A/N: I know, it's been ages. I've been dreadful at updating. But trust me, it should be worth the wait. You get two chapters for the price of one!

October 9th, 2004

7:09 a.m.

"The alarm went off a while ago," I mumbled into my pillow.

"Mmm, I don't care," Draco replied, tightening his grip around my waist. When the alarm clock had gone off on my nightstand some minutes ago, he had shouted in irritation and curled around me. Now, consequently, he wouldn't hear a word about letting go of me or getting out of bed.

"Draco."

"Hm?"

"We're getting married today."

"I know."

"So perhaps we should get out of bed so we can get everything in order?"

"No."

"Draco, I'll not have your father coming into our home expecting a wedding only to find the two of us curled up in bed, completely naked," I said with a mild tone of irritation.

His muscles around me relaxed and he finally rolled away from me, "Why do we have to get up so early though?" He flipped his legs over the side of the bed and ran a hand through his hair that I had messed up the night before.

"Because there's a lot to get done today," I reminded him as I leaped out of bed. I walked over to his side and offered him my hand. He took my hand and pulled himself up by my grip. He pulled himself in and kissed me a bit aggressively. I pulled away, "No. No sex until tonight."

He guffawed, "Why not?"

"Because. Tradition."

"Not that bloody word again," He complained as I moved away. "I'm so sick of you saying that. 'Tradition' this and 'tradition' that."

"Quit your bitching. Are you going to take a shower with me or not? It would be a waste of time for us to take turns," I pointed out as I stepped into the attached bathroom that had come with our lovely new home. I sat on the edge of the wide tub and turned the faucet on, grateful that the water ran hot almost instantly. Just as I pulled the lever to turn the shower on and stood up I felt his hands on my hips and his chin on my shoulder. I smiled to myself as he kissed along my neck. He murmured in my ear, "Pretty please?"

"No," I insisted.

"Oh come on!" He whined.

I laughed as I yanked him into the shower with me, "You will survive a few more hours without this dick. I have faith in your willpower." I moved under the stream of water and shook my hair out underneath it. While the water streamed down my face and forced me to shut my eyes, I felt his hands on my waist pulling me around so that he could get some water. I snickered and let him get wet as I washed my hair.

"You know, for someone preaching tradition we aren't exactly doing the actual marriage part traditionally," Draco commented as we switched sides.

"Oh yeah? How do you figure?"

"Well, for starters, we aren't taking last names. We're just keeping our own."

"True, that is unconventional," I admitted as I pulled him back under the water.

"And we're not getting married anywhere fancy, we're just marrying in our backyard."

"Yes, I suppose. But I still want to keep up some semblance of tradition here and there," I explained as he rinsed out the last of the soap from his hair. "So humor me, please."

He rested his hands on my cheeks and leaned forward to kiss my forehead, "Fine. If you insist, I will try not to nag you for your love of tradition."

"Thank you sweetheart," I murmured as I picked up a bottle of liquid soap. I lathered it between my hands and smiled at him, "Okay, so we can't have sex, but I'm definitely still gonna tease the hell out of you." I said before running my soapy hands down his chest.

He rolled his eyes, "Sometimes I wonder how people thought I was the evil one."

I couldn't help but snicker at this as I cleaned his body off, deliberately not touching any of his genitalia. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him get frustrated, taking my sweet time. But I could only drag it out so long before he pulled away and rinsed himself clean. He pulled himself close to me just as quickly and kissed along my neck and murmured in my ear, "You're gonna regret doing that."

"Mm, why's that?"

"Because it's my turn now," He explained as he returned the favor. He massaged the sea-scented soap across my chest and carefully down my arms. I shrugged casually, "Oh, that's nothing." He smiled to himself and leaned in so close we were nose to nose. He innocently kissed my nose and surprised me by sinking to his knees. I looked down at him and sighed. He was using his sex eyes to torture me. He touched as close as he could without getting near my growing erection.

