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Chapter One Hundred and Fifty—Farewells

"I wish I could help somehow, Mr. Potter."

Harry smiled up at her, and Minerva held back her own sadness at the adult nature of that smile. "You've already helped out a lot, Headmistress. Just knowing that someone's here to take care of the school and keep students safe is a help. And you gave Hermione that advice about becoming an Unspeakable." Harry hesitated for a second and glanced around her office as though he was looking for hiding places. "I've never seen her so happy."

Minerva reached across the desk and clutched his hand. Harry clutched hers back. There was a long silence between them, and then Harry gently retracted his arm.

"You know I might not survive this battle."

Minerva caught her breath, and tears stung the corners of her eyes, but Harry was relying on her to be strong, so she nodded.

"I've left a will that says who should get what." Harry hesitated. "I hope that you'll distribute some of the bequests if you can, and of course that you'll consider fleeing the country for your own safety."

"I'm too old to start over elsewhere." Minerva had already anticipated this. Harry was the kind of warrior who would fight better knowing that people were safe or at least had promised to be safe, but she couldn't give a different answer. "If it comes to that, I'll die in defense of my school and my students."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," Harry whispered. "It shouldn't come to that." His eyes glazed for a moment, which was a sign that he was usually in communion with his basilisk. Then he shook his head, and his gaze snapped back to her. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure that we defeat Voldemort on the mental battlefield."

"Good," Minerva whispered. "If only I could help you bear some of this burden…"

"Like I said, you have." Harry stood up. "Good-bye, Headmistress. I hope I'll see you in a few days."

He turned and strode down the moving staircase that led away from the office. By listening intently. Minerva thought she could make out the shuffling of basilisk scales within the pipes and tunnels that curved through the walls, as Dash tracked him down and out.

Minerva closed her eyes and sat still for a long moment. Then she stood up and went to make sure that all the school defenses she could control from the Headmistress's office were ready in case she needed them.


"You know I would be happier if you stayed behind."

"You know it's a lost argument before you try to make it," Draco said lightly without looking up from the book in front of him. Harry was only able to see part of the title where it was braced against his knee. Something about Darkest Curses. "Therefore, don't make it. Go and do something else."

Harry stared at his boyfriend for a long second, and then swallowed. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you. Something else," he added, with a faint smile, when the corner of Draco's eye twitched.

"What, then?" Draco looked up at him, but left his finger in the book.

Harry told himself that it wasn't really just because Draco appeared more interested in the book than him that he said what he did next, but it was part of the reason. "I want to know if you'll go to bed with me."

Draco gasped and dropped the book on his foot. Harry was glad that they were in his room off Severus's quarters and wouldn't have to worry about anyone intruding the way they would in the Gryffindor boys' bedroom or the common room. "What?" Draco whispered.

Harry smiled at him and reached up to start removing his robes without taking his eyes from Draco's.

Draco watched him get undressed with dazed eyes for a long moment, and then shook his head sharply and stood. "If you say that this is because you don't want to die a virgin, I am going to hex you."

I told you he would say something like that, Dash muttered down the bond.

Stop paying attention, you perverted old basilisk, Harry retorted, and Dash laughed before a barrier went up in the bond. Harry shook his head at Draco.

"I want to know what it's like to hold you, kiss you," he said, and took a breath long enough and deep enough that he didn't know when he would come to the end of it. But he had to, because Draco was gaping at him, waiting for him. "To be inside you."

Draco closed his eyes. Harry waited, then added, "But if you're not ready for that, I'd like to have a different kind of sex with you and then sleep beside you tonight."

"No," Draco breathed, his eyes fluttering open, and for a second, Harry's heart sank. But then he saw the trembling hand that Draco was reaching towards him. "I didn't mean—I mean, yes. To the first part. Not the second part. I've wanted to know that for a while, but I didn't know how to approach you when the war was going on and you were thinking about everything and it seemed—everything else seemed so much more important to you than I did."

Harry cursed under his breath and stepped up to Draco, gripping his shoulders and kissing him. "I'm sorry," he said against Draco's lips. "I never meant to shut you out like that. Things have been important, but not more than you. I'm going to try my very best to pay more attention to you in the future, okay? I'm sorry."

