Sensitive Touch [end] by Raserwolf

afterending

Chapter 31: Valentine

Summary:
It's Valentine's Day but will an aggressive encounter with the infamous Romilda Vane ruin that for the boys?

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
Hermione strode to the library after classes on Valentine's Day, making sure she went the way that would run her into Ron. She knew Harry and Draco had already gone to the library after potions as she had seen them trotting off while talking amongst each other when she herself left. She noticed Romilda shooting Harry venomous and almost lusty looks as he walked with Draco.

Hermione paced herself behind Romilda and one of her pug nosed girl friends to listen in on the conversation that had just started.

"I still can't believe he's gay and going out with that death eater honestly. It pisses me off to no end that I got pulled away from him right when I was feeling him up that day, before he had that seizure of course." she sighed dismissively.

"Have you seen those new jeans he wears?" the other girl Hermione didn't recognize inquired.

Romilda let out a foul moan, "Oh my god you can see everything! He's so big for a man of his height! What I wouldn't give to fuck him!"

"He's a bit aggressive though, kind but with a sassy temper you know."

"All the more reason! He's a bit snippy and temperamental sure, but he's gorgeous. He's got those big eyes in such a unique shade of green and you can see all his muscles in those clothes he wears... I just wanna-" Romilda made a claw with her hand and mimed grabbing something from underneath, "Right on his cock just to see how much the chosen boy's really got."

The other girl groaned appreciatively.

"He's simultaneously cute and hot... Honestly... I'd love to see him fuck that death eater, or better yet! Be fucked by that death eater! Think of how hot that male on male action would be... The blondie is a bit of a hottie as well..." Romilda drooled.

"Did you see Malfoy grab Potter's arse on the way out of potions? That was so hot... He's got such a nice arse for a boy..."

Romilda pushed up her bust, "How can he not like these? I'd love to get one good fuck out of him, even if I have to use illegal spells..."

Hermione was disgusted.

"Gay couples are not your fetish!" she growled, "Harry is gay and yes he is very attractive, but that doesn't give you the right to relish his body and his intimate moments with his lover! You're objectifying him like he's a sex toy for your enjoyment, how revolting can you get?" she snarled.

Romilda swirled around, "Granger? Who are you to talk? You just called him attractive!"

"That's because I can appreciate a beautiful person while still being in a stable relationship and not fetishize said person and his lover who he cares for very deeply! Those types of experiences aren't for anybody but the couple being intimate sexually unless they decide themselves to publicize it! It's not your right to touch Harry's body, especially his penis, women can be charged with sexual assault as well you know! Leave him alone. He's comfortable with his sexuality and his relationship, you touching an openly gay man when he explicitly doesn't want it and insulting his neurological condition to overwhelm him is assault." Hermione snapped.

She stormed in front of them and marched furiously along the corridor, leaving a shocked Romilda in her wake.

Once she found Ron she had calmed down considerably, but was still seething under her breath.

"What's up with you?" Ron asked as he opened a sugar quill and stuck it in his mouth.

"Romilda Vane being horny and obnoxious about Harry." she huffed.

"Wha-" Ron mumbled.

"Just her drooling about how much she wants to fuck him with her friend."

Ron flushed and choked on his spit.

"Why hasn't she gotten it in her head that Harry fancies men?"

Hermione sighed, "I honestly couldn't tell you if I tried. I mean Harry is generally quite attractive and unique, there's really no other boy in this school who looks like him, a lot of girls fancy him because of that. It's the same reason why so many boys went after Ginny before she realized she was gay. Draco's reputation doesn't help much, she probably thinks he's using and manipulating him."

Ron hummed, sucking on the plumage of his quill.

"They kept talking about his body and how much they wanted to watch Harry and Draco being sexually intimate, it was disgusting really..."

Ron's ears went red.

"I mean it's kind of a curious thing... Two men doing it... But that's just weird..."

Hermione agreed as they stepped over the threshold into the library, heading toward the desks in the back. They turned into an aisle closer to the wall, Hermione pulling out an arithmancy book as they went, and spotted Harry and Draco working together.

Harry's hand moved across the parchment as Draco murmured to him in a low voice, occasionally looking up to simply gaze at him. Their legs were linked by the ankle under the table, a simple gesture of anchoring themselves to each other as a means of grounding Harry without touching a sensitive part of his body, and Harry's head was resting on Draco's shoulder. They looked so peaceful and domestic as they finished up essays.

Ron hummed beside her, his sugar quill slowly dissolving on his tongue as he murmured, "I can't believe I'm admitting this, but they're really sweet together. It's nice seeing Harry happy for once."

"And in love, happy and in love." Hermione smiled.

"I never thought Malfoy of all people would be his one but... He's actually not so bad now the war is over."

Draco brushed Harry's nose with the back of one of his fingers, placing a soft peck there, before returning to his essay.

"D'you reckon he feels bad for breaking it at the start of sixth year?" Ron hummed around his quill as Hermione went through the arithmancy books.

"Breaking his nose?"

"Yeah, I always see him kissing it and stroking his face where he stamped on it."

"Of course he feels bad, Harry's his lover now... But they've both done horrible things to each other in the past. I think he's indirectly fussed about it because he remembers it, and you and I both know that Harry sliced him open the same year with that horrible curse, so I think they're about even. Harry's expressed to us before how guilty he feels about that, and Draco is too guarded too say something like that to someone who isn't Harry." Hermione reasoned.

Hermione found what she needed and they continued on to the table, plopping themselves down next to the boys. Harry turned his head and gave a simple "Hullo" with a small smile. They returned the greeting and Hermione could kind of see what Romilda meant, the two were both healthy and rather lean with features that contrasted each other.

"Oi mate I'd watch out for Romilda Vane, Hermione heard her saying some creepy things about you." Ron advised.

Draco's arm tightened around Harry's lower back.

"Like what?" he inquired protectively.

"Really nasty sexual things about him."

Draco's brows contracted dangerously at the same time as Harry's.

"It's because classes are over and Filch doesn't have to watch her between them." Harry recalled.

"Speak of the bloody devil..." Ron murmured, gesturing toward the front of the library where Romilda and her friend were sauntering toward them with their chests puffed out and swinging their hips in what they clearly thought was an enticing way.

"Hello Harry." she swooned as if she hadn't assaulted him months previous.

Harry raised a brow, playing along.

"Romilda." he greeted tonelessly, his eyes on his essay.

She licked her lips hungrily as her eyes roved over his face.

"I was only wondering if you could help me get a book down from the S section... I don't know the spell to get it down." she purred with a boisterous shove of her chest.

"Why should I? You're in the same year as me and the spell is accio." he huffed.

"Awe but Harry I dunno if I can do it, I'm not very good at the spell..." she crooned.

"Can your friend do it?"

"She isn't good at it either... It just sort of wobbles when she tries."

"If I do it will you leave me alone?" Harry grumbled.

"Oh yes of course, it's just a little favor." Romilda purred, batting her eyelashes.

"Fine." he murmured monotonously, but a slip of the f betrayed his anxiety filling his throat.

He really just wanted her to leave him alone, so he figured if he just did what she asked really fast and got away before she could try anything, then it might get her to piss off. He got up, pressing an obvious kiss to Draco's cheek, and followed them.

"Have your wits about you love." Draco whispered warningly into his ear.

Romilda and her friend led him to the aisle and she pointed up at a purple spine.

"That one."

Harry took out his wand, quickly got the book, and was about to turn to give it to her, when she rushed him so fast he didn't even have time to notice what she was doing before her hand shot down the front of his pants. He was absolutely not expecting that. Her skin was touching his and he hated it. The waistband pulled uncomfortably at the back of his hips as her fingers aggressively rubbed the length of his shaft.

"What- stop it! No- don't touch me!" Harry spluttered.

He pulled hard on her hand, but her wrist was lodged against his waistband while she squeezed and pulled at the foreskin of his quite flaccid head. Harry cried out and cringed as her nails pinched the delicate skin, hating the way her feminine fingers felt. He eventually ripped her hand out of his pants, whirling round to face her, furious.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he hissed, readjusting himself in his jeans.

"Why don't you react?" she asked innocently, her face flush as she brushed the pubic hair she'd pulled out off her hands.

"Because I'm fucking gay you l-lunatic! Stop trying to get me to have some sort sexual experience with me and stop trying to rouse me! I have a boyfriend! Why can't you get that into your head! I don't like you a-and I never will! Why can't you just let me be content for the first t-time in my fucking life?!" he snapped.

He marched away, flinging the book at her so hard that she fell on her backside, just as Draco peered around the edge of the aisle.

"You alright Harry love?" he asked, noticing Romilda collapsed on the floor blinking in bemusement.

"I'm fine." he growled, pressing himself against Draco's chest while trembling slightly.

Draco glared venomously at the two girls before shepherding Harry away.

"You've your career appointment with McGonagall, I promise I have something planned for you tonight... Don't let Romilda get to you."

"Oh yeah. Well I guess I should tell you she was feeling me up and touching me where nobody else but you should before I go so..."

"SHE WHAT?!"

"It's not like she's capable of arousing me, but I trust you'll be able to knock her into line?" he smiled.

Draco took out his wand, "Certainly my darling... Nobody can harass my Harry and get away with it." he purred dangerously, turning to the girls.

"Just don't hurt them." Harry hummed before heading to the table and grabbing his things.

He headed to McGonagall's office after telling Ron and Hermione what happened and pondered as he ran his fingers along the wall.

He was uncomfortable, of course, and his belly felt thick with revulsion and violation, but his mind kept flooding images of Draco into his mind and he knew that he'd make him feel better tonight. It was Valentine's after all. He thought he would've been more ashamed if he'd actually gotten an erection by her touch, but he fact that there wasn't even the faintest hint of arousal in his body after being so directly touched made him feel better. He supposed he'd tell McGonagall and let the consequences hit Romilda. That was the second time she'd grabbed his penis and felt his body up and he was fed up with her coming after him.

No. He was Draco's and Draco was his. He knew Draco would be giving her that haughty stern Malfoy tone based on how furious he'd visibly gotten, and that fact comforted him. Harry was better at asserting himself because of Draco. Draco was increasingly confident and bold now, his shyness and cowardice slowly ebbing away into a stronger form of himself. Harry remembered telling Draco he wanted him to stay exactly as he was when they were ice skating, that he didn't want Draco to be his protector, rather his lover without change. He didn't want Draco to try to fit what he thought Harry wanted, he wanted Draco to stay Draco and grow naturally over time. The same Draco that got impossibly frustrated and cheeky while they were practicing patronus charms in their free time. The Draco that unapologetically hurled snowballs at his face and cackled just to rouse him. The Draco that was learning to love him.

