Cruel

Draco had lived his life being brought up strong. Lucius had seen to that. He was taught some of the worst hexes and curses before the older man was thrown in prison. He hadn't yet learned the Unforgivables, but somehow he knew he could live without them. Even more than Draco, Lucius was obsessed with perfection. He had to be perfect in every aspect of his life, including Draco. Draco was most certainly the least perfect aspect of his life.

The boy had been weak from the moment he was born, and needed to be protected at every turn. Narcissa could not bear another, so Lucius had to work with what he'd been dealt. By the time the boy reached Hogwarts, he'd improved greatly, yet needed Vincent and Greg to continue to defend him. He failed to befriend the Boy-Who-Lived, but he didn't mind that much. It was for the better, perhaps, though Draco failed him again. The boy continued to lose against a boy his own age, even though Potter knew less of magic than Draco. Lucius taught the boy everything he could each summer from then on. Taught him to fight, and to win. But none of it seemed to matter. Draco somehow was always behind the other boy. Not in grades, perhaps, but grades didn't matter in a fight.

Draco, in fact, had gone into school each year believing he couldn't lose. He was sadly disappointed every time. And every year he went home to the same punishment and retraining. He knew that if he just kept at it, he too could be perfect. He could be like his father.

But then, his father hadn't defeated Harry Potter either, had he?

Lord Voldemort fell to Harry Potter as an infant, hadn't he?

The best Death Eaters didn't have a chance, did they?

So then why did he have to beat him?

Draco had run through those questions every day since he got home, absent from his father's beatings and cursings and retrainings. He thought of Harry Potter quite often, thought about why so many were against him. He found that none of it made sense. It sounded like one big vengeance trip. So when he got back, he'd decided to try and make amends. Perhaps not with the boy's friends, but he couldn't be expected to change that much over the summer.

But Harry had. Harry had changed drastically. He was being just as Lucius had described James back in Hogwarts. It was horrible. Even when Draco resolved to try and fix things between the two, Potter would just harass him, striking a nerve that turned him back to the old Draco. And the fights just continued. Until that night in the astronomy tower.

And now Draco lay in his little hidden room, trying to remember what happened that night. Did he shout anything after he pulled his wand? How did he save the other boy? What spell could it have been? He didn't know. Couldn't know. It was nothing he'd learned. Well, he'd talked to Dumbledore enough already, and he was likely the only one who would know what happened. He knew all that ancient stuff. Merlin only knew: the old wizard looked that ancient. Maybe even was.

There was a knock on the door and Draco glanced up to the mirror by the door. With a sigh he came down from his bed and opened the door, allowing Dumbledore into the room. "You know just when people want to talk to you, don't you?"

Dumbledore merely smiled and sat in a chair. "And what did you wish to talk about?"

Draco shifted uneasily a moment. "That night, in the astronomy tower... I saved Harry, right?" A nod. "How?"

And Dumbledore proceeded to explain.

-/|-

Lucius Malfoy read the latest message from the Dark Lord, then watched it promptly burn itself. Narcissa watched him as he buried his face in his hands. There was a moment of silence as he thought about the last month. Three weeks ago his son was caught with Potter in a most intimate setting. He'd said then that Draco was no longer any son of his, leaving the Dark Lord to do what he wanted with them both.

A week ago, his son came back for revenge. He testified against Lucius, making this next week hell. And now, though the dementors had left Azkaban, there was no hope for him. The Dark Lord was leaving him there to die for not properly raising Draco as he should have. Some strange part of him wanted to cry out against him. He was more willing to hear that raspy voice yell crucio, leaving him in the worst sort of pain. And in some way, it was the best. It was pain dealt by the Dark Lord.

This pain was worse. He knew the end was coming, and all too soon. Where was the reward? Where was the hand of the Dark Lord, for him, his most faithful follower? Nowhere. And he was waiting in this cell to die.

"Lucius," came a soft voice next to him.

He looked up at her, the mother of his child. For so long she had been nothing more than that. Just another pureblood to continue the line. But as he watched her he could see some of the beauty that had helped him decide to marry her. She really was magnificent, if he had cared to notice before. A radiant beauty. At that moment he wished he had decided to get to know her.

"What is it? What did it say?"

