Disclaimer: No I don't own Harry Potter. Just the plot, and one of the characters. Love the disclaimer now because this is the only one you're getting.
Summary: Sequel to Ferret in My Shoe! I don't want to give much of the plot away, so…Harry and Draco deal with adversity; there's a child; real life gives everyone a good smack in the face, and our poor Harry can't catch a break. :smiles:
Warnings: Slash! (I hardly consider that a warning…but I suppose there's some…) Though really, that one was established in the prequel to this. Which, by the way, if you haven't read Ferret in My Shoe…you probably should. This story will probably make much more sense if you have. And considering I have not yet written nor fully planned any of this story…I really don't know any other warnings. I'll let you know as we get there.
And of course, thank you to my wonderful beta, 13thMoonWitch. Thanks as always! Any odd things you see left in the story, are probably there because I want them to be. (Because I'm pretty sure he doesn't miss anything :)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chapter 1: Ends and Beginnings
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To say the students of Hogwarts acted differently the second semester of the year would be an understatement. To say that during that semester Hogwarts had seen the greatest amount of house-unity at the same time it saw the most intra-house discordance would be more accurate.
Somehow, in a very unintended effect, Harry and Draco's publicized relationship brought a different sort of relation between the students. Basically they were narrowed down into two groups: the conservative and the open-minded, creating an interesting reflection of the same muggle conflict. It was upon this new discovery that friends started being made in other houses.
It wasn't much at first: just a Hufflepuff walking with a group of Ravenclaws or some such. Then more and more began to branch out, and if anyone were to visit the Headmistress' office, they would have seen a portrait with twinkling blue eyes smiling in interest at the developments going on around the school.
Harry and Draco watched with the same sort of interest from their spots at the Gryffindor table during breakfast one day.
"If I'd known this was all it took…I'd've seduced you years ago," Draco said suddenly, and Harry sprayed the pumpkin juice he'd been sipping across the table as he was surprised into laughter.
"Eurgh, Harry, gross!" Ron cried, and Harry laughed harder as he looked up and saw Ron's expression, arms held away from him in slight disgust. The freckled boy had been unfortunate enough to be the one sitting across from Harry, and was now covered in Harry's morning drink.
Draco's lips quirked into an amused smile at Ron's disgruntled pout as Harry collapsed against him and buried his face in his shoulder, trying to gain control over his laughter. Without a thought, he wrapped his arm around the boy's waist and pulled him closer.
Finally, Harry calmed enough, and took a deep breath as he straightened up, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. "Sorry about that, Ron," he said, and waved his hand, effectively drying his friend.
"Yeah, yeah…" Ron grumbled, but the incident was soon forgotten as he went back to his breakfast.
Hermione rolled her eyes at all of them, though a small smile touched her lips as she continued to eat. Everyone else around them had gone back to their own conversations
Harry let out one last chuckle before turning his attention back to breakfast as well. He saw a copy of the Daily Prophet lying beside him on the table, set aside carelessly by another student, and so he pulled it towards him. He was bringing a forkful of eggs to his mouth, but stopped halfway when he read the headline of the top story in the magazine and immediately flipped to the listed page.
Boy-Who-Lived Out of the Closet and Off the Market?
Dark eyebrows rose in both amusement and curiosity. It had been a couple months since Harry and Draco got together, and they were just now writing an article about it? Then again, the papers had probably all been so busy covering the defeat of Voldemort that they had given his private life a temporary reprieve. So with a morbidly curious sense of trepidation, Harry began reading the article.
Ever since that fateful day of Harry Potter's first defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when he was only a year old, it has been many girls' dreams to capture the eyes and heart of our hero. And of course his latest grand defeat of You-Know-Who has ensured that none will forget his name for years to come.
But it would seem Mr. Potter's interests lie elsewhere, to the great disappointment of many fans. In a recent interview with a very reliable source, it was discovered that Harry Potter has come out of the closet, so to speak, and announced his shocking relationship with one very well-known Death Eater's son: Draco Malfoy.
"It's quite amazing, isn't it?"
"What?" Harry looked up in surprise as Hermione's voice reached him from across the table.
"What you and Draco have done for this school. All throughout Hogwarts: A History, there are constant mentions of house rivalry and no one has been able to do anything about it! Though I suppose you two haven't really gotten rid of it…more like confused it, I guess."
