Title: Stuck With Me

Author: Princesspepper

Pairing: Harry/Draco

Warnings: To tell you the truth, I'm really not sure yet. Language, slash, possible lemon. I think that's it.

(A/N): Hellooooo! I'm back yet again with another story! Now, there's something you must know before you read this. This is the sequel to "I Will Not Forget," which is the sequel to "Save Me From The Dark." So it's the third installment of the "Save Me From The Dark" series. If you know a better word, please tell me, coz I can't think of one. Anyway, if you haven't read the first two, I suggest you go do that, because if you don't, nothing will make sense.

I just have to answer a few questions before we move on. Sheree asked if this fic will be angst free. I can almost definitely say yes. There really is no need for angst here. But I may add a little here and there, just coz I can't help myself XD. Nothing that'll make you rip your hair out. Sheree also asked if I could maybe possibly put in some mpreg. Eeh, I do like mpreg, and if enough people want me to, I guess I'll put it in. It's just easier for me not to for the simple reason that I've never tried it before. If anyone is averse to the idea though, I won't do it. I know it may squick some of you.

One last thing before we get on with it. PleaForPeace asked me if the title of this fic had to do with the Green Day song "Stuck With Me." I have to tell you, that made me laugh so HARD, because of the circumstances I was in when reading that. To answer your question… yes and no. You see, my good friend (and neighbor, lol) princesspeach13 is my official fic/chapter namer. See, I am incredibly bad at naming fics, so when she comes over my house, she helps me out. Sometimes she has a good reason for picking a title (like she reads the chapter and tell me something that fits), or she just pulls words out of the air. Well, the title for this fic was the latter. I had the case for "International Superhits!" (a Green Day CD, for those who are unaware) sitting next to my computer as I was telling her of the plot of this fic. When I finished talking, she pointed to track 13. I was confused. "Stuck With Me," she said, "that should be your title!" Yeah, so when I read that review, she was sitting next to me, and we both almost fell off our chairs laughing. Ookay, done with my pre-story ramble!

So, I think this fic'll be a lot shorter than its predecessors. This was kinda just for my "fans" (I wouldn't call them that, I don't have real fans. I'm not good enough). Some people said things about wondering what would happen after Harry and Draco graduated from college, so that's where this fic comes in! Which leads me to the next order of business!

The premise! This takes place about four and a half years after "I Will Not Forget" ended, which leaves them out of college for about a year, at the age of 23 (about). And in case you didn't remember, they got engaged (how cute!) at the end of "I Will Not Forget," so in this fic, they're married. The rest you'll figure out just by reading, so without further ado, I give you…

(Chapter One: The Insanity Begins)

It really was way too dark, and Harry Potter-Malfoy did not like the dark. There was no telling what was lurking around the corner in the eerie silence, waiting to pounce on the first thing that moved. Harry shuddered at the thought came to mind, pressing himself up closer to the wall he was leaning against.

"Harry!" he jumped, whipping around with his arm outstretched, holding his wand. Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he saw who had called him—it was just his partner, Seamus Finnigan.

"Merlin, Seamus, please don't do that," Harry whispered back, clutching his chest in an effort to calm his rapid breathing. "What is it?"

"I think I found what we're looking for," Seamus answered with a smirk, grabbing Harry's upper arm and dragging him around a corner. Harry clenched his teeth and felt his chest contract with dread. He did not want to see what was around that corner.

Before he knew what happened, a bat had swooped over his head, fazing him considerably. Harry yelped out loud, throwing his arms over his head and ducking down.

"Impedimenta!" Seamus shouted, and a moment later the bat had fallen onto the floor. Harry bent over it, watching as it slowly transformed into a human-like figure.

But, "like" was the operative word.

The being Harry was now leaning over was not a bat, but a vampire, complete with pale complexion and fangs. Harry jumped back when he saw a muscle in the vampire's face twitch; Harry was very brave, but he hated vampires.

"Seamus, would you do the honors?" Harry muttered feebly, backing away from the unconscious creature.

"Certainly," Seamus answered, getting out a hammer and stake from his robes. A moment later, he had hammered the stake through the vampire's heart, and it changed back into a bat. A dead bat.

Harry let out a huge sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's over." He muttered, wiping his brow. He and Seamus then Apparated back to the Ministry of Magic building, going straight up to the Auror headquarters.

Seamus straightened his cloak and knocked on their boss's door tentatively waiting to be let in. "Come in," a deep voice said, and a lock could be heard clicking open.

