A/N: I don't know how the whole Vermont civil union thing works, so I did my best with it. This picks up four years after At the End of the Day', give or take a few months. Or, in my timeline, just about present day, hence reference to current things.
Title is reference to the song by Hole (mislabeled as Rock Star on their Live Through This). Well, I went to school/in Olympia/And everyone's the same... we look the same/we talk the same/yeah we even ***k the same.



Harry Cadeus-Cobain stepped outside the apartment just behind his husband and locked it. Hard to believe we're going to be done in just two weeks, he mused.

Especially considering that we're getting seven, eight years' worth of degree in just four years time, Drake Cobain smirked.

Harry laughed. Thanks to magic, Drake would receive a bachelors in chemistry as well as his doctorate in organic chemistry, and Harry would receive his political science bachelors as well as his juris doctorate. It's funny. I'm not ready for it to be over, but I'm glad it is. Even if we have no clue what we're going to do.

I heard that! called their neighbor, who was one of the first friends they had made in San Francisco. Jake and I talked to Becca and John, and we're going to take a two or three month tour of Europe. You two should come, Sean explained.

Harry and Drake exchanged glances. Europe? They hadn't thought of Hogwarts and the wizarding world in a long time. Er... I don't know, Sean, Harry said uneasily.

Jake joined them as they walked down the stairs. I won't pretend to understand why the two of you shy at any mention of England, but you have to go back sometime. Why not do it on your terms, with friends? I know you've said they were trying to marry you each off, but they can't force you to get married anymore, either, since you went to Vermont at the beginning of the year. Harry and Drake had gone to Vermont and had been united' on January 2, 2002, just a few months before.

Drake, what do you think?

We do know where to avoid. And I do miss British food on occasion. It's a big risk, but...

We don't exactly look like ourselves anymore, Harry finished. It was true. Both of them had had a final growth spurt the year after they left. Their hair, grown out during the war, had been cut short for the pesky balls that plagued their eighteenth summer, and they had both let their hair grow out almost immediately. Drake's reached just to his shoulders, and Harry's was slightly longer, usually held back in a ponytail. Harry typically cast an illusion charm on his scar each morning, which would have identified him instantly as Harry Potter, and had exchanged his glasses for contacts. Ironically, Drake had done the opposite, settling on small silver wire frames that Harry found strangely but deliciously sexy. Between them, they made an attractive couple, and hopefully not one that anyone would associate with The Saviors of the Wizarding World' as Witch Weekly had termed them.

And we could visit other countries too.

Okay, then, Sean, Jake. We'll take you up on this offer. When do we leave? Harry said, smiling. He and his husband were going to have an adventure, and one that didn't involve the risk of death or extreme pain.



Congratulations to us, congratulations to us, congratulations to uuss, congratulations to us, Harry sung, more than slightly off-key, as he and Drake returned to their apartment the night of their graduation. Both of them were slightly tipsy.

I can't believe it! You, a lawyer, and me, a PhD chemist! We're such, such... Muggles!

I know! Isn't it delightful? Can you imagine what would have happened if we had stayed, Drake?

We'd both be married, miserable, and probably expecting our second or third child.

Ugh. Not that kids are that bad, mind you, but I'm not even 22 yet.

Exactly. And there are plenty of magical orphans left that should be adopted before people go gung-ho on reproduction.

I bet 'Mione's got at least two kids already, what do you think?

With Ron as her husband? She's lucky not to have five already!

I wonder what Seamus did.

What do you mean?

I'm pretty sure that his and Dean's friendship was as platonic as ours. He was handling the balls slightly better, but not all that much. I wonder if our leaving gave him the impetus to leave himself.

If you're right, I hope so. No one deserves that fate.

The pair laughed as they headed towards the bedroom. The next day, they had to pack and get ready to leave their apartment for the summer. They thought about moving out altogether, but they could end up working in San Francisco, so they decided to pay the rent ahead and see what happened.



Harry and Drake were having the time of their lives. It was mid-July, and they had crisscrossed the Continent with their friends since the middle of May. Now, they were on a plane to Ireland, and looking forward to visiting the pubs in Dublin.

Harry, this is has been absolutely fabulous as a trip, but I think the airplanes stink, frankly.

