"Hermione, Ron, I - or rather we – have something to tell you" Harry said.
He and his best friends were sitting underneath the old oak tree outside Hogwarts, the one they used to sit under and study when he had been with Ginny. Surprisingly, that thought didn't make him sad anymore. They hadn't come back to the tree until today: too many painful memories, especially for Harry. Today though, he wasn't thinking about Ginny. He was too focused on the on his new boyfriend – and how to break the news to his friends.
"Go ahead Harry" Ron said.
"Ok well umm" Harry started, a blush already creeping across his face, "Draco and I, were…were…well were.."
"Together." Draco finished for him, "like as a couple."
Harry grinned at Draco. Telling Ron and Hermione had been harder than he thought, considering they already knew he fancied Draco. Thank god his boyfriend wasn't as easily shaken.
Draco smiled back at him. Harry was adorable.
"About bloody time!" Ron exclaimed loudly.
"Yes, well done" Hermione said, but couple seconds later she couldn't contain herself.
"Oh alright I already knew. I saw you to by the lake the other day." She explained, "You really ought to be more careful about where you decide to snog!" She didn't seem the least bit worried about it though and was beaming at them.
"You saw us! Oh god." Harry said. He attempted to hide his blush by burying his face in Draco's shoulder.
"Harry, don't worry about it mate." Ron assured him, "you either Draco. We're cool with the two of you."
"I knew you would be" Harry said, but he was visibly relieved.
"Are you going to tell people?" Hermione asked curiously.
"We hadn't really talked about it." Draco admitted.
"I think you might want to hold off on it." Ron told them, "There aren't a whole lot of gay blokes in the wizarding world are there? People won't know how to react and it might go over badly."
"I thought you said Bill's friend is gay?" Harry said, starting to worry again.
"No, I'm pretty sure it was Charlie's friend after all. And that was the only wizard I've ever heard of who liked other blokes. Apart from his boyfriend of course, but I've never met him." Ron explained.
"Didn't you tell me he was a muggle-born?" Hermione asked, "it's much more common with muggles. Perhaps not entirely accepted, but much more common."
"Oh well, it's not like I haven't endured people talking about me before." Harry said, his voice full of false confidence.
"I dunno Harry, you'll probably be ok with Seamus and Dean. Seamus' dad is a muggle and Dean is muggle-born." Ron said, "Draco will probably have a harder time with the Slytherins. They're not exactly renowned for being accepting of things or people who are different."
"Plus there's the press" Hermione went on, "once they get a hold of this it'll be everywhere."
"I don't want to hide it" Draco said, surprising them. Of the two, he was the one who would have a rougher go of it. "If people find out, so be it. We don't want to parade it around or anything, but I'm a Malfoy and I've never been ashamed of who I am."
Harry smiled and kissed Draco on the cheek.
"I'm with Draco on this one." Harry said, "Besides, people thought I was the heir of Slytherin and then they thought I was some attention-seeking nutter. I don't think this could be worse than that."
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As it turned out, Harry was right, at least for the most part. He had told Dean and Seamus straight away. He felt he owed it to them, considering that they shared a dormitory. As Ron had predicted, they had been fine with it, though they were a little surprised at first.
Draco hadn't told anyone, but these things have a way of getting out. A few people spotted them holding hands on the way to class. Yet more swore they had seen Draco give Harry a peck on the cheek at lunch before going to the Slytherin table to eat. A very surprised Professor McGonagall had witnessed an extended goodbye kiss when she looked out into the hall to see why Harry was so late for class. The final straw had come when two first years had gone down to the lake for a swim and had seen Harry and Draco making out behind a tree. After that, the news had spread like wildfire and by that night there wasn't a single person who didn't know about their relationship.
While most people at Hogwarts were wary of it at first, they soon came around. The only exception to this was, as expected, the Slytherins. Draco was taunted by his housemates whenever they got the chance. He had started eating meals at the far end of the Slytherin table to be as for away from other people as possible. He only went down to the Slytherin dungeons to sleep and avoided his common room whenever possible. Harry had to hex a few Slytherin fourth years who, thinking themselves clever had tried to bewitch the back of Draco's robes to say 'freak' in glowing blue letters. What surprised Harry the most was the way Draco continued to hold his head high. He never seemed to be moping about his situation and Harry admired him even more for that.
He asked Draco one day how he could take the torments of his fellow Slytherins so well. Draco laughed and replied "Harry, do you remember a few weeks ago, when those two brats tried to bewitch my robes?"
"Yeah." Harry replied, his anger at the prank returning.
"Do you remember what you did?" Draco asked him.
"I told them to piss off and then I used the bat-bogey jinx on them." Harry said, thoroughly satisfied with his response.
"Actually, I believe what you said was something along the lines of "Regardless of sexual preference, Draco Malfoy has more class then you two will ever have. Years from know you'll probably end up working for him so you ought to remember to stay the hell away from my boyfriend!"" Draco said smiling.
"Oh yeah" Harry laughed.
"Well before that, I was starting to feel really lousy. I mean I've never exactly been thought well of by the majority of Hogwarts and for peat's sake my father was a death eater, but this is the first time the slytherins have really been against me. When you defended me, it made me realize that it didn't matter what they thought. For the first time, I have friends with I.Q.s higher than that of a carrot and a boyfriend who cares about me." Draco said. "I don't think I ever told you, but when I was with Pansy, she cheated on me with Blaise Zabini."
"Really? That's horrible!" Harry said.
"Yeah and yet unsurprising for her. But you have loyalty. To your friends and to me and that's why it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks."
"Draco, you amaze me more every day" Harry admitted. Draco pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
"I know" he said coyly, "but now I have to run. I doubt Professor Flitwick will accept 'I was busy amazing Harry Potter' as an excuse for being late."