He was so very in love with that man and he was proud of it. Their love represented forgiveness and seeing the same situation from the opposite perspective. Perhaps that's why they got along so well. Harry neither knew nor cared, all he really knew was how fuzzy his gut got whenever Draco looked at him and how possessive he felt toward him like there was a massive antipodean opal eye roaring in his chest. They helped each other become better, stronger, and more confident. Draco helped Harry be comfortable expressing his stimming and habits caused by his autism while Harry helped Draco heal from his death eater days and develop a voice. They both helped Harry heal from his horribly abusive childhood, Draco's love coupled with his own efforts helped him begin to accept that not everything that happened to him was his fault, that he wasn't in the wrong or abnormal like he'd thought for so many years.

His train of thought ended when he reached the door and murmured "Love" to the gargoyle, which sprung aside to admit him. He rose up the spiral staircase and knocked on the door.

"Come in." came McGonagall's voice.

He entered and greeted her.

"Ah yes, have a seat Potter." she hummed, gesturing toward the chair in front of her desk.

He sat.

"You're looking rather grim today Mr Potter, what's troubling you? Is it Mr Malfoy?" she observed.

"Oh no no it's not Draco, we're back on track and better than ever since he came back."

"Then what is it?" she inquired in that gentle maternal tone.

"I just well- I'd like to report Romilda Vane again..."

"What has she done this time? You're not injured are you?" McGonagall demanded, concern evident in her normally stern features.

"No- she just well... It was kind of my fault for thinking I could get her to leave me alone by doing what she wanted... But uhm... She's gone and stuck her hand down my pants and touched me..." he murmured quietly, not meeting McGonagall's gaze.

"Did her hand go simply between the fabric of your jeans and underpants or under your undergarments as well?"

"Uhm... Under everything... Her hand was touching my uh skin..."

"I will be reporting this, but if you could give me a little more detail, that would be quite helpful." she assured in a comforting tone.

Harry flushed rusty red.

"L-like what?"

"Like if what her hand was doing during this highly inappropriate touching was provocative or simply a slip in and out of your trousers." McGonagall stated much too calmly for Harry's liking.

"W-well Hermione told me she'd heard Romilda talking to her friend about how much she'd like to touch me or watch Draco and I being uh- intimate..." Harry blushed deeper but the story spilled uncontrollably from his lips.

"And she asked me to help her get a book down in a section that was pretty far from where Draco, Ron, and Hermione were sitting, and I thought maybe she'd leave me alone if I did what she asked really quickly, it was stupid really... I didn't expect her to try and touch me while we were in the library, but she just shoved her hand down and started fondling my uh bits... Her hand got stuck on my waistband and it took me a minute to pull her hand out, but she just kept squeezing and prodding things a-and I kept telling her no but she just kept going until I got her out.."

Harry felt better now that he'd said something.

"I feel really violated... And it's Valentine's too..."

McGonagall was scribbling very quickly on a piece of parchment, finishing up a detailed report before setting her quill down.

"That was very brave of you Mr Potter. Not many men feel like they'll be taken seriously when it comes to being sexually assaulted by a woman."

She sighed.

"Have a biscuit Potter, and some tea."

She conjured tea while pushing her tin of biscuits toward him. He took both and relaxed when the warmth traveled down his throat.

"Well now that that's taken care of and you look significantly less troubled, let us discuss your future career."

She took a breath and allowed Harry to take the sentence in fully before continuing.

"Now I'm sure you remember our discussion in your fifth year and your ambition to become an auror?"

"Yes professor."

"I only wondered if you had any reconsiderations now that you've fought a war and found stable healthy love. I've seen you ice skating with him down on the frozen lake by Hogsmeade... It's still your decision but Mr Malfoy worries so much I don't know how well he'd be able to handle your being an auror and being away with no means of communicating with you."

"Actually, yes I have had some reconsiderations... It's nice to hear you suggesting that when it was you who vowed to help me become one."

He laughed softly with much relief.

"Well yes, you know how much I loathed Dolores..." she smiled.

He took a sip of tea and smiled back.

"I was considering maybe being a teacher? The defense teacher specifically... I feel like I'm done with risking my neck, I've done it my whole life and I'm tired, but I also liked being able to do something with my body. It helps with my dyspraxia you see, so if I did teach I would be a heavily practical teacher because I'm not the greatest at words when I have to make eye contact. I get really anxious as well so I dunno..."

"I think you'd need to be trained up a little in the theoretical and talking in front of a class with authority and confidence, but I'd love to take you on as a staff member."

"The only thing is... I'd like to take a while to travel and live a little with Draco. The both of us have enough money to carry on for years without a job, and I'd like to start a life with him... I haven't told him but I'd like him to move in with me at Grimmauld Place and rebuild it with him. I was planning to gut the place and redo everything... And then once that's done I'd like to go around Europe and Asia with him after we've broken in the house and just take a break from work and my hectic life, spend a couple months in Japan and France..." he rambled.

Harry looked up at McGonagall to find her smiling fondly at him.

"It's refreshing to see you loving the boy everybody thought so unlikely for you to even like. It reminds me of my late husband and myself... You can come apply whenever you'd like, I think it'd be better for Mr Malfoy to let the aftermath of the war heal those who are angry before he applies for a job. I've my appointment to see him this Friday actually. He's more than welcome to be the potions master if he'd like."

Harry thought for a moment.

"You deserve a break from it all after everything you did and went through to be here today. Just know you're always welcome to apply whenever you feel ready, whether that be in two or ten years certainly doesn't matter to me." McGonagall reasoned.

Harry smiled.

"Now go spend the rest of Valentine's with your lover, I'm sure he's already yelled himself hoarse at Ms Vane."

Hagrid came into the office.

"Hello Harry!" he greeted.

"Hullo Hagrid." Harry chucked.

"Oh Hagrid, I do have what you're looking for but could you quickly get me Romilda Vane and her blonde friend Cassidy?"

"Thank you Professor." Harry chuckled as he left the office.

He trotted excitedly to the dorms, going through the common room while dodging all the couples who were scurrying off in search of privacy. He saw Ron standing outside the door with a raised brow.

"What are you waiting out here for?" he inquired.

"Waiting for 'Mione to get back cause she's planned something for Valentine's and your man is prepping something extra special for you and I didn't really want to see the extent of him being extra because he wants it to be perfect cause of what happened with Romilda." Ron explained.

"Where's Hermione gone?"

"McGonagall's office, needed to tell her exactly what she heard those girls saying about you and wanted to ask Flitwick a question about the homework."

"Busy woman she is..." Harry hummed.

"More like looking out for us idiots after the war." Ron shrugged.

Harry laughed breathily.

"I wonder what Draco is doing?"

"I think you'll like it." Ron smirked.

"You know?"

"He told me while you were dealing with Romilda, which by the way... How are you feeling about that?"

"I feel pretty okay actually, violated yeah but I'm sure Draco will be able to erase that feeling with whatever he has planned. I would've felt worse if she'd actually managed to arouse me but my body didn't react at all to her touching me there. I can still kind of feel where her hand was and I've shocks of discomfort but I dunno, I trust Draco to make me feel better."

Ron hummed and sucked on the last remnant of his sugar quill.

"I dunno what Hermione's planned for me, she's brilliant though so I trust her."

Harry readjusted himself in his pants, still a bit uncomfortable.

"'Mione told me Romilda and her friend were fetishising you and Draco and it made me wonder out of sheer curiosity y'know... How it works between two men? You don't have to answer I was just wondering because Hermione always seems to know exactly what she's talking about." Ron asked going very very red.

Harry curiously cocked his head.

"I'm not asking for myself no no Hermione is my one and only, I was just curious is all."

"No shame in curiosity Ron." Harry chuckled.

"Well there's lots of variety but uh Draco and I usually do something penetrative when we're not just frotting." Harry began with a harsh blush. "That's like grinding against each other. Uhm I dunno I think generally it works basically the same as what you and Hermione would do?"

"But I mean if one of you is going in the other then that means..."

"Somebody takes it up the arse yes Ron."

"But wouldn't that hurt?"

"It can hurt really bad if it's not done right, that's why we take a lot longer when we're having penetrative sex, because the one on top has to properly prepare the one taking it because men don't produce a natural lubricant or have an opening already big enough like women do." Harry continued in an undertone.

"So is it like a grit your teeth and bear it sort of thing or does it feel good?" Ron asked very quietly with a furious blush.

"Men have a spot inside them and that's the pleasure center when it's touched or rubbed." Harry hummed, placing his hand over his stomach where he knew his was buried.

Ron's eyes went wide at the simple gesture.

"You'd think you'd be more embarrassed about telling me this..."

"Not really, you were curious and there's really no shame in it. It's meant to be between two lovers yeah, but there's no harm in wanting to know how it works between same sex couples. And you could experiment with that little piece of information if you wanted, I've heard a lot of straight men like that type of stimulation too." Harry shrugged, flushed but quite calm.

Ron was still firey red all over but gave a little "Yeah... I suppose you're right..."

"You and I both know how Hermione is, you should ask her if you're curious." Harry chuckled with a wink that made Ron rub the back of his neck.

Just then, the door flew open and Draco peaked out right as Hermione rounded the corner to jog toward them.

"You take your man I take mine?" Hermione grinned knowingly at Draco.

Draco smiled and nodded.

"Now hang on a minute-" Ron began, but Hermione had already grabbed him and started to drag him toward her dormitory.

Draco beckoned Harry and he followed with an innocent intrigue written on his face. The room was softly lit in a warm orange that eased Harry's frazzled senses, the bed that had become theirs decorated with plush looking pillows and extra soft and puffy duvets. There was a heart of red rose petals in the very center that made Harry giddy with excitement. The colors were nice and Draco had become adept at the art of balancing them so that they weren't overwhelming for Harry.

"Wow Dray..." Harry breathed as Draco closed the door behind him.

Draco smiled and locked the door, he looked a little nervous but excited.

"Now I want this to be the best possible experience for you so you can choose how we begin the night. I've the shower set up and the bed, so whichever you'd like." Draco explained as he nervously scratched his nose.

"I think shower first... I feel icky." Harry murmured honestly.

"Of course love, how would you like it tonight? Do you want to be dominant or can I pamper you?"

Harry chuckled, "You can have the reins tonight... I want you to claim me and do whatever you'd like with me. This is your night just as much as mine so you can mark me in the most obvious place and dress me up for all I care, you can have complete freedom to explore what you like."

Draco kissed his forehead.

"Always so modest..." he purred as he led him to the bathroom.

