Black Truth
Chapter Forty-One: "Home" for the Holidays
Draco and Harry parted ways at the train station, so Harry could have time to tell the Dursleys that Draco would be staying with them before Draco met them. Draco was going to arrive at Privet Drive a few hours after Harry and his relatives.
Draco nodded to the House Elf who had brought the carriage, disguised as a stretch limousine, to King's Cross. "I trust the horses know where to go?" he asked as he opened the door to the carriage.
"Yes, Master Draco. They is taking you there."
Draco nodded and sat back against the plush seats as the horses made their way through the busy streets of London.
When the horses stopped an hour later, Draco was outside a run down shop on the outskirts of London. But he knew this was only part of a facade to keep the muggles away. They wouldn't have enough to pay for anything inside this shop anyway.
Inside, the shop became one of the most beautiful places Draco had ever seen. This was Kutterman's, a specialty shop that sold jewelry of a quality so perfect they were peerless. For generations, the family who had owned the shop had created one of a kind masterpieces for the Malfoy wedding rings. And Draco was not one to break tradition.
"Ah, Mister Malfoy. It is good to see you. You look just like your father." The man behind the counter was old, with gray hair that was slowly turning white, whose pleasant features had lit up with a smile as Draco entered.
"Did you get my letter?"
"Yes, Mister Malfoy. The rings are finished, but we're still putting the spell work on them. You can see them if you want."
"I would like to."
He followed the man into the back of the shop where the two rings sat on a work table of ivory.
They did not match, because in order for the spell work to bind the ring to its owner completely, the ring had to be unique, as its owner was. Both rings were bands of diamond, with the date of the wedding and the Malfoy crest, engraved in minute detail in platinum on the inside of the band. And that is where the similarities stopped. Draco's ring was centered with an obsidian gem surrounded by amethysts and sapphires, all set in platinum settings on the diamond band. Harry's ring was centered with an emerald in between two rubies and four small opals, set also in platinum settings.
When finished, they would be spelled to fit the owner perfectly, to adjust as needed in order to slide on and off the ring finger of the owner as wished. They would also be spelled with multiple protection spells, which are what took the most time to set, as one needed to spelled on top of the other.
"They will be ready on the day of your wedding as promised," the old man promised.
"That will be perfect," Draco replied.
Harry endured a completely silent car ride back to Privet Drive. His uncle was fuming, he could tell. He'd explained that another student from Hogwarts was going to be staying with him that summer, and his uncle had gone completely silent. This was the calm before the storm, he could just tell.
And he was right. The minute Vernon was inside his own home, with Aunt Petunia and Dudley as his attentive audience, he exploded in anger. He yelled about the nerve of some people who took advantage of the goodness of others, and how he allowed one freak in his house and that was enough. In the midst of this, Harry noticed Dudley was looking at him strangely, or rather, looking at his right hand.
"What's that on his finger?" Dudley asked abruptly and both of his parents turned to look at Harry's hands.
"Why are you wearing-"
"I'm engaged," Harry said quietly.
Vernon was rapidly turning colors as he looked at the band of gold, and he was about to speak when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," Harry said quickly.
"No you will not, boy!" Vernon yelled, pushing Harry out of the way as he headed for the door. Harry rubbed his shoulder where it had hit the wall as he followed his uncle, aunt, and cousin to the door.
A man in a three-piece muggle suit stood at the door with a slightly hidden look of distain on his face.
"Is this the house of a Mister Harry Potter?" he asked.
Harry watched his aunt and uncle exchange looks before looking back at him.
"No Harry Potter lives here," Vernon stated gruffly.
The man raised an eyebrow, looked past the Dursleys to Harry and then replied, "I shall tell Lord Malfoy this the house."
He turned and walked down the driveway to where a stretch limousine was waiting on the curb. He opened the door and Harry watched as Draco, dressed in full wizarding robes, stepped out and made his way up to the house.
