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The Zabini Cover	By : Sablesilverrain Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 45212 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the Potterverse, or anything you recognize here. I make no money off of this piece of fiction.

Chapter List
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“Are you sure we’re ready for this? We won’t even be out of school yet! What if I change my mind? What if he changes his mind?! He’s still so young, anything could-”
“Draco.”
“Yeah?”
Blaise grabbed his friend by the shoulders and looked directly into his eyes. “It’s too early to be freaking out. Save it for the night before the ceremony, would you?”
Draco sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But shouldn’t we postpone it?” He suggested. “Just until we’re both sure.”
“If you want. But if you hurt Harry like that, I will have to side with him. He did nothing to make you think he wasn’t sure about being with you.” Blaise said firmly.
Draco had to admit the truth of the statement, but he still had fears that Harry would tire of him and leave him one day. “Are you sure he won’t leave me someday? I don’t think I’d be able to handle it if he did. I’m just so worried.”
“Don’t be. He doesn’t strike me as that kind of person.” Blaise said. “Here he is.” He said, leaning back in his seat as Harry returned from the compartment Hermione was in.
“She apparently wants our houses to get together every Friday night for a bit of socializing. To bridge the gap between the houses, you know?” He relayed breathlessly. “It’s a good idea, right?”
Draco smiled, seeing the happy grin lighting up Harry’s face.
‘This is why I love him.’ He realized finally. ‘He has the ability to make everyone around him do exactly as he wants without even trying. He just looks at you with those bright, beautiful eyes and you can’t say no to him.’
“-about you, Draco?”
“Hm?” Draco flushed, realizing that he’d been lost in thought. “I’m sorry, what?”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Blaise said he’s willing to try it. What about you?”
Draco shrugged. “I suppose.”
“Yes! This is going to be so cool! She was thinking of pairing people up with someone from the other house and having the first two get-togethers just be Slytherins and Gryffindors doing one-on-one small talk. Less pressure that way, she said.”
Draco just sat back and watched Harry explain Hermione’s plan, excitement shining in his eyes. Yes, this was going to be fun.
*****
Celeste smiled at Ron. “Hermione really put a lot of planning into this, didn’t she?” She asked, looking around.
Ron nodded. “Yeah, she did. She was originally going to stick with pairing up girls with girls and boys with boys, but then she realized that sticking me with Malfoy and expecting us to get along was asking a bit much right now. No offense, but I can’t stand the git, and whatever you see in him, I’m not seeing.”
Celeste laughed. “I don’t expect you to, don’t worry.”
“How are things going with him, anyway? You’re pregnant and all, that’s got to be weird.” Ron said in an undertone.
Celeste flushed. “Well, I’m not going to lie, it is strange, but we’re happy about it. I mean, Draco needs an heir, and I always wanted a family, so we’ll make it work. Narcissa’s okay with it, too. Oh, she found out who I am.” She said.
Ron frowned. “What do you mean, she found out?”
“Draco has this bad habit of not locking doors in Malfoy Manor, and his mum kind of barged in on us. Twice. The second time I was male, and she got an eyeful. After that, we kind of had to explain.” Celeste said with a wry smile.
Ron snorted. “I imagine that went well.” He joked.
Celeste sighed, shrugging. “She understood, which is really all we can ask for, and she promised not to go to the press.”
“Are you ever going to tell the rest of my family? They all miss you, you know.” Ron pointed out.
Celeste sighed, but shook her head. “No. You’ll have to keep it a secret, sorry. Your mum is too close to Dumbledore, do you really think she’d let me keep this a secret and live my life quietly? I think she’d tell at least Dumbledore who I am, and he’d want me to be a figurehead again. I can’t do that now. This is who I am, and everyone is just going to have to get used to it.” She said firmly.
Ron sighed, nodding his head. “You make a good point, she’d tell Dumbledore for sure. I suppose I can keep it a secret.”
Celeste laid a hand over Ron’s, squeezing gently. “It would mean a lot to me and Draco if we could trust you to keep this all a secret.” She said.
“I… Yeah, you can trust me. Yeah.” Ron said resolutely.
Celeste smiled brightly. “Thanks, Ron.”
*****
Most of the students had left the Room of Requirement. The only ones left were Celeste, Draco, Ron, Hermione and, surprisingly, Pansy and Lavender, who were seated on bean bag chairs gossiping in low tones.
Celeste smiled at Hermione. “Well, I’d say this was a resounding success!” She said happily.
