Part Twenty-Five:

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At twenty-eight, Draco Lucius Malfoy first learned about Family and Want.

Draco looked himself over in the mirror again, then reached down to smooth his casual robes for the millionth time. When he looked up again, he saw his mother leaning against the doorway with an amused grin on her face. She looked lovely as she gracefully crossed over to him, somehow straightening his lapels to finally look right. They made their way downstairs to where his father waited patiently with Scorpius, then Apparated over to the venue.

It was Harry's twenty-eighth birthday, and there was a huge to-do about it. Draco had been surprised the year before when he'd attended, knowing that Harry generally hated the spotlight. This year he had felt comfortable enough to ask, and he'd received a sheepish, sad smile in response.

Harry had then explained about his relatives and how they had treated him. They'd never done anything for his birthday – not even a simple card. Hagrid had been the one to give him is first birthday cake, as well as his first birthday present – that he was old enough to remember, at least. His birthday had been during the summer, so even though he would receive a few small gifts from his friends by owl, he had still been resigned to his own private little celebration when he would stay up until midnight to wish himself a happy birthday.

After school had ended, he had been free. He decided that it was okay to be celebrated that one day out of the year, because it was his special day. Every year since, he had gathered as many of his friends as could make it to a private party. Everyone there was an actual friend of his – as well as their families – and the Aurors in the group would help him set spells to keep the press out. He could relax and enjoy himself, sharing his joy at surviving another year with those he cared about.

He had shyly invited Draco's parents along this year as well. When he and Draco had gotten to a midpoint in the Potter vaults, Harry had sought out Narcissa to personally extend his offer for her and Andromeda to have a go at the Black vaults – once he and Draco had deemed them safe, of course. Narcissa had taken to him after that, welcoming him and his children over for tea even when Draco wasn't around. Lucius had come around eventually – likely at his wife's prodding – and he and Harry had seemed to have called a tentative truce.

Draco walked into the large ballroom and grinned at the decorations. Most of the balloons were in darker colors with the occasional white one scattered in; matching streamers hung tastefully from the ceiling and between each pillar. Bright silver and gold garlands lightened the place up a bit, curled around various columns and tables. Food was everywhere, scattered across the myriad tables lining the walls. An enormous cake filled a sturdy table at the back – a pride-worthy concoction of one Molly Weasley – and there were several stacks of presents surrounding it. There were tables to eat at and a dance floor for the brave (or the drunk). Draco spied a few bright, sparkly pink and purple balloons, likely courtesy of George, and laughed. Harry would probably pop them posthaste as soon as he noticed them, but Draco had a feeling they would persist for the duration of the evening.

Harry quickly spotted the newest arrivals, his face splitting into a large grin. He came over and clapped Draco on the shoulder, then turned to kiss Narcissa's cheek and nod to Lucius. He leaned down to pick Scorpius up, sharing a squashing hug with him. "Welcome! Please, enjoy yourselves. My hellions and the other children are over there," he said to Scorpius, laughing as the boy squirmed to get down and started to run off.

"Scorpiuuusss," Draco drawled in a humorously chastising tone, his eyebrows raising in amusement.

The little boy stopped and blushed, the came back. Waving Harry down, he planted a kiss on his cheek. "Happy Birthday, Harry!" he yelled, then took off full tilt to where the other kids were visible. He had become much faster since he started competing with the other children he played football with, and he ducked and swerved around the various adults in the way with much increased agility.

Draco sighed exaggeratedly and Harry laughed. Draco's parents then excused themselves to go greet Andromeda and Teddy, so the two men headed over to the small group of their mutual friends.

The night progressed wonderfully from there. Harry had been greeted with various hugs, kisses, punches, and one exuberant tackle, lighting up with every face he saw. Lee Jordan and George had come forward to provide hilarious – if borderline racy – commentary when Harry finally opened his gifts. Or, rather, Harry's children took turns tearing into most of them, leaving an amused Harry to the ones in much more boring bags. The kids had garnered a few laughs and 'aww's when they waved Teddy and Scorpius over to help them, sticking bows on each other and gleefully sending brightly colored paper flying in every direction. The gargantuan cake had been served up, along with several toasts to the birthday boy.

Harry's color was high, and he was practically glowing. Draco cast a surreptitious glance over at the man when he'd finally gotten a moment alone, smiling as he surveyed those gathered. Something clicked in Draco then, and he finally realized what Harry saw when he looked out over these people.