He shook his head. "Narcissa, I want you to listen to me closely. Leave here and go to Malfoy Manor. Take your things, and perhaps some of Draco's as well. Leave the place and never return. The Malfoy line is done."

She looked quite shocked but nodded in understanding. As she stood to leave, Lucius called to her one more time. She looked back at him, and for a moment there was something there. It hung between them, this feeling which had never been there before, and was unknown to them. But part of them knew, and it held on as long as it could.

"Narcissa, if things had been different... I may have loved you."

She nodded. "Had things been different, Lucius, I may have loved you both."

"Take care of our son."

-|/-

Dumbledore stood. "Is there anything else, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco winced, hearing himself being called that. "Yeah, one other thing. I think I'd like to have my name changed."

"That's rather difficult. If your reasoning isn't good enough, you must fall back on a family name."

"I've already got one."

The old wizard raised a brow. "Oh?"

The boy nodded. "How does Draco Black sound?"

There was a moment of consideration before he nodded again, looking at Draco through twinkling eyes. "I'm sure we could all become accustomed to that."

Draco smiled. "Great!"

Dumbledore approached the door before turning one last time. "May I ask why you chose that? Besides it being your mother's maiden name."

"Black... Sirius Black... That was Harry's godfather, right?"

A nod. "That's correct."

"I don't know if it'll hurt Harry, but I want to help somehow. There aren't any more Blacks, as far as I know. Maybe me and Harry could continue the line."

Dumbledore considered this as well, then nodded. "Perhaps. Although while you can take the name, continuing the line will be an entirely different matter."

"Y- yes... I know..." Draco said, blushing. "I think that'll be left for much... much later."

"Such would be wise." And he left.

~~~

It wasn't much later that Harry found his way to Draco's under the cover of the invisibility cloak. Having barely gotten time together alone (seeing as how NEWTs would be upon them next year, and both had been too preoccupied to study prior), it was easy to succumb to passion once they saw each other. Before either had come to any semblance of their senses, clothes and paper had managed to strew themselves across the floor. Harry took the moment to note where the parchment he'd brought in landed before letting his senses become encumbered once more.

In the aftermath of passion they lay in bed, catching their breath. Clarity began to return to their minds, though for the most part they ignored it. The only thing that mattered was where they were, and who they were with. Silence became all too apparent, however, and Harry lazily scanned the floor for the parchment, swearing it must have moved.

"What are you looking for," Draco drawled, "that is so important it takes your attention away from me?"

"Your study schedule."

He snorted. "Yes, because after sex the first thing I want to do is go out and study."

"You're not going to go study now anyway, you nit." Harry spotted the parchment in a corner of the room, far from where he dropped it, and wondered how it managed its way over there. "I'm just making sure I can find it."

"Oh. Okay." A pause. "Harry, wish me luck next week."

Harry raised a brow. "For what?"

Draco moaned. "Apparation test. Dumbledore's letting me out of school to take it."

"Alright," Harry yawned. "Good luck." There was a pause then he realized. "You're going to be 17?"

Draco laughed and nodded. "Yup. January 20^th, actually. Dad tried to get me into Hogwarts early, being that I'd turn 11 while in school. But the thing is, you have to be 11 the year it starts. That's what makes the difference."

Another moment of silence. "Could you stay with me this summer, then? Just put up with the Muggles there for a little while?"

Draco sat up, looking Harry over. Damn, he was gorgeous. He raised a brow, looking playfully dignified. "A Black stay with muggles? Never." He grinned wide as the look of surprise crossed Harry's face. "Of course I'd stay, Harry. If I can."

Harry just blinked up at him. "Black?"

Draco leaned down and kissed him. "Black. Mom's maiden name, so no one can object to me taking it. And... And Sirius' name, Harry. Now you'll really be family, and the last of his line. We'll give it another chance to survive."

Harry collapsed against Draco in a tears, causing momentary panic on Draco's part. But then he heard Harry, not more than a whisper: "Thank you."

The smile returned to Draco's face as he whispered, "I love you."

~~~

Draco and Harry walked into the Great Hall the next morning, getting glared at by most of the Slytherin table. Of course, this was nothing new. They'd gotten used to it during the three weeks since Draco had left the hospital wing. Pansy sat at the Gryffindor table, safe from the attackers, with the other two girls, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis, and River Johnson, of Ravenclaw.