"You sure you want to still follow that silly tradition? I mean, technically it wouldn't really count as fucking you if I sucked you off," He said innocently.

"Yes, I'm sure. Get up here."

He reluctantly stood and I moved away from him, moving underneath the water to rinse it all off. I reached behind me and turned the dial slightly until the water ran cool. It managed to force my libido to settle down. He rolled his eyes as he pulled back the curtain and grabbed our towels, "You really are no fun."

"You're about to marry me, you're going to have to get used to it."

He ruffled his hair in the towel and smiled, "I suppose I can put up with it."

1:17 p.m.

"Eat. Now," Ron insisted, dropping a plate on our dining table. A rather sad looking sandwich waited for me in the middle of the dish.

"We still don't have anything set up and guests are going to start showing up at two o'clock, Ron. We still don't have the cake set up either, everything gone to pieces —"

"Oh Merlin's beard, I didn't want to have to do this," Ron muttered as he grabbed me by my shoulders and walked me across the kitchen toward the table. I tried to fight him, but he was stronger than I was. He managed to sit me down at the table. He leaned down and looked me in the eye. He looked absolutely livid. I hadn't seen him this cross since he freaked out over me dating Draco in the first place. He pointed at the sandwich but did not look away from me, "Eat the fucking sandwich or I will have to use the imperius curse on you and make you eat it."

"You'd get fired, you're not going to —"

"Don't test me Harry James Potter. I will do what I have to do," He said ominously.

He sounded like Hermione. I knew better than to see if he was serious or not. I nodded and picked the sandwich up. I glanced at him. He nodded. I reluctantly took a bite of the sad excuse for a sandwich. He relaxed so quickly it was like a light switch had been flipped, "Alright. Now, you let me and Neville worry about the problems. You sit and eat." He turned and shouted over his shoulder into the living room, "Oi! Neville! How's he doing in there?"

Neville appeared in the doorway in his suit and tie, "Considerably better than Harry. He's willingly and gladly eating food and not panicking excessively."

As I ate my sandwich I watched my friends busy themselves about the house as they fixed things up. Everyone was already in the proper attire, the women having just finished doing their hair half an hour ago. I turned in my seat and looked through the sliding glass doors behind me that lead out to our yard. It was an abnormally large backyard for this area, but it was just what we needed. I watched Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys putting everything in order. Chairs floated about the air and assembled themselves in neat little rows. Charlie flicked his wrist and the birch altar fixture was filled with white lillies. Ron and Neville were discussing the methods in which everyone was arriving to the wedding. Some were arriving via floo powder, others via portkeys. Given that only our closest friends had seen the brand new home so far, most were unable to apparate.

Ron leaned toward Neville and murmured something. Neville glanced back at the living room he had just walked out from and whispered a response I could not make out. I suddenly grew paranoid. I could tell they were talking about Draco.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Ron glanced at me, "No concern of yours."

"It's my damn wedding day," I started to say furiously through a mouthful of chewed up bread and meat. "I have a right to —"

Neville slipped his wand out of his pocket and without hesitation waved it in my direction, "Silencio,"

My voice disappeared in my throat. I felt my vocal cords tremble, but no noise was produced. I ate the last bit of the food that had been forced on me and crossed my arms. I moved my mouth, silently cursing the two of them out as they milled about.

"Yeah, yeah, Harry. We don't really care," Ron said casually as he turned back to Neville, "Okay, so everything's set up. Looks like mum and Fleur have got the cake going out there," I glanced outside and saw that indeed the two of them were completing some pretty outstanding magic; a large cake was assembling itself on a small table on the edge of the yard. "Everything else is set up. Everyone is dressed and prepared for the ceremony. The rings?"

Neville retrieved a small box from his other pocket. A light shake indicated the rings were waiting within. I glanced at my left hand. My engagement ring was waiting in the box. We didn't feel it was necessary to invest in another round of rings. I had painstakingly crafted Draco's ring by transfiguring a forget-me-not into a similar silver band.

