Author's Note: Unrepentant fluff coming up. And, yep, more men shagging in this chapter. If you're not interested in plot, just scroll down. ;-)

Chapter soundtrack is One Crowded Hour by Augie March.

Thank you to Isis and xoxSasukexox for beta reading.

oOoOoOo

The Bodyguard

Chapter 22: The Wake

"Wotcher, Harry." Tonks's voice was strained. "Can you please help me with Remus?" There was a long pause. "Harry?"

Harry came back to himself with a start. He had no idea how long he'd been standing there, staring into space, his mind and heart a maelstrom of unanswered questions. Did he really love Draco? What did love feel like, anyway? He turned around, belatedly scanning the street for dangers, and feeling angry at his own carelessness. He'd let himself lose concentration, in the middle of a recent battlefield, with an injured friend nearby. "Coming, Tonks," he said guilty.

Lupin was struggling to sit up. His face had a wild, befuddled look and his knees flexed horribly in the wrong direction. Tonks was holding him down. Harry could see that she was so stressed she'd lost control of her Metamorphmagus powers; her ears were sticking out from her head like a house elf's and growing fast.

Tonks wasn't aware of her lengthening ears; her attention was fully on her husband. "Just lie BACK," she told him.

"What about the Quintapeds?" asked Lupin hoarsely. "They could come back at any time. I want to sit up so I can see."

"Lie down, love, for Merlin's sake!" said Tonks, and gave Harry a desperate look, that made him hurry over and crouch beside them both. "Please hold him down, Harry. He's been Confounded and I can't fix his knees if he won't keep still."

Nodding, Harry put his hands onto Lupin's shoulders and rested his weight on them.

The werewolf's face was covered in cold sweat and his eyes were strangely bright. He grasped Harry's wrists. "I didn't cover Quintapeds when I was teaching at Hogwarts. They're highly dangerous carnivorous beasts with five legs, and their favourite food is humans!" he gasped.

"Is that so? I'm surprised Hagrid hasn't adopted some," joked Harry, trying to distract him.

But in his current state, Lupin couldn't be distracted. "They'll eat Tonks, I know it!" he panicked, trying to sit up. Harry pushed him down and spoke soothingly.

"There are no Quintapeds here. You're both quite safe. Hold still," he added, through gritted teeth, as Lupin struggled. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tonks running her wand over Lupin's prematurely greying head.

Her husband saw what she was doing. "You're healing me again?" he asked in confusion. Tonks was concentrating too hard to reply and Lupin looked up at Harry with miserable eyes. "Poor Tonks! She HATES healing," he confided loudly. "She's terrified of doing something clumsy. She swore she'd never heal another person, once she left Auror training. And then she met me." Harry could hear the self-hatred in his voice. "I get hurt all the time. I need healing after every full moon." Lupin gazed quizzically up at the sky. "Is it full moon now?"

"It's not. Please be quiet," said Harry uncomfortably. He was certain that Lupin would never have mentioned something as private as Tonks's dislike of healing, if he hadn't been Confounded.

If Tonks was embarrassed, she was concentrating too hard to show it.

"She deserves to love someone better than me," insisted Lupin. "Someone who can earn a living. Someone who isn't so dangerous." He stared up at Harry, his eyes shining. "I love her. I tried to leave her, Harry, so she could find someone better. Merlin knows I wanted to stay. More than anything. But I left for her sake."

"She didn't let you go," said Harry, feeling a pricking behind his eyes.

"No. Love's like that. You want to stay, no matter what, and it makes you do things that you don't want to do. Just to make the other person happy," said Lupin. He paused, and when he spoke again, he sounded more like himself. "There's something I don't understand. Quintapeds are only found on the Isle of Drear, in Scotland."

"There aren't any Quintapeds here?" asked Harry. Was it his imagination, or was the Confundus Charm losing strength?

"Not in London." Lupin's expression was becoming less confused by the second and he stopped struggling. "Harry," he said, realization dawning on his face.

"Yes?"

"I've been Confounded, haven't I?"

"You were, love, but I've just fixed it," said Tonks, lifting her wand from his head. She wiped her brow and took a deep, shaking breath. "How do you feel?"

