Disclaimer: \Looks under bed\ Nope, no Harry under there…\looks in closet\ No Draco…hmm…guess I don't own them after all…
A/N: I'm so pleased that those of you that reviewed loved it. I will answer your reviews at the end of the chapter. Started: 4/15/05 Finished:
Summary: Draco watches over a sleeping Harry, remembering the day of Lord Voldemort's defeat. "You never knew the Dragon had a heart, did you?"
Author: Lenora
Rating: PG-13 or K+ as it's now listed.
2nd A/N: Italics are for thoughts…\...\ are for actions in A/Ns.
Dragonheart
Chapter 9- Graduation
The morning light gently filtered through the curtains that shielded the Head Boy's room from the glare of the newly awoken sun. A persistent ray of light made its way to shine over the sleeping face of Harry Potter, who groaned and turned over to press his face into the chest of Draco Malfoy. "Ugh…too early," Harry groaned softly, not wanting to wake up his lover.
However, the chest under his face started to shake with undisguised laughter. "Not a morning person are you love?" Draco asked.
"Too…Early…" Harry repeated slowly as if Draco was a simpleton. Draco laughed out loud this time as he eased himself from under his lover.
"Come on lover, we have to get up. We have a day in Hogsmeade planned. Do you want Hermione to walk in on us again?" He smirked when Harry practically jumped out of the bed and started pulling clothes out of the closet.
"Come on Draco, we have to get dressed. We wouldn't want to keep the others waiting," he said. Draco followed him, watching him with a soft smile on his face.
"You are too adorable love," Draco said, wrapping his arms around Harry's middle.
Harry wrinkled his nose. "I'm not adorable," he pouted.
"What's this about being adorable?" Dudley asked, walking into the room. Harry relaxed, having automatically tensed in case it was Hermione coming through the door.
"Nothing," Harry mumbled, blushing.
"Nonsense Harry, you're totally adorable," Draco said, hugging the shorter teen while nuzzling his cheek. Harry's blush increased. "See? Completely captivating," he said quietly. Harry leaned in to kiss the pink lips of his boyfriend but was interrupted by a gagging sound.
"Stop! I can't stand all this sweetness! I'm going to have to see Hermione's parents, I have a toothache from you two," Dudley teased. "But enough of that, I came up here to tell you that you have ten minutes, well seven now," he said, checking his watch, "to get dressed or Hermione is coming up here."
Harry yelped and he rushed into the bathroom. Draco watched him with a raised eyebrow. "Ok, how much time did she really give us?" he asked, smirking.
"Twenty minutes," Dudley replied innocently.
Draco sighed dramatically, "well then I guess that I will have to forsake my usual morning ritual to accommodate her schedule."
Dudley laughed. His laughter grew when Harry came out of the bathroom with his shirt buttoned up incorrectly. "You look like you just got done shagging with Draco," he cried, ducking out of the door to avoid the hex sent at him by Harry.
"Come here love," Draco said, pulling Harry close so he could unbutton the shirt then button it up again.
"Why aren't you hurrying to get dressed?" Harry asked, pouting. "Hermione didn't give us ten minutes did she?" he asked.
Draco smirked, shaking his head as he walked into the bathroom. He laughed as he heard Harry cursing his cousin from beyond the door. He took a quick shower and got dressed in one of the muggle outfits that Harry had helped him pick out the summer before. He styled his hair with magic before walking out of the door. "Ready love?" he asked.
Harry nodded and he took the hand that Draco held out to him and they headed down the stairs to the Head Boy/Girl common room where the others waited. Hermione was standing at the foot of the stairs with her stopwatch in her hand, timing the two boys. Harry pushed her playfully when he passed her.
"Ready boys?" Hermione asked, looking at her friends. "Pans and Mille will meet us in the village for lunch. That gives us at least a couple hours on our own before lunch. Does anyone have anything specific they need to pick up?" she asked as the group started down toward the entrance hall. They quickly found a couple carriages and they climbed into them.
"I need a new dress robe for the graduation dance," Draco said. Ron looked at him, confused.
"Don't you have a wardrobe full of dress robes at the Manor?" the redhead asked. "Why don't you just wear one of those?"
Draco looked at him in mock horror. "And be seen somewhere wearing something I've already worn somewhere else? Perish the thought!" The group laughed. "Actually, I donated most of the robes to one of the second hand stores in Diagon Alley last June. I've only got about three now and I believe two of them are the wrong size now."