Seamus walked in first, closely followed by Harry. "Done already, are you?" their boss, Jeremy, said.

"Yes Sir!" Seamus responded, throwing the dead and rapidly shriveling bat onto his desk.

Jeremy wrinkled his nose in distaste, then turned his gaze back to Seamus, who was observing his expression with amusement. "Oh, shut up," Jeremy muttered, "you know I don't like rodents."

"Yes, Sir," Seamus repeated his earlier words, but this time sarcastically. "But I have a bone to pick with you."

"Oh?" the boss responded, cocking an eyebrow at Seamus.

"Yes, in fact," he responded, frowning slightly. "Why is it that you keep giving us the baby assignments? We've been working for you for nearly a year, and all you give us is a vampire to kill? You know how capable we are!"

Jeremy smiled uncomfortably, and looked around the room for something to change the subject to. Finally, he turned his attention to Harry, who looked thoroughly disturbed still. "Are you okay?" He said, avoiding Seamus's imploring gaze. Harry nodded feebly. "You don't look okay. Take the rest of the day off and get some rest, will you?"

Harry smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Sir."

Jeremy nodded. Then, "As for you, Mr. Finnigan, I think you should get back to your office…"

It was only when Harry Apparated back home that he gave a second thought to Jeremy's decision to give him the day off. The man usually worked him to the point of exhaustion, why the sudden kindness? There was only one explanation: Harry was going to get re-assigned to a more difficult task.

Harry groaned, dread quickly spilling into his stomach as he made his way into the living room of his house. He was about to lie down on the couch when a voice coming from behind him made him jump.

"What are you doing home so early?"

Harry turned around, only to see Draco Malfoy smirking at him. Harry smiled crookedly, going over to hug his husband. "I should be asking you the same thing," he said, kissing Draco quickly.

Draco took Harry's arm and led him over to the couch, sitting himself down beside Harry. "Very odd, actually; Jeremy gave me the rest of the day off. I think he's up to something."

"That's what happened to me, too," Harry said suspiciously, leaning his head on Draco's chest. "Now I'm officially freaked out."

"Oh well, it's all for the better. At least you're not alone in that office with Finnegan!"

"Draco, I thought we were past this by now…" Harry said tiredly (some things never change).

"No, I know he wants you! I see the way he looks at you, don't deny it! And I saw what happened at the Christmas party last year!"

"We were drunk, dear," Harry muttered, trying to banish the memory of that party from his mind. It was quite embarrassing.

"Well can you blame me for being concerned? I've got a dead sexy man on my hands here, I've got the right to be worried someone's going to steal you!"

"Alright, what do you want…?"

Draco smirked in that very Draco-ish way. "What do you think I want?"

"Again? Oh come on, we just—"

"No we didn't!"

"This morning!"

"Oh… that." Draco said, recalling the incident. "Why are you complaining, anyway?"

"Hm, come to think of it, I have no idea…"

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had been married for a bit over three years, but not a thing had changed since the day they were engaged. Sure, their relationship strengthened, but nothing ever came easy when it concerned the two of them. In fact, their wedding almost didn't happen.

You see, while proposing (and in Draco's case, being proposed to), the young couple somehow managed to overlook the fact that the Ministry Of Magic had not legalized gay marriages. As you could imagine, this would get in the way of the planning of their wedding just a little. However, when being told by the Minister Of Magic himself that what they were planning was impossible, Harry would hear none of it. I believe what he said went a little something like this:

"Listen to me, you fucking idiot, I saved your sorry, pathetic ass along with that of the rest of the fucking World by killing Lord fucking Voldemort! I think I deserve a little something back, don't you! If you don't want me to go psycho on your ass right now, you and your pathetic Ministry will listen to me! Don't think I won't do it, you know what I'm capable of! All I'm asking for is for you to let me MARRY MY FUCKING BOYFRIEND!"

Needless to say, the now thoroughly frightened Minister agreed to make an exception for Harry's case (however, Harry is still badgering him to make it legal for everyone, and it looks like he's pretty close to caving!).

Once this particular incident was out of the way, though, there were several other obstacles.

"How could you invite Finnegan! He's your ex!"

"You spent three thousand galleons on what!"

"How could you cater from there!"

"Oh come on, you have to invite her, she's your mother!"

"You. Invited. All. The. Weasleys!"

