When Draco came home from visiting Dromeda and Molly that Saturday afternoon, it was only to grab the nappy bag. Harry held Leo for about five minutes before it was time for them to go again. Harry, with Leo, followed Draco around as the wizard ran around summoning a few last minute items and nervously recounted the details of the planned trip to visit the Malfoy parents in Austria. Draco's nerves were not for Dane having dinner with his parents, but because Dane and Leo were moments away from officially meeting for the first time. Harry desperately wanted to say something and stop Draco and Leo from going, but he didn't.

There just wasn't time for the serious discussion Harry needed to have, before Draco and Leo were off through the floo to meet Dane at the Ministry. From there it would be a portkey over to Austria and then the traditional pureblood engagement dinner with both sets of parents. Harry hadn't ever had dinner with Narcissa and Lucius, had only seen Narcissa for a few moments since the war, and hadn't even caught sight of Lucius in person since that Easter he'd escaped from Malfoy Manor. And now Dane was off to do all of that and worse, be formally introduced to Leo as well. This engagement was moving far too fast for Harry's taste and it was time he did something about it.


Ron, Hermione, and Harry spent Sunday alone, just the three of them hanging out at Grimmauld Place, like old times. It was a very good day, despite Harry's anxiety over the pending conversation with Draco. He was the third wheel, but it was the most natural third wheel possible.

Harry and Ron even had one of their rare heart-to-heart conversations. Their natural inclinations were to exchange superficial, "We're goods," and sweep the matter under the rug, like they usually did. Hermione, however, didn't think that was good enough and told each wizard individually that they either needed to have a serious conversation on their own or she was going to start it for them.

"Er, are you mad I broke up with your sister, Ron?" Harry asked, looking at Ron, but eyeing Hermione to make sure it was good enough.

"Mad? A little," Ron answered, also eyeing Hermione. "It's not like you broke up with me, but you are a wanker," he cringed here, fearful that the cuss word would insight his girlfriend's wrath, but continued when it didn't, "for, ah, leading her on like that."

"I didn't mean to," Harry replied.

"I know. Even I could see that the two of you weren't getting along lately. You never seemed interested in what she was saying and you kept keeping her away. I only wish you hadn't included me in with her," Ron said. He would've liked a chance to get to know Leo better, even if Ginny didn't.

"This couldn't have come as a surprise to anyone; I could see there were problems in the relationship when I was on the other side of the world," Hermione added.

"I think it was a surprise to her," Harry said.

"Ginny has always been a bit oblivious and off in her own world at times," Ron replied with a shrug.

"Alright, I don't want to talk about this anymore. I could really use a drink right now. Do we have anything stronger than Butterbeer?" Harry asked.

And so they broke out a bottle of wine and let the conversation drift to more pleasant topics.


The Auror trainees spent Monday afternoon visiting and being familiarized with two hotbeds of wizarding activity, because they were on the list of locations that Aurors were regularly called out to. Ideally they would know the lay of the land prior to being thrust into dangerous situations, so these fieldtrips were important. They were also some of their more stress free assignments, allowing Harry the time to mentally psych himself up for the pending talk with Draco.

When Harry apparated home from work, the scene that greeted him was a first. He could hear music coming from upstairs the moment he walked through the front door. Grimmauld Place sounded upbeat and had a cheerful vibe, in contrast to its fading décor. Kreacher popped in to take Harry's cloak and backpack and even the ancient elf seemed to have some pep in his step. This was all a good sign, likely indicating that Draco was in a good mood. That would hopefully carry over to responding favorably to what Harry had to say.

Bounding up the stairs two at a time with determination, Harry heard the sound of Leo's laughter and Hermione's giggles of amusement coming from the drawing room. He approached the open door and saw Hermione dancing awkwardly with Leo in her arms. This wasn't Leo's baby music, but Draco's upbeat wizard rock, and that is difficult to dance to with an infant. Harry stepped into the doorway, leaning against the jamb and saw Draco moving and gyrating to the fast beat by himself. It was like watching one of those choreographed muggle music videos and not at all the random mosh-pit jumping Harry would've done if forced to dance to this song. Draco's body was lithe, flowing, and seemingly an extension of the song itself.

