A/N: There's some house stereotyping in this chapter. We all know Draco only likes Slytherin. Just wanted to say that us authors have nothing against any Hogwarts house and do not mean to be offensive in any way. (Regina note: I have close family in all four houses, so no discrimination here!)

(Thanatoslives note: I'm a Slytherin, married to a Hufflepuff, and my closest friends are in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, so really… no discrimination.)

The following day at work was a repeat of the last. Harry was pushed to his limits and then beyond them during training. He did manage to cast one counter curse, but was so distracted that it didn't match the hex he'd aimed it at and he wound up getting hit by a rather powerful Tempest Jinx. This caused rather painful lightning bolts to assault him, one of them shooting directly into his kneecap. By the time he left the training room he was drenched in sweat, cursing under his breath, and had a throbbing knee. After another short talk with Dawlish about his shortcomings Harry was eager to go home and decompress. He decided not to walk home that day and used the Floo instead to avoid aggravating his knee further.

When he exited the hearth in the kitchen of Number 12 he was surprised to see Molly and Draco sitting at the table sipping tea and chatting. Glancing back and forth between the two people looking at him he gathered that whatever conversation they were having wasn't a bad one, as they were both smiling at him.

"There you are!" Molly stood up from the rickety stool she sat on and crossed the room to gather Harry in a tight hug. "Goodness, you're soaking wet! What happened?"

"Training," Harry said with a grimace. "I should probably shower off before I stink up the place." He smiled to Draco and nodded to Molly before heading up the stairs to clean up. He briskly showered and dried, then changed into a clean outfit before meeting the two others in the kitchen again.

"How was your day?" Draco asked. Harry sat down at the end of the table, between Molly and Draco before he answered.

"Long and tiring. I think Dawlish is trying to break me," he admitted.

"Now why would he do that?" Molly asked in surprise. "John's always been such a kind man. Why would he be trying to break you?" Harry tried not to glance at Draco, but he did it anyway. Draco wouldn't catch it, but Molly probably would. Looking back to Molly Harry saw that she had a knowing expression on her face. Before he could answer her question, she continued. "In any case, the weekend's come, so you'll have a break at least. How is everything else for you? Draco and I have been catching up a bit. Sounds like you're a very busy man these days!"

"Busy barely covers it. Aside from hanging out with Draco I don't have much free time these days. The money's good, though, so it makes it worth it."

"And Draco says he's decided to look for work, too," Molly said as she turned to Draco. Harry looked at Draco as well, with his eyebrows raised.

"Is that right? Well good for you!" Harry smiled at Draco, who half-grinned and looked uncomfortable. "How's everything at home?" he asked Molly.

"Oh, you know. Hectic, as always. George finally reopened the shop, thank Merlin. I was worried he'd decide to close it permanently, but things have worked out with the favor I asked."

"What favor?"

"Well, I decided to meddle a bit. I asked Xenophilius Lovegood if he would publish a Quibbler edition featuring the shop and he assigned his daughter Luna to the task."

"So Luna's going to be writing about Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Harry wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but if it helped George to keep the shop going he was glad for it.

"She will be, yes. As far as I know she'll be staying at the shop and helping George run things for a while. I think old Xenophilius might be up to something, setting things up that way," Molly said suspiciously.

"Really? You think so?" Harry couldn't imagine what Mr. Lovegood would be trying to do by having Luna stay at the shop. It sounded innocent enough.
"Only time will tell, I'm afraid. She's a sweet girl, in any case. And George is single, now." Oh. That's what Molly was afraid would happen. Harry could absolutely not see George and Luna as a match, but stranger things had happened. Harry glanced over at Draco once more and thought that stranger things were already happening on his end.

"I can't be the only one who thinks they'd be a terrible match," Draco said suddenly. Both Molly and Harry cracked up at that and Draco began to chuckle as well. "Seriously, there can't be two more different people in all the wizarding world. Maybe, perhaps, Umbridge and Hagrid."

"Draco!" Harry cackled loudly. "Don't even say that!" Awful images came to Harry's mind with the thought of Hagrid and Umbridge together.

"The two are hardly comparable to Luna and my George," Molly said as she wiped tears of laughter from her face. "Then again, nobody would've thought that the two of you would get together, and here we are." Draco and Harry stopped laughing, then, and both looked at Molly with sheepish faces. "No, no! Not that anyone disapproves of the two of you━at least nobody with a good head on their shoulders."