Harry couldn't help grinning as Draco appeared as if he was looking down at his aunt and uncle even though they were taller than he was. "You are Mr. and Mrs. Dursley?" He drawled.
"Yes."
"Draco Malfoy. Your nephew's fiancé."
Draco swept past the Dursleys as if they weren't standing in the doorway and looked around the foyer with disgust.
"You will leave at once!" Vernon had found his voice again. "I will not tolerate any of your kind in my house!"
Draco turned on his heel to face Harry's uncle. "If you think for one moment that I will derive any pleasure from living in this hovel, you are gravely mistaken. And I do not care what you will or will not tolerate. In fact, it is you who should care what I will or will not tolerate."
Vernon sputtered, realizing that they were attracting the attention of the neighbors and slammed the door closed.
"If you are still a student at that school, then you cannot do magic-"
"I cannot do magic?" Draco echoed, as if in disbelief.
"And I will not tolerate any of your strangeness in my house!"
Harry wondered if his uncle was referring to Draco being a wizard or Draco being his fiancé, and then decided that his uncle was probably referring to both.
"And here is where our viewpoints differ," Draco drawled. "You seem to be acting under the idea that I am a wizard, a student at Hogwarts." Draco emphasized the name deliberately as the Dursleys flinched. "I am no wizard. In fact-" There was the sound of fabric ripping and Draco's wings extended outward from his back in an upward cascade of sharp black feathers. "-I am not even human. And I assure you…" Draco's head tilted in Dudley's direction. Something shifted in the air and Dudley found himself suddenly thrown into the wall by an invisible force. "I can very easily do magic."
The Dursleys didn't adjust to Draco and Draco refused to adjust to their standards. After complaining that Harry's bed was the worst piece of furniture he'd ever seen, Draco summoned a small army of House Elves to completely redo Harry's bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, and any other common rooms that "this poor excuse for a house" might have. This then started a shouting match between Uncle Vernon and Draco about where the original furniture had gone.
Vernon said that Draco had stolen it, and Draco replied that he wouldn't touch the furniture in this house if his life depended upon it, and that the muggle would find his furniture back in their places once Draco left.
Draco had also turned part of the living room into a potions laboratory which Harry's Aunt Petunia couldn't stand. The smell was dreadful, she said and insisted that Draco get rid of it immediately. To which Draco calmly replied, "Make me, you pathetic excuse for a muggle."
Dudley learned very quickly to avoid Draco at all costs. Once he made the mistake of calling Draco a "fag" and, once Harry explained what it meant and that it was an insult, Draco had sealed his mouth shut and locked Dudley in his bedroom for three days.
Yes, when Draco and Harry finally left, the Dursleys were very happy to be rid of them and did not bother to hide it.
Harry woke to an empty bed the day of the wedding, and a House Elf nervously stammering, "Master Harry sir.. the-ere's guests here, sir."
"Who are they… Lilty?" Harry muttered as he slid out of the cocoon of bed sheets he found himself in.
"A Mr. Ronald Weasley and a Miss Hermione Granger, Master Harry sir."
Harry nodded. "Let them in and tell them I'll be down in a minute."
Hermione was appalled when Harry appeared in pajamas. "Harry! It's nearly noon!"
"I know, Hermione. I slept in." Harry thanked the House Elf that brought him breakfast. "Do you want anything?"
"No," Hermione answered for both Ron and herself. "You have to get dressed, Harry! Guests will start to arrive in three hours!"
"Lupin and Snape should be here any minute," Ron added, swiping a muffin off the tray that had been brought to Harry.
"Fine, fine, I'm going!" Harry shook his head helplessly as he headed back to Draco and his bedroom to change.
Hermione and Ron looked around the house while they waited for their friend.
"The House Elves have outdone themselves," Ron grudgingly admitted. "It doesn't look half bad."
"It looks gorgeous, Ron," Hermione corrected him. And indeed it did.
