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The Optimal Balance	By : TheMightyFlynn Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 17125 -:- 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
- 38
- 39
- 40
A/N: Jan: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!
Gervas: Thanks so much! On the chance you haven't already, if you want any more info on some of the references in this fic, then 19 Years and 5 Minutes Later is the story that comes before it. It will give a proper background to everything that's happening here. :)

“Are you absolutely certain you’re right on your own for a while?”
Draco rolled his eyes. “Blaise, I am a grown man. I have been able to dress myself properly for a while now; your assistance in that regard isn’t required.”
The sceptical look Blaise shot Draco in return before exiting the small changing room had him smiling a little in response. Turning his back on the door, Draco faced the full-length mirror and took in the sight of himself dressed in his full formalwear for the wedding. The pale blue highlighted his eyes nicely, with the cream-coloured accents – strangely enough – lending his pale skin a warmer glow than it usually held. It wasn’t himself that he was focussed on, however. He knew that, just across the church hall in another changing room, Harry was currently probably doing the exact same thing he was: standing in front of the mirror, examining himself in the clothing they were about to be married in. The thought sent a shiver of anticipation down Draco's spine.
He had actually expected to be a lot more nervous than he currently was, but there had been a sense of right flowing through him since the previous night and Harry’s reaction to what Draco had confessed to him. Not that he had felt that what they were doing was wrong in any way before the previous night… Draco shook his head as his mind began to wander over the rest of their relationship. He knew that, technically, what they had shouldn’t work. They were too volatile, they had too much history that went against them being able to have a normal relationship, their family histories worked against them… Despite it all, though, Draco just knew that this was right. He was drawn out of his thoughts by the door opening silently behind him.
“How are your nerves?” Pansy’s voice was low, as though she were asking about a deeply hidden secret. “Do I need to put my escape plan into action?”
Turning slowly from the mirror, Draco raised an eyebrow in question. “You have an escape plan?” He rolled his eyes when Pansy nodded matter-of-factly. “For me.”
“Of course.” Her tone was so practical that Draco couldn’t help shaking his head in disbelief. “Well, considering how grateful Blaise would have been for an escape route from at least two of his marriages, I figured that I should come prepared this time.”
With the anticipation and excitement of the day rushing through his system, Draco was helpless to prevent the wide grin he gave in response. “Exactly which part of this very committed and happy relationship made you think I would react the same way Blaise would?”
Cocking her head to the side, Pansy offered Draco a small smile. “You should always be prepared for every possible scenario; you know that.” She paused just long enough to run her eyes the length of him. “Even if those scenarios seem impossible.”
Still unable to stop his current happiness from showing on his face, Draco ducked his head instead of trying to prevent the smile. He’d known that Pansy knew that he was more committed to this relationship than he had been about anything that he had been involved in before this, which was why he hadn’t taken her ‘offer’ seriously. It was nice to know that she was thinking of him, though, even if it was for completely the wrong reasons. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Pans?” She was watching him with amusement clear in her eyes when he glanced up. “I’m getting married. For real this time.”
The wide smile that Pansy gave Draco in response just before she drew him into her arms was so rare that Draco was taken slightly by surprise. As a consequence, he nearly stumbled when he had to lean down into the embrace, despite Pansy’s ever-present heels.
“I love that he makes you so happy, Draco,” she whispered in his ear once he was finally able to stabilise himself. “But no one will ever find his body if he fucks this up in any way.”
The laugh the bubbled up out of Draco sounded a little delirious to his ears. “It’s good to know I still have someone like you to watch my back.” He tightened his grip on her for a few seconds before releasing her and stepping back. “What do you think?”
Turning in a small circle, Draco spread his arms as much as possible in the tiny room. When he completed the circle, it was to find Pansy grinning at him.
“I think it’s obvious that Narcissa chose your clothing.”
“Because you know if it was left up to him, they both would have ended up in black and white.” The door opened to reveal Astoria grinning at the both of them. “Sorry, Pans, but I have to steal him.” She turned to face Draco fully, her smile, if possible, getting even wider. “It’s time.”