Harry's mouth fell open. The light was slightly brighter but not by too much and there were multiple selections of different things. Two fluffy white towels were stacked by Draco's hairbrush, which was sitting beside many multicolored bottles of different scents and effects. Beside the bottles was a pair of neatly folded knee high black socks and tastefully cut briefs.

Harry raised his eyebrows at Draco with a smile.

"I see you like male lingerie then?" he chuckled.

Draco blushed lightly.

"Only if you want to of course, I'd never force you. But they are made of the same extra soft fabric as your romper..."

Harry grinned and stuck his tongue out between his teeth at him, also a little red in the cheeks.

"You're cute." Harry murmured, diving in to kiss him soundly.

It was passionate and full of desire before they broke apart. Draco ran the water and started stripping off his robes. Harry did the same until they were both nude and kissing softly. Draco directed Harry's attention to the many bottles laid out on the counter.

"We've got that peppermint one from Christmas, vanilla, a woodsy one, and a very subtle lavender one, all of which will make your hair and skin softer than it already is..." he murmured into Harry's temple.

Harry popped open each of the caps and took a whiff in turn.

"That one." he hummed, pointing to the vanilla one.

"It reminds me of you." he added shyly as Draco set the bottles on the lip of the tub.

Draco turned and kissed him.

"I think you're far cuter than me." he chuckled.

Harry smiled and rubbed little circles into Draco's skin with his thumbs.

"And what candle would you like?" Draco tittered.

"You're so extra." Harry chortled.

They locked gazes, Harry's still a bit shaky as he truly started to relax, but genuine smiles remained plastered on both of their faces.

"I like the lavender one." he hummed after inhaling deeply over each of his options, which mirrored the shampoo scents.

Draco gave a flick of his wand and a tiny flame ignited on the grey wick. He set it down and swiveled to face Harry again, only to see that he was running his fingers under the water, his beautiful scarred body on display. He traced the lashes with his eyes before they fell onto the white stretch marks on his outer thighs and buttocks, his powerfully muscled yet soft body glowing a fantastic lovely honey cocoa against the white marble of the bathroom. Harry's gentle soul reflected on every part of him, even his battle and abuse worn back. He saw those white lines on the back of his hand that spelled 'I must not tell lies' in his sloppy handwriting as Harry reached up to scratch the back of his head and had the desire to kiss them.

"The water is good." Harry decided, turning to face Draco once again.

Draco grabbed his right hand and kissed the scars decorating the back of it, causing Harry to fall silent and watch him with large opulently emerald eyes.

"You're so handsome you know..." Draco murmured.

Harry blushed. He was never great at taking compliments.

"You are too." he breathed.

Draco smiled and brushed his hair away from his eyes.

"You like the temperature of the water?"

"Yeah..."

They stepped into the stream, Harry wriggling his shoulders excitedly at the pleasing sensation of the charmed water. They spent a few long minutes massaging shampoo and conditioner in and out of each other's hair, Harry thoroughly enjoying playing with Draco's sleek and shiny blonde hair. Draco allowed Harry to take the bottle of body wash first, knowing that he'd surrender to sensation once he touched him just right and feel guilty about it later.

Harry poured a generous amount into his hand, his eyes momentarily going wide at being permitted to use however much he liked, and began to lovingly slather Draco's broad shoulders. He admired the way Draco's oh so fair skin rolled and grew faintly pink at his touch. Harry traced each and every one of the long deep pink scars on Draco's chest with the gentlest caresses before moving to tweak his nipples experimentally. Draco gasped and Harry saw his penis twitch to life. He repeated the tiny squeeze on Draco's pebbled nipples, eliciting a small moan as Draco's ever growing erection swelled to half mast. Harry ran his hands up and down Draco's lithe back before taking two handfuls of his arse and kneading the well developed muscle.

He ran his thumbs in the little crevices under Draco's pecs and along his spine, down his long legs eventually making his way back up. The soapy suds gently coasted down Draco's body to pool at his feet before being washed away. He watched some of them get caught in the neat little triangle of gold waves right above his now full erection with relaxed and serene eyes.

Draco kissed his damp forehead and poured some wash into his hand. He started on his prominent collar bones and worked down his chest and stomach, watching Harry shiver and lightly pant the closer he drew to the most sensitive areas of his body. His dark nipples were already hard as Draco ran his hands up and down his ever so sensitive sides. Harry's hips jerked and his erection bounced on its way up to his acute full mast at Draco's languid touch breathing against his flanks. He stroked Harry's thighs and shins, pressing kisses to the flat of his stomach when he got down on his knees to reach.

There was a nervous knock at the door and Draco grumbled under his breath.

"What is it?" he called, his hands still tracing Harry's delicate achilles.

The door opened just a crack and Hermione's voice issued from it.

"I hate to bother you two but you wouldn't happen to have extra condoms? I've only just remembered we've run out."

"Bedside table on Harry's side, have as many as you like." Draco replied with a soft chuckle.

"Thank you!" she squeaked as she closed the door.

"We don't use those very often." Harry hummed.

"Hermione likes to have two layers of protection besides normal charms just in case. She can get pregnant where we can't and I doubt she wants a baby right out of school..."

"Makes sense."

"Now where were we?" Draco purred, grabbing Harry's arse and dragging a long stripe on the underside of his erection with his wide tongue.

Harry sharply gasped and grabbed Draco's hair, pressing his nose closer to his thicket of dark curls. Draco felt all the muscles in Harry's arse tighten as he pushed his hips forward slightly, his voice quavering in a tremulous moan. Draco kissed the glossy head, ghosting his lips over his shaft and relishing Harry's reactions as he did so. The way Harry's fingers tightened in Draco's hair at his ministrations, how his stomach quivered and jumped as he moaned softly, made his chest swell with pride at the ability to elicit those beautiful reactions from his two toned lips.

Draco stood to kiss him, running his hands down the faces of his body to rid him of leftover soap. He turned off the water and drew open the sliding glass door, stepping out and guiding Harry as he rubbed water out of his eyes. Wrapping a towel tenderly around Harry's shoulders and making sure he had hold of it as he rolled his thumbs over his eyelids, he grabbed his own and began to scrub himself dry. Harry was patting his legs down by the time Draco was drying his hair. Draco moved to gently comb some of the water out of Harry's thick curls before using a smaller towel to dry it, his notoriously messy hair sticking out and curling once the water was no longer weighing it down.

"So what would you like to do now?" Draco hummed softly, pressing a kiss to Harry's nose bridge and palming his erection.

"You said those socks and briefs are made out of that material I like... Could you put them on me?" Harry murmured, biting his lip nervously while averting his eyes, a scarlet flush rising on his cheekbones.

"Certainly mon amour..." Draco breathed, his voice a bit bated from excitement.

Harry smiled shyly up at him as he shed his towel. Draco grabbed the briefs and placed kisses on Harry's eyelids, watching as they fluttered asymmetrically open with such endearment in his heart as he made a puff of adoration through his nose.

"Just hold my shoulders to balance, okay love?"

"Yeah..." Harry whispered.

Draco looped his index finger and thumb in either side of the soft black briefs and leaned down to present the garment to Harry. He stepped in one leg at a time while holding onto Draco's shoulders, his warm palms making lovely tattoos of heat on Draco's back, and watched him slide the briefs all the way up to sit on his hips. Harry gasped as the feather light fabric brushed the sensitive engorged skin of his erection, pressing it up against his lower belly right in his delicate erogenous zones.

Draco guided Harry to sit on the edge of the counter, feeling the lovely fabric shifting against his penis and barely suppressing a cry, as he grabbed the long socks. He bunched them up to the toe and beckoned Harry to lift his leg up so he could expertly slide both socks on to just above his knees. The fabric was designed to not need a garter belt, and fuck did it look amazing.

The black was slightly sheer, but not textured so, and showed Harry's beautiful brown skin through it. Draco thought that even if the socks were white and meant to make Harry look as innocent as possible, he would still manage to look impossibly strong and powerful. It was enticing and inviting, the colour standing out beautifully against Harry's dark skin in a shade of jet black that matched his unruly curly hair.

"What do you think?" Draco inquired.

"I like them... They're really nice and I feel- I feel really good in them... I feel..." he trailed off while he admired the white stitching along the seams.

"You feel..?" Draco coaxed.

"Confident and sexy..." he admitted with a soft blush as he got to his feet.

"Like I can seduce you..."

Draco felt his erection twitch at Harry's quiet but powerful words.

"Seduce me then..." he breathed.

Harry flashed him that sweet million galleon smile as he steadily grew more comfortable and opened the bathroom door to slip out in the lead. Draco bit his lip to fight down the enormous smile pulling at his mouth, that boy was so dominant and strong without even trying, further proving that Harry needn't be a typical horny little bottom to like being on the recieving end when it came to sex. They hadn't had sex since the morning after Draco came back, which was about three weeks ago. It was nice to simply spend quality time with each other and do things together, whether that be ice skating or simply laying together.

Harry tumbled onto the bed and stretched out, perfectly centered by the rose petals and illuminated elegantly.

"Fuck Harry... You'll be the death of me you know?" Draco groaned.

Harry chuckled and rolled onto his stomach, arching up a bit as he wrapped his arms around the pillow.

"Well I feel good as fuck so I might as well kill you in the process with my arse." Harry cheekily murmured, a bit red in the cheeks as he waved his hips very slightly.

He turned onto his back, his hand over his mouth as he erupted into a fit of giggles. Draco watched as he drew nearer to the bed, laughing softly himself as Harry's low voice rang out delightfully in the room. Draco always loved Harry's voice, it was soft and masculine with a very low treble in his throat that complimented him perfectly.

Draco got up onto the bed, sitting back on his knees as Harry regulated his laughter.

"Sorry love! I just feel so free to do what I want and that felt so dirty..." he tittered.

"You're much too cute for this world Harry." Draco purred.

"Says the one who suggested stockings."

Draco laughed aloud. God he was so in love.

Harry spread his legs and smiled invitingly, albeit rather shyly, at Draco. Draco stared at Harry's gorgeous muscled thighs as they strained and flexed attractively, his sock clad shins that emphasized every bulge and curve of his muscles, and his erection straining against the fabric of his briefs, his cockhead poking out of the waistband. He kissed every dip and crevice of Harry's body until they were finally locked at the lip and palming and squeezing each others shafts.

Draco cupped Harry's balls while simultaneously pushing at the base to rub the head against the waistband. A shock spasmodically ran through Harry's body.

"Fuck! Draco- Draco do that again..." Harry stammered, clearly experiencing an intense pleasure.

He repeated the motion, reaching down to rub his thumb along the leaky slit. Harry arched severely and moaned in a strangle, his hand coming up to rest on his tingling sternum as his other shot down to grip the upper face of Draco's thigh.