The entire first floor and stairway had been decorated in white and platinum. The marble and wooden floors shone with equal sparkle, as if just cleaned. Garlands of fresh white roses hung from the moldings and around the banisters. The flowers in the garden that lead to the double doors of the Manor were in perfect condition and in full bloom. White petals had been sprinkled on the walkway and across the close lawns, and a bouquet of white orchids sat primly on every windowsill.
"Your husband has very good taste, Mr. Malfoy." Kutterman nodded at Draco's robes. "Here are the rings. I wish you many happy years, Mr. Malfoy."
"Thank you."
Snape and Lupin arrived at around the same time, with Draco following shortly after. Snape and Draco then disappeared into what had been Lucius's study and was now Draco's, as Lupin, Hermione, and Ron, stayed with Harry.
Snape looked at the rings for a moment before handing them back to Draco. "They're lovely. They'll do both of you justice. And the spell work is immaculate."
"Good."
"Are you nervous?"
"Why should I be?"
"You have the Weasley twins coming to your ceremony. They'll probably try to jinx the doors shut."
Draco blanched. "Don't tell me things like that."
"You're serious then."
"Of course I'm serious. Did you doubt me?"
Snape studied his godson, decked out in wedding robes. "No. But it is one thing to know it and another to believe it. And thinking that your godson is in love with Harry Potter is very different from truly knowing the same fact."
Draco didn't reply, but looked down at the two rings again. After a moment he murmured. "I know. I'm still surprised myself."
As sundown neared, guests began to swarm the Manor and Harry made his way down the long path leading to the Manor, with Lupin by his side.
"Are you nervous?" Lupin asked.
"A little."
Lupin's smile was a knowing one. "Try not to be. This is your day after all. Yours and Draco's. It's a day to be remembered so that you can tell it to future generations. And it wouldn't be a very interesting story if you only remember being nervous."
Harry smiled absently at the remark before asking, "Do you think they would be okay with this? My parents? Sirius?"
"I think that it would have taken some getting used to, especially for James and Sirius. Lilly would have loved the idea right away, but it might have taken a week or so for James and Sirius to see what she would have immediately. But I do think that at this moment, were James or Sirius in my place, they would both be very proud of and happy for you."
Harry's closest friends surrounded him as Lupin led him up the walkway. The path was lined with classmates and friends who all smiled at him and joined the group as they passed. Draco's close friends stood near him as he watched Harry walk towards him.
When Harry had walked to where Draco stood in front of the large double doors to the Manor, Lupin placed Harry's hand in Draco's outstretched one and stood back next to Snape as the two faced each other.
In a clear voice, Draco spoke, "Where you are Gaia, I am Gaius."
"Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia," Harry replied.
Snape stepped forward with the wedding rings, and Draco placed Harry's ring on his finger with a reverence Harry had never seen from him before. Harry then picked up Draco's ring from the box Snape held and slid it on to Draco's finger.
"Ubi tu Gaia, ego Gaius," Draco spoke in little more than a whisper, and Harry responded in kind, "Ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia."
Snape and Lupin stepped out of the way as Draco and Harry turned to the doors. Together they pushed them open. In one swift movement, Draco picked up Harry in his arms and walked across the threshold of the Manor.
Someone cheered and then others joined in, cheering and clapping as Draco made his way slowly through the foyer of the Manor, carrying Harry to the ballroom.
Everyone followed them into the ballroom which was lit in the early evening by huge chandeliers, covered in white flower garlands.
Small instruments scattered amidst the candles of the chandeliers began to play as Draco set Harry down in the center of the ballroom. Their music flowed down and around the two as they began to dance. Harry found it was much easier to dance while being led by someone who in turn knew how to dance. Draco and he seemed to flow around the ballroom as if dancing on the music itself. Harry forgot those who were watching, carried off by the music and Draco.
