Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Harry woke up the next day feeling more refreshed than ever and carefully got out of bed without waking Draco. He dressed in clothes the room provided, used the loo and made his way down to breakfast.
Or rather, he made his way down to lunch if the food selections were any indicator.
He ate and quickly made his way back to his dorm to grab his homework so he could spend his Sunday relaxing instead of panicking that his essays were due. He had just grabbed his bag and turned when he practically ran straight into Ron who promptly tried convincing him that he didn't need to be studying right then. They had better things to do.
"Ron, just stop. I've got to get my homework done. Besides, I thought you wanted nothing to do with me anymore."
"What, me? What gave you that idea?"
"Are you kidding me? You've been glaring at me from across rooms and trying to pick a fight since school started again! Don't give me that innocent act, it's not going to work. I don't want to deal with your insincere attitude, just leave me alone already!" Ron's face darkened and Harry took an involuntary step back.
"How dare you? After all the things I've done to watch your back? I've done so much for you and you're just going to piss all over that? What the fuck gives you the right to take my loyalty and not give any in return? Huh? Are you going to answer me, or not?" Harry shivered in fear, but desperately tried to stand his ground.
"No, Ron. I'm just done. I've got somewhere else to be, now move."
"Oh I don't think so. You're going to tell me exactly why you're cutting your ties with me when I've stuck my neck out for you and stood by you when you've been nothing but a jerk back. You're going to explain to me why you treat me like shite because you're not allowed to treat me like that anymore! This whole thing is your fault, let's not forget that! You're ungrateful and you can't see what's right in front of you. Just how is it that you've decided that I'm in the wrong when it's you that has to be a spoiled brat!"
Tears welled in Harry's eyes and he practically ran from the room. He bolted through the common room and just kept walking. He didn't stop until he realized he was at the top of the Astronomy tower. When he realized where he was, he sat down and thought about all that Ron had said.
He was fully prepared to beat himself up for being such a crappy friend when he thought about Draco. He must not be such a terrible friend if Draco had stuck around, right?
"Harry, I was worried when Hermione said you ran from the common room instead of meeting her in the library." Draco sat down next to him and Harry took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"Draco, am I a good friend?"
"Why would you even ask that? You're a bloody great friend!" Draco must have sensed Harry's disbelief because he continued after a moment. "Look, I don't have many friends. Acquaintances, yes. Friends? Not really. In the time I've gotten to know you, you've done nothing but exactly what friends are supposed to be for and more. I don't think you understand just how amazing of a person you are." Harry shrugged and looked towards the sky to watch large puffy white clouds drift along the grey expanse above them.
"Listen, you're more than just a friend to me Harry." Confusion broke Harry from his stupor.
"What do you mean I'm more than just a friend?" Draco blushed and Harry couldn't help but think about how attractive Draco was when he got embarrassed.
"I don't want it to affect our relationship. I'll tell you if you want, but you have to promise you won't let it bother you." Harry agreed readily. He always was too curious for his own good.
"You're more than just a friend because somehow I've developed a bit of a crush on you." Harry wasn't sure what to think. The confession had sideswiped him and took him completely off guard. But the longer he looked at Draco, the more he started to wonder what it would be like to date him.
Even what it would be like to kiss him.
"It's not a big deal, I can ignore it well enough and-"
"What if I don't want you to ignore it?" He had shocked himself. He didn't mean to say that, but something in him had acted before he could put words to how he was feeling. By now, all thoughts of Ron and his hurtful words were forgotten.
"I-do you really mean that?" Draco looked as gobsmacked as Harry had felt when he first opened his mouth. But he was coming to accept that what he had said was not only true, he had meant every single word of it.
Harry shrugged. "I mean, I've never done anything with anyone and I've certainly never dated but I'm not adverse to the idea." Draco's jaw slowly closed and a smile grew on his face.
"Truly? You want to give us a go at being a couple?"
"What have I got to lose? Besides, most everyone else only wants me for the fame or the money-usually both. Since you've already got both of those, I'm sure that's not something I'd have to worry about with you."
"Of course not!" With that, Draco leaned in and pressed his lips to Harry's cheek in a chaste kiss. Harry had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to wipe the stupid smile off his face for the rest of the day.
Since then, the two were inseparable. They partnered during classes they shared and studied together. Not to mention sleeping together in the Room of Requirement every night and Harry had even taken to eating at the Slytherin table.
The chaste kiss Draco had given him on the top of the tower had been the only one. Harry was far too shy to initiate anything else and Draco always seemed like he was fighting himself on it.
The two had decided to return to Draco's home for the holiday season. Draco had spent the entire train ride carding his fingers through Harry's hair while Harry slept. Turns out train rides put him to sleep.
His mum met them at the station and the three flooed from the Leaky Cauldron. Harry told Draco to spend some time with his parents while Harry started in on the essay he had planned on finishing the night before but never got to.
"Just don't think too hard, you'll hurt your head." Harry clearly knew that he was joking if the smile was anything to go by. It was enough to take Draco's breath away.
"Prat. Enjoy your time away from schoolwork." Harry even had the cheek to wink at him, something that did funny things to his insides.
"My, I haven't seen you smile that way in years. I was beginning to think you didn't know how to anymore." Narcissa's teasing gave him the courage to blurt out what had been on his mind the last few weeks.
"Mother, I want to talk about marriage contracts and how they work. I know you've been itching to teach me and I didn't want anything to do with it but I think I'd like to learn now."