"That sounds like a promise to survive the battle."

Draco's eyes were intent on his, searching, and Harry had never seen him look more like an adult. He nodded. "I'm going to try my very best," he repeated.

"I can't ask for certainty," Draco whispered, and for a second, Harry thought he would leave. But then he began hastily to strip off his own shirt, his eyes raking over Harry's bare chest like warm claws.

Harry smiled at him and reached down to take off his pants and trousers. Then he picked up his wand and shot a quick Locking Charm at the door, followed by Silencing Charms. The last thing he wanted Severus to know was what they were doing in here.

Meanwhile, Draco was breathing nosily, and when Harry turned back to him, he was still half-dressed. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

"You're naked."

Harry grinned at that, and moved forwards to place his hands on Draco's hips. "I know," he whispered. "And I'm going to be even more naked when you get undressed."

A second later, he thought that was a stupid thing to say, and he was almost sure that he felt Dash snicker down the bond. But Draco took it seriously. His eyes were darker and wider than Harry had ever seen him, and he was almost panting with his arousal. He got naked, too, after that, and his cock was so perfect that Harry couldn't wait. He reached out and touched it.

Draco closed his eyes and bucked his hips once, then held consciously still. Harry was sure it was conscious. "You're going to make me come before anything happens," Draco whispered.

"We're young, we'll get it up again," Harry said, and Draco shuddered and twitched and opened his eyes and frowned at him.

"It's embarrassing," Draco said, and dragged him forwards and into a sharp kiss before Harry could say anything else.


Draco didn't know how Harry could so unselfconscious. He was conscious of everything, from the way his fingers trembled as he clutched at Harry to the way that their mouths brushed when they kissed.

But he did, desperately, want to know what it was like to have Harry inside him, and he had for a while. So he opened his mouth and his legs and his body, and let Harry kiss him until he was afraid he was going to come again. And he let Harry lead him to the bed.

One concern came up, though, that he couldn't dismiss, and he wrestled his mouth free from Harry's to ask, "Dash isn't going to be spying on us, is he?"

"No, I shut off the bond," Harry said, his voice soft and dazed, and his eyes locked on Draco's groin. "Or he did. I told him that he was a perverted old basilisk if he tried to spy on us…" He trailed off and took such a deep breath that Draco wondered if he was going to back out of this. "Draco, can I please touch?"

Draco laughed, soft and pleased, and spread his legs wider. "Of course, Harry. I didn't realize that you were waiting for permission," he teased, and had the pleasure of seeing a blush race across Harry's face like spilled red ink.

"I—I wanted to, but it looks…I want to so much," Harry said, as if that made sense, and caught Draco in a loose grip.

Draco let his eyes roll back and gasped out as Harry stroked him. "You have as much permission as you need," he whispered.

And Harry seemed to take it seriously, at last, because he climbed on top of Draco and kissed him, and Draco was right there.


Draco was so beautiful like this.

Harry felt bits of his own worries burning away as he stared at his boyfriend. He had wanted to do this because it might be the last chance they'd ever have to, and he wanted Draco, and he wanted to know what this was like. But now—

It seared every doubt and idea that was separate from it to ashes, and he was just glad, just grateful, to be with Draco.

Harry had spent most of the day thinking about what he'd do if Draco agreed to sleep with him, which meant he had the right means nearby to make it possible. He sat up and cast a few careful spells, then put his wand aside as Draco gaped at him.

"That's—that feels weird." Draco wriggled experimentally and hissed as some of the lube Harry had conjured dripped out of him and onto the sheets.

"Sorry?"

"No, I think it'll feel good. But you know I could put up with a bit of pain."

"I can't," Harry said flatly, and Draco's eyes focused on him. "Not right now."

After a second, Draco nodded, and even smiled at him. "So I know the lubrication charm. What else did you cast?"

"Charms to relax your muscles," Harry said, and moved forwards so that he was settled between Draco's legs, rocking a little. "And one to enhance your pleasure. I want you to feel really good."

"Tell me why." Draco's eyes were already going hazy just from the brush of Harry's cock against his arse.

