Author's Note: And here is the last part. A bit shorter than the other parts, but hopefully with a satisfying ending. Thank you for reading!
Part 4
Harry woke some time later to a pounding on the door. It was two a.m. Slowly he dragged himself to his feet to investigate. Pulling the door open he was stunned to find Draco there. It had begun to rain and his hair was wet and messy and very unDraco-like.
"Were you trying to make me fall in love with you again?"
Harry blinked, trying to get his brain focused. Finally he nodded. "Did it work?"
"Damn it, Harry! Of course I love you. That never changed."
Suddenly Harry was very much awake. "Then why are you going to Paris?"
"I can't break up with you again. If we were together we would fight until we hated each other and I can't go through that again. And if I leave town then there's no temptation."
"Is there temptation now?"
Draco nodded. Somehow they had gotten closer together the past few seconds.
"Right now I want to kiss you. But if I do, then I won't be able to stop."
"And?"
"And it scares me that I would throw everything away for you in a second."
"Scary isn't necessarily bad."
Draco looked like he was about to say something, but then glanced behind him quickly. "Can I come in? I always think someone is watching me."
Harry raised his eyebrows at Draco's paranoia, but then realized it wasn't an unfounded fear. They had plenty of people wanting to follow them and on this night the reporters would be particularly devoted. He let Draco in and shut the door. But as he turned around, expecting Draco to follow him into the sitting room, he was attacked and pinned against the door. Draco's lips were just an inch away from his own.
"Why didn't you want me back before I was involved with someone?" he whispered. "Why did you have to wait until now when everything is so fucked up?"
Harry was breathing hard and licked his lips before answering. "Because that's when I knew that I couldn't lose you."
He didn't waste any more time on self restraint and closed that inch between them with a kiss. Draco kissed back eagerly, wrapping his arms around Harry and pressing their bodies close. Draco was frantically trying to undress him and it registered at some point that they should move away from the door. Harry led them down the hall to the stairs, still kissing frantically. He finally broke the kiss and took Draco's hand, pulling him up the stairs. As soon as they reached the top Draco pulled him into another heated kiss and they stumbled down the hall to Harry's room. Once inside, Draco pushed him down onto the large bed and climbed on top.
Draco pulled his shirt off over his head and attacked Harry mouth again while he reached for the hem of Harry shirt. They parted long enough to pull the clothing off, but were pressed back against each other moments later. Harry reached to Draco's belt buckle and loosened his trousers until he could push them and his shorts down. There were still too many clothes. Harry reached down, stroking Draco's growing erection. The blond responded by thrusting against Harry.
"Fuck," Harry groaned. "I want you in me. Now."
Draco hurried to pull his trousers off the rest of the way, while Harry did his own. He then reached into the nightstand and pulled out lube that Draco took from him immediately. They resumed kissing, but it was slower, less frantic and Draco reached between Harry's legs, slipping a lubed finger inside of him. Harry moaned and pushed back against Draco eagerly.
"Always so impatient," Draco muttered with a smile.
He reached down to touch Harry's face, exchanging silent "I love you's".
"Fuck, I've missed this," Draco gasped, sliding into Harry.
"Me too."
Draco shifted forward to kiss him hard on the mouth, grabbing at his messy black hair.
"I've wanted this for so long," Draco murmured against his lips.
Draco thrust in harder and their grunts and moans filled the quiet house. The bed creaked under them and the headboard hit the wall in time with their fucking. Harry wrapped his legs around Draco's waist, pulling him closer.
"Touch yourself," said Draco.
Harry did as he was told, stroking himself while Draco fucked him. He came minutes later spraying semen between their bodies. With a few more hard thrusts Draco came and collapsed down on Harry. Out of breath and dripping with sweat and other fluids Draco reached over the end of the bed to his discarded trousers and took out his wand. One cleaning charm later they were curled up close with Draco's head on Harry's chest.
"So I guess you're staying in London?" Harry asked, only half joking. He hoped that their love making meant that Draco had changed his mind, but he couldn't really know for sure anymore. Their hot sex session a week ago hadn't changed his mind, so maybe this wouldn't either.
"I'll have to talk to Jacques. I should go there this weekend and explain things." Harry squeezed Draco a little tighter at the mention of him leaving. "He deserves to hear it from me and not in a letter. I owe him that much."
