A/N: Just so you all know, I've started back at school, so updates won't be quite as frequent. I won't give up on this, though! I promise! This is what I get for going to uni in America, where they start in August. I should have just stayed at home! All my friends from England don't have to go back until September. :(
For the Rest of My Life (We'll Dance Through the Night)
3 July, 2000
Harry paces the length of the small room, barely stopping to glance at his reflection in the mirror, his hands absently fidgeting with the collar of his dress robes. His heart is pounding in his chest, his mind racing, and he pulls his wand from his inside pocket and twirls it between his fingers to give himself something to do, an outlet to stop his hands from compulsively smoothing his lapels.
"I don't know what I'm thinking, getting into this," he's saying as he paces back and forth. "This is mad! Honestly, I don't know why you didn't stop me years ago. I just can't go through with this. I mean, everyone's down there, and they're all waiting, and it's just going to be a huge disaster."
"Whoa, Harry, mate, slow down," Ron says, ducking as Harry begins talking with his hands, the wand that's still in his hand shooting off a stream of sparks that narrowly avoids Ron's ear. "Hermione won't thank you for taking my head off."
"This is all just so insane," Harry continues as though Ron hasn't spoken. "It'll never last. We're just too different. There's no way. And besides, Teddy will never keep his dress robes clean. He'll be covered in mud by noon, so there's really no point in all that. I'm too young for this. I mean, really, what were you thinking, letting me do this?"
Ron, who has plucked the wand from Harry's hand and crossed to peer out the window at the assembly of people on the lawn below, turns as Harry's rambling speech comes to an abrupt halt. "Oh, is it my turn to speak, then?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.
Harry huffs and turns toward the mirror, running a hand over his ever-messy hair. "I just don't think I can do this," he says, shaking his head and looking to Ron's reflection over his shoulder, unsure.
"Well, you can't back out now," Ron says, glancing out the window again. "Face it. You're getting married."
Harry's heart does a funny somersault at the word, and his stomach jumps into his throat. He swallows thickly. "I'm no good at all this, though," he says, his voice tight. "What if I forget the words or he doesn't show up or —"
But Ron holds up a hand, cutting him off. "Look, Harry, I know I didn't like all this at first," he starts, crossing the room and turning Harry around so he can fix his tie. "But it's been nearly two years now, and I've never seen you happier. So you're going to stop your whinging and get out there. If I have to put on this ridiculous suit and talk you down, there better at least be some best manning for me to do once it's all said and done."
Harry nods, but he knows he's probably still looking pale. Just then, Hermione sticks her head in the room, looking beautiful with her hair pulled up and dotted with tiny yellow flowers. "Is he ready then?" she asks Ron. "Pansy's only just finished calming Draco down, and I think we've got a few minutes to get this over with before they both work themselves back up again. These two are unbelievable, honestly."
"I'm standing right here," Harry says, waving his hand at her slightly.
"Yes, hello, Harry. I see you," Hermione says, smiling at him as though he were a child. "You look lovely. Now let's get going, shall we? The ceremony was supposed to start ten minutes ago."
Ron grabs Harry's shoulders forcefully and shakes him a bit, and Harry is strongly reminded of a boxer being readied for a fight. "Come on, mate, you can do this," Ron says, turning him around and pushing him toward the door. "This is what you want, so stop being a git and just do it already."
"Oh, that's very nice, Ronald," Hermione says sarcastically as they make their way down the stairs and out the door.
Harry almost wishes he wasn't so nervous right now, because he wants to be able to appreciate the beauty of his wedding without his stomach churning with snakes every time he looks at a flower arrangement. The ceremony and reception are being held on the large, sloping lawn of a cheerful old mansion in Sussex. To be honest, the place is really more like a small castle, with its grounds filled with ponds and dotted with forests. The heady smell of summer hangs thick in the air as they exit through the back door, and Harry can hear the soft babble of their assembled family and friends in the distance. His heart seems to pound faster as they draw closer, Ron occasionally giving him a push in the right direction.
When they reach the end of the aisle and Hermione hurries to find her seat at the front, a hush seems to go around the group and everyone turns together to stare at him. Harry feels as though his legs have turned to lead as Teddy scrambles over to them, looking important in his dress robes and tie. Harry smiles down at him weakly.
"You ready, little man?" Harry asks him, trying hard to force his voice to sound normal. "Remember what you're supposed to do?"
"Uncle Draco!" Teddy says happily, swinging the ring pillow in one hand as he points down the aisle.
Harry follows his finger to where Draco is standing at the altar, his dress robes crisp as he pulls at the cuffs of his sleeves. Harry feels his heart stop for the briefest of moments, but then Draco looks up and sees him there, meeting his eye, and the grin that spreads across Draco's face is all the reassurance he needs. He takes a deep breath, feeling his heart rate slow down, the rolling of his stomach finally taking a break.
