Love Is Indispensable

By Rice-Ball247

Summary: Draco Malfoy didn't know anything about love, Harry concluded. The reason as to why he was giving him a chance was beyond his own understanding, but now it seems that Draco is the one teaching Harry how to love. Draco/Harry

Rice-Ball247: Ninth chapter of Love Is Indispensable. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Technically, this should be the last chapter, but I ended up writing an epilogue, which should be up by Monday, I think. Well, it's been fun writing this and I hope that you guys liked this story as much as I loved writing it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters involved, JK Rowling does.

Love Is Measured By Infinity and Beyond

Two months.

Eight weeks.

Fifty-six days and two lovebirds later, found Harry and Draco back on the Hogwarts Express coming back to their enchanted school for the final term. Once the new term had started, they'd settled back into the old school routine, except this time, Harry was more open with his love for Draco. It might as well have been Valentines Day every day, with the way they were acting. It seemed even Snape had been affected by their affectionate attitude and he ended up cutting back on the amount of points he took in favour of giving. Of course, he still favoured Slytherin – some things would never change.

If the two were inseparable before, they were conjoined at the lips now. Everywhere they went, they seemed to be very much in love and didn't resist to display it to others, and most importantly, to each other.

"How do you measure love?" Harry asked Draco out of the blue one day as they sat beneath their tree by the lake. Months had gone by and N.E.W.T exams loomed ahead, before their inevitable graduation. Draco lifted his head from Harry's lap and shot him an inquisitive look. Harry grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. "I'm just wondering."

"Is this going to turn into a sappy, chick-flick moment? If so, I suggest you warn me before hand so I can get out the big guns," Draco wagged his eyebrows at his boyfriend playfully, causing Harry to blush and push him away despite the delighted beam on his face. Their eyes met and Draco knew that the question must have been plaguing Harry for a while now, so he sat down beside him, their shoulders only touching and answered as best as he could.

"I don't know how you measure love, Harry," he told him quietly. Harry felt his heart thump loudly in his chest, to the point where he could feel it in his throat, and hear it in his ears. Draco reached out and took his hand gently in his and leaned against the bark of the tree behind him. Harry heard the pause in Draco's voice before the blond continued to speak. "It's like happiness. You can't measure happiness."

Harry nodded and pulled his knees up to his chest, wondering if he'd be satisfied with the answer Draco would eventually give him. They sat in silence for a few moments and Harry thought that Draco had forgotten the question, totally eluding it, before the young man spoke again.

"But if you're talking about us, I think I can measure it."

Harry felt almost disappointed by that. He didn't know why. Did he want a love that knew no boundaries? Before he knew it, Draco had pressed his lips to Harry's again, and the whisper into Harry's ear was almost inaudible.

"You measure love by infinity and beyond. That's how much I know I love you."

Harry didn't speak as Draco embraced him and they sat together in silence, watching the rippling waters of the lake. Harry shifted in Draco's arms and turned to face the blond, a determined look on his face.

Draco raised an eyebrow as Harry stood and sat between his knees before he pulled off his ring and handed it to him. Draco felt his heart sink immediately, but Harry held out his hand again expectantly.

"Let's get married, Draco," Harry told him. Draco couldn't believe his eyes or ears. What? Harry knew that Draco was processing this information. He wasn't at all in doubt of the answer he would receive. Draco shakily held Harry's hand and stared at the light patch where the ring had been before. He searched Harry's eyes for a moment and saw complete faith in him. There was nothing more he could ask for – he already had his love.

"Will you, Harry James Potter, marry me, Draco Malfoy?" he asked, trusting his voice enough to speak. A grin spread like wildfire across Harry's face and he nodded. Draco's lip quirked when he saw tears pool in Harry's eyes before he replaced the ring onto Harry's finger again. Harry searched his pockets for a second before he pulled Draco's hand to him and showed him a ring that was identical.

'Draco, all my love, for all my life – Harry', was engraved into the silver. Draco couldn't help himself and he let out a choked sob as Harry placed the ring onto the same finger and the two held each other, in silence for minutes. Harry didn't say a word as he rested his head on Draco's chest, listening to the steady heartbeat there. This was safe. This was home. This was Draco. This was love.

"When?" Harry finally asked into Draco's shirt when the initial shock and excitement had finally worn off. A nervous buzz flitted across Harry's chest. This must have been what engagement felt like! Draco's eyebrow shot up as Harry lifted his head and repeated the question. "When do we get married?"

Draco thought long and hard. He wanted to get married as soon as possible, but he didn't want the thought of it to put pressure on Harry, especially during a crucial time of their school career. Harry looked almost anxious as he waited for the answer. Draco took his chin in his hand and lifted Harry's face to meet his.

"A year."

"A year?" Harry echoed, looking slightly disappointed. Draco smiled at the expected reaction and explained to him why he felt a year was the best. Harry eventually accepted this and settled down in between Draco's legs, his back to his boyfriend as he watched the sun drift lazily in the sky, closer and closer to earth. "How do you measure a year?"

"Are you trying to catch me off guard, or something?" Draco asked laughingly as he pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead. Harry chuckled along with him and then asked the question again. Draco didn't have to think long before he thought he found a suitable answer.

