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The Optimal Balance	By : TheMightyFlynn Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 17124 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belong to JK Rowling and associates. This was written for fun. I make no money from it.

Chapter List
- 1-The Optimal Balance
- 2-Ch. 2
- 3-Ch. 3
- 4-Ch. 4
- 5-Ch. 5
- 6-Ch. 6
- 7-Ch. 7
- 8-Ch. 8
- 9-Ch. 9
- 10-Ch. 10
- 11-Ch. 11
- 12-Ch. 12
- 13-Ch. 13
- 14-Ch. 14
- 15-Ch. 15
- 16-Ch. 16
- 17-Ch. 17
- 18-Ch. 18
- 19-Ch. 19
- 20-Ch. 20
- 21-Ch. 21
- 22-Ch. 22
- 23-Ch. 23
- 24-Ch. 24
- 25-Ch. 25
- 26-Ch. 26
- 27-Ch. 27
- 28-Ch. 28
- 29-Ch. 29
- 30-Ch. 30
- 31-Ch. 31
- 32-Ch. 32
- 33-Ch. 33
- 34-Ch. 34
- 35-Ch. 35
- 36-Ch. 36
- 37-Ch. 37
- 38-Ch. 38
- 39-Ch. 39
- 40-Ch. 40: Epilogue
- 30
- 31
- 32
A/N: To the anon on the last chapter: thank you, I'm so happy you're enjoying it!

“Tell me again why we are not just Apparating?”
Draco didn’t even bother to try to prevent the roll of his eyes. “Of course you should feel free to attempt to Apparate all the way to Tuscany with an under-aged child in tow, Blaise,” he responded as he continued to adjust his robes in the mirror of his and Harry’s bedroom. “I, however, would much prefer to take the safer option and use the floo that the church has kindly opened to us.”
A deep sigh was Blaise’s only response for a little while, giving Draco the time to finish buttoning and adjusting his robes in peace. When he was finally satisfied, he turned to face the bed. Blaise was lounging on one of the soft chairs that usually sat in the small room that led into the bedroom, his long legs resting on the bedspread and crossed at the ankles. Draco eyed them with mild distaste for a few seconds, earning himself a quiet chuckle.
“Afraid my filthy feet will mar your pristine bed?” He removed his feet slowly, taking the time to flick invisible dirt off what were obviously expensive Italian loafers. “Don’t try and pull that haughty pureblood bullshit with me, Draco. I know the kinds of things you have done in the past; my feet are probably the cleanest things that have been in your bed.”
With a small smile, Draco allowed himself to relax a little. It wasn’t often that he and Blaise got some time alone, just the two of them, and he was finding that he had missed both him and the easy way they fell back into conversation, no matter how long it had been. Flicking his hand at Blaise’s shoes as he made his way past, Draco grinned.
“I don’t know about that one anymore, you know…”
Draco left the sentence open, waiting to see whether Blaise would take the bait. He was rewarded a few seconds later by the sound of Blaise sighing.
“I absolutely refuse to believe that Potter was that innocent when the two of you finally found your way to a bed.”
Draco couldn’t help laughing as he perched on the side of the bed facing Blaise. “Obviously not innocent, no, because he has three children. However, I have strong reason to believe that there was only one man before me and that it was about twenty years ago.”
Blaise was quiet for a few seconds. “Just one?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck… You know, I haven’t been with a virgin in years?”
“He wasn’t a virgin, Blaise.”
“He was damn close to and that’s closer than I’ve gotten in years, you lucky bastard.” Blaise shook his head emphatically when Draco began to laugh. “Don’t just brush off this stroke of luck, Draco. Do you know how difficult it is to find a woman these days who will sleep with me and do as I ask without making it into some kind of kinky thing? I don’t want to be fucking spanked, or choked, or to have some giant horse of a woman standing over me with a whip; all I want is someone I can teach to pleasure me. Is that too much to ask?”
Feeling his top lip curl in disgust, Draco shook his head. “That is not something I have ever wanted to know, Blaise.”
