I'm sick of waiting for Wednesday to come! Here you go!

******** ******** Chapter 5 ******** ********

Before leaving the alcove, Harry decided to ask the other boy a question that had been on his mind since hearing the passion in his voice as he'd defended his right to decide his place in his own marriage. "I'd like to ask you a question, Draco." He said. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but why do you wish to be in the submissive position?"

Draco's mouth went dry. For some reason, he hadn't thought Harry would ask him that yet. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell him; he just felt that it was an awkward conversation to be having this early in their – association.

"I'd like to understand that because..." The brunette paused. "Well, I figure that if we can each understand why the other chose the position they did, than maybe we can avoid arguments and get along as much as possible."

Draco thought about this. He supposed that Harry was right. If he could get Harry to comprehend his reaction to the carefully controlled upbringing he'd had, perhaps the other boy – man – would avoid giving Draco too much responsibility. Maybe he'd even take full control of everything... "Alright, Harry... I'll try to explain."

Harry grinned in relief.

"You see, from the moment I was born, I was pampered and protected. I was raised mostly by a nanny or governess and kept under tight reign." Draco said. "I found comfort in having my immediate environment carefully controlled. I knew what was allowed and what wasn't. I did what I was told and my parents did what they could to give me the things I wanted. I have the intelligence to get good grades and I enjoyed learning so when I was expected to achieve the highest marks here at Hogwarts, I expected it of myself as well."

Harry was beginning to see the big picture but he let Draco continue.

"I never minded making small decisions...I just could never handle the pressure of larger ones." The blond told him. "In fourth year, Father told me that the right thing to do was join the Dark Lord's…"

"Draco, please don't call him that; his name was Voldemort…" Harry said with a frown. "Or Tom Riddle if you can't say the other."

Draco nodded. "Ok…Father told me to join Vol- Voldemort's side in the war, so I did it without hesitation. I avoided the people I was told to. I 'hated' or 'befriended' the people I was told to... I even joined Umbridge's little club when Father decided I should. Then my father was sent to Azkaban and in punishment for his failure, V-Voldemort ordered me to kill Dumbledore. When I told him I didn't think I could do that, he asked my mother to join us in the room, placed a 'silence- bubble' around her and told me – in minute detail – how easy it would be to torture or kill her. I knew the 'right thing to do' was keep her safe and alive but I didn't know how to do that except to follow orders and kill Dumbledore. I had a difficult time coming up with a plan because there were too many variables and I wasn't used to making decisions. You saw how well my plans worked: your friend Weasley got poisoned instead of Dumbledore and Katie Bell was the one who got the curse. My smaller plan... the one that let the Death Eaters into the school was so much easier. All I had to do was fix something."

"So, you can handle something small like...where to go on vacation..." Harry began. "What flowers you want in the garden... You could even choose a house to live in and furniture to put in that house."

"Yeah, but how can I run something as big as the Malfoy estates and businesses when I was only taught to follow my father's orders?" Draco frowned nervously.

Harry smiled sympathetically. "I think I understand, Draco. You lived so long in a controlled world that you don't really know what to do if you're the one in control."

Draco sighed. "Yeah; I feel kind of lost..."

"So you feel safest when someone else is in control… I can understand that but, Draco, you've just made a really big decision." Harry pointed out. "You stood up to your parents and told them you want that controlled environment to continue... You want someone different than them handling the reigns, but you still want to be controlled."

Draco considered this. "I guess I did..."

"And you chose to accept my offer to be the one controlling you. That's another big decision." Harry told him. "…a very big one considering our past…"

"Yes...I suppose it is." Draco commented. "So what about you?"

"I never had control either, Draco. My parents were taken from me and I was placed in my relatives' care for all of my childhood. I'll tell you about that later, though. They had control of me until I was eleven and that's when I thought I'd have some say in my life." Harry told the blond. "I had magic and was making friends and I decided that nobody would take that away from me."

Draco smirked. "Then I came along and offered to make those decisions for you. My father had told me to befriend you, you know."

"I've had a feeling about that for a while now." Harry snorted. "With all the control he exerted over you, if we became friends, you would've known where I lived and how to get to me whenever Voldemort wanted – wards be-damned. I might've even come for visits to the Manor if we were friends."

"I guess it's a good thing my offer of friendship was an insult to you, then." Draco smirked.

"I guess so..." Harry's eyes twinkled. "Anyway, Dumbledore didn't really control my environment here at Hogwarts. In fact, he let me get into trouble."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I'll say..."

"But, by getting into trouble, I learned to make big decisions that concerned life and death to get out of it again." Harry told him. "Yes, bad things sometimes happened but by the time the final battle rolled around, I knew the choices I had to make. I knew it was right to save you from the fires...I knew it was right to walk into that forest and let Voldemort kill me...I knew it was right to return from that place that's between life and death so that Voldemort would be deprived of his victory and immortality..." He carefully took Draco's hand. "And I knew it was right to walk into that room earlier, reveal my homo-sexuality, and my desire for you."

Draco's jaw wanted to drop but he controlled it.