Almost as though the words had released something inside him, Draco's stomach flipped, his hands clenched by his sides and his heart began to hammer in his chest. Draco thought he had managed to hide his reaction from Pansy as she reached out to squeeze his hand before leaving the room, but he was unsure. He knew for a fact that he wouldn’t be able to hide it from Astoria and that was proven when she stepped inside the room and closed the door shut with a quiet click behind her.
“I am so proud of you, Dray.”
That brought him up short. Blinking at Astoria in confusion, Draco tried to force his mind into working through why she would say that, but he came up completely blank.
“What?”
“Of Harry too, really. The two of you have overcome so much together and I really think that you deserve this happiness; that you’ve earned it. So…”
She paused and fished the by-now quite familiar black case that Draco knew held the Black family heirlooms the boys had discovered. When Astoria flipped the lid open, however, only the female jewellery was left. Draco shot her a slightly puzzled look.
“Tori?”
“Harry’s wearing the cufflinks and he will be using the men’s ring for your wedding ring. I know the two of you were just going to use one of the old family rings, but I spoke to your Mother and she agreed with me that this is the better option. I think she likes the idea of you wearing a ring that’s been enchanted by an ancestor to protect the wearer.”
Staring down at the open box in Tori’s hands, Draco let out a small breath and closed his eyes. She had definitely managed to alleviate the nerves that had cropped up so suddenly, but this… He sighed and shook his head before forcing his eyes open again.
“I…” Unable to express everything that was beginning to rush through him, Draco bent to scoop her into his arms. “I love you, Tori.”
The laugh she let out in response was a little wobbly. “You’d better, after everything you’ve put me through over the years.” Pulling back, she dabbed at her eyes with the corner of a handkerchief before smiling up at him. “Come on. Harry’s waiting for you.”
*~*
In the pale blue and cream robes, Draco looked absolutely stunning. Glancing down at himself as he stood in the changing room, Harry figured that at least one of them would look good. True to his fears, he believed that the cream and gold robes Narcissa had chosen for him to wear made him look like a small child playing dress-up rather than a grown man on his wedding day. But he knew there was nothing for it at that stage. The soft music playing in the church changed slightly, indicating that the ceremony was about to begin just as he was beginning to fidget with the cuffs of his robes.
“I would ask that the congregation be upstanding, please,” the priest intoned, causing a very subtle murmuring to go up among the crowd.
Harry was quite tempted to simply stay standing at the door right where he was so he could continue staring at Draco – how the hell the bloody man could make every single thing look so damn good was beyond Harry – but he knew that he would regret missing this first part of the ceremony. Lily had been absolutely insistent that she would be flower girl and, once the idea had gotten into her head, Harry hadn’t had the heart to refuse her. Especially considering Narcissa had come up with roles for both of her brothers. What Harry was extremely thankful for, however, was that in the confusion and mess the boys had caused, Lily seemed to have forgotten that she wanted to have Lucius’ peacocks to have a part in the ceremony as well. Harry grinned to himself when she appeared at the top of the aisle. Standing straight and proud, it was clear that Lily was enjoying being the centre of so many people’s attention. Narcissa had managed to find a set of robes small enough for Lily to wear that combined the pale blue of Draco's robes and the dark gold of Harry’s. The combination of colours probably shouldn’t have worked with Lily’s shock of Weasley red hair but, for some strange reason, it really did. Pride combined with a rush of pure happiness swirled rapidly through Harry’s chest as he watched his daughter walking down the aisle, spreading rose petals before her. The robes swirled around Lily’s feet as she walked, but they swirled even more when she reached the end of the aisle, turned and performed a sweeping curtsey to the congregation. Some members of the audience laughed and some applauded as Lily swept off to take her seat in the front row, causing Harry to shake his head.
“Always the performer that one, hey mate?”
