Chapter 11

Neville made his way into the cottage from the greenhouses and heard voices coming from the living room. He removed his muddy boots, knowing Draco would kill him if he traipsed dirt through the house, and washed his hands before he went to find out who his mystery guest was.

"Ah, I thought I heard the oldest and best looking Weasley sibling in my house," he said with a smile as he found Bill lounging on the sofa, Draco sitting in the armchair opposite.

"Alright Nev," Bill said amiably. "Hard at work?"

"Harder than some," he said with a smirk, perching on the arm of Draco's chair and leaning over to give him a chaste peck on the lips.

"Why don't I get a kiss?" Bill asked cheekily.

"I'm afraid of getting a smack from Fleur."

"Besides," Draco said, snaking an arm around Neville's waist, "I don't like sharing."

"But I'm so handsome, no one can resist me."

"You're such a dork," Neville said with a snort. "Why are you in my house?"

"Came to see my favourite Slytherin," Bill, replied, leaning back against the sofa with a grin.

Draco looked up at Neville, a tentative smile on his lips. "He thinks he's found a way to remove the Mark," he said, and Neville could see the quiet hope in the man's face.

"It's a tricky one," Bill said, "and it might take a couple of tries before we get it right but I'm confident we can do it. If you come to my colleague's office next week we can begin the preliminary work."

"I don't know how to thank you," Draco said, and Neville could see he was overwhelmed.

"No need," said Bill with a casual wave of his hand. "It'll be a source of professional pride if I can undo that bastard's handiwork."

Bill stayed for another hour and Neville took a backseat as the conversation turned to the various potions Bill often used in his curse-breaking work. Draco's talent for potions and his vast knowledge of the subject was really quite staggering and he almost sounded like Snape as he discussed them with Bill.

It was a shame he felt so strongly about not working within the wizarding world; Neville was sure he would have found great success within the potions community. Still, he wanted to pursue a career that would help people and Neville was so proud of the route the man had chosen to take. Now that he had all the necessary paperwork under his belt, there was nothing to stop him from achieving his goals.

"There's a taxi coming in an hour," Neville said with a smile after Bill disappeared through the floo. "Get your glad rags on."

"A taxi to where?" Draco asked with a bemused frown.

"I'm taking you on a date."

"A date?"

"Mm. It occurred to me that we've never actually been on a date like two normal people in their 20s might go on. It's time we did something about that."

"Stretching the bounds of credulity a tad referring to us as 'normal', aren't you?"

"Don't be insulting," Neville said with a swat to the man's backside, "or I won't buy your favourite wine."

The taxi arrived and whisked them away to Winchester, which was one of Neville's favourite places and a very romantic place in which to have a date. They strolled up the old high street arm-in-arm, the early June evening pleasantly warm with the promise of summer in the air.

He took Draco to a restaurant that was housed in one of Winchester's oldest buildings and that served food that was absolutely to die for. He wanted to spoil the man, to treat him to a night of good food and fine wine and to have a little slice of something normal.

Seeing his former customer in the Ministry had been a traumatising event for Draco. He'd had nightmares for days after and Neville had found him crying on a couple of occasions. However, Draco was determined to face it head on and had had several sessions with his mind healer and had also spoken to both Neville and Harry about how the incident had affected him.

"This place is amazing," Draco said with a smile. "I certainly hope you're paying; my meagre wages won't even cover a starter."

Neville grinned. He'd been worried that taking Draco somewhere so expensive would cause an issue, that Draco might feel embarrassed about not being able to afford such a place but the man's attitude towards money had become a lot more pragmatic.

He reached across the table and laced his fingers with Draco's. "You look insanely gorgeous tonight," he said, stroking Draco's soft skin with his thumb. The man was wearing his hair tied half back, something that never failed to set Neville's pulse racing.

"Right back at you," Draco said with a smile. "I think I might be in love with your jawline."

"Just my jawline?" Neville asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Those big brown eyes are pretty hot too," Draco replied with a smirk.

Their main course arrived and conversation flowed naturally between them. Of all the things Neville enjoyed about their relationship, the easiness between them was one of his favourites. They never struggled for conversation and any silences between them were always comfortable. He'd never enjoyed anyone's company the way he enjoyed Draco's and he'd never felt the desire to spend so much time in another person's company.

They ordered a sinfully decadent chocolate dessert to share and took turns feeding each other spoonfuls. It was silly and delightfully daft, and Neville didn't care if anyone was looking at them, not when Draco made a point to suck on the end of the spoon just like that.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, leaning over to meet him in a kiss, tasting chocolate on his tongue coupled with the rich velvet of the wine they'd had.

