Harry settled in to Grimmauld with a smile. Only a handful of people knew where he was and only half of them could come in without Harry walking beside them.
It may seem a little crazy, but it was the only way he could leave Hogwarts. It wasn't like he could stay there without witnesses. Voldemort would have expected Snape to turn Harry over if he had stayed. And there were no arguments against it. Harry could only imagine the excuses Snape had to make about why he couldn't outright kidnap the Boy-Who-Lived.
Truthfully, the only reason he could think of for him not being in Voldemort's clutches right now was Draco. The man truly believed that he could get Harry to agree to work with him if he was mated to Draco. And he might have been right. If the two teens weren't on the same side of the war- Harry might give it all up to protect Draco.
He was really hoping he wouldn't have to do that. Draco seemed to be willing to side with Harry and the Order against Voldemort, or at least not fight against them. Harry was actually thinking that Voldemort would settle for Harry and Draco moving out of the county and declaring their neutrality. Dumbledore on the other hand would never have approved that.
Of course, he wouldn't have approved of Harry's plan either, but there were some things that the man just never quite understood. There were somethings that just made more sense than running around risking your life. And if Harry could take care of Voldemort without confronting him and without actually having to kill him?
That sounded a hell of a lot better than sacrificing himself and hoping that the man would die.
But anyway, that wasn't really the point. The point was that he was practically untouchable while he was here especially since Voldemort declared that no one was to capture him or harm him until he and Draco had completed the Courting.
It was probably the nicest thing that the mad man had ever done. If you chose to ignore the fact he was worried it would ruin his plans for world domination and planning the death of at least one of the aforementioned boys.
Harry shook his head. He needed to clean up the place a little and find a place where he could practice with Blaise without letting the teen into too much of his home. And somewhere they wouldn't be seen by someone flooing in or knocking on the door. Of course, no one was supposed to be flooing in because it was illegal and would show up clearly at the ministry.
But since when did any of Harry's contacts care about the law? Yeah… better to be prepared.
The first thing Harry did was clean up the entrance hall. It wasn't too bad, just some muddy boot prints left over from someone last year. A quick cleaning spell and that was done. Harry also cast a charm that changed the wall color, added a painting on the wall above the umbrella stand. Just like that the room was open and ready to welcome visitors. Next was the parlor.
That was probably going to be the best place to meet with Blaise, move a few things and it would be perfect. Harry went to work, and Kreacher even showed to help move things aside. Harry had finally taken Hermione's advice and started treating him a little better and he seemed to open right up.
Especially when he realized Harry was trying to restore the Black home's original glory.
Harry worked the rest of the day, shocked to see that it was well past midnight by the time he wrapped everything up. He had expected to be exhausted after the trip home. Deciding to pass on dinner, Harry made his way up to his room. He collapsed onto the bed and kicked off his shoes.
He stretched across the bed to grab the pajamas Kreacher had set out for him. He shifted a little further and found his eyes slipping closed. His exhaustion washing over him out of nowhere. Harry absently raised his wand and transfigured his clothes.
He was asleep before his wand hit the mattress.
(0,0)
"POTTER!"
Harry shot straight up in bed. Face elongating, claws springing from his fingers, catching in the sheets. He felt his teeth grow as he turned to snarl at the intruder. His wings spread behind him and he tried to push off the bed. Ready to defend his home from the threat.
He was hindered by a nasty villain. Bedsheets. Feet tangling in covers he didn't remember crawling under his balance was shot and his attack foiled. Within seconds the flailing boy managed to fall out of the bed.
That's how Blaise found him. Face on the floor, glasses askew, and feet still tangled in the bed above his head. Harry groaned turning his face into the floor, wondering why and how he ever thought this could be a good idea.
Which was about when Blaise started laughing hysterically. Harry took a deep breath when he registered that the threat was non-existent. But his rage and determination to protect his nest was high in his mind. He needed to get his friend out of the room before he did something stupid.
"Kreacher?"
The house elf popped in, somehow hearing Harry's smothered call over Blaise's hyena impression.
"Can Kreacher help, Master Harry?"
"I would like to be untangled from these sheets, but if you could take Blaise to the parlor and get him some refreshments, I would be grateful." He made sure to put emphasis on the appropriate words
"Yes, Master Harry. Kreacher will do so."
The house elf nodded to the still laughing Italian and moved to stand next to him. Just as he was about to leave, the elf snapped his fingers. Suddenly Harry was lying on the floor, free of his sheets under a perfectly made bed. With another snap Harry took in the surprised expression on Blaise's face before the Slytherin was yanked away.
The teen grinned as he stretched, wings folding against his back and fangs disappearing back into his jaw, "I love magic."
(0,0)
Harry walked into the parlor to see Blaise relaxing on the sofa with a cup of tea and a biscuit.
The Gryffindor was going to be calm and cool about this, about the fact this boy ran into his room without permission, about the fact he invaded his home without warning- "What the bloody hell was that?"
...Or he would completely loose his cool and hold back his transformation by the skin of his teeth.
The Italian actually winced a little at Harry's tone. Setting his cup down carefully on the table next to him and standing up. He looked somewhat wary as he turned to look at the younger teen.
"I apologize. That was entirely uncalled for after you allowed me into the sanctuary of your home."
The boy ducked his head and looked at the floor. Turning his head slightly to the side.
Harry stood for a moment observing his pose and was shocked to find his anger slipping away. Without his mind's permission he moved forward and stretched out a hand to brush against the other teen's exposed shoulder and neck.
As the motion registered he yanked his hand back, giving it a betrayed expression that conveyed his confusion. After a long moment he looked up again at the still averted face of the other teen.
"What was that?"
Blaise gave him a look, "I forgot that you were a Veela when I came barging into your room. I threatened your den, your safety, and thus I could pose a threat to your future mate and family."
"Yeah. Got that. What's with the apology and the touching thing?" Harry wasn't sure why he was so shocked by this. His Veela hadn't been a big impact on anything since he and Draco started their Courting. But that didn't mean he thought he knew everything about being a Veela.
"I appealed to your basic instincts. The apology soothed your mind, while the visual and physical submission assured your Creature that I was not a threat. Basically, I acknowledged that I make a "
"So you used your knowledge to take advantage of my undeveloped instincts in order to manipulate the situation in your favor."