Hermione laughed. “Yes, I suppose it was. No one really fought, and I know at least one pair have become fast friends.” She said, looking over at the two house’s biggest gossips.
“Well, you certainly picked the right people to pair together there. I’m surprised the two of them haven’t traded gossip before.” Celeste commented lightly.
Ron snorted. “House rivalries run deep.”
Draco shrugged. “I see no reason for them to. It’s become more than clear to me that the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor is just stupid. We’re all just people, there should be plenty of common ground to meet on.”
“So, should we pair you two up for next time?” Hermione asked.
Ron and Draco eyed each other warily.
“Let’s not push for too much progress all at once. There are other issues between our families that also run deep.” Draco said after a few moments.
Ron nodded. “We’ll work toward it, but let’s not force the issue.” He seconded.
*****
Two months later…
Severus looked down at the vial. The name on it was Celeste Scarletti, but the color of the potion was more suited to Neville Longbottom.
It seemed that Harry was nervous about his impending marriage. And with the improvement the boy had shown in Potions, this color of calming draught could only mean he was not talking to Draco about it. Luckily for Severus, the wedding was in two days.
‘Friday isn’t too far away.’ He decided. ‘I can overlook this, given the circumstances.’
*****
“And you have to put your hair up.” Pansy finally said, flipping through the fashion magazine in her lap.
Harry looked up from his chocolates in surprise. “What? Why?”
“Because if you left it unbound, you’d be telling the guests that you were virgin.” Millicent said in a bored tone.
“So?” Harry asked.
Pansy sighed. “So, that would be lying.”
“Not like it’s any of their business. I’m not going to be sleeping with any of them.” Harry snapped. “They don’t need to know.”
“Well, unless you can manage to have your baby nine months from the date of the wedding, the marriage will be annulled if you lied about your state of virginity in either word or deed. It’s an old custom, but it is still in effect in the Pureblood community.” Millicent told him.
Harry scowled. “I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it. You do have to adhere to it, however.” Pansy said. “Sorry.”
Harry scowled. “Bloody old-fashioned customs.” He grumbled.
Pansy laughed. “Well, how do you think my parents are going to feel when I walk down the aisle with my hair braided?”
“What? Who?!” Millicent demanded.
Pansy flushed. “You can’t tell anyone. Ever.” She said softly.
Millicent’s eyes widened. “No! I thought that was just a crush? Or were you lying to me?!”
“He said to keep it a secret from everyone. Draco found out at one of the parties, and Harry this year. Sorry, but I couldn’t risk anyone letting it slip.”
Millicent let out a long breath. “Well, this is news to me. For how long?”
“Severus slept with me at the New Year celebration held our fifth year. When it came time for the unmasking, he was horrified at who he had slept with, but I was overjoyed. I begged him to at least try to build a relationship with me. It took lots of fighting, but after a few months, he agreed to be with me in secret, being very careful not to get caught. But why am I sitting here telling love stories? We need to get Harry ready for tomorrow! We’ll only have until afternoon to get you dressed and ready to walk down that aisle, and we haven‘t even seen you in your dress yet!” Pansy decided, clapping her hands together. “So, what are we doing here? Let‘s get started.”
*****
“Oh, don’t fuss about it so much!” Millicent scolded, slapping Harry’s hands away as they tried to reach for his hair again. “You’ll ruin all my hard work. It looks great.”
Harry looked in the mirror at his hair. His curls were artfully piled atop his head and held in place with a few strategically placed bobby pins. “Are you sure it’s going to hold? Doesn’t feel very safe to me.”
“Bobby pins will hold it all up. You just worry about getting to Draco and not mangling your vows.” Pansy suggested.
Harry groaned. “I’m so not ready for this!” He whispered, covering his face with his hands.
“And here I thought you wanted to marry him! You’re backing out at the last minute? Honestly. We‘re already practically there. If you walk out of this tent and you aren‘t headed for the gazebo put up especially for this one occasion, Merlin help me, I will hex you.” Pansy said sweetly.
“You know what I mean. I don’t want everyone’s eyes on me, I don’t want to be the center of attention, and I don’t want to marry him using an alias.” Harry finished the last part in a morose tone.
“The name he vows to love, honor, and cherish above all else will be just that: A name. It’s when a face is put to that name that the name itself holds meaning. And the only face he will ever be looking at when he says those words will be yours. He loves you. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Do you have any idea what he looked like when he came back to the common room after finding out you were pregnant?”