"Oh don't worry about it dear. Your father and I talked about it and we decided you don't need to follow through with the ridiculous Malfoy traditions. It's really too much pressure to be putting on someone so young. Honestly, I can't believe I wanted to teach you about it when you were younger."
"Mum," Draco's tone was far more serious than he had ever made it sound when speaking to her. This grabbed her attention, something he wanted to be solely on him for the time being. "I want to learn about it. The marriage contracts, the courting rules, everything. I really can't afford to go into this blind."
"Very well, come with me." They moved to the dining room and with the help of a house elf there were sheafs of parchment sprawled across the entire table.
"Firstly I just want to make it very clear that marriage contracts aren't to be taken lightly." Draco nodded, he knew this already. "And before you can begin courting someone with marriage in mind, you must consult a Seer. They will approve or disapprove of a match."
"Why is that?"
"It's said that soulmates are a myth. While we don't really know if that's true or not, the Seers are only here to tell us if the match between two parties will work. If they disapprove, either one or both of you will be miserable no matter how hard you try. If they approve, then any issues you'll be capable of working out and any misery in the marriage is solely your fault."
"Way to lighten the mood," Draco muttered. His mother, never one to mishear a slight like that, smacked him upside the head. "Ow!"
"I'm only here to tell you the facts, not to baby you along the way."
"Sorry, it won't happen again."
"Good, now seeing the Seer has to be done before you can offer a marriage contract."
"Wait, doesn't the courting come first?" His mother sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry, I'll listen."
"That's the logical way of thinking. But with purebloods, it's a bit different. You have to go to a Seer to have the match approved first. Then you draw up a marriage contract, something to entice your desired partner to entertain the idea of you being together seriously. If they decline, then you either have to redraw another contract after a year or you can move on as well. They don't have to decline, but they don't have to accept either. Acceptance means you can move forward with the courting without any further hubbub. If they don't do either, they will present you with a counter proposal. Within it they'll include what they don't like about the original contract or they'll add clauses for the courting period. It doesn't make much sense, but that's the way it is."
"You're right, it doesn't make sense. But then what happens?"
"You move forward. You can keep presenting each other with revisements or you move forward with the courting once it's been accepted. And typically the courting is either until a certain age or for a certain amount of time. Your father's courting with me was a year and a half so we both had some months after reaching the age of majority to transition into adulthood without the marriage getting into the way."
"So what are the rules of courting then?"
"We'll talk about that later. For now, let's finish on the subject of marriage contracts." She cleared her throat and started moving parchments around to show him a few sample contracts. "Now once the courting period is through, you revisit the marriage contract. Both parties will have a copy to edit as they see fit and then you'll both meet with whomever is representing you. A mutual friend of both parties is also there to act as mediator and to create a version with all the edits and compromises. Once that's done, you all reconvene to go over the final edits again and make minor adjustments as you see fit. And this can happen as many times as necessary-your father's and mine took nearly seven meetings to finally hash out all the nitpicky bits."
"Do people really have that much to agree upon?"
"With our family, yes. There's the entire Malfoy fortune and estates to think about; not to mention heirs. That's not including if you want to include fidelity clauses, how often intercourse happens, where you'll live, who is in charge of daily finances, law wizards-"
"Alright, alright! I get the point. And after all that we can get married?"
"Oh yes, but do take note that I will need approximately an entire year if not more to plan out all the details." Draco groaned.
"Remind me why I can't just go to the ministry?" She laughed at him.
"Because we have an image to upkeep and traditions to withhold. Now, on to the courting rules…" She went on for some time about appropriate dates, rules for public outings, and so on until Draco was convinced his ears would bleed. Until, that is, she said something that made his ears tune in.
"What do you mean a chastity spell? What kind of chastity spell?"
"The kind that prevents you from having sexual relations with anyone but yourself. It will allow you to kiss each other-and before you ask, no it will not allow anyone's tongue into anyone else's mouths. Anything above the jaw and below the wrist is allowed-but again, no tongues or you'll receive quite the shock. Oh don't look so devastated! It will be able to differentiate between holding someone without sexual intent and say giving them a hug. You'll be fine as long as you don't intend to rip their clothes off."
"Mum, I'm a teenager-of course I'll be thinking about ripping clothes off!" She clicked her tongue.
"Just because you'll want to doesn't mean you will. Once you decide you're going to do something, the spell will prevent it. Wanting it and intending to do it are two very different things. Now are you going to tell me why you're so eager to learn about all this?" Draco snapped his mouth shut. He wouldn't tell his mother, not yet. He had to talk it over with Harry first. And besides that, Harry probably wasn't ready for that anyways. Nope, he wasn't going to tell his mother anything.
"I want to do right by Harry and court him." He started screaming at himself, wondering why in the bloody fuck he thought he could resist telling his mother anything when she gave him that particular look. It made his insides twist to know he was hiding something from her.
"I see. And do you think he will feel the same?"
"I don't know, but I should at least give him the option, shouldn't I?"
"Have you given any thought as to who would represent him? He is a Potter, after all. That is a pureblood line, he'll need someone to teach him how to care for his estate and fortune."
"If he agrees, would you be willing to teach him? Father wouldn't have the patience to start over like that, he doesn't know anything other than what he sees at Hogwarts."
"I'd be delighted to. Now, I believe you have someone to talk to? It's gotten quite late. I'll have dinner sent up for you both." She gave him a knowing smile and shooed him off.