Love Is Indispensable

By Rice-Ball247

Summary: Draco Malfoy didn't know anything about love, Harry concluded. The reason as to why he was giving him a chance was beyond his own understanding, but now it seems that Draco is the one teaching Harry how to love. Draco/Harry

Rice-Ball247: Seventh chapter of Love Is Indispensable. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I apologize for not updating. Last week was graduation and there was plenty of preparation for end of the year etc. I actually didn't go home until the late hours every day. But enough about me whining. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters involved, JK Rowling does.

Love Is Not Self-Seeking

By the time Christmas had rolled around, Harry and Draco had already completed their shopping for the festive holiday and had yet to trade their gifts to each other. They had now been dating for seven weeks and Harry was getting comfortable with affectionate and intimate gestures by Draco, though he found it difficult to admit anything in fear of mistaking himself. By the 25th of December, a thick layer of snow had painted all of Malfoy Manor a picturesque scene. Despite it not being a castle, the manor had at least one tower in each wing, making that a total of four turrets that seemed to crawl into the sky if one stood directly beneath one. Harry had been given a tour of the Malfoy home, each wing taking precisely one day, simply from the mere size. In addition to that, there were many interesting artifacts and bits of history behind Malfoy Manor that Harry, surprisingly, found himself quite interested in.

"My grandfather had this wing built in honour of my father's birth. My father did no such thing for me, but I can see that it would have been completely wasted on me," Draco explained as they walked across a huge expanse of intricately woven carpet underfoot. Draco pointed up to a magical, golden-framed portrait of a thin looking man who had an uncanny similarity to Lucius Malfoy.

"Draco!" the man boomed, smiling down good-naturedly at his grandson. Draco bowed to the elder and gestured for Harry to do the same. The man in the portrait, Abraxas Malfoy, stated the plaque beneath it, grinned in a way that Harry thought would have been impossible for the older Malfoy generations. It was weird enough to have seen Draco smile the first time, but after that, he loved seeing Draco's face light up with delight.

"You must be Harry Potter. Young Draco here comes to see me daily. He's been telling me about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Abraxas told him, his eyes shining with fondness. Harry glanced over to see Draco's cheeks become a deep shade of pink. Harry returned the kind greeting with sincerity, feeling his heart swell with pride when he realized that, despite what had happened at the start of Christmas Break, he'd pretty much gotten Draco's family to adore him.

Narcissa Malfoy had gotten over her fit and doted on Harry as if he were Draco, spoiling him with sweets and cakes when they had free time, or simply sitting down to talk with him while Draco had to discuss the more finer points of his inheritance of the Malfoy fortune.

After their tour was done, Draco had shown Harry the extensive library that was located closer to the drawing rooms than any other part of the manor. He explained that on occasion, he, his father or Severus Snape (when visiting), enjoyed reading in the drawing rooms. For Snape to have the want to read from the Malfoy library probably meant that there were indeed rare and expensive books that the potions master probably would have only dreamed of acquiring. Harry didn't dislike books but he did find the heavier tomes to be a waste of precious time. Why read pages and pages worth of words when they can be explained easier and in slimmer volumes? In Harry's opinion, it made the hobby of reading a lot more tedious. Draco laughed when Harry voiced this opinion and told him that he needed him to stay in the library for today.

"Why?" Harry asked as Draco sat down and pulled him into his lap. Draco gave him a lazy, open-mouthed kiss while at the same time, summoning a book from a nearby shelf. It wasn't as well stocked as the other bookshelves, merely because it wasn't as big, so Harry figured that this must have been Draco's personal selection. Harry moaned into the kiss while Draco grabbed the paperback and set it down on the small table beside him.

"Gotta" – a sloppy suck to Harry's tongue – "do some" – Harry nipped Draco's bottom lip playfully – "work with" – Draco licked the side of Harry's mouth, along the edge of his lips before delving back into the kiss – "Father."

Harry nodded but did not move from Draco's lap. He straddled the older boy and held a hand to his pulse-point, gently stroking the patch of skin with the pad of his thumb. "And leave me here all alone with all the big, bad books, on Christmas Day, no less?" A pout caused Draco to laugh, instead of having the desired reaction of acquiescence to Harry's wants. Draco placed a close-mouthed kiss on Harry's lips before he shifted to the side, causing Harry to fall into the plushy armchair.