Harry looked up at Millicent. “No idea at all. How did he look?”
“He was afraid to go to Blaise, so instead he came to me and Millie.” Pansy said. “He looked like he was about to stand before the Wizengamot for sentencing and was expecting to receive the Kiss. He was distraught.”
Millicent smiled. “It was really sweet, and after that, me and Pansy stayed up for a few hours talking about how good the two of you had it. He was willing to do whatever it took to make it up to you. He thought he had taken away the last chance you had to live a normal life. I told him that this was probably part of what you wanted in a normal life: Children, and the chance to raise them without the media intruding.”

Harry smiled. “Well, you’re right on that one.”
Suddenly, the sound of trumpets filled the air.
Harry’s face visibly paled. “Oh Merlin.” He whispered.
Pansy rolled her eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake!”
Dumbledore’s voice filled the tent: “And now, the bridesmaids will lead our bride to her groom.”
Millicent paused by the front entrance to the tent. “Pans? You coming?”
“Now,” Pansy whispered, “You are going to go out there, and you are going to marry my friend. Got it?” She whispered, stamping on Harry’s foot with the last word, bringing him out of his mini-breakdown.
Harry cursed. “Yes! Fuck, that hurt!” He whispered back.
“Come on.” Millicent hissed, and Pansy fell into step beside her, as they exited the tent.
Harry took a deep breath, and followed them.
*****
Draco stood beside Blaise and Nott, listening to Dumbledore drone on about how marriage was great and good and on and on. ‘I don’t want to hear how great being married is going to be, I want to bloody experience it already!’ He thought in exasperation.
Finally, he heard the words he had been eagerly waiting for: “And now, the bridesmaids will lead our bride to her groom.”
His eyes snapped to the entrance of the bridal tent, and he held his breath as, after a few seconds, Pansy and Millicent emerged, looking lovely in their matching green gowns, their hair pulled back into braids as was customary for the bridesmaids.
And then, Harry emerged, and Draco forgot what breathing was.
His dress was lovely, and looked fully convincing, for all that Harry was still physically male. It was strapless and there was a stripe of green running along the neckline and side of the dress that was embroidered with ivory flowers.
He had his hands folded before him, and was looking demurely at the backs of his bridesmaid’s dresses, instead of letting his eyes meet anyone else’s. He looked like an angel.
Draco sucked in a breath when Harry’s eyes met his and he placed both his hands trustingly in Draco’s. This was it.
The moment.
‘Merlin, let me not muck this up.’ Was the only thought in either teen’s head.
“Do both of you give your life and yourself into the keeping of the one you are tying yourself to this day, forever, until the stars die and beyond?” Dumbledore asked.
“Yes.” Draco said softly.
“Yes.” Harry echoed, flushing as he smiled shyly.
“Then I will not stand in your way, for love is the strongest form of magic in this world and any other. Draco, your ring and promise, please.”
Draco held out his hand behind him, and Blaise placed the ring in his hand.
“Celeste,” Draco began, sliding the ring onto Harry’s finger, “This ring binds my heart and soul to the words I speak to you now: I vow to always protect you, to never let you doubt my love for you and to stand by your side in everything you do, come what may. By breath and bone, this is my promise to you.”
Harry gulped and held his hand out behind him, feeling the ring Pansy set in his hand and bringing his hand around. He slid the ring onto Draco’s finger, and spoke. “Draco, this ring binds my heart and soul to the words I speak to you now: I vow to always look after you, to never keep from you anything I am free to divulge, and to stand by your side supporting you wholly in whatever you do, come what may. By breath and bone, this is my promise to you.”
Dumbledore clapped his hands together once. “Then, by the authority granted to me by the Ministry of Magic, I do declare you two bound for life to one another. Stand together, or fall apart. In the name of magic, I give to you, Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy.”
Draco took Harry’s hand and turned to the classmates, teachers and guests assembled for their wedding, and smiled, raising Harry’s hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it gallantly.
“How long do we have to stay out here?” Harry asked quietly, feeling a bit sick at the thought of all the people watching him.
“Until the guests have eaten all the food and finished drinking all the wine. Or punch, as the case may be.” Draco whispered.
“Don’t leave me alone. At all.” Harry whispered back.

Draco wrapped an arm around Harry’s waist tightly. “I never plan to again.”

THE END
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The Zabini Cover