Harry finally nodded in agreement. Draco turned onto his stomach and looked at him seriously. Harry knew that what they were talking about was very important, but he couldn't help noticing and appreciating the way that the blanket only covered half of his arse, leaving Draco's muscular back exposed.
"Things have to be different," Draco said sternly.
"I can't promise we'll never fight."
"I know. No more storming out and not speaking for days. And no more clubs and going home with strangers. I want you, not whoever you're fucking."
"That's not even an issue. If I have you I don't want anyone else."
"And I'm not moving back in. Not right away. The mistake we made last time was living together before anyone even knew we were a couple. I moved in for practical reasons, but just stayed. We'd only been together a couple months. We just went too fast."
"We won't make the same mistakes again. How can we? There's no war this time?" Harry joked.
Draco smiled and pulled himself closer to stroke Harry's face. "I missed your silly jokes. And I love you."
"I love you too."
Draco looked around at the dimly lit bedroom and the décor that was quite different than when he lived there.
"Granger decorated in here, didn't she?"
"Yeah."
It was full of earth tones, oak furniture and soft lighting. In Draco's original design it had been much darker with a lot of green tones. Harry remembered telling Hermione he didn't care what it looked like as long as it was nothing like Draco. He even got a new bed.
"It's nice, peaceful even."
"I hope that means you'll be coming over more often."
"Mm, yes, I think so. I don't suppose any of our family or friends will be too surprised? I assume they were all supporting you on your mission."
"Mission?"
"I'm not an idiot. I know you had my mother and my aunt on your side. Ron and Hermione too, I'm sure. You've been plotting this for weeks."
Harry's eyes widened in an innocent expression. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Draco rolled his eyes. "It's okay. I wasn't really expecting anything less. I just thought I was strong enough to resist."
"So you're saying you're weak?"
"Of course not. You are just more persuasive than I gave you credit for."
Harry laughed. No, Draco would never admit to weakness.
"It must be the whole Harry Potter persona. I fell for the celebrity."
"I could give you my autograph."
Draco was deep in thought, tracing invisible patterns with his finger on Harry's chest. "We've missed so much. And we can't get those four years back."
"No, but we can spend the next four together. And the four after that. And the four after that."
"Making long term plans already, are we?"
"You're all I need. Whatever you want to do, I'm with you."
Draco smirked and sat up, straddling Harry's waist and leaning in for another kiss.
"Right now? I can think of several things I want to do."
***
April 15, 2007
It had been a long day at the office. Draco was in the process of setting up several different projects for the G.L.W.A. and the paperwork was becoming impossible. Not only that, but he was currently in talks with Minister Shacklebolt to work for the Ministry as a public policy adviser.
In the months since he and Harry got back together things had seemed to get back to some kind of normal. It only took Draco three weeks to decide to move back into Grimmauld Place and their family was thrilled. Narcissa welcomed Harry back into the Malfoy family with opened arms. She never told Draco just how much she hadn't liked Jacques, but he figured it out in the way that she not-so-subtly hinted that she wanted wedding bells and grandchildren as soon as he announced that he was with Harry again.
What was particularly good about their relationship was that they were getting along great. They fought often, just as they always had, but it wasn't viscious as it once was. They had come to understand that the passion behind their fighting was part of who they were. And they always remembered that they would rather be fighting with each other than doing anything with anyone else. Nobody got angry and stormed out. They talked out their differences and always made up, which was really the best part of the fighting. There was no screaming or name calling. No bitterness or lingering hostility. Even Ron and Hermione admitted that they were getting along better than they ever had. Maybe they did just need to grow up.
There was a knock on his office door and before he could answer it opened and Harry appeared there.
"You're working late."
"I was just finishing so that I could get home." He took in Harry's work robes. "Did you only just now leave work for the night?"
He nodded. "Ron and I finally had a breakthrough with the case of the muggle attacks in Edinburgh. We were sent up there this afternoon."
As Harry made his way to the chair in front of the desk Draco noticed a slight limp.
"What happened?"
"Oh, I caught a hex in my bad leg. It's nothing."
Most of the time the leg that had been cursed while fighting Pansy Parkinson didn't bother him, but it was more sensitive to injury. Harry often said that it was his reminder, so that he would never again get as carried away as he had during the Death Eater Rebellion. Any time he was getting a little too cocky something would happen to his leg and he would remember that he was capable of making mistakes.
