brought this on? Last I heard you were trying to decide if you were going to take that Ministry job.”
Luna considered the question. “Yes, I fluctuated for a long time about that. I had a number of options, and I couldn’t decide. I thought I was simply being indecisive, but then my father pointed out to me that if I was having such a hard time making a choice, perhaps that meant that I didn’t want any of those options. That thought scared me at first, but I knew I had to consider the possibility. So I took a step back from it and stopped thinking about it for a while. And then, one day, I had the urge to look through one of my mother’s old journals, which I keep with me here at school, and it was all about her travels in Africa with my father when they were first married, before I was born. And I felt this… rush. I don’t know how else to describe it. I just knew I had some wandering to do and I simply wasn’t ready to stay in one place yet. And when I realized that, I felt quite settled. Then it was only a matter of deciding where I wanted to go, which was the fun part.”
Harry nodded as he took that in, bringing his firewhiskey to his lips again. He was surprised by how much Luna’s experience was similar to his own in many respects. He had gone back and forth about becoming an Auror, then gone back and forth about wanting to teach, and it had all been a lot of vacillation and ambivalence until the job offer from Naomi had come out of the blue when he wasn’t even looking for it. “It’s amazing how the answer is right in front of you, sometimes,” he said, “and you don’t even realize it.”
“Yes,” she replied with her usual soft smile. “But we find our way there in the end, don’t we? We end up where we’re supposed to be.”
Harry nodded in agreement, and his eyes caught on Draco and Narcissa, who were conversing with Blaise and his mother at the other end of the room. Was that where he was supposed to be, or was he still outside of it, always looking in?
Luna moved on when she spotted Neville and Hannah and went to join them, bidding a friendly goodbye to Harry and leaving him with his thoughts once again. His brain kept telling him that he could cross the room to join his boyfriend and his companions, that he would be welcome there, but his feet didn’t seem to want to move. So he sipped his whiskey and watched them from afar. That was, until Ron and Hermione bounded up to him, identical expressions of excitement painting their features.
“Harry, guess what we just heard,” Hermione said.
“What?”
“Fleur’s pregnant!”
Harry took a moment to let that sink in, then looked back and forth between each of his friends in astonishment. “Really?”
“Really,” Ron said, grinning. “The first Weasley grandchild. Thank Merlin, I say. It’ll get Mum off our backs for a bit, don’t you think, ‘Mione?”
Hermione elbowed him playfully. “I’m just excited that Teddy will have someone to play with at Christmas.”
Harry snorted. “Undoubtedly within the next five years there will be plenty of Weasley grandchildren for him to play with.” The way things were going, what with Percy and Audrey, George and Angelina, and Ron and Hermione all appearing well-settled, he was sure he would be receiving plenty of wedding invitations and birth announcements in the upcoming years.
“Yes, but this is the first!” Hermione said, eyes bright.
Harry smiled, but couldn’t quite match the enthusiasm of his two friends, with the mood he was in. He was quite happy for Bill and Fleur, and for the whole Weasley clan getting to add a new member to their family. But somehow it still reminded him of his own troubles.
This was a time of new beginnings. All of the 7^th and 8^th years were going off to begin the next phase of their lives. Ron had been accepted into the Auror Academy and would begin training in late August. Hermione had taken a paid position at the firm where she’d been interning, which would pay her way through earning her degree in magical law. Ginny was going to play Chaser for the Hollyhead Harpies while Dean had taken a position as assistant to the head of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry. Neville was going to complete his mastery in Herbology, and he wasn’t the only one continuing his studies past Hogwarts. Susan was pursuing a mastery in Transfiguration while Parvati would continue coursework in Divination and Hannah was finishing her Charms mastery. They all had different interests, different passions, yet they also had people who they cared about, people to share it with.
Not that Harry didn’t have those things. He was excited to begin his work at the Foundation, and he had Draco, not to mention all of his friends. But there was something missing, and it didn’t take a genius to determine where that feeling was coming from.
Realizing he was simply making himself miserable over it, he forced himself to focus back on Hermione and Ron, who were now discussing their plans to go flat-hunting starting immediately, so they could move into their own place by July. It was yet another topic that reminded him that he wouldn’t be living with Draco, so he excused himself from them, citing a desire to congratulate Bill and Fleur on their exciting news.
He did, in fact, do just that, finding Bill glowing with pride and Fleur simply glowing, even more so than usual. They were joined not long after by an exuberant Molly and a content-looking Arthur, who embraced him and exclaimed words of praise and pride. Harry made himself enjoy it but found, as conversation returned to talk of the baby, that he was looking around again for Draco.
He spotted the blond at a nearby table, seated with his back to Harry. He was talking intently with Narcissa, both of their graceful bodies leaned in towards each other. He could not see Draco’s face, but Narcissa’s expression was serious, her eyes intent on her son as he spoke. It wouldn’t do to interrupt them, not now.
Harry swallowed, and he realized he was trying to choke down a small modicum of resentment that had bubbled up unexpectedly. Resentment towards Narcissa. He hadn’t felt any such thing toward her before, and it bothered him that he felt some now, no matter how small the amount. Because when feelings like that festered, they grew.
Don’t ruin this.
Harry decided it was time for bed. It was a bit early, but he was tired, and he didn’t want to be here anymore. So, after he’d made the round of the Weasleys and thanked them for coming, he made his way to his dormitories.