The teachers had decided it was best that those in danger should sit with the Gryffindors and get special dorms. Of course, it was silly to put Draco in a dorm room with three girls, so he ended up with a private room, which rather reminded him of his days as a prefect. River, of course, stayed in her room with the others, though she came to sit with Pansy at the Gryffindor table. Draco often sat between Pansy and Harry, with the line, facing their backs left to right, being Tracey, Daphne, River, Pansy, Draco, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville.

It had been two weeks since Draco had gone to trial, sending his father to his death. Things had normalized this way, somewhat, and the war came to be outside of them once more. They knew what was going on. The house-colored envelopes with black ribbon still came, alerting students that friends and/or family had died. Recent war efforts still littered the Daily Prophet. But for these precious moments the lot of students pretended everything was okay.

Of course, three of them had something in common: they all believed they couldn't be affected. Pansy was orphaned, no one taking her in. She would be of age soon enough, however, and felt she could make it on her own. Draco's father was on death row, and he hadn't heard from his mother in little over a month, so he didn't really have any family left. Harry's parents had been gone since he was a babe, and the one person left who could be considered family had passed through the veil. There was nothing left of the war that could get at them, they were sure.

A flock of owls came, disrupting the peace the students had taken the time to feel. Nearly everyone watched the multicolored envelopes with apprehension. Dumbledore stood, a parchment in front of him. All eyes turned to him, knowing their envelope wouldn't fall until the name was called.

"Every morning I come to stand before you and prattle off the names of those who were casualties in the war, and every morning I offer my condolences. I do that against this morning, though I'm sure my words offer no comfort to you. I remind you that we are here to talk, to help, and to guide, should you need us." Everyone was silent. Every morning Dumbledore's speech changed, becoming less and less comforting. But they all knew why: what he said didn't matter. Everyone knew what he meant, and didn't need him to say anything at all. Most didn't even hear what he said anymore, but were only tuned to hearing a name they knew. And thus, the list began.

"Mrs. Ackerley." A blue envelope fell in front of Stewart Ackerley. The 13-year-old held it delicately and began to open it.

"Mr. Bradley." Another blue envelope.

"Mr. Branstone." Third year Elenor Branstone took the yellow envelope and ran from the room in tears.

"Mr. Crabbe." An envelope fell in front of Vincent Crabbe, which he clutched to his chest a moment before opening.

"Mrs. Finnigan." The red envelope dropped before Seamus, across from Harry. Seamus carefully took the ribbon off, but everyone's attention was diverted with the next name.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy." The green envelope fell to the Gryffindor table, the black ribbon gleaming in all its glory.

Draco picked it up, looking at it a moment. He knew his father's time had would come soon, but he hadn't expected his mother's name to be called as well. ("Mrs. Nott." A green envelope fell.) He looked up to see everyone watching him. Harry put a hand on his shoulder and nodded. Pansy and the other girls behind her were watching anxiously. Granger was biting her lip, and Weasley was having trouble ignoring his presence. That the Slytherins were sitting there, at their table, on their side, was becoming a reality. ("Mr. Pritchard." Another green envelope. Seamus read over the letter at last.) Draco didn't want to look. Not yet. He looked up at Finnigan. "What's yours say?"

"Things might be alright," the other boy said, some hope in his voice. "Mum's just missing is all. Chance she could come back, right?"

They all nodded. Every so often someone came back, but the students were told that in private. If the Death Eaters thought that someone was dead, it was more likely they'd be left alone. Even Bill Weasley had disappeared for a month once. Turned out the place he was got hit and he went into hiding. There were a lot of those cases.

Finnigan nodded toward Draco's envelope. "What about yours?"

"Mrs. Spinnet." The group looked over at Alicia, who held a red envelope in her hands. They all felt sorry for the previous DA member, but turned back to Draco when she tucked the letter away without looking.

Draco finally slid the depressed ribbon from the envelope, opening the green package and taking the shining silver letter from within. He read it over carefully then replaced it, watching the wood grain of the table. Finally he put the black ribbon back on and tucked it away in his bag. "Dad's been executed. Mum's just missing, so I think she ran away. But why they think she might be dead... ("Mrs. Zabini." The green envelope seemed to glare at Blaise.") Malfoy Manor's been burnt down to the ground. Nothing left."

