Transition

Draco watched as his students set the vials and reports on his desk, and then he made his rounds to ensure that their workstations were clean and spotless. The bell struck and he nodded his approval. The children packed their belongings and stilled for a few seconds to say goodbye to him.

"I'll see you on Thursday," Draco said to them and soon, his classroom was free of students. He immediately went to a cabinet to retrieve a tray, and he placed all of his students' bottles into it. He made a quick trip into the dark incubation room and left the tray in an area that Reed had showed him earlier in the morning.

He was back in his classroom five minutes later, and sat down to begin marking the reports. It always astonished him how he seemed to be able to know what was right and what was wrong without even having to look at the answer sheets he and Reed had drawn before the exercise. He managed to get them done before an hour was up. He checked his pocket watch and smiled. Harry should be out stretching his legs. Or he is cornered by Knight, Draco thought grimly.

Draco searched his drawers for unused parchment and smiled crookedly when he found one. He wrote a quick note on it and let his fingers do the shaping of the origami. A griffin-shaped origami rested on his hand. He sighed. Well, origami with wings does make it easier to send.

He locked the classroom before he went up to his office. As usual, he heard voices, Harry's and then Knight's. Draco suppressed a wave of irritation and blew at the origami in his hand.

Harry leaned out of the railing and hoped for some kind of rescue. They had fallen into silence, and Harry wished he could think of some sort of excuse to get away.

"Harry..." Knight sounded worried, and he turned. Something yellow hit his nose and it dropped to his feet.

He smiled when he saw the origami and bent down to pick it up. Carefully, he unfolded the artwork.

Come and see me.

"Draco wants me for something," Harry informed the librarian. "I'll see you tomorrow or something."

If Knight was disappointed or slighted in any way, Harry could not detect it. The emerald-eyed wizard shrugged slightly and sauntered off. The door to their office would not open when he tried the knob, and Harry raised his eyebrow. Before long, his face took on a worried expression. Was he in trouble again?

He pressed his indicolite ring briefly on the surface of the door and he heard a loud click. He turned the knob, peered in, and saw Draco sitting on his desk with a somewhat mischievous look.

"Okay, love. What are you up to?" Harry asked as he entered the office.

"Nothing in particular," Draco replied with a broad grin. "Can you do me a favor?"

Harry made sure the door was locked before stepping in to stand in between Draco's knees. "What favor?" Harry murmured as he slid his hands up and down his lover's thighs.

"Change your schedule tomorrow. Like going for a break first, or hang out with Vine or something," Draco said.

"Hang out with Vine?" Harry moved his face closer and stared intently at Draco's lips.

"Well, Vine will flirt with you, but he won't steal you from me."

"And how can you be so sure about that?" Harry moved his head and planted a kiss near Draco's ear. He pulled away and looked inquiringly at the other wizard. "Well?"

Draco just grinned.

"Draco. Are you keeping secrets from me?" Harry said accusingly.

"No," Draco replied with gleaming eyes.

"You're lying."

"I'm a Slytherin."

"What does being a Slytherin has anything to do with lying?" Harry managed not to pout.

Draco chuckled softly and shook his head. "A Slytherin must be mysterious at all times."

Harry swore and then gasped in surprise when Draco pulled him close and kissed him deeply. "I love you, Draco Malfoy."

"Me too, Harry Potter."

Their moments of closeness were interrupted by a series of knocks on the door.

"Who do you think it is?" Draco whispered.

"It's not Knight," Harry whispered in response. Draco let him go and he opened the door. "Elron." Harry looked surprised. "Damn ... did I forget to do anything?"

"No, no. Don't be alarmed." Vine chuckled and peered in. He lifted his eyebrow and turned to look at Harry knowingly.

"We were not doing anything like that, Elron," Harry muttered quickly.

His mentor snorted with amusement. "Right," Vine answered but it was clear that the wizard did not believe him entirely. "I just came by to inform you that I'm holding a gathering on Friday night at my house." Vine pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Actually, it will be conducted in my backyard. I have a craving for grilled and smoked food."