"So are you."

They took another taxi home, trying not to embarrass themselves too much by engaging in too many displays in front of the driver. They migrated to the bedroom, Neville able to think of no better end to the night than to lose himself in Draco's kisses before falling asleep beside him.

Draco arched beneath him as he kissed a trail along the man's neck as his hands travelled over the man's torso. One of Draco's hands was in his hair while the other was teasing the skin of his back, sending shivers up his spine.

Their bodies moved against one another, writhing slowly as skin connected with skin. Draco moaned softly then Neville heard his breath catch in his throat as his nails dug into the skin of his back. Neville raised his head and looked down at him, but the man didn't look troubled.

"Everything ok, love?" he asked. "Do you need to stop?"

Draco shook his head, his eyes wide. "I…I'm…I'm hard," he said with a whisper of disbelief. "I haven't been…this hasn't happened in a long time."

"Do you want to…"

"I don't want to stop," Draco said with breathy resolve, "but I don't know what – "

"Let me take care of you," Neville said softly, and Draco nodded, his cheeks flushed, making him look ridiculously attractive. "Come and sit up against me," he said, shifting to sit against the headboard while Draco settled between his legs, his back pressed against Neville's chest.

Neville let his hands roam across Draco's chest, down his sides and along his arms. He kissed a path along Draco's throat, down over his shoulders as his hands continued their delicate caresses. Draco arched and tilted into each touch and Neville revelled in the feeling of the man in his arms.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered, his lips teasing the soft curve of Draco's ear. He could feel that the man was nervous and he wanted nothing more than to put him at his ease and flood him with pleasure. "Do you know what a privilege it is to touch you like this?"

Draco pressed himself against Neville's torso and Neville ran his hands lower, over the man's taut stomach and softly over the waistband of his trousers. He let his hand rove over the tented crotch of material, hearing Draco's breath catch slightly. He palmed the man's erection through the fabric and Draco pressed himself up into Neville's hand.

"Are you alright to get rid of these clothes?" he murmured, and, after a brief pause, Draco nodded. "It's ok if you want to stop, just let me know at any time."

Neville reached for his wand and carefully vanished Draco's trousers and underwear, keeping his own on so he didn't overwhelm the man. The man's erection stood proudly against his pale stomach and Neville lowered his hand to gently dance up and down it. "What do you like?" he whispered.

"I…I don't really know," Draco whispered back.

"It's ok, we'll figure it out together," Neville said, stroking softly up and down the man's shaft. He kept his touch light at first, a gentle and steady caress, acclimatising Draco to such an intimacy.

He kissed Draco's neck as he let one hand trace gentle patterns over the man's torso while the other began to grip Draco more firmly. From his seated position behind the man, he could do as he usually would if he was touching himself and he applied the same kind of pressure he normally liked.

He applied some lube with a murmured charm and began stroking with slow, consistent actions. Draco let out a little hum of approval and Neville smiled against the man's skin. It was all too likely that no one had ever done this for the man, that no one had ever directed all their focus to giving him as much pleasure as possible. Neville was determined to remedy that.

He kissed every inch of the man's skin he could reach, caressing his beautiful torso with his left hand while his right moved firmly up and down Draco's shaft. Draco's breath started coming in heavy sighs and his body writhed against Neville's so sensuously Neville himself was in heaven.

It didn't take long before Draco's back arched and he was pushing himself into Neville's hand before he came hard and with a harsh gasp of air. He sagged against Neville as Neville continued to stoke him through the tremors, only releasing his hold when he was sure he'd wrung every last drop of pleasure from him.

"Holy fuck," Draco sighed breathlessly, his head falling back to rest against Neville's shoulder. "That was…I didn't think I'd ever be able…"

Neville kissed his temple and held him close as he cast a quick cleaning charm over them both. "Are you alright?"

Draco gave a soft laugh and said, "Infinitely better than alright. That was amazing." He turned his head to look up at Neville and Neville pressed a soft kiss to his lips, basking in the closeness he felt to the man at that moment.

"I think you deserve a little something in return," Draco murmured, pulling back to nuzzle along Neville's jaw.

"You don't have to do anything, love. I don't expect – "

"I know that."

Draco pushed Neville back against the pillows and swept him up in a kiss that should have been illegal it was so intense. He felt his trousers and pants vanish, and a firm hand wrapped around him as Draco's lips moved to his neck. "Long by name, long by nature, eh?" the man murmured with a wicked smile, and Neville would have rolled his eyes had Draco not been thoroughly distracting him.