"Better, thanks," said Lupin meekly. He glanced at Harry, and cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. "Did I say something I shouldn't have, just now?"

"I can't remember," mumbled Harry loyally, trying not to look at Tonks. But inside, he thought he would never forget what he had just heard, though he'd never tell a soul. It was one of the more romantic legends of the Order of the Phoenix, the love between Tonks and Lupin. He'd never properly understood why Lupin had broken up with Tonks, even though he loved her. Now he saw the painful concern Tonks and Lupin had for each other and understood what they were going through, because he felt the same way about Draco. It took his breath away. He couldn't wait to see the Slytherin again.

But Lupin was still unwell, and Harry made himself stay and help. He held Lupin's legs straight, and saw his friend's eyes widen as Tonks send a spell into his knees.

"Ah, that's better," said Lupin gratefully.

"Pain Killing Charm," said Tonks. She looked anxiously at her husband. "I'm going to turn your knees around now. I need you to keep still." Lupin looked into her eyes and nodded. Tonks looked back at him, her eyes suspiciously wet, and then she focused on her work.

Lupin's knees gave a spine-chilling creak and started to turn. Harry found that he couldn't bear to watch. He suddenly understood Tonks's horror of healing. Staring down the street, pretending to look out for Death Eaters, he heard her say: "Does it hurt?"

"No," said Lupin and his voice was calm. Harry looked back again cautiously. The creaking had stopped. Lupin's knees faced the right way and he bent them experimentally and grinned. Then, leaning on Harry, he got to his feet and tested them. "They're perfect, Tonks. You're perfect. Thank you," said Lupin, his voice full of love and affection.

"I did it!" exclaimed Tonks in a shaky voice. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I should stop worrying so much about healing. I haven't forgotten something, or messed something up in ages!" She gave her husband a hug and he hugged her back eagerly.

Harry slipped back inside the Headquarters, smiling to himself, as they kissed. Like Lupin, he didn't have the heart to tell Tonks that her ears were now nearly a metre long.

oOoOoOo

Harry longed get Draco alone, throw his arms around him, and tell him that he loved him. So he was a little put out when he walked into the kitchen, and found his boyfriend sitting at the table with his Slytherin friends and flanked by the bulky figures of Crabbe and Goyle. There was no room to sit next to him. Harry had to settle for leaning on the table. Draco's pale head turned and his eyes sparkled when he saw Harry, but when he turned back to his friends, Harry felt a twinge of jealousy. Ron and Hermione were nearby. They were watching the intense discussion that was taking place between the Slytherins and Kingsley Shacklebolt. The tall, black Auror was looking at Theodore with a strangely closed off expression.

"It sounds like the Order of the Phoenix have hidden many of the people that they told the Ministry they killed," the weedy Slytherin was saying thoughtfully. "It makes me wonder who is still alive, because I thought the Order had killed so many. Evan Rosier, Timothy Travers, Eileen Prince..."

"I heard Dumbledore killed Eileen Prince personally," piped up Pansy.

Harry blinked. Eileen Prince was Snape's mother. If Dumbledore had killed her, it would explain why Snape was capable of looking him in the eye and uttering the Killing Curse. But the thought of Dumbledore killing anybody was strange...

Kingsley looked at the Slytherins, his face unreadable. "I can't discuss that," he said flatly. "All I can say is that we will put all of you under a Fidelius Charm, to hide your location, but there's no guarantee that you'll be perfectly safe."

"How could that be possible? I thought Fidelius Charms were unbreakable?" asked Theodore.

"If the secret keeper dies, or proves unreliable, the Charm is broken," said Kingsley shortly. Harry thought of his parents and winced. The Auror went on, "However, the Fidelius Charm is still the best method of hiding people that we have. Also, as I've already mentioned, we will tell the Ministry that you all died in the fire at the Shrieking Shack. No one will think to look for you."

Harry saw Crabbe and Goyle glance nervously at Draco. "We died?" Goyle muttered, his expression gormless.

"No, you didn't, Goyle. How many times do I have explain this?" snapped Draco. "The Order just want the Death Eaters to think that you're dead."