"And transportation to get the guests here has been solidified," Ron continued as Neville pocketed the ring box. "As for the reception, mum's already volunteered to take care of the food. Says she can have it done in the blink of an eye. Got a couple barrels of butterbeer lined up in the basement for the reception as well."

"Only a couple? Hagrid alone will drink them dry," Neville laughed.

"Oh, he's got his own supply he can drain."

"Speaking of which, people should be arriving any minute. Do you think we should let Harry go? I don't think he has anything left to panic over," Neville looked my way with an amused smile.

Ron turned and looked at me, "Well? Are you satisfied Harry? You've nothing to worry about. All that's left is the actual wedding. If you whine one more time though, we're going to have to remove your mouth completely," He warned before taking out his wand, "Finite incantatem,"

I sighed and cast them both an irritable look, "You're both dicks."

"Oh, quit your whining. You'll be grateful we made you eat in the long run. Now, why don't you and Draco go and wait upstairs until everyone's here and seated. I'll come and get you when we're ready for you," Ron instructed.

I sighed and walked past Ron and Neville into the living room. The fireplace was soon going to be aglow with green flames as people began to arrive. People would be popping in with their portkeys in a matter of minutes. But all I cared about right now was the sight of Draco, sitting calmly on the edge of the sofa across the room from me. An empty plate was sitting on the coffee table. He looked up at me and smiled ever so slightly. He always looked beautiful to me, but today he especially astounded me. Given his fondness of suits, he had gone all out for this one. The entire thing was hand tailored, fitting to his body perfectly. He had actually opted for a white shirt, instead of black, allowing his tie to actually be visible against the staunch white shirt. "Everything okay?" He asked cautiously. "I thought tradition said it was bad luck to see me before the wedding?"

"First of all, that's brides. Secondly, Ron and Neville have decided we need to wait at their beck and call while the guests arrive. They want us to wait upstairs for them," I tilted my head toward the stairs just beside us, "Come on."

"Wanna race?" He asked with a whimsical grin spreading on his lips.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes and smile, "Yeah, sure. Why not?" Without waiting for him to get up I turned to the stairs and started charging up them. I heard him shout in surprise and his footsteps pounded on the wood just behind me. It didn't take long for me to get to the landing on the second floor. I threw my hands up in the air and whooped, "I win!" Within a few seconds he was beside me and shaking his head, "You cheated."

I put a hand on my chest and stared at him with wide eyes, "Me? Preposterous."

He laughed and rested a hand on my back, "You're such an arse."

"I mean, it's not too late to back out. You don't have to marry me," I pointed out.

He stood close to me as we caught our breath. His eyes glanced over my face and his smile softened into just a slight upturn of his lips, "I think I can handle your occasional tendency to be an arse, so long as you can accept the fact that I'm the same way."

"I think I can," I assured him. I reached out and took his hands in mine. For a moment, we just stared at each other, ignoring the sounds of people appearing and milling about in the living room below.

His thumb gently brushed the back of my hand. He chuckled to himself.

"What is it?" I asked, always anxious to know what made him smile or laugh out of nowhere.

He grinned wickedly as he looked me in the eyes. He raised an eyebrow, "Scared, Potter?"

I snorted a laugh before muttering, "You wish." He leaned in to kiss me, but I put a finger to his lips, "No, we should wait. We'll kiss in a minute anyway. It'll be more exciting then anyway."

"I don't want to wait anymore."

"You can survive another, what, ten minutes?"

"Barely," He whined, resting a hand on my jaw. His eyes kept glancing down to my lips and I knew he was resisting the urge. Our eyes met again and he confessed, "I may be just a tiny bit nervous."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"What if — what if I screw up?" He asked gently.

"I certainly hope you've already memorized your vows."

He shook his head, but did not crack a smile like I had been hoping he would, "That's not what I meant. What if I screw up at being a husband?"