Blaise smirked, "Got it in one."
Harry knew that he should be angry about this, but truthfully he was just glad that Draco hadn't been there this morning and that Blaise hadn't been hurt. Shaking his head he asked Kreacher to bring him something light to eat. They had some dancing to do.
(0,0)
Draco couldn't help it. Harry had gotten off of the train and left his presence just 24 hours ago. They saw each other yesterday and the day before that and before that and before that and before that. Not to mention the week before that and before that. Even the month before that.
They'd seen each other every day since they'd discovered they were mates and most days before that. Draco sighed and pulled on his travelling cloak, saying farewell to his parents. Judging by his mother's knowing smile she knew exactly where he was going.
The blond teen shook his head. Who would have thought that Draco Malfoy would be suffering from Harry Potter withdrawal? The only treatment? A hug from the lovely Mate in question. The side effects? An unfortunate association with Laughing at his own thoughts, he headed out past the wards and turned on his heel.
Landing with grace that reminded his distinctly of Harry's own lack thereof, Draco moved forward towards the building appearing from between the two unsuspecting homes. He had made it twenty three hours and thirty four minutes, now he just wanted to see his mate.
The Slytherin knocked on the door and was horrified when it creaked open on its own. That couldn't be good. Walking in, Draco debated the merits of calling out. Truthfully it probably wouldn't matter. He took a deep breath.
"Harry?"
Suddenly a crashing came from down the hall. Draco immediately headed towards the sound. His path was cut off by a house elf.
"Kreacher is here to show Young Malfoy to the dining room. Master Harry will be joining him shortly. Master Harry wishes Young Malfoy to be joining him for lunch."
The blond shook his head, "I better go check on him."
Kreacher shook his head, "Master is fine. He just be wishing for Young Malfoy to share lunch with him is all. Master just fell out of bed and made a loud noise. Master is not being harmed, just needing to compose himself."
The mental image of Harry falling out of the bed filled Draco's mind. The blond was laughing so hard he was more than willing to let the house elf lead him someplace where he could sit down. If he wasn't mistaking, the elf was also smirking, possibly attempting to hide his amusement at his master's clumsiness.
(0,0)
"Harry?"
Draco's voice echoed in Harry's ears and the Gryffindor used that as the excuse as to why Blaise was currently sitting on the couch next to a newly broken lamp. The Italian glared at him but allowed the teen to convince him to start gathering his cloak and moving towards the door.
"Do you happen to know why Draco Malfoy showed up?"
Harry shrugged, "We didn't have plans, but I can't say I'm surprised."
"You two really can't stand to be apart from each other can you? It hasn't even been a day."
Harry shrugged and Blaise stared at him a moment before chuckling.
"You missed him, too. Didn't you?"
Harry shrugged again, but his blush was a dead give-away. And if that hadn't told Blaise the truth the way he studied the floor would have been enough.
"You do realize you saw him yesterday, right?"
"And?"
"You're ridiculous."
The blush grew deeper, "Shut up. It's not like you weren't thinking of visiting Ron all morning. Because there's no way you got up before nine o'clock in the morning just to come visit me on the first day of vacation."
"Just go see your mate, Potter."
"Whatever you say, Blaise. Whatever you say."
Harry watched as the older teen moved out the doorway. He himself peaked out of the doorway before running up to his room to change. The sweats and t-shirt was good for dancing. And Draco probably wouldn't mind- but Harry wanted to look his best.
Plus the Slytherin was probably dressed as he was every day, which meant Harry either had to dress nice or look like a slob in comparison. The Gryffindor frowned slightly as a thought crossed his mind. The Slytherin hadn't complained about his wardrobe in months. But he had started dressing even nicer.
The boy was subtly making Harry want to dress decently. Harry scowled at his closet and debated heading downstairs as he was. Unfortunately he couldn't talk himself into it. He continued to glare at his reflection even though he knew he looked decent. Eventually, he gave in with a sigh and turned to go eat with his Mate.
"I feel as though Draco won this round…"
Stupid teen with his stupid appearance complex. Not that Harry didn't like his appearance, because seriously who didn't, but- Harry flushed a bright red, pausing mid-step. Did he really just think that?!
(0,0)
Draco was still laughing when an embarrassed Harry showed up, blushing, ten minutes later. He managed to calm himself down enough to ask the one question he had needed the answer to.
"Don't tell me you actually fell out of bed? That was just a story Kreacher made up, isn't it?"
Harry spluttered and groaned, "He actually told you that?"
And suddenly Draco was laughing again. Harry groaned and asked Kreacher to bring out their lunch, deciding to ignore the blond while sitting close enough to him that their shoulders were brushing. The Slytherin chuckled merrily through the rest of the meal.
When the last bite had been swallowed and the last plate vanished from the table, Harry turned to his mate.
"Do you feel better now?
Attempting to keep from laughing again, he nodded, "Sorry."
"It wasn't even that funny…"
"No. But it was nice to know that you don't change when we're apart, still a clumsy, charming fool."
"We saw each other yesterday, Dray. How much did you expect me to change?"
The older boy blushed and shrugged slightly, "Don't know."
Harry smirked and gently shouldered his Mate, "I missed you, too."
The Slytherin scoffed and rolled his eyes, but Harry didn't miss the fondness that filled the grey depths. Together they moved to one of the more comfortable rooms and sat together on the couch staring into the fire. They sat in silence for a long while before Draco broke it with a quiet chuckle.
"I'm proud of us, Harry. We nearly made it 24 hours. Truthfully I didn't think I would be able to wait much after I got up."
"I had a similar thought, to be honest. It was going to be different thinking about the fact that I wasn't entirely sure I was going to see you today."
Draco hummed what Harry took for an agreement. At Hogwarts they woke in the same bed more often than not simply because they would be talking or working on homework late into the night. And on the nights they didn't, they saw each other at meals or in classes or in their unofficial study groups. Being away from each other without that promise of contact was, quite frankly, frightening.
Which made Harry wonder, when was he going to see his Mate again after today?
"So… What are our plans for the holidays? Besides the ball I mean."
"Well- Mother is going to want to meet you before the ball. So we'll probably take a day and spend it with them. She's also going to force us to help with the ball more than likely. That could take all day."