"And what does that have to do anything with the backyard or gathering?" Draco asked.

"Well, we are all going to participate in outdoor cooking. Do you know what I mean?"

However, Draco shook his head.

"Never mind, Elron. I'll explain to him what outdoor cooking involves," Harry said with a slight roll of his eyes. "Anyway..." He did not continue however, since he felt it was not appropriate for him to ask who would be invited.

"Time to go home, Harry," Draco interrupted.

"Yes, Draco. I know."

"Just for your information, this will be quite a small gathering," Vine said and shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I like to invite just a few people so that I can pay more attention to an individual. That's rather hard to do if it's a huge gathering."

"Oh."

"And you two are expected to come. No excuses," Vine said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Don't tell me this is included in our overall assessment," Harry groaned.

"You bet." Vine chuckled and waved at them before walking away.

"Does that mean Reed will be there as well?" Draco did not voice the question that he wanted to ask.

"Uh ... don't you think it'd be rude if Vine holds the gathering without inviting him? They do share a backyard after all," Harry reminded him gently.

"Damn..."

Harry chuckled and hugged his lover briefly. "Come on. I'll tell you what you can expect to be doing on Friday evening while we cook."

"Harry." Draco tugged at his sleeve as they descended the staircase.

"Yes?"

"I love you," Draco whispered just before their owls found them.

"Yes, Draco. I know." Harry smiled at his lover affectionately just as Hedwig settled on his shoulder.

Friday, 24th March 2000.

Harry sipped his coffee as he walked around the canteen. Occasionally, he would stop by groups of students and checked on them. In addition, without being obvious about it, he would sometimes spy on those who were writing or drawing. After the shocking incident that involved a male student and a very young female student, it was the teachers' duty to make sure that those kinds of mischief would not happen again.

"Harry," the voice made him stop in his tracks. An inner voice remarked that while Knight addressed him so casually, Harry never called the librarian by his first name. "It's surprising to find you here, instead of your usual haunt."

Had he expected me to be predictable? Harry mused. He was far too cautious to allow a frown to surface. "I was feeling restless," he said to Knight. "Draco is still in his classroom, and although I've been here for almost two years, I don't feel easy intruding Reed's territory."

"Why isn't he in the office?" Knight asked curiously. "He usually does his work up there."

Being a little presumptuous, aren't you? "Well, he does. I think he's trying to change his routine."

"Oh."

Just as the bell struck six, Harry felt something hitting the back of his head. He rolled his eyes and picked up the origami that he knew would be there on the floor.

"I suppose he is calling for you?"

Harry looked into Knight's eyes and nodded. It did not escape his notice that he saw that Knight was clenching his teeth. I wonder why. "I'll see you around, Knight."

"Harry!"

He turned and saw Starkmind and Bluestone.

"See you next week, Knight," Harry said to the wizard and opened the origami in his hand.

Remain where you are, love. I'm coming down.

"So, do we have to bring anything?" Harry asked Starkmind after Knight had left the canteen.

"Honey, black pepper, and I can't remember what else," Starkmind answered. "Where's your lover?"

"Right here," Draco piped up and smiled crookedly when Bluestone yelped in surprise. He sidled close to Harry. "So, did he ask anything?"

Harry quirked his eyebrow. "Well, since you asked," Harry whispered and snorted at Bluestone and Starkmind's vain attempt to hide the fact that they wanted to eavesdrop. "He is surprised about my new routine."

"Excellent." Draco appeared smug. "Keep doing things spontaneously, love."

"All right." Then Harry turned to his other companions. "So, shall we go?"

"Let's go."

Draco swore as the barbecue pit flared and produced great billows of smoke. His eyes stung and he backed off, and nearly collided into Vine. Fortunately, Harry's mentor was quick on reflexes and helped steady Draco before the young man could lose balance.

"I take it you've never done this before?" Vine inquired politely.

