Title: All That Matters
Author: GrapeSmshr
Rated: PG
Coupling: HP/DM slashy goodness
A/N: I had to, absolutely had to, write a Christmas fic. There are just soooooo many possibilities for this holiday! I love it! So this is dedicated to you guys, all of the lovely readers who are as obsessed as I am about Harry and Draco. Plus, it's a little birthday present for me from myself, as today I am the big 21! Woohoo! So, I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Happy holidays!
It was an ordinary day just like any other. Routines were followed, chores finished, lives were led. It was ordinary as ordinary could be.
Except this day was not so ordinary. In fact, it was Christmas Eve, but not a happy one.
"Just tell them you can't go."
"I can't do that, and you know it."
Harry Potter stood with his hands on his hips, pain and the slightest hint of frustration visible on his face. The last thing he wanted was to be separated from his longtime boyfriend on Christmas, but he understood that it was something he couldn't argue against.
Equally unhappy in this situation was Draco Malfoy, who was currently sporting a frown. Unlike Harry, he was *not* so understanding when it came down to being separated during the holidays. "I don't care about the Ministry. They can just bloody sod off."
"Draco..." Harry reached out to take the blonde's hand, but Draco stepped away. Harry sighed, running a hand through his unkempt midnight hair. "I know you don't want me to go; hell, I don't want to, either. But they don't exactly give Aurors choices in these matters. Do you think I *want* to be away from you on Christmas, on our anniversary?"
This time, when he reached out to Draco, the other man fell willingly into the embrace. Resting his head on Harry's shoulder, Draco's long, slender fingers dug into his boyfriend's arms, clinging to him.
"You know I have to go," Harry murmured as he stroked his fingers along Draco's back, causing the blonde to shudder slightly.
"I know," Draco answered, reluctantly pulling out of the embrace. He watched Harry gather his bag together, slipping on his overcoat.
"I'll be home as soon as I can." Harry stared long and hard at Draco. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
One minute Draco was kissing Harry, and the next he was staring at the closed door in front of him. It was how they always said goodbye when one or the other had to leave on a mission, kiss and run so as to avoid more pain. Over the past couple of years, they had both gotten used to it.
But never had they been apart on Christmas, their anniversary. This Christmas marked five years since that first kiss, which led to the most passionate love affair that Hogwarts had ever witnessed.
It was quite a shock when the rest of the school found out that the two rivals that had once loathed each other with every fiber of their beings were now in a budding relationship. Who could blame them? Harry and Draco were shocked themselves when it happened! But Draco could remember that first moment so vividly...
Five years previous...
******
Draco shuffled through the powdery snow, enjoying the crisp chill from the wind mixed with the early afternoon sun. It had snowed yet again the night previous, so everything was covered in a shimmering layer of white. This was Draco's favorite time to be outside.
It was Christmas Day, and they had just finished lunch in the Great Hall. There had actually been a sizable amount of students who had stayed for the winter break, so instead of everyone sitting at one table, they sat at two. Luckily, Blaise Zabini had stayed, so Draco had someone to talk to.
Or try to, at least. He was more preoccupied with the person sitting across from him. He didn't know how or why, but by some twist of fate, Harry had ended up sitting there. Out of all the places he could have sat, he sat *there*, across from Draco. Accompanied by Hermione Granger, Harry paid no attention to the fact that he was voluntarily within reaching distance of the two Slytherins.
Because of this lack of attention paying, Draco was able to study his so-called enemy of seven years. His eyes scrutinized over every one of the Gryffindor's sculpted facial features, taking in the beauty of the other teen.
He had long since coped with the fact that he found Harry attractive. It was just one of those bizarre, unexplainable things. Draco had been horrified when he first realized this attraction, but he grew used to it. After all, it was only natural for a gorgeous person such as himself to fall for another gorgeous person.
And fall he did, right into a shallow snow bank. Quickly standing, he glanced behind him but didn't see anything. A quick inspection of every general direction showed the same thing. Straightening his coat, he resumed his walk.
