******** ******** Chapter 9 ******** ********
The next day, as he stood in the tent behind a temporary podium in the middle of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch, Harry Potter wore his second best dress robes and a brand new cloak. His best dress robes were the ones he'd just ordered from Madam Malkin's for all the weddings he'd be attending this coming month and he'd soon order an even better set than that for his own wedding to Draco. Of course, he'd probably need Draco's help for that.
The blond had a knack for fashion as well as potions, it seemed, for he'd chosen Harry's new cloak from a catalog and had it delivered to the Gryffindor dormitory before breakfast that morning. The box had been labeled simply with a white card that read 'a courting gift for Harry'. Harry had been surprised to find that the courting ritual went both ways since Ron hadn't warned him of that part.
Draco – having approved Harry's attire with a thoroughly impressed smirk– stood with him and his friends since they would all be making statements to the press. The elder Malfoys had been escorted to the site by aurors for the occasion as well. The Headmistress was simply there to oversee the proceedings.
When the minister arrived he would make a speech and then introduce Harry and the others.
"Hello, Harry," Kingsley Shacklebolt said upon entering the small tent.
"Kingsley. It's good to see you. I'm sure you remember Ron and Hermione, but this is my intended." He picked up the blonde's hand and smiled as he made the introductions. "Draco Malfoy, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister for Magic and my very good friend."
Draco took his hand from Harry's and shook the large dark skinned man's. "It's very good to meet you, sir."
"None of that 'sir' business, young man; you're soon to be married to a very close friend of mine." The Minister said. "You may use my name."
"Thank you, K-Kingsley." Draco stammered in surprise. He'd always expected to become on a first name basis with the minister, but he'd never thought it would happen so soon or through his husband.
Lucius sneered once the other man had gone to take the stage. "Malfoys do not stammer, Draco."
"Draco, sometimes I have to wonder why you want to be a Malfoy..." Harry began with a roll of his eyes. "It seems to me that Malfoys 'don't do' alot of things that make the rest of us human."
Draco smirked at him. "I think that's the point, Harry. Malfoys must appear to be super-human so they don't show much emotion."
"I see...but that makes it so difficult to make friends, find love and so on...doesn't it?" Harry asked.
Draco only nodded.
"Well, I'll leave it up to you whether we keep our own names or hyphenate them, but I'll not pretend to be super-human just because of a name." He said offhand turning to his friends.
Draco and his father both stiffened, but for very different reasons.
Lucius glared at the young brunette hissing, "Insolent brat."
"Father, you continue to widen the rift between Harry and I." Draco snapped. "Kindly remember that I'm in charge now."
"You are 'in charge' of your current decisions, Draconis, not the entire Malfoy family and estate." Lucius snarled at his son.
"That may be true, Father, but I marry quite soon and you get no younger. I inherit eventually and will have control in the future." Draco smirked. "He's going to take care of me...and in turn, the Malfoy estate."
"Strangely enough that does not bring me comfort, Draconis…" The older blond glared at his only son.
"Enough! The Minister is wrapping up his speech! Can we all agree to be pleasant for the press?" Draco asked quickly. "Please, Father; I won't have you badmouthing my spouse."
"Yes…please let's not fight, Mr. Malfoy…" Harry glowered at his future father-in-law. "The press will have enough to write about on their own."
He frowned but assented and Harry could feel resentment flowing from across the room although he had yet to hand over the envelope from Gringott's.
"Mr. Malfoy…" Harry paused and then changed tactics because a gut feeling told him to approach the older man as more of an equal. "Lucius, please try to understand...you have a choice. You can accept this and try to find the things in me that you can tolerate or you can alienate your son even further and tear your family apart. Voldemort is dead and gone; that ship has sailed."
Hermione frowned at Ron as he mockingly smirked at the elder blond. "Yeah…and sunk."
"Not helping, Ron." Harry glared at his best friend before looking into grey eyes that very closely resembled his future husband's and holding out the envelope with the Gringott's seal facing up. "You're in a life-raft for now, Lucius, but Draco and I are going into the future together in a private yacht."
Narcissa eyed the young brunette silently but Lucius took the envelope with a snarl. He broke the seal and glanced at several items before placing it in a hidden pocket of his robes.
"You and your wife can be part of that future if you want it badly enough." He shook his head sadly and sighed. "You've only to climb aboard…"
Suddenly, the tent's entry flap was flung open. "Here you have him, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press; I give you our savior, Harry Potter!"
