I am so sorry it took so long, but with my exams and finishing school I just haven't had the time to write. Happily, now that I have officially finished school, the chapters will be coming alot quicker. please enjoy and remember to review!

**

Draco sighed and threw himself onto his bed, bouncing slightly and landing with his arms and legs outstretched. Closing his eyes he tried his best to sink into the soft pillow and ignore the harsh light from the setting sun that shone into the bedroom.

Pouting he stared at the plain white ceiling and tried his best to stifle the growing boredom that was threatening to overwhelm him. He was counting the hours until he was able to go back to school and see Harry again, which also had the added bonus of being as far away from his family as possible.

Not that he had anything against his mother. She was trying her hardest to adjust after the war and had always been there when he needed her. His father on the other hand was making life at the manor unbearable. He hadn't been wrong when he told Harry Lucius would be too busy keeping himself out of Azkaban to pay much attention to him.

Unfortunately for Draco that meant that in the rare opportunities Lucius did notice him, he was in a foul mood and took it out on him. This made dinner time very uncomfortable and tension hang thick in the air, which wasn't helped by his mother's incessant attempts at drawing Lucius into a better mood.

The piercing orange glow of the setting sun became too much for Draco and with huff he rolled off the bed and ripped the curtains closed with more force then was absolutely necessary. His room was startling dark as his eyes tried to adjust to the sudden lack of light. He sighed happily and moved over to the antique desk where the pile of homework he needed to finish had remained the same since the holidays had started.

Rifling through the pile of parchment he made a sound of success when he found the most recent letter from Harry and told himself off for just leaving it sitting around where anyone could find it. Sitting back down on the bed he re-read the letter for what felt like the twentieth time that day.

Dear Draco,

I know I haven't written to you in a while and I'm so sorry but things have been really busy around the house. For some reason the house is even more crowded then it was when the war was still going! I wish you could be here with me. I miss you so much and can't wait to see you again. I have some really big news! I finally did it, I finally told Sirius all about us and how much I love you. He took it really well and decided to have a really awkward conversation regarding our sex life.(that package is from him, he made me send it) I also told him about us moving in together and he seems to think I'd make a good housewife! (don't be getting any ideas) I can't wait for you to meet him and for you two to get to know each other. Remember, no matter how much of a bastard your father is being, I love you very much!

Love you always,

Harry xoxo

The letter bought a smile to Draco's face and he picked up the package he hadn't yet opened and looked at it in curiosity. He was a little afraid to open it, not sure what it could be. Slowly he ripped the paper open and stared in confusion at the small box sitting in front of him. He had no idea what it was which meant it must be muggle. Picking it up he read the package carefully.

"What the fuck are condoms?" he muttered to himself, not being able to shake the feeling he'd heard that word before. "Maybe they come with instructions!"

Opening the box, his frown deepened at the small shiny squares but he was successful in finding a folded piece of paper he was willing to bet were instructions. He stared in horror as his face began to turn red heat up as he read the instructions and he suddenly realised why the name sounded familiar. Harry had mentioned them when they had first started having sex.

"This is what Harry wanted to use?" he whispered as he shuddered in horror at the thought. "Muggles are disgusting!"

He decided that the best thing to do was to just push the condoms into his desk draw, forget they existed and hope that Harry never, ever wanted to use them. A soft knock at his bedroom made him jump and guiltily cover the condoms with the extra parchment.

"Come in!" he yelled shakily.

Narcissa entered the room the same way she did everything, quietly and with an outstanding amount of grace.

"What can I do for you mother?"

"I've come to inquire as to whether or not you are intending to have dinner with your father and I tonight or if you are planning to remain in self imposed solitude?" her tone of voice was the closest Draco had ever heard her come to sarcasm.

Draco winced and felt bad for leaving her to deal with Lucius by herself.

"Yes mother I'll be present for dinner."

"Good. I feel like we haven't spent any time together in a long time."

Narcissa turned to leave but instead turned her attention to the desk, causing Draco's heart to beat wildly.

