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Unstoppable	By : Thunderbird Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 14474 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. I make no profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
- 26
A/N: Thanks so much to my reviewers! You keep me going, as per usual.
Here's a bit of mostly fluff for you. With the wedding and everything, Harry and Draco's storylines are going to be pretty fluffy for the next little while. I think it's a good thing, since I'm about to get a lot more plot-heavy with Vesper's storyline and it's always nice to have balance.
As always, let me know what you think! Reviews really do make all the difference.
Chapter 25: Get Me
(Draco)

Blaise looked thin, Draco noted. Surprisingly so. Had it really been that long since he’d seen him, that he would notice something like that? He did the maths quickly and realized that while he had owled with the man some over the course of the autumn, he hadn’t actually laid eyes on him since Hermione’s birthday party. That was far too long.
Some things never changed, though, like the way Blaise embraced him without hesitation, like a brother, and let a hand linger on his shoulder even after he’d pulled away, giving it an affectionate squeeze.
The host appeared with menus and stared at them expectantly.
“Come,” said Blaise. “I’ve the best table in the place reserved for us.”
Of course he had. Blaise’s business connections were legendary by this point, and he seemed to know most restaurateurs and club owners in wizarding London well enough to get a table anywhere on short notice. Draco had never had much need to take advantage of this, seeing as he was the well-known partner of the Savior of the wizarding world, but it was nice to ride coattails other than Harry’s every now and then, if only for the change of scenery.
“Hungry?” Blaise asked.
“Starving, actually. I just got off a shift.”
“Perfect. Then we’ll order right away. You must try the paella. And the chorizo over potato puree.”
“Sounds lovely.”
“But we’ll begin with the fennel and manchego salad. That’s one of my favorites.”
Draco merely smiled at his friend before taking his seat at the secluded little table provided for them. They were handed the menus but Draco hardly glanced at his, knowing Blaise would want to take the lead and do the wining and dining. Draco didn’t mind; he was simply glad Blaise had been willing to make time for him, what with the way Draco had been neglecting him these past months.
“You’re here often, I take it?”
“Often enough,” Blaise replied, skimming the menu with a critical eye, as if looking for anything out of place. “Matador is the best Spanish food in town. And I know the owner.”
“I figured.”
“I say we start with a glass of the house cava, then move onto a nice Rioja. Something… expensive. What do you think?”
“Whatever you say.”
Blaise laid his menu down, eyeing him. “You’re looking at me strangely.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose it’s just been a while since I’ve seen you. Too long, I’d say.”
Blaise tipped his head graciously. “You have a child now. That takes priority.”
“I’m trying to be better about balancing my priorities, actually, which includes my friends.”
“And your future husband.”
Draco couldn’t help a grin. He still really, really liked the sound of those two words put together. “Yes. Most definitely him as well.”
The server came, and before he could even begin launching into his spiel on the various specials for the evening Blaise cut him off, ordering everything they had discussed, plus another dish Draco barely caught the name of, in that precise and efficient way that Blaise did everything.
The server blinked a couple of times, then recovered, took some notes, and then abruptly left, as if trying to match Blaise’s efficiency with his own.
Draco caught his friend’s eye and Blaise shrugged one shoulder, like a half-apology. Draco cleared his throat and took a sip of his water.
“Speaking of my upcoming wedding,” he said. “I was hoping to talk to you about it.”
“You were, were you?” His voice was neutral, but Draco caught the way Blaise’s posture shifted forward, anticipating what came next.
“Yes. I was actually rather hoping you would do me the honor of standing up with me, of being my best man.”
The responding smile was small, but it spoke volumes. “I would consider it a privilege,” the man said softly.
“Good,” Draco said, relieved. He had believed Blaise would say yes, but part of him had worried that he’d strained their friendship too much recently to have the right to ask it. He was glad that didn’t appear to be the case. “The duties are not very involved. My mother is making all the plans, with some input from Molly Weasley, and me and Harry, of course. And we aren’t throwing an engagement party or a stag night, or anything of that sort, so you won’t have to worry about that.”
“All right.”
