Disclaimer: Not Mine

Author's Note: Sorry it took me this long to upload - I posted it to my lj a week or so ago and forgot to update here. *hides* sorry.

Love to all and hope you enjoy this chapter - only two more after this one I think. Maybe three.

Jamie

xxxx

'You certainly don't look like someone who's been through an ordeal,' Pansy said, smirking.

Draco would have scowled at her on any other occasion, but this morning he was feeling too giddy with happiness to care. It didn't mean he had to admit to it, though. He opened his mouth to retort with something scathing before he remembered that in the still of the night, in the peace and warmth of his bed, protected and comforted by Harry, he'd decided there was to be no more hiding his feelings from friends and family. His feelings for Harry, anyway. Besides, he admitted that they'd probably already realised before he had.

'Let's just say I've been well comforted,' Draco said, answering Pansy's smirk with a smug smile.

'Quite,' she said. 'And if you didn't look so bloody happy, I'd pester you for every single detail.'

'No chance,' Draco snorted. 'And even if there was the slightest chance of telling you anything, it would definitely not be before breakfast.'

Draco called Pippy to take his order.

'Is master in need of a big breakfast?' Pippy asked, a knowing tone in his voice and a big smile across his ugly face.

'What would make you think that, Pippy?' Draco asked, refraining from reprimand because the creature looked stupidly happy about something.

'Pippy is thinking that Master and Mister Harry Potter is very happy and needs to be keeping their energies up.'

Pansy laughed and ordered her own breakfast, while Draco tried not to wonder how his house-elves knew everything that went on in the Manor. All he needed now was his mother to walk into the room and comment on his sex life. Then he'd really have something to squirm over.

'Good morning, Draco, although it is almost noon. I must say you're looking quite pleased with yourself, today.' Narcissa entered the room, dressed for the day, a bright smile on her face and no trace of the anxiety from the previous evening.

Speak of the devil, Draco thought. He smiled and rose to kiss her cheek. 'Good morning, Mother. Yes, I am feeling exceptionally well this morning.' And he was; he hadn't even winced as he'd sat down earlier, though his muscles felt tired and deliciously achey.

She smiled into his eyes, relief etched alongside satisfaction. 'Mr. Weasley asked me to tell you that a team of Aurors will be along later to take your formal statement about the incident last night.'

Draco nodded, not in the slightest put out by the inconvenience; nothing was going to dim his happiness today. 'Ron is still here, then? Hasn't the man a home to go to?'

'He refused to leave, mentioning something about feeling responsible for last night.'

'Idiot. He's no good as security if he's falling asleep on his feet. Besides it wasn't his fault,' Draco said, intending to go and tell Ron to go and get some rest. But his mother stopped him with a hand on his arm.

'I'll tell him. I only stopped in to see if you were up yet. I'm on my way to the ballroom to check how the clean up is proceeding. You stay and eat your breakfast.' She gave Draco a smile and kissed his cheek. 'Harry not joining you?'

Draco raised an eyebrow at the suggestion in her eyes. 'He will be down shortly, I assume. He was still in the shower when I left.'

'Very well.' His mother smiled at him again, and left.

'It's a wonder you're not enjoying the shower with him,' Pansy said once they were alone.

She had a point, Draco agreed. However, as much as they had virtually cemented their relationship during the night, Draco felt that pushing Harry too fast, too quickly, might create some tension and distance between them as it had done in the past. He'd have liked nothing better than to be right by Harry's side every minute of the day – and didn't that shock him right to his toes? – but insults and sexual aggression hadn't worked on progressing their relationship any faster; honesty and patience had.

Draco shocked himself at times with how mature he had become.

'There'll be plenty of time for that,' he answered Pansy.

'Oh, so you've finally admitted that there is a future for you and the Golden Boy?'

'Perhaps,' he hedged, and then shook his head; he was supposed to be past all this hiding. 'Actually, there's no 'perhaps' about it,' he amended, jumping in feet first. 'I'm not sure I could let him go now, even if I tried.' He could feel his cheeks heating as he blushed and he cursed his pale skin. Well…Pansy could mock if she dared, but he'd made up his mind. He was happy and he was going to stay that way.