Instead of winding down to finish the piece, the music increased in volume and speed, rising in a crescendo that brought the two dancers with them, till finally in the last, triumphant note, they stopped.
Lupin then took Harry's hand and they danced. "You did very well, Harry," he murmured as they fell into step with the soft music. "I am very proud of you, as I'm sure are your parents and Sirius."
Tonks had outdone herself, Harry thought, as she took Draco's hand for their dance. She looked almost as Malfoyish as he did, in cascading blond ringlets and bright blue eyes.
Food was served by the House Elves as the dancing continued. Harry was sure that Fred or George Weasley had spiked the punch at some point. Draco shared his sentiment, after having tasted it.
"I really don't want to know what they put in there. It tastes like a mixture of Firewhisky and worse."
"But if that's the worst prank they pull, then we're lucky," Harry grinned, leaning against Draco.
They didn't notice Ron and Fred Weasley making their way to the middle of the ballroom, nor did they notice Blaise break away from his dance with Pansy to follow them. But when Fred Weasley pointed his wand at Ron's throat and whispered "Sonorus", and Ron began to speak, everyone noticed.
"I'm told..." he said, and everyone stopped dancing or eating to look at him. "...there's this new tradition starting in wizard marriages, where the best friend of the groom or… other groom in this case, called the 'Best Man'-" he looked at Hermione quickly for confirmation before continuing, "-has to get up in front of all the guests and family of the couple and spout embarrassing stories about his friend until his friend is completely embarrassed. It's kinda hard to say more things about Harry that you already know, since all of the bad stuff has already been published, and if I were to relate all the details, we'd be here all year, not that I'm complaining of course because the food's great. My compliments to the House Elves." Ron paused and then continued. "We've been through a lot, Harry and I, and some of the less known, less dignified moments of our… adventures include falling onto a Devils Snare and not knowing what it was, following a trail of spiders into the Forbidden Forest without trying to plot exactly where we were going or how we'd get out, being the only ones sitting through an entire ball without ever dancing, and I will always remember fondly Harry riding around, franticly chasing after a flying key until I die. And thus having completely shattered Harry's pride, I will step out of the way for my counterpart here, to do the same for his husband."
Draco stiffened as Blaise stepped up to where Ron had stood and Harry heard him mutter, "If he brings up the potions incident…"
"You know it's hard to think of undignified Draco Malfoy moments. Partly I think, because being undignified is Draco Malfoy's worst fear, right up there with having a bad hair day. But there is one incident which sticks out in my mind which I am going to tell you at great personal sacrifice because after I tell you this, there is no way Draco will ever let me be a godfather to whatever children he and his husband are going to adopt to carry on the family bloodline. So Pansy dear, corrupting them will be all up to you." He saluted Pansy as titters went around the room. "So now, this story, which has become in my mind, and maybe in Draco's too, the Potions Incident. You see, Draco's always had this fascination for Potions ever since he found out what poisons were. Of course, his father said he couldn't brew those until he knew what he was doing. He had to start off small and work up to it. Of course, for Draco, this was unacceptable. And so, on one of those rare visits of mine when his father was out of the Manor, he decided to disobey. And we didn't decide to make a poison, because that couldn't be tested too easily without killing something and having to get rid of a body, but we decided on a mood changing potion. And to this day I will never know what Draco did wrong, since I wasn't allowed to touch the thing while he was making it, but he did something. And instead of creating a mood altering potion, he created a mood alternating potion. He tested it on himself. Those few hours were the funniest hours I have ever lived through. One minute, he's laughing, the next, he's crying, the next he's dancing around singing off-key, and then suddenly he's picking a fight with a wall because it got in his way. But the best thing during that hour was Draco attempting to jump out of the window of his room because he was convinced that he could fly. So now that I've signed my death wish we can all continue eating and drinking and dancing!"
And ignoring the glare from Draco and the slightly mortified looks from Harry, everyone went back to doing just that.