The Spirit of Death

"Harry took me to a room out of the way, so that he could talk to me about what happened. I have explained to him that I feel no sense of loss, as both my parents would have, and indeed did, die to keep us apart, and, due to the magical nature of our relationship, neither of us can survive whilst separated from the other. Therefore losing my parents was a necessary step to securing our future. Now the real catch came, when we were leaving the room, as Miss Chang spotted Harry leaving the room, and having decided to rekindle a flame with dear Harry here," he jabbed his free thumb in Harry's direction, "she discovered me, in the room with Harry."

Ron looked a little uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, Ron, I assure you that nothing untoward was happening between Harry and myself at the time."

He smiled at Ron, who tried to smile back.

"Anyway, now that Cho Chang knows, it can't be long before the rest of the school finds out, especially when they all come back at the end of the holidays."

Hermione and Ron looked shocked.

"What are you going to do?" asked Hermione.

"Well, we were hoping you might help us with that part, Hermione," said Harry, "I don't think there's much we can do, really." Hermione pursed her lips.

"Well, if there is indeed nothing we can do, then may I suggest that we don't try to do anything?" said Draco, a little coldly. Harry knew that he didn't mean to be rude, though he could become very cold and calculating at times. Harry knew that Draco didn't want to give any false impressions about their relationship, and come what may, he didn't want anybody to be able to say, with any truth, they the two of them had been trying to conceal their relationship. Even if the reaction was bad, there was no point in trying to hide the facts. The truth was, and both of them felt it, that they didn't care what the rest of the world thought. They both loved each other beyond any point they had ever dreamed of loving anyone. They did not necessarily feel any more love for each other than any other couple, as love is an emotion and cannot be quantified; however on the lowest magical level, their love was truer and purer than most other love in any world, magical or Muggle.

Draco was thinking, at that point, that his main concern was that Harry should ever want to leave him. Even knowing that it was not possible for either one of them to leave the other, if either one of them wanted out, then it would change the situation entirely, and neither one of them wanted to imagine what that could turn both of their lives to. Their young relationship, so close, so tight, yet eminently yet-to-blossom, was exciting beyond measure; they both were swept up in the fantasies of what life might be like in years to come.

Unlike most adolescents, who generally think only about sex, and how many people they've had it with, and how often, both Harry and Draco, with a wisdom and maturity beyond their years, found a greater feeling of excitement about the unknown within their own relationship, a glorious apprehension of what was to come, and a self-assured thrill that, whatever was to come, they would be together and both would enjoy and exploit their situation beyond measure. This aura of love, affection and the spirit of glorious discovery surrounded the two of them, and was evident to anybody with time to see it. Hermione had seen it back in Grimmauld Place, and right now in the Gryffindor common room, as he looked at the worried looks on their faces, and heard their earnest suggestions as to a remedy to their situation, Ron started to see it to, and immediately warmed both the Draco, and to his loving relationship to his best friend. He could begin to accept that while they were still the very best of friends, that is if Harry could forgive him fro his recent behaviour, he was no longer the single more important person in Harry's life. Previously, when Ron had had an idea, Harry would have jumped at it, and they both would have gotten on with it, whatever it was, whatever the risks. Now, Ron realised, and immediately accepted, Harry would have other considerations.

Ron sat back and thought. He could openly admit, to himself, that he had become much more mature since he had started going out with Hermione. He had noticed it a while back, and had teased Hermione, saying that she was taking all the fun and irreverence out of his life. She had laughed it off, secretly thinking though, that it was probably a good job too!

"I agree that there's not much we can do about the rest of the school, but as long as Cho doesn't tell anyone outside school, I can talk to the guys in the dormitory first," said Harry, "I think that it's better if my friends find out from me."

"I wouldn't rely on Cho, Harry," said Ron, "she's fickle at the best of times - remember she went out with that waster in Ginny's year last year - she'll take what she can get, and she'll do anything to attract attention. When she comes out with the story of the century..."

"Thanks for that, Ron," said Draco, smiling slightly, though his worry shone through.