"Can you get one of the house elves to tidy up that mess Draco? Dinner will be in thirty minutes."

Draco nodded quickly and let loose a heavy sigh in relief when she left the room and closed the door behind her. Dread filled him as it begun to sink in exactly what he had agreed to. Dinner with his psychotic father.

Looking at Harry's letter once more he felt guilty. Harry had the courage to tell his godfather the truth while Draco was still terrified of his father. He had promised Harry he would tell his father the truth about them but he was no closer than he was at the beginning of the holidays.

In fact if he was honest with himself he was even further away which made him feel like crap. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself. Tonight was the night, he was going to tell his father the truth. He had never broken a promise to Harry and he wasn't about to start.

"I am so fucked." He groaned, banging his head on the desk with a thump. "I'm going to be murdered by my own father."

A quiet pop bought him back to reality and he turned to face the dirty house elf standing in the middle of his room.

"Master Malfoy?"

"Yes Binky?"

It was rare that one of the house elves came into his room.

"Dinner is being served and you are expected at the dinner table."

"Thank you Binky, tell my mother I will be right down." Draco said sullenly.

Another quiet pop signalled the exit of the house elf. Standing up with a grunt he headed out the door, being careful to close his bedroom door behind him. He made the dreary walk to the dining room, making sure to drag his feet. By the time he actually made it to the dining room the food was already there and both Narcissa and Lucius were obviously disgruntled at having to wait for him.

"Sorry, lost track of time." He mumbled, knowing he didn't sound very sorry at all.

Lucius snorted and began eating with a certain amount of disinterest. Narcissa followed and together they filled the large empty room with the clatter, clack of knives and forks moving against plates. It was the only sound and it echoed hollowly through the room, making Draco clench his teeth and causing his jaw to ache.

Half way through her pasta Narcissa put her knife and fork down delicately and turned to Draco, catching his attention with a small cough.

"How was your day darling?"

Draco continued to push his food around and gave a shrug, which earned him a glare from Lucius. He was waiting for a yell that Malfoy's do not shrug but none came.

"It was alright, nothing of interest occurred."

"Well maybe if you came out of your room a little more often, your life wouldn't be so dull."

"Well call me crazy but after the war, I'm quite content with a bit of boredom." Draco snarled.

Lucius smacked his hand down on to the table which made the cutlery shake and Draco jump.

"How dare you! The war is not something to joke about! Do you have no idea how much it has cost us?" Lucius snarled.

"Oh please, you're just pissed because no one at the Ministry is willing to take your bribes!" Draco yelled back.

Draco regretted his words instantly when Lucius's left eye began twitching and Narcissa dropped her head into her hands with a wince. Lucius opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by a quiet pop signalling the arrival of one of the many house elves.

"Master Draco?" the house elf asked timidly, nervous of the presence of Lucius.

"Yes?" Draco never took his eyes off Lucius.

"I was cleaning your room and I wasn't sure if this was rubbish."

Draco tensed and his mind flashed to the box of condoms sitting on his desk and was afraid to look at what the house elf was holding.

"What is that?" Narcissa asked, confused.

Draco's eyes flicked to the box of condoms being held by the scared house elf and it struck him that it would have been funny if this wasn't happening in front of his parents. Quickly he snatched the box and tried his best to hide it from view.

"It's nothing, I'll deal with it." He waved the house elf away and pretended to be interested in his food.

Narcissa and Lucius shared a suspicious look.

"Draco, what is it?" Narcissa asked again.

"Nothing, just something I picked up."

"Show us." Lucius demanded.

Draco swallowed as his heart began to beat faster and a knot twisted in his stomach. He resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"Draco." Lucius warned, holding out a hand.

Draco sighed and seeing no way out he closed his eyes in defeat. Slowly he placed the box in Lucius's outstretched hand.

"They're muggle contraceptives." He mumbled, blush staining his cheeks.