"That's fine. I usually spend Christmas with the Weasley's… But if you had other plans?"
Draco shook his head, "We don't normally 'celebrate' Christmas. We'll give gifts to each other, but usually we celebrate Yule."
"Yule? I didn't know anyone still celebrated that…"
"It's mostly the older wizarding families. We celebrate with Snape and he usually hosts us at his family Manor as a thank you for the ball we hold."
"Okay then, that's three-wait-four days down. A day with your family, the holiday ball, Christmas with the Weasley's, Yule with Snape… What about New Years?"
Draco shrugged, "We usually avoid going out to other parties; someone always gets offended if we choose another party over theirs."
"I guess that makes sense…" Harry sat up straighter all of the sudden, "Why don't we do New Year's here? A few privacy spells and some more renovations will probably be needed, but we could handle that."
Draco mimicked Harry's excitement for a moment before he remembered something, "We can't. You're under the Fidelius or something like it. We can't just invite people over."
"Oh." Harry visibly deflated and Draco felt horrible.
The younger boy looked as though someone had given him the fastest broom on the market, only to put it in a display case just out of reach… Maybe…
"What if we do it at one of my family homes? I have one or two that very few people know about. We could make a big deal out of it…"
Harry shook his head at the way Draco flaunted his money like that, "How many homes do you have?"
A shrug, "Two castles, a Manor, a country home, a flat in muggle London, and vacation home in France and in Spain. Maybe another one that I don't know about somewhere."
"That's ridiculous! How can you afford that?"
"They're all paid off. And we rent out some of them for a little extra cash on occasion. It's not really that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a- Draco, I was beyond excited to have this house. Just one and an old one that no one can see at that. How can you say eight or so houses isn't a big deal?"
"It's not. I'm sure you have a Potter manor, castle, and vacation home stored up somewhere. Most purebloods do, so don't hide from me."
"I should?"
"You mean you don't know?"
"How could I? My parents are dead remember? As are my grandparent's and it's not like my Aunt and Uncle know, or tell me if they did. Sirius may have known but he never mentioned it."
Draco frowned, "You should have been told about all of your assets when you first visited Gringott's."
"I wasn't. I went with Hagrid but they never told me anything."
"You're kidding! That's ridiculous, they must have had some kind of block on your inheritance then. We can go find out tomorrow, if you like?"
"Sure." Harry couldn't believe this. He wondered what family homes he had. Even just a Potter family home. Maybe where his father grew up? Who knew what a place like that could hold…
"Maybe we can find an explanation for your terminal case of bed head…"
"Hey!"
Draco laughed and ruffled said hair. As their laughter faded Harry leaned further into the blond. Slim fingers began carding through the messy locks and they settled further into the silence watching the flames from the unnecessary but highly enjoyable fire.
After a while they began to talk again. They bantered back and forth about controversial magic theories. Questioned some political stances and then remembered why they avoided talking about politics in any fashion. They mentioned favorite foods, why Indian was better than Chinese, and other similar topics. Eventually they ended up on the floor with a laughing Draco pushing away Harry's hands as they brushed determinedly against his ribs.
Their evening was interrupted however by a house elf that popped over in the middle of dinner. Harry jumped to his feet and snarled, blushing furiously when Draco's hand landed on his shoulder, attempting to calm him.
Draco's concern was clear when he spoke, "Linksy?"
"Linksy?" Harry looked between Draco and the elf.
"Master Draco?"
"Master Harry! A strange elf has appeared. He is wishing to speak to Mr. Malfoy."
Harry had to laugh at all of the people currently in the room, "Thank you, Kreacher."
"Linksy? Did something happen? Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine Master Draco. Mistress is merely wondering if you were returning home for dinner. She says that she shall send you a guilt trip in a Howler if you do not. Something hers son nots loving hers enough to spend time with hers."
The Gryffindor couldn't hold back his laughter. And about five seconds later Draco choked on his own. The teen stood and leaned over his Mate.
"I guess I better go. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Harry nodded and smiled up at him, "Absolutely? 11 ish?"
"Sounds perfect."
Draco pressed a kiss to Harry's cheek and stood, "I'm heading home now, Linksy. Can you tell Mother I'm on my way?"
Linksy nodded and popped away with a loud echoing crack, earning a disapproving glare from Kreacher who bowed low to Harry and Draco. With a barely a pop marking his exit. Draco shook his head at the house elves antics and pressed a gentle kiss to Harry's cheek.
"Sleep well, Harry."
"Sweet dreams, Draco."
(0,0)
Blaise was standing in Harry's home once again, they had made some progress yesterday but not nearly enough if they wanted to stay on track. And Harry was not helping that progress at the moment. He was caught in a rant and Blaise had no idea what he could do beyond waiting it out.
"It's just not fair. I don't want to rush it. I don't think we're missing anything. But…what if something is missing? Could something be wrong? Am I wrong? I'm probably reading too much into this. It'll happen when it happens, right?"
Or maybe it would be best to cut in while he could, "Hold on a second, Harry. Can you tell me again what exactly it is that has you so upset?"
"Draco hasn't kissed me."
"I've seen him kiss you."
"Not a real kiss. We've both done the kissing on the cheek, or forehead, or even hand when Draco's being ridiculous… But no actual kissing."
"And this is bad because…?"
"We've been going out for months, Blaise. What are we waiting for?"
Blaise really hated trying to talk sense to Gryffindors. Why on earth had he decided to share part of his holidays with one of them?
"Nothing? You and Draco are fine. I suspect you're both just so wrapped up in being Mates, it's been hard to remember that you're dating."
Harry glared at the Slytherin, "That tells me nothing! How do I fix it?"
"There's nothing to fix Harry. As of right now I see that you have two options. You can tackle him when you see him today and just kiss him, or you can learn how to dance, which is why I'm here in case you were wondering, and create a moment in which both of you will want to kiss."
The highly sarcastic eye roll that responded to that comment ended rather spectacularly with a pointed glare from those green eyes.
"Fine. Let's start. You lead first today, there's no way I'm going to be able to improve my own leading skills at the moment."
Harry stepped up and waited for Blaise with a raised arm and pointed look.
"Fine. But first you need to learn to relax and trust your partner. I talked this over with one of my fellow dance instructors, and no I didn't mention your name, but they were telling me that they've seen your problem before. They didn't actually tell me that it was you not trusting your partner, but I had an epiphany."