Harry laughed at the look on Ron's face. "I'm getting a new set of robes also," he said, taking Draco's hand. "I only have the one set and that's three years old now."
Ron coughed. "Mum had to take out the hem in my robes and they're still a couple inches short. Thank Merlin they're not those maroon robes that Mum bought me in fourth year. I'll never figure out where Fred and George got the gold to buy me a new set of robes after fourth year. They hadn't started their shop up yet." Harry blushed and coughed. "No Harry, you didn't?" Harry nodded.
Draco looked between them, confused. "What? What didn't Harry do?"
"I gifted the twins with my winnings from the Triwizard Tournament," Harry said quietly, studying the ground intently. "I didn't want it and Cedric's parents wouldn't take it. I told the twins that they should have it because we all would need a good laugh in the upcoming days."
"And you were right Harry my boy," said the voice of one of the Weasley twins throwing his arms around Harry and Draco's shoulders.
"Just look at what that little investment gained the wizarding world," the other twin said, from where he was standing by Ron. He was indicating the large building that at one time had been occupied by Zonko's joke shop, but now sported the name 'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.'
"So I suppose that the entire teaching profession in the wizarding world has you to thank for the various items that have been used against us, don't we Potter?" asked the distinctive voice of Severus.
Harry turned around and he grinned cheekily at Severus. "Well I had to ensure that the teachers will stay on their toes while teaching us 'imbecilic brats.' It worked well when we had Umbridge, didn't it?"
Severus sneered. "Indeed," he said. He cracked a small smile when his students broke into laughter.
"What are you doing here Uncle?" Draco asked when he finished laughing.
Severus rolled his eyes. "Remus wants another record to play for Tala while she sleeps. Apparently he thinks that if he plays music now that she's out of the womb, she'll be smarter. I didn't have the heart to tell him that you're supposed to play it while she's in the womb. So I just trudge my way out here and guy him another record. It makes him happy."
Hermione smiled at her professor and she thought about it for a second. "Well Professor, I think I know of some musical pieces that would be pleasing for a newborn as well as increasing her intellect. My parents used to play some for me while I was in the womb as well as after I was born. As the daughter of a werewolf, she might like natural sounds as well…" Hermione's voice trailed off as she led Severus towards a small shop that sold records.
The others just stared after her blankly, almost not believing it, but they knew that their friend got along well with the professor. "Does anyone else see her coming back here to apprentice from Severus?" Harry asked.
"I do," the others coursed.
"Just checking," Harry said. Shrugging, the friends walked towards the first store they were going to visit: Gladrags.
XxXxX
Harry sat in Professor McGonagall's class a week before graduation filling out his list of people he wanted to invite. He cross referenced his list against Draco and Dudley's, making sure that they didn't leave anyone out. "So that's everyone?" he asked.
Draco and Dudley looked over the three lists. "Yeah that's all of them. Lucius and Sirius, Tonks and her family, Marge, and that Mrs. Figg woman," Draco recited.
"Dudley, are you sure you don't want to invite your parents?" Hermione asked innocently. Harry flinched and he reflexively curled into a ball right there. Draco pulled his boyfriend into his side and he caressed his back.
"Those horrors will not be coming anywhere near Harry," Draco said firmly. Hermione nodded and she went back to her seat, feeling ashamed for causing Harry to react the way he had.
After he turned in their papers, Draco was helped by Dudley to get Harry back to the dorms. Once the class was over and all of the students were out of the classroom, Professor McGonagall looked over the lists that the three had turned in before leaving the classroom. She frowned when she saw the short list on each of the boy's parchment. She resolved to change that.
XxXxX
The sun dawned bright and warm on Number 4 Privet Drive; a black owl flew up to the kitchen window and sat there until someone came into the kitchen. Petunia Dursley padded into the kitchen and she turned on the coffee maker. She turned towards the sink and she screamed. "Vernon!"
Vernon Dursley huffed as he hurried down the stairs to where his terrified wife was staring at the black owl. "Well don't just look at it Pet, if we ignore it they'll just send one of them instead," he said, letting the owl into the house. It flew to the front of the sink and held out its leg impatiently. Vernon's fingers shook as he untied the string that held the letter in place. As soon as the letter was free of the owl's leg, he flew off back to where he was welcome.
"What does it say Vernon?" Petunia asked. "Potter said that he didn't have to come back after his seventeenth birthday, this can't be about him can it?"
Vernon stared at the parchment in his hand in wonder and shock. "It's an invitation," he said.