Narcissa gasped and looked at him in horror. "Contraceptives? Why would need contraceptives?" she demanded to know.

Lucius looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Really Cissa? What do you think he uses them for? And Draco you better not be having sex with a muggle." Lucius warned, glaring at him.

"No! I haven't even used them I swear!"

"Then why do you have them? You're only a baby!"

Draco wanted to roll his eyes but thought better of it given the circumstances. He was seventeen, not seven. In what world was he a baby? He didn't know what to do. Truth of lie, he wasn't sure what was worse.

"Draco just tell us the truth. If there is a chance I'm going to end up with a bastard grandchild, I would rather be prepared."

"Lucius!" Narcissa screeched, scandalised at what Lucius was suggesting.

"What Cissa? If the boy is having sex using unreliable muggle contraceptives we have to

be prepared for the worst."

Draco couldn't contain a giggle at the thought of Harry pregnant.

"Is something amusing to you?"

"Sorry. Father could we perhaps talk about this another time? My sex life is not something I feel comfortable talking about in front of mother." Draco pleaded, seeing the heart broken look in his mother's eyes.

Lucius glanced over at Narcissa and saw the same thing Draco did. "Yes, I suppose you're right. We will discuss this more later tonight."

Draco nodded and started to consider exactly what he was going to say to his father when he would no doubt call him into the study and demand to know exactly how serious he was with the 'girl.'

The silence was even more deafening now then it had been before and Draco couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom. Looking at his pasta he felt his stomach turn at the thought of eating it.

"Well, my apatite has officially disappeared. So I'll be in the library if you need me." Draco announced, deciding to make a break for it.

He managed to get to the large oak doors that led from the dining room and into the hallway before he was called back by Lucius.

"Draco? Are you forgetting something?" these words were followed by a small shake of the hand, bringing Draco's attention back to the condoms.

Right! I'll just... take those."

Snatching them he bolted from the room and didn't stop running until he was a safe distance away from the smug face of his father. The library door was open and he slipped inside.

"I am so screwed!" he muttered, sinking into on the soft reading chairs placed around the room .He dropped his head into his hands with a groan. "Fuck me!"

After a moment suppressing his sheer terror and trying to calm himself down, Draco looked around the library in confusion.

"And why the fuck did I come to the library?"

He tossed his head back and slumped down in the chair so he was sitting almost horizontal, staring dully at the ceiling.

"I'm going to be disinherited, I'm going to have to get a job! I don't want a job! But I can't let Harry pay for everything, and why the fuck am I still holding these?" with more anger than was necessary he threw the box of condoms across the room and felt a odd sense of happiness when they hit the wall and bounced across the floor. "It's all your fault!" he yelled at it before looking surprised at himself. "And now I'm talking to the cardboard box, I really need more sleep."

**

Draco lost track of time the longer he hid in the library with the hope that his father wouldn't find him any time in the near future. Lucius didn't like the library very much and Draco had a suspicion that Lucius wasn't too sure where the library actually was, preferring to spend most of his time in his study, which made Draco confident in his ability to avoid his father until he was ready for the confrontation.

"You and need to have a discussion Draco, hiding in the library with your tail between your legs won't change that."

Draco tensed as the smooth tones of his father's voice drifted through the library from the door. Glancing over he watched as Lucius crossed the room and sat rather gracefully in the rather conveniently placed chair in front of him.

"I'm waiting Draco."

Draco pulled himself up the chair so he was sitting up right and took a deep breath, refusing to look at Lucius. He was going to do this, he couldn't watch the disappointment and anger on his father's face.

"What do you want to know?"

"Is there a girl? More than one?"

"What makes you so sure there's anyone?"

Lucius made a noise that was dangerously close to a snort and looked at Draco like he was stupid. "Your reaction at dinner made it perfectly clear and even if it didn't, I'm not your mother. I'm not naive enough to think you're a virgin."

"There is someone." he admitted reluctantly. One part of him wanted to tell his father the truth while the other part, the part that had spent seventeen years trying to please his father was telling him to shut the fuck up.