Harry caught Hermione moving out of the corner of his eye then watched her pull back, thinking. She finally reached forward again and took Draco's hand. "Draco, don't forget. You still have us, you know."

Ron just humphed, but didn't seem as harsh about it as he could have.

Draco smiled slightly, beginning to become accustomed to the worries and concerns of Gryffindors. It was still a slow process, but each had their own way of coming to accept him. "Thank you, Hermione."

She gave him a small delicate smile before the moving back, out of the way of appearing food. They all focused on food, play, and talk of Quidditch then. No one wanted to think about the envelopes or the war. They knew they couldn't forget all the time, but the time for remembering was not now. Now was the time for wishful thinking, hopes, dreams, and futures. And NEWTs.

~~~

Draco looked out over the horizon, dark with night yet the barest gleam of sunrise. With any luck he'd make it to Hogsmeade and apparate to where the Manor once was just before true daybreak. He'd just gotten his license to apparate, and he'd already known he'd use it now. With any luck he'd be back before Harry woke.

In the dark of night, bearing Harry's invisibility cloak, he set off. The sun was lighting the eastern sky by the time he reached Hogsmeade, but still wasn't shining upon the earth. He disapparated, remembering the lake which was by his house, figuring that would be all that was left. He wasn't disappointed. He apparated right by the lake, facing it. Kneeling down he touched the soft, cold ice with his fingertips, remembering times when he'd played there. He could feel the first rays of sun on his back, and he could see the gold glitter of light on the water. He swallowed hard, bracing himself for what was coming next.

He turned, and as day broke, he saw what once had been the Malfoy Manor, pride of the wizarding world. There was nothing but ashes upon earth; the trees had burned down to the ground, most of the snow having melted away in the fire and none falling to replace it. He held back tears, walking forward, looking through ash. He brushed a pile aside where his bedroom once was and found a small tin covering something. Lying between two layers of metal was a picture. His mother was smiling and singing to him as a baby. He couldn't take it anymore. He apparated back to Hogsmeade and fled back to Hogwarts.

"Harry!" The other man merely groaned. "Harry, wake up, please!"

Harry did indeed finally wake, and in seeing the tear-strained face of his boyfriend sat up and took the smaller man into his arms. "Shh... Draco, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I... I saw it Harry," Draco said through muffled sobs. "I saw it all. I went home, and I saw it. And..." Whatever he was about to say was cut off with a shuddering sob.

"Oh Draco..." Harry continued to hold him, trying to think of what to say. The other man never liked pity, or sympathy, but most of them were quite masterful at it.

Draco finally pulled away and held out the picture of him and his mother for Harry to look at. "Everything's gone, Harry. I've no place to go. The entire Manor, just gone!"

Harry took his boyfriend's hands and held them tight. "Listen to me, Draco, you don't need that." Before Draco could protest, he continued. "You don't need it, because you have me. Hell, you have us, right?" Draco nodded. "And there's a place for all of us. If it's one thing I learned from coming to Hogwarts, it's that there's always a place we belong. We just need to find it. And you and I are going to find that place, understand?"

Draco nodded again then leaned against the larger man. He could feel fingers entwining themselves in his hair, rays of sunlight flooding into the room, warming his neck and back. Soft lips touched the back of his neck, followed by gentle warm moisture. Teeth then nipped at him, which he found oddly comforting. He sighed, the tears ceasing and his breath becoming steady. But he knew that it would be ragged soon enough.

Harry awoke the next morning, a tear having fallen on his chest and was now tickling his ribs. He looked down and could just barely make out silver eyes behind a brush of lashes. "Draco, what is it?"

"What if I lose you too?"

Harry kissed the top of his head. "You won't. I'm not letting it happen."

"It almost did," Draco whispered.

It stung, but it stung because it was true. He brushed it aside. "Things are different now," he said, running his hand through Draco's hair. "I refuse to leave you, so you can't lose me now." He smirked. "You're stuck with me. Think you can handle that?"

Draco smiled, wiping tears from his eyes. "Sure, if you can put up with a spoiled, arrogant prat like me."

Harry nodded. "Sounds fair."

Draco chuckled and nuzzled him. "We gonna go to breakfast?"

Harry nodded, starting to drift back to sleep.

"Aren't we supposed to study for NEWTs before then?"

"Just rest, love. You worry too much."

"Maybe you're right."

"No maybes. I'm always right."

"Sure you are."

"Just sleep."

"M'kay."