"To what?" Petunia asked, moving to look over Vernon's shoulder.
"To Dudley and Potter's graduation," Vernon announced, looking at his wife in shock.
"But Dudders isn't a…a…wizard," Petunia said. "Is he?"
"There was always a possibility that any of our children could be magical. My family is still considered Squibs. If we had produced two more generations of squibs, then we would be declared truly muggle. I just don't know how we could have missed it; Dudley's being a wizard I mean. Didn't he get along with Potter when they were small?"
Petunia nodded. "Yeah but whenever we came in the room he became quiet…Potter was terrified of us, wasn't he?"
The two sat there quietly, contemplating how they had treated their nephew throughout his life. Realization swept through them as they realized that they had alienated a small child they should have loved like a son and instead treated him like a house elf.
"He killed Lord Voldything over the summer didn't he?" Vernon asked. Petunia nodded and she thought back to the letter that had come to them a little over a year before. Wasn't he attacking muggles before Pot-Harry- defeated him?" His wife nodded once more. "We alienated the boy that saved all of our hides. No wonder he hates us," Vernon said.
"It says the letter is a portkey," Petunia commented, looking the letter over. "It will activate next Saturday at 6:00 p.m. All we have to do is touch the paper when it's time and it will take us to the grounds of Hogwarts."
The two separated so they could get ready for the day, each thinking heavy thoughts and each with a decision to make…
XxXxX
Lucius and Sirius nervously checked the other's suits, making sure that not a thread was out of place. After all, it was their children's graduation…
In the Head Boy's room, Harry and Draco did the same, mainly it was Draco checking Harry over to make sure that the clueless Gryffindor didn't forget an integral part of his graduation uniform.
"Nervous?" Harry asked as he smoothed Draco's collar.
Draco smirked slightly. "Malfoys never get nervous," he said.
"Stuff it," Harry said playfully. "I'm nervous. We're finally graduating, I didn't think I would make it this far for a very long time. I thought surely my life would end when I faced off against Voldemort for the last time. And it would have been, if it wasn't for you," Harry said, tenderly taking Draco's head in his hands. "I can never express my thanks for saving my life last summer. I never would have realized the depth of my love for you if you hadn't."
Draco smiled at his lover, his heart shining in his eyes which were usually so hard to read. "Trust me Harry, if you had died that day, I would have followed you not long after. There is no way that I could live without you. You are my everything."
Like the sound of silence calling,
I hear your voice and suddenly
I'm falling, lost in a dream.
Like the echoes of our souls are meeting,
You say those words and my heart stops beating.
I wonder what it means.
What could it be that comes over me?
At times I can't move.
At times I can hardly breathe.
Draco and Harry looked up at the sound of the most beautiful voice on the planet, Josh Groban, began playing in the room. They laughed a little. "Remind me to kill the twins the next time I see them, ok?" Draco said.
"Sure thing," Harry said. "But until we have to go down, wanna dance?" Draco smiled and he took Harry into his arms and they began swaying to the heavenly tune.
When you say you love me
The world goes still, so still inside and
When you say you love me
For a moment, there's no one else alive
"That's true you know," Draco whispered in Harry's ear. "When you're around, there's no one else around as far as I'm concerned." Harry smiled sweetly and he put his head on the slightly taller boy's shoulder.
You're the one I've always thought of.
I don't know how, but I feel sheltered in your love.
You're where I belong.
And when you're with me if I close my eyes,
There are times I swear I feel like I can fly
For a moment in time.
Somewhere between the Heavens and Earth,
And frozen in time, Oh when you say those words.
They continued to dance until the last few strains of the song played…
When you say you love me.
When you say you love me.
Do you know how I love you?
One the song was over, the two smoothed their robes and they headed down to the Head common room. When they got there they found Hermione pacing about, muttering her speech under her breath. Harry stepped up next to Ron and he leaned over to whisper in the redhead's ear. "She still worried about her speech?" he asked. Ron nodded, rolling his eyes. Draco sat down in the nearest chair, pulling Harry down into his lap. "Might want to sit down Ron, she'll be there a while," he commented.