“But now that you do, if you happen to find someone–”
“I’m not going to act as your fucking pimp, Zabini!”
“I’m not asking you to, Malfoy.” Blaise’s lips quirked up into a smirk when Draco sighed. “All I’m saying is that if you do happen to find someone who might fit that description, then send her my way. Is that too much to ask?”
Dropping his head so he could scrub a hand along the back of his neck, Draco let out another sigh. “This was really not the way that I imagined this day was going to start, you know. Why are you talking to me about this?”
“Because in my absence, he gets desperate.”
Both Draco and Blaise jumped at the sound of Pansy’s voice in the doorway of the bedroom. Spinning around, Draco took in the sight of her standing in the doorway, her arms crossed across her chest. She had a satisfied little smirk on her face that had Draco automatically rolling his eyes.
“You’ve been getting Blaise laid?”
“Well, Draco, you always preferred to find your own fun, so I had to focus my matchmaking talents elsewhere, didn’t I?”
“Oh yes, I’m sure I’ve missed out on some absolutely stellar men due to not thinking that you could find me one better than I could.” Draco couldn’t help the touch of sarcasm to his voice. “Exactly which one of Blaise’s ex-wives was your fault?”
The pointed heels of Pansy’s shoes clacked on the floor as she slowly entered the room. It appeared to Draco as though she was studying the two of them, although why, he had no idea. Shooting Blaise a quick glance, he raised an eyebrow, but the only response he got was a small shake of Blaise’s head. He allowed Pansy to make her way to the end of the bed before giving her a pointed look.
“Number two was ‘my fault’, if you absolutely insist on assigning blame.” Draco could hear the quotation marks she spoke with. “But why are we speaking about Blaise’s romantic disasters when Draco here is getting married again in two days?”
The knowing look she shot Draco when he let out a quiet breath had his stomach dropping into his shoes. He had been very determinedly focussing more on the fact that they still had to get through the rehearsal and the next day before the wedding for the simple fact that every time he thought about the upcoming wedding, he found himself almost overcome with nerves. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry Harry, or that he thought it was a bad idea, but the very idea of standing up in front of all of their family and friends and saying his vows absolutely terrified him for some reason. How Pansy had worked out just how nervous the idea of getting married again made him was beyond Draco and he was unsure whether it was a good thing or not. Offering her an extremely polite smile, he gestured to the end of the bed.
“Why don’t you have a seat, Pans? And please, feel free to choose a subject other than the wedding to discuss.”
It took Pansy a few seconds to get herself settled, but both Draco and Blaise stayed dutifully quiet. It was odd, Draco reflected, just how easy it was for Pansy to grab both of their attention and hold it until she was ready to speak again, but he had never questioned it. When she finally got herself settled properly, Pansy looked between the two of them, a smile spreading slowly across her face.
“So, let me get this straight,” she began. “You don’t want to discuss Blaise’s sex life and you don’t want me to discuss the wedding. Is that correct?”
Draco could feel himself being drawn into some kind of trap, but knew he was helpless to prevent it. “I don’t suppose you would be willing to just sit in silence while I finish getting ready?”
“Draco…”
There was a tone to Pansy’s voice that said, very distinctly, ‘be reasonable’. He sighed and scrubbed his hand through his hair again, knowing that there was no way he could win against her.
“Fine, go right ahead.”
Standing so he could continue with the finishing touches to his outfit, Draco listened carefully to Blaise and Pansy chatting. Despite her words, Pansy actually kept away from the subject of the wedding. In fact, it seemed like she was much more interested in interrogating Blaise about various aspects of the Italian wizarding politics, leaving Draco to himself for the time being. He knew he should have known that it was too good to be true; he knew that he should have been more on his guard for random questions than he was. But he simply wasn’t.
“So why are you afraid to marry Potter, Draco?”
The question was aimed at him the second he finished fussing with his hair and clothing and had made his way over to sit on the edge of the bed again. Pansy had claimed his previous position and was actually leaning back against the headboard, looking as though she owned the entire place. The smile she shot him could only be called predatory when he glanced up at her with what he assumed was a look of complete shock.