"We know what you mean," Harry said. " We're not together, necessarily, but it is kind of odd, the two of us."

"I don't think so," Draco chimed in.

"Well of course you don't. You've known about your personal attractions for a long time. This is all new to me." Harry saw that Molly looked somewhat uncomfortable and decided it was time for a change of subject. "So… Are you and Arthur planning on going to the Quidditch World Cup next year?"

"Oh, no. I'm afraid we won't be able to afford it this time. Arthur isn't getting any free tickets this year, either," Molly said.

"Why not?"

"The Ministry can't spare the money this year. Since the war, they've had to sink a lot of funding into repairing the damage done to Hogwarts. On top of that they've had to dish out money to those who lost family in the war at the hands of people who were working for the Ministry."

"Really? Then why haven't you and Arthur gotten money from them?" Harry knew his question was a risky one. Nobody was past the death of Fred, but he'd asked the question before he'd really thought about it.

"Fred wasn't killed by a Ministry employee," was all Molly said. Her throat sounded closed off and Harry saw that her eyes were moist. Harry recalled that Fred was killed because of an explosion that happened outside of the Room of Requirement and felt stupid for having asked in the first place.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," Harry said softly. Molly nodded with tight lips.

"It's quite alright, you've had a long day. I think we all have. In fact, I should probably be heading home now. Arthur's probably done with work and I imagine he'll be hungry right about now."

Molly, Harry, and Draco all stood from the table. Harry circled round the table to give Molly a hug and watched in fascination as Molly then turned to embrace Draco. They must have had a very good conversation, after all.

"Now you'll let me know how things turn out, won't you?" she asked Draco, shucking him under his chin. Harry noticed he didn't flinch away from her touch.

"I'll let you know," Draco said with a small smile. Harry had no clue what they were talking about, but he figured it had to do with Draco's supposed job hunt.

"You boys behave yourselves, and don't let John run you too ragged, Harry." Molly smiled to both of them before taking a fistfull of Floo powder, calling out 'The Burrow,' and disappearing in a flash of green flames. Harry waited until the flames were gone before asking Draco about his visit with Molly.
"You two seem more friendly than last time," he said as he sat back down on his stool. Draco sat down as well.

"We talked a bit." Draco sounded almost too nonchalant.

"Oh yeah? That's good." He wanted Draco to tell him what they'd talked about, but he also didn't want to push him to tell. Harry fidgeted with his thumbs a bit as he refrained from asking.

"You're dying to know what we talked about, aren't you?"

"I mean, if you want to tell me you can," Harry said, trying to sound indifferent.

"That's a yes, then. We talked about my mother." That was a surprise.

"Your mother?"

"My mother. She had some really good advice on how to handle the situation and you'll be glad to hear that I sent her a letter today." Harry couldn't stop his eyebrows from raising.

"That's really good! What did you tell her in the letter?"

"Some things." Harry knew that Draco was toying with him, then.

"Really, Draco? What things?" His day had been too long and exhausting for him to feel like playing along. He didn't mean to sound impatient, but he felt impatient and it leaked into his tone.

"I told her, in more words, that I'm done letting her control me. I informed her that I won't be telling anyone that what you and I have is a lie and that I won't be coming home. I said that I won't lie to myself, or anyone else, about who I am anymore and that I'm done trying to be whatever she wants me to be." Harry stood up from his stool and sat down on the one beside Draco. Once there, he hugged Draco tightly.

"I'm so proud of you," he said softly. At first Draco didn't react to the hug, but it didn't take long before Harry could feel the embrace being returned.

"You're such a Hufflepuff," Draco said teasingly. As much as Draco wanted to claim that Harry was the only emotional one, it was Draco who buried his face into Harry's neck. Harry could feel moisture there and he knew that Draco was tearing up.

"Call me what you want. If it hadn't been for a Hufflepuff I wouldn't have made it through the Triwizard Tournament, so I'm not insulted. Anyway, I think you did the right thing." And to show just how proud he was of Draco, Harry leaned back from the hug and gave him a kiss. Draco seemed mildly taken aback by Harry's affection, but Harry could tell by the way Draco pressed himself snugly against him that he enjoyed it nonetheless. For a while the two of them sat in the kitchen, snogging happily. There was no arguing, no small talk, no stress, no spells shooting from the walls. It was just the two of them and the sound of gentle kisses.

