Of Love and Promises

The weeks following Harry's proposal and leading up to the big day itself were filled with short tempers, lots of regretted words and even more apologies. But some how they still managed to make it to August 31^st without anything major going wrong.

"What was I thinking?" Draco exclaimed, as he paced the room they were using to get ready in. "I can't do this. I'm too nervous."

"Draco. Come here." Hermione ordered, softly patting the space on the sofa next to her.

Draco gave up pacing and followed her instructions.

"Relax already. You'll be fine. Just remember everything we went through and there'll be no problems." She reassured him, gently stroking his hair, which was hanging in curtains around his eyes.

Draco sighed and looked at Hermione, "You're right. As usual."

"Of course I am! Now hurry up and get dressed, the ceremony is starting in fifteen minutes."

*****

Harry stood at the altar, waiting for the ceremony to begin and admiring the room. The ceremony was being held in one of the ballrooms at Malfoy Manor, Narcissa (Draco's mum) had graciously offered them the use of the house. Suddenly the grand piano magically started to play, although not the traditional wedding march, two men getting married is hardly traditional even in the wizarding world.

Everyone in the room fell silent and turned their heads towards the doors at the back of the room as they began to open. Ginny walked down the aisle escorted by Sirius, followed by Christina and Ron.

When Christina and Ron reached the front, the guests all stood up as a very elegant looking Hermione escorted Draco down the aisle.

Harry couldn't help thinking how beautiful his fiancé looked in the white tux and silver tie; they were wearing suits that were almost identical except Harry's was black with a silver tie.

It's pretty ironic that he wearing white and I'm the one in black actually. Harry thought.

Sometimes Harry still found it unbelievable that you could read someone completely wrong. During most of their years at Hogwarts Harry and Draco were bitter enemies. Draco came from a dark and magically powerful family and Harry was from a family on the good side, the light. They were supposed to hate each other and be on opposite sides of the battle. But now here they were getting married and bridging the gap between the light and dark sides.

When they reached Harry, Hermione let go of Draco's arm and gave Harry a smile before joining Christina and Ginny.

Harry held out his hand to Draco and they both turned to face the priest.

"Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to witness the joining of these two souls. Harry and Draco do you join us here of your own free will to acknowledge the eternal bond shared by both of you?"

"I do." They both said.

"Harry, you may recite your vows."

"Draco, through all the tears and struggles I always knew in my heart that we'd make it here. I love you and I promise to keep on loving you in this life, the next and whatever comes after that. Not just as your husband but as your friend and your lover. I will never leave you, Draco, you're my soul mate." Slipping another silver band on to Draco's ring finger.

"Whew!" The priest said, dabbing his eyes. "Draco, you may recite your vows."

"Harry, I remember sitting in my room late at night when I was a kid. I used to find any book I could about the defeat of the Dark Lord and the Boy Who Lived. I always thought it impossible that he would love or even be interested in a guy like me but here we are after everything we've been through over the past ten years. Harry I was born to love you."

That was it. There were no more dry eyes in the house.

"Here before witness' Harry and Draco have sworn their vows to each other." He wrapped a rope around their joined hands, "With this cord I bind them to those vows."

"Heart to thee, body to thee. Always and forever. So would it be." Harry and Draco said in unison.

"So would it be." Ginny, Hermione, Christina, Sirius, Ron repeated.

"So would it be." Echoed the priest. "Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Mr. Harry and Draco Potter." The Priest said as the piano began to play and Harry walked down the aisle arm in arm with his husband.

*****

"Draco! Come on. We're going to be late." Harry yelled through the closed door of the ensuite bathroom.

They had been married for two hours and Draco had spent over half an hour of that time doing his hair and getting ready for their reception.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Draco yelled back.

Five minutes later, Harry was lying on his back looking up at the ceiling, when Draco stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in black trousers and a black shirt with Chinese writing on. "What'd you think?" He asked.

"I think you look so sexy." Harry said getting up off the bed, walking over to where Draco was stood and planting an affectionate kiss on his cheek. "Now can we please go?"

"Fine. If you insist."

******

The second ballroom was decorated even more elegant than the first. There were gold and silver streamers hanging from the roof. Floating around there were gold and silver balloons, chasing these balloons were Adam and Benjamin. At the front of them room there was kind of a Muggle disco except it was powered by magic. There was even a bar at the back of the room.

Hermione was walking from the bar to the table where Sirius, Christina, Ginny, Ron, Harry, Draco and herself were sitting. She walked past three people who looked very familiar to her.

She backtracked and paused in front of the table.

The man sat there looked up at her and smirked nervously.

"Um. Hi!" She said politely, "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Vernon Dursley." He replied shaking her hand.

"D - D - Dursley?" She stammered. "Get here you." She said to Sirius, who walking past at that very moment, grabbing his shirt.

"Hermione!" He exclaimed, straightening his shirt. "What is it?"

"This is Vernon. Vernon Dursley."

"Dursley? [Hermione nodded] Um. Hermione could you go get Harry for me? I think he's by the bar."

Two minutes later Hermione reappeared with a very confused Harry, who stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his aunt, uncle and cousin. "What are they doing here?"

"Your God-father invited us. Cousin." Dudley replied, a hatred in his voice that was only matched by the hatred in his cousin's eyes.

"You did WHAT?" Now rounding on Sirius.

Sirius backed off slightly. "Vernon did you do what I instructed you?"

Vernon nodded and handed him the invitation.

"Here read this" Sirius said handing the card to Harry.

S. Black invites Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Dursley (And son) To attend the wedding of H. Potter and D. Malfoy.

"So?" Harry asked, but then he noticed a tiny arrow in the bottom right hand corner, indicating him to turn over.