"I'm ready," he says to Ron, nodding his head once. "I can do this."
"You sure?" Ron asks, looking as though he thinks might need to push Harry in the direction of the altar again.
"Yeah. Let's go," Harry says, not taking his eyes off Draco's.
He's sure the music kicks up as he starts down the aisle, but he doesn't really hear it. His ears seem to be filled with a faint sort of buzzing noise that is urging him forward, his feet moving of their own accord, no longer heavy. When he reaches the altar, Draco's smile turns into a bit of a smirk.
"You're lucky I like you, Potter," he says, swaying closer to whisper in Harry's ear. "Give you an evil wizard and you're fine, no problem. Come time to marry me, though, and it takes Weasley an hour to talk you out of the room."
"From what I hear, you had your own problems, Malfoy," Harry laughs, squeezing Draco's hand. "I bet Pansy talked herself hoarse just to get you here."
Just then, the ceremony begins, but most of it is a blur to Harry. His mind is a whirl of happy thoughts, marvelling at the fact that the two of them are here right now, that they've come to this point in their lives where there's no more fighting, no more rivalry, no more animosity. It's just the two of them and Teddy, his life better than he ever imagined it could be. As the time for their vows comes around, Harry feels Draco squeeze at his fingers a bit, bringing him out of his thoughts.
Draco bends to take one of the rings from Teddy's pillow, winking at him as he does so and ruffling the little boy's hair. As he straightens up and meets Harry's eyes again, Teddy grins at his job well done.
"You had just turned eleven when we first met, and I'm afraid I rather made a fool of myself," Draco begins, pausing as a quiet laugh goes around the gathering of their friends and family. "I remember how small you looked, swallowed alive by those huge clothes, but there was something about you, even then, that I think I picked up on. I'm not sure what it was, but I do know that ever since then, you've been the person I turn to when I need to get something off my chest. For a lot of years, that meant you were a target for me, but now, after all we've been through, I've learned that it's much better when I come to you for support instead. We're so strong together, and I just know that no matter what happens, we'll be able to make it work. Harry, I love you, with all my heart."
He slips the thick band onto Harry's left ring finger, letting his hand linger there for a moment. Harry smiles at him like he can't quite believe he's real, and he's lost again for a moment until Draco clears his throat.
"It's your turn," he says, and everyone laughs again.
Harry feels himself go red. "Right, sorry. Well, I'm not sure what to say that I haven't already told you a thousand times, but here goes. When I was growing up, I never had much of a family, and I used to wish that someone would come to find me and give me one. As I started to get older, it seemed like my prayers had finally been answered. I had a group of friends that got to be close enough that they felt like they were my family. But…even with all that…I still felt like I was missing something." He pauses and glances down at their joined hands, sees the ring on his finger, and feels a jolt of courage run through him before he continues on. "Then one day, nearly two years ago, you just showed up out of nowhere. You forced your way into my life like you'd always belonged there, and you haven't left since. To be honest, I didn't even realise we were together until there was no looking back. But the thing is, being with you, having you by my side…it's easy. After all we've been through, we just sort of fit together now in a way that I never thought was possible. The past two years with you have been the happiest of my life, and I can't wait to see what the next hundred brings us as a family. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I love you. And I'll be here by your side for the rest of my life."
Now that the most nerve-wracking part of the day has ended and the ring is placed securely on Draco's finger, Harry's ears seem to clear out and he can hear, as though for the first time, the sniffling of the people in the crowd, the chirping of the birds in the trees around them, the words of the tiny old wizard who's marrying them.
"Do you, Draco Lucius," he's saying, "take Harry James to be your partner in this life, bonded forever in harmony?"
Draco gives him the smallest of winks and squeezes his hands, the smile on his face spreading even wider. "I do," he says quietly, nodding his head.
"And do you, Harry James, take Draco Lucius to be your partner in this life, bonded forever in harmony?" the wizard asks again.
Harry takes a deep breath. This is it; this is the moment everything has been leading up to. Two small words and his life will forever be unalterably changed. This is the ultimate plunge into the unknown, into the part of him that he never saw coming, that no one ever even expected. But as all this runs through his head, Harry realises that it isn't really the unknown anymore, that he doesn't care what's been expected for them. They've battled through so much, the two of them, and it's high time they finally get what they want, time for Harry to claim his reward. He steadies himself, holding tightly to Draco's hands.
"I do," he says, and it feels as though an explosion has gone off in his chest.