Ron laughed at Hermione's wording, and the girl blushed. "Oh shush, Ron," she mumbled, ducking her head.
Harry smiled, and shrugged. They hadn't done anything amazing; they'd only given people something different to argue about. His train of thought was suddenly thrown off as he heard a light snort from over his shoulder, and turned to see Draco leaning over him to read the article he'd left lying open on the table.
"I was beginning to wonder when they were going to start writing about us," the blond said conversationally. "Oh, honestly, 'cast a spell that stole our hero from the world?' You know, anyone else and I bet they wouldn't have said I stole you. Any girl and they'd be gushing about how adorable it was that their hero found someone to love."
Harry chuckled, and brought his arm up, patting Draco's opposite cheek before moving his hand down to loosely grasp his neck. He pulled the boy towards him until their heads touched, and Harry grinned. "Careful, love, or you might start to sound contemptuous."
Draco raised an eyebrow and replied, "Careful, love, or you might start to sound smart."
Harry growled playfully, and shoved Draco's shoulder. Draco laughed, and kissed Harry's cheek before returning to his own seat. Harry scanned the rest of the article, but didn't read it fully. It just went on to talk about how the relationship may have come about, and to give quotes that Harry was pretty sure were taken from Nott. He almost laughed at some of the speculations on their relationship, and knew this would feed the rumor mill for a while if they did nothing to correct it.
It was only the next day that Harry was proven correct. It started with one letter in the morning post. It was a very unassuming envelope that was dropped onto the table in front of him, and so he opened it without a thought. His cry of surprise, though, drew the attention of several people around him. As soon as he opened it, Harry could both see and feel the magic as it wrapped around him, and it stung slightly before going away again.
"Harry, the last time I checked, mail doesn't require you yelling at it for it to open," Draco said from beside him, obvious amusement in his voice.
Harry sent him a glare in return and said, "Yeah well the last time I checked, mail doesn't throw magic at me, either."
With a huff, Hermione reached forward, and grabbed the now harmless note from inside the envelope. "You know, recently listening to you two is like listening to a broken record," she mumbled as her eyes scanned the parchment. Then her mood immediately changed, and she muffled a giggle behind her hand.
Confused and curious, Harry reached out and snatched the letter from her hands, bringing it to him as Draco once again leant over his shoulder to read.
'Harry, darling!' it read, and Harry snorted as he read on. 'I just know you've been put under some awful curse! I had my father teach me to seal magic into a letter, and so this letter came with a spell that will get rid of any controlling or malicious spells. Once you're free of that evil Death Eater's clutches, please write me back!'
Harry wasn't even able to read the name of the sender before the letter was taken from his hands. He looked over in surprise as Draco held the paper up between two fingers, and pulled his wand from his pocket. Touching the tip to one corner of the letter, Draco said no words as the parchment suddenly ignited, swallowed immediately by blue and purple flames. Draco smirked in satisfaction as he pocketed his wand again.
Harry raised an eyebrow, and Seamus, who was sitting on the other side of him, leaned forward and asked, "What's going on over here?"
"Attempts on my boyfriend, that's what," Draco said with a frown, and Harry's lips quirked into an amused smile at the possessiveness in Draco's words. "Not to mention amateur spell-casting!"
"Speaking of which, are evil-purging curses supposed to sting?" Harry asked, rubbing his arm absently.
Neville, who was sitting near Ron, looked up in surprise. "It stung you? Purging curses are harmless," he said, having had many such spells cast on him a few times before by his grandmother.
"Lovely," Draco grumbled, casting a glare at the envelope still lying on the table. "Didn't take long for the delusional fans to start causing trouble."
Harry chuckled, and reached for Draco's hand, twining the other boy's fingers with his own. "Welcome to my life, Draco," he said with a large smile, and Draco wasn't sure whether to smile, frown or laugh. So he decided on a noncommittal grunt of both amusement and annoyance. The others sitting around them laughed, and the letter incident was forgotten.
At least it was…until the next letter arrived. That one arrived during Transfiguration. McGonagall, who had kept her post as teacher for the year until she could find a replacement, huffed at the interruption when Hermione immediately grabbed the letter before Harry could and began casting spells to detect anything unusual. This letter had no spells, however. Instead it proceeded to call Harry and Draco things that had them both scowling, and Harry crumpled up the letter, this time taking the satisfaction of burning it for himself.