"At least we no longer have my parents to worry about," said Draco. At that moment, another owl knocked on the window. Hermione popped the window open with her wand, and the owl entered the room, carrying what turned out to be the second owl that evening for Draco. He unrolled the letter as the owl left through the still open window.

Mr Malfoy,

I have considered your proposal, and feel that subject to the reaction of the other members of the Gryffindor 6^th Year Dormitory, it is acceptable for you to change Houses. I also feel that it would be sensible, in light of the unfortunate circumstances involving Miss Chang, that you be removed from Slytherin House with immediate effect. If you return to the room to which you repaired for your discussion earlier, you will find your belongings ranged in a suitable halfway-house, pending said reaction. Of course, if it is agreed with the current holiday contingent, you may sleep in the Gryffindor dormitories until the greater part of the school returns at the beginning of next week. Kind regards.

"What's that?" asked Harry, who had been reading over Draco's shoulder. Draco answered immediately, having obviously anticipated the question.

"You remember when we started the Apparition lessons, you went first, and I talked to Dumbledore?"

"Yea"

"Well, I was arranging to change Houses, because I figured, especially with regard to my parents, and their relationships with other parents of people in Slytherin, that it would probably be best for everyone if I left Slytherin. Of course, I would most like to join Gryffindor, for obvious reasons, but that depends on, as it says here, the reaction of everyone else in the dormitory. I wouldn't want to impose. If its not OK, I'll go in some other house."

"But," Ron paused briefly, "nobody in any of the other Houses likes you."

Hermione nudged Ron sharply, and Harry stifled a laugh at Ron's bluntness. Draco evidently found it slightly amusing too, as he snorted slightly.

"That is a fair point," he conceded. There was a short silence.

"Well," Ron broke the silence, though his speech sounded the slightest bit forced; "I wouldn't have a problem with you moving into Gryffindor," he finished.

Hermione, Harry and Draco all looked up at Ron, who grinned nervously.

"Thanks Ron," said Draco and Harry together. Ron smiled a little more widely.

"As long as you're not sleeping together, or anything, that is," he added.

"Done," said Draco, standing up. He extended his hand to Ron, who had also stood. He took Draco's hand, then pulled him close enough to pat him on the back with his other arm.

"Welcome to Gryffindor," he said as they withdrew. Hermione caught Harry's eye, and they both smiled. Draco, who was facing Hermione, now caught her eye, and smiled at her, and as she winked back, Harry and Ron grinned at each other, slightly nervously, before Harry stood and they both hugged.

"Cheers, Ron," Harry whispered. Ron grinning once again as they broke apart, before he turned to Draco.

"Do you need a hand with your stuff?" he asked. Harry and Ron looked suddenly at each other. Their belongings were somewhere in the forest, as the horseless carriage had left during Draco's parents' duel.

"Our stuff was in the carriage when it took us off into the forest, and it left before we were finished in there," Harry explained vaguely. Hermione was evidently preparing to use a Summoning charm to return the trunks, as she tutted and reached into her robes. Draco had already drawn his wand, however. Harry, of course knew what was coming due to his telekinetic link with Draco, but Ron and Hermione watched in awe as Draco silently swept his wand through the air without uttering a single word. After a couple of seconds, Draco directed his wand at an area of open space near the bottom of the stairway to the boys' dormitory, where in a blinding flash of light, the carriage thundered into the room. Draco smiled wryly when he saw it skid to a stop, and the light faded. He stepped towards the dilapidated vehicle, and as he did so, the light from the wall candles dimmed visibly. Ron and Hermione got the idea pretty quickly that Draco was intent on some rather powerful magic at that point.

As Draco approached the carriage, the door burst open, and two large Hogwarts trunks were ejected through it. Draco stood across open floor from the carriage, still a reasonable distance from the carriage itself. He smiled once more, and the carriage began to vibrate and distort. Draco raised both his arms high, and angled the tip of his wand towards the carriage which exploded into a billion tiny white sparks, with intense black centres. As the carriage erupted all Harry, Ron and Hermione could see from behind was the silhouette of the teenage boy, his arms raised and his long robes hanging from him, a vision of power and magical might. As the light faded, he turned back to the other three. Not a trace of the carriage remained.