Draco shook his head. "Sorry."

Vine smiled and went around the pit. The amethyst-eyed wizard commented something to Reed, who straightened his back and pointed his oak wand threateningly at Vine's chest.

They're an unlikely couple, Draco thought as he watched them.

"Draco, come help," Bluestone called him.

He raised his eyebrow when the Veela started piercing a skewer into several pieces of prawns. Harry had also moved to help but Draco slapped his hands away. His lover looked injured.

"Have you cleaned your hands?" Draco asked calmly. "I thought I saw you carrying that bag of charcoal earlier."

Harry's cheeks reddened and Draco smiled inwardly. "Uh ... no, I haven't."

"I thought as much. Scourgify."

"Thanks," Harry mumbled and started to help Bluestone. Draco could not help it - he laughed. "Ha ha. Very funny, love."

"You're so cute," Draco teased and Bluestone snorted at the statement.

Once Vine was happy with the state of his fire pit, Kanic came around with an armload of what appeared to be fish on sticks. He stabbed the poles into the ground in a neat pattern around the pit while Vine muttered a charm on several chicken wings.

"Fancy that," Starkmind muttered as he sat next to his husband. He reached out for a skewer and started to pierce the prawns methodically. "Magic takes out a lot of fun from a barbecue."

Draco quirked his eyebrow questioningly. "Really? How should it be done then?"

"Barbecuing is more fun if you do it hands-on," Starkmind explained.

"Oh. But it'll be hot, won't it?"

"That is what that makes it fun."

"Not when we're dealing with magical fire," Draco said.

"True," Starkmind acknowledged.

Evening quickly changed into night, and the small group of wizards had taken seats on the chairs and benches that Vine conjured earlier. They had been talking about what was new in the broomstick market when the topic changed into the possibility of sending some of the children from the centre to Hogwarts.

From the glazed look in Harry's emerald eyes, Draco knew that his lover was already planning of ways to make it possible.

"If we can do something to raise money, then it would be feasible," Starkmind mused. "After all, they only need money to buy for their school materials, clothes, food and miscellaneous expenses."

"True."

"How about a friendly Quidditch match?" Draco suggested. Then he blinked. So did the others.

"I just realized-" Vine's statement was cut off by Kanic.

"- that we don't have flying lessons."

Harry started to laugh. "I knew that there was something missing from their studies. They don't get exercise."

The group burst into laughter.

"We have to broach this subject to the headmaster one of these days," Vine said ruefully. "But a Quidditch match?"

"Well, a mixture of teachers and students," Harry proposed.

"You want the Seeker position?" Draco offered with a broad grin. Suddenly, Harry's light-hearted nature vanished and the raven-haired wizard shook his head.

"No, Draco. I-" Green eyes looked at him and Draco frowned. His lover looked fearful. "You be the Seeker. If I take part, it will not be much of a game."

Draco did not reply, but merely gazed at Harry's face.

"And I just know who we should get for Beaters," Bluestone said delightedly.

"Why are you so excited about this?" Reed muttered. "We haven't gotten permission from the old man."

"Come on, Aran. Don't tell me you're not excited playing the Chaser." Vine snickered.

Draco stopped paying attention to the conversation, as he continued to search Harry's face.

It was about past midnight when Bluestone and Starkmind decided to leave, and Harry and Draco decided to follow suit.

"Next time, we'll host a barbecue," Bluestone murmured as they walked home. "Let's try and do things the Muggle way. It should be interesting."

"I don't see what is so interesting about bending over and trying to blow flames all over the charcoal," Draco disagreed.

"That was just Jason fooling around. I bet Miss Granger knows how it's done," Starkmind said.

Harry toweled his hair while he handed Draco a towel. They had taken a shower together the moment they reached home. The silver-haired wizard kept giving him glances. Finally, his lover broke the silence.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Draco drew him into an embrace. "You've been quiet ever since I mentioned the Seeker thing."