When Draco's tongue could be felt pressing against the crease between Harry's lips he gladly parted them and allowed Draco entrance. It had been a long time since they'd done this, and Harry mentally remarked on how nice it was. Every time seemed more natural than the last. Less clumsy, more comfortable. Harry let his tongue explore Draco's mouth, too, and the corners of his mouth tilted up at the feeling of butterflies floating through his abdomen. He couldn't remember the last time he felt butterflies about Ginny, but he didn't want to think about her now, not when he was this intimate with Draco.

Instead of things going too far, or further than Harry was ready for yet, Draco ended the snogging only to place soft, tickling kisses on Harry's face. One on his chin, then each of his cheeks, and one on his forehead. And he calls me a Hufflepuff, Harry thought with a grin.

"I'll have to send Mother more letters if this is the reward I get," Draco said as he moved one of his hands to hold Harry's. His other hand remained on Harry's hip. Their knees were pointed towards each other, intertwined. Harry couldn't help but think that two months ago he wouldn't have dreamed of being in a position like this with Draco Malfoy. Now, however, it seemed normal. He liked it. A lot. And that didn't scare him anymore. He knew he was making progress with accepting himself.

"So you really told Narcissa all of that?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I did. And I meant every word of it." Draco looked sure of himself and Harry believed him.

"That must have been really difficult for you."

"It was, but after Molly explained that I was just letting her control me by not saying anything it made sense to send the letter."

"What? That's exactly what I told you!" Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"No…" Draco phrased the word as a question. "I'm pretty sure you didn't."

"Yes I did! That's almost word for word what I said. We argued over it. Do you honestly not remember?" Draco burst into laughter.

."You're so easy to mess with," he said between chuckles. "'Course I remember."

"You're a real git, you know that?" As irritating as Draco could be, Harry found himself chuckling as well. "Speaking of this weekend, I wanted to ask you something."

"What's that?"

A loud crack resounded in the room and Kreacher appeared. "Are masters ready for dinner?" the elf asked in his gravelly voice.

"Now that you mention it, I could eat," Harry said. "Want to wait in the drawing room while he makes dinner?"

"I don't see why not." The two of them stood and climbed up the stairs, away from the sound of pots and pans being pulled from their cupboards. "What do you want to ask me?" Harry tried to think of the exact question he wanted to ask Draco.

"Well, I want to visit Teddy. My godson," Harry said as he sat down on one of the sofas. Instead of sitting across from him Draco sat beside him and curled his feet under his legs.

"I know who Teddy is. What's your point, why can't you go visit him? Can we cuddle?"

"I'm not sure I━wait, what?"

"Just seeing if you were paying attention. Unless that's something you'd like to do. You know, if it isn't too much for you." There was no joking in Draco's voice. He seemed like he was really considering Harry's feelings on being that close, but was beating around the bush about wanting to be so close to Harry.

"You're serious… you want to cuddle?"

"I never said that, but if you're so keen on it…"

Harry laughed at Draco's poor attempt at hiding his intentions, but he knew that if he said yes that he would be taking a step forward in his and Draco's relationship. Ginny had been the only other person he'd done this with, and as much as Harry had been uncomfortable doing so, he had a feeling it would be different with Draco. He hoped it would, at least. It would be a shame if he agreed to cuddle and wound up feeling just as strange laying with Draco as he had with Ginny. It had been such a stressful time for both Draco and him and they hadn't had much of a chance for romance or relationship development. In fact, it seemed as though every time they attempted to get closer something popped up as a deterrent for them. Perhaps, Harry considered, it was time for him to brave these unfamiliar waters with Draco.

"I… I think that's alright," he said, deciding to take a chance. Draco's face lit up. Harry waited for Draco to lay down on the couch and cushion his head with one of the throw pillows before he lay down as well. He was very close to Draco with their bodies facing each other, but it made it so they could see each other while they talked.
"You were saying?" Draco asked as he placed one arm around Harry's waist and pulled him even closer. He had a very satisfied smile on his face that Harry found adorable, not that he would tell him so. He did, however, curl one of his arms around Draco's waist in return.

"I'm not sure I can. I don't know how your aunt feels about me after all that's happened. Do you think she knows that your mum is blackmailing you?"