"Because I want you to agree to do this again in the future," Harry whispered, and Draco laughed a little and arched up to meet him. "And because—I love you so much, Draco. Someday I'll be under you like this, and you can cast the same spells or prepare me with your fingers, whatever you want, and I'll remember this."

Draco gripped his hair for a second, and Harry followed the pull down and kissed him. Then he sat back, because Draco was honestly enthusiastic enough that Harry was throbbing with anticipation. "Ready?"

Draco nodded. "I think you made sure of that." Abruptly, he paused and shot a panicked look at the door. "You—you did put a locking charm on it, right? Tell me you put a locking charm on it."

"Of course I did," Harry said, and rolled his eyes as he began to sink into Draco. And then he tossed his head back and gasped and held very still.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just." Harry gritted his teeth against the extreme pleasure that was trying to melt his spine. He reached out and caressed Draco's hair with a shaky hand, and Draco watched him with narrowed, worried eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, and Harry groaned and shook his head.

"How does it feel for you?" he finally asked, whispering not because he wanted to, but because that was the way he came out.

"Full," Draco said, and laughed a little when Harry glared at him. "I mean, I think it's supposed to feel different when you start moving, but right now, that's what it feels like. Do you think you could move in a few minutes?"

"It's overwhelming," Harry said. "You were worried about embarrassing yourself, but I'm going to do that if I don't count backwards in my head or something."

Draco snorted and reached up to clutch his arms. Harry groaned again as the pressure around him shifted. Draco planted a quick kiss on his mouth and said softly, "One thing you said to me is that we're young and we have all night."

"I don't think I put it—in those exact words—"

Draco laughed at him. Harry glared at him, and Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes, very scary, Mr. Potter. I thought the one who bottomed was supposed to be the one going breathless and staring mindlessly at the wall and stuttering."

"I was not staring mindlessly!"

"Trust me, you were." Draco ran a possessive hand up his arm, and smiled as Harry's muscles flexed. "Come on, I promise, it's going to be fine. Let's go."

It was partially the mounting desperation in Draco's tone and partially the sensation of a snicker in his head down the bond that made Harry abruptly throw his back into it. He was not going to have Dash laughing at him, and he wasn't going to disappoint Draco.

He couldn't even say, at first, which motivation was stronger.

And it was satisfying, in all sorts of ways, to see how Draco's eyes widened, and his breath did start coming short, and his nails raked red lines down Harry's arms as he tried to grab onto something, anything. Harry chuckled and snorted and went breathless and rocked, and he could see how the waves were rolling through Draco and it was better than anything he'd ever had. Harry was sure of that.

"How are you—how are you—" Draco made a motion beneath him that seemed to be recoiling and pushing back all at once, and his eyes rolled and his chest heaved.

"I'm fine," Harry said. "How are you?" But then he gasped at the intense squeeze of pleasure around him, and that made Draco glare at him and rake his chest with his nails this time.

"We're—not going to get off going this slow."

"Someone said we had all night," Harry retorted, and put his hands on Draco's hips to hold him still. He was starting to wish he had slammed a pillow underneath there, too, since they were steadily sliding down the bed.

"I want to go faster," Draco said, glaring at him as if that would change things. Harry hated to admit how it did make his breath catch and his cock jump inside Draco, but Draco felt it. He smiled and stretched out slowly and luxuriously on the bed.

"I want to go faster," he repeated, and glanced at the sheets. "And we're going to slide right off the bed if we keep going."

"Then why would going faster work?" Harry had managed to beat back some of the intense tide of pleasure, but he moved again as he spoke, and the waves that shuddered up from his cock made him bite his lip desperately.

"Going faster in another way," Draco said, and pulled abruptly off Harry's cock and crawled towards the pillows. "Come on, I'm going to put a pillow on the bed, and you're going to lie on it."

"You want to be on top?" Harry's voice was hoarse, and his head was spinning. Honestly, right now that sounded like as good a plan as any to him. Mostly he wanted Draco to come back here so that they could finish what they'd started.

"Sort of. Do it."

Harry lay back on the pillow that Draco was arranging, and opened his mouth to ask another question—

When Draco turned and sank down on his erection again, with a little moan and flex of his hips that made Harry rise right to the edge again. "Oh, yeah." Draco rocked himself. "This is much better. You're still, and I can control things, which is clearly the way it should be."

