Author's Note: Actually, I've planned out that this will be the second to last chapter and the next one will be the last one instead of like three more. I don't want to draw it out too long or anything. How do you like it so far? :) Any suggestions (and reviews!) are VERY welcome! Now, Draco's POV!

Chapter 23

The weeks leading to graduation day moved swiftly, leaving Draco in a startled dust. It had all gone so quickly. Every night for the past few weeks, he and Harry would visit Narcissa to catch up, sometimes bringing friends like Blaise and Pansy, or Granger and Weasley, who had joined them a couple of times. It was ridiculous, how wonderfully his mother and Harry were getting along. His mother constantly fawned over how sweet Harry was, how funny and charming he was and 'oh did you notice how wonderful Harry is at everything he does?' every time Draco went to visit her alone. In fact, right now Harry had gone to see her before class to drop off Rebecca and chat a bit.

Draco rolled his eyes and picked at his breakfast. He had just wanted them to tolerate each other, not to become each other's best friend. Harry was his, not his mother's, for Merlin's sake! But he had to admit; it was quite amusing to see Harry blush whenever Narcissa fretted over him, so Draco took what he could get anyway. Besides, Harry and Draco got to spend a lot more alone time together now that his mother agreed to watch over Rebecca-doll and Granger and Weasley had—well they had begun some sort of convoluted relationship where they would fight one minute then snog another. Weasley had hugged Harry and told him 'thank you' after it had happened some two weeks ago. Harry had just winked and pretended to zip up his lips. Sometimes, I think I have too much of an influence on him.

Blaise joined Draco at the breakfast table, grinning widely. Draco groaned inwardly, recognizing that look. Blaise was in a particularly taunting mood, and Draco was the only target here. "Hello sunshine," Blaise chirped, sitting across from him. "How are you? You look tired. Why, did you not get enough sleep last night?" Blaise asked innocently, knowing quite well that Draco knew that Blaise knew exactly what reason had kept him up and why. And that particular reason had beautiful green eyes; a lightening shaped scar, and a tongue that could do unspeakably amazing things.

Draco scowled at him. "I'm floating on a fucking cloud, thank you. Now bugger off."

Blaise winked at him and grinned suggestively. "Ah yes, exactly. Buggering! Now where is that little tramp of a boyfriend that you—oh, hello Harry!" Draco turned around and saw Harry standing behind him, one eyebrow raised at Blaise.

"Here I am, you prat," he said sweetly, sliding in next to Draco and grabbing his hand.

Blaise grinned cheekily at him and waved at Granger as she sat down. "Done snogging your boyfriend already? But you were only gone ten minutes!" he teased.

Granger hit him on the arm playfully. "Shut up, Blaise," she said, her cheeks flushed.

Harry smiled at the both of them. "Don't worry, Hermione. He's just mad because he was incapable of 'buggering off' last night," he turned to Draco. "Am I right, love?"

Draco smirked at Blaise, then turned back to his boyfriend. "Oh, yeah. No buggering for Blaise."

Blaise pretended to pout. "Well, you guys are both bastards and I don't need you anyway. Especially you Draco, you little shit!" he proclaimed with an exaggerated sniffle. Draco and Harry both grinned broadly.

Granger rolled her eyes at their juvenile games and turned to talk to Harry. She lowered her voice significantly so that Draco had to strain his ears to hear her. "So, have you talked to Justin yet Harry? He says you wanted to—"

Harry interrupted her loudly. "Um, not now Hermione," he said quickly, glancing at Draco. Draco pretended not to notice what was going on, but that little warning bell was going off in his brain. What was Harry doing hanging around Finch-Fletchley and hiding it from him?

Granger tried again. "So, how about that today is our last day of classes? It's a relief, really," she said, actually sounding a little remorseful.

Harry grinned at her, not noticing her tone. "Yeah! I can't believe there's only three days left until graduation. It's so exciting!"

Draco smiled halfheartedly at his enthusiasm. As much as he wanted to get out and start living life as a mature adult, he would sort of miss being here. Being at Hogwarts gave him an excuse to see and talk to people that he would never bother with before. He would miss the Quidditch games, the Hogsmeade trips, study sessions with Harry, lessons, the professors… even the ones that gave him loads of homework and made him doze off in class. Draco would miss it all. If he should leave, he couldn't ever come back, at least not in the same way. It was an odd sense of growing nostalgia, not wanting to let go of something that he had become so accustomed to over the years. But Draco wasn't scared of that, really, he was an expert at change and new beginnings. What really made him anxious was the possibility that he might experience them all alone. He looked over at Harry, who was chewing on his bacon happily and sighed. Hopefully, I won't have to.

Draco attempted to be at least somewhat pleasant to the professors and his peers in most of his classes, knowing that it would be his last with them. He tried not to feel upset that everything he knew was fading away into something completely new. What if he wasn't ready yet? He bit his lip nervously as he, having already picked up Rebecca from his mother's room, headed to his Marriage Sex and Family class. He looked down at the doll in his arms. It would be his last day with her, too. He felt a pang of misery in his chest. Oh, why does everything have to end?