Harry hugged Draco back, and rested his forehead against Draco's smooth shoulder. "It's just ... Draco, I don't want you in the stands," he whispered.

Draco pulled away and he allowed his chin to be lifted by gentle fingers. "Nothing is going to happen to me, love," Draco said softly.

"I don't know ... I don't want you hurt like-"

"Shhhh."

He quivered as Draco kissed him softly. His fingers threaded through the mass of wet, silver hair and pulled his lover closer. Their towels dropped to the floor, forgotten, as they lost themselves in a passionate kiss.

"Harry?" Draco murmured against his lips and he blinked his eyes. He tried to bring himself out of his daze, but the moment he locked eyes with Draco, he became giddy.

"Hmmmm?" Harry sounded dreamy.

"Will you be my husband someday?"

The question electrified Harry and all sense of dreaminess vanished. He stared at Draco in stunned silence. Draco's eyes gazed back at him with seriousness and love. His heart started to beat faster when Draco took his hands.

"Will you, Harry?" Draco asked softly. "Will you?"

He could only see and feel Draco. He could only hear his lover's voice.

"Will you take me as your husband?" Draco's voice was trembling.

"Yes," Harry breathed. "Yes."

Then Harry watched in wonder as Draco's silver eyes started to glow, and it reminded Harry of the words he had said to his lover a long time ago. A magical creature clothed in moonlight. Draco appeared radiant and brilliant. Seeing the happiness in those silver eyes was making him feel as though his heart was going to burst with joy.

"I love you so much!" Draco exclaimed and started to kiss Harry rather exuberantly. Musical laughter filled the room, and it was soon joined by Harry's low and soothing chuckles.

"You look so beautiful, Draco," Harry murmured once their laughter faded. "Just beautiful."

"And I'm yours," Draco added softly before pulling Harry into another loving kiss.

Friday, 28th April 2000.

A peculiar kind of anticipation hung over the Lovenest, and Narcissa felt it deep inside her. She sprang to her feet and started to pace along the length of the bedroom.

"You behave as though you're the one who is getting married," Snape observed.

She stopped moving and glared at the Potions Master before casting a somewhat guilty look at her son. Draco gazed back at her with gray eyes that exuded curiosity. His attention was riveted when Bluestone accidentally tugged at his hair.

"Sorry, Draco," Bluestone apologized and continued to braid the hair.

Narcissa followed the Veela's skillful fingers avidly.

"I'm not a girl," Draco muttered. "You don't have to ... groom me, and my hair looks fine as it is."

"Special occasion deserves special outfit and hairdo, Draco," Narcissa said gently.

"But Mother." Draco groaned. "It's just a small ceremony. I don't understand why I have to look so ... exotic."

"Just say you like the robe, Draco," Bluestone said impishly.

"I like the robe but why should it be so extensive?"

"Well, it's because you have to show the Clardives that you are serious about the bonding."

Narcissa's eyes flickered to the door and saw Starkmind ushering in a well-dressed wizard. Her eyes widened and she squeaked in horror. "What are you doing? The groom can't lay eyes on the br-" She clapped her hands to her mouth and blushed.

Harry was wearing silver and blue robes that were a shade darker than Draco's outfit, and his hair was weighed down with silver threads. It made him look neater.

Starkmind chuckled and Narcissa looked at him, feeling greatly embarrassed. "It's all right, Narcissa. They're getting married according to Veela tradition, so it's all right for them to admire each other."

"So, I'm the bride?"

"I'm sorry, dear," Narcissa apologized quickly. Her son merely made a face and fixed his eyes on Harry. She watched her son and after a minute or so, her cheeks started to feel hot again. Behind her, Snape snorted derisively and muttered something about teenagers and privacy. "They aren't anymore, Severus. They're already twenty, aren't they?" she corrected absently.

There's just something nice about that possessive look Harry is giving my son. Draco is lucky, Narcissa thought dreamily.

"There." Bluestone grinned widely and straightened.

"Finally," Snape grumbled. "Shall we move now?"