Harry stepped forward, but Draco did not look upset, so he didn't move any further.

"You want a hand then?" asked Ron, casually.

"Please," replied Draco, taking hold of one end of his trunk. Ron dashed across and took up the handle on the other end of the trunk.

Harry withdrew his wand from his pocket, and flicked it towards his own trunk. It floated gently into the air.

"Nice to see that you two are still capable of regular magic," said Hermione, a slight waver in her voice. Hermione had always been extremely knowledgeable about magic, and admired the very most powerful wizards.

"I'm guessing, from that display, that your power must have bonded, and that therefore you're telekinetically linked to Draco?" she asked. Harry always admired Hermione's knowledge of everything magical.

"Yea," said Harry, "some of the stuff we've done is pretty amazing. We'll tell you about another awesome thing we did once, when the tone's a little lighter."

"Ooh," said Hermione - she was always interested in phenomenal magic, and people generally liked to talk to her about things like that, as she either knew about it, had a theory about it, or could easily find out about it.

Once they were in the top-level dormitory, Harry directed his trunk to its usual resting place at the bottom of his bed. Draco, of course, didn't have a bed on the dormitory.

"Hmm," said Harry, his eyes lighting up, now it was his turn. He caressed his wand, arcing it through the air, terminating in a position angled towards the empty space between his own bed and the door of the dormitory. A stream of shimmering vapour trailed behind his wand as he moved it, and when directed towards the empty floorspace, entwined together with a stream of Draco's production, before forming into the most intricately carved four-poster bed any of them had ever seen. All the time more of the vapour was streaming into the formation, and the whole time the formation became denser and denser until the final wisp of vapour joined up and the bed was complete. Hermione and Ron stood in awe.

Harry went and stood by the window, gazing out at the frozen lake. Then he had an idea. Drawing his wand from the inside pocket of his robes, he aimed high up at the sky. He drew the wand across his field of vision and as he did so, the thick cloud cover which had been depositing snow over the magical landscape was erased until the bright, full moon shone down, illuminating the entire front lawn of Hogwarts in its silvery glow. The other three joined him at the window.

"Fancy a trip down to lake?" Harry asked, out of the window. Nobody responded verbally, though he heard a distinct, excited shift pass through all of them, before he turned away from the window and led the way downstairs.

"Hold on," said Hermione, who evidently still had damage control on her mind, "what if someone else sees you two?"

"I think we can safely work on the assumption that everyone in the castle knows already, Hermione," responded Draco from behind her. Harry grinned at him, but added his own sentiments also.

"As long as I get to tell Dean, Seamus and Neville before they find out from elsewhere, I don't care who knows," he said.

"Great - lets go, then," said Ron, appearing from the dormitory staircase last of all, comprehensively wrapped up in a thick coat, gloves and an extremely long scarf.

When they exited the huge front doors of Hogwarts castle, and stepped out into the moonlit night, another wave of excitement coursed through the whole group. As the crossed the lawn in the direction of the lake they all cast long, deep blue shadows across the silver, frosted grass - grass which crunched crisply beneath their feet. Even though Harry had ridden the sky of the cloud cover, it was still snowing steadily, adding to the magical atmosphere.

About halfway down to the lake, Harry felt Draco's arm slip around, and link with, his own. Draco stopped walking, and swung Harry around to face back up at the castle, whilst whispering furiously in his ear. Ron, who was still walking towards the lake with Hermione turned around to see where their companions had gotten to.

"Oh Ron, leave them alone," said Hermione, "you said thought it was 'weird' anyway."

"I just wonder what it looks like," muttered Ron, looking forward again, as Hermione burst into fits of giggles. The pair of them also heard laughter from behind. They both turned to look at Harry and Draco, and saw that they were staring straight back at them, their wands out. As soon as their eyes met, Harry and Draco turned away again, chuckling. Ron and Hermione continued to walk towards the lake, muttering, "boys," under her breath.