Oh yes, a lot of fighting took place. In fact, after a few weeks of this, they had to put up a silencing charm due to all the screaming, so as not to wake up the neighbors. No, it wasn't that kind of screaming, you perverts (well it was that, too… but not as frequently, to the dismay of the rabid fangirls and fanboys).

But believe it or not, the wedding did actually happen. Sure, it took quite a few months to plan, organize, invite guests, and stop fighting, but it did happen.

Surprisingly, Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother, took the news of Draco's wedding very well. If I didn't know better, I'd even say she was pleased. She offered to host the wedding in the back garden of Malfoy Manor, and the reception in the Ballroom.

For good reason, Harry objected to Blaise Zabini being Draco's Best Man ("Do you realize how stupid that is! He's your ex! How would you feel if I chose Seamus as my Best Man?"), so Draco reluctantly replaced him with Brianna, after Harry's persuasion ("She's your sister! You can't leave her out!"). However, this proved to be a bad idea, for Harry kept making fun of him, calling Brianna Draco's "Maid Of Honor," and therefore insisting Draco needed "Bride's Maids."

"Are you calling me a woman!" Draco had snapped as he continued to file his nails. Harry snorted at the irony of the situation.

"Of course not, love," Harry sniggered, patting the top of Draco's head affectionately.

"Whoa, don't touch the hair!" Draco had said, jerking away from Harry's touch, which just made Harry laugh harder.

After this whole episode, they agreed they'd just have two special people to stand at the altar with them. This was mostly so Harry would shut up about Bride's Maids.

Even Blaise (who had begrudgingly accepted his invitation to the wedding) had to admit it was really beautiful. They decided to get married in the summer, when all the flowers would be in full bloom. This was quite appropriate, as they were married in the rose garden, with a softly trickling fountain running as a backdrop to the scene. To Draco's extreme surprise, he even saw his mother shed a tear during the service. And of course, all the girls in attendance giggled when the two of them kissed. Ron (who was, of course, Harry's Best Man) just shook his head with a bittersweet smile.

However, Ron's sad smile didn't last for long. The moment that people stopped fawning over Draco at the reception, and he was on his way to the bathroom to freshen up, Ron had cornered him.

"Malfoy!" Ron had shouted, jogging to keep up with Draco's brisk, purposeful stride.

Draco stopped and turned, looking at Ron from where he stood with his hand on his hip. "What happened to 'Draco'? We're practically related now, Weasley, why are we using surnames?"

"You just did it, too…" Ron muttered under his breath, but when Draco asked what he had said, he responded, "Never mind, that's not what this is about. I need to talk to you."

"I won't be kissing you again, I'm a married man now," Draco said with a smirk, referring to the incident about six months ago when Harry and Hermione had dared him to kiss Ron.

Ron turned a puke-green color at the very thought. "No, that's not what it's about either! Could you stop flirting with me for one second?"

"Flirt? With you?"

"Shut up!"

"Right, must remember to be nice to the Weasleys. What is it, Ronald?" Draco said sincerely, which turned out to be very creepy.

Ron shuddered at the sound of Draco using his first name. The two of them had resolved most of their issues, and they were on reasonably friendly terms, but Ron still had quite a bit of resentment. But who could blame him?

"Listen, and please don't make any wisecracks. I'm being dead serious."

Draco was about to say something that included, but was not limited to, words such as, 'Serious? With a face like that?' But he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.

So instead, Draco merely cocked an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Malfoy." Ron started, "You've been with Harry for a great deal of time, and he's always been extremely tolerant of your bullshit. Maybe he doesn't realize it, but he basically takes everything that you throw at him. You've dragged him through hell with you before, and I don't put it past you to do it again."

Draco couldn't help himself. "Could you get to the point?"

Ron took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves, which currently felt as though Draco were rubbing them against a blunt cheese grater. "Malfoy, if you cause Harry any mental turmoil whatsoever, he'll have to mop you off the floor into a bucket once I'm through with you. Don't you dare fuck with his mind. You got it?" Ron hissed, prodding Draco's chest with a threatening finger.

Draco raised both his neatly trimmed blond eyebrows once Ron was done with his miniature lecture. "In all seriousness, Ronald, I'm touched. But honestly, I wouldn't knowingly do anything to hurt Harry. I love him."

Ron stared Draco right in the eye for several moments, trying to detect any hint of sarcasm. None was found whatsoever. Ron had never seen Draco give him a more serious look before; there wasn't even a hint of a joke in his eyes.