Draco spotted Harry walking with Finch-Fletchley on their way to class and they were discussing something quite animatedly. Remembering Harry's hasty attempt to hide something from him, Draco trailed behind them in one of the corridors, trying to listen in on their conversation.

Harry looked a little miffed as he spoke. "Justin, I can't wait any longer, I've got to do this by graduation!"

Finch-Fletchley looked tired. "I know Harry, don't worry. My parents are going to come, so you can talk to them personally if you wish. I've got everything else under control, trust me. Does Malfoy know anything about this?" Draco froze at the mention of his name. He almost lost them as they rounded a corner.

Harry shook his head; his hair falling over his eyes like it did when he was uneasy. "No, he has no idea and I don't want him to find out. Just think of the way he'd react if he knew what I was doing behind his back. He'd be livid!"

Finch-Fletchley laughed. "Yeah, he would. Listen, I'll catch up with you later tonight, okay? Be careful wiggling out of whatever Malfoy's got planned so he doesn't suspect anything."

"I will. Justin, I love you for this!"

Draco stopped in the middle of the corridor and let them continue walking on their own. What was Harry hiding from him, with Finch-Fletchley of all people? A thought prodded irritatingly at his brain, but he refused to let it in. No. Harry would never do anything to hurt him. Besides, maybe he was overreacting. He did have a tendency to become a little paranoid. He thought of the incident with Granger and grimaced slightly. Okay, maybe a lot paranoid. But point made, he was probably just being melodramatic. Still, the conversation refused to disappear from his brain. When Draco reached the corridor to the Room of Requirement, he saw Harry standing outside.

"Hey!" Harry greeted brightly as he tickled the squealing doll. Draco nodded at him weakly, still a little daunted by his previous thoughts. Harry frowned at him. "Is something wrong?"

Draco started to shake his head, but stopped. "Guess I'm just going to miss this place, that's all." He decided that he would leave the part out about Harry's suspicious behavior with a certain Hufflepuff boy. For now.

Harry's frown disappeared and he took Draco's free hand gently. "I know, I will too. But the future will hold great things for us, I promise."

Draco's ears perked up at the word 'us'. Was Harry suggesting that he wanted them to have a future? Maybe he wasn't cheating on him with Finch-Fletchley, after all. Oops, he thought, chiding his treacherous brain for letting in the unmentionable notion. He was about to question Harry about his words, but they had arrived in the classroom and Snape was already there.

"Today is the last day of this class," Snape's cynical voice boomed in the spacious, echoing room. The students, all being 8th years and soon-to-be graduates, were all quiet with wistful recollection. "You shall hand in your year-long project today. We will have one more class discussion where you and your partner will tell the rest of us what you've learned that you have found most valuable to you. You shall receive your grade promptly after you share." Snape said, not sorrowful in the slightest with the end of teaching this so-called "horrendous" class. He'll probably have a party later in celebration of "No more Potter! Woohoo!" Because that's just how Snape was.

They all gathered around in a large circle and Draco listened numbly to the accounts of many pairs, feeling a growing anxiety in his heart as people shared. He grabbed Harry's hand to make sure that he was still there, and sighed in relief when Harry squeezed back. He wasn't going anywhere. "Granger, Zabini." Snape called out.

Blaise and Granger looked at each other and in unspoken agreement, Blaise started first. "With this project, I learned that you shouldn't judge someone by the way that they act or dress or by who they're friends with. Because sometimes that person could turn out to be the wittiest, most graciously intelligent girl I have ever met. I'm so glad that I didn't block Hermione out in our project. We proved to be quite the power duo in the working world. I'm going to use the skills that I've discovered from her later in my life." Blaise grinned at a beaming Granger.

Granger cleared her throat and began talking as well. "I've learned that there are still things that I don't know, as reluctant as I am to admit it," she cracked a smile and waited while the people around her chuckled, "Like how Blaise Zabini is not the horribly arrogant Slytherin that I had previously assumed he was. He's hilarious and a wonderful friend to talk to and work with. After we put aside our differences, we discovered that we have a lot in common. We have immense ambition and work ethic and we both intend to use it in our future careers."

They looked at each other in agreement and admiration. Snape rolled his eyes. "Alright, you receive an Outstanding." Draco sighed. No surprise there. "Parkinson and Weasley." Snape drawled again.

They didn't look at each other to decide but Weasley spoke up first anyway, like the brazen Gryffindor that he is. "I learned that Slytherin girls are tricky bitc—er, people who like to play pranks when they are inside your mind. I'll use this in the future by avoiding to share it with them ever again." Weasley looked quite proud of himself and Snape glared at him venomously for his smart-arse summary.

Pansy quirked an eyebrow at Weasley before speaking, showing him that two could play at that game. "I've learned that even bumbling Gryffindor redheads sometimes have a sense of humor. And really simple thought processes. I'll use this later if I ever want to pull one over on him."