Hermione stopped in her tracks to glare at Harry before resuming her pacing. The three boys watched her in amusement until it was time for them to go down to the Great Hall for the leaving feast. Once they were there, they looked around at their fellow 7th years as well as the rest of the school. Harry felt his heart heavy in his chest as he saw those the empty spots where those that had died should have been sitting. Hagrid…Nott…Padma…Pavariti…Lavender…Hannah…
Dumbledore stood up and the hall quieted immediately. I love being able to do that, he thought. "First of all, I would like to thank this year's 7th years for the exceptional showing they have given this school in the past 7 years." The old man surveyed the students once more. "You have made us all proud," he said. He took his goblet and he held it up like he had done at the end of their fourth year. "To those that should have been here and are unable to be." Everyone in the hall repeated his action. Once the students were sitting, Dumbledore looked out over the students. "Let the feast, begin."
The food appeared. Soon the sounds of silverware scraping against plates filled the air. The students made idle chatter, most of them hoping for the feast to be over soon. Soon enough, the desserts appeared and were quickly demolished. Once the plates were clean again, the younger students were sent back to their dorms, and the 7th year students were urged to the front of the Great Hall.
Parents and family members were let into the hall and asked to sit in the seats behind the students. Once they were all situated, the students were asked to sing the school song. They grit their teeth and bore with it until it was over and they could sit down.
Dumbledore stood up once more. "Welcome parents and family. We are honored to present to you the graduating class of 1997. First up is a speech presented by our Head Girl, Hermione Granger."
Hermione walked up to the podium that faced the students and their guests and she took a deep breath. "Welcome friends and family. You have come here today to witness our ascension from underage wizards to fully trained wizards and see our first steps into the adult world. My fellow classmates, congratulations. You made it past all of the obstacles to this moment. We have survived psycho imposter teachers, possessed teachers, an inquisitor from the ministry, and an attack on the school. We have survived more than most people will ever go through in their lives. And I say that is the true accomplishment, not that we passed our classes, or got any N.E.W.T.s, but that we survived. And that, for me, makes this a happy day." With that Hermione stepped down from the podium and walked back to her seat. The applause was deafening.
Professor McGonagall walked up to the podium once the applause died down. "Normally this would be the point where the Head Boy would come up and give his speech, but Draco Malfoy has requested something a little different this year," she said. Everyone but Dudley and Harry looked at Draco in surprise. "He has asked that Harry Potter speak in his place."
Harry got up from his chair and he walked to the podium. The crowd exploded with cheers and whistles for the Savior of the Wizarding World. "Welcome," he greeted the select few that were in attendance. "I regret that we were not able to inform you of my speaking before this, but as we all know, if we had, then the ceremony would be flooded with reporters from around the world. So we kept it as a nice surprise. So, we're here. Finally." A few laughs broke out in the crowd. "Throughout these seven years I have had my share of adventures, many ups and more downs. I'm sure that you've all heard about them through some paper or other." More laughter.
"But what you do not know is what made me the person I am today." Harry's friends exchanged looks. They hadn't heard about this part. "As you all know, my parents were killed on October 31st, 1981 by the madman known as Lord Voldemort." Most of the audience flinched. "Though my mother's love, I survived. If it hadn't been for the betrayal of my parents through their supposed friend Peter Pettigrew, I would have lived with my beloved godfather," Harry smiled at Sirius through the crowd. "However that was not to be." Sirius winced.
"He spent twelve years in Azkaban prison for a crime he did not commit, and when he found out that I was in danger, he broke out of the horrid prison and came to rescue me. And he did, he exposed Peter for the traitor that he was and through a mistake, Peter escaped. Sirius had to go back on the run, and thankfully he was cleared and is able to be here with me today." Sirius beamed at Harry, ecstatic that he was able to see his godson graduate.
"But what no one but those closest to me know is how I was raised. I was raised by my mother's sister and her husband. Though both were squibs, they treated me like I was beneath them. I know now that it was because they were squibs that they treated me like that. They resented the fact that I had magic and they didn't."
It was at that moment that Vernon and Petunia Dursley happened to arrive. Their portkey had taken them to Hogsmeade and it took them a while to walk up to the school. They walked in the open entrance hall doors and they heard their nephew speaking.
"My aunt and uncle kept me in a cupboard and they treated me like a house elf. Though anyone would learn to hate them, I can't help but love them even though they treated me like crap. They were my family. But now I have a family that loves me and the treat me like I'm worth something. Sirius and his partner Lucius have taken on the task of being my parents along with both Professor Lupin-Snape's. The Weasley family will always be like my second family and my cousin Dudley has finally been allowed to be the brother that he should have been all our lives. And then there's Draco, my Draco," Harry said, sending his boyfriend a loving smile. "Though he started out as an enemy, he has become so much more. My rock, my support. He is my love and I don't think I could survive without him. Draco…will you marry me?" he asked, enjoying the shocked looks on the faces of everyone present. As his eyes swept across the room, he noticed two figures that shouldn't have been there. He hadn't invited them, but he was happy in a way that they got to see him on this day. He nodded to them.