"There's a good chance we will both screw up. We are both imperfect human beings. When that does inevitably happen, we will overcome it. That's what marriage is all about, right?" I reminded him. He nodded. We stood there briefly, glancing down the stairs and listening to the mingling voices. Unintentionally, we started to play a game of trying to name who was speaking.

"I would never have expected Draco to purchase such a … quaint house." A cold dull voice spoke from the living room out of sight below.

Draco rolled his eyes as he mouthed, "Dad."

"Can't say anything nice can you Lucius?" A female voice responded cheerfully.

I smiled and murmured, "Andromeda."

"Can we try to be civil today? Let's just take our seats outside. If you wouldn't mind showing us the way, Mr. Weasley." A woman said cooly.

Draco and I exchanged a surprised look. He mouthed "Mom?" at the same time that I mouthed, "Narcissa!"

"You can call me Ron, ma'am. Thank you though. Right this way."

Footsteps lead to a moment of silence before we heard the fire blaze loudly and a pair of footsteps milling around the living room. "Huh. I always knew Harry would end up letting Draco do the decorating."

Draco and I exchanged a look and mumbled, "Ginny."

"Well, Draco has nice taste then. I like it here," A male voice echoed.

Draco wore a smug look on his face as I muttered, "Terry." About a year after we had broken up, word came that Ginny had started seeing Terry Boot on a regular basis. They were smitten with each other, and neither Draco or I hesitated to invite them both to the wedding. We listened as Ron reappeared and greeted his sister and her date before leading them off to the yard. Several more voices filled the room, clearly having entered via portkey. We both immediately recognized the voices of Hagrid, Minerva McGonagall, Horace Slughorn, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Aberforth. They were followed by Dean and Seamus, who were blaming each other for being later than they meant to be. When they were shuffled off, another portkey landed as a cadence of voices came into the room shortly thereafter. I smiled to myself as a Scotsman's voice commented, "Y'know, I always thought that Draco character was a slimy git, but if Harry trusts him, I trust him too."

"I should hope so. Maybe don't let either of them hear you say that though," A female voice responded.

"Yeah, Oliver, practically everyone here thought it at some point or another. You don't need to openly acknowledge it, that would just be rude," A second female responded.

My old teammates from Quidditch had managed to make it together: Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Oliver Wood himself. I wanted to run down the stairs and catch up with them, but I knew that would have to wait until the reception. We listened to them gab over Quidditch briefly before they were shuffled off by Ron and Neville. A few beats later there was a soft knock at the door. Draco turned and looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "Do you know who that could be?"

I glanced at the door at the foot of the stairs, "I have an idea." I turned back to Draco and kissed his cheek, "I'm going to get the door. I'm pretty sure that's our last guest, so it's going to be my turn to go out next. I'll see you down there."

He sighed and nodded, "Alright."

I turned and started down the stairs. I only got a few steps before Draco called back to me. I glanced over my shoulder, "Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too," I smiled before heading down the rest of the stairs and opening the door.

Dudley Dursley stood shyly on my doorstep with a skinny man beside him. He had changed a lot since I had last seen him. He had grown quite a bit of facial hair along his jaw and upper lip and had lost weight. He had built up what appeared to be quite a bit of muscle. The man beside him contrasted radically to him and looked like he could blow over in a strong breeze. He appeared physically incapable of growing facial hair.

"Hi, Harry. Er, I got your invite. Did you get my response?"

"Yes, I did. It's good to see you, Dudley. Come on in, the ceremony is just in the yard. Should be starting in a minute or two." I stepped aside to allow them to step in. "Just follow me."

They followed behind me quietly, aside from Dudley muttering, "I hope it's okay I brought a date. This is Timothy."

I glanced over my shoulder at the thin brunette, "Nice to meet you. Not a problem. We've got plenty of seats." I lead them through to the kitchen where Ron had just popped inside. "Would you mind finding them a spot, Ron?"