The week following consisted of a slew of letters for both Harry and Draco, both good and bad, supportive and condemning. Most were read, laughed at, and subsequently burned. The boys had made it a game to see who could create the prettiest fire, or the most colorful, much to the amusement of the other students.
But when another week passed and the letters had still not ceased, even if the stream of them had lessoned considerably, Harry began to grow annoyed. "Draco…" he whined, tugging at his hair with his hands as they lay outside on a Saturday in the budding spring weather, "why won't they stop?"
Draco examined the letter in his hands with a raised eyebrow. It was a bright red envelope, beginning to smoke around the edges. With a careless shrug, he tossed it into the lake, where it finally exploded, and a stream of inaudible words bubbled to the surface of the water. "Because you're famous, Harry. You would think one would be used to the attention by now in your position."
Harry sighed, and shifted so that his head rested on Draco's stomach, closing his eyes as the March sun caressed his face. "Yeah I guess some people would be. I'd just as soon be another nameless face in the crowd."
With a small smile, Draco ran his hands through the dark strands of Harry's hair, eliciting a sigh from the Gryffindor. "You'll never just be a face in the crowd, Harry. I think you would stand out, even if you weren't the boy-who-lived."
Harry turned his head and opened his eyes to peer curiously at Draco. "Why would you think that?" he asked.
Giving another small shrug, Draco pulled his hand from Harry's hair and crossed both arms behind his head as a pillow. "You're a good person, Harry: you love to help people. You're very handsome, and yet seemingly entirely unaware of it which, frankly, only adds to your appeal." Harry's eyebrows rose in amused interest, and the faintest of blushes dusted Draco's cheeks. "And you're a natural leader, and very powerful, both of which are attractive to people as a whole."
Harry's brow furrowed, and he shook his head slightly. "But if I hadn't been the boy-who-lived, that probably wouldn't be me. I'm not a natural leader. I've had to be because people expected it. I want to help people probably because of the way I was raised: no one was ever there to help me. It probably would have been different with my parents."
Draco chuckled, causing Harry to make a sound of annoyance as his pillow moved beneath him. "Harry, deny it all you will, but you are who you are. Circumstances just happened to magnify your greatest qualities."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Now look who's giving the sappy speeches."
The smile never left Draco's face as he answered. "What can I say, you bring out the worst in me."
Harry snorted, and halfheartedly smacked Draco's chest. Draco caught the offending hand in one of his own, and they stayed like that for a while, enjoying the day's unusual warmth before they finally went back inside for dinner.
- - - - - - - - -
Throughout the next month, it seemed people were finally starting to accept that their letters weren't going to change Harry's mind about his choice, and so he received less and less of them now. The teachers were almost as happy as the two boys, since the letters had arrived at all times, and were a constant source of class disturbances.
Harry and Draco were both glad for the reprieve, and as the weather warmed, both could be found outside more, either together or alone. It was one such pleasant day, while Harry opted to stay inside for a random nap, that Draco found himself on a walk across the grounds.
He tucked his hands into his pockets and directed his gaze towards the sky, sighing as a soft breeze caressed his face. There hadn't been many moments like this lately. In fact, there hadn't been many since before the summer, when Harry had found him in the pet shop that day that brought them together. Smiling at the memory, Draco closed his eyes and the image of a bright-eyed boy with messy hair appeared in the darkness. A snort of amusement escaped him as he realized Harry had been right: he really was a hopeless romantic.
Before he could think on that any further, though, his musings were abruptly interrupted by a small, high-pitched noise from the ground. He blinked, and looked around, until he heard it again. It came from next to his feet this time: a tiny meow. And sure enough, when he looked down, there was a small, gray kitten with a white chest, white paws, and a large white patch of fur around its left eye.
Raising one brow, Draco looked around for any student, teacher, or any other random person that might have lost a pet, but there was no one around. He had walked quite a ways away from the school, and not many people made it out this far by choice.
The kitten gave another small mewl, and bumped its nose against Draco's ankle, which was about as high as it could reach. His expression melted into a gentle smile, and he knelt down before the animal, holding his hand out for the kitten to sniff before running his fingers over its fur. When he pulled his hand away, the kitten tried to follow it, and ended up falling over sideways. Draco chuckled and picked the small animal up before standing up again. "What are you doing way out here?" he asked the cat, which mewled happily at him in return.