"YOU'LL think that we're dead?" asked Crabbe, with a wide-eyed look of horror. Draco looked exasperated.

Harry had to thrust a fist against his mouth to stop himself from bursting out laughing. He could see Ron and Hermione getting up from the table. Ron gestured with his head towards the door, and Harry followed them out into the corridor and closed the door. The moment it was shut, and the Slytherins couldn't hear him, he laughed out loud. He was surprised when Ron and Hermione didn't follow suit.

"Draco's bodyguards haven't gotten any smarter! I wonder why Draco bothers with them?" said Harry, between gusts of laughter.

"Harry, you haven't seen the half of it," said Ron seriously. "I was watching Draco boss them around, while you were outside. Did you know they can't even do their shoelaces up without help?"

Harry laughed until he doubled over. But Hermione gave an irritated sniff and folded her arms and, to Harry's surprise, even Ron looked a bit embarrassed.

"They were so happy to see Draco again, it was pitiful," Ron went on. "He was brushing their hair, telling them what to eat, making sure they brushed their teeth. They loved every minute of it!" Ron shook his head in amazement. "I knew they were dumb, but I didn't know Draco went everywhere with them at Hogwarts because ... well, because they weren't right in the head."

Shock made Harry stop laughing at once. He clapped a hand to his mouth in horrified shame.

Hermione unfolded her arms.

"Draco told me just now that the Crabbes and the Goyles have the purest blood in Britain," said Ron. "They've married their first cousins for three generations." Ron paused to let that sink in. "Draco's father looked after their fathers too. Because they couldn't look after themselves."

"Oh," said Harry, behind his hand. He lowered it. "I didn't know." It had puzzled Harry for years; why Draco was almost never seen without Crabbe and Goyle at Hogwarts, even though they seemed to frustrate him and weren't terribly good as bodyguards. Now Harry knew: Crabbe and Goyle weren't Draco's bodyguards - he was theirs.

"Draco didn't want anyone to know what Crabbe and Goyle were like because he was afraid they'd be picked on," said Hermione, as if she'd guessed Harry's thoughts. "Apparently, V-Voldemort approved of the pure-blood marriages and no one dared to go against him. It's not Crabbe and Goyle's fault that they're the way they are."

Ron looked grim.

"I bet Voldemort approved," said Harry bitterly. "I bet he just LOVED getting another generation of servants that couldn't think for themselves, but wouldn't rot away like Inferi."

"Well, he won't get this generation," said Hermione fiercely. "The Order is going to hide them."

The kitchen door opened and Draco came out, closely followed by Crabbe and Goyle. "Stop following me," he was telling them bossily. "I want to speak to Harry alone." They stared at the Slytherin with sad, docile eyes but seemed reluctant to leave him.

"Why don't you come and sit with us?" said Hermione to Crabbe and Goyle, in a voice of forced cheerfulness. "We're going to sit in the kitchen and draw pictures!"

Crabbe and Goyle looked excited at this prospect, but they glanced at Draco as if asking for permission. "Go with them. I'll be back soon to see what you've drawn," Draco drawled. Thanks, he mouthed at Hermione, as she and Ron went back into the kitchen, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, who kept looking back over their shoulders. Ron closed the door.

"They're clingy because they're afraid I'm going to leave them again," Draco sighed. He looked Harry anxiously up and down. "You were outside for ages. Are you okay?" he asked.

"Fine," sighed Harry, as Draco took him in his arms. He had so much to say that he didn't even know where to start. "Do you ... ah." Harry felt himself blushing, and finished lamely, "... need some help with, uh, Vincent and Gregory?" It felt strange to be saying their first names. Harry had to think for a moment before he could even remember them.

The tiniest smirk crossed Draco's face. "Call them Crabbe and Goyle, or they won't understand," he said. "They're about as familiar with their first names as you are." Harry grinned sheepishly, and Draco added: "They don't like taking orders from anyone but me, but thanks for the offer." He took a deep breath. "Sorry if I seem to be spending a lot of time with my Slytherin friends-"

He saw I was jealous, Harry thought. He's very perceptive. Or perhaps he just watches me more than I realise?