"Uh, sure. I was just about to come and get you." He gestured Dudley and Timothy out the glass doors and pointed toward the last few seats. They vanished from my sight as they sat. Ron stood in the doorway but faced me, "Alright, I'm going to go stand up there with Neville in a minute. Mum is right on the other side of this door, waiting to walk you up to the altar. Just give me time to get up there myself, okay?" He said with a little smile. He raised a bright red eyebrow, "How are you feeling?"

"Ecstatic, if I'm being honest."

"Good, that's the right answer. I'll see you out there then. One last hug as a free man?" He asked with a playful smile. I held my dear friend close before he had to let go and head outside. I counted down from sixty in my head, giving Ron time to make it to the altar. It was the first moment I had really had to myself all day. I shut my eyes briefly and inhaled for several beats. I held my breath. This was going to be one of the best days of my life. I let the breath go. Even if today was not perfect, it was undoubtedly going to be the start to a wonderful life together with Draco. I reached zero and walked forward.

The doors were already open for me. Molly was waiting as Ron had explained. Music was playing through the air, coming from an enchanted harp off to the side. Our small group of friends turned in their seats and faced me. I couldn't look at them, I suddenly was terrified. I looked right at Mrs. Weasley. As always, she gave me a look of total confidence and reassurance. She reached her arm out for me. I smiled and hooked my arm into hers as she walked down the aisle with me. The path ahead had seemed so long, but I made it up to the altar faster than I had expected. She let me go and sat in the front row. I took my place beside Ron who gave me a reassuring smile. I looked up and saw Narcissa duck inside the house briefly. She reappeared and waited patiently by the door for her son to exit.

The sun was so bright above that I couldn't see him walk past the glass. I didn't see him until he stepped out and took his mother's arm. In that moment it felt like all the oxygen in the world had vanished, or that my lungs had suddenly not needed it anymore. Despite having only seen him moments ago, he somehow looked different in this bright light. How had I not noticed until now how his hair had darkened in the past few years? I met his eyes as he walked forward. The guests, our groomsmen, they all vanished. Even Hagrid, who was taking up two seats in the back and already appeared to be crying, managed to vanish from my sight. For a split second I remembered the first time I had laid eyes on Draco. It amazed me how much he had transformed and evolved since then. The man who was taking his place before me was nothing like the boy I had resented in our school years. He was leagues above and beyond that silly boy. We reached out and took each other's hands the same way we had in the house just moments before.

Luna's voice beside us startled me back into reality. For a moment I had forgotten we had gotten her to be our officiant. She had actually volunteered for the job when we sent out the wedding invites. Apparently, on a whim, she had become a registered officiant a few years back. Neither Draco or I bothered to question why she would, we just agreed to have her on.

"Welcome friends, family, and esteemed guests. We're all gathered here on this gorgeous day to celebrate the marriage of Harry and Draco. Today you will not hear any ancient, repetitive wedding vows. There may be rings and tradition steeped in many parts of the proceedings today, but these are not the parts that truly count. They are mere symbols for the truth of what today will mean for these men. Today is about love. A true magic that goes far beyond anything that we can conjure with a wand. Let their commitment to loving each other be a reminder to us all that love is utterly blind. Despite the differences that seem to divide humans, love is what will always connect us. Through the darkest times in our lives and our history, love has been there to guide us. It is a force strong enough to persevere through trial and hardship, but flexible enough to shift and bend as needed. In short, love is undying and unending. The marriage you are about to witness between Harry and Draco is a symbol of that very love," She took a brief pause before speaking to the crowd, "The rings may be presented now."

I expected Neville to retrieve the box from his suit pocket and hand them to Luna. Instead, a single lily flower from the altar behind us shed two single petals. Resting upon them were the rings. They floated down gently through the air and rested before us. I cast a glance behind Draco at Neville who looked immensely proud of himself. It was a beautiful bit of magic I had never expected him to be capable of.

"Draco, if you would like to begin," Luna spoke softly, "You may recite your vows and place the ring upon Harry's left hand."