When their nephew acknowledged their presence, Vernon and Petunia nodded back. They called a house elf to them and they handed the elf a note for their nephew. After that, they took one last look at their son with his boyfriend-Marge had informed them of that fact after they called her about the invitation- and they walked out of the school.
Harry watched the two walk away until he noticed that Draco was standing next to him by the podium. "Will you Drac? Will you make me the happiest wizard in the world?" Draco didn't have to answer, the tears running down his face and the smile on his face answered for him.
"Yes, yes, oh Merlin yes," Draco said, throwing his arms around Harry's neck.
"Congratulations Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said, "However, could you sit down so we could continue?" she asked gently. Harry nodded and he steered his lover to their seats, with Draco clinging to him all the way.
Dumbledore stood up once more. "Well it seems we have more to celebrate than just the graduation of these fine students. Congratulations," he said, looking at Draco and Harry, whom Draco had just slipped his Malfoy signet ring onto his finger. "Now that the speeches are over, it's time for these fine young men and women to receive their diplomas. If the first row will line up, we will begin shortly."
The first row, which consisted of the Head Boy and Girl, and the top ten in the class, stood in the line, silently looking at the teachers. Dumbledore turned to face the students after a minute. "When we call out your name, please step up here and you will receive your diploma. Once you have received it, please continue shaking hands down the line until you reach the end. Then you may return to your seat. After your row has finished and reached the seats, you may sit down. We will now begin," he said, stepping back a half step as McGonagall stepped foreword.
"Hermione Granger," she called the Head Girl, who quickly stepped up to receive her diploma. Once Hermione had passed her, McGonagall called out the next name. "Draco Malfoy." Draco reluctantly let go of Harry's hand and walked up the steps to receive the diploma he had worked hard for. Once again, as soon as the student had passed her, she called out the next name. "Harry Potter." Harry quietly walked up the stairs and instead of the traditional hand shake; he gave each and every teacher a hug and a warm thank-you for everything they had done for him. And yes, every teacher means he also gave a hug to Trelawney. Dudley and Neville followed next, then the rest of the top ten. Once the first row had sat down, they were content to cheer for their friends as they made the last step to graduating.
Once the entire year had walked across the stage and got their diplomas, Dumbledore walked to his podium once more. "Before I release you into the real world, I just wanted to say that in your seven years you have given this old castle more than any other group of students since Hogwarts' founding. More love," he said looking at the two married couples and the several engaged couples. "More rivalry," he said, looking at the students that had occupied both Slytherin and Gryffindor houses. "More intelligence," he said, looking at Draco and Hermione. "And finally, you saved her from becoming a school for the dark. And we," he said, indicating the teachers and the ghosts of the founders who had just appeared, "cannot thank you more. So go out, go out into the world and become who you were meant to be. Go out, and make us even more proud." Dumbledore had to stop and wipe away a tear. "I now pronounce that you are graduated students and are finally, adults in the wizarding community. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the graduating class of 1998."
Cheers erupted from the family section of the Great Hall. The former students were milling around hugging their friends.
"Hey Harry, can I take a picture of you and Draco?" Colin Creevy asked,
Harry groaned. "Well Colin-"
"Don't worry Harry, any pictures he takes are the property of the Malfoy family, right Colin?" Lucius asked, looking at Colin.
Colin nodded. "Yes, ever since Mr. Malfoy has hired me as the family photographer, all the pictures I take of you or your friends are the property of the Malfoy family. So can I?" he asked eagerly. Harry and Draco nodded and they posed with their arms around each other for the camera. One blinding flash later, and the picture was done. Colin then went to bug the other graduates, leaving the Malfoy family alone.
The small family hung around for about an hour before they decided to leave. They said good-bye to their friends and promised to write to those that weren't as close to them. Draco collected Dudley and Neville as the small family was leaving.
The two Malfoys and the two soon-to-be Malfoys climbed into the family car along with Dudley and Neville as they were taken back to Malfoy Manor to start their new lives as adults in the Wizarding World.
3rd A/N: Sorry it took so long, my muses decided to take a long vacation. But it's finally here. The next chapter is the last one. So I should finish this before the New Year. \crosses fingers\