"There's a possibility that she knows, but I can't say for sure. Mother and Aunt Andromeda were never very close as adults, so I don't know how much they talk. Aunt Andromeda is also very different from my family, so if my mother did tell her I highly doubt she would approve."

"How can you be so sure?" Draco merely shrugged.

"Just a feeling. Like I said, she's a lot different. My family is a load of blood supremacist homophobes and Andromeda loves muggles, so who's to say she's not tolerant of homosexuality, too?" Harry thought on that a bit.

"Those don't really have anything to do with each other, though. But you don't actually know?" Draco shook his head.

"The Blacks disowned her. I never really met her, but Mother must have kept in touch or something, seeing as she was allowed to stay at Andromeda's place." Harry placed one of his legs over Draco's and they were both quiet for a while, just enjoying the feeling of being intertwined. He found that it was very different from cuddling Ginny, in the way that it was much more pleasant. It felt… correct? Better? Something like that.

"You should write her a letter," Draco said. Harry had been staring at him the entire time they'd been silent and as much as Draco like looking back into those green pools, the silence was starting to bother him. Perhaps if there were music playing he wouldn't mind, but it was too quiet for his tastes.

"Andromeda?"

"Why not? What could it hurt? The worst that'll happen is she'll tell you no."

"That's what I'm afraid of. I don't want to end up being a stranger to my godson. I don't want him to think badly of me like I did with Sirius."

"Considering the fact that you never went to Azkaban with a charge of murdering dozens of people in muggle public, I doubt Teddy will think that badly of you."

"You know what I'm trying to say. Besides, I don't have the excuse of being locked away for not visiting." Harry said. He was clearly trying to sound serious, but he had a smile hinting at his lips.

"I do know what you're trying to say, and I still think that the best place to start is to write a letter. I followed the same advice from you and it hasn't backfired yet," he pointed out.

"When did you send the letter?"

"An hour ago."

"An hour?" Harry laughed. "For all you know, she might be sending a Howler as we speak."

"She's never sent one yet. Then again, I think she's secretly always wanted to. Maybe she'll get her chance now," Draco joked. He noticed that one of Harry's eyebrows was ruffled, so he used his thumb to straighten it out.

"That feels nice," Harry said. Draco laughed at the goofy grin on Harry's face and kissed the eyebrow he'd just fixed.

"You feel nice," Draco said. He sounded indignant as he said it, even to his own ears. He hadn't meant to, but he didn't like admitting it. Or rather, he wasn't used to admitting such things. It had been a conscious decision on his part, trying to be more forthright about how he felt. Sending that letter to his mother had left him with a sense of liberation and it was infecting other areas of his life, it seemed.

"Who's the Hufflepuff?" Draco rolled his eyes at the ridiculous accusation.

"Certainly not me," he said.

"Sure you're not," Harry teased. "There's nothing wrong with being a Hufflepuff, you know. And it's not like they're all emotional twits like you."

"The Prince of Slytherin demands respect, damn it!" Draco said in his faux posh voice. "Just for that I sentence you to a thousand years of…" He couldn't think of anything off the top of his head.

"The Prince of Slytherin can't even think of a proper punishment, can he?" Draco narrowed his eyes and started tickling Harry's side.

Harry flinched and began laughing loudly as he attempted to twist away from Draco's assault on his nerve endings. Draco, however, did not let up and continued to tickle Harry, now with both hands. He pinched and wiggled his fingers around Harry's side and armpit while Harry started squealing. Harry tried to roll away from Draco, but the latter wrapped his legs around the other and held him there.

"P-please! Please sto━ahaha!" Harry couldn't even get a full sentence out between his squawking. Draco didn't think he'd ever heard Harry laugh like that in all his life, and had to admit that the sound of it━ coupled with the sight of Harry thrashing around like a wild boar━ was one of the best things he'd ever witnessed.

"Not until you apologize for calling me an emotional twit!" Draco yelled back playfully.

"Never!" Harry twisted violently away from Draco and wound up on his back on the floor, but Draco followed him down.

"You won't get away that easily!"

Soon the two of them were twisted together again, only this time Harry was fighting back with his own fingers. At first Draco was straddling Harry, pinning him down and having the advantage from that position, but it didn't take long for Harry to reverse their situations. Once he was on top Draco was in a world of regret, because Harry had more muscle strength than he did and was able to hold both Draco's wrists in one hand, keeping the other free to tickle his ribs and armpits with no effort.