"-but I'll probably never see them again once the Fidelius Charm is in place," said Draco sadly.

"You don't know that. If you were the secret keeper, you'd know where they were," said Harry.

"And have Voldemort torture the secret out of me?" growled Draco. "Not a chance!" He looked at the floor, prodding at a peeling floor tile with one toe. "I've known them all my life. We were toddlers together. Letting them go is going to be very hard."

Harry thought about how he'd feel if he lost Hermione or Ron. "We could Transfigure a few beds, or sleeping bags," he invented quickly. "Your friends could stay here. At least for a few days."

Draco looked up again, with a hopeful expression.

"Mrs Weasley will scream about beds in the kitchen, but I'll see what I can do," said Harry. He could hear voices coming nearer, outside, and he wasn't surprised when the front door was flung open.

Moody limped in, looking like a jovial pirate who had forgotten his eye patch and parrot, but not his wooden leg. He pointed a thick finger at Draco. "You got Nagini!" he roared. "Bloody well done! We'll have a party tonight, in honour of you and your mum. It can be her wake." He gave Draco a thump on the back that almost knocked him flying. Harry positioned himself protectively in front of Draco, frowning, but Moody was already limping towards the kitchen.

Other Order members were filing back in. Some were bloodstained, but nearly all of them had fierce, hard grins of victory. They nodded at Draco

Draco looked them in the eye and nodded back. When they were gone, he turned the silver ring on his finger. "A wake for Mother," he said to Harry bleakly. "A wake where no one actually knew her but me, and Father isn't here."

Harry pulled him back into his arms, but Draco was tense. "Father doesn't even know Mother has passed on," he said, into Harry's neck. "They don't tell the prisoners anything. I can't even send Hedwig, because if the guards see her, they'll throw me into Azkaban too. I haven't seen or spoken to Father in years. The only reason I know he's still alive, is because they report it in the Daily Prophet when prisoners die. Then they bury them by the prison walls. The family doesn't even get their body."

Stroking Draco's back, Harry thought about Lucius Malfoy in Azkaban. In his mind's eye, he saw him, wearing a tattered, striped prison uniform, his once sleek shoulder-length white-blond hair matted and dirty. He was sitting on a filthy bed of straw in a freezing, barred cell. A grave by the prison was his only means of escape. Hermione had always said that magical society was at least three centuries behind the Muggles, in their treatment of prisoners. While the thought of the haughty, arrogant Lucius Malfoy brought low - the same man who had ordered the killing of Dumbledore's Army in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic, and had given Dobby the house elf extra punishments - didn't bother Harry in the least, and even gave him a certain satisfaction, the thought of what it was doing to Draco DID bother him. He realised that there WAS a way of putting Draco in contact with his father, and at the same time, he saw with absolute clarity, that he must be in love with Draco. He would risk a term in Azkaban just to see him smile.

"Harry, you're squeezing me."

"Sorry," said Harry, releasing him at once. "I was just planning something."

"Planning what? You're blushing, Harry."

"A surprise for you. To make you happy," said Harry, aware that his cheeks were burning.

Draco's expression turned sultry. "A bedroom surprise?"

"TWO surprises, one of them in bed," said Harry. He was making it up as he went along, but he was pleased to see Draco's sad eyes brighten.

"Looking forward to it."

"Are you going to be all right tonight?" asked Harry, with concern. He couldn't imagine anything worse than being at a party surrounded by strangers.

"What? At this so-called wake?" Draco's expression at that moment made him look like his father. "Of course I will! A party where you can meet new people and network is a useful thing. I was so disappointed when Slughorn didn't invite me to the Slug Club."

Harry rolled his eyes in amusement. "Draco, you are such a Slytherin."

But Draco wasn't a bit taken aback. "Of course! And proud of it! I'm a Malfoy. How do you think Father managed to stay out of Azkaban the first time? Because he knew people and called in a few favours. I haven't met the Order socially yet, but just you wait, Harry, I'll have them eating out of my hand," Draco boasted. He actually rubbed his hands together at the prospect. "But I'll be thinking of you all the time. I'm looking forward to my surprises." He gave Harry a quick kiss, and swept away, into the kitchen.