“Mostly you just need to make sure you have the necessary suit and tie and keep me from going insane on the actual day.”
“Do you really think you’ll be in any danger of that? It’s not as if you have any doubts about the nuptials.”
“True,” Draco agreed. “But my mother might drive me barmy, by the end. Or she’ll drive Harry barmy, which he’ll pass along to me.”
Blaise chuckled. “Very well. I shall do my best.”
“I know you will.”
“I suppose I’ll have Weasley as a counterpart, then?”
“Undoubtedly.” Harry and Draco had yet to actually discuss the makeup of the wedding party, but some things were guaranteed. Harry wouldn’t dare to have anyone but Ron Weasley as his best man, nor would he want to. “The only thing stopping him would be some kind of problem with his injury, but given how closely he’s been following his Healers’ orders, I don’t think that’s likely.”
“I thought as much.”
“Is that going to be a problem?” Ron Weasley was not exactly Blaise’s favorite person, nor vice versa, though they always managed to be civil and at least tolerate each other.
“It will be fine. Although if you could find some way to avoid us having to escort each other arm in arm down the aisle, that would be appreciated.”
Draco stared at his friend, wondering if he was being serious or making a joke. Sometimes Draco could tell, but not always.
“It’s not a homophobic thing, you understand,” the man said quickly, seeming to misinterpret Draco’s blank look. “It’s not that he’s a man, I just would rather-“
Draco started laughing, and couldn’t stop, especially when he caught glimpse of the bemused expression on Blaise’s face. When the server came with their bubbling glasses of cava he made himself calm down, taking a sip of the delightful, crisp liquid before working to catch his breath.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to laugh at you.”
“That’s all right, I suppose,” Blaise said patiently.
“I would never accuse you of being homophobic, you know. Not in a million years. It was just… the thought of you…“ He giggled. “And Ron…” He snorted. “And you were being serious. You honestly thought I would…” He got control of his laughter again. “I would never do that to you, Blaise, making you walk down the aisle with Ron Weasley of all people. We’ll sort something out. We haven’t even decided on the procession yet but I’ll make sure you don’t have to…” He started laughing again. “Sorry. Sorry. I just can’t get the image out of my head now you’ve put it there.”
Blaise waited silently for Draco’s giggling to die down, and Draco was worried for a moment that he’d truly annoyed him, which was enough to finally sober him up. But when he caught sight of Blaise looking at him indulgently, a warm glint in his dark eyes, he felt better.
Their first dish was served, and their attention turned to that for a little while as they dug in. Then Blaise asked after Draco’s mother, curious about her reaction to news of the engagement.
Narcissa had been openly thrilled, actually. Draco had been expecting a pleased smile and an immediate getting down to the business of arranging it all. But his mother had laughed delightedly at first, and then actually become rather weepy, embracing and kissing Draco and Harry both and cradling their faces maternally while she told them how happy and proud she was. It was the most overt display of love Draco had ever seen her give Harry, and it warmed him, though Harry had clearly been a bit overwhelmed, or perhaps merely deeply moved. It was hard to tell in the moment, and he didn’t comment on it afterwards.
Unsurprisingly, however, the woman had leapt into action when she heard that the wedding was going to be only a few weeks after Christmas, leaving her not even two months to prepare. She hadn’t even really calmed down when Draco told her that they could have the wedding at the manor and she could decorate however she liked. She had merely looked at him with sharp blue eyes and reminded him that it would be January, and the gardens wouldn’t be in bloom, and she was going to have to set about placing quite a few Climate-Altering charms immediately and hope that their slow-acting magic was strong enough to create what they needed for a lovely and fragrant outdoor ceremony in such a short time.
Draco had nearly told her that there was no need to have the wedding in the gardens, and that the arboretum or the conservatory would serve just as well, but he soon realized that arguing would be futile. Once his mother had an idea in her head, it was very difficult to remove it. And Draco suspected that the woman had envisioned Harry and Draco getting married in the rose garden for quite some time. So one way or another, it was going to happen.