"Not fair!" Draco shouted. He tried to plead for Harry to stop, but he couldn't force the words out. Instead he was making noises just as ridiculous as the ones Harry had been making.

"Masters are hurt! Masters are attacking each other!" Draco remained tense, even after Harry had stopped tickling him.

They both turned to see Kreacher abandon a floating tray of food in the doorway as he ran towards them. Draco watched as Kreacher began slapping Harry on the back of his head.

"Ow! Kreacher stop it, we're not really attacking each other!" Harry said as he moved his arms to shield himself from Kreacher's gnarled hands.

"Speak for yourself," Draco said. He couldn't help but laugh at the scene playing out above him. "I was feeling very attacked."

"Master Draco is in danger, Master Harry has been very bad! Very bad!" Kreacher continued to slap Harry's head.

"Alright, Kreacher, you can stop. I'm not in danger," Draco said. He started to feel bad for Harry after a moment. Harry probably wasn't hurt by Kreacher's feeble attempts at punishing him, but it had to be rather irritating either way.

"Master is… not hurt?" Kreacher asked as he let his arms fall to his side.

"No, Master is━Draco is━damn it!" Draco laughed at himself. "I'm fine," he said finally. "Do you really think this scrawny berk could take down the likes of me?" Harry jabbed Draco painfully in his rib cage, causing him to exclaim in pain. Kreacher glared at Harry, but didn't start hitting him again.

Suddenly, however, Kreacher began hitting himself and shouting about how he had betrayed his master with violence.

"Bad Kreacher! Master Regulus would be ashamed! What has Kreacher done?" the elf screamed in a shrill voice, all the while punching and slapping himself. "Against the rules! Kreacher should know better!"

"Kreacher, stop it!" Harry cried.

Kreacher was about to grab for one of the lamps, presumably to further punish himself, when Harry swiveled around so he could grab Kreacher's wrists and prevent him from hurting himself again. The movement caused Draco's entire body to still. Harry probably hadn't noticed, but Draco couldn't help but gasp quietly as Harry's crotch rubbed against his. This was something out of his fantasies, something Draco had told himself long ago would never come to fruition. He was silently awashed with a mixture of glee and embarrassment as he stored this moment among his core memories to look back on later.

His feeling of satisfaction didn't last long; Harry climbed off of him in order to better restrain Kreacher. Deep in the process of de-escalating Kreacher from his panic, Harry had probably not had a chance to register the position they'd been in for so long. Draco sat up and leaned against the sofa behind him as he watched Harry sooth the shamefaced elf.

"Kreacher, it's okay," Harry soothed, pinning Kreacher's hands to his side and forcing him to refrain from self-inflicted turmoil. "I'm not upset with you and Regulus would've understood."

"Keacher was a bad, bad elf… Kreacher is ashamed."

"You were valiant in your efforts to protect one of your masters. You did the only thing you could think of, and I forgive you." Draco wondered if Harry really believed that Kreacher was valliant, or if he was simply trying to placate the elf out of desperation. He had a feeling it was the latter.

For a moment Kreacher simply stood there looking at his feet, taking heaving breaths of air. Draco was waiting for another bout of slapping to begin, but then Kreacher seemed to collect himself.

"Are… Are masters hungry?" Kreacher finally asked. He looked unsure as he glanced back and forth between his two masters.

"Yes, we're hungry. Thank you, Kreacher," Harry told him. Kreacher nodded and quickly left the room. The look of remorse on his face was pitiful. Draco watched as the floating tray made its way to the coffee table and gently landed there.

"That was uncomfortable," Harry said, looking back at Draco.

"I thought the first part was hilarious. Did you see his face when he thought you were attacking me?"

"No, I was busy protecting my head," Harry said with a frown. "I am really hungry, though, so I'm kind of glad he interrupted. Who knows how long we would've gone at each other like that." Draco was sure that Harry didn't mean for his statement to turn into an innuendo, but Draco sniggered nonetheless.

"I wouldn't have minded if you'd stayed in that position a while longer," Draco said suggestively. Just as he thought it would, Harry's entire face heated and turned pink, all the way up to the tips of his ears.