Harry stepped back from the door and turned to face Ron. He thought that Narcissa was most likely grateful that he and Draco had decided that their attendants – Ron and James for Harry and Blaise and Scorpius for Draco – would be dressed in plain black. Ron was just adjusting the collar of his robes for roughly the thousandth time that morning and Harry could see James fidgeting in the corner of the small changing room, both of them looking incredibly nervous. Their nerves hadn’t been helping Harry at all that morning, but he knew there was nothing for it. Harry shot Ron what felt like an anxious grin.
“You ready?”
“Me? I’m not the one getting hitched! Are you sure you’re ready?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw James turn towards them, a curious look in his eyes. Harry grinned.
“I’m pretty sure I haven’t been this ready for anything in my life before this.”
“Alright then,” Ron responded without even a moment’s hesitation, which Harry found himself quite thankful for. “Let’s get you married, then.”
The ceremony itself was a bit of a blur to Harry. It wasn’t that he was overcome by nerves, or even that there was anything unforgettable about it at all, but more that he was anticipating one particular part of the ceremony. Everything seemed to sharpen in Harry’s mind when the priest finally reached it, though.
“Do you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, take this man to be your lawfully wed husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in happiness and sadness, till death do you part?”
It seemed to Harry that his entire nervous system flashed with an electric jolt when Draco glanced up to meet his eyes.
“I do.”
Harry was aware that a ridiculously wide smile spread across his face at the words, but he was completely unwilling to try to prevent it. Not even the slight tremble to Draco's hand as Harry slid the heirloom ring on his finger could dampen the exhilaration that coursed through his veins. The intensity of Draco's gaze sent a shiver straight down Harry’s spine strong enough that he almost missed the priest’s next words.
“And do you, Harry James Potter, take this man to be your lawfully wed husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in happiness and sadness, till death do you part?”
“I do.”
Harry was absolutely certain that he could hear a slight tremble to his voice, but that wasn’t what he was so focussed on. Draco's fingers were so warm when they grasped Harry’s so he could slip the same ring they had become engaged with back onto Harry’s finger. Neither of them had wanted a very elaborate ceremony, but when that choice had been taken away from them, they had both stood firm in the belief that they didn’t need to be weighed down with a ridiculous amount of jewellery. One ring was more than enough to satisfy Harry and he would be absolutely damned if he was going to give this one up, because it was the one Draco had originally chosen for him on Christmas day seven months prior. He found himself unable to stop staring into Draco's eyes as the priest spoke the next words.
“I now pronounce you legally married. You may kiss your husband.”
Harry’s entire body thrummed with excitement, joy and a deep-seated satisfaction the second Draco drew him into a soft kiss. His arms snaked automatically up and around Draco's shoulders, pulling them close together as a cheer went up in the congregation; one that sounded distinctly Weasley-like to Harry’s ears. He was smiling wide when they broke apart after only a few seconds.
“I love you, Harry.”
Draco's voice was so low that Harry had a hard time hearing him over the cheers. What he was saying was shining clear in his eyes and on his face, however. Harry’s cheeks were beginning to ache from all the smiling, but he let out a laugh as he drew Draco into another soft kiss.
“Love you, too, Dray.”
*~*
The planned reception was to be part-formal and part-informal, from what Draco could gather. He hadn’t had much to do with the planning of this particular part of the day, but he wasn’t too fussed on exactly what was to happen. He had his husband wrapped tightly in his arms on a darkened dancefloor and that was all that mattered at that particular moment in time. He shivered when Harry’s fingers traced a light pattern over the nape of his neck.
“Draco…” Harry drew the vowels out in a whisper that Draco could only just hear over the top of the soft music, causing him to shiver again. “I think Tori might be expecting you to ask to cut in with her dance.”
Draco couldn’t help snorting. “No.”
“‘No’? That’s it?”
Draco knew that his answer truly was as simple as that: he didn’t want to relinquish Harry to anyone else just yet. He knew it was incredibly poor manners, but at that moment, he really didn’t care. Harry was his in every way he could be now and there was no way he was letting go, not even if it was just for one dance. Not yet, anyway.