Weasley gave her a look with just a hint of respect and she returned it with a small, smug smile. Snape rolled his eyes again. "I suppose you can scrape by with an Acceptable." The two of them looked quite content with that answer. Draco smiled at Pansy. Though she and Weasley never really became good friends, they learned to tolerate and even tease each other a bit. That was a miracle in itself.

"Potter, Malfoy." Snape said with a slight tinge of annoyance. Draco glanced over at Harry, who nodded his head, indicating that he'd go first. Draco nodded back in acceptance.

Harry began to speak. "This project has really opened my eyes to a world that we are going to become a part of in a few days. I was truly worried before about my future in the real world, whether I'd be able to handle it or not. But caring for Rebecca has made me understand what the challenge of the future really holds for me. I mean, battling Voldemort couldn't even compare to this. This baby is loud, demanding, smelly, needy—and it must be tended to at all times. It's the kind of thing that is highly annoying to deal with, but that I would never let anybody else do because it's my job and my responsibility and my child. I never knew that a connection would form that made me worry and fuss and coo over Rebecca like I did. But I guess with parenthood comes consequences. You get this horrible, nagging feeling in your stomach whenever something has gone wrong with them. You feel joy when they are joyous; you feel sorrow when they are unhappy. To be a parent is to have a whole other life to be responsible for—and that's something that I had no idea how it felt before. I figure that if I could handle taking care of a screaming, whiny, high maintenance baby for a school year, then I can handle pretty much anything.

I've also learned that I really am a difficult person to get along with, but I'm sure most of you know that already. But the thing is, it's a completely surreal situation to have to share the responsibility of a baby. I can admit that it is completely awful to have to squabble with me incessantly over a baby doll, but somehow Draco has found a way to deal with me effectively and balance me out when I get irrational. He's the only one who could ever do that.

I would've never have known that I could find such a valuable friend if not for this project. If I could go back and alter this journey, I wouldn't have changed a single thing about it. Sure it's been a rough ride but frankly, I needed that slap in the face and it has made me a better person overall. It has also given me the opportunity to explore, enjoy, and appreciate parenthood as I get older. But most importantly, it has given me a direct path to my future." Harry looked pointedly at him with those piercing emerald eyes and gently squeezed his hand. Draco bit back a smile.

Snape rolled his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time and looked impatiently over at Draco to take his turn. He nodded and cleared his throat. "I did not believe that I would learn anything in this class at the beginning of the year. I loathed the idea of spending time thinking about a future that I didn't know would ever exist for me. I thought that the idea of pretending to take care of a baby was idiotic and I was angry that I was forced to do such a thing.

But from taking care of Rebecca, I've learned how to care about and love someone as fully as I would myself and there's no offer in this world that would make me want to give that feeling up. I started out being completely incompetent with Rebecca and I didn't know how to do anything for her. I was uncomfortable and impatient and irritated all the time. But Harry was a natural parent; he knew exactly what to do to calm her down and how to make her giggle. I tried to follow his example but just as it was natural to him, it was foreign to me. I definitely resented that she liked him more than me, but I can see the logic in that. I'm still terrible at changing diapers and making her bed, but I know that it doesn't matter as much anymore because what's really important is that I am trying and I do care.

And regarding what Harry said, he's not the only one who can be a stubborn git. There were times that we clashed opinions and snapped and tried to bite each other's heads off. But it's a certain kind of bickering that has bonded us even more. We truly know each other now: the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, the ecstasy and the heartbreak. I might've scoffed at the changes that have occurred throughout this project before, but since then I've learned that change is good. Even the kind that you think is quite impossible and you had long before given up on."

He stole a glance at Harry's smiling face before he continuing. "Lastly, I've learned that an enemy does not always have to be an enemy. If you're lucky, they can become a brilliant and everlasting friend. I guess I was even luckier than that because I've found something even deeper here with Harry. He's made me feel like I have a chance to mold my own future in the way that I want to, not of what others expect of me. Before this class, I wasn't ready for the world. But now, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Draco took a deep breath and smiled. Harry kissed his cheek softly.

Snape groaned in disgust, but he didn't look so spiteful towards Harry anymore. He even looked rather deferential. "Hand me your project."

Draco silently walked over and gave Snape their baby doll. He sat back down with Harry, gripping his hand to stop himself from getting emotional. He could feel Harry's hand trembling slightly too. Snape inspected the doll for a few moments before he announced, "Outstanding," and caught Draco's eye meaningfully before moving on to the next pair. Draco smiled. Snape's momentary look was a clear message to him: 'it is a rare moment when men like us find that. So if of all people he makes you feel this way, don't ever let him go.' And Draco wouldn't. Not for his life.

Draco began to realize what he had really just declared in his speech. Why was he so anxious before about the future? He shouldn't worry anymore, because Harry would be there for him and Draco knew that he would never leave. Draco had grown up considerably during this past year, both of them had. Now they could leave this place together, conquer the world and show everybody just what the dynamic duo could really accomplish.

And oh, Draco Malfoy was so ready to graduate.