"I wonder what Kreacher made," Harry said, looking away. It was obvious that Draco had actually embarrassed him. As funny as it was to see Harry react that way, he didn't want him to feel uncomfortable around him. At least not too uncomfortable.

"I really didn't mind being in that position, if that helps," he said in an attempt to make things less awkward.

"That's great," Harry said offhandedly. "Wow, he's really outdone himself tonight." He began dishing himself out a large portion of the pease pudding Kreacher had prepared for them, then grabbed a stottie cake as well.

"It was fun, you have to admit that. I don't think I've ever had a tickle battle before. That's what that was, right? A tickle battle?" Harry shrugged as he split his cake and made room in it for the pudding.

Draco climbed onto the couch next to Harry and served himself a similar portion. For a while the two of them ate quietly. Draco wasn't sure what to say. He didn't feel that it was necessary to apologize; Harry was merely embarrassed and would hopefully get over it soon enough. After the both of them had eaten two servings they leaned back against the sofa with their stomachs full and slightly bloated.

"I don't think I should've eaten that much," Draco said in a tired way. "I'm too full."

"So am I," Harry agreed. "But it was so worth it."

"Oh, yeah. Kreacher is a surprisingly good cook. It makes it more difficult to miss home that way." Draco regretted saying that as soon as he'd verbalised it. He told himself that he should know by now that Harry would cling to a statement like that and expect him to elaborate fully, even if he didn't want to.

"Do you miss home often?" Draco felt Harry's eyes on him, and when he turned to look he saw that Harry was staring at him with concern. At least he'd seen it coming.

"Not really," he lied, forgetting his deal with himself to be more open. "It's not a big deal." Harry nodded, but did not look convinced at all.

"I would miss home if I were you."

"Why? You don't even know what it's like there." Not to mention, you grew up in the shittiest of homes, from the sounds of it. You have no way of knowing if you'd miss it or not in another situation. Immediately upon thinking that thought he felt a stab of guilt. Just because Harry hadn't had a good home didn't mean he didn't know what a good home was.

"It's where you grew up, and I'm sure you have a lot of happy memories there. Even if there were some really bad times there, that's your home. That's where you should feel most comfortable. Giving that up… I would miss it." Draco thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth.

"Alright, maybe I miss it a little. Only sometimes."

"That's what I thought." Harry had a smirk on his face and Draco realised he'd fallen into one of Harry's mental traps. As thick as the man could be sometimes he sure was good at manipulating people. Perhaps Gryffindors and Slytherins weren't so different after all, he mused. He'd never say it aloud, but he could admit it to himself.

"You're a twat," Draco said with a grin.

"I learned it from the best. But really, it's not that strange that you'd miss your home. This place isn't that welcoming, and I'm sure staying here alone all day is torturous. If I hadn't been trying to fix this place when I first moved here I would've gone mad with nothing to do."

"I'm starting to," Draco admitted. "This house is so dreary. I'm too nervous to go out because every time I do something bad happens. People will always know me for being a Death Eater." Without meaning to he started rubbing his arm. His shirt sleeve covered the tattoo, but if he focused hard enough he could feel the scar ridges. Thankfully Harry didn't comment. Draco thought that he might understand just how touchy a subject that was. Or maybe he didn't notice Draco's reaction.

"Have you gone out since that interview we did together?"

"No, why?" He was positive that there would be no difference in society's behaviour toward him.

"Maybe people have changed their opinion on you," Harry suggested. "It's not impossible. I think that interview is part of why Molly was so comfortable around you today. Maybe other people will realise you're different now." Draco rolled his eyes.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"You'd have to leave the house in order to see it, Draco," Harry said with a snicker.

"Yeah, well… Maybe tomorrow." He didn't mean it, but he thought that it would shut Harry up about him leaving the house. He didn't know if he was ready for that. The last time he went out in public without Harry he was mobbed by reporters, and before that he was beaten up by a group of angry men. The likelihood of him having a pleasant outing looked bleak. Even going out with Harry proved to be somewhat disastrous, Draco thought as he recalled the time that fat uncle of Harry's had berated them publicly. Vernors, or something. Whatever his name was.

"You'll have to get out in order to look for a job, remember?" Shite. Draco had forgotten he'd told Molly that. He hadn't meant to lie to the woman after all the advice she'd given him.

"Right…"

"Were you serious about that? Because you're fine living here for as long as you need to, regardless of whether you have a job or not."