“She’s dancing with Roger, right?” It wasn’t really a question he needed to ask, as Tori had been practically joined at the hip with Roger Davies since they had begun dating a few months’ prior. He grinned when he felt Harry nod. “In that case, she can bloody well stay with him.”
He felt the vibrations of Harry’s laugh through his chest more than heard it over the sound of the music. It was another few minutes – and the beginning of another song – before Harry spoke again.
“I want to give the snake pendant we found in the attic to your Mother.”
Warmth rushed through Draco's limbs that had nothing to do with the fact that he was wearing three layers of clothing in the middle of summer. “You do?”
“Well, we probably shouldn’t ever mention the pile of cockroach droppings it was sitting under, but yeah, I do. It’s a piece of jewellery that obviously belonged to the Black family and, considering Narcissa and Andromeda are the last surviving female family members, I think one of them should own it rather than just have it sitting in a case in Grimmauld or the Manor where it won’t ever be worn.”
“Offer it to Andromeda first.” Harry froze in Draco's arms, but Draco wasn’t worried. Tightening his grip around Harry’s waist for a few seconds, he waited until Harry relaxed a little. “My Aunt doesn’t have anything to remember her family by other than what she was carrying with her when she was exiled. Mother has a whole houseful of memories and keepsakes, so I’m sure she wouldn’t care if her sister got one thing that she didn’t.”
Draco was prepared for Harry to pull back from the embrace a little, but what he wasn’t prepared for was to be pulled immediately into a bruising kiss. He his breath left him in a slightly frustrated sigh when Harry pulled back again the second he began to react.
“Harry?”
With the lights reflecting on his glasses and tinting the small streak of grey hair that ran along his temple different colours combined with the wide smile that had hardly left his face the entire day, Harry looked a little manic. Draco grinned in return when Harry’s fingers came up to brush against his left cheekbone.
“Have I told you recently how perfect you are?”
Draco couldn’t have prevented the laugh that escaped him even if he had wanted to. This was a sentiment that Harry had expressed on a number of occasions in the past and it never failed to amuse him. No matter what had happened in the past between them, it was a sentiment that Draco shared. Neither of them were absolutely perfect; that was impossible. What he did believe was that it was very possible to be perfect for each other. Harry loved him, respected him, and accepted him for who he was and what he had done. When he took into consideration everything that had happened between the two of them over the years – including the past few weeks – then he knew that they shouldn’t have lasted. Their complete acceptance of each other, however, was what sealed their relationship. Harry was perfect for him and Draco would forever be thankful for that.
“No, but I don’t tell you how perfect you are anywhere near often enough, so I’d say we’re about even on that score.”
A peaceful kind of silence fell between them the second Harry had stopped laughing in response. Draco found that he was still unable to prevent himself from smiling, so he rested his head on Harry’s shoulder as they swayed slowly to the music. It, unfortunately, wasn’t long before a very feminine hand snaked its way onto Harry’s other shoulder. Draco only just prevented himself from sighing when he raised his head to see Astoria smiling at them.
“May I cut in?”
Just as Draco was reluctantly releasing his grip on Harry’s waist, Harry managed to shock him into freezing on the spot. With a quick shake of his head and a wide smile, Harry placed his hands over the top of Draco's on his hips, preventing him from moving them any further.
“I am so sorry, Tori, you know how much I would absolutely love to just give my husband up, but I’m afraid that I have to be incredibly rude and refuse you. I know it’s probably poor etiquette or something like that, but he’s mine.”
The sound of the surprised burst of laughter Tori gave in response was still ringing in Draco’s ears as Harry moved them out to the side of the dancefloor. Leaning in, he nuzzled into the crook of Harry’s neck and breathed deeply, taking in the scent of his oaky cologne.
He’s mine. The words buzzed through Draco's mind as he swayed in Harry’s arms; his husband’s arms. As the minutes slowly passed and the night went on, Draco found a sense of pride welling in his chest. Yes, he was Harry’s and he was incredibly proud of that fact.
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The Optimal Balance