Hermione caught Harry's eye and greeted him with a nod in his direction and then an implication-filled jerk of her head in Draco's direction. But she didn't say anything, waiting for him to make his move. Draco was too into the song and his dancing to notice the new arrival, so Harry waited. He watched transfixed, growing hard in his pants at the erotic sight before him, until the end of the song.

The next song was a wizard pop number. Hermione began an attempt at a simple side to side step with Leo, one of his little hands in her larger one, the pair laughing and giggling merrily. Draco shifted into the new song like a second skin. He danced almost in time with Hermione, the differences being one, that he was in perfect timing with the beat, and two, he was doing a far more complex dance. He was swaying his hips and lunging across the floor in what appeared to be another choreographed routine. His hands and arms expressed the meaning of the lyrics, in a manner similar to how he used his arms to tell a story, but more dramatically, acting out emotion. It was all so exact and complicated that Harry had trouble following all of the intricacies.

Thirty seconds into the song, Draco had danced his way over to Harry. He stopped the lunging across the floor and replaced it with the simpler side step, inviting Harry to join in.

"Erm, may I have this dance?" Harry asked, wanting to make this more than a friendly platonic dance.

Draco nodded and changed tactics to match Harry's formal request. He grabbed Harry's hands, placing one on his waist and the other on his shoulder. He then took Harry for a spin around the drawing room, before settling in one spot, allowing Harry's hands to fall from his body, and resuming his early complicated side-step dance.

Harry started to move then, nervous that he wasn't much of a dancer, but determined not to chicken out. He followed the side step Hermione had taught him during their time on the run. Draco sensed Harry's ineptitude and simplified his own movements to match Harry's. Once Harry seemed comfortable with the side step, Draco resumed his additional movements one at a time, starting with the gyrating hips. Harry tried to copy, but found he couldn't coordinate doing more than two movements at the same time. Judging by the smile on Draco's face, this was okay with him and Harry was having fun.

When the song ended and a commercial came on, Harry leaned in for a kiss, despite the fact that Draco was already pulling away. Draco brought both of his arms in front of himself and pushed Harry's chest away from him as hard as he could. Harry stumbled backward, caught off guard. Once free, Draco darted back two large paces.

"What are you doing, Potter?" Draco asked angrily, a scowl in place on his enticing lips.

"Kissing you?" Harry asked, suddenly unsure of himself. He thought that Draco might be okay with it, because the last time he'd tried, Draco had basically told him not until he'd dumped Ginny. Well he'd dumped Ginny and now he wanted to kiss Draco.

Draco's brow furrowed in anger and his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Granger, please take Leo out of the room." His voice was cold, his angry eyes never leaving Harry as he spoke or as Hermione promptly complied. He waited until they were gone before addressing Harry. "I know engagement means less than nothing to you—that much you have made obvious by your blatant disregard to your commitment to Weasley—but it does mean something to me. I have a fiancé and I will not disrespect him or myself by engaging in inappropriate activities with anyone, not even you."

"But I dumped Ginny so we could be together," Harry protested.

"No, you dumped Ginny to correct a horrible mistake that you never should have made in the first place. If you wanted me, you should have said something before I let Dane put this ring on my finger." Draco held up his left hand, showing off a thick platinum band featuring a tiny Hebrides dragon carved out of black onyx, with a single diamond for the eye. The dragon was of course chosen for Draco's name, while the onyx and diamond stones represented the union of Dane and Draco, respectively.

The ring was extremely gaudy in Harry's opinion. He was sure he could never wear something so ostentatious, but Draco seemed to pull it off. Draco could pull anything off. Despite having already seen the ring before, Harry couldn't help but stand there gawking at it. How could he compete with that?

"I mean, we have already had the dinner with the parents and the wedding is weeks away," Draco continued. "I am not about to mess that up for a one night stand with you, so that you can dump me faster than you dumped Weasley and leave me right back where I was: a single father with your child to raise on my own. If you are horny, I suggest responding to one of the vast number of owls requesting booty-calls you receive every day. But you can stop looking here, because like I said before, I will not be used."