"So every inch of you is gorgeous then, hm?" Draco said as he began to snake his way down over Neville's chest, kissing, licking and biting a trail to Neville's stomach. Moments later, Neville felt the man's warm, wet mouth close around him and he used every ounce of restraint he had not to thrust up into it.

He couldn't resist twining his hand through Draco's invitingly soft hair and the man began making sinful movements with his tongue. He closed his eyes as pleasure hummed through him, biting his lip as Draco's hand moved in delicious tandem with his mouth. Neville had never experienced anything like it, had never felt something so insanely pleasurable before and he had to stop himself from embarrassing himself by spilling words of love and devotion.

Draco was doing things with his tongue that shouldn't have been possible and Neville was breathing heavily as Draco increased his speed and pressure. "Sweet Merlin," he breathed as the head of his cock hit the back of Draco's throat, the muscles relaxing and taking Neville again and again. "Fuck, Drake…that's…holy hell."

Draco hummed around his prick deviously while his free hand came to palm Neville's balls. Neville gripped Draco's hair tightly and couldn't stop his hips from moving, pushing himself deeper into Draco's exquisitely talented mouth. Draco grasped him tightly a few more times and, before he could utter a warning, he came hard down the back of Draco's throat.

He went light-headed, his skin prickling as he was released from Draco's mouth. Draco moved back up the bed and tucked himself under Neville's arm, smiling broadly. He leant in and kissed Neville's jaw then his cheek while Neville tried to put himself back in his own body.

"Love you," Draco whispered as he cuddled in closer.

"Love you too," Neville replied, wondering if he'd ever be able to remove the smile from his face.

Neville held Draco's hand, watching as the man winced in pain and wishing he could help. "It's alright, love. Not long to go now," he said, glancing up at Bill. "It won't be long, right?"

"Hard to say," Bill said, watching as his colleague sat hunched over Draco's arm while Draco lay back against a makeshift operating table, his eyes closed as the woman worked her magic.

"Hang in there, mate," Bill said. "You're doing great."

Draco said nothing but gripped Neville's hand more tightly as he gritted his teeth and his breathing became more laboured. A sheen of sweat appeared on his brow and Neville held the man's hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. "You're doing really well, darling."

Anita, Bill's colleague, was focused entirely on her task, her wand aimed at Draco's arm as she performed a series of complex spells that Neville couldn't begin to understand. Bill was there to jump in and lend a hand in case anything went awry, but so far he hadn't been needed and had only had to offer moral support.

Neville knew the procedure was potentially dangerous and it was clearly painful, but Draco was so determined to have the Mark removed from his skin. Bill had told him that they wouldn't be able to remove the scarring from Draco's previous attempts to cut the damn thing out of his skin, but Draco was unbothered. He just wanted the painful reminder gone, wanted the dark magic erased from his system.

He was being incredibly stoic despite the obvious pain he was in. Neville wished he could take it all away from him, hating having to watch him suffer so badly. "It'll all be worth it love. You're so brave," Neville whispered, kissing Draco's hand again.

The blinding light that had been coming from Anita's wand suddenly dimmed then disappeared and she sat back in her chair looking thoroughly exhausted. She looked down at Draco's arm then grinned broadly. "We're done, gents," she declared, and Draco's eyes shot open.

He raised his arm and Neville's eyes widened as he saw the Mark was now nothing more than a faded outline against Draco's pale skin. Draco pushed himself up on the table and ran his fingers up and down his arm, his face slack with disbelief.

"All you'll need now is a quick session with a magical cosmetologist to get rid of that outline and you'll have a perfectly unblemished arm," Anita said, looking justifiably pleased with herself.

Nobody had time to blink before Draco was up and out of his seat, wrapping Anita up in his arms and almost squeezing her eyes out. "Thank you," he whispered fiercely. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Anita wheezed, "but if you could let me breathe now I'd appreciate it."

"Oh sorry," Draco said, pulling back as a blush spread over his cheeks. "I'm just…it's so…" he said, looking down at his arm again. "I don't know how to thank you."

Anita smiled and said, "Draco, my dear, the grant money I'm about to get off the back of this will be thanks enough."

"You deserve it, and more. I don't think I'm going to be able to stop looking at my arm," Draco said with an expression that bordered on giddy. "I never thought – " His breath caught in his throat and Neville wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pressing a gentle kiss to his temple.

"Hell of a birthday present, eh?" he asked with a smile.

"Best one ever."

They insisted on taking Bill and Anita out for a drink to celebrate, which fit in nicely with Neville's plans for the rest of the day. He knew Draco didn't want a lot of fuss for his birthday but Neville was determined not to let it pass unmarked.