"I feel guilty," he said.

"For what?"

"I feel like a beggar. I have nothing, really. I have a little bit of money left and I was saving it for an emergency. I highly doubt anyone would hire me around here. They'll hardly let me into their businesses after what I did."

"You're not a beggar. You're my… my… We might as well just be boyfriends, right?" Harry became rather flustered, but before Draco could comment he continued hurriedly. "And I don't mind you being here. I actually really like having you here. It makes the end of my day better than it would be if I came home to an empty house." Harry smirked. "Who would I have 'tickle battles' with if you weren't here?"

"I appreciate that, but I don't want to feel like some house husband, sitting around here with my feet up while you work all day. And I'm perfectly fine with us being boyfriends. I feel like it was only a matter of time before that happened, with the way things have been going."

"Right. Well, then it's out of the way now, isn't it? And if you feel that way, then start looking. There has to be someone, somewhere, who won't kick you out at the sight of you. And if you can't find a business in the magical districts to hire you, maybe I could help you find a muggle business to work for."

Draco wanted to float in the sheer happiness that came with hearing Harry profess them in an official relationship, but instead he had to consider all of the places he'd gone to since he'd been released from prison. The only person who'd been kind to him had been Enthir at Eeylops Owl Emporium. It was doubtful that he was hiring, as it probably didn't take much effort to run an owl emporium. If he was hiring, his clientel would probably abandon his shop once they discovered a Death Eater working for him. Then Enthir's business would fail all because he did Draco a kind favor. A job like that probably didn't pay very much, anyway, so it wasn't worth it. Working in a muggle business would be absolutely impossible. He had no idea how to count muggle money and had no muggle school records. If he did get a muggle job he would be required to wear muggle clothes every day, which he refused to do.

"You look exhausted," Harry commented. Draco sighed and rubbed his face.

"I am. You must be even more tired after training all day."

"Yeah, I'm ready for bed." Harry paused and then said, "Think about your options. Don't limit yourself because of things you think are impossible now. Everything changes, so let yourself adapt a bit."

"Yes, your majesty," Draco said with all the snark he could muster. He knew Harry was right, but he hated being told what to do. He especially hated it when other people were right. And by 'other people,' he specifically meant Harry. "So, do you really mean it, then?"

"Yes, I think it's good to keep your options open, otherwise you're just setting yourself up for failure."

"I mean us," Draco clarified. "Being together. As boyfriends. Did you mean it?" Harry's cheeks went pink yet again and he glanced down at his shoes.

"I did mean it. If you want us to be, that is."

"You'd be daft to think I don't."

"Then it's settled."

Harry raised one eyebrow at Draco and offered out his hand. Draco took the proffered hand and let Harry help him stand. They hugged each other, Draco kissing Harry on the cheek, before they both left the drawing room and went to their respective rooms.

Once in the privacy of his bedroom, Draco pulled off his robes, button down shirt, and slacks and put on his favorite sleeping outfit: the red dragon shirt and his matching red boxers. He went straight to Cosmos' cage and uncovered it, only to be greeted with a glare from his companion.

"Oh come, now. You weren't in here for that long," he told the grumpy owl. Draco opened the cage and tried to pet Cosmos, but pulled his hand back quickly when the bird made to bite his finger. "Don't be rude. I've been spending time with Harry. You can't possibly be jealous." Cosmos narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, okay? I really like him, Cossy. I love you, though, so don't be mad." The owl appeared to be less disgruntled at that. Draco knew that he was developing stronger feelings than the word like could cover for Harry, but Cosmos didn't need to know that.

On Draco's second attempt to pet the bird he was more successful. Cosmos cosied up to his hand and made little happy noises in his throat. Draco chuckled and rubbed that place between Cosmos' big golden eyes that he knew the bird enjoyed so much. After filling Cosmos' food bowl and replenishing his water dish, Draco let his friend out through the window for some nightly exercise and hunting. He didn't think, if he were an owl, he'd want to live off of those little pellets and caged rodents alone, so he liked to let Cosmos scrounge for his own food from time to time.

Thinking back to the tickle battle with Harry, and after being easily bested, Draco knew he was losing muscle mass. In school he'd always been proud of his ability to gain and keep muscle and it made him slightly disappointed in himself that he hadn't kept up on his physique. So he did a twenty minute workout routine before climbing into bed with the book he'd started several nights before.