"Sorry, Harry. Working," Draco told him, as if that would explain everything. Harry watched as Draco left the room before he rolled his eyes and picked up the paperback book that Draco had left on the table. The cover didn't look very interesting, but then again, Harry knew not to judge a book by its cover; so with only a marginal amount of hesitation, he flipped the cover open and went directly to the first chapter.

Two hours later found Harry sitting drowsily in the armchair, slouching where he sat. If there had been someone watching him, they would have been amused at the many positions Harry had assumed while reading, one of them being upside down (obviously, that didn't last long, as Harry soon discovered, since all the blood had rushed to his head). Harry wondered what Draco was doing now. He'd never imagined that he'd find himself reading a book during Christmas, by himself (he figured this was how Snape must have felt and vowed to get the man a good brand of scotch the next time he saw him), so he decided that, on the off-chance that Malfoy Manor had gone 'muggle-ized', there would be at least one telephone somewhere in the gigantic building.

He replaced the book on the table (not knowing exactly which shelf Draco had gotten the book from) and left the library to wander about, in search of a telephone. True, he could just send a message by owl, but he wouldn't dare send his poor Hedwig out in the cold. Right now, she was probably preening in her cage, warm by the fire. He really wanted to talk to Ron and Hermione, since he'd usually spend Christmas at the Burrow with the Weasley family and his best friends.

He passed a few empty rooms, thinking to himself that Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy really should have had more children to liven the place up. It was just too…lonely. Harry continued down a familiar corridor, courtesy of Draco's tour-guiding skills and slipped into another hallway. The portraits had gotten used to him and greeted him cordially (except the one of a snobbish looking couple in the eastern wing, who continued to mock Harry every time he walked past – Harry figured that they must have just hated their positioning, having to face the sun every morning), so Harry was able to stop and ask for directions whenever he got lost. He ended up back in front of his room and wondered if there might have been a telephone in there that he might not have noticed before.

He turned around when he heard a voice coming from Draco's room, and it was Draco, but he seemed to be talking to someone else (and Harry felt that he might have been using a telephone). He stood there, pensive for a moment, debating whether or not he should walk in and interrupt, when he heard something that made him stand stock still.

"I don't love him, you nitwit," Draco seemed to hiss. There was a silence before a groan left Draco's mouth and he was shouting yet again, "No! Look, it's Christmas, so could you just-"

Draco fell silent, and Harry presumed he'd been interrupted when Draco began to rattle off with a few, colourful choice words that would have sent the foulest-mouthed of sailors turning in their graves. "You're a bloody git if you think I'd ever love him. There's nothing between us, trust me. I'll be sure to tell him today." A short pause, "Okay, okay. Goodbye."

Harry distinctively heard him mutter 'and good riddance!' before silence reigned over the hallway once again. Behind him, he could hear the pitying crooning of a plump, old lady (who reminded him very much of the Fat Lady guarding the Gryffindor common room), before the door to Draco's room opened and said boy stepped out. He stopped short and Harry could see the surprise written on his face when he saw him.

"Harry? What are you doing-"

Draco was cut off before Harry turned on his heel and swept back into his room, slamming the door in Draco's face. There was a loud pounding on the door, obviously Draco in his attempts to get Harry to open up. Imagine Harry's surprise when he heard a loud crack from somewhere behind him (he was face down on his bed) and the sound of Draco's voice filtered through the drawn curtains. Oh, of course Draco could Apparate around the house. It was his home after all. Bloody git.

"Harry…?" the sound of Draco's unsure voice confirmed his hesitation. There was a deep sigh before Draco continued. "You heard the entire thing, didn't you?"

Harry didn't answer and Draco assumed that he did not want to talk. Couldn't he just leave him be? As it was, he hated the feeling that his heart was being…oh, he didn't know the feeling really, it was the first time he'd felt it in his life – his heart felt like it was being stepped on and the pressure was becoming so great, he thought he'd might actually cry out in pain. Again, Draco called his voice and Harry's heart leapt to his throat when he realized exactly how close he was. Didn't he know to leave someone who was wallowing in misery alone?!