It was the second to last night he would ever spend there. He wondered if he would miss it.
No, you’ll just miss Draco.
Harry sighed at his own self-made despair. He was being annoyingly gloomy, but he couldn’t seem to help it. As he climbed into bed he wondered if Draco would be offended that he hadn’t informed him of his departure from the party, and if Draco would come to Harry’s room or go to his own.
But Draco showed up before Harry had even begun to drift off to sleep. Lying with his back to the door, Harry listened as his boyfriend got undressed and then popped into the little half-bath that every 8^th year room sported to brush his teeth and wash his face.
The bed shifted as Draco slid in behind him, and a cool arm wrapped around his stomach. Harry felt himself relax, finally, with the weight of Draco’s solid form behind him. Draco kissed the back of his neck and then nuzzled in, getting comfortable. Harry considered saying something, indicating that he was awake, but he didn’t know what he would say. So he kept his eyes closed and his breathing even, all the while listening as Draco drifted off.
***
Harry awoke suddenly, already alert, like he used to during the war. This still happened sometimes, even a year later, if he was feeling particularly stressed.
He’d found his way to sleep, finally, the night before, wrapped in Draco’s arms. He’d managed to calm his racing mind, Draco’s presence like a talisman that warded off his more troubling thoughts.
Now, though, he was anxious again, and it made him restless.
Looking at the clock, he saw that it was only a little past seven. The ceremony wasn’t until ten o’clock, and the graduates only had to gather a half hour before. He could certainly go back to sleep if he wanted. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
He slid carefully away from Draco, who was still spooning him, and out of bed, managing not to disturb the blond’s slumber. He threw on some pajamas and grabbed a towel and his toiletry kit. A nice, hot, refreshing shower. That’s what he needed.
The boy’s bathroom was empty, and Harry took a moment to appreciate that as he made his way to the farthest shower stall. It was his favorite, not only because it was farthest from the door but also because it was where it had all began, that night he caught Draco in the throes of self-pleasure. Whenever he stepped into it he remembered that night, what he had seen, what he had felt.
He’d had thoughts, little fantasies throughout the term, of christening this shower stall with Draco. He thought it would have had a nice kind of symmetry to it, if they did, though Draco would never know why. He’d never confessed that particular detail of their beginning, and he didn’t think he ever would.
And now, he thought, as he turned on the taps, they wouldn’t ever have sex in this stall, either. It was their last morning at Hogwarts, and he was alone.
Oh, shut up, you gloomy bastard, he told himself. He lathered up and made himself think about the day, and all the good things that were going to happen. He was going to graduate, never to have to return to schoolwork again. There would be a reception, with lots of heartfelt congratulations, and then a party in the 8^th year common room with all the graduates and some friends as well. After one last night of debauchery they would leave Hogwarts the next day and begin the rest of their lives.
The rest of our lives. He was sure he would be with Draco. He felt it, and Draco felt it, too. He could imagine, five years down the line or so, getting married in a small ceremony (although, now that he thought about it, there was no way Narcissa would allow there to be anything small about such an event). Then, a few years later, he could picture discussing the idea of having children, whether through adoption, or surrogacy, or whatever Draco wanted, really. And then they would be a family, a proper one, and they would split their Christmas holidays between the Burrow and Malfoy Manor, and they would work, and travel on holidays, perhaps, and their children would grow up and go to Hogwarts, and though they would be sad to see them off, they would always have each other. It was a nice picture. He could see it all so clearly.
And it could happen like that. There were no guarantees, nothing was ever set, but it could be like that. They could build it all just like that, together, if they wanted.
But it can’t start now. That, really, was what kept nagging at Harry through it all. It felt like, even though he would see Draco every weekend, and maybe even sometimes during the week, that they were putting the progress of their relationship on hold, somehow. For two years, potentially two whole years, they would be in a situation where they would be living together less than they were living together now.
And that’s a move backwards, isn’t it? He remembered, still, all those months ago, when Draco had said they should start staying together every night while at Hogwarts, because anything else would be moving backward. So how was this not the same thing? How could Draco not see that?
He does see it, he thought. But he’s not letting that get in the way, because this relationship is too important and there is nothing to be done.
Nothing to be done?
That wasn’t really true, was it? They were making choices, both of them. They could make different ones, if they were so inclined. Draco could choose to not take responsibility for his mother’s happiness and move into Grimmauld instead. And Harry…
Harry could accept that taking care of his mother was important to Draco right now and… move into the manor. He could do it.
No, it was not ideal. Far from it. Even though they would have their own wing of the house, they would never have the true privacy of a home all their own. And Harry would have to be all right with getting to know Narcissa on a much more thorough level than he was expecting, so early on. But he could do it.
But Grimmauld is important to you, his thoughts insisted. Wasn’t that the point, to start making some choices for yourself, and not for someone else?
But if the choice he was making for himself was making him miserable, what was the point? Did he really want to do this to himself, just on the principle that he should get to live where he wanted?
Not when the where isn’t really as important as the who.
Draco was his home, not Grimmauld. Draco was what came next for him. Draco was the rest of his life. Grimmauld was just a place, just a bunch of rooms and some furniture. It was memories, too, but he didn’t have to lose those. He didn’t have to sell Grimmauld or abandon it completely. And maybe, in a couple of years, they could move back to Harry’s house, and they could start their family there. There were compromises that could be made. There were things that could be worked out.