~~~

Draco knew he looked terrible when he went into the Great Hall the next morning. Really, he didn't care that he looked terrible. He did care that the fact that he looked terrible caused a small stampede of Gryffindors and Slytherins toward him. Hermione had reached him first, all concern and no wit.

"Oh, Draco! You look awful! Have you been crying?" She looked him over for good measure, making sure he wasn't attacked again or something.

Behind her, Ron crossed his arms in disgust. "Stop pampering the ferret, 'Mione. He's a Malfoy-"

"Black."

This startled Ron a bit, and he looked up into Draco's eyes, sensing the seriousness there. "Fine, then he's a Black. Either way, I don't think Blacks like being pampered either, if Sirius was any indication." As quickly as he said it, he realized Harry was standing there as well.

Everyone looked to Harry for his reaction, but he just smiled and looked at Draco. "Think Ron's right, love?"

Draco shrugged and looked Harry over. There was no sign of holding something back, no sign of hidden emotions. He smiled. Something about taking the name of Black had helped Harry. And he did it. "Yeah, I think he's right."

Ron walked over, squeezing between Pansy and Hermione. "Hey, it's hard times," he said, clasping a hand on Draco's shoulder. "When things get rough, remember that we're here, right? You can fall back on us."

Harry edged his way over to Hermione and whispered to her. "Had a talk with Ron, did we?"

She nodded. "Yup. Though he wasn't as hard to convince as he would have been a month ago."

Harry nodded back.

"Don't think I'm on a first-name basis with you or nothin', Malfoy. But I'll cover your back."

Hermione elbowed him, giving him the look.

Ron looked at her incredulously. "What? Guys do things differently, 'Mione! I've told you that!"

She sighed. "Whatever you say, dear."

Draco chuckled. "Don't worry, Weasley. I'm not about to spare energy getting close with you or anything."

Ron nodded. "Good. How it should be."

Hermione groaned and Ron kissed her. "Hey, I made up."

"If that's what you call it."

"Hey, are you guys gonna eat or what?!" came a shout from the table. They all turned to see River there, watching them coolly. "It's Hogsmeade weekend, remember? We need all the energy we can get."

They laughed and joined her at the table, eating and joking. The Slytherin table, as well as a few students from other tables, merely glared at them.

Draco wandered the halls, thinking about their trip to Hogsmeade. Apparently they'd talked to the Weasley twins, and the twins arranged something with the owner of Honeyduke's in order to get the place reserved for them. It was a surprise birthday party for Draco, something he couldn't remember having since he was a child.

There were small levitating candies all around, which were free so long as you could catch them. His cake was a 6-inch snitch, complete with wings. Thankfully, it only hovered in one place, so there was no catching before eating. It also split itself in half before settling on the plates. Aside of each of these, everyone was allowed 3 galleons of candy from the shop, free.

Then came the most embarrassing, but probably the best part of the day: Harry announcing that he would be joining the Black family. Draco had smacked his arm, telling him he was supposed to ask first before announcing it to everyone. Harry had only smirked and asked if Draco would have said no. Draco had sighed in defeat and everyone spent the rest of the day celebrating the engagement, which Harry had apparently ordered dinner for ahead of time.

Draco found himself on the seventh floor, facing a door. He wasn't sure he remembered it being there before then realized it was the one he'd caught Harry running from in their 5^th year. This was the headquarters of Dumbledore's Army. He put a hand on it, wondering what was there. In truth, he just needed a quiet place to think on things, but any empty place would do. When he opened the door he found a forest with a river running through it. He closed the door which then blend in with the background, only a faint outline remaining.

Beneath his feet was a path, leading up to a bridge across the water. He walked over there and stood with his hands on the rail, looking at the scenery. The river reflected the moonlight, the happy stars dancing above him. The forest had a tropical look, and even more so as the trees lined cliff sides surrounding the river. Somehow he knew this place. It was a place he'd seen inside of him.

This place was him.

He gazed down at the river, watching the flow of his life. It'd been going for a long time now, and it showed no signs of stopping. Things will come, he knew. And they'd leave as well. Maybe Harry would leave him too. Maybe he'll die at the hands of a Death Eater. Or maybe something would happen to him, and he'd have to leave everyone. But whatever came or went, this river would still flow. He could feel it.