The curtain drew back and Harry only had half a mind to give him a sucker punch before he felt Draco's hands forcing him down. Harry, thinking that Draco was trying to attack him, struggled, of course, and had managed to punch Draco across the jaw. It wasn't strong enough to bruise since Harry had only done it half-heartedly. Draco looked as if he'd been slapped and sat there, stunned. Harry might as well have cast 'stupefy' on him, judging from the way he sat so still.

"D-Draco?" Harry croaked out, seeing the immediate tears that sprung to Draco's eyes. "Oh come on, I didn't hit you that hard, did I?"

"It's not that," Draco finally whispered when he didn't laugh at Harry's nervous banter. "You're angry at me, aren't you?" he said quietly. Harry didn't say anything as Draco fell back onto his haunches and then continued to sit there in silence. "Do you…hate me, again?"

It was probably the 'again' that had bothered Harry the most. He knew he didn't hate Draco, despite what the implications of what the boy had been talking about before could have been. Harry watched as Draco, dejectedly, turned away from Harry and slowly got up off the bed. His heart thudded loudly when Draco didn't turn back and walked out of the room in silence.

'Idiot!' He shouted to himself mentally. 'Chase after him!'

He didn't have to run very far. After sitting there, stunned, for a total of five seconds, he'd finally gotten enough motivation for his body to move and he bolted out of the bed as if he'd been electrified. He found himself outside of Draco's door and it suddenly occurred to him that he'd never actually been in there before. He placed a tentative knock to Draco's door, but was met only with silence. Harry had never been one to listen to rules on mannerisms, so he simply turned the doorknob, and to his surprise, it was unlocked.

Draco's room was, of course, more furnished and lived in than Harry's (if you would call it Harry's). The carpet was soft (Harry and Draco often walked around barefoot when in each other's company, as Lucius and Narcissa didn't mind – provided there weren't any visitors), like any other part of the manor, but Draco's was a dark blue. There was a large study desk that occupied one side of the room that was littered with papers and stacked with books. Harry felt his lip curl into a smile when he spotted the brand new computer that was turned off on Draco's table. One wall was taken up entirely by a walk-in wardrobe and all doors were closed. There was a door to the right, which Harry presumed must have been the adjoining toilet, as he had one as well.

To his left, there was a large television that looked as if it hadn't been used in months, judging by the layer of dust that covered it. Draco didn't seem like the type of person to sit and watch the telly on a daily basis. A large couch occupied the space there as well as a fireplace that looked, oddly, out of place. There were wizarding and muggle video games and consoles, enough to make any little boy's dream come true. Harry was reminded of Dudley for a split second before he turned his attention to the ball that was curled up on a four-poster bed, covered entirely in midnight blue, silk sheets. Harry felt a tingle as soon as he touched the bed. The drapery was open, so he could clearly see Draco's form hidden beneath his blankets.

"Go away Harry," came Draco's muffled voice. Harry spotted a mobile phone sitting on Draco's bedside table. So he had been using a phone. Harry ignored his boyfriend's order and crawled into Draco's bed from behind him. He heard a soft sniffle and presumed Draco had been crying. He felt his heart stutter at the thought and promptly buried his head into the crook of Draco's silk-sheet covered neck. For a moment, neither of them moved before Harry had felt Draco shifting under the sheets and moved so that Draco's head could finally be seen. His hair was a disarrayed mess and Harry would have laughed, had he not seen the red hue in Draco's eyes that signaled a good cry. "Does it make you feel better to see me like this?"

The tone was almost accusatory. Harry felt slightly miffed that Draco would think that and so he shook his head in response. The blond looked surprised, but turned away instead and lowered his voice. "What you heard…"

"I'm sorry for overreacting, Draco," Harry murmured. Draco looked up suddenly in shock and his mouth opened and then promptly closed. He lifted his head in that haughty manner that only he could pull off and sniffed slightly. Harry rolled his eyes and gave him a small smile. "So are you going to explain what I heard, or am I to presume that you don't like me anymore?"

