Of patronuses and memories

The first time Draco uses his patronus, it's been longer than two years since the war and both he and Harry are lying in their bed, when he suddenly asks "Have you ever used a patronus?" Draco gets his wand and answers "Can't be that hard, can it?"

He isn't the person who has had the better life in the world nor the one who has the happiest memories of everything, but he still let's his mind wander to his childhood and his mother's perfume all around the room, when she would dance with his father or the way both of them embraced him just before he got into the Hogwarts Express and his mother telling him to write as soon as possible and his father saying that he would love being in Slytherin.

He remembers Hogwarts and the hat shouting "SLYTHERIN" as soon as it touched his head and the days spent sitting in the common room with Pansy, while she babbled on about her and Theo's plans for the future.

"What are you thinking about?" Harry whispers in his ear, arms closing around his waist. He doesn't answers and just smiles at his boyfriend for a brief second

And then he thinks about Harry. The first time he saw him after the war, in his and his parent's trials, where Harry defended them, saying that "Narcissa saved his life and Voldermort threatened them" and soon it was over, they wouldn't refuse something the Boy Who Lived had asked and he was standing there, with his parents by his side and he catches Harry looking for a moment and he nods to him, in a way that says "Thank you" and then apparates home with his parents and his father's arm is around his mother's waist and it's been so long since he saw him doing something like this and she promises him that nothing will ever get in the way of their family, ever again. A few months later he is in the Diagon's Alley Apothecary and so is Potter and he wonders how someone can start looking so fit in a few months and supposes Auror Training is doing him some good, of course, he doesn't miss Potter staring at his ass as he leaves. And then almost exactly a year ago, when some idiots who didn't liked the tattoo in his left arm practically destroyed his potions laboratory and the only Auror willing to get a case that if completed will do something good for a former death eater is Potter, from then all the small insults thrown at each other's way was mostly joking and they both knew it. It wasn't long after the Ministry First Annual Ball Comemnoring the End of the Second Wizarding War came and everyone was staring as he walked in, arm-in-arm with Harry and Weasel looked like he was about to throw up and Kingsley like he wanted to murder both him and Harry, right there in that moment. The whispered conversations just before their first kiss, the kiss itself a bit hesitant in the beginning, but a couple seconds later their arms were around each other and screw it people were still looking at them like they were mad.

After that, Draco stops thinking and just starts feeling, feeling the way Harry arms are around him and he's chest is pressing against his back and the fact that he can feel Harry breath hitting his neck and in a second he says, on the top of his voice "Expecto Patronum"

A beautiful silver peacock, with its feathers spread, emerges from the top of Draco's wand and he smiles when he sees the too well known animal, whose was always present when he was still living in the Malfoy Manor. Once more, all those happy memories from along his life wander in his mind as both he and Harry watch the peacock till it vanishes. He leans against Harry, who sighs and buries his head in his hair. "Love you, a lot." Draco chuckles softly. "Poor you, I'm still trying to decide. You're annoying most of time and not near hot enough to compensate for that. Oh, and you forgot my birthday, I'll never forgive you for that." "I only pretended that I forgot your birthday! You even had a surprise party with all your Slytherin friends in it!" "You pretended that you pretended to forget my birthday." "Whatever you say." "Love you too"