"You okay?" Draco whispered.

"Y-yeah... That's just really- really... I like that- I like that a lot..." Harry gasped as the fuzz on his cheeks stood on end.

Draco rolled Harry's testicles, pressed a finger to his perineum and pushed up and down on his base to rub the slit along his thumb. Harry ran a hand through his hair and panted raggedly. Draco gave a deliberate hard press to his perineum and felt a bead of precum gush down his own shaft as Harry's legs spasmed and he rutted hard into Draco's hand, so incredibly sensitive.

He teased him until he looked about to cry from the pleasure, moaning with every breath and full body spasms wracking through him as his legs trembled. Harry grabbed Draco's erection and pushed his own hips up into it, craving skin to skin contact desperately, all that teasing in the shower teetering him on breaking point.

"Draco please- please touch me..."

"You wouldn't be opposed to prepping yourself would you?"

Harry gave a low whine and pressed on Draco's chest to sit him back on his haunches.

"Then I want you to watch... I've never done it myself before... I don't want to ruin the mood by messing up..." Harry admitted.

Draco nodded, his cheeks very flush and his chest very tight with arousal.

"You won't ruin the mood love, just be careful and know your limits okay?"

"Okay." Harry breathed.

Harry propped his shoulders up on the pillows looking nervous.

"Just relax and explore your body, only do what you feel comfortable doing and stop if it hurts. No shame my love, explore yourself, it's okay."

Harry nodded, reached down to take off his soaked briefs and slide them off his legs before discarding them on the floor. He gave himself a few short strokes, the relief evident on his brows, and brought his legs up higher to sit comfortably open with his feet on the bed. He shifted his hips, experimenting with what made him feel the most relaxed and comfortable, and settled as he took a deep rather nervous breath.

Draco rested his hand on Harry's shin, gripping his base and pressing down to keep himself from coming. Harry was comforted immensely by the simple touch and reached down to press his finger to his furrowed hole to test the waters. He grabbed the bottle of lube from the bedside table and poured a good amount onto his hand, looking up at Draco tentatively.

"Er- could you do the charms and stuff?"

Draco patted his leg.

"Oh! Of course I'm sorry, let me get my wand..." Draco gasped, hurrying in and out of the bathroom.

He repositioned himself on the bed and flicked his wand to perform the three charms they used every time, enema, protective, and inner lubricant, because there was no such thing as too much lube, before handing it to Harry to set on the bedside table.

Harry pressed his finger to his entrance again, circling his finger as he bit his lip while gazing intently at his wrist. It was a few minutes of prodding and stroking before Harry gained enough confidence to push it past the initial tightest ring of muscle. He gasped as his finger slipped in, adjusting to the very faint stretching sensation as he pushed it all the way to his knuckle.

Draco stroked his leg, purring softly "There you go... Amazing job baby boy..."

Harry felt a little embarrassed but moved his finger anyway. After he adjusted he found that he sought the comfort of Draco's voice guiding him to put the second finger in, knowing that the second always took him longest to get used to.

He looked imploringly up at his warm grey eyes, not knowing exactly how to ask.

"Would you like me to talk to you? Tell you how?" Draco guessed, knowing that look quite well.

Draco always watched Harry when he tried new things, carefully observing so as to predict what he might want but be unable to say later.

Harry nodded.

Draco rubbed his stomach with light fingers and gave him a quick stroke before placing his shin on his shoulder.

"Keep moving your fingers love... That's it... You notice how your middle finger is the one inside you?"

He nodded.

"Use your index and ring finger to start pressing yourself open... It'll be a bit tight... Just like that..."

Harry pulled gently at his rim as Draco whispered praise and kissed his shin, which he found he quite liked the feeling of through the fabric.

"Now just relax my love... It'll be tight but it'll be best if you just breathe deeply... Yes like that... Just like that... Good... So good..."

Harry felt chills shoot up his spine at Draco's gentle deep voice.

"Slip your ring finger in a little bit... There you go... And push a tiny bit... And another little bit... Good baby... Twist them as far as you feel comfortable with... Yes... And push them in..."

Harry winced as both his middle and ring finger buried to the knuckle inside him. Draco was stroking every part of Harry's body he could reach, gently talking him through every ministration to find his prostate and put his third finger in. Eventually Harry was comfortably thrusting his fingers in and out of himself, scissoring them and stroking himself as praise upon genuine praise fell from Draco's lips.

They were kissing gently as Draco slicked himself up, his cockhead now a faint purple from being painfully erect for so long, Harry removing his fingers from himself and holding either cheek to spread wide. Draco slid inside Harry smoothly to the hilt, holding each other tight as their tongues danced. The puffy duvet seemed to swallow Harry as Draco filled him, he could feel the plush petals by his fingers as he relaxed and the burn of that last bit of stretching began to dissipate.

Their hot and desperate passion released itself from both men, Harry crying out as Draco thrusted. Restraint broke and Draco hooked Harry's legs around his back as he pulled him up to bounce in his lap. Harry was glistening with sweat and his eyes were boring into Draco's, a wordless conversion that held so much more meaning than any words could as his arms hooked under Draco's armpits and held his back. Harry was simply rolling as their noses brushed, rocking sensually back and forth in a languid brush of sweaty bodies.

Harry leaned back, pulling Draco down with him, and breathed a little irregularly before tapping Draco's thigh.

"E-everything okay Harry?" he panted.

"Amazing... I want to try being on my stomach..." Harry requested.

"You're okay with me facing your scars?"

"More than... They represent a lot but I trust you... I trust you so much..."

"Okay my love..."

Draco pulled out to let Harry shift onto his front and rearrange the pillows so he was more comfortable. Draco admired the sight before him as he slowly pushed back in. Harry's flexed shoulders and back that Draco now had a clear view of were mesmerizing in the low light, gold and pink lashes glittering on his soft cocoa skin as he turned his head to the side. Piercing emerald eyes and gorgeous stocking clad legs bent around him, the slight arch in his back balancing out as he settled on the pillows. Beautiful white stretch marks that Draco had come to love on either side of his square arse that was spread open as his rosy pink shaft slid inside him, slick and glistening until he was at the hilt in his lover.

The upward curve of Draco's penis was following the natural shape of Harry's channel but the angle of Harry's hips was pressing the underside of his shaft right on his prostate, sending pleasure shocks through his whole body. Draco leaned over Harry, nuzzling his cheek as he propped himself up with his hands on either side of him, his hips moving sharply as tiny noises escaped his throat.

Their pace returned to its previous quick yet languid rhythm, Harry moaning louder than ever and Draco holding him tight. It was more about every unspoken emotion filling both men as they danced dangerously on the edge of ecstasy with the soft cries of each others names reverberating in their ears. Everything that didn't need to be said about how they loved each each other that was best represented in the intertwining of their magic that caused gold hearts to spiral in the air around them. Their intense physical love was effective, but their understanding of each other's souls is what gave them the ability to feel like every time they had sex was their very first electrically intense time all over again. What allowed something so routine as sex to become a crucial bonding point because it wasn't just sex anymore, it was lovemaking. Passionate lovemaking that was no longer full of neediness, built up tension, frustration and past hatred like it once had been, rather intimate experiences that allowed them to learn about each other and strengthen their relationship in every way.

Just as a small gold heart spiraled lazily in front of his nose before dissipating, he felt Draco's seed spurt inside him in an intense gush. The feeling coupled with everything else made him topple over the edge shortly after with a muffled moan as he caught Draco in a kiss.

It was a few long minutes before Draco steadied himself enough to pull out, his hands keeping Harry's shaky hips steady as he sat back. Much to his astonishment, his come started to spill out of Harry as he lay exhausted in the mass of pillows. It was so extremely erotic to watch the milky white semen drip from Harry's very pink hole as his sphincter clenched and readjusted. Harry was still riding out the aftershock of his orgasm when Draco noticed that he was very wet and covered in his own explosive ejaculate as he panted into the pillows.

Draco summoned a towel from the bathroom and began to gently dab at his blooming hickeys and sweat. He manually cleaned Harry's body, only using a charm on his release still inside him so that he didn't feel sick the next day and to get everything out of the blankets and pillows before turning Harry over onto his back and gently scooting him down to be enveloped on the cool plush world of his duvets.

"Love you a lot Dray..." he murmured tiredly as Draco peeled off his sweaty socks and dried his shins with soft pats of the towel.

"I love you Haz..." Draco breathed, getting into bed after bringing the towel to the bathroom and snuggling up with his exhausted and very happy boyfriend.

And before either of them knew it, they'd fallen asleep wrapped in each other's arms and relishing the chill of the duvets as rain tapped lightly on the window.

Notes:
This is the longest chapter so far I hope you guys enjoy it! The feedback, as always, has been phenomenal!

afterending

Chapter 32: Better Understanding

Summary:
Harry has a tumble that brings back traumatic memories before Draco heads off to classes for the day. Hermione mentions a few things to Draco that worry him about the state of his lover.

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
Draco woke the next morning to find himself and Harry tangled up in the sweaty duvets with the rain still tapping feebly on the window as Harry began to stir. His eyes fluttered open to sleepily meet Draco's, a long yawn escaping him when he opened his mouth to greet him. Draco stroked his back gently as his bleary eyes attempted to focus correctly. He slumped back into the pillows and closed his eyes, clearly not ready to wake up yet.

Several long minutes passed before Harry quietly murmured "Can I have a glass of water?" in his thickly sleep worn voice.

"Yeah..." Draco groggily hummed, pushing himself up and rubbing his eyes tiredly.

He slipped out of bed, but the covers snagged just right on his shin to pull Harry by his entangled foot and topple him off the mattress. Draco scrambled to his feet, watching as Harry's toes anxiously flexed as he froze upside down. He hurried over to the side where Harry had fallen to see him struggling to move and right himself. His eyes were very wide and his hands were clawing clumsily at the blanket as he attempted to free himself.

"Draco- stuck-" he barely stammered out, his brows screwing up in concentration.

Draco readjusted him to be on his back, setting him back on the bed as he rubbed his temples and pulled at his earlobes.

"You okay?" Draco murmured, reaching out to try to comfort him.

Harry swatted his hand away rather aggressively and rubbed his brow bones in tight circles.

"I- I'm sorry... I just... Don't touch me right now..." he sighed, pulling the duvet over himself and wrapping it around his shoulders.

"Okay, that's okay. Do you still want water?"

"Please."

Draco nodded and grabbed a glass from the bathroom before performing the spell to fill it with cool water. He pressed the glass into Harry's shaky hands and settled himself beside him, pulling the second duvet that Harry hadn't completely bundled himself in over his hips.