"I don't want a booty-call. I want you," Harry protested.

"You sure have some way of showing it."

"I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean to put you through all of this. I didn't know what I wanted. I was confused."

"But now you are not?" Draco asked.

"No, now I know I want you. Please, I'm begging you—" Here Harry got down on his knees, throwing caution to the wind and going for it— "Please, will you give me a chance? I want us to be a family. A real family, with me, and you, and Leo, and Teddy. I want you to live here with me forever. I want to date you properly, like you said. And one day," Harry gulped, "one day I'd like to take the next step and marry you. I don't want to use you and throw you away. I want to keep you forever and treat you right."

"Isn't that what you said to Weasley?" Draco asked skeptically.

"No, it's not. All I had to do with her was ask her to marry me and she jumped into my arms. And when we started dating, I didn't even have to ask anything at all. She just leaned in and kissed me and that was that." If only that could be that with a Malfoy, but deep down Harry knew that working for it would make it so much more precious.

"Right, well let us make a few things crystal clear: I am not your Weasley. I will not bend over for you or anyone else without the proper vows firmly in place. I will not kiss you, when I am engaged to another. I will not set aside my life for any of your fleeting fancies. I have standards."

"This isn't a fleeting fancy. Please give me a chance, just one chance, I'm begging you, and I will show you how serious I am about you. I love you," Harry pleaded desperately.

"You are serious?" Draco asked and Harry nodded fervently. "Let me get this straight: you are asking me to break off my engagement with Dane, for what exactly with you?"

"Whatever you want. Whatever you will have me for, I will be it." Harry looked Draco in the eye, willing the other wizard to see how serious and committed he was.

"Marriage without the possibility of divorce," Draco answered curtly, sure this would scare Harry off.

Harry gulped, taken aback by the size of the step Draco was asking him to commit to. But this was what he wanted, so he nodded. "Well I thought we could work up to that first. I don't mind going out and buying you a ring, but I don't think I will be ready to take Dane's place at the altar in three weeks. Could, I, er, have a little more time?"

Draco blinked, surprised by Harry's answer. "You are serious about this?" he asked again, finally beginning to think that Harry was indeed serious.

"Yes," Harry answered fervently.

"Do you even know what you are getting yourself into? Marrying into the Malfoy family? Having Lucius Malfoy for a father-in-law? Attending feasts and fancy balls at Malfoy Manor for holidays? Never being able to kiss or fuck another person for the rest of your life."

"Besides you? If I have you, I think that will be more than enough."

Draco nodded, but was silent, deep in thought. He backed away, sitting down on the sofa with his head bent and his fingers rubbing his temples as he thought.

Harry followed, waiting expectantly for Draco to say something. After several long and painful minutes of silence, Harry started babbling. "I mean, I know I would be getting your family with you. Your mum seems decent enough. And I know I don't get along with your father, but I can work on that. It's not like we will be living with him or anything. I think I could handle seeing him like once a month. We probably will never be friends, but you know, I could, er, be nice to him." He would have to work very hard at it, but he could do it if it meant having Leo and Draco to himself for the rest of his life. "I could do holidays at Malfoy Manor. I would like to have some holidays with the Weasleys, or you know, both. Maybe someday we could bury the hatchet and all get together for Leo's birthday or something." Harry paused then, hoping for a response from Draco.

"And the sex?" Draco asked, not looking up from the floor.

"Will be brilliant. You and me and no one else. Just the two of us. We'll get Dromeda or Molly or your mum to babysit Leo."

"No, I mean you are okay with ceasing your debauchery and only having sex with one person for the rest of your life?"

"Draco, I've told you before that most of the crap the Prophet writes about me is completely made up. I've only ever had sex with Ginny and I've only kissed three people in my entire life: Cho Chang, Ginny Weasley, and best of all, you, Draco Malfoy. I don't need to have flings with every witch or wizard I am ever seen exchanging passing pleasantries with. If I had you, then I would have more than enough to satisfy me for the rest of my life."