"…And? What was your epiphany?"
"You are either trying to do the entire dance or you are expecting your partner to do all of it. You need to trust your partner to do their part. And you need to focus on your part. Dancing is a lot like dueling, in fact most duelers are renowned dancers as well. So today, we're going to my place."
With that Blaise pulled Harry from the house and they apparated to the Zabini home.
(0,0)
Harry looked up at Blaise with an unimpressed look as they stood in a large empty room with black walls.
"And?"
"Okay, here's the deal. This room is designed to help a person practice their dueling. You ask them for a scene, opponent or opponents, set rules, and any handicaps. Here's what we do. I have a preset routine that I've done with some of my friends. It'll read our skills and give up appropriate opponents for our skill level."
"How is this going to help me dance again?"
"You have to trust me. Here's the deal with this scenario, I'll set a rule, if you don't follow it, we both die."
"Fine. What's the rule?"
"Simple. You handle your opponents, I'll handle mine."
Harry blinked at him, "What? How will we tell who we're supposed to be fighting?"
"Yours will have red bands on their arms, mine will have green. Should be easy enough to remember."
"And if we kill one of the other's opponents, we lose?"
"Exactly. You have to trust me to kill mine and I have to trust you to disarm yours."
"Why disarm?"
Blaise snorted, "Because I seriously doubt you're going to be killing anyone, even in a simulation."
Harry opened his mouth to protest. Blaise gave him a look. Eventually, the Gryffindor shrugged and admitted that the Italian was right. A friendly grin crossed the others face and then they were back to back. Blaise called out a phrase in Latin and the scenario began. Dozens of figures appeared, some in red and some in green.
Harry carefully tracked his opponents, removing them efficiently from the picture, it wasn't long before he noticed that Blaise was struggling with his own. Harry glanced around, noticed only two of the incoming fighters were wearing red bands.
He quickly dispatched them. A fighter with a green band appeared out of nowhere, inches from Blaise, his wand leveled at the Italian. Harry shouted, disarming the assailant. Immediately the rest of the attackers froze and a gong sounded.
Blaise turned with a glare, "What was that?!"
"He was at your throat!"
"Yes. And if you had waited half a second, I would have deflected a spell towards him and been fine. However, we would be in real trouble since you didn't even notice the people on the other side of them, who were all in red. You just assumed they would all be on one side."
"What's your point?"
"This is part of the reason you can't dance well. You're trying to control everything and by doing that you miss the things you should be noticing."
Harry stood in silence for a moment, moving around Blaise to see the battle. He hadn't even noticed the others on Blaise's other side. Maybe the teen was right. A few other thoughts occurred to him, suddenly he was replaying all of his other battles and even the dance attempt from yesterday.
"… Huh."
Blaise rolled his eyes, "Yeah, 'huh' that's a really educated way to phrase it."
"Shut up and let's try again."
"Of course, dear."
(0,0)
The dark head boy stepped through the gate on the heels of his mate. Eyes down and still trying to take everything in. He was sure he was walking into the viper pit. Lord and Lady Malfoy were determined to meet their son's mate before he became a permanent fixture in their lives. And Lady Malfoy refused to meet him for the first time at the ball.
The three letters they had sent to invite him to their home (or summer home as it were) had been very insistent upon the fact that they were not there to influence the mating between the two in either direction. They just wanted to meet the boy before anything became official.
Harry had asked Draco at least a dozen times a day since the first letter if he was sure that his parents knew that the Mr. Potter they were writing was in fact Harry Potter- The Boy Who Was Destined to Kill The Dark Lord They So Desperately Followed.
Draco had finally requested that his parents send a letter confirming that very fact.
And now Harry was here before the 'cottage' that could possibly house the entirety of Gryffindor and Slytherin without fear of conflict. The house was large and pristine rather Victorian in style and Harry thought it was beautiful. The trees and grounds were filled with color and everywhere you looked there were singing birds. It was the kind of place Harry only ever dreamed of visiting.
Needless to say the Gryffindor was terrified.
This was most definitely not what he expected when he agreed to meet Draco's parents.
He had been prepared to march into a dark foreboding place much like Grimmauld. A grey building among a solid gold field, no life to be seen for miles. And here he was walking into a place that would make fairy tales jealous.
He had no idea what to do, how to act, or what they were expecting. He had decent manners, his aunt had been adamant about that. But what were good manners to the occupants of Privet Drive were unlikely to cut it here in the home of a Lord and Lady. Especially a Lord and Lady with as much pull as the Malfoy's had.
Draco stopped suddenly and Harry pretended that he didn't walk right into the Slytherin.
"You really need to relax, Harry. It's going to be fine."
"I seriously doubt that. I know your parents hate me. Or your father does at least. I'm sure your mother isn't my biggest fan seeing as I received the Black inheritance when it probably would have gone to her or you otherwise."
"You're the Head of the House of Black? Well that explains a lot, Mother might actually appreciate knowing that actually, most of the family has been waiting in terror for them to come forward and revoke marriages and such nonsense. She's been wanting to appeal to them for something but no one knew who it was."
"Oh. Well that's good at least."
"Absolutely."
"Do you feel better?"
"That depends… Do I really have the power to revoke marriages?"
Draco rolled his eyes, "Really? That's what you focus on?"
"I'm trying not to panic here. Give me a break."
The blonde turned so that he was fully facing Harry, "Mother and Father have sworn not to interfere with our Courting and possible Mating. You'll be fine."
"But…"
"But what?"
"It's only because Vo-He told them to. What if they give their blessing but… Nevermind. Let's go shall we?"
One blink. Two, "Are you really worried that my parents are going to lie to you about giving our mating their blessing?"
"Of course not. That's ridiculous. I really do think your mother is waiting for us."
"Harry. My parents have been ordered not to interfere with our Courtship in any way. But they would never give a blessing without meaning it. Blessings are powerful, they are not given away lightly."
The Gryffindor's shoulders slumped a little in relief, "What would you do if they didn't give their blessing."
"Probably the exact same thing I would do if they did. I love my parents. But this is one part of my life I will not let them control."
"You… Do you mean that?"
"I won't let the mean in-laws hurt you, Harry. I promise."