Ron nodded once, and began to walk away when Draco started talking again. "But he's mine, Ronald. I hope this doesn't mean you have some sort of weird gay crush on him."

Ron snorted in amusement and shook his head, not turning around to look at the one who had spoken. "Look who's talking, Draco." And with that, Ron left a softly smiling Draco standing there as he walked back into the ballroom.

And Harry had felt guilty, because he had been eavesdropping, and heard the whole thing. He smiled to himself, and felt an overwhelming emotion start to blossom in his chest. It was a rush of affection towards Ron (don't worry, the brotherly kind) for caring so much about his well being, but at the same time felt a rush of a different kind of affection towards Draco for saying those things with such sincerity that even Ron believed his every word.

Harry quickly took a few steps backwards so he was out of sight as Draco came out of the bathroom and began walking back into the Ballroom. Once the door was closed, Harry straightened his tie as a nervous habit and walked inside after him.

Yes, the wedding reception was very interesting. Harry and Draco kept to themselves for a good part of it, conversing in a corner and marveling over the fact that they were finally legally married, after being together for over a year total. It had been about eight months since Harry had proposed, and things had finally worked out. All was peaceful, and they were happy, and they were in school (which was pretty easy), and their life was quiet, and they were in love.

Well, that was then, and this is now. Three years later, they're still in love of course, however the other factors have changed significantly. Working as an Auror has its perks—good insurance, health care benefits, an early retirement, and of course glory; but it also has its turn-offs. Getting pelted with owls in the middle of the night, running for your life from some random creature that happens to be chasing you, being at the wrong end of a curse thrown by a crazed captive… yes, there is definitely a downside, and this downside has sucked the peace, quiet, and some of the happiness, out of their lives. Not to say they were unhappy—no, they were very content, but sometimes it was hard for them to realize it with all the hectic things going on around them. They knew what they were getting into when they chose this profession, but sometimes they just needed a break. So, it was days like these (that is, when their boss spontaneously decides to give them the day off) that Harry and Draco got a chance to enjoy their life the most, and on some occasions, have important conversations.

Which leads us to them now. A few hours later (yes, it took that long. Use your imagination), they were sitting at the kitchen table having tea, and Harry was furrowing his brow, deciding whether or not to bring up the topic he wanted to bring up.

Finally, when Draco was in the middle of taking a sip of tea, Harry just blurted it out. "Draco? Have you ever thought of… children?" He said very, very quickly.

Draco choked on his tea, spitting what was left in his mouth back into the cup. Harry grimaced as Draco continued to choke, turning redder by the second. Harry watched him with a worried expression, his hands clasped together tightly and resting in his lap. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you; it's just that… I've been thinking about it for a while—"

"No, it's okay," Draco said, cutting him off. "I just didn't expect you to bring it up, is all." He said carefully. "You're talking about adopting, I assume? Well, we've been married for over three years, so I'm sure at this point—"

"No, there are ways we can do… that… without adopting." Harry said tentatively.

Draco stared at him, a look of mixed awe and fright on his face. "How come you know that and I don't?"

"I did a bit of reading on the subject," Harry said, wringing his hands nervously.

"You've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you?" Draco said quietly, looking up from his tea into Harry's eyes.

"Yeah, a bit." He said, still nervous.

"Well, I wouldn't mind having an heir…" Draco said thoughtfully, and Harry's expression brightened. "But… I don't know. I think we should talk about it again another time, you know? So I have some time to think about it. I'm not so great with kids…"

Harry's face fell slightly, but he was happier all the same. At least Draco hadn't completely shot down the idea. "I'm sure you'll be fine, thank you for considering it," Harry said, smiling at Draco, who still looked uncomfortable.

The next day when Harry and Draco arrived at work, they were immediately called to Jeremy's office, just as they had suspected would happen.

"Gentlemen," he had said, as soon as they had taken a seat, "I'm afraid I'll be re-assigning you to a more… difficult task today."

Harry and Draco groaned simultaneously.

"Now, I know that you're getting along quite well with Mr. Finnegan, Harry, and you, Draco, are doing well with Ms. Stewart as she is your sister, but I have the feeling that it would be better if I made you two partners from now on. After all, you're married, and can't you read each other's minds, or something?" Harry and Draco exchanged looks and nodded. "Right, very well then, follow me."

Jeremy got up from his desk and led them through a door behind it. The door led to a room filled with gigantic file cabinets, which were all labeled, and had closed and locked drawers. Jeremy shuffled over to the closest one and bent down, observing the labels. His finger trailed down the file cabinet, and he muttered to himself as he read what the labels said.