Meanwhile, Harry and Draco were sneaking up behind Ron and Hermione, as quietly as the frosty grass would allow. After a few seconds they were close enough. The pair of them jumped into Ron's shadow as hard as they could, pinning it down. The shadow went taut, and Ron's feet would no longer move forward as he tried to walk. He fell flat onto a heap of cushions Harry had shot underneath him at the last possible moment. When Hermione had recovered from the initial shock of having her boyfriend fall from her grasp, she turned around and saw Harry and Draco, sitting on the chest part of Ron's shadow, convulsed with mirth. Hermione, eyebrow raised, looked down and saw the other end of Ron's shadow, attached to his feet. Ron rolled over, looking around to see what he had tripped on. Harry and Draco quickly stepped off Ron's shadow, allowing him to stand again.

"Very funny," Ron called at the other two boys, who were still laughing. Hermione helped Ron up silently, evidently bursting to know how Harry and Draco had managed their little stunt.

Draco and Harry ran to catch up with Ron and Hermione, apologizing to Ron as they got there. Ron gruffly accepted their apology, though the top of his ears were plainly burning pink, in their characteristic fashion.

They had reached the lake. With a cursory glance across the lake to check the ice was solid all over, Draco stepped out onto it, and slid away across the surface of the still, glassy ice. Ron followed him, dashing out onto the lake a little overzealously. His feet slid out from underneath him, but as he started to fall, Draco caught him and set him right on his feet. With a dashing smile, Draco let go of Ron, who was trying to maintain the balance Draco had set.

"Th-thanks," he managed, though he was concentrating very hard on controlling his feet. One he was stable, he tried to move, but both feet moved in different directions and he ended up spread-eagled on the cold, hard ice. Harry and Hermione moved cautiously out onto the ice. They took and arm each, while Draco straightened Ron's legs and placing his feet in front of Ron's, to prevent them from sliding away again. Once Ron was upright once again, Draco skated off across the lake, carving a graceful arc across the ice, despite his flat-soles shoes offering no apparent purchase to facilitate it.

Harry was shuffling his feet, in an extremely ungainly manner, trying to catch up with Draco. Draco responded by skating wide circles round and round Harry, and it was only after several laps that Harry realised what he was doing. He had been so taken with Draco's elegant motion and poise that he found he wasn't particularly irritated. Draco swerved towards the centre of his arc and arrived in front of Harry sliding backwards before shooting a cloud of fine ice-particles across the lake as he dug his feet into the ice to stop, spinning slightly to face Harry. Draco offered his hand to Harry, who took it, placing his other hand on Draco's waist. They then set off across the lake together in a beautiful twirling dance over the frozen surface. Hermione, who after her first fall had decided that ice skating wasn't for her, crawled slowly to the edge of the lake and sat on the bank, closely followed by Ron. There they sat, hand in hand, admiring the other two boys as they shot across the ice.

There seemed to be a radiance coming from within the ice which, in conjunction with the silver moonlight, accentuated and complimented the graceful movements of the boys, and though it was a perfectly silent evening, save for the soft sheering noise of their shoes on the ice, something in the way they moved in perfect tandem had both Ron and Hermione nodding slightly to their quiet rhythm.

"They look so good together," said Hermione in little more than a whisper. Ron guessed she must have been talking to him, though he didn't know why she thought he would care. Though as he watched the silhouette of his best friend and his boyfriend, Ron could kind of see what she meant. The pair were virtually identical in height and stature; their tall slim forms, entwined, one with eminently blonde hair, styled with incredible suavity - the other with neat, dark hair, though with an obvious and slightly endearing rebellious tuft near the crown of his head. Draco's neck was slightly longer than Harry's though, and it held Draco's head slightly more elegantly. Both had straight-nosed, conventionally attractive faces, the broad smiles on each of which, as they stared, straight-backed, into each other's eyes, finished the picture. Hermione sighed slightly.

Ron elbowed her, to remind him that he was here, and that he was her boyfriend.

"I am still here, you know," he said in mock affront, "and you can't have either of them anyway - there's this little thing about those two, you see."

"And what's that?" asked Hermione, withdrawing her gaze from the elegant lake-dancers and looking into his eyes.

"They're in love," said Ron, smiling and leaning in towards Hermione. As their lips met Hermione sighed again. At length, Harry and Draco pirouetted to a halt before Ron and Hermione, both of whom applauded before they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room.