'Good.'

Draco looked up at her, waiting for the 'I told you so' comment, but Pansy was more interested in the breakfast Pippy had just delivered.

'No other comment? Just 'good'?'

'Darling, I've known you since before you could walk. You can't hide things from me. I've known how you felt about Harry for ages. Suspected it from when we were teenagers, actually.'

'That's ridiculous,' Draco protested. 'I hated him for all of my school years.'

Pansy merely sighed and looked up at Draco, her regard and fondness for him shining brightly in her eyes. 'On the outside,' she said. 'But I remember the boy who used to cling to his lovey every night.'

'What's that got to do with anything?'

'Draco, it was a lion. You clung to it like it was life when the Dark Lord took over your house.'

She was speaking like it should be obvious, but Draco had no idea how that was relevant; he'd had the toy since he was a baby.

When he didn't respond, she sighed. 'Who is the epitome of a brave lion? Who is it that was sorted into the House of the lion? Who is it that appears to have saved your life on more than one occasion?'

She was becoming exasperated now, but Draco barely noticed because the dull thump of realisation made all the blood rush from his face.

'Bloody hell,' he breathed. It couldn't be true! Had he somehow known all along that Harry was special to him, that he might have strong feelings for him that weren't related to jealousy and hatred? 'But it can't be,' he said, refusing to believe it. 'I had that toy as a baby when I'd never even heard of Harry Potter.'

'So you've said, but in all the years I've known you, I never once saw it before that summer after fifth year. After that, you clung to it so tightly, I was almost jealous.' Her voice had become softer. 'I often wondered if it was just the fact that he was the one supposed to defeat the Dark Lord, or if it meant something else.'

Draco sat there silently, breakfast untouched on the table. He could feel Pansy looking at him and he made a real effort to shake off his shock, but she knew him too well.

'Don't worry about it, darling,' she said. He looked up at her and blinked. 'It's all worked out, hasn't it? You know now and you look ridiculously sappy. Or you did a few moments ago. Surely that's all that matters?'

Draco took a deep breath; she was right. A tremulous smile worked its way to his lips and he took another deep breath. 'You're right.' The smile grew more confident. 'I have a real chance to be happy now, I finally have what I must have always wanted.'

'And I couldn't be more pleased for you, darling.' Pansy gave him a genuine smile. 'Though you've basically ruined my plans for leaving dear old Markus and running off with you to make pretty Malfoy babies.' Draco could tell she wasn't serious; she knew, as much as Draco loved her, he wouldn't have been able to give her babies; his body just didn't work that way.

'You'll have to work on Blaise if you want pretty babies,' he replied. 'If you can pry him away from that Bones girl – Susan, was it? He seems a bit taken with her. Our Blaise might have met his perfect match.'

Pansy gave a theatrical sigh. 'What is the world coming to? Theo is a psychotic maniac, Blaise is all starry eyed over a Hufflepuff and you, my dear, are besotted with a Gryffindor. I despair of my Slytherin boys.'

Draco scowled momentarily at the mention of Nott; the Aurors had better do their job and catch the man soon. 'We'll have to find you a malleable Ravenclaw, then,' he replied in the same tone.

Pansy's eyes widened in mock horror. 'Don't even think of it. They would bore me to tears before we even made it into the bedroom.'

Draco laughed and then turned serious for a moment. 'People aren't always what you think them to be,' he said.

'That's true enough,' she agreed, and returned to her breakfast. 'All right, I'll leave it to you to find me someone suitable. And if he is worth it, I might even leave Markus and start fresh.'

If Draco had been holding his cutlery, he would have dropped it. This was the first time she had spoken seriously about leaving her ageing husband. 'You're serious?'

She shrugged. 'Why not? I deserve to be happy, just like you are.' She smiled at him. 'I like seeing you happy; your face is transformed.'