He turned off the taps, being thoroughly clean now, feeling lighter and more determined than he had since his NEWTs. This was right; he felt it. He’d been denying his own intuition about it from the beginning, too focused on trying to be better about making his own choices.
But this was his own choice. This was a choice for himself.
He dried himself with a towel, and performed a quick drying charm on his hair as well, before throwing his pajamas back on with haste. He had to talk to Draco.
Harry returned to his room with his head still swirling with thoughts but his intentions quite certain, only to find that Draco was still asleep, curled around a pillow that Harry could only assume was a temporary replacement for himself.
He hated to wake Draco. It was early, and the blond took so little time to get ready that he really didn’t have to be up for another hour or so. But Harry couldn’t wait. He couldn’t bear another minute with the agreement in place that they would live separately. It had to be now.
He sat down on the bed and said, softly, “Draco.” Draco stirred but did not wake. “Draco,” he said, just a bit louder, as one hand reached out to run smoothly over the pale shoulder that was exposed to the morning air.
Draco groaned, flexed a little, and said, into his pillow, “What?”
Any other morning Harry would have chuckled at his boyfriend’s chronic reluctance to face waking up, but he wasn’t in a laughing mood. “I need to talk to you about something.”
Draco didn’t say anything or move for a moment. Finally, though, he turned over onto his back, blinked a few times, and looked at Harry, registering the serious expression on the Gryffindor’s face. He stilled. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry to wake you up for this but I’ve been thinking…” He took a deep breath. “I can’t stand the thought of us not living together next year. I haven’t felt right about it since we had the conversation, but I so stubbornly envisioned myself at Grimmauld that I never took the time to think about another option.”
“Harry…”
“We’ve been practically living together while here at Hogwarts and you said it was because you wanted us to keep moving forward with our relationship, and anything else would be moving backward,” Harry pressed. “Well, don’t you think living separately would be a move backwards? A big one, at that?”
“Yes, I do…”
“So, then, we can’t let it happen. I want to start building my life with you now, not in two years, or however long it takes for you to leave Malfoy Manor. And if that means I have to move into the manor with you, then so be it.” He saw Draco make a move to protest but Harry didn’t give him the chance. “I know you want me to make some choices for myself and I know you don’t want to pressure me into anything, but this is important to me. And we can make it work. We can set some ground rules with your mother about having our own space and getting time together-“
“Harry-”
“And we can always spend the occasional weekend at Grimmauld, if we want to get away. I can live with that. I can-“
“Harry, for the love of all things magical will you please let me talk?” Draco interrupted forcefully, causing Harry’s words to falter. “I realize you’re on a roll here and all but there are some things you need to know.”
That brought Harry up short. “What sort of things?”
Draco sighed. “Some things I learned last night that I was going to tell you after the graduation ceremony. But apparently, you need to hear them now, so…” He sat up a little straighter in bed. “My mother is filing for divorce from my father.”
Of all the things Harry had expected to hear, that certainly wasn’t it. He stared at Draco, unsure of what to say.
“She just told me last night, at the party,” Draco went on. “She’s completed the paperwork and will be filing on Monday. It should be a quick process, because with my father being a convicted criminal there is little he can do to contest it. Her solicitor is optimistic that it will all go through smoothly.”
“Oh,” said Harry. “Is she… how is she?”
Draco nodded, as though he approved of the question. “She’s quite settled with the decision. She’s been thinking about it for a long time, but she never shared any of it with me because she was worried that I would be upset.”
Harry narrowed his eyes, confused. “Why would you be upset? I imagine you would support her in a decision like that.”
“I would, of course,” said Draco. His mouth formed a wry smirk. “But my mother wasn’t sure, because she didn’t know how I felt about my father. We never talked about it. She thought perhaps I was still loyal to him, that I still thought of him as a part of our family, even if he wasn’t there with us. And I never mentioned to her my deep-seated anger with my father, because I thought she was still loyal to him, and I didn’t want to upset her. We’ve been dancing around the issue all year, neither of us realizing that we felt the same about him all along.” He chuckled sardonically. “It would be funny if it wasn’t so… well…” He rubbed his forehead. “Anyway, the point is, she had been carrying around all this guilt since her decision, and she was afraid to talk to me about it. I think much of the emotional heaviness I was picking up from her in her letters was actually the weight of that guilt.”
Harry nodded, taking that in. “So, what will she do now?”
Draco shrugged. “Nothing has changed, really, for the time being. She’s going to stay in the manor and continue to manage our investments, since she’s quite good at it. The only difference is now she can think about a new life, outside of her previous marriage. She could meet someone new, create a new future for herself.”
Harry smiled. “That’s wonderful.”
Draco smiled back, a real one, this time. “Yes, it is. Although even that had her feeling guilty, worried that I would be offended at the prospect of one day having a stepfather.” He shook his head, affection shining in his eyes. “I set her straight on that one. I told her she deserves a second life. She’s still young, by magical standards. She has so much more life to live. Her happiness is the only thing that matters to me. Well…” He met Harry’s eyes. “Not the only thing.”
Harry basked in the warmth of that look for a moment, before he asked the question he knew he had to ask. “So, what does that mean…?”