"What are your favorite sensations love?" Draco asked quietly as he leaned comfortably on the pillows.

Harry frowned and cocked his head in inquiry.

"Like your favorite feelings to experience on your body that make you feel calm and good?"

Harry chewed on his lip, burying his neck further back into the duvet.

"W- well I like I dunno... I like when you breathe into my ears and uhm- I like feeling the duvets on my skin, especially the lavender ones... I- I like being warm and surrounded by soft things, my cube is one of my favorites..." Harry listed thoughtfully.

He slipped his hands out from beneath the duvets to look at them, his eyes tracing every line.

"I honestly don't really know... I've never had much opportunity to figure out what I like when I was younger... I didn't have toys... but I did nick one of Dudley's really old- uh- it's embarrassing but- those lacing boards... I remember really liking it before I got caught and it got taken..." he mumbled with a high flush on his cheeks.

"That's not embarrassing at all... Sure their meant for younger children but there's no shame in liking it." Draco hummed.

Harry smiled feebly, still flush.

"I liked the feeling of Hedwig's feathers on my skin..." he reminisced fondly, "And I dunno... Things to do with my hands I guess..."

"And what about what you know you absolutely don't like?"

"Silk, mesh, and leather I can't handle at all. I don't like the texture of my hand rubbing on parchment or if a quill is too scratchy, I don't like it being pitch dark... I like being warm and soft and feeling safe I guess..." Harry murmured.

"I like when you touch my thighs a lot, even when it's got nothing to do with sex... And when you kiss my nose..." he hummed, stroking the bridge with his finger absentmindedly, "That special fabric is really nice... I like soft but not silky smooth, I like plush blankets so I can squish them..."

Harry gave the duvets a squeeze and buried himself still further into them.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering. It seems like important things to know so I don't make you uncomfortable on accident by not knowing what aggrivates you, and just to simply bond with you..." Draco said matter of factly.

Harry smiled softly once more.

"You're really good to me y'know?" Draco added in a whisper of a breath, "I want to be as good to you as you are to me... I'm an asshole but I'm trying and I love you... You're the one soft spot in my heart... Even if it's hard for me to express that with nonmaterial things..."

Harry turned toward him, his duvet slipping down his broad shoulders and his mouth parted in shock.

"Dray... You're so amazing to me... Sure we might argue every once in a while but that doesn't change how I perceive you as a person... I think knowing you at your worst and meanest was really integral to the strength of our relationship. You're really a big softy just for me, and that's pretty special considering I used to be the source of your spitefulness..." Harry chuckled.

They smiled at each other for a moment before Draco asked "Can I kiss you?"

Harry nodded. "Just a little."

They connected in a soft sweet kiss before breaking apart.

"You feeling okay?" Draco inquired.

"Not great honestly..."

"What happened?"

"I dunno... I've always had trouble controlling my body when upside down, and the way I fell made me remember... my childhood... by how my foot was pulled..." he sighed, leaning against the headboard so he faced Draco.

Draco nodded solemnly.

"Well I have classes, but you can stay in bed if you're not feeling up to it today okay? Why don't you take a nice long shower and rest, take some time for yourself? I'll tell McGonagall and tell you the homework for the classes we share." Draco suggested.

"I- I think I'd like that... Are you sure I'm allowed to?"

"Of course, I'll tell McGonagall you aren't feeling well and bring you up some breakfast from the Great Hall if you want it."

"No breakfast... My stomach hurts..." Harry murmured.

"From last night or..?" Draco asked nervously.

"No no just being flipped upside down is all, you got everything after, I felt it."

"Okay my love, do you want me to draw the curtains and hangings?"

"Please."

Draco dressed, slipped on his shoes, brushed his hair and teeth, and washed his face before coming out to give Harry some things to entertain himself with. He summoned and thought up loads of different texture objects for Harry to try as he closed the hangings and curtains to lower the lighting in the room.

"Well I'm off, I'll come up around lunch though." Draco hummed.

"Okay." Harry breathed with a tiny smile.

Draco slung his bag over his shoulder and gave a little wave before leaving. He met Ron and Hermione during breakfast, settling down next to them and dishing food onto his plate.

"Where's Harry?" Ron inquired through a mouthful of toast, his brows crumpled suspiciously at Draco.

"He's had a fall out of bed and got rattled, feels like shit..." Draco murmured.

"Did he fall upside down?" Hermione asked matter of factly.

"Yeah, he did actually, what's with that?"

"Well I was reading up on it a few days ago and basically he has a hypersensitive sense of balance but a hyposensitive sense of coordination, so his brain has a hard time figuring out how to process his surroundings when he's flipped. That's why he's still brilliant at flying but addled if he falls, he's good at staying up so when he's upside down it's hard for him." she explained.

Draco hummed and nodded.

"What sorts of things does he like to feel better or just in general?"

"Like texture and sensation wise?" Hermione inquired.

"Exactly."

"I'm not too sure if I'm being totally honest, but Harry has really sensitive ears so he'd probably like certain sounds or certain things that give a satisfactory sound payoff."

Draco hummed in a acknowledgement and proceeded to bury himself in thought as he finished eating. Classes were a drag without Harry's calm and warm presence. Potions felt like it took hours as they perfected their amortentia while Transfiguration was a bit easier even with McGonagall's concerned glances at the seat beside him.

There was a girl who decided to sit beside him in Harry's normal seat in Transfiguration, boldly whispering questions about his and Harry's relationship under her breath.

"Where's Harry today?" she hissed pointedly at him.

"Sick." Draco grunted, his icy and haughty demeanor solidifying.

"Have you broken up with him? Is he a single man again?" she half snarled with some semblance of hope.

"No."

"Is he sick with an overdose of that love potion you keep him on?"

Draco felt his eyebrow twitch slightly.

"Of course not. Don't be daft. Those rumors are lies."

"Were you too rough on Valentine's?" she purred, ignoring his monotonous and uninterested level tone.

"Like that's any of your business." he hummed, snapping his book shut aggressively with a loud crack!

"Now get out of my face, I've better things to do than answer your invasive fetishist questions."

And the bell tolled as he smiled benignly at her.

Finally the lunch hour arrived. Draco hurried to pocket some light things for Harry before running back up to the tower and snapping the password at Sir Cadogan. He nearly tripped over Crookshanks as the bow legged cat came ambling down the stairs with a spider in his mouth, careened into the hall, and paced to the door.

He gently opened the door and walked in, pressing it closed behind him. The hangings were drawn around the bed and there was a discarded towel beside it on the floor. Draco gingerly pulled them open to find Harry, still naked, sleeping on his front with the triangular muggle rubix pyramid completely solved in his hand. The other fidget and puzzle toys were scattered around his spread legs, the lacing board perfectly done up in neat little rows, the other muggle rubix cube halfway solved, and the other little fidget toys thoroughly played with and rearranged. His curls were glossy with perspiration and his skin was positively glowing.

Draco placed his hand on Harry's hairy leg and nudged him gingerly. His eyes fluttered as he gave a soft snort. Always a light sleeper Draco thought fondly.

"Draco?" he croaked, rubbing his eye as he stretched out his torso.

"Yes love?"

"Lunch?"

"Just as promised." Draco smiled.

Harry shifted to sit up, setting the pyramid on the bedside table, and pulled the duvet over his modesty. Draco handed him some onion soup and a bowl of soft saltine crackers as he settled beside him.

"Can I touch you?" Draco inquired.

"Yeah, my skin doesn't hurt to be touched anymore."

Draco nodded as he refilled Harry's water, scooting so they were shoulder to shoulder.

"I figured you'd wan't something easy on the stomach." Draco explained rather quietly.

"That's probably best." Harry murmured with a smile.

"How do you feel?"

"A bit better, I really like all the things you conjured for me."

Draco brushed Harry's chin with the back of his index finger, the surprisingly soft stubble he had scratching against his skin.

"You need a shave." Draco chuckled.

Harry rubbed his jaw, cringing slightly at the sensation on his fingers.

"Definitely."

They ate in silence, Harry ladling soup noiselessly into his mouth, simply enjoying each other's company. Draco settled his head on Harry's shoulder when he finished, Harry still sipping the broth peacefully, and relished the feeling of Harry's warm skin on his hairline. Harry rested his cheek on Draco's head and closed his eyes.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, empty bowls resting in their laps and breathing in each other's scents. Harry's love bitten neck smelled woodsy under the lovely vanilla, and Draco's hair smelled vaguely of sweat and treakle tart from the amortentia.

The bowls vanishing from their laps roused them from their comfortable silence. Harry yawned and nuzzled further into Draco, which made him feel bad to sit up once more and make Harry lift his head.

"I'm sorry, I have to go back to classes." Draco murmured.

"That's okay Dray... I'm tired anyway." Harry mumbled.

Draco got to his feet quite reluctantly and organized the fidget and puzzle toys neatly on the bedside table with a flick of his wand. He gave Harry's thigh a gentle squeeze as he leaned in to kiss him sweetly.

"Now you get some sleep. I'll be back in a few hours, ok?"

Harry nodded, wrapping his duvet around himself and quickly curling up like an excited child. He was smiling hugely at Draco from the crack between the duvets where his face was visible, and it warmed his insides to see Harry visibly feeling better.

"See you Dray..." Harry tittered.

"You're so extra darling..." Draco chuckled as he fought back a smile.

He left the room once more, heading to arithmancy and meeting Hermione on the way as per usual. They walked past several groups of girls talking about Harry. His body, how to persuade him on a date, how cute or hot he was, basically anything and everything else imaginable including speculation on what he liked during sex.

"Really..." Draco breathed.

It wasn't uncommon for him to hear things on a daily basis but it still irked him nonetheless.

"Honestly... He's never even touched a woman like that... I get he's the savior but it's foul..." Hermione murmured.

"I get I have a reputation as a traitor but it's like I don't exist when it comes to him..."

"Yeah... It's always kind of been like that with Harry honestly... Most around him get overshadowed by others glorification of him and he hates it so much..."

"I feel like I have to prove myself to be worthy or something, but I know nobody would ever believe me regardless..." Draco sighed.

"You know Harry really likes to feel loved by you and I think it's important for you to know that he trusts you to an extent."

"An extent?"

Hermione nodded.

"I've known Harry long enough to know that he's an extremely reserved and shy person... I'm sure he's told you a bit about the abuse he's suffered and maybe even the effects that the war and his life has had on him... He doesn't want to show weakness and he's terrified of showing the fear of losing one of the only constants that has changed for the better in his life... He's afraid of certain noises and he hides that he has panic attacks really often... He loves you but he's scared to let you see the most vulnerable side of him... I think you should go check on him during passing period... He relapses sometimes... And the fact that a fall out of bed rattled him enough to not come to classes concerns me..." Hermione explained quietly as they sat in the back.