Taking another careful look around for anyone or anything the animal might belong to, he gave it up as a lost cause, and tucked the kitten into a large pocket on the inside of his robes. After a moment of wriggling, it popped its head out of the pocket and mewled happily once more. Draco pushed it back down before making his way to the castle. He couldn't just leave the helpless thing out there to get eaten by the next thing that saw it as an appetizer!
When he arrived back at his rooms, Harry was lounging on the couch, half asleep with a cup of tea in his hands. Draco rolled his eyes affectionately: Harry had all but moved into Draco's room. Not that he was complaining of course. He stepped silently over to the couch, and gently removed the cup, which was dangerously close to spilling, from Harry's hands. The dark-haired boy made a vague noise, and turned towards Draco.
Shaking his head, Draco turned to walk into his bedroom, just off the small common room, but was abruptly halted by a hand grasping his robes. He stopped, and a small mewl came from his pocket, the kitten disturbed by the sudden lurching of its hiding spot.
There was a short pause and then Harry said in a half mumble, "Draco…did you just meow?"
"Um…yes?"
Green eyes opened and peered up at him with obvious disbelief. The kitten meowed again, and Harry pulled the robe that was in his grasp towards him, finding a small head poking from the inner pocket. He blinked a few times at the animal, willing himself to wake up, and Draco huffed impatiently, pulling the cat from his pocket and cradling it in his hands. "I found it," he said defensively at the sudden twinkle in Harry's eye.
Biting back the sudden urge to laugh, because really Draco was just too adorable like that, Harry decided to humor the boy. He sat up, and patted the seat beside him, waiting patiently as Draco hesitantly sat. "You found it?" he repeated, watching as Draco set the kitten in his lap.
A nod from the blonde head, and Harry's attention was once again drawn to the boy beside him. "I was walking, and he came up to me, and there was no one else around, and I couldn't just leave him there, so I brought him back and – can I keep him, Harry?"
Harry blinked, separating Draco's sentence in his mind, and couldn't stop the small near-giggle that escaped him when he did. "Slytherin indeed…" he muttered affectionately, then continued, "why are you asking me to keep it anyway? I can't tell you what to do."
And as Draco took the time to realize that, Harry plucked the kitten from his lap, smiling as it batted his nose when he held it up, assuring it was the boy Draco suddenly claimed it to be.
"What will you name him, then?" Harry asked as he set the kitten down again, and began playing with it.
Draco thought for a moment, watching as the kitten attacked Harry's fingers, and then smiled. "Noah. I'll name him Noah."
Harry nodded, and watched as the kitten – Noah, now – mewled happily and pounced on Draco's leg, bumping his head against the boy's stomach. Harry smiled as Draco picked the kitten up, and lay down so that his head was in Harry's lap. He placed the little animal on his chest, where it sat down and batted at the tag of Draco's ornate collar.
Chuckling, Harry stretched out his legs so they rested on the table in front of him and said, "That's it, you just lost all privileges of using the Malfoy act on me."
Draco glared up at him, before the look was broken by a yawn, and he decided to simply not reply. "I need to make a trip to Diagon Alley later, to get food and stuff for him," he said, indicating Noah.
Harry traced his fingers lightly over Draco's chest, laughing when the kitten started following them, and said, "Sure, we can go tomorrow, after classes." Draco simply nodded in agreement, closing his eyes to the strange feel of Harry's fingers followed by small paws.
- - - - - - - - -
Unfortunately, that pleasant lull in time could not last forever, as Hermione had now taken the responsibility of being their entire group's "study nazi." At least, that was the term Ron used when the girl wasn't around, such as this moment. They were all sitting in the Gryffindor common room, finishing up their assignments due the next day. It seemed the closer the time came to take their N.E.W.T.S., the more homework was piled upon them.
Ron was sitting in a chair, slumped forward so far that his chin rested on the table in front of him. He sighed heavily, causing the current parchment he was working on to drift a few inches away from him. "There's got to be some law about overdosing on Homework or something," he grumbled.
"Ron, that doesn't even make sense," Harry mumbled back. He was lying upside down on the couch, so that his feet were flung over the back of it, and his head hung over the edge of the cushions.
Draco cast an amused glance at his boyfriend before addressing Ron. "Besides, Weasley, this stuff isn't hard."