We had hardly looked away from each other this whole time. Something in his gaze shifted slightly. It suddenly felt as if we were just lying in bed, whispering sweet nothings to each other. It felt far more intimate than I had ever imagined it being.

"Harry," He breathed out softly, "Your name has always given me a thrill. I had been eager to meet you most of my life, dying to know the famous Harry Potter as much as any other. I never would have suspected we would clash immediately. But despite that, your name still had an effect on me. Perhaps not always in the way I expected or intended it to. Even when we were at the greatest of tensions, I was still enamored with you. To this day, I still somewhat suspect you slipped me a love potion when I wasn't looking all those years ago and it was simply the strongest potion ever made." He paused with a smile for our crowd of friends to laugh gently, "In all seriousness, I do not know where I would be today without you. In all likelihood, if it were not for you I would not be alive right now. Aside from owing you my life, I owe you a great deal of happiness that you have brought me. In the past few years I have smiled so much that it hurt, laughed so hard I cried, and felt such tremendous love that it was practically bursting from the seams. I cannot imagine my life without you. You have always been such a huge part of my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Despite our tricky beginning, I would never change a thing about our past. It has lead us to where we are today. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Harry, I take you to be my husband today and everyday after, with every intention to cherish your strengths and weaknesses every step of the way."

He finally looked away, only long enough to delicately grab the ring from the lily petal. He held my left hand in his and gently slid the ring onto my hand, "This I vow to you." As he placed the ring on my hand I made no effort to hide the tears that were welled up in my eyes.

I glanced at Luna who was smiling and also looking a bit emotional, "With that being said, Harry," She nodded toward me, "You may deliver your vows and place Draco's ring on his left hand."

I turned my eyes back to Draco and smiled, chuckling slightly, "Well, thanks for making my job twice as hard. I don't know how I can follow that." I could vaguely hear multiple guests snort with laughter as I squeezed Draco's hands in mine. I took a deep breath and began, "Draco, I so badly want to tell you that I have been dazzled by you since the day we met as well. But we both know the truth is that I hated you from the get go." An expected laugh rippled through the crowd. I noted that Ron was trying not to snicker too loudly behind me. "Luckily, things change with time. I don't think anybody here could have foreseen this. But I am blessed to have been capable of such a change. It allowed me to see the man you truly are beneath all the titles and labels you had acquired, and you astounded me immediately. Your ability to love so ardently and care so deeply are both incredibly invaluable to me. You have forever changed me, and I could never go back to the way I felt before. Draco, I take you as my husband with the solemn promise to value and respect every piece of who you are from this day on." I let go of his hand only long enough to carefully lift his ring off of the last remaining lily petal. Once it had been lifted, the petals slowly cascaded to the ground below.

I held Draco's left hand easily in mine as I slid the ring down onto his finger, surprised at the relative warmth of the metal. "This I vow to you."

Luna began to speak but I couldn't look away from him again. He looked so undeniably happy and it filled me with more joy than I already possessed in that moment. "With your vows of eternal love exchanged along with the rings that symbolize said love, it is my immense pleasure to pronounce the two of you to be officially married. You may kiss to seal your union."

We both leaned forward, our lips meeting in the middle. More than anything, I wanted this kiss to last and be as passionate as I felt inside. But we both knew it would have to wait. Instead, we pecked innocently for a brief moment before parting and turning to our family and friends as they all stood and applauded.

5:45 p.m.

The whole yard had been converted and was barely recognizable from the ceremony that had taken place a couple hours before. A couple of small tables and chairs littered the yard, surrounding a large dance floor that had been transfigured right into the ground. Despite the relatively early hour, it was beginning to get dark out. A few fairy lights floated around in the air. The neighborhood we lived in was a mixed muggle and wizard area, but enchantments protected our property from muggles noticing anything magical.