He didn't make it three feet before falling yet again. This time it almost felt like he had been shoved, but there was no one there. "What the bloody hell?" He tried to get up, but this time he was tackled by a person, an invisibly person, a distinctly male person. "Who--"
To answer, said person pulled off his invisibility cloak.
"Potter!" Draco exclaimed in disbelief.
Making no attempt to get up from his lying position on Draco, Harry gave a quirky grin. "Looked like you could use some company." His eyes were sparkling as he gazed down at Draco, who was staring back up at him dazedly. "I figured from all of your staring at me during lunch, you wouldn't mind. Unless you object to my company?"
Gaping at the smiling Gryffindor, Draco couldn't find the words to answer. He was shocked beyond anything that Harry had noticed being stared at by Draco, but he was also painfully aware of the body lying on top of him.
Noticing the questions in his eyes, Harry answered, "I'm not as daft as people think I am. I'm only surprised you never noticed that the stares weren't one-sided."
"What? You mean..."
"Oh, I mean." And then Harry's lips were on his, mercilessly claiming Draco's mouth as his own. But Draco wasn't going to complain. Sinking deeper and deeper into the kiss, he knew this was the start of a beautiful relationship.
******
And beautiful it was. Five years later, they were more in love than they ever had been. Six months into the relationship, after graduation, they had moved into a tiny house in Hogsmeade. Sure, their living arrangements could have been better, with Harry inheriting Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place and Draco the Malfoy estate, both due to casualties of war. But they liked their current living arrangement. It wasn't the grandest of places, but it was theirs, his and Harry's.
Which only dampened his already sour mood. Here he was, the day before Christmas, and Harry had to work. Sodding Ministry.
Draco spent the rest of the evening moping, well until he was too tired to think. Changing into silk pyjamas, he climbed into bed. This was the only piece of furniture in their house that was huge. It took up the majority of the bedroom, but neither cared. Turned out Harry, like Draco, preferred sleeping in a luxurious bed, so convincing him of the buy had not been a problem.
As he lay there, he wrapped the blankets tightly around himself. Usually he reveled in the warmth of Harry's body beside him, but not tonight. He felt colder tonight than usual, almost hollow. He knew the work he and Harry did at the Ministry was important, but that didn't stop him from verbally cursing them for sending Harry out on assignment.
Turning toward the empty side of the bed, Draco grabbed the unoccupied pillow and hugged it to his chest, inhaling the faint lingering scent of Harry. Oh, how he missed his lover...
In this position, Draco fell asleep for the night.
He was disturbed from his restless sleep by a loud pounding. Groaning, Draco realized that someone was at the door. He crankily rose from the bed and threw on a robe, tying it as he walked.
At the sound of the insistent knocking, he grumbled, "I'm up, just bloody hold on."
Opening the door, he was met by Ron and Hermione Weasley, who were both beaming at him. "Happy Christmas!" they cried simultaneously.
"Happy Christmas. What time is it?" Draco couldn't quite hide the irritation in his voice.
Not at all put off by his tone, Hermione answered brightly, "It's already past eight. You needed to wake up so we could give you your Christmas gift!"
It was then that Draco noticed the lavishly wrapped package. How he missed it the first time, he didn't know. It was almost as tall as he was!
"Give me a hand, will you?" Ron requested as he began pushing the rather large gift toward the front door.
Grabbing hold of the box from his own side, Draco attempted to pull it into the house. Whatever was in it was rather heavy. As he tilted the box at an angle, he heard a thumping. Startled, he dropped the box. "Did you hear that?" he asked, eyes wide.
"Hear what?" Hermione's brow furrowed. "I didn't hear anything."
Of course not, Draco scolded himself. He must still be half-asleep or something. Resuming his grip on the box, he once again tilted it at an angle so he could drag it over the door frame and into the house. And once again, he felt thumping from the inside. He quickly looked up at Ron, who was grinning cheekily. So was Hermione, for that matter.
Heart pounding wildly, Draco felt excitement start to bubble through his veins. It was just too brilliant... Grabbing hold of the paper, Draco ripped it off with one swift tug. He reached for the lid, pulling it off and peering into the box.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing was in that box.