That was the one part that he couldn't stand about Harry's job. There were days when he came home completely a wreck, and others that he didn't come home at all. Harry was good about always getting a message to him if he would be gone, but Draco still didn't like it one bit. He worried about Harry far too much sometimes.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, fine. Annoyed is all. It ruined all my plans."
"What plans?"
"Well I was going to come and get you when I got out of work. Thank Merlin you never leave the office at a reasonable time."
"What does it matter? Were you going to walk me home? It's romantic, but not necessary."
Harry didn't answer that. "Are you ready to go soon?"
"I suppose I can go home and tend to your injury."
"It doesn't need tending. It's just sore."
"I'm sure." He'd heard that one before, but he didn't push the matter as he busied himself clearing off his desk for the night.
Harry, ever the gentleman, opened the door for him. It wasn't that Draco had a problem with Harry's actions themselves, but he was being very unHarry-like tonight and that was cause for suspicion. Draco searched his memory for anything that he might have missed. They didn't have any plans for that evening. It wasn't anyone's birthday, nor a holiday and they had made a deal a long time ago not to remember their anniversary. They had too many of them. Did they count from the first time they kissed? Or when they had sex? When they came out? Or if they counted from when they got together again… Draco thought about it a moment. It had been a year already. One year ago exactly was when he decided to stay with Harry and break up with Jacques. It was, in a way, their anniversary.
They were almost to the front door when Draco realized this. He paused and looked at Harry, wondering what he could have planned and if he should have done something special too. If asked previously he would have said that Harry was really more the type to forget anniversaries.
"What?" asked Harry when he noticed Draco's peculiar look.
"I only just remembered what day it is."
"Is it a special day?"
"Don't give me that. You know it is. It's a year ago tonight we got back together."
"No."
"No?"
"No. It is a year ago tonight that you made the biggest step forward ever in getting equal rights for gay wizards. We didn't get back together until after midnight, so that's tomorrow."
"Alright," Draco said slowly. "So, what's going on then?"
Harry turned toward him, running a hand over his cheek, studying it intensely.
"We lost four years because of our stupidity."
"But it worked out in the end."
"The point is, I don't think we should waste anymore time. I promised you something a long time ago. And because of our wasted time, I wasn't able to keep my promise."
Draco shook his head in confusion. Harry smiled and looked around at the room. He took a step to his left.
"I think I was standing right here when I said it."
Draco's jaw dropped to the floor. He remembered that day and what Harry was supposed to do.
"You're about a year late."
"I'm exactly a year late, but I figure better late than never, right?"
Without another word Harry sank down to one knee, completely ignoring the minor pain in his leg.
"You don't have to do the whole thing. My answer won't change if you're standing."
"A promise is a promise." He took a deep breath. "Draco, you are without doubt the love of my life. I could search the whole world and never find anyone I love as deeply and as completely as you. And I wouldn't want to. Will you marry me?"
Draco felt the sting of happy tears. And he hated it. He didn't normally cry at all, couldn't even remember the last time he had. He briefly considered how horribly cliché and sappy it was to cry at a marriage proposal. But all that didn't matter this time. Knowing that Harry would likely not want to stand up on his leg again, Draco got down on the floor in front of him. He threw his arms around Harry's neck.
"Of course I'll marry you. I think I wanted to marry you the first time I kissed you."
Harry smiled, kissing him hard on the mouth. Draco parted his lips for him, deepening the kiss. Draco ran his hands through Harry's messy hair, loving the feeling of it. Harry pulled back finally, flushed.
"You know we're still on the floor of your office, right?"
"Mm. Yes, I suppose we can finish this at home."
"You might want to owl your mum first."
"You told her you were doing this?"
He nodded. "She's probably expecting news by now. I was supposed to be here a couple hours ago."
Draco cocked his head to the side. "Who else did you tell?"
"Er, Ron. And Hermione. And Dustin overheard me telling Ron and told Marlene. And Mrs. Weasley. And George."
He sighed, smiling. "Anyone else?"
"Andromeda and Teddy. But that's it, I swear."
"It's a good thing you didn't back out then because by morning it will be in the Daily Prophet."
"I wouldn't have backed out, no matter how many people knew."
Draco helped him off the floor and they stepped out into Diagon Alley. After performing the locking charm on the office he turned to Harry.
"When do you want to get married?"
"Now. Tomorrow. Next week. I don't care as long as I can spend the rest of my life with you."
"Well, you have that already."