"Love, Harry," Draco stressed on the word, causing Harry to sit there, completely still. Even after hearing Draco saying it many times, he couldn't get over it. "I love you."

"Right…err…" Harry paused. How could he tell Draco such things if even he felt embarrassed about admitting, out loud, that Draco loved him? Draco didn't say anything, but Harry could see that the other boy was in pain, not of the physical sort, but his eyes were dulled, somewhat.

'I'm not going to ruin Christmas for anyone,' Harry told himself firmly. He leaned over and pushed Draco down on the bed, the blond going down without protest. Harry sat there, atop Draco for what seemed like a full minute, when in reality, it had only been about five seconds, not sure of exactly what he was supposed to do. Draco continued to watch him, curiosity shining in his stormy, grey eyes as Harry shifted awkwardly atop him. Sure, he'd initiated some kisses before and had shown a bit of his dominant side in the library, but still…

He cupped Draco's cheek, where he'd punched him and bent down to kiss the slightly reddened flesh there. A small sound left Draco's throat, but the blond stubbornly kept his mouth shut. Harry could feel the damp trails on Draco's cheeks where tears had run their course. He started from Draco's chin and kissed his way up the right tear-track, leading up to Draco's gorgeous eyes. The blond's eyes fluttered close as Harry pressed a kiss to his eyelid and around his temple, moving across his forehead to kiss the other eyelid and then move down the tear-track to hover over Draco's lips. Harry didn't move, nose-to-nose with Draco. The blond's eyes opened and Harry could sense a slight annoyance from the boy before he leaned down and kissed Draco, coaxing his mouth open within a matter of seconds. Draco let out a pleased moan as Harry kissed him, feeling his soft hands stroking at his face gently.

After a minute or two of their usual kissing, Draco's hands moved to Harry's shoulders to squeeze the toned muscles there before moving down a lengthy torso to cup the brunet's bum. Harry let out a squeak as Draco smirked into the kiss and then gripped Harry's hips, pushing them down onto his own. Harry broke the kiss, lifting his head to gasp for air before he lowered his head once again and devoured Draco's sensual mouth. They'd had a lot of practice with this – that was for certain.

"I'd hate to ruin the moment, but if you two could keep your hands to yourselves for perhaps an hour or two, I'll let you reign havoc on the manor after the gift exchange," came an amused voice from the door. Harry was the one who flung himself from Draco this time and they couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu when Narcissa appeared in the doorway again, but this time, her eyes were alit with merriment. Harry and Draco coughed and attempted to clean themselves up as they followed Mrs. Malfoy to the living room. Harry couldn't believe that he'd left the door open!

Narcissa moved to her seat, beside Lucius, in a comfy looking armchair. A large, crackling fire warmed them from behind the grate and firebox. Beside the fireplace (Harry figured it must have been enchanted, somewhat) was a Christmas tree that stood so tall, it almost rivaled the ones at Hogwarts. Beneath it was a large collection of presents and Harry felt pleased that people knew him well enough to forward them to Malfoy Manor itself.

There was a throw rug near the hearth of the fireplace and Narcissa indicated for them to sit there while they distributed the gifts. Draco pulled Harry into his lap, like the many times before and levitated the many colourfully wrapped gifts closer. No one was surprised when Harry had gotten the largest pile, but Draco's collection of Christmas presents seemed to be at large as well. Narcissa and Lucius watched their son and (hopefully future-son) his boyfriend unwrap their presents without restraint. To Draco's secret delight, he'd been sent a sweater, hand-knitted by Molly Weasley in Slytherin green with a silver 'D' embroidered to the front. He put it on eagerly, much to the dismay of his parents, who still hadn't gotten over the Weasley family yet, but were willing to tolerate them. Harry had gotten his own hand-knitted sweater and they continued to unwrap the gifts.