As confusion and disappointment welled up inside of him, he heard from behind, "You honestly didn't think I'd be in that box, did you?"
Whirling around, Draco found himself staring at his boyfriend. "Harry!" he cried, throwing himself into the other man's arms.
Hugging the blonde tightly to him, Harry mouthed his thanks to his friends as they quickly snuck out. Raising a hand up to stroke Draco's hair, he murmured, "Happy Christmas, love. Happy anniversary."
"Happy anniversary," Draco answered, voice slightly wavering. He pulled back some, just enough to see Harry's face. "How did you--"
"I told the Ministry officials to sod off."
Smacking Harry's arm lightly, Draco said, "Really. How are you able to be here with me?"
With a sigh, Harry led them both over to the couch, gathering the blonde in his arms. "I told them that I wanted to spend my anniversary with you. Surprisingly, they agreed. But I leave again in the morning."
"That's all right. You're here now, with me, so let's focus on that." Draco leaned into to give Harry a gentle kiss, the gentleness quickly turning to passion as they held each other tightly, almost as if they were afraid to let go.
Laying his head on Harry's chest, Draco listened to the reassuring heartbeat of his boyfriend. Words couldn't express just how happy he was to be reunited with Harry. It was all he wanted for Christmas, and he told Harry so. "You're the most perfect gift I could ever receive. I don't need anything except for you." He smiled, hand twining around Harry's. "I love you, you know."
"Love you," Harry echoed, leisurely sweeping a hand up and down Draco's back. He understood the sentiment; he felt the same way. A little separation now and then wasn't anything. They were together now, just like they would be for the rest of their lives.
And that was all that mattered.
There is nothing better than some fluffy slash on the holidays, am I right? I know Draco was a bit sappy, but come on! It's Christmas! Everyone's allowed to be ooc during the holidays! Anyway, please review! I love love love hearing what you guys think. It really means the world to me, and it motivates me to to write even more slashy fun stuff!
Author: GrapeSmshr
Rated: PG
Coupling: HP/DM slashy goodness
A/N: I had to, absolutely had to, write a Christmas fic. There are just soooooo many possibilities for this holiday! I love it! So this is dedicated to you guys, all of the lovely readers who are as obsessed as I am about Harry and Draco. Plus, it's a little birthday present for me from myself, as today I am the big 21! Woohoo! So, I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Happy holidays!
It was an ordinary day just like any other. Routines were followed, chores finished, lives were led. It was ordinary as ordinary could be.
Except this day was not so ordinary. In fact, it was Christmas Eve, but not a happy one.
"Just tell them you can't go."
"I can't do that, and you know it."
Harry Potter stood with his hands on his hips, pain and the slightest hint of frustration visible on his face. The last thing he wanted was to be separated from his longtime boyfriend on Christmas, but he understood that it was something he couldn't argue against.
Equally unhappy in this situation was Draco Malfoy, who was currently sporting a frown. Unlike Harry, he was *not* so understanding when it came down to being separated during the holidays. "I don't care about the Ministry. They can just bloody sod off."
"Draco..." Harry reached out to take the blonde's hand, but Draco stepped away. Harry sighed, running a hand through his unkempt midnight hair. "I know you don't want me to go; hell, I don't want to, either. But they don't exactly give Aurors choices in these matters. Do you think I *want* to be away from you on Christmas, on our anniversary?"
This time, when he reached out to Draco, the other man fell willingly into the embrace. Resting his head on Harry's shoulder, Draco's long, slender fingers dug into his boyfriend's arms, clinging to him.
"You know I have to go," Harry murmured as he stroked his fingers along Draco's back, causing the blonde to shudder slightly.
"I know," Draco answered, reluctantly pulling out of the embrace. He watched Harry gather his bag together, slipping on his overcoat.
"I'll be home as soon as I can." Harry stared long and hard at Draco. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
One minute Draco was kissing Harry, and the next he was staring at the closed door in front of him. It was how they always said goodbye when one or the other had to leave on a mission, kiss and run so as to avoid more pain. Over the past couple of years, they had both gotten used to it.