"How serious is it between you and this someone?"

"If it wasn't serious I wouldn't be telling you about it."

"Draco you are really starting to piss me off with your cryptic answers. When I ask you a question I want a straight answer." Lucius warned.

Draco frowned and glared at Lucius, meeting his eyes for the first time.

"You want the truth? Alright, here's the truth. I'm gay and for the past year I have been in a very committed relationship with Harry Potter, someone I love more than I ever thought was possible. I bought a house with my trust fund and at the end of year we're moving in together."

Lucius sat blinking at him with a look on his face Draco had never seen before. The silence was surprisingly comfortable. Draco had been waiting for screaming and cursing, silence was a pleasant alternative. Although judging from the slight muscle twitch in Lucius's left eye, Draco was willing to bet the silence wouldn't last long.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!"

There it was. Draco flinched at the harsh voice of his father, once again avoiding eye contact.

"Father please, mother will hear." Draco pleaded.

"FUCK YOUR MOTHER!"

"No thanks." he muttered under his breath, but not quiet enough because Lucius heard him.

"Do you think this is funny?"

Draco paled when Lucius stopped yelling and spoke in a calm and cold tone. This was new, he could deal with screaming but that new tone screamed dangerous.

"No."

Lucius glared at him a little while longer while assessing the truth of Draco's answer.

"Draco I was your age once and I understand what this…..thing with Potter must feel like."

Draco couldn't help himself.

"You understand what it's like to be sexually attracted to a man?"

"Not that part. But you need to understand that what you're feeling isn't love, not really. It's a crush and it will pass. This changes nothing. You will break things off with Potter and when you have finished school you will marry a woman you're mother and I will choose for you. You will do your duty to this family!"

"What? No! You have no idea how I feel about Harry! I love him. I know it, he knows it. Whether you believe me or not won't change that. And even if I didn't, even if it was just a fling, what could possibly make you think I'd marry a woman?" Draco's disbelief was making him feel braver then he had since the conversation had started.

"I will not let you throw your life away for an easy fuck! I don't care if you're gay, straight or asexual! You will marry a nice respectable woman and produce a heir." Lucius was beginning to scream again.

"Would you really make me marry someone I could never love?"

Lucius snorted and looked at Draco like he was an idiot.

"Marriage isn't about love! You're the only heir to the Malfoy fortune, unfortunately you don't get the luxury of marring for love."

Draco sighed and collapsed in on himself. Arguing with his father would get him nowhere. Lucius still lived by traditions and Draco they would never see eye to eye.

"I'm sorry father, but I'm not going to spend my life trapped in a marriage that makes me miserable to uphold some fucked up sixteenth century tradition. You can disown me, you can cut me off, you can threaten to never speak to me again, but nothing you say or do with change my mind. Now if you don't have anything to say to me that doesn't involve screaming, I'm going to bed."

Draco waited and when he got no answer he stood up and left, but Lucius's voice stopped him before he made it to the door.

"Are you really in love him?"

Draco turned and faced his father.

"Yes. It scares me a little how much I love him sometimes." he answered honestly.

Lucius nodded slowly and let out a deep, weary sigh.

"Alright. Don't fuck it up Draco."

"Are you giving me your blessing?" Draco asked wide eyed.

"I'm giving you my indifference."

"What about mother?"

"Your mother will deal with it."

"Right….well, I'll see you in the morning."

"Oh, Draco? One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"I never want to see or hear anything that relates to this. Ever."

"Fair enough."

Draco finally made his escape more light-hearted then he had thought possible. It could have gone better but it also could have gone a hell of a lot worse. The best thing that came out of the entire hideous affair was the fact that for the first time since the holiday had started, he could go to sleep knowing that he had done exactly what he had promised Harry he would and tomorrow he could write him a letter and not have to feel guilty. As he was laying in bed when he allowed himself a little laugh at a funny thought.

"I wonder how Granger and Weasley will take it."