Everyone was well fed and the drinks were beginning to make their way around the yard, bottles of wine and champagne dancing from one table to the next. Hagrid had a massive goblet and his own kegs of butterbeer to drink from. Draco and I had already had a few nips of drinks here and there, but for the most part were still pleasantly level headed. It was beginning to get quiet as people settled their conversations. So I took the opportunity to take Draco's hand in mine. He didn't react until I stood and hauled him along with me, "Come on," I murmured when I saw the look of apprehension cross his face. He hadn't wanted to dance. I had insisted it was tradition. Neville saw us moving toward the empty floor and stood to loudly pronounce to the crowd of witches and wizards, "If you turn your attention to center stage, the grooms will now have their first dance together."

"I cannot believe you talked me into this," Draco muttered as we stepped onto the wood floor in the middle of our yard.

"It just goes to show how much you love me," I said as I put my hand on his shoulder.

He sighed as his hand found my waist, "I really do love you. I don't fancy public humiliation, you know this." The music began to filter through the air via magical means and he easily lead me about the floor.

"I don't know what you're talking about public humiliation for, you're doing just fine. We did practice this about fifty times though, per your request, so I don't know why you still think you're not good at it," I reminded him with a smirk. There really was no need to have practiced it so much. It was such a slow and easy song that we barely moved at all. It was really so simple, but he had been nervous anyway. I highly suspected it had to do with having an audience more than actually moving his feet to a rhythm. Given our close proximity I kept my eyes on him. He, on the other hand, kept glancing about nervously.

"Draco," I half whispered, "You're fine."

His eyes darted toward mine, "You're sure?"

"There's nobody else here. Just me."

I watched the expression slowly change. His eyes focused in on me and I could tell that he was managing to shut the rest of the world out as we skirted the floor quietly. The music seemed the only company we had in that moment. It was a song I had long since forgotten about until recently. I had insisted on doing this dance, so Draco had made me figure out what song to play all on my own. I anguished between all the good love songs I knew. But none of them quite matched our story, mostly because a lot of them were gendered. Men singing about women was all too easy to find. A love song without pronouns? Much harder. I had ended up choosing the Monkees song "As We Go Along" on a whim, having heard it at a bookshop many months ago. I had just fancied the song, but when I heard it again I found the lyrics oddly appropriate. I ran it by Draco and he was charmed by it and happily agreed to play it. As we finally danced to it at our wedding together, I could not help but think how fortunate I was. I had never been quite so happy before. Of course I had known happiness prior to meeting him, but the warmth I felt throughout my whole system in that moment was so blissful.

"Harry, we can't kiss again in front of my parents," Draco reminded me.

"Who said I was gonna—"

"You keep glancing at my mouth, like you always do."

"Can you blame me?"

"No, because trust me there's nothing more that I want right now but we have to wait until everyone has gone home. Because once we start, you know we won't be able to stop."

"Fair enough." I admitted as the song slowed to an end.

The music slowly transitioned into a Celestina Warbeck song and we both cringed. We both hated her music. But it was not ours to enjoy. I bowed my head to Draco and quickly murmured "Good luck," before turning to face his mother who was heading my way. We had discussed the typical tradition of the bride dancing with the father, and we had both agreed it would be far more entertaining for us to dance with our new mother-in-laws instead.

I nodded politely toward Narcissa as she approached, feeling slightly awkward as I put my hand on her waist. It was the first time that I had spent any time with her since I had formally been introduced to her as Draco's boyfriend. This had little to do with her, and plenty to do with the fact that her husband generally hated my guts.

"Long time no see," I said to break the awkward silence between us.

She smiled sheepishly, "Indeed. I'm sorry I haven't come to visit since you've moved. I had been meaning to, but it's difficult to slip out without Lucius noticing. You know how he is."

I smirked slightly, "I do. How is he doing today?"

"He's — handling it so far." She paused and looked at me with a sort of motherly concern I had only seen her express toward Draco, "Harry, I want you to know that no matter how much my husband might struggle with this, I don't. You know I fully support you and my son."

"Yes, I know, don't worry," I assured her.

She visibly relaxed and her concerned expression was replaced with a weak smile, "I'm very proud to say that you're a part of my family now. I doubt if anyone could love Draco like you do, and I'm eternally grateful for that. All I've ever wanted was his happiness."

