Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

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This story is written in the words and voice of Harry Potter

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It was a warm summer night. The sky was clear, the sun had set and the last flush of pink and purple was slowly giving way to the dark as a few stars appeared here and there. It was a perfect night to go out into the garden, lie down on the grass and look at the stars. Despite the three years that had gone past since the war, it still surprised me that my life allowed for luxuries like this.

I lay there staring up at the sky as it slowly lit up and got a bit lost in my thoughts. I had been so sure that I would die in that final battle. But here I was, alive and well and...happy. It was a word that felt strange in my mouth. I had never been happy. I'd had moments of joy, like the day I found out that I was a wizard, but true, bone deep happiness, I'd never had that. I'd never thought I would.

I turned my head when I heard the click of the kitchen door...It was Draco. I sat up in surprise. I hadn't expected to see him that night. He'd gone with his mother to a cousin's wedding and I knew he'd be late getting back. I smiled as I watched him walk towards me. He's so graceful in everything he does...and even something as simple as walking can make me catch my breath.

"I didn't think I was going to see you tonight," I said as he joined me on the grass.

"I left early. I got bored," he said.

He lay down on the grass and turned to face me. He put his hand on my face and stroked my cheek. "And I missed you," he said softly.

I missed you too, I thought. "You saw me just a few hours ago," I said as I lay down again.

"So? I miss you when you're not there. I could have been here cooking with you, having dinner, watching some crap telly or hanging out in the garden like this instead of listening to Uncle Abraxtus droning on and on about family and values and what not."

I couldn't help smiling at the way Draco described our evenings together. They were very domestic, just like he said. But they made me happy and simple as our evenings were, they were special because doing anything with Draco is special. We looked at each other for a long moment. I reached out and stroked his lips. I couldn't believe how smitten I was.

"I love you."

It was by no means the first time I had said it, and yet, his face lit up with the happiest smile.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of hearing that," he said.

"I'm never going to get tired of saying it, so it's just as well."

I leaned forward and kissed him, relishing the way he wrapped himself around me. We kissed lazily for a while, just holding on to each other and enjoying the moment. We'd been together for nearly a year now and I was still taken aback by the amount of affection I felt for Draco and how happy he made me. Everything was just right with him around. It was almost as if I had finally found a missing part of myself.

We pulled away after a while, still holding on to each other.

"Move in with me," I said. I'd been meaning to ask him for weeks now and it seemed I had finally found the courage.

He looked surprised and very pleased, almost as if he'd won a bet with himself.

"I was wondering when you'd get around to asking me," he said.

"You knew?"

"Oh! Harry, of course I knew. You're very obvious, love. I know you've been thinking about this for weeks."

"Then why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't want to rush you. I figured you weren't ready to ask me yet."

"So…will you?"

"I want to, but are you sure about this? I mean, it is a big step."

"I know, but I think we're ready for it."

"I know I'm ready for it, but are you?" He said pointedly. "You…um told me in the beginning how much you like living alone, how much you value your space and your freedom…I like what we have now and I don't want to mess it up, so I need you to be sure."

I sighed. I had said all those things and I had meant them. Draco had assumed that I was warning him not to expect too much and in a sense, I was. My big problem with Ginny had been the fact that she never gave me any space. She was always hounding me to do this or that and always expecting me to do things with her. And she'd been insufferable for the few weeks that we'd lived together. It was in fact that experience that had convinced me to break things off with her.

But I knew that things would be different with Draco. He wasn't pushy or overbearing. He understood that I needed to be alone sometimes. Besides I loved him (something that I hadn't expected back when we first got together.)

"I'm sure, Draco and I really have thought about it."

He still looked a bit doubtful.

"I hate it when you're not here," I said. "Ever since you left this morning, I've been wandering vaguely around the house and missing you acutely. The house felt so empty…I do like my space and all that, but I want you living here. When you come home from work, I want you to come home to me. When I get stuck in the middle of my writing, I want to be able to come find you in come corner of the house and just talk to you."

"I don't want us to have to make plans for breakfast or for an evening together. I want it understood that we will share all of that every day. I want you to be here when my friends visit and I want to be here when your mother or your friends come over. I want us to be a proper couple…"

He looked thoughtful for a minute like he was thinking things over. Then he smiled. He reached for me and we kissed. He cradled my face in his hand and kissed me softly, with the kind of tenderness that made me ache. He pulled away after a bit and stroked my chin.

"I think I should tell you that I've been packed for weeks," he said smiling sheepishly.

I thought my heart was going to burst. "Then you should just come home…"