VI.
Before the reception—while all the merrymaking, and, more importantly, other people are still there—ends, Harry makes a point to include Draco. A toast from the best man? He gestures for Draco to come closer to him, encouraging him to say something too. Smiles at him for no reason; catches his eye and winks. He tries (and how hard he tries…) to show Draco that he is not giving up and that he is still hopeful.
He is asking for a second chance.
After the festivities are over, and it is only Ron and Hermione, the Weasleys, and Harry and Draco, they sit down and talk. Draco, being the odd one out (the only friends he has in the room are, after all, Harry, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley). But he smiles and keeps a pleasant expression on his face, nodding when questions are directed at him. He sits next to Harry—rather closer than necessary, but Harry takes this as a good sign—and laughs at their jokes.
Harry relaxes. Just a little.
And Mrs. Weasley must be thinking along the same lines as Harry is, because when she speaks and her eyes travel around the room, she looks at Draco too. When he says something funny, she'll laugh; when she helps Hermione open his present, her eyes tear up and she hugs him. Harry can't help but feel grateful, knowing that she, at least, is trying to make Draco feel welcome.
For a fraction of a second, he catches her eye and he attempts to convey his thanks merely by looking at her; and, it may just be his imagination, but he swears that she returns his look with a kind you're welcome of her own.
VII.
Draco watches as Harry accompanies Hermione and Mrs. Weasley, helping them put away the presents and cleaning out the trash. The whole room is quiet, and everyone is at peace. It seems almost like…He shakes his head mentally. No. His family was never anything like this; his home was stiff and formal, and emotions treated as if they were a contagious disease. Still…if he could have imagined what a nice, normal family would have been like, this pretty much fit the description.
It feels…nice.
As does Harry's whole attitude towards him throughout the later part of the evening, something that he suspects has to do with his and Hermione's little 'disappearance' right after the ceremony. What a typical Gryffindor Harry is, thinking that he can go off like that and not expect anyone to notice.
It's annoying, really, but Draco has to admit that it is a bit endearing, too.
…And it is this line of thought that makes him seriously consider his sanity.
VIII.
Harry could swear that Draco was staring at him earlier, though he can't be sure. As soon as he'd noticed him staring (if he actually was staring), and Harry turned to face him, the confused look on his face was replaced by his customary neutral expression. But…if he was looking at him, Harry bets that it was a look of confusion—a battle within himself, with opposite sides of his mind warring over whether to stay furious at Harry or to call him a dope and forgive and forget.
Riding on the assumption that his latter theory is correct, Harry gives Draco a grin, one that is half-tentative—and the other half is a teasing, you know you want me smirk. Draco reddens.
At the same time, the inner Harry melts into a Draco-blushing-induced pile of goo.
IX.
"Well, everyone, I think it's around the time we get going, hm?" Mrs. Weasley finally says to them, eyes taking in the sight of all of them. "The caterer and staff will be able to take care of the rest, and it seems as if all of you won't be much help anyway."
Ron and the twins groan their agreement from their perches on the edge of the elevated dance floor, all three of them on their backs. Hermione covers her mouth and giggles, and Molly clucks sternly. "Exactly what I mean. Up, up, up all three of you!"
"And the rest of you," she turns to face all of them, "had better get home and get a good night's sleep. I won't be responsible for working you to death." With a shooing gesture, she ushers all of them out of the building, with Ron, Fred, and George leaning on their brothers for support.
"Just kill me now," Ron moans.
"I highly doubt you mean that, Ron," Bill says with a wink, his eyes leading pointedly to Hermione. The brunette blushes, and Ron growls.
The whole Weasley clan (minus Ron) gathers around a large oak tree, preparing to Apparate back to the Burrow. "Will you be all right, Harry dear?" Molly asks anxiously.
"I'll be fine, Mrs. Weasley," Harry replies, smiling. "I'll see you all soon, okay? Oh, and Ron…" and the next part he says right before he Disapparates, "enjoy your honeymoon."
He disappears before Ron can get to him, his face beet red. Draco follows soon after, bidding goodbye to all of them and kissing Mrs. Weasley on the cheek.
She waves goodbye, her eyes teary, before the rest of them follow suit.
X.
Draco Apparates into their flat seconds after Harry, who is already sitting in his favorite armchair. "Hello," Harry says. Draco nods slightly in return.
"That was…nice," Draco says carefully, watching Harry's expression warily.
"Yes," the raven-haired boy responds, smiling, "it was."
Draco strides over to Harry's side of the room and sits on the couch, eyes blank and face expressionless. "They really aren't that bad, you know," he says softly to their white sheepskin rug. "The Weasleys, I mean."
"Yeah," Harry says, just as softly. "They're great."
Those two words are then followed by the awkward silence of awkward silences. Draco tries to look anywhere but at Harry, which is difficult since he's facing him, and Harry tries to appear interested in the fabric of his chair. Neither of them speak for a full seven minutes, but then Harry says, "Look, er, Draco…"
And what happens after that, neither one of them can say, but before they know it Draco is right in front of Harry and all Harry can see is the endless gray of his eyes. They are nose to nose now, and Draco's staring is so intense that it makes Harry vaguely uncomfortable and prickly, but in a good way.
But then Draco takes his hand and grabs Harry's chin and he is staring so intensely, that, Merlin, Harry is not sure if he's even aware of it anymore. They stare at each other for a moment, transfixed, and then Draco whispers a soft, "I know, Harry," and then they are kissing softly—and God, did he miss this, miss Draco and his soft hair and his voice when he gets all breathy like that and the way he looks at him. It's like he's trying to memorize Harry's entire face and engrave it to his memory, like he never wants to forget him.
Draco pulls away, and his lips are pink and his cheeks are pink and his hair is all mussed up, and Harry has to resist the urge to just melt, right there. It's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, it really is.
"I…Draco…" he musters up the courage to speak, because he knows he has to get it out somehow, it will never work unless they communicate—
"I…I know I messed up, but, if there's anything I can do, you know, to make you stay, cuz I really want you to…"
Draco stares at him, his face once again expressionless, though the effect is slightly ruined by his swollen lips and flushed face.
"I mean, if you want me to do anything to get you to stay and try and work this out, because I really want to, um, you know, be with you, then…"
He's fumbling for the right words, the right sentences and adjectives and verbs, but he can't because now Draco is kissing him. And he can't really remember anything now, not at the moment at least.
Draco pulls away and there is strange half-smile on his face that, weirdly, makes Harry feel slightly giddy.
He opens his mouth again to say something, but Draco puts his fingers on Harry's lips.
Draco is smiling now, and before Harry can say anything, Draco leans carefully toward Harry and puts his mouth near his ear, whispering, "You had me at hello."