“I’m not,” he blurted out automatically before he had time to think. His words seemed to surprise Blaise, but Pansy just raised an eyebrow at him until he was composed enough to being to speak again. “I have never once questioned this marriage and you know it. Standing up in front of seemingly every single person I have ever met to declare undying devotion, however…”
“Ah, your fear of showing any emotion beyond contempt.” Pansy offered up a knowing smile when Draco looked at her, but seemed almost hesitant to elaborate on the statement. “Has he shown any disinclination to marry you?”
“Of course not.” Draco could feel his brows drawing down into a scowl as insult tightened his chest. Without thinking, he leant forward so he could meet Pansy’s eyes. “And I resent the implication that I would have given him any cause to not wish to continue with the marriage.”
“Draco–”
“No, Blaise, shut-up.” Draco refused to break eye contact with Pansy, who was still gifting him with one of her most annoying smiles. “Why would you question something like that?”
“Perhaps I need to know that one of my best friends is making the right choice.”
“Bullshit.”
“Draco–”
“Shut-up, Blaise.”
“You think it’s impossible that I could want to see you happy?”
“By questioning Harry’s loyalty to me two days before the wedding? Yes.”
“Then perhaps you should ask him why I was so late in getting here today.”
“Draco!”
“For fuck’s sake, Blaise, what?”
Turning, Draco watched as Blaise sighed, then pointed towards the doorway with an exasperated look on his face. Rolling his eyes, Draco followed Blaise’s pointed finger. He wasn’t expecting to see much beyond possibly Astoria coming to check on them, but his mind went blank when he got a look at what – who – had caught Blaise’s attention. Harry stood in the doorway to the bedroom, watching their interaction with a slightly stunned expression. Draco's eyes immediately slid closed when it finally dawned on him that Blaise had been trying to warn him that Harry had interrupted them. His mind raced, going over the conversation, but he knew that Harry must have heard all of the important things that had been said.
“She spent half an hour interrogating me on my intentions this morning, just in case you were wondering.” Harry’s voice was low and laced with a strange tone that Draco couldn’t quite make out. “That’s why she was late.”
The bed dipped in the next few seconds, indicating that Pansy had stood. Forcing his eyes open, Draco met her gaze, searching for an explanation.
She gave an elegant shrug. “I had to know.”
“Of course you did.”
Draco shook his head when she squeezed his shoulder as she moved past him. Blaise followed shortly after her, but not before giving Draco a sympathetic look that had Draco smiling a little in return. His skin tingled with a slight rush of nerves when he was alone with Harry, but he didn’t turn to face him, needing the few seconds to compose himself. The sound of Harry’s shoes thudding across the room towards him caused Draco to take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“You were right, you know.” The footsteps halted just out of Draco's line-of-sight. “I have no reason to question why I want to marry you.”
Unable to prevent it, Draco smiled properly. “I didn’t know you were there.”
Harry was smiling back at him when he raised his head. Warmth rushed through Draco's chest when Harry rubbed a hand through his hair, a sure indication of his own nerves. Harry shrugged, the movement much less refined than when Pansy had made the same gesture a minute before.
“I already knew everything you said to her; she was the only one actually questioning it.”
As it was clear that Harry was uncomfortable at either having witnessed what he had, or just with the direction the conversation had taken in general, Draco took pity on him and changed the subject. Standing so he could fuss with Harry’s clothes, he listened to his answer, simply enjoying the sound of his familiar voice. This was much closer to how Draco had imagined the day beginning.
*~*
“…and with that, I shall declare you both to be married, you shall be asked to kiss your husband and the entire church will applaud.”
Harry couldn’t help the excited grin he gave the priest when he finished the explanation of how the wedding would go. In fact, if he was to be truly honest, he hadn’t been able to stop grinning the entire day. If this kept up, he had no idea how he would be able to cope with the actual wedding day, because he was fairly certain that if he smiled any wider, he would strain something.