Harry snorted, "You realize my in-laws are Weasley's and a werewolf, right?"
Draco froze and Harry was ninety percent sure that the boy had turned into a ghost with how white he turned, "Right. I'll protect you from my family. So long as you promise to protect me from yours."
Harry laughed out loud at that and suddenly he felt better. No matter what happened he and Draco would be happy together. It wouldn't be easy. But they could do it. No matter what anyone else said or did. They could stand everything, because they would stand together.
"Draco." The quiet shout from the house had both boys turning to see the blonde figure in the doorway.
"I understand the garden is a lovely sight to see, however, dinner is as well. And at the moment they are both getting rather cold. Shall we adjoin to the dining room?"
Draco laughed, Harry blushed, but the two boys took her advice and they walked into the house. This time Harry moved willingly beside his boyfriend, no thoughts or worries weighing him down.
(0,0)
Well, that is until Harry found himself sitting at the table with Draco on his right, Lord Malfoy on his left and Lady Malfoy across from him. The silence was instantly oppressive and Harry sat up as straight as possible with careful hands mimicking Draco to the best of his ability.
He could feel the elder Malfoy's exchanging glances, but Harry wasn't going to let that bother him. He would sit politely and copy Draco. Eventually, they would say something and Harry would scrape through the evening.
"Mr. Potter? How long have you been dating our son?"
Draco blanched, "Are you kidding, father? I told you the instant it became official."
"Yes, well I would like to hear what he considers to be the truth."
"It was the afternoon of our Slytherin versus Gryffindor game, sir. So just over two months now, sir."
"Interesting, and what are your plans for after you graduate?"
"Father." Draco gave a pleading look to his mother.
Harry placed a hand on Draco's arm, "I've wanted to be an auror for a while now, Lord Malfoy."
"Following in your father's footsteps then?"
The Gryffindor fought against his annoyance at the interruption and at the assumption and smiled politely, "That was the plan, sir. However, lately I have been thinking that is not what I necessarily want to do with my life."
"And what other paths have you thought about?" Lady Malfoy interceded before her husband could say anything further.
Harry started to shrug but quickly remembered that Aunt Petunia had hated that with a passion, he flinched slightly at the memory of her shrieking yelling whenever he forgot himself.
"I'm not entirely sure. I'm still taking the necessary classes to become an auror because I already started on that path, but thankfully a lot of other professions ask for the same NEWT scores. I decided that if I am missing a test, I can take the summer to study up on the topic and take a NEWT equivalent at the ministry next year."
All three of the Malfoy's looked shocked by the coherency of the plan and the way he managed to have a plan without actually having a plan. It was rather impressive. And bizarrely vague.
"I see." The elder Malfoy looked down at the Gryffindor and went to speak,
Without thinking about it, Harry grabbed Draco's hand under the table. Somewhat worried about what the man was going to ask.
"That sounds like a lovely plan, but I must know- Are you planning to attend our ball in a week's time?"
Harry blushed slightly but nodded, "I am, ma'am. Draco has spoken very highly of the occasion and I feel that I would be missing quite a lot were I not to attend."
Lord Malfoy was apparently still not satisfied, "So am I to take it that there are no professions worthy of your superior status?"
Narcissa, who had been spending the last few moments giving her husband warning glares, attempting to keep the conversation more light hearted, cut in with emphasis, "Lucius!"
He cast a glance over to her and apparently decided that whatever he had to say was not important enough to go against his wife. He reached instead for his wine glass, taking a large mouthful of the alcohol.
"Shall we adjourn to a more comfortable setting to enjoy our dessert?"
Without waiting for a response, Lady Malfoy stood and led the way to another room, her husband behind her. Draco and Harry shared a look before following the blond couple. The blond cast a pointed look at their still entwined hands. The Gryffindor blushed but found that he couldn't pull it back, the Slytherin tightening his hold with a small smile.
(0,0)
The rest of the evening passed in lighter conversation and Harry was grateful for that and for Draco's constant presence.
That being said, he was even more grateful when the clock struck an hour late enough as to give Harry and excuse to head home and call it a night. He made a graceful exit offering to come early and help with the ball, an offer which Lady Malfoy surprised him by accepting.
"I really do appreciate that, Mr. Potter."
"I'm just glad I can help, Lady Malfoy." Harry bit his lip, "But-do you mind calling me 'Harry'?"
The woman gave him a warm and gentle smile which the teen couldn't help returing, "I will, so long as you can call me 'Narcissa' or 'Cissa' if you prefer."
"Thank you, Narcissa. Good night and thank you for a lovely evening."
"You are most welcome, Harry. I'm going to assume that Draco will follow you home so I will see you both tomorrow afternoon to prepare for the ball."
"Mother!"
Harry laughed lightly, "You have to admit, she's right."
Draco turned his betrayed eyes from his mother to his Mate, "That's not the point!"
The other three laughed at the young Slytherin's expression, even Lord Malfoy much to their surprise.
"Alright, Draco. You may sweep away your young man for tonight, but expect to see you both here in your everyday wear early. You may send your house elf with your dress robes tomorrow around 4. We'll eat a light dinner and prepare for our guests."
The young blond groaned while Harry smile, "Of course, sleep well."
With a nod to the Lord of the Manor, Harry led Draco out the door and towards the apparition point. They walked in silence, replaying moments from dinner in their minds. They paused at the spot just outside the wards and they shared a look and a smile before the spun on their heels a disappeared into the night.
(0,0)
"Master Harry…."
"Master Harry…"
The Gryffindor rolled over in his sleep and slowly opened his nearly letting out a shout at the large tennis ball eyes so close to his own. Thankfully he remembered his sleeping roommate just in time to hold back his shout.
"Kreacher? What are you doing?"
"Master Harry, Mister Zabini is here. He is wishing to be seeing you, but Kreacher not want to be waking Mister Malfoy."
Harry's eyes widened as his still sleeping mind struggled to process the house elf's meaning, "Bloody hell."
The Gryffindor quickly glanced over his shoulder to where Draco was still (thankfully) sleeping. And cursed himself for not sending something to Blaise, he couldn't believe he had just fallen asleep like that.
"Kreacher? Can you please tell him that I'm not going to get any better this morning? And that I'll see him at the ball tonight?"