Harry beat Ron to the reply. "Speak for yourself, Draco; just because you and Hermione are naturally gifted in school, doesn't mean we all are."
Draco replied by reaching over, and dancing his fingers over Harry's throat, tickling him until Harry snorted and fell off the couch. He landed with a 'thump', and cast a glare upwards at a smug Draco.
"You've got boundless magic at your disposal, Harry; what are you complaining about?" he asked, chuckling lightly at Harry's disgruntled expression.
"That's not going to help me if I don't get the grades to pass."
"Well then I suppose you should stop slacking, shouldn't you?" Draco said, tugging at a lock of Harry's hair.
Harry batted the hand away and sat up, leaning back against the couch next to Draco's legs just as Hermione came back down the stairs.
"Here it is," she said, setting a book down on the table. She had disappeared several minutes before claiming to be missing the book she needed to find whatever answer she had been looking for. She took her seat in the chair across from Ron, who lifted his head and pulled his own parchment back towards him.
"Can't we go to bed yet?" Ron whined, and Hermione sent him an exasperated glance.
"And can't you do anything but complain about the work?" Hermione countered. "We've only got about a month left of school, exams are in a few weeks, and I'm trying to ensure we all do our best!" Her tone was edging toward a frazzled annoyance, which was no strange occurrence to her two best friends.
Ron and Harry exchanged a glance, and Harry raised his eyebrows, nodding towards the girl, who was flipping through her book quickly. Ron's brow scrunched in confusion for a moment, until Harry smiled and rested his hand on Draco's knee, hoisting himself up. "Well, I think I'm done for the night," he said as he stretched.
"You're not going to finish your homework?" Ron asked, watching disinterestedly as Harry reached out a hand for Draco to take.
"I finished what I needed to," Harry replied with a wink as he pulled Draco to his feet. Draco looked at him questioningly, but wasn't about to object to leaving the Gryffindor common room for the comfort of his own private room. "I'll see you two in the morning," Harry called over his shoulder, after he and Draco had packed their things and were heading out the door.
"Finally realized that alone time with me is a better way to spend the day?" Draco asked with a smirk after the portrait hole had closed behind them.
Harry rolled his eyes, adjusted his bag more comfortably over his shoulder, and smiled. "Hermione's stressed, Ron's tired…I just figure something good should be able to come out of that if given the chance. Plus, as much as I love Hermione, her study habits are enough to wear anyone out. And you have a very comfortable bed just calling my name."
Draco sent him a deadpan glare, to which Harry just laughed and ran ahead to Draco's room, leaving the other boy to shake his head, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. McGonagall had given him his own room to separate them, but all that had done was give them more privacy. They had both gotten used to the extra warmth at night from Draco's time as a fox, and now there had been very few days that Harry actually slept in his own dorms. And even then it was only when circumstance (and often certain watchful professors) prevented him staying with Draco.
When Draco arrived at his room, having taken no faster pace than his initial walk, Harry was already sprawled out over his bed, taking up well over half of the king-sized mattress. Draco just smiled as he set his bag down in the corner and removed his robe, placing it over the back of a chair. He toed off his shoes and socks, and walked over and crawled into the bed. Harry's arm lifted automatically to curl around his waist. He turned so that his back pressed against Harry's chest, and smiled when Harry's lips began placing small kisses over the back of his neck. It was an interesting habit Harry had developed; he didn't do it all the time, but often before they slept, Harry would lay sleepy kisses across Draco's neck and shoulders before they both succumbed to unconsciousness.
"So are you going to explain that sudden exit earlier?" Draco finally asked, eyes half lidded as Harry's lips caressed the soft skin around his ear. He was able to feel it as Harry smiled.
"Just wanted to give them some time alone," Harry answered, laying his head on the pillow. "And that was an opportune moment for Ron to get in closer, while Hermione is distracted. They've been dancing around each other for far too long and their bickering is only worse because of it."
Draco chuckled and turned over, wrapping his own arms around Harry's middle. "I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually." He let out a huge yawn, and allowed his eyes to fall closed. "Probably not until we're done with N.E.W.T.S. though, knowing Granger."
Harry silently agreed, smiling at the truth of the statement. "Probably." But it fell on deaf ears, as Draco was already asleep. Harry watched him contentedly until he too fell asleep.