Draco told Blaise all this as they ate and drank, and Blaise hummed and smiled sympathetically. Eventually Draco tired of talking only of himself and the wedding, and they went on to talk about Blaise’s most recent business venture instead.
Draco watched him, half listening to his friend’s words and half wondering what it was that made him seem off, not quite himself.
“This food really is lovely,” Draco told him as they finished up the last of the paella, licking their lips. “Good choice.”
“Yes, I quite like it,” Blaise agreed in that mild away of his.
“Nice to see you eating your fill,” Draco ventured.
Blaise looked at him in pure confusion, clearly not understanding what Draco meant.
“You look a bit thin,” Draco clarified.
Blaise swirled the last few sips of wine around in his glass, watching it as though fascinated. “Do I?”
“Yes. You hadn’t noticed?”
“Not especially.”
“Is everything all right?” There had been a time, in their younger days, when Draco wouldn’t have had to ask. Blaise would have simply told him outright. Draco contemplated what needed to be done to get their friendship back to that place as he waited for Blaise to answer.
“How much do you know,” Blaise said finally, still not looking at him, “about what’s been going on between me and Vesper?”
Draco thought about it. “Not much. I know you wrote her a letter a while ago, about… possibly reconciling, and that she hadn’t written back.”
“She wrote back,” Blaise said flatly.
“What did she say?” Draco almost felt as though he didn’t need to ask, given that if she had returned his sentiments he surely would have heard about it before now, from at least one if not both of them.
Blaise sighed. “She thanked me for my letter and said she was very moved by it. She wants us to be a part of each other's lives. But she also said she needed time, and that she was seeing someone else and it was important that our spending time together – as friends – didn’t interfere with that.”
“Declan Ross,” Draco said. “That’s the man, right?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t realize it had gotten serious. I thought it was quite casual.”
“I don’t think it was serious, considering she broke up with him.”
Draco blinked, racing to catch up. “I hadn’t heard. When was this?”
“Only a few days ago.”
“Ah.” He hadn’t seen Vesper in a while either, though he’d been getting updates from Harry. But it was likely Harry hadn’t heard yet either, if it happened so recently. “Well…” He thought about all that Blaise had just told him. “I’m not sure I follow.”
Blaise sighed again. “Nor do I.”
“She broke up with Ross…”
“Yes.”
“So… he’s not in the way anymore.”
Blaise shrugged. “Apparently it doesn’t matter. She didn’t break up with him for me. She made that very clear. She told me she’s not ready to rekindle things with me yet, though she has hope for the future. But right now she wants to be alone.”
Draco deflated a little. “Oh.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
He eyed his friend across the table a moment. “What are you going to do?”
“What can I do, Draco? What is there, except to wait?”
“Move on?” Draco suggested. “Finally let her go? I’m not saying you two weren’t good together, but… hasn’t this dragged on long enough? Don’t you deserve a chance at happiness now?”
Blaise shook his head. “She is my happiness. Or perhaps not right now, but she was. She will be again.”
Draco bit back a sigh. Blaise’s hopelessly romantic side had always been very difficult to reason with. “That way of thinking puts a lot of limitations on yourself, you know. Not to mention a lot of pressure on her.”
“That’s not my intention,” said Blaise. “But it’s the truth. It simply… is.”
“There are lots of ways to look at it.”
“What if it were you and Harry?” Blaise asked him, the smallest spark of challenge in his voice. “If you were going through a rough patch and Harry told you he needed space, but that there was definite hope for the future, wouldn’t you wait for him to come back to you?”
Draco hesitated, though not because he didn’t already know his answer. Rather he was reeling a bit from the hypothetical scenario Blaise had just painted for him. It was too upsetting for him to want to contemplate, and that made him realize something, realize exactly what Blaise might be going through. Somehow, even after seeing his two friends together for over three years and how much they loved each other, he had never for a moment believed it possible that Blaise loved Vesper as much as Draco loved Harry.
But it was possible. Why wouldn’t it be? Draco did not have a monopoly on fully committed, unconditional love. Blaise had every right to it too, which meant that what the man had been going through for the past few months must have been incredibly painful, and Draco hadn’t even realized how much so.