"Relapses? What kind?"

"He has a really bad habit of scratching himself and pulling out his hair when he's panicking... He's trying to be strong for you and your relationship but he has awful anxiety and stress disorders..."

"W-well why haven't I noticed before?" Draco breathed.

"Glamours... He tells me certain tidbits sometimes because he knows Ron's got a bit of a fat mouth when it comes to certain things, but it's pretty easy to put together the pieces..."

"What can I do then? To help him? Or at least make him feel better?"

"I think create a safe space for you and him, use the advice in that letter Molly sent you and make him feel like you understand him and that he's truly safe with you. He has a problem trusting words because all he's ever been is lied to or manipulated by other people... He has a reason to be scared... Make him really feel how much you love him, to your fullest ability... He got horrible when you were gone, I swear he was actually bleeding half the time... He doesn't feel good enough... So make him know that you see he's hurting inside even though he's the happiest he's ever been in his life..." Hermione suggested.

"Right... Thank you..."

Draco sat in a borderline panic all class with nothing but Harry's scars and wrists in his mind, his leg bouncing feverishly. He couldn't help but think how tired and thin he was when he had come back and how tightly he holds his chest at night.

The bell chimed.

"I think the fall might've triggered something..." Hermione murmured, "So just be there for him and let him know how much you care... If anything is happening that is..."

Draco nodded and took off toward the tower, hurtling down the halls and nearly crashing into a bunch of tiny second years. He came as gently as he could into the room, and his heart gave a jolt when he heard muffled sobs coming from the bathroom.

He speedily unlocked the door and pushed it open. Harry was collapsed in a crumpled heap with his eyes wide and blinking at the shattered pieces of the cup while hyperventilating. The enormous jolt he gave when the door was opened broke Draco's heart. Draco flicked his wand and mended the cup, taking it in his hand and presenting it to Harry as he got down on his knees.

"See? It's better... All fixed..." Draco said gently.

Harry seemed to come back to himself at the sound of his voice because his eyes started to rapidly flick over him while filling with tears that he was trying to stifle.

"It's okay to cry Harry... It's okay..."

Harry was still visibly tight in the throat and chest, his breathing labored and painful. Draco pushed his fingers into Harry's curls ever so gently, sitting with his legs on either side of his drawn up knees.

Harry gave a great stuttering gasp and a wretched sob that jerked his head down into Draco's sternum.

"There you go... Let it all out my love..." Draco whispered into Harry's hair.

"S-St- Stupid... It's stupid... Dr-Draco you should g-go back t-to class... Don't worry... It's stupid..." Harry tried, pushing on Draco's chest.

Draco simply waited for Harry's strong arms to slacken while stroking his hair gently.

"It's not stupid if you're hurting..." Draco murmured.

Draco took Harry's hand in his, feeling a small amount of warm sticky blood on his fingers, and looked down to see angry red scratch marks running down his forearm that were oozing droplets of blood from the abrasive lines in the very center of the wounds.

"D-Don't look at it..." Harry mumbled shamefully, his eyes downcast as he tried to pull his arm away.

"I should've known my love... I'm sorry..." Draco whispered, taking out his wand to heal the thin cuts.

Harry watched the skin knit itself back together, still crying and shaking, more confused at Draco's calm demeanor. He wasn't angry and accusatory, he was simply gazing down at the light wounds and cleaning up his hands without the slightest hint of disappointment in any line of his pointed face.

"Dr-Draco- I- I'm gonna be sick-" Harry whimpered, feeling his throat and stomach tighten dangerously.

Draco looked up in concern and swiftly scooped Harry up and set him gently in front of the toilet as he gave a horrible retch, trembling all over. He got up to roll up his sleeves and run a flannel under cool water as Harry coughed roughly and expellled the contents of his stomach, every muscle of his nude body contracting and twitching violently. He set the cloth on the faucet and hurried out of the bathroom to grab the duvet, a stomach calmer, and Harry's thoroughly used cube before coming back to wring out the flannel.

He set the duvet behind Harry and pushed his hair out of his face before sitting beside him. Draco reached out to take off Harry's glasses and set them on the floor.

"I'm sorry..." Harry wheezed as phlegm dripped from his open mouth.

"There is absolutely no reason for you to be sorry scarhead..."

Harry turned toward him briefly with a weak smile before his throat undulated strangely and he coughed into another heave that spilled bile from his lips.

"Here Haz... Drink this..." Draco hummed, pressing the small bottle into his hands.

Harry obliged with tremulous hands as Draco flushed away the mostly digested lunch.

"D- Did Hermione tell you? About all this?" Harry inquired hoarsely.

"Yes. But it's my fault for not noticing how much you were hurting my love... You don't have to be ashamed of your anxiety... I know how it feels to feel like nothing you are going through matters to anybody else and that you feel strong enough to take it all on your own... I know how it feels to be afraid that those you love will run away if you show just how broken you are..."

Harry looked up at him.

"You don't deserve to feel like you're alone in the struggle... You're always there for me when I'm having an awful day... So you don't have to downplay the severity of how you feel... It's okay to be broken... I still love you no matter what... You're too strong for your own good... Let down the walls... You've been through more hell than the whole lot of Ron, Hermione, and I put together... I can promise that we won't leave you if you're broken... You don't have to stay strong anymore... You can be just as you are, trauma included..."

Harry was crying silently, his nose running and his eyes puffy. Draco pressed the flannel to his forehead.

"We're both fucked up and that's okay... I know it's so hard for you to trust me even though we've talked about this before... And that's okay... I've fucked up so massively over the course of the last few years and you're the light at the end of my tunnel of healing... We're never going to be totally better or healed... It's not just going to end because the war is over... It's okay to feel the way you do... It's okay to have a panic attack over a breaking glass because it's something traumatic for you... I understand that... Our brokenness, your brokenness, my brokenness, will never be completely better, but I love you so much that that fact doesn't matter to me... I've been a spineless coward in the past, a horrible little rotten toe rag with the wrong impression, and I know what I've done is horribly wrong and you do too... And yet you still like me..."

"I don't just like you Draco... I love you... And I know you have a hard time believing that even after e-everything... But it's true..." Harry croaked, shivering.

Draco pulled the duvet around Harry's shoulders and nudged him away from the bowl. He stuck out his arms.

"Let's just go and sit down. I won't go to the rest of my classes and we can talk about what you like. How's that sound?"

Harry's smile was impossibly bright on his weary and exhausted face as Draco leaned in to hug him. Harry, after a moments consideration as his brain processed the gesture, hugged him back and allowed Draco to carry him to their warm bed.

Notes:
This is going to lead directly into the next chapter suggested by Gwg101! Hope you enjoy!

afterending

Chapter 33: Passionate Patronus

Summary:
The week is finally over and Draco has a few surprises for Harry.

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
The rest of Draco's week was spent in a haze of planning and carefully watching Harry because the man would never admit when he was hurting. He wasn't overly cautious, Harry was an adult, but the amount of people making snide comments at him was clearly getting to him and Draco didn't want him to fall into an episode. He was planning to take Harry into the Room of Requirement and spend the whole Saturday alone with him, to bond and make them both feel better.

He just had to make it through Friday.

The first few classes were okay, Harry only snapped his quill in one class because he dragged his nails and then hand against the parchment, but Draco could tell he was on edge and irritable. Harry had his hands over his ears for most of transfiguration as McGonagall called instruction over the chiming of glass as they switched their assorted birds into them, and was rocking gently in his seat. Draco left during charms to discuss his career path with McGonagall and came back to find Harry with his eyes downcast and looking almost ashamed.

He was about to ask what was wrong when a squat Slytherin boy who was likely a sixth year sidled out with a malevolent smirk. The boy gave a huge snort at Harry's slightly upset expression and brought his fingers up in circles around his eyes.

"Eye contact Potter!" he mocked.

Harry frowned up at him.

"Drop it arsehole. You couldn't even do the charm regardless." Harry snarled, turning to walk down the corridor.

Draco trotted behind Harry as he wildly twisted his cube in his hand.

"What happened?" he inquired.

"Just making fun of my autism... There's a Slytherin and he's familiar with the huge stigma my condition has in the muggle world and he just kept saying things when I was stimming... How weird it was and laughing about it..." Harry mumbled, rolling his thumb over the little silver balls.

Draco reached out to nudge Harry's pinky with his own before they both slipped their hands into each other's grip.

"There's nothing wrong with it." Draco murmured.

"They kept asking whether I was being treated or of it was curable and I dunno... I thought that was offensive... I don't want to be 'cured' that's stupid..."

Draco gave Harry's fingers a little squeeze.

"There's nothing wrong with who you are, anybody who says otherwise is an idiot. Nobody around you who loves you cares about the fact that you happen to be autistic, you're still you... I'm glad you are able to talk to me about it though... I have something planned for tomorrow that I think you'd like. I know this week has been hard for you... And I'd like to help you completely unwind if you'll let me."

Harry smiled softly up at him.

The rest of the days classes were rather uneventful, but Draco could tell Harry was tired. They stopped up at the dorms, where Harry decided he wanted to take a bath and just relax alone for a while, giving Draco just the opportunity he needed. He put every breakable item in the cupboard and turned to Harry.

"Well I'll leave you to it my love. I'm going to go finish some work and then maybe I could join you?" Draco hummed.

Harry nodded with a slight smile and turned to begin treating the water in such a way so as to not aggrivate his skin. Draco hurried out of the dorms and down many staircases to the entrance hall.

He trotted out of the castle into the rain, around the lake, and toward Hagrid's hut. Standing in front of the door, Draco inhaled shakily and mustered up the courage to knock, rapping smartly on the wood. He couldn't help that he flinched when Fang's booming barks rang loudly as Hagrid could be heard calling him off.

The door opened.

"Hello-" Hagrid began, clearly expecting Harry at such a time of night.

Draco swallowed hard as his face fell and his bushy brows contracted.

"Wha' are you doin' here Malfoy?" he asked in a rather bristly tone.

"I- er- may I come in? I'll explain I swear." Draco stammered.

"Yer not plottin' anything are yeh? You no good little-"

Draco held up his hands in surrender.

"I'm not plotting anything. No insults. I promise."

Hagrid's expression eased as he watched the rain drip down Draco's flush face, noticing the absence of malice in his grey eyes.

"Right then. Come in."

Hagrid stood away from the door to let Draco in.

"Yeh can hang yer robes over there." Hagrid murmured, indicating a large coat hanger by the door.