- - - - - - - - -
The days of exams came simultaneously too soon and not soon enough for the students of Hogwarts. All wished for more time to study, and yet they simply wanted it all to be over with so they could go about their summers work and worry-free. The seventh years were particularly antsy as they prepared to leave the school for good.
Hermione had taken to asking people questions out of the blue to see if they were prepared, and had at least one textbook open at every meal. Ron was caught between stressing over the exams with Hermione, and just ignoring them completely in some vain hope that it would all just go away. Draco stayed in his room more to escape the high-strung Gryffindors, and Harry was just ready for the year to end.
On the first day exams were held, Draco was woken up two hours before breakfast by quick knocking on his door. At first he just groaned and rolled over, causing Harry to shift in his sleep beside him. But the knocking persisted, and Draco was forced to get up and answer it.
Wearing nothing but the collar, (which never came off anyway) Draco wrenched open the handle to find Hermione on the other side, clutching a couple of books in her hands and biting her lip nervously. They stood in silence for a few long seconds, before Draco blinked and asked, "Granger…why are you here? And at this ungodly hour, no less?"
For a long moment, she didn't speak, and Draco raised a brow as a deep flush spread from her neck to her ears. She opened her mouth twice before any sound came out, and when it did, it was only a squeak of embarrassment. Ron looked no better behind her, and he finally pointed, closed his eyes and yelled, "For the love of Merlin, put some clothes on!!"
Draco looked down and realized he did indeed have nothing on. He'd decided to mess with Harry a bit the night before, after he stepped out of the shower in only a towel. The spark of appreciative lust in Harry's eyes had been well worth the late night. At least it had been until "the friends" decided to wake him up too early. "Well you shouldn't have come to wake me up at this ungodly hour, should you?" he countered, not moving from his position.
Hermione shifted her weight, and averted her gaze to the side. "I thought… that we might go over a few last things before breakfast. You know…just…just to be prepared," she finally managed to stutter. Well he had to give her credit for still saying what she had come to say.
Draco raised an eyebrow, and looked up to see a very disgruntled and disturbed Ron behind her. "I think we're past the point of last-minute cramming; time now is better spent sleeping, thank you very much." And with that point made, Draco swung the door closed again, catching a quick glimpse of the surprise on the two's faces before they were blocked from view. And they were both left to wonder how the blond could manage to keep every last shred of dignity in tact while answering the door stark naked. Draco yawned widely, and shuffled back into the bedroom, taking up his spot again, which was still delightfully warm.
"Whowuzzat?" Harry mumbled, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"Granger, with Weasley in tow," Draco answered easily, sighing as he started to drift off to sleep again.
"Okay," Harry replied, and there was a moment's pause before his eyes flew open. "Hermione and Ron? What did they want?"
Draco frowned as he was forced to wake up enough to answer. "She wanted to do some more cramming before the exams. I told her I'd rather sleep."
Harry rolled his eyes. "And you probably didn't tell her nicely, did you?" A shrug was his only answer, so Harry began to push himself up, intent on finding Hermione. He only managed to rise a few inches before an arm was thrown across his back, forcing him back down onto the mattress.
"You stay," Draco grumbled, pulling Harry against his side and burying his face in the dark hair. "You've already learned what you're going to learn, there's no point in stressing yourself about it now. That will only make things worse."
Harry took a moment to think about that, and had to agree. He really didn't want to get up yet anyway. Shifting his position, Harry slid his leg forward to tangle with Draco's. When he felt only smooth skin, he suddenly realized something. "Draco…you're not wearing anything…" he trailed off as he realized greeting his friends naked would not be outside his boyfriend's limits on behavior. Draco's answering grin gave him all the answers he needed to know.
So with an exasperated shake of his head, and a promise to himself to apologize to Hermione and Ron on Draco's behalf later, he easily fell asleep again for the couple of hours they had left.
When Harry saw her at breakfast, Hermione looked a bit miffed, and frowned half-heartedly at Draco when he walked in, but otherwise was her normal self. Harry apologized, and proceeded to emphasize the benefits of a good night's sleep, starting a debate of sleep versus studying that he lost track of very quickly. It did at least manage to provide some amusement to those around them in the otherwise dismal atmosphere of exams that hung over the students like a black cloud.
As far as the exams went, though, Harry felt he didn't do too badly on the written portions they had to take that day. He kept wondering through the history of magic exam about why he had even taken that course in the first place, but otherwise felt that he had done well enough for a passable grade. At dinner, he and Ron started their own conversation about quidditch while Hermione and Draco went over certain questions they got stuck on.