“For us?” Draco finished, and Harry nodded. “That’s the other thing I had to tell you. Because my mother, now that she will be a quite eligible single woman, doesn’t want me in the way, cramping her style, as it were.” He said it with a grin, giving Harry permission to laugh. “No, that’s not really it,” Draco said, a little more seriously. “She wouldn’t care. But she did nearly take my head off when I told her I was planning on staying at the manor with her. Because she knew why I was doing it, and what I was giving up. She would never want me to do that for her. She understands…” He paused there, licking his lips. “She knows that while we’ll always be each other’s family, you… you’re my family, too. You’re my future.”
“So,” Harry began, hoping against hope. “That means…”
“I want to move into Grimmauld with you. That is, if you’ll still have me.”
Harry launched himself at Draco, slamming their hungry mouths together. He felt Draco smiling against his lips, matching his enthusiasm by gripping his hands into Harry’s hair. Harry got his fill of Draco’s lips for the time being and pulled away, giving him a mock glare.
“I can’t believe you were going to wait to tell me until tonight. You were going to make me sweat.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “That wasn’t my intention. I thought it might be a nice surprise for you. Like a graduation gift of sorts. I didn’t realize it was bothering you so much.”
“I was miserable about it,” Harry admitted.
“Why didn’t you say something before?”
“I did, just now.”
“You know what I mean. Why didn’t you say something yesterday, or the day before that?”
“Because I didn’t realize… I thought we were at an impasse, like you said. I thought we were in a situation we couldn’t do anything about. It wasn’t until this morning that I realized that if I was really this miserable I should just make a choice that would make me less miserable.”
Draco smiled at him. “It means a lot that you would have been willing to move into the manor with me.”
Harry returned the smile with a smirk. “Yes, well, you certainly let me go on about it-“
Draco balked. “Let you! I was trying to shut you up so I could tell you my news, and you just kept talking over me.”
“Hmph,” said Harry, knowing Draco was right. “I don’t even know why we’re arguing about this.”
“I don’t know either. You started it.”
Harry laughed and put his lips to Draco’s again. “Fine. Then let me finish it,” he said against Draco’s mouth, his hands roaming down Draco’s bare chest.
The blond groaned and pulled at Harry’s shirt, and Harry broke the kiss so it could be removed. He then threw back the sheets, exposing Draco’s bare legs to the air, and reached for the elastic of Draco’s pants. Draco arched upwards so that Harry could remove them swiftly, then Harry dove down to immediately put Draco’s cock in his mouth.
He wasn’t going to take his time this morning. He was going to take what he wanted.
Draco cried out in surprise at how quickly Harry’s mouth had enveloped him, but he seemed happy to go with it, fisting a hand hard into Harry’s hair and bucking a little to have Harry take him deeper.
Releasing Draco just long enough to reach over to the bedside table for the lube, Harry quickly returned, engulfing him again with fervor as he lubed up two fingers and plunged them into Draco, making the blond cry out yet again.
“Fuck!” he yelled, as Harry fingered him vigorously. As Harry began scissoring his fingers, Draco said, completely out of breath, “You’re not wasting any time, are you?”
Harry released Draco again, licking his lips as he looked into the blond’s dilated pupils. He climbed off the bed and removed his pajama bottoms and underwear, then climbed back on, his cock already in his lubed up fist. “Look how ready I am for you,” he said as he stroked himself, making Draco pant. “Are you ready for me?”
In response, Draco slid further down onto the bed and spread his legs wider, waiting. Harry allowed himself a small, gratified smile as he bent over Draco, positioning himself. His eyes never left Draco’s face as he plunged inside with one swift movement.
Draco threw his head back and screamed, his eyes shut tight and his mouth gaping. Harry relished the sight as he pulled out and thrust in again, making Draco arch against him deliciously.
“Oh, fuck, Harry!” Draco sobbed as Harry began moving faster, unable to help it. There was too much emotion churning within him, too much joy and wonder and relief, for him to take it slow. He wanted to consume Draco, to claim him.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Draco went on, in time to Harry’s vigorous thrusts that were hammering his prostate.
Harry wanted to respond, to take Draco higher with his words in the way Draco liked so much, but he had nothing. He was too overwhelmed with sensation and emotion both. So he kissed Draco hungrily instead, and sucked on his nipples, and nipped at his skin, never letting his rhythm falter.
Draco rocked against him, so absorbed that it took him a moment to realize that Harry was staring down at him intently, waiting to catch his eyes. When their gazes finally locked, they didn’t stray, and Harry made himself find his voice.
“We’ll always be together, Draco,” he said. “Won’t we?”
He reached down for Draco’s weeping cock, stroking it as Draco managed to pant, “Yes. Always.”
Harry came, then, and it was a shock to both of them. Harry rode it out, enjoying Draco’s groans as he felt himself be filled and then came as well, splashing onto Harry’s hand and stomach. Harry collapsed and clung to Draco tightly, breathing heavily into his neck.
They drifted in quiet bliss for some time, though Harry didn’t know quite how long. As he came back to himself he remembered that is was the morning of graduation and they both still had to get ready. He lifted his head to look at the clock. They still had an hour until they had to be downstairs. He smiled, then peeled himself off Draco, grimacing good-naturedly at the drying layer of cum that had glued them together.
“If I’d known I was going to do that, I would have waited to shower,” he said with a laugh.
Draco laughed too, then reached for his wand to scrub them off. It took some doing. He looked at Harry and smirked. “Look at that hair. You look freshly fucked.”
“I am,” Harry replied with a satisfied smile.