Hermione had actually gotten him a pretty interesting book, one that Harry vowed to read later, when he had the time. Ron had gotten him another broom self-maintenance set and Harry mentally said a word of thanks to his friend, because his old set had gotten…well…old. There was an assortment of things from the Weasley family and Harry was pleased to see that Draco had gotten something from them, including a box of exclusive Weasley Wizard Wheezes assortments, compliments of Fred and George. Ron had gotten Draco a weird looking item that caused Draco's eyebrows to shoot up to his hairline ('Wow', were his exact words, but he didn't elaborate any further) and Hermione had gotten him an excessively large tome that had caused Draco to actually let out a squeal of delight. His parents looked rather pleased with the book and Draco quickly explained to Harry that, despite his wealth, he'd never been able to get his hands on this particular volume. Harry laughed, but didn't question him further. Harry thanked Lucius and Narcissa when they'd given him their gift, the newest broomstick that put all others to shame, from Lucius, and a box of home-made sweets and cakes from Narcissa that almost seemed to have an endless bottom (Harry feared he'd gain too much weight to be able to fly said broomstick if he ate all of Narcissa's treats).

By the time it was their turn to exchange gifts, Harry was fidgeting nervously as Draco unwrapped his present and a large grin lit up the majority of his face.

"My parents were right in naming me Draco," the blond laughed along with his parents as he showed them the pendant that Harry had commissioned for him. It must have cost Harry a lot, but Draco was stunned when he'd opened the box revealing the gift. "I love you, so much, Harry," he told him, almost naturally as he put the pendant around his neck.

Harry merely smiled as Draco fished around in his pockets for Harry's present. Draco had turned red and looked away in embarrassment as Harry gushed over the ring he'd gotten him.

"Draco, it's…"

"Don't you dare say girly," Draco interjected with a nervous kind of smile. Harry laughed and threw his arms around Draco's neck and clung onto him for a few seconds for good measure before Draco took the silver ring with a gold band in the centre and held it up for Harry to see the words engraved on the inside.

"To my Harry, I love you, always – Draco," Harry read out loud, his cheeks growing red despite the sudden hoarseness of his voice. His heart had never beaten so fast in his life; he thought it would sprout legs and run a marathon without him. He seemed to almost choke on his words, his eyes brimming with tears as he slipped it onto his left ring finger, much to Draco's surprise. "I love it."

Lucius and Narcissa exchanged glances before they wisely left the room to give the boys their much needed 'alone time'. All they could hear was the crackling of the fire and the steady beating of their hearts and breaths as they held each other, basking in the warm glow of the heat.

"About before," Draco began, stoking Harry's hair as he held him to his chest. "What you heard, I wasn't referring to you. The 'work' I had to do with my dad was to rewrite the contract for my inheritance. Before you, I was going to be…arranged to marry a benefiter family to strengthen ties. Apparently, the guy I eventually got betrothed to actually got the hots for me and-"

Harry lifted his head from Draco's chest and silenced him with a kiss. "Shh, Draco. Don't worry. Don't talk about them for now. They're not important right now."

Draco's eyebrows almost tasted his fringe as Harry slid up his body and pinned him to the floor with an almost predatory smile. "Harry, I'd give you my everything. They were never important to me in the first place. When you're in love with someone…" Draco paused, trailing off, before he seemed to find the right words and said, "Love is not self-seeking. I really would give you everything I could ever possibly own. I'm sorry I seemed so selfish earlier on today-"

Harry stole Draco's breath with another kiss and leaned his forehead against his boyfriend's. Draco could feel the hair of their fringes meshed together as Harry seemed to breathe all of him in. He stared searchingly up into Harry's emerald eyes, past the glinting lenses of his glasses. Draco removed them from Harry's face and placed them with the presents, then reached up and kissed the lightning bolt scar that remained there as reminder of their past.

"If love is not self-seeking," Harry began, leaning closer to Draco's lips, but stopping short. Draco's eyes implored Harry's, his breath catching in his throat as Harry closed his eyes and let the words come to him. "Then I will be the most selfless person on this planet, if it means I can be with you. Happy Christmas, Draco."

Words could not describe the way joy seemed to seep into Draco's very bones at that moment, melting every fibre of his being. Words could not describe the way his heart had leapt to his throat and he let out a strangled cry as he held Harry and whispered the mantra of 'I love you' over and over again until Harry found himself believing the words without a doubt.

Believing, living, trusting and loving.

Rice-Ball247: Well...I've never been good at writting very fluffy things before so...Review and tell me what you thought about my attempt on fluff.