Harry watched him go, smiling ruefully. The Order wasn't going to know what hit them.

oOoOoOo

Many crowded hours later, midnight arrived. Those of the Order who were not on duty were sprawled drunkenly over the roof of the Headquarters.

"Do that trick again, Draco," chorused Fred and George.

Balanced on the very top of the roof, Draco pointed his wand into the cloudy sky. "Veritasmordre!" he yelled. A jet of light flew from his wand and exploded into brilliant, green stars. But instead of forming a Dark Mark, the stars formed scintillating capital letters:

VOLDEMORT IS A TOSSER!

The Order gave a ragged, drunken cheer.

"Thass a fing of beauty," slurred Mad-Eye Moody, saluting the words with his glass of Firewhiskey and taking a swig. Wordlessly, Draco refilled his glass and Moody cackled in delight.

Harry wasn't quite sure how they'd all gotten up there. His memory of the last few hours was a bit patchy. The few drinks in honour of Draco and his mother had turned into quite a few drinks, once Moody and the rest of the Order realised that their guest of honour was capable of Charming Firewhiskey by the pint. Harry remembered he had told and retold the story of Draco capturing Nagini and making Voldemort bleed. No one had managed to make Voldemort bleed before, not even Harry or Dumbledore. Each time Harry had told the story, he'd felt the Order's attitude towards Draco thawing out a little more, though he could see that Mr Weasley and Draco were never going to be the best of friends. When Harry had asked Draco about that, he'd muttered something about, "Midnight raids on the mansion." Apart from storytelling, Harry hadn't participated much. He'd spent those hours watching and listening. There had been so much to take in.

He remembered watching Hermione and Blaise discussing the way Draco had Transfigured his dead Mother into a silver ring:

"It's the way pure-bloods do it," Blaise had said. "Father is now a very nice vase on Mother's mantelpiece back home."

"You mean his ashes are in a vase?" Hermione had asked.

"No, he IS a vase."

He remembered Lupin chatting with Theodore and Pansy:

"How could I NOT want to be a Death Eater after seeing Malfoy's example all through Sixth Year," Theodore had said sarcastically. "He made it look like a barrel of laughs. Like the time he crawled back to Hogwarts one night after the Dark Lord had used the Cruciatus Curse on him. He was the Slytherin Seeker and we were playing Gryffindor that morning, but he was too sick to get out of bed."

"He made us promise not to call Madam Pomfrey, because he was afraid she'd work out someone had used an Unforgivable on him and call the Aurors." Pansy had looked frightened at the memory.

"And they'd realise he was Marked and take him away to Azkaban," Theodore had added.

Pansy had shuddered. "That's right. It was SO horrible. We were all sitting there by his bed, hoping he wouldn't die. I NEVER want to be a Death Eater."

But most of all, Harry remembered Draco. How dignified and charming he had been as he accepted both congratulations and polite, but fairly indifferent, condolences from people who had been his enemies only days before. How his smile had lit up the room and his sleek, white-blond hair had shone. He was raised for this, Harry had thought. Raised for diplomacy, making small talk with strangers, handling the media and all those things I'm so bad at. And he loves me...

"You're staring at Draco again," said Hermione, breaking Harry out of his reverie. There was a cold breeze blowing up on the roof and Harry shivered.

"Do you blame me?" muttered Harry. Draco's hair glowed silver in the light of the half moon.

Hermione smiled. "I'm pleased that you're ... together. It's far better for Draco that you are," she said tentatively.

Despite the comforting mist of alcohol in his brain, Harry felt his suspicions rise. "That's a strange thing to say, Hermione," he said. "It's not as if Draco would die, if we weren't dating."

His suspicions rose further, when Hermione pointedly avoided his gaze. "Oh, look at that!" she scolded, staring at Mad-Eye Moody. The scarred Auror was standing at the very edge of the roof, balancing drunkenly, to cheers from some of the Order, including, Harry noted, Dedalus Diggle. "Honestly, Moody's like a elderly child. No sense of responsibility at all. I'm sure Muggles must have seen Draco's spells, too, and Moody hasn't told the twins to stop egging him on. I'll go and have a word with him right now."

