Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
WARNING: gay cuddling and kissing, and Harry's leaving... not the way you think, but we'll see how I get through this one.
Harry was the first one to wake up in the morning. He looked over at Draco sleeping and smiled. With the sunlight coming in from the window on Draco's blond hair and white skin he looked like the son of angels. Harry gently leaned in and kissed Draco on the lips. Draco stirred slightly and Harry pulled away for a moment.
"I didn't say stop kissing me," said Draco in a sleepy voice. Harry smirked.
"How long have you been awake?"
"I woke up when you kissed me."
"Really?" Draco smiled and nodded.
"Yes, really. And you know what I was thinking?"
"What was that?"
"I was just thinking that I could wake up every morning like that. I can't think of a better way to wake up than feeling your lips on mine. Knowing that you are here with me and that you love me. I could spend the rest of my life in your kiss... and in your arms." Harry didn't quite know what to say so he simply put his arms around Draco's shoulders and kissed him again. They gently made out for several minutes when suddenly they were interrupted by sounds outside.
"Oh gods..." said Harry shrinking into his own world and shrinking away from Draco. Draco got out of bed and wrapped a robe around himself. He stayed to the side of the window and carefully peered out. Sure enough, there was a crowd. Somehow they knew that Harry was back from the hospital. Draco spelled the curtains closed all through the house and locked them shut with a few spells. He sighed and looked at Harry who was curled up in the fetal position under the covers. He knew this wouldn't help Harry's whole fear of going out. Now Harry wouldn't even be able to get to the muggle world without being swamped by reporters. But he didn't want Harry to be withdrawn from him again. Draco then walked back to the bed and sat on the bed next to Harry.
"Harry," Draco said firmly but calmly. "C'mon Harry, you can't hide forever."
"Why not?" said Harry with tears in his voice. "Why can't I just hide away forever? I'm tired of everyone... everyone in the magic world... why can't I just be left alone to live my life?"
"You deserve that. You do deserve that. But please don't shut me out again." Harry shuddered slightly and the slowly sat up. Draco felt bad for Harry seeing his tear stained face. He gently dried the tears from Harry's cheek and kissed his closed eyelids.
"I'm just so tired of this. I'm so tired of living like this. There has to be somewhere that I can go and just live. I just want to live in peace and quiet with you. I want you with me and I want to be able to walk out of my house and work in my garden without avoiding reporters and all these people who think they should follow me. Draco..." Harry gently touched his lover's face and tried to form his feelings into words.
"It's all right," said Draco gently. "I know. I know." They kissed each other gently and Draco gently held Harry in his arms.
"I could make us some breakfast and bring it up here," Draco said after gently running his fingers through Harry's hair for a while. "Would you like that?" Harry nodded but he didn't let go of Draco.
"Later," he muttered quietly. Draco didn't argue and just held Harry a little tighter.
After breakfast, Draco and Harry laid together in bed for a long time. They couldn't go outside the house easily with all the people outside. So they decided to spend the day inside. While Harry gently traced patterns on Draco's back, he said,
"Draco, I've been thinking."
"Oh?" said Draco quietly. He wasn't sure what Harry was going to say, but he hoped that whatever it was it involved the two of them staying together.
"I'm going to talk to some of the people I know at the Ministry of Magic."
"What about?"
"About... relocating somewhere. Somewhere that no magic person will ever know. Some place where I can live with you for the rest of my life in peace."
"Do you think it can be done?"
"I hope so. I don't want to live like this anymore. It's too much. I just want to be left in peace now. I want to be left alone." Draco rolled over onto his back and looked up into Harry's eyes. He gently stroked Harry's cheek with his hand.
"All right. Let's see if it can be done." Harry kissed Draco on the lips and then snuggled down into his shoulder. Draco gently encircled Harry in his arms and tucked Harry's head under his chin. Draco thought silently to himself. Maybe they could go somewhere else. Maybe it was possible to do this. They would just have to see.
When Draco woke up from an afternoon nap, he found himself alone in bed. Harry wasn't in the room. Draco wrapped a robe around him again and peeked outside. The crowd hadn't moved so Harry hadn't gone outside. He quietly moved out of the room and started looking around the house. Then he heard voices coming from the study. The door was slightly open.
"No Neville, it has to be the both of us," he heard Harry saying in a firm tone. It almost shocked Draco. He hadn't heard Harry speak so firmly about anything in months. He peered through the door and saw Harry pacing in front of the fireplace. He could see Neville Longbottom's face in the fireplace.
"Harry, it would be easy to get you relocated. But there wouldn't be any reason for Draco to be relocated as well. We can get you out easy. It will be secret. No one in the magic world will ever know where you've been taken or what happened. No one can know or the spell will be broken. You won't be able to communicate with anyone from your old life, at least not for several years."
"What do you mean?"
"As the spell gets older, it gets stronger. After ten years, you can communicate with close friends from your past without anyone else knowing. If you came back to the magic world, only the people who know you would recognize you. As the spell gets older only people who you want to recognize you will. Everyone else will just see you as another wizard passing by and nothing else. But you have to wait ten years before you talk to anyone else."
"I can't live without him for ten years."