“I would wait,” he said softly. “If there was any hope at all, I would wait.”
“I know you would. And so will I.”
Draco nodded in acknowledgement, in understanding. A large part of him was terrified for his friend, that he would get his heart broken all over again, or waste away waiting for something that would never come to pass.
But that fear didn’t help Blaise. The only thing he could do was listen now, and respect his wishes, and be there – really be there, from now on – if and when it all fell apart.
***
He was tipsy, warm, and full of food when he arrived home. The house was quiet, as he knew it would be. It was nearly eleven, and Harry had undoubtedly put Teddy to bed at eight as usual then crawled into bed himself not long after, as he had work in the morning. Much of the burden was eased with Pipsy to help out, but Harry still did so much, and needed his rest.
So Draco kept quiet as he entered their master suite, tip-toeing his way into the bathroom to clean his teeth and prepare for bed. When he came back into the bedroom and lifted the covers, though, Harry stirred.
“There you are,” he said sleepily.
“Here I am.” Draco slid into bed, wearing nothing but his underwear, and was happy to find Harry shirtless as well. He immediately closed the distance between them, curling into the warmth surrounding Harry’s body. Harry draped an arm around him, encouraging the closeness.
“How’s Blaise?”
“He’s doing… all right,” Draco said, glossing over the details for now. He would give Harry a full report in the morning. “He agreed to be my best man.”
“Oh, good,” said Harry. “I’m glad.” He yawned, and Draco chuckled.
“Sleep, love,” he said. “We’ll talk more about it in the morning.”
Harry agreed with a long, low hum. Draco smiled, and kissed him on the temple, and stroked fingers through his hair until he heard his lover’s breathing even out.
***
The morning was chaos, as it usually was on weekdays, and there was little time for conversation. Or rather, there was little conversation that wasn’t dominated by Teddy, who had been quite energetic and talkative since the afternoon he spent with his grandmother and the news of Harry and Draco’s engagement that followed.
Draco was glad to see this side of Teddy again, although he was still watching closely for when that other side reared its head, the one that made Teddy go quiet and turn inward. Draco knew that while his little cousin was excited that Draco and Harry were tying the knot and that they would be a “proper” family soon, there were still a lot of confusing emotions that could surround it, especially surrounding Andromeda and the fact that she decided she would officially give up legal guardianship of Teddy.
That left Draco and Harry free to adopt Teddy as their own and have full custody of him, something they’d explained to Teddy already. The boy had taken it in stride, as he did many things, but Draco had to wonder how much of it really made sense to him, and if he really understood, or even cared, what it meant.
But he reminded himself not to worry so much as he sat across the table from Teddy, watching him eat his breakfast and chat away to Pipsy. If confusion or sadness came, then they came, and they would deal with it. But there was so much to celebrate as well that it was silly, really, to do so much worrying.
We’re going to be a real family. Officially, legally. It made him giddy every time he thought about it.
He caught Harry’s eye across the table and had to suppress a grin at the heat in that stare. They both had been rather giddy about the engagement since it happened, one result being that they had a hard time keeping their hands off each other.
It was soon time for Harry and Teddy to head out the door, and Teddy ran off to put his shoes on, followed closely by an anxious Pipsy. The elf had taken to pestering Teddy about putting on the proper outerwear to go outside, now that winter was nearly upon them.
“I’ll be home a bit after five,” Harry said to Draco, giving him a light kiss.
Draco grabbed Harry by the hip and deepened the kiss, making the brunet hum happily. “Don’t forget we have to finish those preliminary wedding plans tonight,” he reminded his fiancé as he pulled away. “I promised Mother I’d send them off to her so she can start the planning.”
“Start the planning,” Harry teased good-naturedly. “That woman started planning this wedding about three years ago, I think.”
Draco rolled his eyes, though he knew Harry was right. “You know what I mean,” he said. “We’ve got some decisions to make.”
“I know. And we’ll make them. We at least already both have a best man, right?”
“True,” Draco agreed, smiling that Harry remembered that, given that he was half asleep when Draco told him about Blaise the night before.