"F-fuck, Draco." Harry reached up and clutched at Draco's hips in turn. Now he was the one leaving scratches behind, and Draco was the one who was smiling and looking perfectly pleased about that.

"Generally," Draco agreed, and then bore down and squeezed, and Harry forgot everything else in favor of fucking his boyfriend.

It was messy and noisy in a way that Harry hadn't anticipated with the lubrication running down between them and the bed squeaking and their skin meeting. He had a stray thought that he was really glad that he'd cast the Silencing Charm at the door, and then Draco gave a harsh bump, and thought went away.

There was nothing but warmth for a while, nothing but tightness, and Draco's eyes on him, and his hands resting on Draco's hips, and Draco whispering and whimpering things that Harry couldn't understand. Harry was silent almost all the time except when Draco raised and lowered himself especially hard, and then he grunted.

"Not very vocal, are you?" Draco narrowed his eyes as he stared down at Harry. "Let's see if we can't change that." And he rearranged himself with some shifting of his hips, and then sat down fast.

Harry shouted, and there were mingled echoes of Draco's name in there somewhere. He thought Draco should be satisfied with that, but Draco kept shifting, and bearing down, and squeezing, and clasping, and gripping him, and raking him with his nails, and all that Harry really knew was that it was dissolving into a wonderful mess.

And then he knew it was the sort of wonderful mess where he was going to come, and nearly panicked, because what sort of boyfriend would he be if he got off first and just left Draco there? He reached out and clumsily stroked Draco's cock where it was projecting over Harry's stomach.

That was the hidden key he'd been looking for, it turned out. Draco's mouth sagged open, and he gave a muted cry. Then he shot all over Harry's chest, and it was satisfying in its own way, but not as much as—

The orgasm that grabbed Harry, and wrung him out, and made him lie there dazed after it ended.


Draco coughed. He hadn't expected to open the door of Harry's room and walk almost straight into Professor Snape.

"Did you have fun last night?" Snape asked in a level voice.

Draco clenched his fingers for a second in the sides of his robe, and tried to ignore both the flush rising up his cheeks and the conviction that he had forgotten to put on some essential item of clothing. "Yes, actually."

Professor Snape gave him a blank stare. Draco walked past him and picked up the book he had brought with him last night but had forgotten to bring into Harry's room. He no longer thought he was going to learn some great group of curses before the decoy battle, but he would continue studying it to refresh what he already knew.

"He is not going to die."

Draco shot the professor a long look. He had another odd feeling, this time that he was the oldest one in the room. The professor was staring into the fire instead of at him.

"Harry promised me that he would take the very best precautions he could," Draco said quietly. "It's not the same as promising to survive, but I know what's reasonable to ask for from him."

"He is not going to die."

"You've taught him as best you can," Draco said. Was he really doing this? Really reassuring one of the most formidable men he knew? "He'll do the best he can with battle Legilimency. And he has Dash. That's an advantage that no one else in history could say." Although Draco had to pause after that and try to remember whether there was some historical Slytherin he was forgetting who had bonded with a basilisk.

"He must live," Professor Snape whispered, interrupting his thoughts again.

Draco only nodded this time, because if what he had said so far didn't reassure the professor, he wasn't sure what could. Professor Snape was just opening his mouth to say something else when he abruptly turned his head and faced the door behind Draco. Draco turned and looked.

Harry was standing there in a set of simple robes and the saddest smile Draco had ever seen. Draco managed to swallow, but it was a hazard with his dry throat. For a moment, Harry's eyes snagged on him, and he nodded a little as though to say that he understood how hard this was for Draco.

He can't, Draco thought, suddenly vicious. He can't possibly.

Maybe some of that showed on his face, because Harry cleared his throat and turned away from Draco, to face Professor Snape. "Could you order a light breakfast—"

Professor Snape took a long step forwards and seized Harry in a harsh embrace.

Draco looked away before he could sniffle, and then opened the door to let himself into the corridor. He had—other things to do, and he wanted to leave them to their privacy.

Harry would try his best to survive, yes. But who knew if he would actually manage to succeed?