Draco did not respond, other than with a curt nod. He closed his eyes, head angled down, making it difficult for Harry to guess what was going through that blond head of his.

It was several more grueling minutes of silence, before Harry gave in and spoke again, "Draco, will you please tell me what you are thinking?"

"I am trying to process all this new information. It is a lot to take in. I need time to sort it all out and think. This is a big decision. It's not just the rest of my life, but Leo's life too. I know you are his father, but Dane was really good with him this weekend and I think Dane is more stable. If they were not involved and it was just you and me, that would be one thing. But it's not and they are involved. I need to think about what is best for my son.

"Then there is the rest of my family to consider," Draco continued. "Dane has promised that my father will be free from prosecution and allowed back into the country by our wedding day. If I don't marry Dane, what will happen to my father? Not that I mind him being stuck in Austria, but where he goes, my mother goes too. I want my mother closer. I am tired of only seeing her once a week. I know you let your emotions rule you and jump in without considering the consequences, but I don't. Sure I could throw caution to the wind and give in to my hormones, but I am a wizard possessed with a rational mind and I am determined to use it from now on. I will not jump into another mark without fully thinking it through and knowing exactly what I am signing up for. I need to sort this situation out logically and it is hard to do that with you right there in front of me. I need some time alone." Draco had a look pleading for understanding on his face. His eyes were red-rimmed and the stress he was under was clearly evident in his face. Everything was riding on him and this decision.

"Alright, I understand." After all, Harry could relate. This was exactly how he'd felt leading up to his decision to pursue Draco. And he could understand Draco not wanting to make another bad decision after the horrible choice to follow Voldemort. In fact, he was relieved to hear that Draco was so determined not to make another mistake like that. He only wished that being with him wasn't in the category of risky decisions that had to be carefully contemplated.

"I just keep coming back to how can I trust your word that you will want me forever, when you said the same to Weasley. You were not at all faithful to her, so how can I expect you to be faithful to me?"

"Hey! I never slept with anyone else! How is that unfaithful?" Harry asked indignantly.

"Not for lack of trying. And you did do plenty with me that I would consider grounds for an annulment of wedding vows. You don't even seem to think that kissing another is a betrayal, when I do."

Harry sighed. "Look, I know I haven't handled this situation as well as I could've. All I can say is that there won't be another situation like this one, because you are the one I want and love. No one will be able to tempt me away from you the way you tempted me away from Ginny, because it simply isn't possible. There is not another wizard alive as hot and sexy and perfect as you. There just isn't any competition to worry about. I would never even consider kissing another if I had you."

"But I do worry. That is what you say now, but there is no telling how long that will last."

"What do I have to do to prove it to you that you are the only one I will ever want again?" Harry pleaded.

"I don't know. You will have to figure that one out for yourself. Another thing you need to figure out is if you are willing to lead the type of life I want for myself. Have you ever taken the time to put together your side of a marriage contract?"

"No, I want to marry for love."

"Arranged marriages do not necessarily have to be without love. I think the process of agreeing on a legally binding marriage contract is an important step to ensure that both parties are on the same page. It saves a lot of strife down the road if we are both on the same page and have worked out an arrangement for every detail of our lives beforehand. My marriage contract with Dane means that I know going into it exactly what our lives will entail." Knowing what he was getting into and being in control of it were very important to Draco in this post-war world. "And before that, just the process of writing down my desires helped me get in touch with what I want out of life. I feel that not only do I have no idea what I might be jumping into with you, but also you have no idea of what you want in a life with me."

"I just want to be with you and Leo and Teddy. As long as I have you all in my life and the Weasleys, I will be happy. What do I need to do to convince you of that?"

Draco huffed out a very put upon sigh and rubbed his temples in frustration. "I will lend you a copy of my marriage contract with Dane, so you can get an idea of what I mean. I don't require you to agree to the exact same contract and in fact, I will be very displeased with you if you come back asking to use the same one. The process of writing one is critical and I will not permit it being skipped over in favor of satisfying your libido. It is an instruction manual for the rest of our lives, but it is more than that: it is the process of getting to know each other so thoroughly that any potential for divorce causing disagreements will be brought to the light before you even place your ring on my finger. It is the number one reason why pureblood divorce rates are so low, because couples who are not in perfect harmony do not marry in the first place."