"Kreacher will."
The elf popped away with a quiet crack and Harry was very thankful for Lady Black's dedication to a good staff of house elves. Happy that this was one problem he wouldn't have to worry about, Harry let Draco's warmth and deep breaths lure him back to sleep.
(0,0)
"Master Harry…"
The Gryffindor couldn't hold back his groan in time and once again opened his eyes to face those of his house elf.
"Master Zabini says he nots be leaving without seeings you. He threatens to come up here and wake you himself, he says he nots be caring if he wakes Master Malfoy."
For a moment Harry debated calling the Slytherin's bluff. He doubted the Italian had forgotten the first time he'd shown up. Just thinking about it made Harry's fangs threaten to drop. Which meant Draco would definitely not be happy to have him ixnvade their make shift den. And he would be most upset to find out that he had attacked his best friend.
Harry gave in and pushed himself to his feet and managed to fight the temptation to just turn around and crawl back in next to his mate. Forcing himself to leave the room without looking back, Harry shut the door behind him, somewhat doubting that he would be able to leave if he did anything differently.
Slowly and unwillingly he made his may down the stairs to the sitting room.
"There you are, Potter. We have things to discuss, you cannot just ditch me."
"I wasn't ditching you. I just happen to have my Mate sleeping in my bed upstairs and would much rather be laying with him then talking with you. I appreciate that you helped me with all of this and believe me that I know you have helped me a lot, but to be honest- I don't want to see you right now."
Blaise just looked at Harry for a long moment, "I have given you hours of my life for the past few weeks and what do I get? Nothing. I had some questions to ask you, but you're just going to go blow me off because your life is perfect."
"Damn it, Blaise. I just want to sleep with my Mate before I have to go and endure a ball that I'm not entirely sure is going to end well. Do you mind if I try to get some good rest beforehand? Is that too much to ask?"
Another voice cut in before Blaise could answer, "Apparently it is."
Harry glared at the Italian, "And now you've woken said Mate up. Apparently I am never getting back to sleep. Thanks, Zabini."
"Don't blame him, Harry. You're the one who decided he was one of the precious few who are allowed to grace your home with their presence. This is your own fault, truly."
The Gryffindor frowned at the tone of Draco's words, but before he could respond- green flames sprouted in his fireplace. Of course, one more person decided to ruin his morning. Running his fingers through his hair, just in case it was one of the Order Members or someone else who cared what he looked like Harry asked Kreacher to bring them all breakfast before going to answer the call.
"Harry?"
Relieved that he at least recognized the voice Harry kneeled down on the plush, antique rug, "Morning, Ron. Really early in the morning, by the way. What are you even doing up?"
A somewhat visible shrug, "Problems sleeping. Is there anyway I can use Hedwig to send a letter? The weather over here is horrible. Errol is getting swamped and Pig can barely even make it to the barn."
"You do realize you could just floo call the person you want to send the letter to, right?"
Ron shook his head, "I can't. I don't know who would answer the call, and I really don't know what I would say even if the right person answered. Trust me, this is easier. I would ask their house elf but I don't know their elf so that makes it difficult."
"Alright then. Just send over the letter and I'll make sure that Hedwig takes it before too long and…" Suddenly, Harry's brain made several connections and he gave a small smile, "Actually- you might want to bring it over yourself. I have no idea how reliable the floo connection is when it comes to letters. It may go out the wrong grate and burn up."
Ron paled even in the light of the fire, "Right. Can I come over now?"
Harry nodded and stepped back, "Probably should, it seems kind of important."
Soon enough, the antique carpet was covered in ash. Harry hoped that Kreacher wouldn't be too upset about that.
"Can we send the letter now?," with no other greeting, Ron stood before his good friend. He seemed really desperate to send that letter.
Unfortunately, "We can't. Not right away, I just remembered that Hedwig is out hunting."
"Oh."
"How about we grab some breakfast while we wait for Hedwig to get back?"
Always willing to accept food, the red head nodded and led the way to the kitchen where the two Gryffindors came face to face with two shouting Slytherins.
"What is going on here?"
So much for just getting Ron and Blaise in the same room together. Apparently he was going to have to referee the verbal match as well.
"Blaise refuses to tell me what he's doing here at your house so damn early in the morning, much less what he's doing with permission to access your house in the first place."
"And Malfoy here is refusing to accept that not everything is about him or you. I was merely hoping to ask you a few questions about-"
Which was about the time that he noticed the redhead standing behind his friend, "Weasley."
"A few questions about what?"
Suddenly the Slytherin was blushing, "I was worried that you were ill or something. You never responded to my letters."
"I only got one." The teen looked down at the floor, "It's been non-stop rain since we got back. No owls are getting through very easily and most of the letters are drenched and unreadable assuming the letter does get through."
"Oh. Why didn't you floo me? I'm assuming you're fireplace works?" The amount of sarcasm in Blaise's voice sent Ron's head snapping up and a glare focusing on the Slytherin.
"Oh yes. And I'm assuming that means that you've told your mother you're friends with a Weasley? Not to mention the fact that you're sure you would have been home whenever I had called you. Of course, I may have called you anyway except for the fact that you never gave me your floo address. So despite the number of hours I may have spent on my knees calling out every example of your name I could, I would likely be unable to reach it because most fireplaces have a password encoded with it."
The Gryffindor's voice was cold. And Blaise looked somewhat guilty but was obviously planning to argue some more rather than admit to that himself. Harry had more important things to worry about at the moment. So he cut both of them off.
"Blaise came here to bug me and bargain with me to get info on you. Ron called me this morning to try and respond to your letter, again. This means that you both messed up and you're both sorry, but neither of you is going to admit it. So Ron can either give Blaise the message or you can both leave and talk to each other at some other point. Understood?"
The Slytherin glared at his best friend's Mate but any response he had was cut off by Ron's own act of Gryffindor courage, "I have been trying to tell you for a week that I would love to go with you to the Malfoy family holiday ball today. That is if you still want me to go with you. I even got some dress robes ordered."
"I'm afraid that if you're going to come with me tonight, you'll have to meet my mother."
Ron grinned, "Only if you meet mine, she's desperate to get photos of us going together."
Blaise flinched and gave his date a grimace, "What do you say we skip the in-laws this time around?"