She's trying to change the subject, thought Harry. But before he could say anything, Hermione slid down the roof, and he saw her remonstrating with Moody. He couldn't hear what Hermione was saying, but he heard Moody bellow in reply, "I'm a wizard! If I fall off the roof, I'll bounce! Constant vigilance!" Even drunk, Moody still managed to look intimidating and ready to attack at any moment.

A pale, silvery glow moving over the rooftops caught Harry's attention. It wasn't the moon. He looked suspiciously at Hermione, for a moment, then slid over to Draco and muttered in his ear. "Your first surprise is nearly here. Let's go to our bedroom and I'll show you," he said.

His boyfriend beamed. "Is this just a ploy to get me alone? I hope so." He snuggled up to Harry, who gave him a squeeze. He was so warm and he smelled so good that Harry didn't want to let him go.

"Not a ploy. Well, not entirely. You're going to love this," said Harry. He stood up. "Let's get down off the roof." Behind him, he heard a boing, boing, boing noise going down the street and didn't need to look down to know what Moody had done. He heard Hermione's irritated sniff above the whoops of the Order.

"All right, but not the way Moody just did," said Draco. "That looked painful."

oOoOoOo

"What did you want to show me?" drawled Draco when they got to their bedroom and locked the door.

Harry pulled him onto the bed. "A message," he said. "Prongs..."

The silvery stag Patronus stepped gracefully into view, inclining his noble, antlered head.

"A Patronus message? Who from?"

Grinning, Harry said, "You'll see..." He waved his wand to start the message.

Both of them listened intently and heard...

...nothing.

Puzzled, Harry waved his wand again, but the silence continued. He started to feel a bit embarrassed.

"Are we supposed to be hearing something now?" asked Draco, clearly amused by Harry's sheepish expression.

"It didn't work. I've never known Patronus messaging not to work," said Harry in disbelief. Prong stamped a hoof. The Patronus seemed irritated and that gave Harry a clue. "Or it DID work, and he didn't say anything." It was a crushing disappointment. "He didn't say anything! I should have known that he wouldn't trust me."

"Who wouldn't trust you?" asked Draco.

Harry was going to say the name, but Prongs broadcast the sound of antlers striking someone. The Patronus had clearly gotten tired of recording nothing. Harry heard a yelp of fury.

The sound had an electric effect on Draco. "Father!" he cried.

"How dare you, Potter?" came Lucius Malfoy's cold voice. "Isn't it enough I have a life sentence in Azkaban without you forcing me to send a message and getting me into worse trouble? If anyone is listening, I had nothing to do with this. Potter's monstrosity visited without my permission and ... ouch!" he exclaimed, as there was the sound of antlers hitting flesh again. Prongs hadn't taken well to being called a monstrosity.

Draco had both hands clapped to his mouth. "You sent Prongs to Father? Harry, you could be in so much trouble if you're caught. They'll throw you into Azkaban."

"I won't be caught," said Harry, with more confidence than he felt. "Prongs is too smart to let himself be seen or heard by the guards." Inside, he could hear Hermione's voice telling him: RECKLESS! Even if Prongs isn't caught, Lucius Malfoy could try to blackmail you! He'd love to see you in Azkaban!

"But you hate Father," said Draco. "And you still did this for me." A curious, hungry look came over him. "Why did you do this, Harry?" Harry thought that Draco had guessed the answer already, when he hugged him.

The sight of those sparkling grey eyes up close made Harry kiss him. He didn't even have to think about it. "Do you want to send your Father a message? Prongs is waiting. I'll go out of the room so you can talk privately." Harry released his boyfriend and walked to the door, but when his hand touched the door handle, he heard Draco call out.

"Thank you, Harry. I love you."

Harry smiled, as he shut the door behind him. "I love you too, Draco."

oOoOoOo

Harry went down to the kitchen, and chatted to the Slytherins for a half an hour, as they bedded down in Transfigured squashy, purple sleeping bags. He made sure Crabbe and Goyle were tucked in, and was heading back up the stairs when he met Draco halfway.