On the back there was more writing which Harry now read out loud.

Dear Vernon, Petunia and Dudley,

My name is Sirius Black, you may remember me. I've been on the television quite often. Do you remember the summer eight years ago? When a convicted murderer escaped from jail? Well I'm that murderer, although my name is now cleared. I am inviting you to attend your nephew's wedding. And I expect to see you there. You may be wondering how I got your address or why I'm even inviting you. Well there are a lot of things I know about you, like where you live and work. But I also know how you treated my godson for 16 years of his life. As to why I am inviting you. I don't really know why. But what I do know is that I want you there to see for yourselves that despite how you mistreat Harry, before he started 'proper' school and during the summer holidays, you couldn't have stopped him being happy and finding true love. So until the wedding, goodbye. And one more thing I suggest that you bring this invite with you.

Yours truly,

Sirius Black

P.S. By the way Harry's not the only wizard. I'm one too.

Harry was speechless as he finished reading. When he finally found his voice he said, "You invited them here to show them they couldn't stop all this even though they tried their best? [Sirius nodded] I should hate you right now, but thank you."

"My pleasure." Sirius replied.

"So anyway where is the unlucky [Sirius glared] I'm mean lucky girl anyway?"

"Well - Wait Girl?"

"Yeah?" Petunia replied looking confused.

"How far back were you sitting?" Hermione asked

"My guess is." Sirius said before they could answer, "Far back enough that they couldn't see or hear what was going on but close enough to be in the room."

Dudley nodded.

"Um. Hermione can you go and find Dray for me please?"

"Sure"

Two minutes later and she returned with Draco.

"Yeah Harry" He said, walking up behind Harry and slipping his hand under Harry's arm and across his chest.

"Draco this is Vernon, Petunia and Dudley. Dursley." Harry introduced.

"Dursley?" Draco repeated unconvinced, "As in Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon?" Harry nodded.

"Vernon, Petunia, Dudley this is Draco. My Husband."

The look of disbelief on their faces was so funny, from Harry's point of view. They had obviously never ever thought that their nephew was gay.

*****

On the September 1^st a small creature with bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls, a house-elf, awoke Harry and Draco.

"Binky!" Draco exclaimed as he sleepily rubbed his eyes. "What are you doing? What time is it?"

"My apologies Master Draco but your mother sent me to wake up you and Master Harry. You must be getting up or you will be missing the Hogwarts express."

"Fine. We're up." Harry said as he reached out for his glasses.

The house-elf bowed low and retreated out of the room, not once turning its back on Harry and Draco.

*****

As they walked down the platform at Kings Cross towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Draco said, "It's feels really weird to be walking down here again after all this time."

"Tell me about it." Harry said as they slipped through the barrier onto platform nine and three-quarters. "I can still remember the first train journey up to Hogwarts."

"I think I remember that one too." He replied, climbing into the carriage after Harry, "All down the train people were saying that the famous Harry Potter was on board so I just had to come and see for myself."

"Yeah. You came into the compartment and Goyle reached for the chocolate frogs and Ron's rat Scabbers bit him. That was funny."

"It was funny yeah." Draco said chuckling.

Just then Hermione and Ron joined them.

*****

Hours later the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade station and Harry, Hermione, Ron and Draco emerged the compartment and made their way to the carriages that they hadn't ridden in since their last journey down from the castle back to the train station at the end of their seventh year.

They sat in silence as the carriage made its way up the hill that Hogwarts was on top of. Harry was the first to get out and he had helped everyone out before,

"Potter, Granger and Weasley"

All four of them spun around and saw Professor McGonagall making her way through the second year upwards students towards them.

"Hi. Professor McGonagall." Hermione said as their ex-transfiguration Professor reached them.

"Come now Hermione. You're all grown up and no longer students. Call me Minerva."

"Um. Ok Minerva."

"Now if you four would please make your way to the great hall. You will find there are places set up already for you. I myself must go meet Hagrid with the first years."

******

After the sorting ceremony and the welcome back feast the four of them went to Professor Dumbledore's office, following Minerva. They had made this journey many times during their school days, mostly because of Draco trying to get the Gryffindors into trouble as usual.

When they had got past the giant stone gargoyle that guarded the professor's office they walked up the staircase.

When they reached his office they found not only Dumbledore there but there was also Professor Flitwick (Charms Professor), Professor Snape (Potions Professor), Professor Lupin (Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor) and Hagrid (Care Of Magical Creature Professor).

"What is this a mother's meeting?" Draco remarked sarcastically, shutting the door behind them.

"Hardly Mr. Potter, congratulations by the way I'm sorry I couldn't make it." Dumbledore said, Harry noticed his eyes hadn't lost that twinkle even after all these years.

"Any way. You are may be wondering why we suddenly decided to run work experience programs this year. Well at the end of the year Professors Snape, Flitwick, Lupin and Hagrid will be retiring."

"WHAT!" All four yelled.

"At the end of the year." Dumbledore began, but Snape cut in front of him,

"I think they heard you the first time Albus."

"Yes I know that thank you. Severus. "

"Why are you all retiring?" Harry asked, shocked.

"Well Potter. ["Me or him?" Draco asked, butting in] Him. You don't honestly expect us to stay here forever do you?" Snape said with a sardonic smile.

"Any way" Professor Dumbledore said, trying to avoid an argument that was rapidly brewing between these two. "What I am saying is that next year we will be short of Potions, Defense Against The Dark Arts, Care Of Magical Creatures and Charms Professors. And we all wrote to your respectable Professors at T.T.F and asked them to send the best students they had and looking around at you I see that is what they have done. When we start school next year I would like for you to be looking forward to teaching classes here, that is if you want to. Although I will be deeply disappointed if none of you do."

******