Knowing his friends and the Malfoys would follow him out, Harry put a smile on his face as he walked out into the limelight. He looked right at Rita Skeeter and grinned, "Hello, everyone; it's so nice to see you all again."
The reporters began peppering him with questions, but he just raised his hands to calm the crowd.
"Please, just let me say what I've come to say and then I'll take questions one at a time," He soothed. "At the beginning of the school year, I only worried about figuring out the dating scene and getting good marks in my classes. I had yet to work up the courage to ask someone out but my classes started making sense so I was doing pretty well. Then came news of the new Marriage Law."
"What did you think of it, Harry?"
"What were you doing when you got the letter, Mr. Potter?"
"Did you welcome the new law, Mr. Potter?"
"Harry, will you be complying with the law or are you exempt as our savior?"
"I'm not going to lie: at first, I was indifferent to it." He looked at Rita. "I'm not above the law, Ms. Skeeter, and I am currently acting in accordance with the marriage law...but right at first I saw it as just more interference by the Ministry in the lives of us kids. When I got the letter that announced the law, I was doing homework, but that's just trivia. Anyway, the letter forced me to confront some important personal issues. For instance, I've just discovered, in the past few months, that I'm homosexual and I've been attracted to one of my fellow year-mates here at Hogwarts for quite a while." He watched as the reporters scribbled notes into their books before going on. "I decided that I'd fill out the reply form and hope for the best. The best being that the boy I liked would be on the correct list and matched up with me..."
The throng of reporters stared up at him. "Who is it Harry?" He heard shouted at him from all angles.
"I'm surprised you all don't know yet," Harry commented. "But I'll get there; I promise. The ministry has granted me a few privileges due to my role in the war. One of them is the right of choice. This means that I get to choose the person I will marry and I've chosen Draco Malfoy."
Silence reigned for a moment and then Draco stepped up next to him.
"Are you the Dominant or submissive spouse, Harry?"
"Did his family use a spell to seduce you into this arrangement?"
"Were you blackmailed into this, Harry?"
"Why him, Mr. Potter?"
"First, let me say that I was in no way seduced or illegally coerced into my decision. He has always fascinated me and we have much in common." Harry told them. "We both love Quidditch, for example; and flying in general. We like some of the same foods. We're both powerful wizards but have differing strengths. He's good at potions and charms, while I'm better at Defense and transfiguration."
"But didn't you hate each other for the last several years?" Rita yelled out.
"The hatred we expressed toward each other was just childish nonsense. It was the result of a petty insult on the train in first year. We each held a grudge and during the war discovered just how trivial it was. All of that has been forgiven. Another reason for choosing Draco is that I feel a deep desire to protect him and others might've been tempted to mistreat him due to the prior affiliation of his family..." Harry's expression took on a dark tone. "I hope I need not directly threaten my fellow classmates into kind behavior toward their spouses..."
"Do you have suspicions about anyone in particular, Harry?"
"Do you doubt the Ministry's ability to make safe matches, Mr. Potter?"
"You didn't tell us your position in the marriage, Harry!"
"Please understand me...I've no direct knowledge of anyone planning to be violent with their future spouse. I just want to forewarn in general that I do not approve of domestic abuse and if I hear of any, it will be reported to the proper authorities." Harry grimly looked out at the crowd. "As for my position in the marriage, I'm told it will be a matter of public record as to which spouse is the Dominant or submissive partner, so you'll just have to do your homework to find that out, Ms. Skeeter."
"Mr. Malfoy, why did you say yes?"
"What did your parents have to say about your choice to be with the young man who defeated their former Master?"
"I said yes to Harry because I knew he was a man of his word and I could trust him. He's never asked anything of me before and I..." Draco paused and thought for a moment. "What Harry wants from me is something I think I can really do..."
Rita jumped on his implications. "What did he ask of you, Mr. Malfoy?"
The blond looked off into the distance. "He asked me to live my life with him, have children with him and try to…love him..."
The crowd sighed sentimentally before getting back to their questions.
"When is the wedding?"
"What other privileges were you given, Harry?"
"Only one other privilege was granted," Harry disclosed. "Ours will be the only ceremony in the whole wizarding world to take place on October thirty-first."
"Why marry on Halloween, Harry?"
"Why do you get to marry last?"