“Yes, but you shouldn’t look it. Not for graduation.”
“It always looks like this,” Harry insisted for about the thousandth time. He ran a hand over it in a half-hearted attempt to flatten it. It was shorter again. He’d finally given into his own wishes and cut it, since it was really starting to get out of hand and Harry didn’t like it long in the warmer weather. Draco had pouted, but only in jest, really.
With a look of mild concentration, Draco waved his wand over Harry’s head. Harry could feel the tingling breeze of a grooming charm work it’s way over his scalp, and he remained still, watching Draco with satisfaction as the blond’s expression turned bemused.
“I don’t understand it,” Draco said. “It defies the laws of magic, your hair.”
“I know,” Harry said with a grin.
“Well, it’s better than it was, at least.”
“Thank you.”
“I suppose I should shower as well,” Draco said with a sigh, though he made no move to get up.
“I suppose you should,” said Harry.
Draco sighed again, then looked at Harry. “You won’t go down to the Great Hall without me?”
Harry scoffed. “Of course not. I’ll wait right here for you, then watch you get dressed. I like doing that.”
Draco leaned over to kiss him. “Good to hear,” he said. “Because you are going to be doing that for a very long time.”
Harry smiled. That he was.
***
Harry’s legs bounced restlessly as he sat in his seat, waiting for the ceremony to start. Annoyingly, McGonagall had made the graduates sit in order by last name, which meant Draco was a row in front of him and down on the other end, not far from Neville and Luna, while Hermione was closer to the front seated next to Anthony Goldstein and Ron and Ginny were a couple of rows behind him, sitting side by side. Harry himself was situated between Parvati Patil and a 7^th year Hufflepuff, Zeke Prewett, who he was pretty sure was a third cousin of Ron and Ginny’s, though he had very little interest in asking.
Having to sit away from his friends didn’t dampen his mood, though. He was outright giddy, even dressed head to toe in the full Hogwarts uniform, including the hat, in the hot June weather.
Draco was moving into Grimmauld with him the very next day. He couldn’t be happier.
I should have one of the studies on the second floor converted into a potions lab for him, Harry thought suddenly. It would be a perfect graduation gift. How annoying he hadn’t thought of it before.
Parvati threw him an annoyed look for his still-bouncing legs, and he smiled apologetically at her.
“Excited, are we?” she asked him.
“Very much so,” he said. “Aren’t you?”
She smiled reluctantly. “I guess so.”
“I heard you’re going to be apprenticing under a world-renowned Seer in France next year.”
“Yes, I am. And I’m looking forward to it. But Padma is going to America on a Ministry exchange program, and I don’t like being that far away from her. It was hard enough being in different houses for so many years. Now we’ll be an ocean apart.”
Having heard her name, Padma Patil broke away from her conversation with Pansy for a moment to give her sister a reassuring look and a tight squeeze of her hand.
“She says we’ll owl all the time,” Parvati went on, turning back to Harry. “But it’s not the same.”
Harry nodded. “That would be hard. But you can always go visit her. There’s a whole lot to see, so I hear.”
Parvati nodded. “That’s true. Your American friend was telling Padma all about it the other week, when we all went for drinks. Padma will be in Washington, DC of course, the nation’s capital, and Vesper was saying that the Muggle parts of the city are just as interesting as the wizarding parts, if not more so.”
“Well, Vesper would know,” he replied. He smiled to himself, amused at the fact that Vesper had seemed to manage to get to know just about every 8^th year in one night, not just the men.
A hush fell over the crowd suddenly as McGonagall walked onto the stage that had been erected in front of Hogwarts castle. A few hundred faces looked up at her as she took to the podium.
“Welcome, everyone,” she said, her voice magically magnified, “to our first graduation ceremony since the end of the second wizarding war. This is an historic day indeed. As I look over the faces of all these bright young people, I am reminded that there is so much more ahead for us as a nation, so much to look forward to, and also so much more work to do. It gives me hope to know that we have a whole new generation of minds joining us in our efforts towards continued progress.”
Harry zoned out for a bit as he looked around at the audience on either side. He’d spotted Hagrid early on, unsurprising given the naturally conspicuous presence of the half-giant. But as he looked more closely he spotted the bright red hair of the Weasley clan, sitting close to the front, Andromeda among them, a sleepy-looking Teddy resting in her lap. Kingsley sat next to Arthur, straight-backed and dignified. Harry spotted Narcissa Malfoy towards the back. She was listening with quiet attention while her hands were folded elegantly in her lap. Only a few rows in front of her was Vesper and Kemp, and when the brunette spotted him she waved, grinning. Harry grinned back, then made himself focus on the headmistress again.
She was relaying how proud was of the graduates’ accomplishments, and then transitioned into introducing the Head Girl and Boy, who approached the podium to make their speeches.
Harry didn’t know either of them well. One was a Ravenclaw and the other a Slytherin, both 7^th years, since McGonagall had made the decision to not include any 8^th years in the selection process, seeing as they were a special circumstance for this one year only. Hermione had been disappointed about that, at first, but she’d let it go eventually. Since the war she was less concerned about such titles.
Harry couldn’t help feeling, however, that Hermione would have done a much better job as Head Girl than the one who was speaking now, at least. She wasn’t bad, this Ravenclaw, but her speech was a bit generic, talking about the promises of tomorrow and the importance of hard work and learning from your mistakes. Undoubtedly, Harry thought, Hermione would have had something far more interesting to say.