There were tearstains on Draco's face and his damp eyes burned. He jumped up on Harry and wrapped both arms and legs around him. "Thank you. Thank you SO much. I thought I'd never speak to Father again. Oh, Merlin, Harry. I love you, I love you, I love you." He sobbed, and started passionately kissing every square centimetre of exposed flesh on Harry's face and neck.

"I love you too," gasped Harry breathlessly. He kissed him back, screwing up his eyes and wrapping his arms tightly around his lover. How they made it up the stairs and into the bedroom, he was never quite sure. All he knew was the sound of the bedroom door locking as they fell onto the bed, and the feeling his heart would burst with pleasure. This time there was no competition. No teasing. They were making love.

Draco was wearing far too many clothes for Harry's liking. He pulled the t-shirt out of Draco's jeans, pulled it off him and ran his hands over his chest, looking into Draco's desire-darkened eyes. He ran his tongue down the Sectumsempra scar he had given Draco: a lifetime ago, it felt like. He couldn't imagine hating or hurting him now. Draco moaned and arched his body. Then Harry pulled on Draco's belt.

"Second surprise," Harry panted, undoing the fly and pushing the jeans down. His boyfriend watched him avidly. As Harry took him in his mouth for the first time, he saw Draco's eyes roll back in his head. Harry didn't know what to expect. Draco tasted of salty skin and felt oh-so hard. He licked him from the base, up to the head, swirled his tongue around, took him deeply in his mouth, and sucked until his cheeks hollowed. Draco bent his head back, groaned and thrust into Harry's mouth.

Harry felt a touch of pride at the short time Draco managed to last. Within a couple of minutes, Draco was panting a warning and Harry tasted a bitter saltiness. Resolutely, he swallowed it. It wasn't his favourite thing, but watching his boyfriend's reaction was worth it.

Draco was bonelessly relaxed and smiling, when Harry lay down next to him. The Slytherin pulled away from Harry's kiss and uttered one word: "Clothes!" Then he started stripping Harry in turn. Harry let him, luxuriating in the touch of Draco's hands, and the way he stopped to kiss each part he revealed. Before long, both were naked.

Harry was so hard that he ached. Draco trailed his fingertips up and down his length, watching Harry's reaction hungrily. "I want this inside me," the Slytherin whispered.

"Sit down on me again."

Draco shook his head. "I want to try it this way," he said, rolling onto his back and lifting his knees to his shoulders, opening himself for his lover. Harry stared in amazement and desire, and Draco grinned wickedly. "Like what you see?" he chuckled, wiggling his bottom.

Harry replied by bending down and taking Draco's hardening length into his mouth again. But Draco pushed him off after a couple of moments. "I want come with you inside me," he insisted, aiming a preparation spell at himself.

Harry held onto Draco's thighs as he pushed inside. He could feel them trembling and see Draco's uncertain expression. "Does it hurt?" he whispered. His boyfriend shook his head, but his clenched jaw told a different story. There was nothing Harry wanted more than to be buried in that hot tightness, but he started to withdraw, not wanting to hurt Draco any further. As he did, Draco suddenly squeezed his eyes shut and his whole body bucked.

Harry froze. "I'm sorry!" he cried.

Draco opened his eyes. His sweat darkened hair clung to his forehead and he had never looked more thoroughly debauched. "Sorry? You'll be sorry if you hit that spot again, Harry," he said in the most breathlessly bossy tones Harry had ever heard him use. Surprised, Harry started to move again, cautiously at first, then harder and harder as Draco bucked and came undone.

"Oh MERLIN, Harry, I love this position. I love you!" Draco wailed. He didn't last long and Harry didn't last much longer, thrusting into the clenching, tightening heat. He collapsed on top of his lover's sticky, sweaty body, rolled off onto one side, and wrapped his arms around to him.

The two of them caught their breath. Draco hadn't opened his eyes. He lay with a smile on his face, as Harry stroked his sweaty fringe off his forehead. "I feel like I've known you for years and years," murmured Harry.