"Listen, Draco, I'm in tight with the new Minister. He was friends with Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, and Arthur Weasley. He was also in the Order of the Phoenix with them." Harry bit his lip in hesitation. "I know we have to marry by the thirty-first of next month, but I can keep it until the last possible day so we can talk and get to know each other as well as possible. I don't want to rush you."

"Won't they want you to be among the first to be married? It would show the world that even you aren't above the law." Draco reasoned doubtful that Harry could be capable of this type of political maneuvering.

Harry decided to let his devious side show for a moment. "I can spin it so they'll support our requested date, but only if it's what you want."

The blond looked at him. "Show me…"

Harry led him to the Room of Requirement and asked the room to look like the Minister's office. "You be the Minister."

Draco smirked wickedly as he took the seat. "Role-play already, Harry? You hardly seem the type."

Harry blushed but otherwise ignored the provocative statement. "Hello, Kingsley; how are you?"

Draco's smirk showed he was amused but he played along. "Quite well, Harry. What can I do for you today?"

"Well, I'm having a bit of trouble with my intended." Harry said.

"What seems to be the problem?" Draco asked, in character.

"His family isn't very happy that we couldn't follow the pure-blood traditions, and besides that, we don't know each other all that well. What kind of marriage will that make?" Harry said shaking his head sorrowfully. "Now, I know the ministry probably wants me to get married first to show the world that I'm supporting the new law and all but I've been thinking..."

"Oh? Did it hurt much?" Draco snickered.

Harry glared at him playfully. "If we got married on Halloween, that gives us a month to 'court', giving my in-laws the illusion of tradition."

"Halloween? Why should you wish to put things off for so long?" Draco asked, his heart skipped a beat.

Harry smirked knowing Draco was intrigued. "Halloween is a very significant date for both Draco and myself, Kingsley. Being the anniversary of my parent's death, I've always wished that I could sort of reclaim it… make it a day of good memories rather than bad."

"And what significance does it hold for young Malfoy?" Draco asked quietly.

Knowing the blond was testing him, Harry's eyes sparkled as he grinned. "It's his favorite holiday of the year and there's always a ball here at Hogwarts. It also seems that he's had his heart set on a Halloween wedding since he was just a baby. I'd hate to dash his dreams, you see."

"Well, if he doesn't see, I sure do. You'd be making a public statement and making your 'intended' happy at the same time." The smirk on Draco's face was now a soft smile.

"I'll already be asking for our day to be ours alone. I was also thinking I'd suggest that they work up to ours. It's likely to be a media circus anyway, but if they arrange it properly, they'd put the least known people first and work toward us by doing something like this: Dean and Ginny and then Ron and Mione and then us..." Harry smirked now. "This would also allow for the Halloween Ball to be our reception…"

Draco's gaze met Harry's. "And because you've watched me so closely over the years, you know how much I love that holiday… not even just the holiday, but that particular ball."

"Yes… you always dress to the highest standard for that ball." Harry said coming around the desk. "Even the Yule-tide ball doesn't see your very best robes."

"You're right. I've always loved Halloween." Draco stood as Harry approached.

"A Halloween wedding it is. At least that much can be romantic." They simply looked at each other for a moment before Harry offered the blond his right hand. "May I escort you to your dorm?"

"Alright…" Draco smirked again as he placed his right hand in Harry's. "But only if I get a goodnight kiss; it is proper to kiss your fiancé goodnight when you take them home, after all."

Harry nodded turning slowly as he tucked his fiancé's hand into his left elbow. "Ok…"

Draco's eyebrow rose even as his eyes narrowed in challenge. "Not one of those chaste little pecks either, Potter. Let's see some of that passion you were talking about earlier."

Harry felt butterflies begin to flutter in his stomach and blushed. "I promise."

They walked in a companionable silence all the way to the dungeons. As the portrait came into view, Harry took Draco's hand again. His breath caught as he moved in closer. Except for a muggle boy who'd been less than a year older than him, Harry had only ever kissed girls before and hadn't felt confident. He was surprised to find an eagerness inside himself as he did so. Their lips touched lightly at first, but soon their eyes were closing and Draco was whimpering in want as Harry gathered him close and began to explore his mouth.

Just as Harry began backing Draco up against the stone wall the portrait cleared its throat, breaking them up. "Will you be entering anytime soon, young man?"

Harry blushed again. "Sorry. Good night, Draco. Sleep well."

As he peeked back, he saw Draco touch his lips reverently as he watched Harry leave before giving the password to the portrait and entering his dorm. When Harry arrived back in Gryffindor Tower, he summoned some parchment and a self-inking quill. He smiled as he wrote out a request to speak with both the Headmistress of the school and the Minister for Magic. Then he hurried to the Owlry and sent them off with a school owl. He knew he'd get a reply the next morning at breakfast so he smiled to himself and settled in for a good night's sleep.

Hi, Everyone!

Thanks for sticking with my story! I'm so happy you all like it so much! Keep reading and reviewing and I'll keep writing! Don't forget: the next Ministry letter will appear in Chapter 6.

Lori