"Erm, alright. How does the process work exactly?" Harry asked, hope in his voice.

"First off each party needs to know what they want in life; really know it. Then they exchange lists and go over any conflicts they might have. Each person must think about whether they really want or do not want something, or whether they would be willing to change their life for the other. If the conflicts cannot be worked out, the courting process is ended. Otherwise, the lists are given to the family patriarchs to turn into marriage contracts. At this point input is added from the families. For example, my mother and Dane's mother sat down and worked out a schedule for holiday visits between the two of them. Neither Dane nor I particularly cared whether we went to my parents or his on Halloween night, so we left that up to our mothers. Dane's father is dead, making Dane his own family patriarch, which was why he spent so much time going back and forth with my father over things I didn't care about or my father had no business trying to determine. That brings me to the final step, where the actual participants in the contract determine the final wording and are free to veto things their parents have added. That is why I was able to take the contract from my father and have it in a completed state so quickly."

"So I will have to iron out a contract with Lucius then?" Harry asked, sounding far less hopeful than before.

"Yes, but I will be able to rescue you and whip him into line, if I accept your proposal to court me, that is. I really must have time to think first," Draco answered.

Harry nodded. Draco summoned a copy of his and Dane's marriage contract for Harry to read over, before leaving the room. He first checked on Leo, ensuring that the child was alright with Hermione, before locking himself in his room to think.

Harry sat on the sofa reading through the contract, thinking that the life it described was near enough perfect and that Dane was one lucky bloke. It was all far more preplanned than he would like and utterly lacked spontaneity, but a life with Draco was far from boring. Probably his biggest concern was the fact that Dane was taking the Malfoy last name, when that was something Harry had never considered doing. Would he be okay with changing his name to Harry Malfoy and giving all of his children the Malfoy last name? It would mean the end of the Potter name and he didn't know how he felt about that yet. That is what he was thinking about when Hermione came in with Leo.

"Well, how did it go?" Hermione asked, sitting next to Harry and letting Leo down to crawl around.

"He gave me his marriage contract to read," Harry said with a shrug.

"And?"

"And he needs time to think. I got the impression that he wanted to choose me, but then he went off on logic and reason and needing to work through it."

"Well that is a good sign."

Harry nodded, but let out a sigh, indicating that it wasn't as simple as that. "And he said I need to do something to show that I'm serious."

"What are you going to do?"

"I think it's time I schedule an interview with the Daily Prophet." Harry had known for a while now that he needed to do it, but he'd been putting it off, because procrastinating was so much easier than dealing with reporters. In his defense the articles about Draco and Ginny had been shortened and pushed to the interior pages, due to the break of a more pressing news story. But the speculation had not ceased entirely, which meant the wizarding world was still waiting for Harry to speak out and tell everyone his side of the story. Now that he was ready, his side would be a very pro-Draco side. "Do you think it will be enough if I tell the world I'm in love with Draco Malfoy?"

"You need to be careful with what you say Harry. Phrasing is very important. After all, if you imply that Ginny's allegations of you being unfaithful with him are true, then that will compromise his relationship with that Dane fellow. You don't want to do that. Not only will he blame you for the breakup, but his temper will probably turn him against you," Hermione replied.

"I don't want that."

"You can do it though. We just need to plan out what you are going to say. It will be fine."

"I hope you are right."

"I always am," Hermione said, engulfing Harry in a comforting hug.

In that moment Leo, having crawled across to the other side of the room, finally pulled Hermione's hoodie free. She had left it on a chair, under the book she'd been reading and the heavy tomb came down with a bang inches from the baby, scaring him. Leo started crying as Harry jumped up to fetch his son. Serious discussions would have to wait, because Leo was demanding attention now.

"I'm so sorry Harry! I will watch where I leave my books from now on," Hermione vowed fervently.


Author's Note: Up next will be Harry's interview, so what would you have him say, besides the fact that he loves Draco? And I'm not sure, but it might also contain Draco's decision.

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