He looked back to the starry sky and thought about the engagement. It was there, and everyone knew about it. No doubt, Voldemort and the rest of his followers wouldn't be too pleased about it. Or perhaps they'd find a way to use that to their advantage. But he wished they'd had something else. Some symbol of their union before the marriage.

He pushed back, deciding to head to bed, when he saw two small black boxes there. He picked one up and opened it, finding the most stunning ring. A Chinese dragon and a stag bowed down, facing each other, as though worshipping the stone which was held between their horns. The gem was a forest green, and one that people would least likely expect. Most would think it was a dark emerald, but he had seen this before. The bluish-green-gray which inhabited it, dark as a midnight forest, was little thought of these days, what with the popularity of emeralds. This was a green sapphire, and a rare type at that. The silver forms of the dragon and the stag melted back, forming the rest of the band. He tried it on and found it a perfect fit. Placing the ring back in his box, he pocketed it and opened the other. The ring there was similar to the one he'd just taken, though slightly larger and bearing a fiery red garnet. He remembered reading that they didn't exist in nature, and sometimes muggles could create them in labs. He was betting that it would fit Harry perfectly as well. He stashed that one away as well and left the room.

~~~

Valentine's Day came up on everyone quickly. Boyfriends scrambled to use the upcoming Hogsmeade trip to find presents, and girlfriends began to fret about what was too frilly for a guy. And then, there were the boyfriends trying to find something romantic for their partner that wasn't pink or lacy, and girls trying to plan out elaborate candle-lit dinners with a budget. Draco, however, was above that. He'd found his gift a few weeks ago, at a bridge by a river. Now he had the garnet one wrapped in the best Gryffindor colored wrapping he could find, which wasn't easy.

Harry, however, was trying to convince Remus that the engagement wasn't a mistake, that he wasn't waiting, that he wasn't too young, and that it would be nice if he'd just help him find a present to suit Draco.

Remus did help considerably, though interjecting every so often a hint that 20 was a much better age to get married, or if nothing else, he should wait until he got out of school. Maybe even got a steady job.

Harry then looked at something Remus was holding and commented that the dragon pendant would look better in silver, and that he had inherited plenty to keep him going a while. Not to mention Draco's the most likely to inherit the Black house.

Remus proceeded to find the said silver dragon pendant and said they should find one that moves, since that'd be rather intriguing. And he knew how anxious Harry was to move in with Harry, but he still had another summer to stay at the Dursleys, and there was Voldemort to consider.

Harry protested that a moving dragon was likely to try and fly away, thus strangling Draco, though he guess that was what Remus would have wanted. And he didn't think Voldemort cared who he moved in with; he just wanted to kill the Boy-Who-Lived.

Remus sighed, stating that he did not want to strangle Draco, but was just thinking a little dragon that blinked or something. Don't forget that Voldemort's more likely to get him when he's away from the Dursleys, and as much as Harry wants Draco to stay there, the family wouldn't stand for it.

Harry nodded and decided they'd ask if the pendant could be charmed to blink, or maybe have the eyes glow. Oh, and Draco's 17 now, so the restrictions on underage magic no longer count, so they'd have to let him stay or he could hex them.

Remus handed the pendant to the clerk to be charmed and paid for then mentioned that he didn't approve of that method in dealing with muggles, but he'd give his blessing if at least one of them found a job.

Harry handed over the galleons to the clerk and paid extra to have the pendant wrapped in green and silver then slipped casually that both of them could easily get a job, so it was nice to have Remus' blessing.

Remus watched Harry take the wrapped box from the clerk and tuck it away, quite unsure of whether he'd won or lost that conversation, but decided it was more towards the latter.

<3<3<3

Valentine's Day was a big event this year. The castle was decorated brightly from tower to dungeons, the Great Hall even more so from wall to wall. Snape, of course, wasn't pleased at all with it. However, the decorations weren't as gaudy as they had been when Lockhart had decided to decorate the place. The teachers had agreed that the students were in need of a morale boost, but not sickening sweetness. True, the decorations were elaborate and many, but also elegant and tasteful. Much the way they had insisted upon during Lockhart's stay. Lockhart, however, had disagreed.