"I knew someone would ask me that…" Harry smirked sadly. "Halloween has always been a very sad day for me. As you know, I lost my parents on that day eighteen years ago…and since then; I have seen and heard many terrible things on each anniversary of that date." He paused as Draco took his hand. "This year, I will marry Draco and hopefully change the trend. From this year on, I'll have something good to remember October thirty-first by."
Again the pack of reporters sighed and smiled up at him.
"By having us marry last, the ministry can try to control you unruly lot!" Harry joked and everyone chuckled at his change in mood. "No, truly – they just want to build up the anticipation, is all. I'm not complaining because this way I get to court him for a little while which will hopefully facilitate a better relationship than we've had in the past few years."
"Yes, he's quite the romantic – this one." Draco smiled softly as the reporters went on.
"Will you have a large wedding?"
"Is there a theme?"
"How many children will you have?"
Draco looked at Harry before answering. "It's a Halloween wedding, like I've always wanted and it'll be themed as such. We will be inviting most of our friends, but neither of us have much family..."
"The Weasleys and Malfoys will all be there." Harry nodded. "While only a few Slytherins have agreed to join us for the ceremony, almost all of the elder years in Gryffindor House will be attending. We and our guests will, then, join the rest of the school for the annual Halloween Ball. As to the subject of children, we have yet to discuss the number but there will be at least the one that is required by law."
"We're both only-children, Harry..." Draco said clearing his throat. "I don't know about you, but I'd like a bigger family then that..."
Harry grinned at the blushing blond and without looking away; he answered, "There you have it, folks. At least two kids, then...if not more."
"What will you choose as your career, Harry?"
"Mr. Malfoy, will you stay home with the kids or have a job?"
"I don't know that we'll want to work at all, actually. Draco and I have several large inheritances between us and…" Harry began.
"I would like to do something with my life besides bear children." Draco broke in. "Harry and I still have many things to talk about and that hasn't come up yet."
"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, how do you feel about the arrangement?" Rita's eyes were sparkling in the sunlight.
The elder Malfoys glanced at their son and then each other before Narcissa stepped forward. "We would've preferred to follow the usual traditions but..."
"We approve." Lucius said as quietly as one can with the Sonorus charm on him. "Harry has many things we've always wanted for our son; magical power, political connections, wealth, maturity, integrity… a modicum of common sense." He paused as the crowd chuckled. "He is a powerful young wizard who has had an amazing impact on today's wizarding society. He will likely be a political force in the future and his children will very likely shape that future. Our family will be involved by virtue of their being Draco's as well. The only thing left that we can ask for is that he do all he can to keep Draco happy."
Draco looked at his parents with a calm expression but inside he was brimming with happiness at his father's words.
Harry smiled widely at Lucius and held out his right hand. "I will."
The older man's jaw was tight as he shook Harry's hand and the cameras flashed.
Hermione took over at that point. "Harry and Draco will be attending all the weddings this month that will take place here at Hogwarts, as well as all of the Weasley weddings. The first couple from Hogwarts to marry will be Emily Hatterfield and Rodney Longfellow."
Ron stepped up and held her hand. "The weddings will continue until Halloween and the couples will get more well-known as time goes on. Ours will take place on the 30th while Harry and Draco say their vows on the holiday itself."
Harry and the Malfoys faded into the background, eventually finding refuge in the tent.
Draco allowed himself a smile as he hugged his mother and then hesitantly faced his father. "Thank you for that, Father. It means alot... to both of us."
"We will be spending Christmas at the London townhouse, Draco." Lucius said, abruptly changing the subject. "I hope that will be satisfactory for you and… Harry."
In an instant, Draco's hesitancy turned to elation. "That sounds lovely, Father. We'll look forward to it." He grinned and winked at Harry as the other boy looked on nodding his approval.
"As will we, Draco darling. Now, Harry, you must use my name as you do with Lucius. We will soon be family, after all." Narcissa held her hand out to him.
He took it in his and kissed it. "Thank you, Narcissa."
"The contents of that envelope are quite interesting, Potter." Lucius scrutinized his soon-to-be son-in-law.
Harry merely smirked in return.
The next few days saw many nasty letters make their way into Draco's mail. Harry insisted that he destroy them and try to ignore the hurtful words written inside them. He did his best, but when some of them came from people that were supposed to be his friends it was difficult to do so.
Hey everyone! I'm still not 100% better but I'm getting there. Thanks for all the reviews! I hope you liked the newest chapter and I hope you all get to read my new oneshot sometime soon.
Lori