“You’ll have to tell me how the dinner went later,” Harry said. “I could tell there’s a story there.”
“A bit of one,” said Draco. Teddy was back in the kitchen and ready to go. “Later.”
***
As Draco entered within the wards of Teddy’s school he was struck by what a difference a couple of weeks could make. It wasn’t that long ago that he’d had that unpleasant confrontation with Matilda Sturgis at this very gate.
This time, though, he was greeted warmly by Ms. Shreever, who immediately scratched Teddy off her collection list and then chatted with him a bit while Teddy finished playing with his friends. After that he was flagged down by Clarissa Goldstein, who appeared to want a friendly chat as well.
“Afternoon, Draco,” she said. “I hear congratulations are in order. Toby told me. Apparently Teddy’s been talking about it nonstop.”
Draco grinned at Toby’s curvy, strawberry blonde mum. He’d rather liked Clarissa from the moment he met her. She had deep, friendly blue eyes and a charming Edinburgh accent, and had shown herself to be both down to earth and generous, traits she had clearly passed down to her son. Draco didn’t know Toby’s father, Archie, all that well, since it appeared he worked long hours at the Ministry, but from what he could gather they were quite good, loving parents.
“Yes, Teddy’s quite excited,” he said. “Although now it’s got him thinking again about how he wants to marry Toby so they can live together.”
“Is that why?” Clarissa said with a laugh. “I was wondering what had gotten that idea into their heads.”
“I think that was mostly Teddy’s doing, I’m afraid,” Draco said ruefully.
“Oh, no bother. I think it’s quite sweet. Maybe they really will grow up and fall in love someday.”
“That would be something. Though I’m in no hurry for Teddy to grow up. I quite like this age.”
“So do I.”
“How are you all getting on?”
“Very well.” She smiled a secret smile. “We’ve got some exciting news of our own as well, actually. I’m pregnant.”
Draco’s face brightened. “Really? That’s wonderful! How far along are you?”
“Just entered my second trimester, which is why we’ve started telling people. I wanted to wait the first few months, of course. We just told Toby yesterday, actually. It made him ask all sorts of questions about where babies come from. I have to admit I wasn’t entirely prepared for that, although I should have been.”
Draco grimaced sympathetically. Yes, that would be difficult to explain to a child Toby and Teddy’s age. He wondered if Toby was going to pass along his curiosity to Teddy and if he and Harry were going to be getting some interesting questions tonight.
“Is Toby excited to be a big brother?”
“I think so. But I don’t think it’s entirely sunk in yet. Probably won’t until the baby is born. It will be an adjustment, but we’ll make it work.”
“Sure. Who’s your prenatal Healer, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Oh, she’s wonderful. Same one we had with Toby. Name’s Adisa Iwu, at St. Mungo’s.” She raised her eyebrows. “Come to think of it, you probably know her!”
Draco smiled. “I do. She’s my mentor.”
“I didn’t realize you were going into prenatal Healing.”
“And pediatrics,” Draco said, aware of the pride in his voice. “Nothing’s official yet. I’m only second year. But that’s the plan.”
“That’s wonderful. And I imagine Healer Iwu is a very good teacher.”
“The best,” Draco agreed.
Teddy and Toby appeared at the gate together. They had been taking advantage of the adults talking and had enjoyed some extra time to play, but now it seemed as though they were each ready to go home. Teddy stared up at his cousin with shining silver eyes as he walked through the gate and put his hand immediately in Draco’s.
“Listen,” Draco said to Clarissa as he gave Teddy’s hand a squeeze. “I know the boys like spending time together, but you and Archie should come visit as well. Things are a bit hectic at the moment, with the holidays and then the wedding and honeymoon coming up, but after that you should come for dinner at our place.”
Clarissa looked flattered and genuinely pleased at the invitation. “That would be lovely,” she said. “Perhaps when you return from your honeymoon.”
“Perfect,” said Draco.
They said their goodbyes, and Draco walked Teddy past the wards to Apparate.
“Why did you invite Toby’s mum and dad for dinner?” Teddy asked him, though he sounded more curious than upset.