Finally, he made a little noise of triumph and used a key he was holding to unlock the third drawer from the bottom, pulling it out all the way. It extended about three feet out, and was packed to the brim with manila envelopes.

Harry and Draco shared another look before turning back to the amusing sight of their boss sorting through hundreds of folders, looking for a single one. Finally, he emerged, holding a thick folder. He walked back over to where Harry and Draco were standing, going next to him and opening the folder he was holding.

"Ah, here we are. You see this man?" Jeremy pointed to the picture of a middle-aged man on the first page of many in the folder. The man had dark black hair that was combed back, and a bristly moustache of the same color that stood out on his pale face. He had sunken in pale blue eyes, and he was frowning. He kept shifting his eyes and turning his head, as if he had something to hide.

"Yes, Sir, what about him?" Harry said finally.

"For a long time, people have been talking about him being a Dark Wizard; a secret You-Know-Who supporter. Right after you killed the Dark Lord, Potter, he disappeared. Nobody had seen hide or hair of him for three years. That is, until very recently. Just a week ago, he miraculously showed up, and can you guess what he did?"

"Killed a bunch of Muggles?" Draco offered.

"Tried to resurrect Voldemort?" Harry put in.

"Nope. He started…" Jeremy's voice dropped down to a whisper, "a pre-school!"

Draco and Harry just stared at him for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. "A pre-school!" Harry gasped in-between laughing. "You've got to be kidding! You're a bit early for April Fools' Day!"

"No! I'm not! I'm serious!" Jeremy insisted.

"But… what's he going to do? Get the kids to glue Muggles' hands to desks?"

"Yeah, what's so menacing about a pre-school?" Draco said after he'd stopped laughing, a bemused expression on his face.

"Well, this man had a lot of friends in You-Know-Who's inner circle, supposedly, and some of the younger ones have children, while the older ones have grandchildren. The Ministry has investigated the situation, and we gather that this crazed lunatic has sights out to be the next Dark Lord, and he's brainwashing the children—training them to be his minions!"

"I hope you realize you sound like a crackpot, telling us some weird fairy tale," Draco muttered.

"No, really! Take me seriously! This whole folder is filled with evidence!" he said, brandishing the thick folder, then holding it out for Harry to take.

Harry took it and thumbed through the first few pages. "Okay, we'll go over it tonight. So… what's the actual assignment, anyway?"

"Oh, right!" Jeremy said, smacking his forehead. "I want you to go undercover and investigate this place to see if these theories are correct."

"And we do this… how?" Harry asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

Jeremy reached into the depths of his robes and pulled out a copy of The Daily Prophet. Flipping to page B24, he opened up the paper and pointed at a small ad on the right page.

"Oh no way," Draco said, reading the ad. It said: "Pre-School teachers needed! No license required! Send an owl to the following address…"

"Yes way. I've already sent an owl with both your names on it. I suggest you take the job, boys; it will pay rather well, and it'll probably be a breeze for two guys like you!"

"We don't need the money! I'm insulted!" Draco said, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Oh come on, Draco, how bad could it be?" Harry reasoned, touching his arm.

"Pretty. Damn. Bad." Draco said between clenched teeth.

"Don't mind him," Harry said pleasantly, shoving Draco to the side, "Of course we'll do it!"

"No we WON'T!" Draco interjected, but Harry silenced him with a look.

"Very good, boys," Jeremy said. "You'll find everything you need to know in that folder. The first day of work is tomorrow, have fun!"

Once Jeremy walked out of the room, Draco gave Harry his worst bone-chilling death stare. "Do you realize what you just did?"

(End Of Chapter One)

(A/N): Sorry if the ending sucked, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to end it. I'm so nice to you people, today is my BIRTHDAY (w00t, June 16th!) and I spend a lot of it writing this! I wrote HALF of it today! Ah, well. I sincerely hoped you like it. Leave me reviews telling me what you thought! School is over, so I'll be updating more often. The website has been eating reviews lately, so if you'd like to leave a long review (you know what long means) please just write a few paragraphs, and email the rest to me! Just indicate that you will be doing that in the review. My email address is: sarahfaith(at)nyc(dot)rr(dot)com. There's nothing more that I'd want for my birthday than REVIEWS! So please do that, okay? I'm not updating till I have around twenty. Aren't I mean? Until next time…

XOXO Princesspepper OXOX