"Why do you want him relocated with you anyway? What's-"
"I'm in love with him Neville! All right? I love him. I can barely exist without him for a few days. Ten years... you might as well give me the killing curse now." He flopped down into the chair near by and rubbed his forehead with his hand. Draco felt something in his chest twitch upon hearing Harry wish a killing curse on himself instead of being apart from him.
"Harry... I know that you can get out. Let me look into it. Let me see if there is a provision for... spouses or something."
"He's not my husband. He's just my life." Draco involuntarily gasped when he heard Harry say that.
"Let me check on it. I'll call you back when I know something."
"Thanks, Neville." The fire returned to normal and Harry remained in his chair. Draco slowly opened the door and heard it creak. Harry looked up quickly and their eyes locked. Harry fell back into the chair with a defeated sigh.
"How much did you hear?" he asked quietly.
"I came by when you were talking to Neville and saying that it had to be the both of us. And the part where Neville told you that the spell gets stronger as it gets older." Draco slowly started to walk towards Harry. "And the part that you have to wait ten years before you can talk to anyone from your past easily. And the part where you told him that you love me. And that living without me for ten years... well you mentioned something about the killing curse. Neville said something about checking about provisions for spouses. And then the part that really knocked the wind out of me." Draco kneeled down next to Harry's chair and took a deep breath. "You said that I'm not your husband, I'm just your life."
"Because you are." Draco looked up and saw Harry staring straight into his eyes. "Worlds may fall down, civilizations fall, spells fail, friends die, family isn't always constant, but I would be able to live through it all as long as you are with me." Draco felt his throat tighten again and tears spring to the back of his eyes. Harry gently touched Draco's cheek and leaned in to give him a gentle kiss. Draco let his eyes shut and got lost in the kiss. He felt tears slip down his cheeks and he whimpered softly as Harry began to rub Draco's neck. When the kiss ended, Harry gently dried the tears from Draco's cheeks and kissed him on the forehead. Draco rested his head on Harry's lap and began to calm as Harry gently stroked his long blond hair and hummed softly.
"What if the only person who can come with you is your spouse?" asked Draco quietly. Harry didn't answer right away. He reached his hand into his pocket and fiddled with something for a few moments before saying,
"I have an idea." Draco slowly lifted his head and looked up at Harry.
"What idea?" Harry pulled his hand out of his pocket and held something tight in his hand. Harry slowly opened his hand and showed Draco a slim gold wedding band.
"It was my Dad's," said Harry softly. "I always wanted to get married with it. I figured that I should give it to you... when I wanted to marry you." Draco looked up at Harry with his hands over his mouth. Harry slowly kneeled down in front of Draco with the ring still held out in his hand. "It's not that I can't relocate without you if you're not my spouse. It's that I can't live without you. It's that I want to spend every waking moment with you. It's that I never want to be without you again. I did that once, and it nearly killed me. I had hoped to ask you this once we were out in the country and away from everything here. But I can't wait ten years to ask you this. And that's bumped up my schedule a bit. So, will you marry me?" Draco couldn't form words. His throat was closed and his brain wouldn't form the words that he wanted. Finally he just took the ring from Harry's hand and put it on his finger. Harry took his hand that now wore the ring and kissed it gently. The first thing that Draco finally uttered was a quiet sob of surprise and joy. Harry picked up his head again and gently kissed Draco. The two gripped each other tightly and kissed desperately.
Eventually Harry was leaning against the chair he had been sitting in with Draco curled up on his chest. He gently ran his fingers through Draco's hair while Draco drew tiny patterns on Harry's shoulder with his fingertips. They both heard the floo and knew that it was Neville calling back. Draco started to pull away but Harry held him fast to his shoulder.
"Hello Harry, hello Draco," said Neville calmly from the fireplace. He didn't seem surprised at Draco's sudden appearance so they didn't mention it.
"Hello Neville," said Harry. "What's the news?"
"I'm sorry Harry, but not even a spouse can be relocated with you." Draco's eyes shut and he held onto Harry's shoulder. "There is one thing though."
"What's that?"
"For this spell, it's the Locus Latere spell... it's like a fidelius charm. There has to be a secret keeper. The secret keeper knows where the person is and is the only one who can visit them. The secret keeper can't live with them, and can only visit like once a month, but once the ten years comes up then the secret keeper can live with you easily. It's just during that first ten years that the spell is fragile and can easily be broken. If the secret keeper stays with you for more than two days then the spell breaks from the inside." Harry looked down at Draco and thought to himself.
"Give me a day to think about it."
"I'm sorry I couldn't find anything better for the two of you."
"It's all right. Thank you for looking though. I'll call you when I've made a decision." He waited until Neville's face had disappeared from the fire before turning back to Draco who was still in his arms.
"Two days a month for ten years," said Draco quietly doing the math in his head. "Twenty four days a year. Two hundred and forty days in ten years. That's not even a year."
"I know... we don't have to take it."
"But Harry... I keep thinking that the only way this will work is if you have a chance at your privacy. If we have a chance to be alone and not worrying about reporters outside. I'm worried that our relationship isn't going to last unless you have to chance to work through everything and that you do it in peace and quiet."
"It's too much for me to ask of you."
"Then don't ask. I'll do it. I'll have to be apart from you for most of the year. But I will see you. There is a chance that this can be done. And after ten years... we can be together forever."
"I want to marry you before I leave."
"You better." The two smiled and kissed. But still they both had doubts.