Harry leaned over to whisper in his ear. That's because we're still used to being the ones steering when we're in the air, love.

I think that's what I miss most.

I know it's what I miss most.

The pair was silent, curled together and lost in their own thoughts until the plane touched down and the group of six made their way to the hotel in downtown Dublin.

Now. Where to? Sean asked brightly.

I wanted to go to some of those pubs Harry and Drake mentioned, Jake suggested.

Er, guys, I don't think that John and I would get much out of a gay pub, Becca offered.

Becca, we can always stay here in the room, John offered.

Why would we... oh! Right then. Carry on, boys. Have a nice night out.

Laughing, the other four changed clothes and headed to the closest pub for gays that they knew how to get to.

The beer was good, the music was as well, and Harry was getting up to visit the loo when he stopped short. he hissed. That's Seamus. I swear to god it is.

He's definitely not married, Drake said with some amusement in his voice. Indeed, Seamus was happily sandwiched between two other boys, and his hands, in plain view, were defiantly free of jewelry.

I hardly think that this is a set-up to catch us, then. Shall we?

Drake bit his lip, then nodded. Let's go. He stood up and caught Harry's hand as they walked over to where Seamus was sitting.

Still wearing Gryffindor red, Seamus? Harry asked in an amused tone as he gestured at Seamus' red silk shirt.

The other boy's head shot up, startled, and his mouth fell open. Bloody hell! Harry! Draco! He jumped up and hugged them, much to his companions' chagrin, and then gestured for Harry and Draco to join them. Sit, sit! Tell me what's going on! And don't ask me about the... school; I left a few days after the two of you.

Harry grinned. We're taking a tour of Europe with some friends of ours from college. We went to San Francisco, over on the West Coast in America. Lived out the college fantasy – partying, friends, music, movies. Drake just got his PhD! He finished proudly.

What Harry neglects to tell you is that he just got his law degree as well. Oh, and we went to Vermont at the beginning of the year. The pair held out their left hands for inspection, and Seamus was duly impressed.

This is an amazing coincidence, you guys! I don't come to this pub very often, and I happen to pick the night that you two show up. Tell you what. Come visit me at my flat tomorrow and we can reminisce. Seamus hurriedly scratched out an address on one of the napkins. Come around about 4, if you can; I get off work at 3:30.

Alright. See you then, Seamus.



The next night, Harry and Draco made excuses to their friends and went 'round to Seamus' flat.

Hi again! Now we can really talk, without the Muggles overhearing. Harry looked around, noticing that Seamus' flat was strangely like their own apartment in San Francisco – it appeared to be all-Muggle, but was in fact primarily magic. I can't believe that I'm really seeing you! I've missed everyone, you know, but not enough to go back to the balls, the expectations, the pressure.

Harry nodded, as Draco started to speak. Oh, believe us, we understand. We've spent the last four years having the childhood and adolescence that we never had. No dressing up, no robes, a low-key college. We had to heal.

They never realised how much more we ten had seen than the rest of them, did they? Seamus mused. I don't want to get all morose, but I've thought about it so many times, and I've never discussed it, and... well, I know that the two of you understand.

Honestly, we've never talked about it either. I know I needed the years of distance, and I think Draco did too.

I did. Harry, did you notice something scary? As soon as we entered the apartment, you started calling me Draco again, and I started thinking of myself as Draco, not Drake.

I do like Draco better as a name, Harry smiled. And it's really not all that unusual. Frightening, to think it's that easy to slip up, but not unusual.

So you've been going by Drake, then? What about last names? And where's your scar, Harry?

Yeah, I changed my name to Drake Cobain on the walk to the Muggle bank a few days before we left. Harry opened his account in the name of Harry Cadeus.

Except now I'm Harry Cadeus-Cobain. And I cast an illusion charm every morning to keep the scar concealed. It would be a dead giveaway. Harry stopped short. Draco, Seamus is another wizard.

Um, yeah, Harry, we went to school with him, fought with him, remember?

No, no. Harry was smiling. We couldn't do the wizarding part of the wedding ceremony because there wasn't another wizard present. We could now!

But I thought... Draco's jaw dropped.

The spell's not gender specific, but it's just not done, usually. I know it works, though, because I was the third party for Sirius and Remus.