The Head Boy wasn’t much better, and Harry entertained himself by imagining Draco in the role instead. He would have given Hermione a run for her money, as he already did in everything else.
Finally the speeches were done, and the graduates were instructed to line up in order. Harry filed out of his seat and took his place behind Parvati, staring at the neat pattern of the plait that stuck out from underneath her pointed witch’s hat as he waited to move.
McGonagall began reading the names, and cheers and applause could be heard immediately from the crowd. Harry cheered right along as Hannah accepted her diploma, and kept on clapping as he watched each graduate step up and shake McGonagall’s hand. Hermione, of course, received a loud cheer as well, and when “Draco Lucius Malfoy” was called, Harry gave an ear-splitting whistle between his fingers. Draco turned at that, giving Harry a grin.
Suddenly Theo was accepting his diploma, then Pansy, then the Patil twins, until…
“Harry James Potter.”
The noise was thunderous, and Harry couldn’t help his wide smile as he took McGonagall’s outstretched hand and accepted the black leather casing that contained his degree. He felt the smooth, slender weight of it in his hand, and couldn’t suppress a surge of triumph as he made his way to the other end of the stage and down into the area where the graduates were instructed to congregate. Feeling free to join his friends, now, he squeezed into a spot between Draco and Hermione, and felt a strong arm wrap around his waist.
He tucked his diploma under his arm so he could clap for Dean, Ginny and Ron as each of their names were called. They all joined the group with face-splitting grins. Then, finally, Blaise, the last of the bunch, as usual, received his diploma, and McGonagall was silent again, looking out over the crowd. She then threw a proud look at the graduates and said, her magnified voice popping with satisfaction, “Ladies and Gentleman, may I present to you the Hogwarts graduating glass of 1999.”
The standing ovation rippled through the crowd like a wave, and all of the graduates removed their hats and tossed them high into the air. Harry, for his part, was quite glad to be free of it.
And now, he thought, for the fun part.
***
The reception in the Great Hall following the ceremony was bustling and noisy with graduates, teachers, family, and friends, all laughing and hugging each other fiercely while spirited congratulations were exchanged. Harry made a point of making the rounds, knowing there were a number of people that wanted to talk with him. There were plenty he was quite happy to see, like George, Angelina, Hagrid, and Vesper.
“Make sure you stay for the party tonight,” he told his American friend as they sipped pumpkin juice off to the side and out of the crowd. “That’s where the real fun will be.”
Vesper’s cheeks turned pink. “I know. Anthony’s already invited me.”
“You don’t say,” Harry said with a grin. “That’s going well?”
Vesper shrugged. “So far. We’ve only been out a couple of times. He’s been so busy with NEWTs.”
“As we all have,” replied Harry.
“I’ve spent a bit more time with Jaime, actually.”
“And?”
“I like him. He’s really charming, as you already know, and he’s very easy to talk to. But… I don’t know. There’s not a whole lot of… depth so far. It’s like we can’t get past the surface of things, you know?”
“Sure,” Harry nodded. He’d felt a bit like that with Cho.
“So, I’m giving Anthony some of my time and seeing what happens.”
“Blaise will be at the party too, you know,” Harry said, feigning nonchalance. Vesper gave him a look. “Just saying.”
“Are you channeling your boyfriend right now, or something?”
Harry shrugged. “I had a chance to talk to Blaise myself about you the other day. I was actually won over, to my own surprise.”
“Hm,” Vesper replied noncommittally.
“Do you want to know what he said about you?” Harry asked her with a sly grin. He was aware that he was meddling, just like Draco, but he was enjoying Vesper’s embarrassment too much to stop. She refused to look at him, fighting a smile. “Well, do you?”
“I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway.”
“He said you were exquisite.”
Vesper blinked at him. “He did not.”
“’Pure sunshine,’ he said. His exact words.”
“You’re lying. Nobody talks like that.”
“Blaise does.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Harry shrugged and took a sip of his pumpkin juice. “Maybe you’ll find out the truth tonight.”
Vesper shook her head at him in disbelief. “We’ll just see about that, won’t we?”
“Yes, we will.”
When he’d seen to everyone he was supposed to, Harry joined Draco and Narcissa, where he got into an unexpected but in-depth discussion about Draco’s move into Grimmauld, and if there was anything they needed by way of furniture or other things.
“What about a house elf?” she asked Harry. “I understand yours is quite old. He might not be up to the task of keeping up such a large home on his own.”
“Kreacher does what he can,” Harry said with a smile. “He likes to cook, which is good, though I also do some of that myself.”
“But cleaning…” She eyed him. “Surely, with you both working, you won’t want to try and maintain it all on your own. You’re welcome to one of my elves. The manor has plenty.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Harry said, wanting to keep Narcissa happy. “Draco and I will discuss it and make a decision.”
She seemed placated by that, at least temporarily, and conversation moved on to the prospect of her coming to Grimmauld to look at the heirlooms. Harry encouraged the idea, telling her she should come at her earliest convenience. He wanted her to have the heirlooms she wanted, but also he wanted her to see the redone house for herself, to see that Harry was providing Draco with a home that was comparable to the manor. It was an odd feeling, this need for approval. He wasn’t sure if it was Narcissa that brought it out in him, or if it was simply because he loved Draco and wanted to make sure he had his mother’s blessing. Either way, Harry was willing to go with it. As long as Draco was in his life, Narcissa would be also, and he was intending for that to last for a very long time.