“Because Harry and I both like Toby’s parents, and grown ups need friends too.”
“Oh,” said Teddy, as though this hadn’t occurred to him. “But you have lots of friends already.”
“Sure,” said Draco. “But sometimes it’s nice to make new ones, don’t you think?”
Teddy smiled up at him. “Yes, that’s true.”
***
When Harry arrived home from work that evening Pipsy was already in the process of cooking dinner, and Draco and Teddy were in the sitting room together. Normally Draco would be helping his little cousin with a puzzle, but this time he’d left Teddy to do one on his own while he sat on the sofa nearby and looked over the letter his mother had sent him, requesting specific information about the wedding party and the ceremony.
Harry entered the room and exchanged a greeting and kiss with each of them, then went to join Teddy on the floor. Teddy shifted to sit in his lap, and they started working on the puzzle together.
“How was work?” Draco asked him.
“Fine. I went by the afterschool program today. It’s been the first time in a while that I’ve seen it firsthand, but it’s doing well. Andrea, one of the other people in my department, has been keeping a good eye on it for me.”
“That’s good to hear,” Draco said.
“How was your day?”
“Lovely. I got some research done, and then got to chat with Clarissa Goldstein for a bit when I went to pick up Teddy.”
“Draco said Toby’s mum and dad should come for dinner,” Teddy chimed in.
“Some time,” Draco clarified as Harry looked at him with a question on his face. “Probably after the wedding. Thought it might be nice to get to know them better.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“I thought so too.”
They were quiet for a few minutes while Harry murmured to Teddy about his puzzle and Draco watched him, enjoying the scene but also a bit impatient to get a response to his mother soon.
“Harry,” he said finally. The brunet looked up at him, and Draco brandished the parchment in his hand. “We really do have to get some of this wedding stuff finalized.”
“I know,” Harry said with a sigh. He kissed Teddy on the head and gently removed the boy from his lap. Teddy didn’t seem much fazed and simply focused on the task in front of him as Harry stood and joined Draco on the sofa. “I’m just no good at making decisions about this sort of thing, and I haven’t had much time to think about it.”
Draco resisted the urge to point out that it was Harry who had insisted they get married as soon as possible, deciding to focus on being more productive. There were some things Harry had likely already decided, despite his denial. “You don’t know who you want to have standing up with you on the day?”
“No, I know that, of course,” Harry argued. “It’s all the rest. How the ceremony should go and everything. I’ve never been to a gay wedding before. I’ve no idea how it differs from a heterosexual one.”
“I think we can make it be whatever we want,” Draco said. “We can follow a guideline, if that helps, but adjust it.”
“There aren’t specific… you know, pureblood sort of things we have to include? There aren’t specific rules?”
Draco fought a smile at the disdain he could hear underlying Harry’s tone, knowing it came more from Harry’s general irreverence for tradition than any anti-pureblood sentiments. “There are some things I’d like to include, if you’re open to it,” he said. “But I don’t care as much about the order of the procession as much as I do about the words that are spoken during the ceremony and the words we say to each other.”
“I had rather thought we would write our own vows,” Harry said with a small frown, and Draco smiled. Harry did have opinions about all this, even if he wasn’t always willing to admit it.
“I’m open to that. But I’m also going to look into the possibility having some portion of what we say be more… traditional. Just a small portion, maybe at the moment we exchange rings or something.” He looked at Harry, waiting for his slow nod before continuing. “And there are some readings that are traditionally excerpted from by the officiant in Malfoy weddings, so I thought we might have some of that. I need to do more research and see what I find. Then I’ll bring it to you and we can decide what we like together.”
Harry nodded again. “That suits me.”
“As for the procession… well, the normal model is for one partner to wait at the altar while the other gets walked down the aisle, preceded by the other members of the wedding party.” He was watching Harry carefully and had to laugh at the scowl on his face. “But I take it you’re not so game for that.”
“To me that seems suited for when you have a bride and a groom. There’s not going to be a bride in this wedding.”