It didn't seem like a book of magical origin, but it wasn't bad. It wasn't an interesting enough book to keep him entranced, so it was perfect for reading before bed and helped him relax after the exciting new change in his and Harry's relationship. Just as he was starting to drift off the door to his bedroom banged open loudly.

"I figured it out!" Harry shouted from the doorway.

"What in the fucking hell━ you'd better have figured out the meaning of life if you want to keep your head on your shoulders, you wanker! You scared me half to death, barging in like that!" Draco's heart was beating wildly. When Harry had slammed the door open Draco jolted up in his bed, thinking someone had come to attack him.

"I just realised what you meant before!" Harry said, ignoring Draco's indignation. He sounded excited and amused all at once. Draco had no clue what he was going on about and was feeling increasingly agitated at the seemingly pointless intrusion.

"Explain yourself," Draco demanded in a flat tone similar to the one he had used constantly with Crabbe and Goyle back in school. Harry crossed the room and sat on the end of the bed.

"You liked Hermione, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about? I never said that."

"You didn't have to. You hinted at it enough. Remember when we were talking about Slughorn's parties? You said it bothered you that both Hermione and I were invited."

"And that brought you to your conclusion how? Keep in mind that I'm not exactly attracted to women in general, let alone ratty haired know-it-alls." Draco's mind had cleared and his heart had calmed down, but he was very nervous. How had Harry pieced that together?

"Because you blushed profusely after you said it. I knew it had to mean something. It's been bugging me all day, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it." Harry was sounding a lot like Granger with his mystery-solving attitude. He had no definitive proof.

"I'm amazed you even know the proper context for the word 'profusely,' Potter," Draco said meanly. He noticed his use of Harry's last name as soon as he'd uttered it, which told him━and probably Harry, if he wasn't too thick to notice━just how upset he was. "And you assume that because I blushed that means I liked Granger? I still don't see how you jumped to that conclusion." Draco returned his gaze to his book and tried his best to look indifferent, even bored, but he had a sneaking suspicion that his cheeks were going to give him away again. Sure enough, he could feel the heat rising to his face.

"I just have a gut feeling, and my gut feelings are usually pretty good." It was obvious Harry was going to ignore Draco's insult and use of his last name. Draco wondered if he did that just to irk him, or if he genuinely didn't care when he was insulted anymore.

"So you just run your life like this? Making bold assumptions because it 'just feels right?'"

"Hardly ever fails me," Harry replied with a shrug. "I'm right, though, aren't I? You're blushing again!" Harry was positively gleeful, something that irked Draco immensely, no matter how cute it was.

"No, Potter," Draco said, emphasizing the name in his hopes to get across that he was fed up with the conversation. "You're wrong. You'll just have to accept that, sometimes, your gut is as useless as your attempts to convince me of this fantasy of yours."

"I notice you're wearing that shirt I made you get," Harry commented lightly, apparently continuing to ignore every rude remark thrown at him. Draco pulled his blankets up to his neck. "It's cute that you think being defensive will convince me I'm wrong."

"You are wrong."

"I don't think so."

"Why does it matter anyway?" Draco asked, finally exasperated. "Look, even if I did like her, which I didn't, it wouldn't matter now. I've liked you more, and for longer, than I've ever liked her, so let it drop already!"

"Draco."

"What?!"

"You just admitted you liked Hermione." Draco's arms fell, along with the blanket and his defences.

"I did, didn't I?"

"Yup."

"I hate you, sometimes."

Harry leaned forward abruptly and planted a firm kiss on Draco's lips, bringing his hands up to cup his cheeks as well. Without really meaning to he leaned into the kiss. It was stupid, but he felt helpless against Harry's affection. As mad as he'd been a moment ago, and as defeated as he'd felt right after, Harry had the ability to erase all that in an instant. Draco wanted to wish that Harry didn't have that kind of affect on him, but if he were being fully honest he didn't mind as much as he wanted to think he did.

"That shirt looks adorable on you," Harry said quietly against his lips.

Draco opened his eyes and forbade himself from blushing as Harry just looked at him with this irritating smirk on his face. He didn't respond, but narrowed his eyes in warning.

"Try to get some sleep, you Gryffindor-lover." Harry's smirk changed to a cheeky grin before he left, shutting the door quietly behind him.