Draco returned the smile; feeling unaccountably flattered. 'You do deserve it,' he said softly.

'I think I really knew for sure Harry would be the one, the day of the photo shoot. You looked amazing that day, Draco, remember? I don't think I'd ever seen you looking so happy, so…right in the moment…like nothing and no one else in the world mattered. And then, last night…the way you looked at him…I want that, Draco.'

'I'm very lucky,' he said, and he meant it. For once in his life he was admitting to luck – not accepting good fortune as his due, not blaming someone else for something going wrong, just grateful. He blinked at the unfamiliar feeling, while resolutely pushing to the back of his mind that it hadn't been all luck; there had been a Dark Arts spell that had some influence. Things were working out for him; he had no wish to examine the shame of his actions. He would just have to work hard from now on to make up for it.

'Well, don't fuck it up,' Pansy said bringing him back to the conversation.

'I don't plan on it.'

'There is one thing you have to do,' Pansy said. 'You have to tell him about the spell.'

'No!' Draco replied, firm. 'There is no point in raising that, now. That would be the one thing that would end this relationship practically before it's even begun. I can't risk it.'

'So you'll base your whole relationship on a lie, instead?'

Draco bristled. 'Whatever happened to letting the good guys lose one for a change?'

'You said it yourself, Draco. He's not what we thought.'

'No one needs to know.' Draco frowned at her, adamant. 'It didn't hurt anyone, nothing bad happened because of it, we can just forget it ever happened.'

Pansy persisted, though; she was a stubborn woman, he'd give her that. 'You'll never forget it and there will always be a doubt in your head that he only loves you because of the spell. You'll be miserable after only a few years.'

'Why do you want to take this away from me?' Draco asked, becoming really annoyed at his best friend. 'Are you seriously trying to make me throw away the one thing that has made me happier than I've ever been because of your conscience?'

'No,' she said. She slammed her knife down onto the plate, the clang echoing around the room. Her normally pretty face was flushed and her expression exasperated. 'I'm trying to make sure you can hang on to something real, Draco, something you can say you earned, because Harry fell in love with you and not some godforsaken Dark Arts spell.'

'I did earn it!' Draco raised his voice. 'Harry can resist Imperius you know. That stupid spell won't have had any effect on him.'

'Can you take that risk?'

'It's a smaller risk than telling him about it!' Draco replied hotly. Couldn't she see that?

Pansy made a disgusted noise and stood, hands on hips, the red napkin still gripped in her fingers a slash of colour against her white robe. 'I've known and loved you all my life, Draco Malfoy, despite the fact that you're the most self-centred, egotistical, …arrogant man I've ever known. And I knew your father so that's saying something.'

Draco was too angry to tell her that they all meant the same thing; she'd likely hex him if he did anyway. Besides, she wasn't finished.

'These last months, you've changed. You're more considerate of people; you occasionally think of someone other than yourself. You pay attention to them rather than using them.' She held her hand up when he went to interrupt. 'I don't care if it all started out as an act. As time went on, it became truth and you know it, despite what you tell yourself. And because of the good things you've been able to achieve as a result of the spell, you've earned the respect of so many people. But if you can't see that most of the change is because of Harry, then you don't deserve him; you didn't earn him.'

'Pansy…' Draco started, much of his anger having drained from him at the truth of her words. He had no idea how to respond, feeling lost in the war between what was right and what was…wrong?…easy?

'No, I'm done,' she said in a huff, dropping the napkin on top of her half eaten breakfast. 'When you come to your senses, let me know.' She moved toward the door but stopped and turned. 'Just remember that if Blaise and I know all your faults and love you anyway, what makes you think Harry won't? He deserves that sort of respect from you, Draco, you need to tell him.'

Draco's eyes widened in dismay as, over Pansy's shoulder, he saw Harry entering the room.

'Morning, Pansy,' Harry said smiling. Draco sat rigid with fear; he couldn't take his eyes off Harry. 'Tell me what?' Harry looked back and forth between Pansy and Draco.