The rehearsal had gone fairly well, considering the number of children who were running around. James and Scorpius had been the best behaved out of all seven of them, but Harry was certain that the only reason they had been on their best behaviour was because both Astoria and Hermione had been standing not too far off the entire practice ceremony. It was unfortunate, but both he and Draco had been a little too distracted by the proceedings to pay much attention to the children that day. But he figured they could be forgiven that one little slip-up, just this once. He was jerked back to reality by the sound of Draco thanking the priest.
“It is my pleasure, Mr. Malfoy. I have known your parents for many long years now and I consider it an honour to be the one trusted with marrying their son.”
“In that case, you must call me Draco.”
Harry couldn’t help smiling once again as he listened to Draco interacting with the elderly priest. The rest of the wedding party had moved off and were milling around the church, but Harry found himself reluctant to leave Draco's side. He glanced around the church instead, taking in the high, arched ceilings and the ornately painted stained-glass windows. The floo that they had used to get there that morning sat in a small backroom of the church, out of sight of any of the congregation. The church itself had surprised Harry when they had arrived, as he had been expecting something large with gilded surfaces everywhere, but this was… nice. It was such a pathetic word to use, but ‘nice’ seemed to fit it perfectly, with its neat rows of pews and slightly faded red carpet leading up to the altar. Harry came back to reality again in time to thank the priest for everything he had done and was going to do for them.
“Dad, Dad, can we go play outside?”
Harry knelt down when Lily came rushing up to him, the long dress she had insisted on wearing flapping behind her. “As long as there’s an adult out there with you, I don’t see why.”
“Thanks!”
By the time Lily turned and raced out of the church, Harry found himself standing alone with Draco at the altar of the church. Meeting Draco's eyes, a rush of anticipation hit him with such force that his hands began to tremble slightly. Clenching them automatically, he grinned as he stepped forward.
“Two days.”
“Two days,” Draco agreed, a smile breaking on his face Harry was certain must equal his own.
He flexed his fingers just before he took another small step forward. “And then the reception.”
Draco cocked an eyebrow at him. “I would assume you were more looking forward to the honeymoon than the reception.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I am. It’s just…” Harry paused long enough to hook his fingers through the belt loops of the black trousers Draco wore. “You know we haven’t had a chance to dance together since your birthday?” A slightly disbelieving laugh from Draco had Harry grinning again.
“Dancing? That’s what you’re looking forward to?”
“No,” Harry replied simply as he tugged Draco forward a few steps so they were close enough to almost touch. “Not dancing in general. Dancing with you, however…”
He trailed off, allowing Draco to finish the sentence himself. A faint pink tint to Draco's cheeks gave away what he was feeling at that moment, causing Harry to let out a chuckle.
“Come on, Harry, you can’t expect me to–”
“Have been born with more natural grace and rhythm than I have managed to gain in my entire almost-thirty-eight years? Yes, I can.” Tugging on the belt loops, Harry dragged Draco to his chest. “Say you’ll dance with me.”
He couldn’t help letting out another low chuckle when Draco's hands slid, seemingly automatically, around his waist. Leaning forward, he pressed their lips together softly.
“Draco?”
“Alright.”
Pleasure rushed through Harry’s chest at the whispered word. He was just about to drag Draco into another kiss when something deep inside him jerked. Gasping, he stepped backwards, breaking Draco's grip on him.
“Harry! Draco!”
His heart racing, Harry glanced over to where Draco stood, a wild look in his eyes. The tracking charm; the tugging feeling in his chest had to be being caused by the tracking charm he had placed on the boys.
“Harry! Draco!”
“The boys?”
Harry nodded. “The boys.”
The doors at the back of the church crashed open before Harry had a chance to get his thoughts together enough to react further. Astoria and Hermione raced inside, their faces red and breathing hard.
“They’re gone; all the children are gone.”
“Grimmauld.”
Without a second thought, Harry twisted on the spot and left for Islington.
- 30
- 31
- 32
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The Optimal Balance