The practicals went much better for Harry, as hands-on had always been his strong point. And he couldn't be sure, but he felt some of the testers were asking him to do more than the other people, especially in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He let it slide with a sigh, though, allowing them to work out their excitement at testing The Harry Potter.
By the time exams were finished, many students were claiming their brains were now dead or fried, and hardly any could be found in their common rooms the last day before the train would take them home. Hermione, Ron, Harry and Draco had taken up a spot under a large tree by the lake to simply enjoy the time to relax. Draco's kitten Noah pounced about happily, enjoying being taken outside as he attacked the group's shoelaces. Harry had summoned them all cups of tea, and now they sat either in silence, or talking about any thought that struck them.
"So Harry, what are your plans now?" Hermione suddenly asked, and he looked up from his tea in surprise.
"What do you mean?" he replied, setting his cup down in the grass.
"Well, now that we're finished with school, what are you going to do? Do you still plan on becoming an Auror?"
Harry gave a sort of half shrug, and averted his gaze towards the castle, the building that had been his home for seven years. "I'm…not entirely sure," he said honestly, plucking a blade of grass and twirling it. "I think, for now, I'm not going to do anything. Frankly, I need a break."
Hermione smiled in understanding, and immediately moved on to her next question. "Where are you going to live?"
Harry surprised himself when he realized that he hadn't given that a thought at all. There was no way he was going back to the Dursleys, now that he was of age. He didn't want to impose on Ron's family, no matter that Molly would say it was no trouble, and he didn't know Hermione's parents well enough to feel comfortable asking them to spare a room.
"Live with me," Draco suddenly spoke up, looking intently at Harry.
"What?" Harry asked on reflex, and three heads turned to look at Draco in surprise.
With a roll of his eyes, Draco sighed. "Honestly Harry, I can't make it any simpler than that," he said teasingly. "There is no way I'm letting you return to the Dursleys, so instead of trying to figure out where you're going to go, just come live with me." He smiled hopefully, but his gaze was no less intense.
Suddenly Harry's thoughts were pulled back to Christmas time, and those two weeks he had stayed at Malfoy Manor with Draco. He still remembered his moment in the kitchen, when he had imagined a life there, and found that he was quite happy to make that little daydream a reality. The time they had had over the semester had been great, and he imagined life with him at the manor would be even better. With a smile he nodded, returning Draco's gaze, and said simply, "I'd love to." Draco grinned back and leaned in for a quick kiss: something he didn't do very often in front of Harry's friends.
Hermione watched them with a small, amused smile on her face, and Ron just shook his head with a sigh, keeping his thoughts of Harry being doomed to a life of misery to himself. Harry seemed happy about it, and that would be enough.
They talked about inconsequential things for a few minutes, before two shadows fell across the grass before them. The entire group looked up to see Pansy and Blaise standing there, looking hesitant yet determined.
The three Gryffindors were immediately on guard, and Harry stood in a flash, nearly growling at the newcomers. "What do you two want?" he asked roughly, and Draco was reminded of Harry's animagus, the tiger form he'd very nearly forgotten.
Blaise raised his hands in a gesture of sarcastic surrender. "Chill, Potter," he said with a sneer. "We're only here to talk to Draco."
"Why, so you can try to imperio him again? Take him under your wing and make him the next dark lord?"
Draco sighed almost imperceptibly and stood, resting a warm and calming hand on Harry's arm, which was raised and tensed defensively. He kept his eyes on Pansy and Blaise when he spoke. "Harry, there are many intricacies to war that you were never exposed to, and many I would not expect a Gryffindor to understand."
Harry's tense posture faltered, and he looked at Draco with a curious eye. "What are you talking about Draco?" He could not forget the time when Draco had tackled him, very near a nervous breakdown, and exclaiming about the Slytherins' plot to curse him with the imperius.
"They did what they needed to do in order to survive. Things were different on the dark side of the war, Harry."
"But they were your friends! They turned their backs on you the second you turned around!"
Draco looked at him then, and Harry wasn't sure what to make of the intensely calculating gaze. "It wasn't about friends, Harry," he said. "It was about allies; and about survival." Then he smiled softly and kissed Harry's cheek, ruffling his hair before stepping away. "I'll be back in a bit."