"Why are you rushing, Severus? You don't have to teach tomorrow," Starkmind said. Snape glowered at the half-Veela.

Narcissa straightened her gown and smiled brightly at Draco. "Are you excited, dear?"

"Mother," Draco replied with a pained expression.

"Okay, let's gather our things and head for the Clardives'."

Draco did not pay attention to the Priest's words. He could tell that Harry was doing the same. He smiled tremulously and rubbed his thumbs along Harry's fingers.

"Ahem."

Draco and Harry blushed, and they looked at the Priest guiltily.

"Will you, Harry James Potter, take Draco Aodhfin Malfoy, as your cherished and beloved mate for life?" the Priest asked solemnly.

"I, Harry James Potter, will take Draco Aodhfin Malfoy as my cherished and beloved mate for life," Harry replied somewhat hoarsely.

The Priest turned to Draco next.

"Will you, Draco Aodhfin Malfoy, take Harry James Potter, as your cherished and beloved mate for life?"

"I, Draco Aodhfin Malfoy, will take Harry James Potter, as my cherished and beloved mate for life," he answered breathlessly.

"Rings," the Priest ordered.

Draco barely noticed his mother and Remus Lupin coming forward, holding two similar cushions. Harry retrieved the ring from Remus' cushion and turned to Draco.

"Can you be with me forever, Draco Malfoy?" Harry whispered as he lifted Draco's left hand.

"Yes," Draco replied with a steady voice and watched as Harry slipped the simple, white gold band on his finger. Then he gently pulled away and reached out for Harry's ring. His mother was looking at him and he was surprised to see her crying. He smiled, and his eyes flitted back to Harry. "Will you be mine always?"

"Always."

With rings in place, Draco lifted Harry's other hand and continued to stare into the pair of bright emerald eyes.

"I pronounce you mates for life," the Priest announced. "Now, seal this sacred bonding with a kiss."

Harry stepped closer and Draco forgot to breathe. "My husband. Mine."

His eyes fluttered close as Harry's warm lips descended and he whimpered softly as Harry pressed every inch of his body against him. "Yours," he whispered against the loving lips.

"May the Gods bless their union." Those who were in the small room said the words clearly and Draco was finally released from Harry's strong embrace.

"Well."

The newly wedded couple turned to look at the Priest, who no longer wore his official robes. Halvan Clardive was grinning broadly at them. At that instant, Draco heard music coming from the outside.

"Well, the ceremony is over. Now is the time for you to announce to everyone in Dancers' Vale that you are mates for life!"

Draco looked dubiously at the Veela and drew his wand out.

"What are you doing?" Bluestone yelped.

He looked at Bluestone with puzzlement. "I'm going to announce that we're married."

"Love, I don't think that's how it's done," Harry whispered in his ear.

"Oh. How are we supposed to do it then?" Draco raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"By dancing of course!" Clardive said with a broad smile.

"For a week. In different places," Starkmind added helpfully.

"Go on." Clardive made shooing motions with his hands. "Dance at the porch. This way, everyone in this part of the neighborhood will know that you are bonded!"

"Are you serious?" Draco asked, mildly surprised. "Dance at different places each day?"

Bluestone and Starkmind nodded.

"Oh, how lovely." Narcissa sniffed and dabbed her eyes with a light green handkerchief.

Draco blinked and a mischievous smile suddenly formed on his lips. "Does this include a dance in the centre?" He looked at Reed and Vine for information.

"Why are you looking at me?" his mentor said in a dry tone. "I am not a Veela nor am I an expert in their traditions."

"Yes, Draco, you have to announce your status, even to the children," Bluestone confirmed.

"Why are you grinning? Should I be alarmed?" Harry inquired with a gentle smile.

"Not at all, my husband," Draco said graciously. He beamed suddenly. "That's nice."

"Hmmmm?"

"Calling you husband."

"Cloying."

"Harry is not complaining." Draco shot a sour look at the greasy-haired wizard. "Come on, Harry. Let's dance."