But never had they been apart on Christmas, their anniversary. This Christmas marked five years since that first kiss, which led to the most passionate love affair that Hogwarts had ever witnessed.
It was quite a shock when the rest of the school found out that the two rivals that had once loathed each other with every fiber of their beings were now in a budding relationship. Who could blame them? Harry and Draco were shocked themselves when it happened! But Draco could remember that first moment so vividly...
Five years previous...
******
Draco shuffled through the powdery snow, enjoying the crisp chill from the wind mixed with the early afternoon sun. It had snowed yet again the night previous, so everything was covered in a shimmering layer of white. This was Draco's favorite time to be outside.
It was Christmas Day, and they had just finished lunch in the Great Hall. There had actually been a sizable amount of students who had stayed for the winter break, so instead of everyone sitting at one table, they sat at two. Luckily, Blaise Zabini had stayed, so Draco had someone to talk to.
Or try to, at least. He was more preoccupied with the person sitting across from him. He didn't know how or why, but by some twist of fate, Harry had ended up sitting there. Out of all the places he could have sat, he sat *there*, across from Draco. Accompanied by Hermione Granger, Harry paid no attention to the fact that he was voluntarily within reaching distance of the two Slytherins.
Because of this lack of attention paying, Draco was able to study his so-called enemy of seven years. His eyes scrutinized over every one of the Gryffindor's sculpted facial features, taking in the beauty of the other teen.
He had long since coped with the fact that he found Harry attractive. It was just one of those bizarre, unexplainable things. Draco had been horrified when he first realized this attraction, but he grew used to it. After all, it was only natural for a gorgeous person such as himself to fall for another gorgeous person.
And fall he did, right into a shallow snow bank. Quickly standing, he glanced behind him but didn't see anything. A quick inspection of every general direction showed the same thing. Straightening his coat, he resumed his walk.
He didn't make it three feet before falling yet again. This time it almost felt like he had been shoved, but there was no one there. "What the bloody hell?" He tried to get up, but this time he was tackled by a person, an invisibly person, a distinctly male person. "Who--"
To answer, said person pulled off his invisibility cloak.
"Potter!" Draco exclaimed in disbelief.
Making no attempt to get up from his lying position on Draco, Harry gave a quirky grin. "Looked like you could use some company." His eyes were sparkling as he gazed down at Draco, who was staring back up at him dazedly. "I figured from all of your staring at me during lunch, you wouldn't mind. Unless you object to my company?"
Gaping at the smiling Gryffindor, Draco couldn't find the words to answer. He was shocked beyond anything that Harry had noticed being stared at by Draco, but he was also painfully aware of the body lying on top of him.
Noticing the questions in his eyes, Harry answered, "I'm not as daft as people think I am. I'm only surprised you never noticed that the stares weren't one-sided."
"What? You mean..."
"Oh, I mean." And then Harry's lips were on his, mercilessly claiming Draco's mouth as his own. But Draco wasn't going to complain. Sinking deeper and deeper into the kiss, he knew this was the start of a beautiful relationship.
******
And beautiful it was. Five years later, they were more in love than they ever had been. Six months into the relationship, after graduation, they had moved into a tiny house in Hogsmeade. Sure, their living arrangements could have been better, with Harry inheriting Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place and Draco the Malfoy estate, both due to casualties of war. But they liked their current living arrangement. It wasn't the grandest of places, but it was theirs, his and Harry's.
Which only dampened his already sour mood. Here he was, the day before Christmas, and Harry had to work. Sodding Ministry.
Draco spent the rest of the evening moping, well until he was too tired to think. Changing into silk pyjamas, he climbed into bed. This was the only piece of furniture in their house that was huge. It took up the majority of the bedroom, but neither cared. Turned out Harry, like Draco, preferred sleeping in a luxurious bed, so convincing him of the buy had not been a problem.