"You HAVE known me for years and years," said Draco sleepily.

"I know but not in a good way. I feel like we've been going out for ages."

"It's been a day and counting," said Draco, opening his eyes and smiling. "A day and half a lifetime." His eyes drifted shut again.

The sweat was cooling on their bodies. Harry pulled the blankets over them both and the Slytherin snuggled up and rested his head on Harry's shoulder. Harry studied his face lovingly for several minutes, the high cheekbones, the pointed chin, and was about to speak when Draco's mouth dropped open and he gave a tremendous snore.

I'll tell you I love you in the morning, Harry though. I'll tell you how much I wish this could have happened earlier. What a pity it is that we wasted so many years. He took one last look at Draco's sleeping face and closed his own eyes.

A day and half a lifetime...

oOoOoOo

Author's Notes: To be continued! Please review, it makes writing worthwhile.

Wow! Fifty-seven reviews since the last chapter. Now The Bodyguard has 509 reviews. Thank you everyone!

Replies To Reviews:

Thank you very much for reviewing (deep breath): jinxgirl, Goddess of the Night, A Huge Fan Of Yours, Daedalus Plum, DestinyDragon, RinafromSTL, Iset, Crystal Malfoy, InsanityamI, Crowley Black, Kit turned Mighty, Cheezewizz, HecateDeMort, NinjaoftheDarkness, HarrylovesDraco, Moonsign, AncientHistory, rAiNwAtEr, A Raven's last song, ProperT, LostSoul4, Emu Alive and Kicking, kozie, Avs, Pete Magno, SuishouTenshi, Tears Falling Freely, Yellowwolf, Night Air, Netty, and Potter's Wifey.

Your Mom Is My Heart: Thanks for all those reviews! Voldemort has always acted that way about blood. No, he's not mortal, sadly. Love your speculations about Horcruxes! Umbridge will die horribly. I promise!

Esgalhothwen: Thanks for reviewing so many times and staying up to read. I hope you weren't too tired the next day.

Queen Vampiress: Moody's even more annoying now! ;-) Thanks for your review.

ElvenTwinLover: I doubt the Slytherins would be as upset as Ron was, if they walked in on Draco and Harry at it together. They did live in the same dorm as Draco. They've seen what he gets up to! ;-)

Riku-Rocks: Thanks. The characters ARE changing as the story progresses. Glad you like it! There will be much more about the Vow in the next chapter.

The Earth Mystic: Moody managed to stomp himself into the ground this chapter without Harry's help. ;-) Thanks for reviewing.

Lady Ichabod: Thanks! If only a Horcrux could be destroyed as easily as by stamping on it. Nagini's dead, but a piece of Voldemort's soul is still inside her. That will have to be dealt with and it could get messy. Remember what happened to Dumbledore's hand when he destroyed the ring Horcrux?

xoxSasukexox: Thank you beta! Sorry I took so long to get this chapter out. LOL! I've got more than 10 reviews. Did you mean 1000? That would be amazing, but The Bodyguard is only halfway there. Thanks for reading it so many times. That's really flattering. ;-)

JaniSage: Thanks for liking Moody. I'm trying to write him like old policeman, who's been in the force for decades. He's a bit of a drunk (no one suspected anything when the fake Moody kept drinking from a hip flask), he's a bit of a larrikin, he's oblivious to physical injury (in himself or others) because he's been hurt, and seen others hurt, so many times, he's so cynical that he can come across as cruel (for instance, when he was sneering at Barty Crouch Jr begging for mercy at his trial in Goblet of Fire), but he's had decades to become a very accurate judge of human nature (Crouch Jr really WAS guilty). Though Moody'd never admit it, and he hides it well under his old, curmudgeonly exterior, deep down, he has a kind heart. I can't see him being an old friend of Dumbledore's if he were otherwise. As for being a BACHELOR, do you mean Moody's gay? That means Moody slash! Arrgh! You've scared me! I bet he'd be scarred all over! ;-)

King of Angmar: Has no one made Harry want to be like Dumbledore before? Cool! ;-)

GreenEyedCatDragon: Thanks. Now Harry's being oblivious about something else...