“I hope not,” said Draco with a grin. “Or this really isn’t what I thought I was signing up for.”
Harry’s mouth twitched. “The point is, I don’t want to choose which one of us stands at the altar and which one of us gets walked down. It would be perfectly arbitrary to us and everyone else would read something into it about who’s ‘the man’ and who’s ‘the woman’ in the relationship, and that just… irritates me.”
“It’s an excellent point,” Draco said. “But does that mean neither of us walk down the aisle? We have to get to the altar somehow, and it feels strange to think that we’ll start the ceremony with us standing there, ready to go, and watching the wedding party walk down the aisle without us.”
“Why don’t we both walk down, then?”
“Together?”
Harry thought about that. “We could do that. Or we could be escorted by our mums, you by yours and me by Molly.”
Draco nodded, writing that down. “My mother would like that, being included.”
“So would Molly.”
“Good then. Who will walk down first?”
Harry shrugged. “I’m not bothered about it either way, to be honest. Whatever you think.”
“Very well.” That could be decided later, anyway. “Now we can talk wedding party.” Draco made the relevant headings on his parchment: one for Harry and one for himself. “Blaise is my best man, as you know.”
“And Ron’s mine.”
“Of course. And I’m sure you’ll want Hermione on your side, and I’ll have Pansy.”
“Naturally. I also want Vesper.”
Draco frowned at him, and realized he might almost be pouting. “How come you get Vesper?”
“Because she was my friend first,” Harry said, looking a little amused.
“By about five minutes,” Draco grumbled.
“A few months, actually,” Harry said. “And I’m the reason you’re friends with her at all. If it weren’t for my apprenticeship…”
Draco sighed dramatically, though in truth it didn’t bother him so much. “Very well. I wanted Hannah anyway.”
“Good. Who else?”
“Well, those were the most important ones for me…” Draco said, looking at the list. “But it would please Pansy to have Theo involved as well. And I wouldn’t mind having a fourth.”
“That suits me. I’ll have Neville on my side, then, and that will balance it out.”
Draco gave him a look he was sure was dark, but he couldn’t help it. He saw Harry roll his eyes.
“You’ve got to start accepting that Neville is going to be a part of our lives. He’s my good friend and the boyfriend of one of your good friends. You’ve just got to live with it.”
“Yes, I know, but in our wedding?”
“Hannah will be happy that he’s involved,” Harry argued.
“So long as they’re still together by that point. Otherwise it will just be awkward.”
“Do you honestly believe they’re going to break up? Or is that just wishful thinking on your part?”
Draco sighed. “I don’t know.” Hannah had reported to him that she had taken his and Pansy’s advice and had the most open, honest, and uncomfortable conversation with Longbottom that she’d ever had, and that they had come through it better and stronger than she expected. But it was early days yet, and Draco wanted to see if Longbottom really altered his behavior after the talk before he judged that the couple was out of the woods entirely.
“Besides which,” Harry said, pulling Draco’s attention back to him, “we already have an ex-couple, Blaise and Vesper, in the wedding party, and I don’t hear you talking about how that will be awkward.”
“That’s because…” Draco began, but realized that while he had plenty of arguments for that he really had no good ones. He sighed again. “Very well.” He looked down at his list again. “Now, to the other parts of the ceremony. Who should officiate? I had thought maybe Kingsley…?”
Harry made a face. “That’s a bit much, don’t you think? Having the Minister of Magic marry us? How pretentious do we want to get here?”
Draco laughed. “We wouldn’t be having him do it as Minister. It would be because he’s our friend.”
Harry thought about that. “Still…” he said. “Let’s invite him, obviously, but I’d rather have someone like…” He scratched the back of his neck. “Maybe Arthur Weasley? I know it’s a lot to ask, and I don’t think of him as a surrogate parent as much as I do Molly, but it would still be nice to include him…” He eyed Draco nervously, which Draco found rather adorable.
“It’s all right, Harry. I think that’s a fine idea.”
“It won’t bother you to have a Weasley in charge of the ceremony? Your ancestors won’t be rolling over in their graves?”