Laughter filled the air as Harry dragged a reluctant (and still pouting) Draco from the room. Apparently though, his efforts were for naught as Ron suddenly appeared and smiled at him, "Blaise and I are going to get ready. He said he wants to look his best when he meets my mum and dad again. I just hope the brothers behave. See you tonight?"
Harry nodded and watched as Blaise joined Ron and they both moved towards the fireplace to floo out. The teen had no idea where their whispered words were taking them or why they needed the next five or six hours to get ready, but he really didn't want to know.
Sighing the raven turned to the blond in the room and smiled, preparing to suggest they return to bed. Harry could feel sleep dragging at his eyes threatening to pull him under where he stood. Unfortunately, the steely eyes he looked into were showing no signs of sleep nor a willingness to return to that state. With a sigh he asked Kreacher to prepare him a cup of tea.
He looked up into eyes showing a hint of curiosity, "I'm guessing that you wouldn't be amenable to returning to bed at the moment?"
A firm negative shake of the head was all the answer he got and was more than he truly expected.
"Right. Then let me get my tea and some breakfast. Then you can ask me all of the questions that are bothering you at the moment. I shall put all of your worries down while hopefully not ruining anyone's plans for tonight. By that time we should be ready to head over to your parents, because all of my plans for sleeping in would by then be a thing of the past."
Draco said nothing, merely led the way to the dining room where they were greeted by a warm breakfast and two still steaming cups of tea. The blond switched between pointedly glaring at Harry and the food before him and pointedly ignoring both the aforementioned objects.
Finally Harry pushed away his half-finished food and stood. Leading the way to another room. Any other room. Truthfully he couldn't be exactly sure where they eventually stood when he turned to face is likely still angry Mate.
"Okay, then. What do you want to ask, Draco?"
The blond took a deep breath obviously trying to keep his temper and order his thoughts. Harry really hoped that his Mate didn't freak too bad at the situation. He really didn't want to have to ruin his surprise for tonight.
"Why in the bloody hell was Blaise Zabini with you that made him decide sneaking into your house at too damn early in the morning was a bloody good idea? And why didn't you. Throw. Him. Out?"
With any luck, Harry could keep him focused on this and get this cleared up in a hurry, "Blaise has been helping me out with a project. It's nothing bad or scary or dangerous. All he's doing is giving me lessons. We've met almost every morning since break started."
"And why wasn't I invited?! Ever think that maybe I could have helped you?!"
"I know you could have. Unfortunately it would have been far less successful if you had been teaching me. I probably would have been far too distracted by you to pay any attention to what you were trying to teach me."
Grey eyes widened and Harry just knew that Draco was jumping to horrible conclusions.
"Not like that! They were really real life practical lessons like… we practiced dueling for it. He wasn't teaching me how to duel. He just used it to help. I promise I'll tell you all you want to know about it tonight, okay?"
Judging by the glare he got- it was decidedly not 'okay' but thankfully it looked like Draco wasn't going to push it.
"Fine. You'll tell me tonight, no matter what. Until then, we should probably go help mother set up for the party."
With that, Draco moved upstairs presumably to get dressed for the day and pull out the dress robes for Kreacher to bring to Harry tonight. Hopefully, his Mate wouldn't be too upset by all of this. Hopefully.
Harry cast a quick tempus and looked at the time that hovered before him before disappearing in an ominous cloud of smoke.
They told Narcissa they would meet her in two hours…. Something told him this was going to be a long day.
(0,0)
Preparing for the party was done in silence. One look at Draco's face upon their arrival over an hour early had Narcissa shipping Harry off to help Lucius with his assignments. Draco had been dragged off beside his mother. It was safe to say that the time spent in Lord Malfoy's study sorting through lists of requested foods and the food the elves had made, was very quiet. And very unnecessary.
Eventually though, the two males escaped from the confines of the room and were allowed to help decorate the room with sparkling lights and gentle, falling snow. They even shared a few words during this task. Mostly referring to the amazing job Narcissa had done with the room and the entire home actually.
But conversation was conversation and Harry was choosing to count it as a win.
(0,0)
"I'm sorry- Could you say that again?"
They were standing in the foyer and Narcissa was attempting to explain how the evening was going to go, but Harry just could not figure out all of the pomp and circumstance that they were going through.
The woman took a deep breath and nodded a little stiffer than the last two times Harry had asked, "We greet people as they enter our home moments before they are announced. It's a test of sorts to prove we know our guests and a little about each of them. After the flow begins to slow then we will enter the hall and be introduced."
"Because you're the hosts?"
Narcissa nodded, seemingly relieved to have gotten that all sorted out. Unfortunately, Harry was apparently still missing something if the looks he got meant anything.
"So then, I'll just meet all of you then?"
Draco frowned and stepped forward, taking over for his obviously frustrated mother, "You'll be greeting people with us. Since we're Courting, most people will expect you to be standing with my family. If you weren't standing with me, it would look like we had a weak bond."
"But…why?"
"Because you two are Courting." Lord Malfoy spoke up for the first time, "Courting means you are attempting to join our two families. Which means you're willing to join us. To be seen with us. To be recognized as a member of the Malfoy family. It would be an insult beyond your wildest dreams were you to stand somewhere else. In the end it would show a bond between you two that was not worth completing and we could be brought to trial for the attempt to manipulate you into a bond."
Harry stood in silence for a long moment, staring at the Lord Malfoy, "So I have to stand with you in front of the entirety of the upper class of wizarding Britain and basically show that I support your family and all that you've done and do or my Courting and Mating will be in jeopardy."
Lord Malfoy scowled at Harry's words and sneered his response, "It's expected. We never asked you to choose our son as your Mate. You made your choice, now you must abide by it."
The Gryffindor chose to acknowledge the man's words with a nod, not wanting to show how much they affected him. He turned to Draco and Narcissa and decided that now was the best time to change the subject and leave the conversation.
"Should we go prepare for tonight? I wouldn't want to keep the guests waiting."
Narcissa seemed somewhat shocked by Harry's lack of reaction to her husband's words, but she settled for shooting her husband a glare before nodding carefully at her son and his Mate. Draco led the way to his room with a slight push from his mother to start him in the right direction.