This was his family.

Not a single person in the room shared a drop of blood with him save for his children – unless you were to go back quite a few generations on his pureblooded father's side. He wasn't technically tied to the Weasley clan anymore. Most of these people were simply friends, though the majority of them had stood by him through thick and thin. But none of that mattered.

They were his family in the only way that really mattered: love.

Draco smiled as he came to that realization. He glanced over and saw his parents separated and happily lost in conversation with other guests, and then over to Scorpius who was furtively assisting Al and Teddy in swiping more cake. They had become part of that family, now. The feeling that swelled in his chest at the thought spilled over into a beatific smile. He hid it behind his drink, not wanting anyone to notice him grinning like a loon all by himself. If they did, well, he'd blame it on the ridiculous scene of the three little Slytherins-in-training.

The party began to wind down after a few hours, several people saying their farewells because they had work the next day or they had to put down their children. Draco's father had taken a drowsing Scorpius from him, his mother kissing him on the cheek and saying they would put the boy to bed so that Draco could stay a bit longer. Draco witnessed Molly and Arthur giving their own children a similar treatment, Harry included.

George leaned over to say something to Harry making him groan and laugh. Catching everyone's attention, he announced, "I've been informed that as soon as the kids have all left, my darling friends are going to try to get me indecently drunk."

"Hell yes, we are!" Finnigan cried out from across the room, causing a wave of laughter.

"Oh Merlin," Harry said in a laughing, worried tone. "I sincerely apologize in advance for my behaviour," he called out, accepting the first of many odd concoctions from the remaining Weasley twin with a look of trepidation. Draco quickly deemed Harry braver than himself – he would never have accepted food or beverage from the joke shop owner.

The revelry had kicked up a notch after that. Many of the guests were sprawled in chairs around the tables, playing drinking games. The music had been turned up, and quite a few had tossed their inhibitions aside and gone to dance. Or rather to attempt it.

Draco refused to participate in the idiocy taking place on the dancefloor. Instead, he had seated himself on a bench nearby, sipping a drink and watching on as if it were a comedy show. Suddenly, there was a Weasley on either side of him. Draco warily looked at Ron to his right and then George to his left. They looked relaxed and uncaring, but Draco didn't trust it for a minute.

"Having fun?" George asked.

"Yes, quite," Draco replied, now on super high alert. George's definition of 'fun' was petrifying.

"Harry's been real happy to have you here," Ron added with practiced nonchalance.

"I hope he continues to be happy," George chimed in. It was a simple statement, but Draco thought he might understand the hint of a threat hidden under it.

There was a long silence, and Draco grew more and more worried as it stretched, as he knew the other two were intending. Eventually, Ron hunched a little closer.

"If you hurt him, I will kill you," he said blithely, but the threat was real.

"Don't worry, mate," George said to Draco, wrapping a friendly arm around his shoulders. "I won't let him kill you." There was a pause, and Draco waited for the other half of the statement. "I'll just make you wish I'd let him." He gave Draco's shoulders a squeeze, a disarming smile stretched across his face.

"I…won't," Draco replied in confusion, eying the two brothers back and forth.

"Right then! Shall we go find our wives and take a spin?" Ron asked his brother.

"Splendid idea, Ronnikins! Lead the way!" And with that, they were up and gone again, leaving a rather bewildered Draco behind.

That was an interesting experience, Draco thought for a moment. He was taking a sip of his drink when it sunk in. He coughed and spluttered, pounding on his chest to try to help.

The Weasley brothers had pretty much just given him permission to pursue Harry.

He boggled over that for a moment, eyes drifting to the two men actively embarrassing their wives on the dance floor. They had noticed? Who all had noticed? Was it a real possibility? Had maybe Harry…?

Draco's eyes snapped across the room, locating the man he'd been attracted to for more than a year. He was sprawled in a chair, grinning stupidly and locked in discussion with Luna Lovegood. Draco was entirely certain the man was drunk. When Harry noticed him staring, he looked over and shot Draco a smile. Luna excused herself with an unnoticed kiss to Harry's cheek as he heaved himself up to come over to where Draco sat.

"Hey!" the other man greeted cheerily. Draco smiled shyly in response, his newfound knowledge still floating at the fore of his mind. Harry leaned over conspiratorially. "Don't tell anyone, but I think I'm drunk," he shared in a stage whisper, then broke down into giggles over his own joke.