“Considering I’m going to be marrying Harry Potter, who isn’t just a half-blood from a traditionally light family, but also male to boot, I rather think that ship has sailed, don’t you?”
Harry grinned. “Yes, I suppose it has.”
“So, Arthur Weasley it is, then. Now as for the other roles…” He glanced at Teddy, and Harry followed his gaze.
“Teddy?” Harry said.
The boy looked up, blinking. “Yeah?”
“Do you want to be in the wedding?”
Teddy was still for a moment before he nodded, his smile small. “Yeah.”
Harry and Draco exchanged an amused and indulgent look. Teddy could be exuberant and enthusiastic about things, but when he was truly and deeply pleased by an idea he was often shy about his happiness instead.
“How about ring bearer?” Draco suggested to him.
“What’s that?”
“It’s the person who’s in charge of carrying the wedding rings down the aisle. You know, the rings that Harry and I will put on each other’s fingers and wear forever to show we’re married.”
Teddy’s eyes widened. “You’d let me carry those?” he asked, awed.
Draco fought a chuckle. “If you’re good and careful with them, of course we would trust you.”
“I’ll be good and careful,” Teddy promised. “I want to do it.”
“All right, then.”
Talk turned to the issue of a flower girl, and whether Victoire was really old enough to handle the responsibility. Teddy insisted that she was, and that he would watch over her and help her on the day, which made both Draco and Harry give in and agree.
With the structure of the ceremony and wedding party finalized Draco folded up his parchment and sent it off to his mother using his beloved owl, Archimedes. He returned to the kitchen to join Harry and Teddy, who were gathering at the table for dinner.
“Since you and Draco are going to be married,” Teddy said as Draco made to sit down, “does that mean you will have a baby soon?”
Harry went very still, then glanced at Draco, seeming at a loss for words. But Draco thought he knew where this was coming from.
“You mean like how Toby’s mum and dad are going to have a baby?”
“Yeah!” said Teddy excitedly. “He says he’s going to have a little brother or sister, just like Victoire has Dominique, right? And it will be a baby and Toby gets to be a big brother and watch it grow up.”
“Yes, that’s what will happen,” said Draco.
“So are you going to have a baby? I know you can’t have a baby in your belly like Toby’s mum. Toby told me only girls can do that. But Harry said that boys who are married can have babies too, just in a different way.”
“Yes,” Harry said, sounding wary. “I did say that, didn’t I?”
“Harry and I would like to have a baby someday,” Draco said, looking to Harry for confirmation that it was ok to share this. Harry gave him a small nod. “But not right away. Maybe in a few years.”
“But why?” said Teddy. “I’ll be so old by then.”
Harry laughed. “You won’t be that old, Ted. Maybe eight or nine. You’ll still have lots of time to be a big brother by the time we have a baby.”
“But when I’m eleven I’ll go to Hogwarts, and eight or nine isn’t that far away from eleven. That doesn’t give me very much time at all,” Teddy argued, sounding adorably reasonable. “So maybe you could have a baby sooner than that.”
Harry ruffled Teddy’s hair. “Let’s just get through this wedding, all right? Then we can talk about what comes next.”
Teddy sighed, clearly knowing that he was being brushed off, but Pipsy had put his dinner in front of him by then, and he seemed willing to focus on that instead. Harry cast Draco a glance that was half-amused, half-relieved, and Draco returned it.
Babies were certainly good and exciting, but they had plenty of excitement in their lives at the moment. If only they could somehow convince Teddy of that.
Up Next: Vesper’s department is brought onto an intriguing but disturbing murder case.
LadyShire: Thanks! Yes, there will be more Blaise/Vesper drama to come, and Harry and Draco will be witness to a lot of it.
Congrats on your own nuptials! That is funny timing. I just hope I do Harry and Draco’s wedding justice :)
Nowsthethyme: Thank you so much! It’s always wonderful and very motivating to hear from new readers. If you’d like to read more from me, I have (shameless plug) another Drarry fic in progress right now called A Secondary Education. You should check it out and let me know what you think! Getting regular feedback is one of the things that keeps me going, and I so appreciate the review!
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