Finally the reception wound down as the older friends and family began to make their way home. The younger ones, those only a few years out of Hogwarts, were encouraged to join the graduates for the after party, which Harry noticed some of the 8^th years had already snuck off to go set up for.
Harry and Draco bid goodbye to Narcissa and the Weasleys and followed their friends back up to the dorms, hand in hand.
“My mother likes you. A lot,” Draco said in Harry’s ear as they made their way up a staircase.
Harry couldn’t help a small smile. “Good,” he said. “I want to get on her good side early. She’ll be my family too, one day, after all.”
That earned him a thorough snog right there on the stairs, which started to move, separating them from the rest of the group. But they didn’t care.
By the time they’d finally taken their hands off each other and found an alternate route to the dorms, the party was in full swing. There was food (undoubtedly swiped from the kitchens) and plenty of alcohol that someone had managed to smuggle in. Most impressive, though, was the fact that someone had brought in a stereo and put a protection charm around it, keeping it from being affected by all the magic in the atmosphere of the school. It was currently blasting some hip hop song Harry didn’t know, though Draco was clearly familiar, given the fact that he immediately started singing along.
Harry and Draco grabbed whiskeys and then began to socialize. Draco finished his quickly, though, and was clearly in the mood to dance. He found a willing partner in Vesper, who seemed as big a fan of the music as Draco, given she knew all the words to just about every song.
Harry entertained himself for a bit watching them. Vesper moved as well as Draco did, and Harry suddenly remembered what Kemp had told him weeks ago, about how Vesper was a dancer before she became a duelist. He had always imagined she was into something more like ballet, but she obviously had some experience with hip hop as well. The song moved into one Harry recognized, something by Notorious B.I.G., and he smiled as Vesper and Draco started trying to outdo each other, rapping and singing along to the song all the while.
Ron came up next to him, smirking into his whiskey. “This is hilarious,” he said, indicating Draco and Vesper.
“Mm,” Harry agreed. The two dancers had moved closer together, Vesper’s back to Draco’s front, and they were drawing some attention from the crowd.
“That doesn’t bother you?” Ron asked, watching Vesper grind up on Draco and Draco put a hand on her waist to pull her closer.
Harry scoffed. No, it didn’t bother him. Draco had no interest in women and Vesper knew that. Now, if Vesper had been a man, that would be different.
“She’s quite good,” Ron commented as Vesper dropped low and then popped back up, not missing a beat. His head was tilted a bit, his eyes fixed on Vesper’s arse, clad in her tight jeans.
“Oi,” Harry said, elbowing him. “No ogling my friend, not while your girlfriend’s in the room.”
“I can’t help it, Harry,” Ron said, sounding a bit vacant. “She draws the eye, that one.”
Harry rolled his eyes and decided Vesper had put on enough of a show. “Hey, Twinkletoes!” he called to her, remembering Kemp’s nickname for her from yesteryear. “That’s enough grinding on my boyfriend, don’t you think?”
She stuck her tongue out at him, but created some distance between her and Draco. Draco grinned and, when the song ended, sidled up to Harry, leaving Vesper to dance with Anthony Goldstein, who had clearly seen an opportunity to make his move.
“Was someone jealous?” Draco asked Harry in a low voice, taking a sip of whiskey out of Harry’s glass.
“No,” Harry said. “Although I will admit I don’t usually like the idea of anyone else getting to be that close to you.”
Draco wiggled his eyebrows, enjoying himself. “It could always be you, you know.”
Harry shook his head. “I can’t dance like that. I have no skills in that department.”
“Bollocks,” Draco said, tugging at Harry’s hand. Another song had started, a Mos Def track, and it had a good beat, he had to admit. He downed the rest of his whiskey and let Draco drag him onto the dance floor, ignoring the anticipatory chuckles from Ron and Seamus.
“It’s simple,” Draco said in his ear, pressing their fronts together and putting his hands on Harry’s hips. “Just feel the music.” He gyrated against Harry and used his hands to guide Harry’s hips. Harry let himself be guided and found that, after a time, it wasn’t so hard after all. He hardly thought he could imitate the more complicated moves that Draco and Vesper could do, but this was just swaying his hips, basically.
“You know,” Harry said in Draco’s ear as they moved together, “this is a bit like fucking, isn’t it?”
Draco groaned and captured Harry’s mouth in a kiss, using his tongue, despite their audience.
“Get a room!” someone yelled, but the two men ignored them.
“You’re enjoying this,” Harry said.
“Yes,” Draco admitted. “I like it when they see how good we are together.”
They were good together, and Harry found he was less self-conscious than he thought he would be. There were a number of people dancing now, and it was easy to lose himself in Draco, and forget about everything else.
Draco, however, had some of his attention focused on Harry but some focused on Vesper as well, who was dancing circles around Anthony, though he was paying her plenty of attention and doing his best to keep up.
“She’s into Goldstein, then?” Draco asked Harry as they remained pressed together.
“Somewhat,” Harry answered. “At least a little.” He glanced at Vesper to see that there were still a few inches distance between her and Anthony, and that her eyes flickered over to a certain Slytherin who was sitting on the couch, watching her calmly but intently. “But I have a feeling she might be showing off for someone else.”
Draco followed Harry’s gaze over to Blaise, and he smiled. “Interesting. Did you say something to her today?”