They were silent as they crossed the manor and stepped into the room. The door closing and locking behind them. By the time they had crossed the room and retrieved their respective robes, the silence was settling heavily around them. Until finally, Draco had to break it.
"You don't have to stand with us if you don't want to."
"I don't want to hurt your family like that. I'll stand with you, Draco."
The blonde smiled and shook his head, "I can stand with you. We'll stand in the hall and only talk to the people we want to after they come in."
Green eyes that looked over at him were full of gratitude and something Draco refused to acknowledge for the moment, "Thank you, Dray. That means a lot, but I really don't mind. I'll stand with your family and prove to everyone that I am willing to be a Malfoy if it means being Mated to you."
Draco averted his eyes and Harry respectfully avoided mentioning the blush on his cheeks. The silence fell around them once again as the slid on their robes and stepped into their shoes. As they were about to leave, Harry extended his arm. The blonde smiled and accepted the offer. But just f they left the room, he pulled the Gryffindor to a stop.
"My father had no right to say that to you. I wanted you before your Inheritance and I think I will for a long time. I had planned on asking you to allow me to Court you this year anyway. But the point is that my parents may not have asked for you to be my Mate, but I did and that's just something that I thought you should know and-"
Harry stepped forward and raised one hand to stop Draco's rambling, "You're father had every right to say what he did. It may not have been proper, but it was the truth and that's all that really matters. Besides, I would very likely have said yes if you had decided to Court me. I asked for you, too, Draco and I would do it again. Your father will never change the way I feel about you."
Grey eyes stared up at him with a terrible mix of emotions and Harry was at a loss of how to explain them. Finally, though, Draco shook free of his thoughts and this time he offered, his own arm to Harry. The Gryffindor grinned and accepted the offer. He used his free arm to open the door and let Draco lead the way out, "Let's get to that ball."
Their laughter led their way to the entrance hall where they were greeted by the Lord and Lady Malfoy dressed in their best. Narcissa smiled at them while Lord Malfoy gave them a brief once over before sneering in Harry's direction.
"I see you decided that my family is worth your illustrious presence after all."
Harry smiled at the man as they heard an elf let in the first round of guests, "Actually, Lord Malfoy, I decided that Draco's family is worth standing beside."
With that, Harry pulled Draco away from his parents and to the other side of the door. Unintentionally sending a message to Lord Malfoy and the guests as they began to fill the room.
(0,0)
The ball was, in turns, as boring as Harry feared and as exciting as he hoped.
Meeting people in the entry way was interesting, but truthfully Harry got bored about three minutes in when the Minister came over to suck up to him. By the time Narcissa nodded to him, indicating that it was time to begin their own entrance, Harry really wished he had taken Draco up on his offer to hide inside of the ball room.
Harry and Draco led the way.
"Announcing Lord Harry Potter and Heir Draco Malfoy. The Courting Mates of the Malfoy, Potter, and Black families."
There was a brief silence as though the hall needed a moment to understand what they had already seen with their own eyes. As Draco led Harry down the stairs, the crowd shook themselves free of their stupor in time to give the couple a round of applause.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the house elf's voice rang out again, "Announcing Lord Lucius Malfoy and Lady Narcissa Malfoy. The hosts of tonight's festivities!"
The applause this time was instant and Harry would refuse to admit that he was rather proud to say that their greeting was decidedly less enthusiastic than that of their son and his mate.
"Thank you everyone once again for coming. We appreciate all of your patience while we greeted all of you. With that part of this evening coming to a close we would like to draw your attention to my son and his Mate who have been given the honor of leading the first dance of the night."
Narcissa barely concealed her shock and Draco turned immediately to decline with as much grace as he could muster. However, Harry saw the look on Lord Malfoy's face, and there was no way he was going to give the man the satisfaction of watching him back out.
So, Harry placed a hand on Draco's arm and gave the teen's father an honest smile. After all, he had planned on something like this happening, although he hadn't planned on his first real dance happening in front of the wizarding elite.
"Thank you for this honor, Lord Malfoy."
And with that he led the slightly stunned Malfoy over to the center of the dance floor with a smile and an assuring nod. Harry was more than thankful when the blond instinctively took the lead and they stood awaiting the music.
"Harry?"
Draco's worry was clear in his voice and Harry did his best to give him a look that conveyed his confidence and as little of his nerves as possible.
The music started, Draco waited a count of eight, setting his frame and giving Harry a helpful pressure on his lower back as he took the first step. The first few counts were stuttered and uncomfortable, until a brief moment when Harry met Blaise's eyes for the first time that night. A nod from the Italian and the look of fear from his red head date had Harry straightening his spine and leaning into Draco's lead.
Soon enough they were gliding across the floor.
Harry let himself fall in step, into the music, into Draco's eyes. And as the music washed over them, Harry found himself lost in it all. He barely noticed as the distance between the two of them became less and less, until they were standing practically as one. The music grew, a crescendo signaling the ever closer end of the piece.
The tempo sped and their feet followed, the slow waltz growing ever faster as the turned, stepped, spun bringing the son to life with only themselves as a tool. The light reflected between green and grey an ever closer circle as the spun together, the music disappearing as their steps slowed. Harry's eyes followed Draco's as the fell. He glanced at the mouth across from his own.
Flicking his eyes back up he met half-lidded grey and with that he found himself falling forward. Draco mimicked him and their eyes met in the brief moment before their lips touched. And in the moment Harry's heart skipped a single beat and…
He fell.
He fell hard, in that single beat Harry knew for certain that he was in love with one Draco Malfoy. As their lips brushed against each other one last time before parting, their eyes fluttered open and Harry and Draco stood in silence until the watching crowed cheered for the young couple.
Harry flushed and looked away, Draco brushed a thumb along the burning cheek before placing a soft kiss against his forehead.
Turning to face the crowd he gave a brief bow, which Harry mimicked once again before leading his flustered Mate out of the room.
Oh my Godric. I am so sorry this took so long to post. I wish I had a good excuse like a laptop crash or something, but really I just got so distracted that I thought I finished this chapter and posted it but I hadn't. I am so sorry everyone! But I hope you like how it turned out. I meant to write all of the holidays in one chapter but as you can see the story ran away with me. I'm going to try and have another chapter out in another couple of days, but NaNoWriMo. I'm going to try though- we'll see.
Sorry again and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!