Seamus was smiling. If you two want to, I'd be honored.

Draco grinned. Definitely. Harry, you're a genius!

The three laughed, and then Harry and Draco joined hands while Seamus said the marriage-bonding spell over their clasped hands. There was a pause and then a shower of rainbow glitter erupted from the end of Seamus' wand, declaring the marriage sealed and unbreakable.

Harry sat, stunned, as the magic washed over him. Draco tenderly let go of Harry's hands and reached to take Harry's face into his hands, and their lips met softly and with such care than Seamus thought he would cry for the love the two shared together.

Smiling, Harry broke apart from Draco, and turned to Seamus. Thank you, he said quietly. I can't tell you how much that means to me – to us.

Seamus smiled. It was my pleasure. You don't get many chances to see two people who are perfect together and perfectly happy together.

Draco grinned. Yes, we are. There followed a happy period of drinking, smiling, and happy reminiscing between the three, and it was after they had eaten take-out, and the sun had set, that the conversation returned to more serious topics.

Why did they expect so much out of so few that were so young? Draco mused. I've asked myself that question so many times, and I still don't know the answer. There were Aurors that had so much more training than we did, even at the end. We were fifteen when we started training, and Harry and Hermione weren't even eighteen by the end of the war. There were others, so why us? And then why did they expect to control our lives even further afterwards?

I ask myself the same questions, Draco, Seamus answered. Dean & I used to wonder about it, as well. Half of us weren't even raised in the wizarding world. My dad's a Muggle; both of Dean's parents were. Harry, your parents both went to Hogwarts, but you were raised by Muggles. Hermione's Muggle-born, as is Justin. So it's not even like we had some sense of wizarding history, really. Why the ten of us? Why ruin our lives like that? I don't believe in some token talk about a prophecy, although I remember Lavender trying to tell us about something like that. We were just kids. We were just kids.

Harry shook his head. You all may have just been kids, but I was never a kid. Although I think it was part of the same plan; I had to be willing to sacrifice my life if need be. The one thing they didn't count on was that I might love someone. It had been carefully manipulated so that I wouldn't, if you think about it, but I did. That made the difference between going along with their plans, even if it meant sacrificing myself, and finding other ways to accomplish the same goal.

Draco had gathered Harry into his arms as he spoke. Shh, love, we're both here and we're together. He cleared his throat and looked at Seamus. I know it wasn't a prophecy, because they were all genuinely surprised when I joined our side. Still, I don't know that I was ever a child either, with the things Lucius let' me see. Draco sighed. I miss the wizarding world. I love our life, don't get me wrong, but there's something..

quipped Harry.

Draco laughed. Maybe so, you great prat. Maybe so. At any rate, it's all I knew growing up, and we are wizards, whether the wizarding community likes that fact anymore or not.

Oh, they don't know that you're gay, Seamus said quickly. McGonagall covered that up fast. The only ones that know are Ron, Hermione, Justin, Mandy, Sirius, Remus, McGonagall, and me. There were all sorts of stories that went around about why you left but when I left the most popular was that you had both seen too much during the war and were being treated in a foreign country for your psychological injuries.

Harry laughed. That's not too terribly far from the truth, in a way. We were in a foreign country and just being us, without the added responsibility, was rather like treatment.

It almost makes me want to go back. Almost. Just to see their faces. The smirk on Draco's face was absolutely adorable, and Harry told him so as he proceeded to kiss it thoroughly.

Oops. Sorry, Seamus, Harry said sheepishly a few minutes later.

Not a problem! Seamus said cheerfully. You two deserve every happiness in the world.

Talk again turned light, and it was after midnight before Harry and Draco made their goodbyes, Seamus' address written down and tucked in their wallet. We're the only wizarding ex-pats that I know of, boys, Seamus had said, and I think we ought to keep in touch. It's been good to see you.

It's been good to see you as well, Harry had returned warmly, and the three had shared a brief hug before Harry and Draco stepped out the door. For constancy, for cunning, Harry began.

For courage that never ends, Draco continued.

For common sense and preparedness, Seamus added, grinning.

We fight, we live, we love, lilies surround us for ever, they finished simultaneously, their motto, battle cry, and prayer completed, and Harry and Draco walked off into the darkness without another word.