"Perhaps you should sit down before you fall over and someone figures it out," Draco returned. Harry quickly plopped down next to him, taking a moment to attempt readjusting himself before giving up and slumping against Draco's side, making Draco snort a laugh.

Harry looked up at him and smiled. "Hi," he stated simply, looking up at Draco with wide, childlike eyes.

"Hi yourself," Draco returned quietly. "Enjoying your party, then?"

"Yup," he said happily. "I hope I remember this bit tomorrow. I probably shouldn't have accepted drinks from George and Seamus, though. Oops."

Draco laughed. "Probably not."

They sat there in comfortable silence for a few moments, watching the scene before them. Draco could feel his face heating with every second that passed. Suddenly, Harry looked up at him and grinned impishly. "Dance with me?"

Draco gave a pained look to the dancefloor and then to the man happily leaning against his side. Damn but he wasn't going to be able to say no. When had he become such a pushover? "Only if you promise your skills have improved since fourth year," he quipped.

Harry laughed, then scrabbled up to a standing position, pulling at Draco's arm. "I have, I promise. Lots better," he babbled.

Draco gave a resigned sigh, downing his drink before allowing himself to be dragged into the fray.

They edged in among the other oblivious dancers, and Harry half-fell against him as he wrapped his arms around Draco. They found a rhythm of their own, paying as little attention to the dancers around them as they had received. They swayed back and forth, spinning away and slipping back into each other's arms. Both of them had stumbled more than a few times, giggling and making fun of each other each time. At one point, Draco laughed so hard that he had to put his head on Harry's shoulder to keep the room from spinning. His fingers had crept to the back of Harry's neck in the guise of support, sliding up into the soft riot of curls. Draco purred, thankfully quietly enough to be obscured by the music.

Draco knew then the exact face that would be haunting his dreams from then on – that was so similar to even his earliest fantasies. Eyes that were neither light nor dark, dancing that boundary between. He had a strong jaw, but the angles suited him. Soft hair, several inches long, twined around Draco's fingers. His body was fit and lean, and had a tan that sometimes made Draco jealous. Draco gripped the hair in his hand firmly and tentatively rubbed his cheek against Harry's – feeling the five o'clock shadow that had already begun to appear – and shivered hard.

Heat filled him, and he knew that it had little to do with the drinks he'd imbibed. Harry had one hand on his lower back and one pressed between his shoulder blades, and Draco allowed them to draw him closer. One slight turn of their heads, and their lips would be able to touch.

A shrill noise nearly startled Draco out of his skin; a sentiment shared by much of the crowd if their shrieks and pale faces were anything to go by. A quick look around showed an evilly grinning George Weasley standing atop one of the tables, wand aloft.

"Sorry to break up the fun, but the sun is rising and we'll be getting kicked out of here in a minute," he announced with a laugh. He jumped down far too sure-footedly for someone who had been acting as inebriated as he had been, and Draco glared.

Draco cast a quick Tempus and unfortunately found the prankster to be correct. Had it really been that long? He looked back at Harry, who was blushing and scratching his head sheepishly.

"Er, I guess we should, um, be heading home, then," he said awkwardly. There was a smile on his face that he was failing at fighting, and it eased Draco's worry a bit.

"Ah, yes, likely so." He groaned when a thought hit him. "Scorpius will be bounding in to wake me up very soon," he whined, tipsy enough not to care how he sounded.

Harry laughed. "Yeah, um, Enigma will probably be up soon too. Trouble and Devious would sleep in as long as I'd let them every morning except Christmas," he babbled. There was a short silence as they both found a very interesting bit of décor to examine.

"So…I, uh, guess this is goodnight, then. Or morning, rather," Draco offered.

"Yeah. Right. I'll…see you later, yeah?" Harry asked. Draco nodded the affirmative. "Well, bye then." He clumsily sauntered backward, giving a shy smile and a little wave before tucking his hands in his pockets. The grin George shot Draco over Harry's head when he threw an arm around his pseudo-brother was pure evil.

Two things were on Draco's mind as he Apparated back to Malfoy Manor. First, he needed to plan revenge on one George Weasley. Second, he was going to excuse himself as quickly as possible after Scorpius dragged him to breakfast so that he could relieve the problem that had made walking off the dancefloor even more difficult than his inebriation had.