Draco shed his wet robes and fixed his drowned hair before adjusting his shirt collar and turning back to the giant.

"Blimey yer taller than I remember..." Hagrid commented rather quietly as he surveyed the lithe form of Draco Malfoy.

"Ron is still taller than me." Draco mumbled awkwardly.

Hagrid raised his brows at the use of Ron's first name.

"Uh- Hagrid..." Draco began, clearing his throat, "I wanted to apologize for my- well there's no other way to put it- disgusting behavior in the past... I was so prejudiced and horrible to you... I'm sorry..."

Hagrid was staring at him, dumbfounded.

"Never did I think I'd ever hear a ruddy Malfoy sayin' sorry..." Hagrid mused.

Draco chuckled softly.

"What can I say? I'm a changed man..."

"Sit down... I'll make some tea..."

"Thank you."

Hagrid set to work with the kettle, starting the fire before turning to Draco.

"So... Is it really true that yeh are together with Harry?"

"Yes."

"What made yeh change yer mind about him?"

Draco crossed his heel over his knee.

"I've liked him since fourth year if I'm being totally honest... But you know how my family is... I didn't know I liked him like that... I was confused and ashamed of well- being a hormonal teenage boy who liked another boy... I felt guilty that I didn't think of girls the way I think of him... And then you carried him out of the forest and well... I think that's when I knew I was in love with him..."

"Love eh?" Hagrid smiled as he brought two mugs, a smaller one for Draco, to the table and sat across from him.

"Yes..." Draco smiled back.

"So yeh really care about him? Yeh love him?"

"I do. Very much."

Hagrid took a deep swig of tea.

"S'not very easy to let go of prejudice like that o'course... Right little snot yeh were... What changed?"

Draco thought for a moment.

"After the war I had a row with my father before he was sent to Azkaban... I asked him why he was telling me about blood and marriage right after the war was over... He wouldn't answer me, just kept insisting I marry a woman to carry on the line... I kind of made my own decisions after that. Reevaluated myself. And then I came back here and Harry had an episode in the Great Hall and it started from there really... I never thought Harry would return my affections, especially with everything coming out about him... I'm not perfect, I know very well, but Harry was really the catalyst to my views changing completely. I'm not the best boyfriend and I'm still learning how to love and connect with Harry, but we understand each other really well... Harry's such a broken person that it's hard for me to recognize everything about him, I tend to only focus on how good he is and not how much he's really hurting... And he has a really hard time conveying and talking about how he feels because of his autism mixed with the abuse he's suffered, so we're really just learning about each other as we go along." Draco rambled.

"I think that's healthy for yeh. I always knew those Dursley's were no good... Harry was no more than skin and bones when I met him... How bad is it?" Hagrid asked quietly.

Draco let out a long sigh.

"Awful... He's covered in scars and he's got trouble regulating his eating habits... He's generally traumatized and I found him in the middle of an episode because a glass broke... I don't know the extent of it but he's really sensitive when you get down to it and he just has a harder time than most people are willing to recognize because he's the savior..."

Hagrid nodded solemnly.

"He's a good man... Take care of him will yeh?"

"I will... I love him..."

Hagrid smiled.

"So what did yeh come down here for?"

Draco perked and clapped his hands together.

"Ah! Well you see-" he began.



Back in the room Harry was stepping into the tub after filling it with an immense amount of bubbles, shivering at the sensation of them popping on his skin as he sank down into the warm water. It was so odd being able to simply relax and make up all the sleep he'd missed over the years. To not stress, to just think about everything that was finally going good after every tragedy and death he'd witnessed, was simply strange. His whole life had been nothing but pressure and anxiety about getting it all right after every lesson of build up to the day he triumphed at last.

He rubbed his bracelet under the water, tracing the stags silver horns and the little engravings on the doe. It meant so much to him that he could hardly express it in words. It was an object that represented not only his parents and his mothers love that had saved him, but also his beautiful and loving boyfriend who was so amazing to him. It was precious.

Draco wasn't the perfect boyfriend, Harry knew, he wasn't innocent or pure, and he certainly hadn't been there to witness some of the hardest moments of Harry's life, but he was so impeccably good intentioned and willing to try anything for Harry. Harry didn't know why they worked so well together, maybe it was because they didn't take each other too seriously and yet they were slowly becoming each other's one and only, or maybe it was something inexplicable, beyond comprehension.

Draco didn't treat him like a fragile child, he wasn't overly concerned with Harry's wellbeing because he knew he could handle himself, but he was there when Harry needed him most. He was a source of comfort when Harry fell into an episode or a meltdown and was hugely respectful of Harry's boundaries when he needed to just be given some space. He knew that Harry wanted to be left alone to unwind and let him do just that without needing Harry's elaboration, it was nice.

Harry held up a hand and examined his angular fingers. Would there be a wedding band adorning his fourth finger one day? He felt a giddy rush of excitement. He hoped so. Placing his palm on his sternum, he breathed deeply and laughed softly to himself on the exhale at the thought of Draco getting down on one knee. When had he become such a romantic? He didn't know, nor did he care. It felt wonderful to allow himself such frivolous thoughts. Of course he still had anxiety issues and habits of his autism that would never go away, but Draco still loved him despite that.

He felt his cheeks heat. He had admitted to himself that he knew Draco loved him. Honestly loved him. And yet it felt so natural to say because he felt he knew it all along, that this wasn't a fling or an experiment, it was genuine.

The door opened, snapping Harry out of his thoughts, to reveal a very soggy Draco shivering.

"Hullo." Harry tittered as Draco began to strip off his sopping wet robes

"Why are you soaked?" He added curiously.

Draco peeled off his jeans and boxers in one swift move, revealing his flaccid length that Harry couldn't help but stare at.

"Well how do you think?" Draco sighed as he stood to his full height.

"You went outside?"

"Obviously. Now move over- my bollocks are frozen to my leg."

Harry scooted so Draco could get in, tittering breathily as he sank into the bubbles.



The next morning Harry woke to Draco nudging his leg gently. He rolled to face him as he smiled fondly down at him while he rubbed his eyes.

"What?" Harry mumbled.

"Get up." Draco snickered.

Harry complied, got onto his feet, his romper flowing delicately around him, and looked at Draco, who was wearing a thick cloak over his pajamas. They both cast breath freshening charms.

"Shoes." Draco instructed, handing Harry a pair of seamless socks.

Harry slipped on his socks and shoes before being wrapped in a thick cloak with a warming charm by Draco.

"Come on." Draco hummed, taking his hand.

Harry was very confused and kept spluttering broken questions as Draco led him out into the entrance hall. Harry flicked his wand to cast an umbrella charm that hovered over them as they went outside into the rain, Draco dragging him along.

"Where are we going Draco?"

"You'll see..." he smirked.

They passed Hagrids hut.

"Everything is ready right?" Draco called to Hagrid, who was checking on some salamanders.

"Just as yeh asked!" Hagrid bellowed back, ambling over to hand a huge bunch of carrots to him.

Draco gave him the thumbs up as he led Harry toward the forest.

"We're going in there?" Harry inquired quietly, worry evident in his voice.

"Nowhere near where you were killed... I made sure my love..."

Harry took a deep breath as they entered the wood, only going a little ways away before coming out into a little hollow that was vibrant and beautiful. He gasped.

"Wow..." he breathed.

There was green grass and pretty moss decorated the large trees with little pale flowers sprouting out. It had a muted blue hue as most of the forest did, but it was surprisingly nice and green under the thick canopies of the trees that blocked the rain.

Draco stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Harry rubbed his ear slightly as he looked around wildly. There was a very pregnant pause in which Harry scrutinized the knots in trees to see what ever it was.

"Look..." Draco whispered, pointing to a partition in the tree trunks.

Harry's jaw fell open.

In the space where Draco was indicating there was an enormous white stag with a gorgeous rack of antlers accompanied by another smaller reddish one who was peering curiously out from behind him. There were two little does trotting forward from between two other trees, one of which had an eagle owl perched on her back.

"Here." Draco murmured, handing Harry a few carrots off the bunch.

Harry held it up as the stags drew closer until he was face to face with the larger of the two.

"I didn't know deer lived in here..." Harry breathed.

"Hagrid said you don't see them very often because of the other creatures, but they're here, I asked if he could bring some closer to the edge of the forest for you to see." Draco chuckled as a doe drew nearer to him.

Harry held the carrot up, gasping softly when the stag grazed it out of his hand. The smaller darker coated stag cantered up beside the white one and sniffed hopefully at his muzzle. The white stag nosed the other, and the smaller took the carrot from Harry's hand.

"Hagrid said that because these two stags aren't fighting even though the dark one is littler, that they're probably mates." Draco hummed.

Harry looked incredulously at Draco.

"He also said that gayness appears all the time in animals, it's only humans who seem to have a problem with it." Draco added as he patted the doe who was taking the carrot from his hand.

A red stag and a little brown doe came into the clearing, accompanied by a red doe and two babies.

They fed the deer and pet them, Harry enjoying stroking the long noses of the pair of stags and Draco attracting the large red one and most of the doe as he held the bunch of carrots. The white one licked Harry's cheek with his broad tongue.

"That was the last one! I promise!" Harry laughed, patting him on his large furry wet nose.

Eventually the deer left, and Harry still had a smile plastered on his face.

"Ah- Harry?" Draco asked nervously.

"Hmm?"

"I- er- wanted to show you something I've been practicing for a while..."

"What is it?"

"Well- erm- I- okay... Just watch."

Harry nodded curiously.

Draco cleared his throat.

"Expecto Patronum!" He said strongly.

An enormous silver animal burst from his wand tip and came to a slow stop in front of Harry. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't confuse that with anything else as it's large head bowed and cascaded him with warmth.

It was a stag.

Harry could cry it made him feel so many things.

"Expecto Patronum!" he called.

His own familiar stag burst from his wand tip and came to stand beside Draco's. They were ever so slightly different. Draco's was a bit smaller and had a much more square face than Harry's.

Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and stood on tip toe to kiss him full on the lips.

"I love you." they murmured simultaneously at they broke apart.

They laughed softly.

"Come love... There's more now that the deer have had their fill..." Draco hummed.

"More?" Harry blinked.

"Of course, I'm going to pamper you fully today..."

They headed up to the castle and into the Room of Requirement. Harry gave a little excited rock on his toes as his room with the enormous bed and his favorite lavender duvets was revealed through the door. He shucked off his robes, kicked off his shoes, slipped out of his romper, and peeled off his socks, giving another little rock. Draco bit the corner of his tongue at the enticing jiggle of Harry's thighs at the sudden gesture of pleasure, watching the way the muscles twisted and curved with the shake of his thighs as he leapt into the bed.