For those who didn't wish to spend the day in the castle, they were free to traverse to Hogsmeade, under supervision of course. Those that did stay could meet with one another in the Great Hall, or hang out as friends in a separate room. Harry had picked out a small table in the back, watching River and Pansy at another table. River was just opening a gift from Pansy, and he tried to crane his neck to see what it was.

"Oh, Pansy!" she shouted. "Oh, I'm going to kill you."

He could see the panic on Pansy's face. "Oh, I'm sorry... Is it the wrong one? I tried looking around, and it was just so hard to find, and I couldn't read a word of Japanese-"

River pulled Pansy forward and kissed her. "It's the right one, but I mean... The import costs, and I imagine you couldn't get it at a wizarding store... How'd you get out getting it?"

Pansy blushed. "I had Dean help me. His parents helped me exchange my money at Gringotts and looked for it for me. They sent me a lot of catalogs they thought might have it."

"Okay, and how could you think I wouldn't like this? I mean, it's Koda Kumi's newest album!"

Pansy smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Harry smiled and looked around. Draco wasn't there yet. Good. He checked once more to make sure he had Draco's gift then tried once more to tame his hair. It wasn't as bad as it'd once been, seeing as how it'd gotten longer, but it still refused to stay put. He'd considered cutting it again, but Draco said that once he was 17, he'd be the adult head of his house, and should have long hair as a symbol of his status. He personally didn't care, being that he didn't have much status anyway, but he decided to humor his lover.

Draco finally walked into the Great Hall and checked the time. "You said 5, Harry. Did you get here at 4 or something?"

Harry chuckled. "Yeah. Wanted to watch the others here and decide if we should stay."

"And?"

"I like it here."

Draco laughed. "Good. So I can sit, then?"

Harry waved at a chair. "Go right on ahead."

"So, is this where we whisper sweet nothings or each other or something?" Draco asked as he sat.

Harry considered this. "I'd say yes, but if you're asking then it's probably no. I think that's that mushy stuff that girls like," he said, pointing over to Pansy and River, who were now looking blissfully into each other's eyes.

Draco laughed. "I think you're right. Well, gifts then, I suppose."

Harry nodded. "Mine first." He handed over the box, frowning slightly. "I made the mistake of having Remus help me."

Draco looked confused for a moment then looked up at him wide-eyed. "Lupin? The werewolf?"

"The same." Harry sighed. "He kept saying that I'm too young, it's too early, we need jobs..." He thought about that a moment. "We do need jobs."

Draco shuddered. "Right. Jobs. Anyway, what does it matter what he wants?"

Harry looked at the table, becoming quiet. "He's the only one left."

"The only... I don't--"

Harry sighed, figuring Draco would be learning about him for a long time to come, and they may as well start now. After all, Draco had revealed a lot to him, it was only fair that he do the same. "My dad and his friends were part of a group. They called themselves the Marauders. There were four of them: Padfoot, Prongs, Moony... and Wormtail." He said this last name with a great deal of disdain. Sirius is dead, so is dad, and Pettigrew..." He scowled. "He betrayed us all." A murderous glare had entered Harry's eye, and Draco was suddenly afraid.

"So," he said quickly, "Lupin was Moony?"

Harry nodded.

"Creative. What about the other names?"

Harry sighed, letting his anger fade. It would do him no good this day. "They were all animagi. Besides Moony, of course. Pettigrew was a rat. We found out later that it was Scabbers, which Ron thought was just a pet. Sirius was a big black dog. Looked like the grim. And dad was a stag."

Draco suddenly understood why his ring seemed so perfect. The stag had also been Harry's patronus. He'd only seen it once, coming at him, but it was definitely that. Now he understood that it was likely because his father's animagus form was the stag. Suddenly he couldn't wait to give his gift to Harry. It was then he realized the gift to him still lay on the table, waiting to be opened.

He reached over and picked up the box, talking as he carefully unwrapped it. "I'm sorry... Just... Some things creep me, you know? Ghosts still do and they're all over the place."

Harry took his hand, causing a pause in the unwrapping. "Remus would never hurt you. I swear on my life."

Draco shook his head. "Oh, no. He'd hurt me. If I ever gave you reason to cry outside of your own naïve stupidity, guaranteed he'd hurt me."

Harry laughed. "My own naïve stupidity? What's that supposed to mean? Never mind, don't answer that. Just open your present."

Draco chuckled and returned to the box. He finally got the wrapping off, folding it neatly, and then opened the box. There, staring up at him, and blinking a few times, was the most beautiful dragon pendant he'd ever seen. Carefully he pulled it from the box, untangling the chain from the felt. The dragon tilted its head slightly then proceeded to go to sleep.