The man was on cloud nine as it was and was unable to keep his eyes off his arm for very long. The Mark had been a source of great shame for him, something that he had to be confronted with every day. It was another step to enable the man to reconcile himself to his past, to put it behind him. More than anymore, Neville believed Draco was entitled to a fresh start.

"Why do you keep checking your watch?" Draco asked as they arrived back at the cottage, entering through the kitchen.

"Do I?" Neville asked innocently.

"Can I hear something in the living room? Did we leave the tele on?"

"I don't know, let's check."

Neville followed behind Draco, grinning as the man made it to the living room and was met with a large cheer of 'Happy birthday!' from the assembled group.

"What's all this?" Draco asked, his eyes sweeping over Harry, George, Teddy, Ginny, Luna and a couple of people from the Institute whom Draco had become friendly with.

"Don't tell me you don't recognise a birthday party when you see one," George said with a grin.

"Just a few friends who want to help you celebrate," Neville said, placing a hand in the small of Draco's back and watching how the man's eyes lit up at the word 'friends'.

"Draco! Come and open my present first. It's so cool, wait and see," Teddy said, bouncing with excitement.

He led Draco to the sofa, the man still looking happily bemused, and showed Draco the array of presents on the coffee table. Draco looked as though all his Christmases had come at once and he couldn't contain the bright smile that made its way onto his face as he opened his gifts.

Neville watched, knowing he was smiling indulgently but not really caring. The man in front of him wasn't the same person he'd found back in January and Neville was heartened to see the changes in him. He was healthy, he was happy and Neville was falling more in love with him by the day.

"Oh Neville," Draco said as he finally opened Neville's present. "This is too much. You shouldn't – "

"You'll need them," Neville said with a smile. "If you're going to become Dr Malfoy, eminent psychologist, the least I can do is provide the books for your first year."

"You're incredible," Draco said with a smile and Neville leant over the back of the sofa to kiss him soundly, earning a loud wolf whistle from George in the process.

The party was a small but lively affair. Teddy, as usual, stayed glued to Draco's side, absolutely unwilling to leave him alone for a second. He cuddled up to Draco on the sofa for the entirety of the party and refused to be parted from him for any length of time

They all marvelled at Draco's arm, Draco displaying it proudly as he recounted what Anita had done. He mentioned nothing of the pain he had endured, indeed Neville rather thought it was already distant memory in the face of Draco's joy at finally seeing the Mark gone.

"The tendrils of your past are becoming fainter and fainter," Luna said dreamily as she ran her fingers up and down Draco's arm. "Soon they'll have no hold on you."

Draco smiled and placed his hand over hers, saying, "I certainly hope so."

"Step aside folks," George said, coming in from the kitchen bearing a large chocolate cake. "Get your chops around this, birthday boy. A Molly Weasley original."

Draco looked at the cake for a moment then up at George. "Your mother made this?" he asked quietly.

"That she did," George confirmed. "With her very best birthday wishes."

"Please thank her for me. No one's ever made me a cake before. I'm…very touched."

"Blow out the candles!" Teddy urged. "And don't forget to make a wish."

Draco looked up at Neville with a smile and said, "Can't imagine there's anything else I could wish for."

They all gathered around and tucked into the cake, Harry having seconds while asserting he was eating for two. Ginny and George decided a game of poker was in order, which Luna and Draco joined in with, the friends from the Institute heading back to the main house. Neville settled on the sofa with Harry while Teddy attached himself to Draco and asked him to teach him the rules of poker.

"I can't believe you're seven months along," Neville said as Harry helped himself to a third slice of cake.

"Crazy, isn't it? I just can't wait to meet her now. I just hope we remember all the things we did when Teddy was a baby, all the things to make our lives easier."

"It'll all come flooding back. You and George are great parents."

"It all feels pretty surreal. It seems like only yesterday I was moving in with George and we were just fooling around. Now – "

"Now here you are married to him, raising Teddy with a baby on the way. Life's a funny thing, eh?"

"As if I have to tell you that," Harry said, looking over to the table where Draco sat with Teddy on his knee, grinning smugly as he won his hand.

"A funny thing indeed," Neville said softly. "I wouldn't have believed I'd ever find myself in love with Draco Malfoy, but here we are."

"Best not to question these things, you'll only give yourself a headache."

Neville laughed and said, "Wise words. It wouldn't do to become too philosophical after all, not when I'm on my way to being a romantic sap, anyway."

"We might as well face it, Nev, there's just no hope for us."

AN: Thanks for all your lovely comments about my new job, you guys are just the loveliest. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I'd love to hear your thoughts.