After an extended period of warming-up on the carpet in front of the fire, into which they had been throwing the wrappers from Christmas confectionery on which they had gorged themselves, by general consensus it was deemed to be the end of a wonderful evening. As the three boys bade Hermione goodnight and made their way towards the stairway to the boys' dormitories, Draco turned to speak.

"Hold on" Draco said, in his slow drawl, which sounded infinitely more likable without the coldness to which Ron and Hermione were accustomed, "are you two the only people who were here for Christmas in Gryffindor?"

"Yes," said Hermione. Draco's eyes twinkled.

"Well, how about we take the boys' dormitory, and you two take the girls', and we'll see you in the morning?"

Harry saw Ron's eyes light up, and hoped that it was a night with Hermione, as opposed to a night without Draco that had pleased him. However while the three boys started to smile, Hermione pointed out one small issue.

"Remember last year when that boy tried to get into our dormitory? The stairs shrieked and shot him back out the bottom!" she recalled aloud. Ron, however, was already off his feet. Draco had his wand pointed straight at Ron, and was levitating him towards the mouth of the stairway. Hermione stood open mouthed as Ron floated through the doorway and the klaxons started to sound. They made a deafening racket so that Ron, who was calling directions to Draco in order to avoid being dashed against the side of the spiral stairway, had to shout as loud as he could to be heard. Finally, the klaxons stopped as Ron cleared the stairwell, meaning that he could only have arrived in Hermione's dormitory. The slide eroded back into steps, and Draco invited her towards them with a gracious wave of his wand arm.

"Night!" she called, grinning, as Harry and Draco floated away in a manner similar to Ron's, towards the boys' staircase. "Goodnight," they called back, before vanishing behind the central column of the stairwell.

The night passed with very little sleep for any of the four, and when they each awoke the following morning they all felt incredibly contented and comfortable. Harry woke gently, shortly after ten, to find his back was resting gently against Draco's chest, and he dozed happily, absorbed in the gentle rising and falling of his boyfriend's chest, and the soft warm breath caressing the back of his neck. He smiled and snuggled back into Draco, who sighed in his sleep, and reached his arm further over Harry, unconsciously holding him close - savouring his warmth.

When they finally dressed each other and went down to the common room, they found Ron and Hermione sitting bunched up one end of an otherwise empty sofa, thoroughly entangled in each others limbs.

"Mmm," said Draco, backing Harry into an opposing sofa, and lounging back against him. The two couples smiled at each other.

The following week, between Christmas and New Year passed in a blur of passion for Harry. Every waking moment he spent in Draco's arms, savouring his taste, devouring his love, revelling in his touch. The pair of them thoroughly explored each others bodies, each feeling as if their love gave them ownership over each other - mind, body and soul. All Harry ever thought about, at the moment, was Draco. His heart felt constantly as if it could very easily burst from the pride and love he was feeling, as if he would never be able to handle any more pleasure. Though when his heart beat against Draco's, night after night, he felt calmer and more content than he ever had in his life. The steady touch of his boyfriend was new to him still, he had never been able to count on anything like that before.

After New Year, of course, the Gryffindor four were brought slightly closer to the real world when the rediscovered all the homework they had neglected over the previous two weeks. As Harry stared at a blank piece of parchment which he was supposed to hand in with a Potions essay written on it, and grudgingly opened his textbooks, the worry and uncertainty that had been entirely forgotten since Draco had become a Gryffindor returned to the pit of his stomach. Once again he was worried about what was to come, how the rest of the school - the rest of his friends - would react to his news.

He felt Draco's hand absently searching for his own as Draco dashed out his Potions essay in a very spiky, loopy, elegant hand - as their fingers entwined Harry realised that he had never noticed before the Draco used an italic quill. He stared at his boyfriend's handwriting, though still thinking about the lump in his stomach.

Draco squeezed Harry's hand then raised it to his lips, still writing, to kiss the back of it. In that moment, Harry felt as though he could stand on top of the highest tower in the castle and proudly proclaim, to the whole world, that he and Draco were in love.