As he lay there, he wrapped the blankets tightly around himself. Usually he reveled in the warmth of Harry's body beside him, but not tonight. He felt colder tonight than usual, almost hollow. He knew the work he and Harry did at the Ministry was important, but that didn't stop him from verbally cursing them for sending Harry out on assignment.
Turning toward the empty side of the bed, Draco grabbed the unoccupied pillow and hugged it to his chest, inhaling the faint lingering scent of Harry. Oh, how he missed his lover...
In this position, Draco fell asleep for the night.
He was disturbed from his restless sleep by a loud pounding. Groaning, Draco realized that someone was at the door. He crankily rose from the bed and threw on a robe, tying it as he walked.
At the sound of the insistent knocking, he grumbled, "I'm up, just bloody hold on."
Opening the door, he was met by Ron and Hermione Weasley, who were both beaming at him. "Happy Christmas!" they cried simultaneously.
"Happy Christmas. What time is it?" Draco couldn't quite hide the irritation in his voice.
Not at all put off by his tone, Hermione answered brightly, "It's already past eight. You needed to wake up so we could give you your Christmas gift!"
It was then that Draco noticed the lavishly wrapped package. How he missed it the first time, he didn't know. It was almost as tall as he was!
"Give me a hand, will you?" Ron requested as he began pushing the rather large gift toward the front door.
Grabbing hold of the box from his own side, Draco attempted to pull it into the house. Whatever was in it was rather heavy. As he tilted the box at an angle, he heard a thumping. Startled, he dropped the box. "Did you hear that?" he asked, eyes wide.
"Hear what?" Hermione's brow furrowed. "I didn't hear anything."
Of course not, Draco scolded himself. He must still be half-asleep or something. Resuming his grip on the box, he once again tilted it at an angle so he could drag it over the door frame and into the house. And once again, he felt thumping from the inside. He quickly looked up at Ron, who was grinning cheekily. So was Hermione, for that matter.
Heart pounding wildly, Draco felt excitement start to bubble through his veins. It was just too brilliant... Grabbing hold of the paper, Draco ripped it off with one swift tug. He reached for the lid, pulling it off and peering into the box.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing was in that box.
As confusion and disappointment welled up inside of him, he heard from behind, "You honestly didn't think I'd be in that box, did you?"
Whirling around, Draco found himself staring at his boyfriend. "Harry!" he cried, throwing himself into the other man's arms.
Hugging the blonde tightly to him, Harry mouthed his thanks to his friends as they quickly snuck out. Raising a hand up to stroke Draco's hair, he murmured, "Happy Christmas, love. Happy anniversary."
"Happy anniversary," Draco answered, voice slightly wavering. He pulled back some, just enough to see Harry's face. "How did you--"
"I told the Ministry officials to sod off."
Smacking Harry's arm lightly, Draco said, "Really. How are you able to be here with me?"
With a sigh, Harry led them both over to the couch, gathering the blonde in his arms. "I told them that I wanted to spend my anniversary with you. Surprisingly, they agreed. But I leave again in the morning."
"That's all right. You're here now, with me, so let's focus on that." Draco leaned into to give Harry a gentle kiss, the gentleness quickly turning to passion as they held each other tightly, almost as if they were afraid to let go.
Laying his head on Harry's chest, Draco listened to the reassuring heartbeat of his boyfriend. Words couldn't express just how happy he was to be reunited with Harry. It was all he wanted for Christmas, and he told Harry so. "You're the most perfect gift I could ever receive. I don't need anything except for you." He smiled, hand twining around Harry's. "I love you, you know."
"Love you," Harry echoed, leisurely sweeping a hand up and down Draco's back. He understood the sentiment; he felt the same way. A little separation now and then wasn't anything. They were together now, just like they would be for the rest of their lives.
And that was all that mattered.
There is nothing better than some fluffy slash on the holidays, am I right? I know Draco was a bit sappy, but come on! It's Christmas! Everyone's allowed to be ooc during the holidays! Anyway, please review! I love love love hearing what you guys think. It really means the world to me, and it motivates me to to write even more slashy fun stuff!