I felt my cheeks burn with humility. I hadn't realized how strongly Narcissa felt about me, "Well, I certainly hope to continue making him happy."

"I know that you will," She spoke with conviction.

"Does your husband doubt my ability to make Draco happy?" I asked, unable to shake the thoughts of Lucius.

She sighed softly, "He can't decide what to make of you. It goes against everything he has ever understood to trust you at all. That unfortunate raid destroyed the progress that I had made in convincing him that you are good for Draco."

"I was hoping that he would have let that go after all this time."

"He doesn't exactly give up grudges easily," Narcissa pointed out, "But I know that with just a little more time and patience he will see things for what they are."

"One can only hope," I muttered as I chanced a glance toward their table. Lucius was looking incredibly distraught as he held a tumbler full of firewhiskey. A couple empty tumblers were resting on the table. My eyes were forced to look away as we turned away from him in our dance. "Well, at least I have one in-law who likes me."

She laughed, "Don't worry, Harry. I'll always be on your side."

The song concluded and shifted into a new piece. We smiled and parted ways, with a little nod exchanged between the two of us. The floor opened up for the rest of our guests to dance to their heart's content. Unsurprisingly, Luna and her father were quickly on the floor and spinning around like colorful tops in a matter of seconds. As Narcissa and Molly walked off, I glanced towards Draco. He moved towards me, but to my surprise it was not for a dance. He took my hand and pulled us off the floor and toward our table. Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Hannah had all just left the table to go and dance. We sat alone.

Draco sighed as he sat, "I feel like I haven't sat still for days."

"Is it bad that I'm excited just to sleep?"

Draco laughed as he leaned back in his chair lazily, "No, because I am too."

I reached out and rested my hand atop of his on the table. I squeezed ever so slightly and turned to look at him. He was evidently becoming worn out, but he still looked incredibly dapper and handsome. The soft glow of the fairy lights suited his pale skin. I ran my thumb against his hand. I didn't need to voice my affection, he could seem to sense what I was thinking and smiled warmly over at me.

Perhaps an hour later, while we still rested our feet, there was a lull in the music in which Ron took the opportunity to stand in the middle of the dance floor to announce a toast. The room hushed, the music was stopped, and everyone turned to watch him curiously. Draco and I exchanged a look. He seemed nervous, I was mostly amused. This had not been planned.

"You know, if someone had told me five years ago that I would be here today congratulating Harry for marrying Draco - well, I probably would have laughed in their face. But if there's anything I've learned since then, it's that the unexpected is not always such a bad thing. I sincerely believed I could never be at ease with these two being together. But I have been wrong before. Draco has proved himself time and time again in the past five years to be a remarkable, caring, and sincere man. I couldn't have asked for anyone better suited for my best mate," Ron said proudly with a decidedly emotional tone. He lifted his half empty glass of champagne, "To Draco and Harry," He said, the crowd echoing the toast.

He moved to sit down beside us again. I put a hand on his shoulder as he sat, "Thank you, Ron. It means a lot," I murmured quietly. Ron glanced at me and smiled before turning his eyes to Draco. They exchanged some sort of look that I missed entirely. My attention had been instead drawn away by the sound of someone else speaking.

Neville now stood in the midst of the group and began to speak to us. Again, I was rather surprised that these speeches were being made at all. I wondered if they had been planning it all along. Neville, Hermione, and even Molly spoke about how proud and excited they all were of both Draco and I. Well wishes were received as we sat in our seats and blushed. I could sense Draco's embarrassment at being so openly loved. It was unnerving for him. But I could also tell he thoroughly enjoyed it.

When Hagrid finished drunkenly talking about how he would never forget how Draco got us in trouble with Norbert the dragon, it seemed all the speeches were done. Someone began to bring the music to a start again. But it was abruptly cut off when Lucius Malfoy stood. Draco and I visibly tensed.