"12 months."

"Oh?"

Draco didn't stop there. "12 months. 52 weeks. 365 days. 525, 600 minutes."

Harry socked him playfully in the arm and grinned. "I told you that you'd be brilliant at math."

Draco nodded absently as they lapsed into a soothing silence, broken only by the chirping of birds and the rustling of trees. Harry shivered and snuggled into Draco's arms. "Is that the only way you can measure a year?"

There was a pause, before Draco answered, "No. You can measure a year in love."

"Love?"

"Yep. I love you to infinity and beyond," Draco told him solemnly, but Harry couldn't keep the joyous smile that was on his face. "And I have infinity and beyond to show you exactly now long that is."

Harry's breath caught in his throat as the same sad smile appeared on Draco's face and he couldn't help but wonder why such an expression would appear at a time like this. There was a pause before Draco finally asked a question of his own.

"So what have you learned?"

It was so sudden that Harry had to double take and he nearly head-butted Draco in the process. He blinked innocent eyes back at Draco, but the expression there was still serious, still solemn. Then it suddenly hit him.

"No. There isn't an 'us' anymore. There wasn't an 'us' to begin with, Draco! It was all a mistake from the very start. You don't love me. I don't have the patience for you. What would you know about love, Draco?" he spat bitterly.

There was a tense pause between them before Draco gave him a sorrowful smile and murmured, "Love is patient. Let's start with that."

"You've been tense all week and I can't help but feel that I'm a huge contributor to your stress," Draco finally said. Harry felt a stab of guilt prick his insides, especially when Draco glanced over his shoulder, and, again with that sad smile, said, "And after all, love is kind."
With the curtains drawn around them and Draco fitted snuggly behind him, Harry felt himself as comfortable as if he were in his own bed. Just before he drifted off to sleep with a smile of his face, he heard Draco whisper, "Love does not boast. But we can give them something to talk about for a while…"
"Love is not proud, Harry. So I'm glad you're able to tell me this. You may not be in love with me," Draco paused, then leaned down and captured Harry's lips in a chaste lock, "But you're getting there."

Strangely enough, Harry didn't feel intimidated by Draco's words. In fact…

He was rather comforted that he could believe them.

"Love does not dishonour others, mother. If you were ashamed of the relationship between Harry and me, I would have left. That is the truth," Draco told her solemnly. Narcissa finally nodded and Draco helped her up. She took shaky steps towards Harry, and for a moment, he thought she would have slapped him. But no feeling could have described the happiness he felt when she wrapped her arms around him and embraced him like a mother would her son.
Draco's eyebrows almost tasted his fringe as Harry slid up his body and pinned him to the floor with an almost predatory smile. "Harry, I'd give you my everything. They were never important to me in the first place. When you're in love with someone…" Draco paused, trailing off, before he seemed to find the right words and said, "Love is not self-seeking. I really would give you everything I could ever possibly own. I'm sorry I seemed so selfish earlier on today-"
"Love is not easily angered. I'm sorry, Harry," Draco told him before he, and the cake, were devoured with much pleasure.
Harry laughed as Draco scowled at him and wrote on the notepad, 'Love keeps no record of wrongs. Please forgive me for all I've done wrong.'

The apology felt almost childlike, but it made Harry's heart swell with gladness. He smiled as he took the pen from Draco's hand and wrote, 'Forgiven,' underneath. Draco smiled back at him before he took the pen again and wrote, 'So can we like…make out now?'

All this time, Draco had been teaching him how to love, when Harry had doubted him from the very start. Harry felt sudden and unexpected tears brimming in his eyes and upon seeing the look in Draco's eyes, he felt a strange sort of acceptance. Draco's hands cupped Harry's chin and pulled him backwards to plant a kiss on his lips.

"What have you learned?" he repeated, so softly that Harry probably wouldn't have heard him if he weren't so close. Harry closed his eyes and found the words that he knew had been laying there. He grasped hold of them before they could evade him and said them as they came to him.

"Love is Patient; Love is Kind; It does not envy; It does not boast; It is not proud; It does not dishonour others; It is not self-seeking; It is not easily angered; It keeps no record of wrongs," Harry stopped and managed to shift himself around so he was facing Draco. He held his hands up and felt Draco's fingers entwined with his own. The rings on their fingers glinted and Harry felt his heart swell again. But he did not stop there. "Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

"I never told you that last part," Draco whispered, their foreheads pressed comfortingly against each other. Harry smiled and leaned in closer.

When their lips were a hair's breadth away, he murmured, "Yes you did. From start to finish, they've always been there. You just didn't need to point them out."

"So do you think that I know how to love?" Draco asked the final question, watching Harry's face carefully. Harry smiled, confident he knew the answer now. "Because I do love you, Harry," he added as an afterthought.

"I think, I know and I believe. I love you, Draco. It was you taught me how to love, instead."

Rice-Ball247: And there you have it! My first ever, completed, multi-chaptered story. I'm so glad that this one came so naturally. I enjoy reading it over because in my opinion, it has a certain fluffiness that has my insides all warm and fuzzy. Well, that's just me anyway. Stay around for the final chapter, which will be the epilogue.

And review!