The batty old wizard smiles at the two of them, raising his wand. "I now pronounce you bonded for life," he says, and as Draco pulls Harry forward with a delighted grin on his face a whirl of golden stars wraps around their bodies. Harry cracks open an eye to watch, pulling out of the kiss as he begins to laugh at the sight of it all.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the old wizard says once the sparks have faded away and the clapping has mostly stopped. "For the first time, I present to you, Harry and Draco Malfoy-Potter."
The next hour or so is a happy whirl of congratulations and kind words by family and friends. Harry stands with Draco through it all, an arm wrapped around his waist as though it's always been there, and he can't help but feel as though this day is very near perfect. There are a few noticeable absences in the crowd that give Harry a brief sombre pause when he realises that Fred, Remus, Moody…so many will never be able to see the joyous world that they sacrificed for. Lucius Malfoy is not present either, which doesn't really surprise Harry, though he knows Draco is quietly upset about it. Though Lucius has never been outwardly spiteful toward Harry since the end of the war, mostly because he knows it's unwise in the current political climate, he's never been more than distant when Draco brings him around.
Teddy runs over to them as the last of the congratulators are trickling away to get food, and Draco bends to swing the little boy up into his arms. "Hey, Teddy," he says happily, rubbing his thumb over a spot of dirt on his collar. "What do you think? Hmm? How'd it go?"
Teddy reaches up to tug hard at the ends of Draco's hair, one of his chubby fingers accidentally stabbing Draco in the eye. "Wand made pretty light," Teddy says happily, his hair flashing golden for a brief moment.
"It's getting late," Harry says, fidgeting with Teddy's collar. "Whenever his colours start changing like that it means he's getting tired. Maybe we should get him to the Burrow so he can sleep. We don't want him to get too fussy."
They're leaving Teddy with the Weasleys for a long week so they can have a proper honeymoon, and though Harry's excited about it and knows Mr and Mrs Weasley will take care of him as though he were their own, he can't help worrying about it. Teddy hasn't spent more than a night away from them since last year, and it's only been in the last three or four months that he's stopped having nightmares.
"Stop being such a mother hen," Draco tells him, shifting Teddy a little so that he can't reach his face anymore. "Let the boy have a bit of fun. He'll be fine."
Mrs Weasley bustles over to them just then, all smiles and tears still glistening in her eyes. "Oh, Harry, dear, I'm so proud of you," she says for the umpteenth time that day, wiping an imaginary smudge from his cheek. "And Draco, welcome to the family. How's our boy doing?"
"Harry's worrying of course, but he's just fine, aren't you Teddy?" Draco asks, beaming down at the little boy.
It had taken a while for Draco to adjust to being so familiar with the Weasleys, but over time, he's risen to it magnificently, Harry thinks. Any lingering animosity between Ron and Draco is mostly carried off as a joke, and for Mrs Weasley's part, Harry's pretty sure it's impossible to resist her mothering and happy outlook. They're the closest thing he has to a proper family, Harry had told Draco when they'd first gotten together, and it's been very important to him over the years to ensure that Draco got along with the lot of them.
"Here, I'll take him," Mrs Weasley says, reaching to pull Teddy from Draco's arms gently. "Give the happy couple a moment to themselves, shall we?"
Not long after that, they're urged onto the dance floor by Hermione, who seems to have taken it upon herself to ensure that the entire evening goes off without a hitch. As they sway in a circle, everyone gathered around them and watching with smiles on their faces, Draco turns his head so his lips are pressed to the shell of Harry's ear.
"I love you," he whispers, and Harry can feel his lips curling upward into a wry smirk. "And I intend to prove it over and over tonight."
Harry feels a hot thrill run through him and he presses closer into Draco, humming his agreement. "Stop it," Harry scolds, though he doesn't really mean it. "Your mother is watching."
Draco laughs quietly, pressing a kiss into Harry's temple, and they're silent for a moment, just enjoying each other, minds wandering. "I have a surprise for you," he says after a while as more people begin to dance.
"Oh, you do?" Harry asks, his mind foggy.
"Mmm. This house?" Draco says, his hand pressing firmly into the small of Harry's back, tugging him even closer. "It's ours. My little wedding present to us."
Harry pulls back just enough so he can meet Draco's eye. He pauses there for a moment, searching for something, then his face splits into a grin and he laughs, pressing his forehead to Draco's. "You're incredible," Harry says, barely above a whisper. "Really, you are. I love you."
And as Draco pulls him into a kiss, images of a newly possible, beautiful, previously unimaginable future flash before his eyes. Lazy afternoons spent exploring the grounds, the springtime bloom of flowers exploding into colour before them, watching Teddy grow up in this place, growing old, impossibly happy. Harry holds tightly to Draco, his mind still whirling with happy thoughts, and he can't help but think he's the luckiest man in the world.