Draco smiled. "Harry... Thank you". He'd just nearly forgotten about the box he kept concealed and pulled it out, handing it to Harry. "Here's yours," he said, straining to put the necklace on.

Harry didn't quite take the care Draco did in unwrapping the gift, though he didn't completely tear it off either. He removed the wrapping, setting it aside, then opened the box. He was stunned when he saw the dragon and stag there, holding the garnet in place. He'd never seen a garnet with such fierce fire to it. He slipped it from the box, staring at it a moment then looked up at Draco.

Draco had pulled his own from his pocket and slipped it on his finger. "Together, Harry. From now until the end of forever."

Harry put his on, still rather stunned, then nearly leapt across the table at Draco. "Oh thank you, Draco." This was followed by a series of passionate kisses which the teachers in the room tactfully ignored.

They pulled apart, rather breathless and in need of a private room. "I love you," they murmured in sweet union.

=/=

It was nearing the end of the school year. While their time together hadn't exactly been peaceful, it was still wonderful. As school came to a close there were more and more attacks on the group. It was slowly becoming a war zone within the school itself. The staff had no choice but to expel students taking part in the attacks. The attacks slowed, then ceased, since they wouldn't do any good to the Dark Lord by leaving the school.

Harry and Draco had spent Hogsmeade trips studying and looking for a job to work during the summer. Harry had even sent applications over to Diagon Alley for them, hoping for some semblance of work. But most jobs appeared to have been taking by those who'd been expelled from school, or recent graduates. There were too many searching for jobs, and not enough spaces to be filled.

The school year ended and neither of them were employed. And more to struggle with: they had to survive the train trip back home. But, they packed their trunks and were on their way. Several of those from the DA took up a few compartments close together, and there were members of the Order on escort service.

On the ride back to Platform 9¾, an owl with letters from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes came aboard and dropped the letters into Harry's lap. They were addressed to him and Draco. They both opened the letters and grinned at each other. Harry was being hired on to help with prank ideas (being the son of the Marauders) and Draco had been hired to come up with antidotes for some of their new items which they hadn't managed to get to wear off in testing. Of course, they also requested that two weeks of it were without pay, as a thank you for the birthday party.

They'd gotten to the train station without a fuss, though once there Draco threatened the Dursley's in order to remain with Harry. They complained, but then said he could only stay so long as he shared Harry's room. After all, they didn't want either filth in Dudley's room, nor would they offer up anything extra. They were both incredibly fine with that.

Finally, to top things off, Pansy ran up to them, clutching a letter in her hand. "Draco! Draco, wait!"

Draco stopped and turned around. The Dursley's pretended not to notice, hoping to leave the boy behind. Draco merely pulled out his wand enough for them to see, and they stopped, fuming. While Tonks and Lupin didn't approveof this method, they found it too amusing to stop him. Draco turned to Pansy, wondering what the excitement was about.

She leaned in close, whispering. "Draco, they've found our mums. They're staying with Dumbledore right now."

Draco stood there, stunned. Conflict brushed his eyes as he considered going home to see her. Of course, she wouldn't be there. Dumbledore was keeping her safe. Harry watched this, his heart sinking. If Draco left now, he knew the Dursleys would be horrible to him, even with the Order keeping up on him. But it didn't matter. For Draco...

"Go on, Draco." Harry kissed him lightly, eliciting looks of disgust from the Dursleys. "I'll see you again when school starts."

Draco shook his head and turned back to Pansy. "Tell mum hi for me, would you?"

Pansy nodded. "Okay." There was a moment of silence. "See you next year, then?"

"Yeah, next year." He watched her walk away then shouted at her. "Hey, if you'd been this way before, all sweet and stuff, I might have dated you, you know."

Pansy gave a knowing smile. "Yeah, but I think you'd have left me for Potter."

He smiled back. She was likely right. They all eventually left the station after a few more rushed goodbyes, and the Dursleys demanded that Harry share Dudley's room, too afraid of their dear son being cursed should they pair them any other way. He didn't mind. They probably couldn't stand giving Draco a room to himself for too long.