Pansy and Blaise watched with interest as Draco's demeanor changed from open and content to cool and calculating in the few steps it took him to reach them.
"Well come on then," he said, walking off and placing his hands in his pockets, expecting the other two to follow.
When they were a good distance away, Draco turned to the other Slytherins and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so what did you want to talk about?"
"You're sure about this decision of yours to be with Potter?" Pansy asked in what could easily be described as a whine. She wasted no time in getting to the point she wanted to make. "Sure you're not going to turn around any minute and say it was just to embarrass him? I mean, weren't we supposed to be married once we were out of school?"
Draco sighed and closed his eyes, gathering the patience to deal with Pansy right now, while Blaise smirked in amusement. Honestly, the girl was like a dog with a bone sometimes when she got an idea into her head.
"Pansy, dear, we were never supposed to be anything. It was what our parents wished for, and probably would have expected and pushed for. But in case you haven't noticed, my parents are dead, and therefore I have no obligation to carry out their wishes for my marriage." Try as he might, he couldn't keep the bitterness from seeping into his voice at the fate of his family. But he pushed through the darker thoughts and focused on the conversation at hand. "I love Harry," he continued, making sure Pansy would see his point. "And I intend to stay with him for as long as he will have me. I've never felt so strongly about anyone before, and for once I am not going to deny myself happiness."
Blaise sighed and shook his head, allowing a small smile at Draco. "Well at least one of us has found it," he said, and Pansy looked properly ashamed, averting her gaze to the side.
Draco stepped forward and placed his hand on Blaise's shoulder, causing the other boy to look up in surprise. "And there's no reason you two can't either," he said confidently. "We're living in a brand new world now. You were never convicted of being death eaters, so now is your chance to find a better life without the pressures of the war."
Pansy frowned contemplatively, and gave Draco a strange look. "When did you become one of them?" she asked, not quite disgusted. She sounded more annoyed than anything.
Draco smirked in return. "I haven't become anything," he said. "I've just seized an opportunity as it's presented itself. The question is, what will you two do?"
Blaise sighed and directed his gaze to the sky. "I guess we start over." He frowned and looked back at the school. "Man, I hate being on the losing side of things."
Draco's lips quirked in amusement, but he said nothing.
"Well, this has been great and all," Pansy said, obviously having had enough of the conversation. "But I've got a pedicure waiting for me back in the dorm. See you around, Draco."
The two boys watched her progression to the castle, and Blaise finally chuckled. "Well, I think you got your point across." Draco nodded, and they were silent for a moment before Blaise spoke again. "Just one question." When he was sure he had Draco's attention, he continued. "Why Potter? Out of all the people in the world, what is it about him?"
A small smile touched Draco's face, and his eyes softened ever so slightly as he thought of his boyfriend, and Blaise was amazed by the difference it made on the boy he'd known to be cold as ice for so many years. "He forgave me," he said simply, staring off at some unknown and unseen point in the distance.
Blaise waited for a moment, but when no more words were forthcoming, he spoke again. "That's it? You're with him because he forgave you?"
Draco chuckled and shook his head. "No. I'm with him because I love him. And because I forgave myself."
Blaise took a moment to ponder his words, and finally gave a somewhat absent nod. He walked over to Draco, and pecked him lightly on his forehead. Draco blinked and furrowed his brow: Blaise didn't often show any sort of affection. Then again, neither did he, and when Blaise smiled, shoved his hands in his pockets and backed away with a nod, Draco understood. It was a goodbye, and an acknowledgement of moving on.
Draco nodded back, showed a small smile of his own, and gave a half salute before walking off. When he arrived back to the small circle, he sat against the tree and pulled Harry into his lap, not caring that the other two were still there. He rested his chin on Harry's shoulder and closed his eyes.
Harry sent his boyfriend a bemused glance, and shrugged one shoulder at his friends' questioning looks. He was sure that whatever happened with the Slytherins would stay with them. He was too happy about the prospect of going to live with Draco to really care anyway.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A/N: Well there you have it: the first chapter of my sequel, posted by popular demand. :smiles: We're in for a bit more of a bumpy ride on this one, I think, and I hope you enjoy it as much as the first. And I know there wasn't a lot to this chapter…but hey, it's only the introduction. More will pick up in the next one. So as always, tell me what you think!