“I may have,” Harry said coyly, earning a somewhat intoxicated-looking smile from Draco as their pelvises continued to grind together.
“Gods, Harry,” Draco said in his ear. “You make me crazy. I have half a mind to drag you upstairs and beg you to have your way with me.”
“Or you could have your way with me,” Harry teased. “You’re quite good at it, you know.”
Draco groaned in response.
“I think we should enjoy the party a bit longer, though. Don’t you want to see what Vesper does next?”
“Yes, I do,” Draco admitted begrudgingly.
Harry smiled and kissed him, and Draco returned it enthusiastically.
The music transitioned into a more poppy Britney Spears number, which neither Harry nor Draco had much interest in. They left the dance floor, stumbling upon Neville and Hannah, who were looking cozy together on a loveseat, though Hannah was talking animatedly to Pansy, laughing at some story Pansy was telling. Harry and Draco sat near Neville.
“All right there, Nev?” Harry asked.
Neville smiled. “Feeling pretty good, Harry, I have to say.”
They discussed his apprenticeship for next year, and the fact that he would be working under Professor Sprout and therefore still spending some time at Hogwarts. Neville asked about Grimmauld, and the renovations, and Harry was happy to hear Draco contributing just as much to the conversation as Harry was, as though it was his home too.
Which, of course, it was.
To Draco’s delight, the music eventually moved into some eighties hits from Prince and Michael Jackson, and he wanted to get back out on the dance floor.
“You go on,” Harry told him, enjoying talking to Neville, as well as Hannah and Pansy, who had now joined them in their conversation. “I’ll watch.”
Draco smiled and kissed him soundly before making his way to the dance floor. Harry watched him go, half expecting him to be joined by Vesper again, but she was nowhere in sight. He wondered, for a moment, if she’d snuck off with Anthony after all, but then he heard her laugh behind him, and he turned to see her in an intense but clearly enjoyable conversation with Blaise on a nearby sofa.
Well, well, well, he thought, as he saw the way the two leaned into each other as they spoke. What do we have here?
But Hannah got his attention, then, and he was pulled back into the conversation.
It was a while before Draco found his way to Harry again. Hannah and Neville had moved on, and Pansy was curled up with Theo, now. Harry was deep in discussion with George about plans for the joke shop, and Ron was listening in and keeping one eye on Hermione, who was talking with Padma Patil and Ernie Macmillan on the other side of the room.
“You should take a look at Blaise and Vesper,” Draco said without preamble as he plopped down next to Harry. “They may as well be shagging.”
Harry turned his head to get a look at the couple again. They’d drawn much closer to each other, a hair’s breadth away from touching. Vesper was saying something and Blaise was nodding, his eyes a little glazed and focused on Vesper’s mouth. Harry had to admit, he’d never seen Blaise quite like that.
“They’re just talking,” Ron said, but Draco shook his head.
“Blaise, like that… well, honestly, it’s a first.”
Harry had to agree. He wasn’t nearly as much of an expert on the subject as Draco, but even he knew it took a lot to make Blaise Zabini look that infatuated.
He felt Draco clink glasses with him. “That’s a job well done, Harry,” he said affectionately.
“We’re just a couple of meddlers, then, aren’t we?” Harry replied.
Draco grinned. “It’s a start, at least.”
Yes, Harry agreed. It was most definitely that.
The party thinned eventually as guests headed home and students made their way to their rooms. Harry and Draco were feeling ready to call it a night as well.
“Our last night at Hogwarts,” Draco said, standing up and offering Harry his hand. Harry took it. “Your room or mine?”
“Does it matter?” Harry asked, standing as well. “They’re basically both ours anyway.”
“No, you’re right, it doesn’t,” Draco said, tilting his head in thought.
“What?” Harry asked.
Draco shook his head. “Just thinking… everything… everything is ours now. After tonight. Not mine, or yours. Ours.”
Harry smiled as they made their way up the stairs. “That’s how it’s supposed to work, isn’t it?”
“Yes, I suppose it is.”
That was the point, Harry thought, as he and Draco readied themselves for bed, of belonging to someone else. You still belonged to yourself, of course, but all of it was shared with the person you loved as well. The good and the bad. Everything.
Harry climbed into bed and enjoyed feeling the familiar weight of the Slytherin next to him. This was a different bed than the one they would be sharing for the foreseeable future, but that didn’t matter. He could see all the future nights to come that he would share with Draco Malfoy, lying there next to him now. The actual bed didn’t matter, only the company.
“Goodnight, Draco,” he said, extinguishing the lamps with his wand.
Draco folded into him, fitting perfectly in the nooks and crannies of his body.
“Goodnight, Harry.”
SickPuppy: Yes, the boys were sad for a while, but it was all taken care of in the end.
If you can’t tell, I’m a big fan of Blaise for Vesper… but I suppose it won’t be until the sequel that we find out how it goes between them…
Dedicated_Reader: Here it is, the last one! I can’t thank you enough for being a constant motivator for me. It was great to know there was always someone out there reading and engaged with what I was doing. This one may be coming to an end, but I hope you’ll read the sequel as well!
djaddict: Yes, I do have a habit of that sometimes, don’t I? But as you can see I demolished that roadblock pretty quickly. I hope this final chapter was enjoyed as well. Thanks so much for being such a consistent reviewer. It meant a lot!
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