Draco gradually undressed himself as he pulled out an ornate soft pink bottle and an array of feathers and fabric to set gently on the bedside table, and joined Harry on the bed. Harry was spread out on his back breathing deeply as Draco crawled up to kiss him, inhaling his sweet vanilla scent when they broke apart.

"I wanted you to show me your favorite sensations..." Draco murmured.

"Show you?" Harry whispered.

"Yes... Show me how it feels to you..."

Harry brought Draco's face a little closer until his nose tip was pressing against his ear. He began murmuring sweet sentiments into Draco's ear, causing a shiver to wrack his being as Harry sucked on his shell with his warm succulent mouth. Draco moaned low, now he understood why Harry liked it so much, the warmth, the wetness, and the feeling of Harry's feather light breathing tickling his ear was incredible. His lips rolled over the cartilage and played with the small peach fuzz. It was extremely relaxing.

Draco returned the favor, sucking on and breathing softly into Harry's ears. Harry reached up to hold Draco's broad shoulders as he shivered pleasurably from the sensation. He released the lobe with a pop.

"What else?" Draco hummed, feeling Harry's hands squeeze his shoulders.

"You lay on your back." Harry mumbled a bit nervously.

He did so. Harry placed himself between Draco's thighs and began gently caressing and tracing every muscle with his fingers.

"Here." Draco murmured, handing Harry the pink bottle.

"What is it?"

"It's a diluted oil with rose water in it, I thought you might like how it feels because it's not greasy, but it's okay if you don't." Draco explained.

Harry unscrewed the cap and held it to his nose. It was a pleasant flowery scent with a little of what Harry knew to be Draco's musk. He poured a small amount on his hand and rubbed it between his fingers. It wasn't bad at all. It wasn't greasy like Draco had said and it felt more like charmed water that was a bit more lubricant.

"Is it okay?" Draco asked.

"Yeah... I like how it smells... It feels nice too."

Harry traced Draco's muscles with the oil on his hands, playing with Draco's near invisible leg hairs as he went. Draco loved the feeling of Harry's hands. They were smaller and very angular but they were strong and he was good with his fingers when it came to the simple relaxing movements. Harry eminated such a calm energy as he focused intently on Draco's calf, even though he was a highly chaotic individual when he was feeling good. He watched Harry's emeralds trace over every dip and curve until he had reached the arch of his foot.

They flipped once more and Draco lovingly caressed Harry's muscular thighs and shins. He drew little waves in the dark hairs as they stuck to Harry's gorgeous skin and massaged the oil into the arches of his feet and undersides of his knees. They'd been at it for a quarter of an hour when Harry flipped himself on top.

He grabbed the feathers that had been pulled from quills and took one of an eagle owl and traced little designs on Draco's chest as he sat astride him. Harry was very much sitting on Draco's penis but the gesture wasn't sexual in nature, so he wasn't aroused. It was innocent bodily exploration and sharing of sensation that bonded them closer. Harry showed Draco everything he liked, brushed the feathers over his palms to simulate to Draco what his whole body felt like, and Draco watched or closed his eyes and felt Harry's ministrations travel over his body. When they flipped, Draco repeated what Harry had done to beautiful reactions and long content sighs from Harry.

They rolled up in the duvets and cuddled for a while. Two rubix cubes appeared and Harry showed Draco how to solve it as they sat curled in the duvets and surrounded by puffy pillows. Harry showed Draco how to solve all of his puzzle toys and cubes, let him twiddle his favorite cube, and redo his complex lacing board.

"It's incredible how you can do that so fast..." Draco murmured as Harry solved the cube for a fifth time.

"I dunno, it just makes sense to me." Harry tittered.

And so, they spent the rest of the day wrapped up on the enormous bed in the room of requirement, occasionally summoning house elves to bring food before falling asleep late in the afternoon, both of them extremely content.

Notes:
Another little chapter based of a suggestion from Gwg101! This was fun to write and I'm excited for you guys to see what I gave in store for this story!

afterending

Chapter 34: Love Prevails, I Promise

Summary:
Romilda Vane finally peaks in committing the unforgivable. How will Harry and Draco cope?

TW: Sexual assault, peeping, and a very brief rape scene that can be skipped if such content makes you uncomfortable

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
Harry walked back to the dormitories with Draco and Ron, chatting about their recent transfiguration lesson. They came to a halt in front of the portrait of Sir Cardigan, not paying any mind to the gaggle of passing lower years.

"What's the new password again?" Ron inquired.

"Shrivelfig." Harry hummed as he finished solving a rubix pyramid.

The portrait swung open and they climbed inside, not noticing exactly who was within the midst of the group as Harry and Draco grasped hands and headed to their dorm with Ron.



+

After classes on Wednesday, Harry and Draco were walking up from the kitchens where they usually had an after class chat while they ate. Harry got up on tiptoe to kiss Draco's cheek after he cracked a snarky joke, laughing into his cheekbone before they continued down the hall. They were conversing about Slughorn's essay when a patter of footsteps came closer in the empty corridor.

"Harry- Harry Potter!" came a small squeak of a nervous male voice.

Harry turned, blinking quizzically at the source of the voice. It was a gangly fifth year boy with ridiculously curly brown hair and pinkish skin.

"Yes?" Harry inquired with a cock of his head, his and Draco's hands still firmly clasped together.

The boy stumbled over his words for a moment before he took a deep breath and spoke.

"I-I just wanted to uhm- to thank you!"

"For what?" Harry coaxed.

"F-for being so open about your relationship and your sexuality! It's helped me loads you see and well- my boyfriend-" he blushed violently at the word, "He has a- a disability like you and I just think you're very inspiring for making him feel better about himself by being open about your autism! It's helped tons of queer kids here be okay with themselves and we've even started a club!"

"Oh! I'm glad!" Harry laughed a little awkwardly, not very good at handling himself in situations like this.

"And you! Draco Malfoy! You're an inspiration to queer kids with disproving families! My best friend thinks you're so brave and she says that you used to be a Death Eater- but you weren't really- you were dragged in by your parents she says- and I think that's really amazing that you were able to finally be with Harry despite everybody else!" he added confidently.

Draco gave him a rare smile, he usually kept a fierce demeanor when Harry wasn't around.

"Thank you." he chuckled.

The boy twiddled his thumbs.

"I was wondering if you'd like a badge? I've got extra..." he mumbled nervously.

"Of course, what's your name?" Harry asked.

The boy scrambled to pull out two badges and took a tentative breath before murmuring "Dennis, Dennis Creevy..."

Harry's heart jumped. Now he knew why the mousy curls of the boys hair looked so familiar.

"You knew my brother- Collin... He really looked up to you... I- I've still got his camera..." he near whispered, pulling the camera from his pocket briefly before slipping it back in.

"I'm so sorry about Collin... He was always very nice to me..." Harry mumbled honestly.

"Don't be sorry... His memory lives on in the castle... McGonagall said she'd be getting portraits of everybody who died in the battle put up over the summer... Besides he saw you win right before he went... He would've liked to see me following in his footsteps... Helping those who need it... I'm really proud to be his brother... And Dumbledore always said that the ones we love never truly leave us right? I like to live by that instead of mourning him forever, he wouldn't have wanted that..." Dennis choked a little tearfully as he pressed two circular badges with rainbow pride flags on them.

"You're both helping a lot more people than you think... And Collin and I thank you for that..."

And he turned away to walk down the corridor.

Harry smiled dolefully after him, noticing the innumerable pride pins he had in his hood. A smaller blonde boy came around the corner to meet him, reaching out a very tremulous hand to take Dennis's and giving a sharp involuntary inhale.

"Thank you H- *inhale* Harry Potter." The blonde boy called.

The pair continued, the blonde boy giving sharp little inhales and stamping his foot once before they turned the next corner.

"Tourettes..." Draco breathed.

"Yeah." Harry hummed, a bit fondly."

Draco lead him down the corridor once more.

"That was nice..."

Harry perked to look at him.

"To hear that there are other people who don't believe I'm just a bit of scum who should be sent to Azkaban."

Harry nodded.

"I love you, Mr inspiration to queer kids." Harry laughed as he handed the button to Draco, who pinned it to his shirt collar before helping Harry pin his to his robes.

Draco smiled, "I love you too, just don't let that get to your big head." he teased, bumping Harry's hip with his own.

"How sentimental you over preened ferret." Harry threw back.

Draco snorted and squeezed Harry's arse, making him jump and playfully smack his shoulder.

"Dick..." Harry laughed under his breath.

"Only if you want it, oh golden boy." Draco smirked.

Harry clapped a hand to his forehead.

"I should've seen that coming!" he chuckled.

"Well you are a bit near sighted." Draco snickered, poking Harry on the nose.

"And you're a bit egoistical and yet here we are." Harry guffawed.

"Says the man with a martyr complex."

"You got me there." Harry laughed, sliding his hand into Draco's back pocket to squeeze his arse as well.

But Draco fell silent in thought. The word had slipped out and he hadn't really thought about it too much. Martyr. That's exactly what Harry was. The man had walked into the forest to face his own death on his own terms. He was willing to die for a world and people who, in his mind, deserved to be saved. He didn't have a choice, his destiny was written for him when Lily died for him and now he was no longer burdened by the weight of it all. Sculpted, molded even, into a perfect martyr by Dumbledore. Made into a person so good he would be willing to sacrifice himself for those who didn't deserve it. To fulfill what was written out for him.

And that was the odd thing about Harry. He was quite literally the incarnation of goodness, flawed yes, but ridiculously and impossibly forgiving to everybody who had ever done him wrong. He never put blame on the Dursley's, no matter how horribly they had treated him, he'd recognized that Draco had as little of a choice as he when it came to his path and forgave him for it, and he'd forgiven Snape even after he'd been so bitter toward him. Harry was so loving, so full of love, so forgiving, so stubbornly good. A heart of gold and a willingness to forgive that Draco had known no other to possess. So understanding. That's exactly how Dumbledore manipulated him wasn't it? Using his pure heart and ability to love and forgive against him to create a perfect tool to end the battle he'd been waging for years.

He was so good. He had an incredible ability to love and yet he had such a hard time believing that others loved him. He's been so hard to break open because he never expected anybody to love him back as genuinely as he loved them. He loved Draco and Draco did everything in his power to slowly plant that seed in his mind to open him up to the whole possibility and idea of Draco requiring that love in full.

His sweetness made him easy to manipulate, and that scared Draco. He didn't ever want Harry to be taken advantage of because he's to good or his autism won't permit him to see that he's being misguided. He feared the potential of Romilda manipulating him so badly that they'd have to start over from square one.

The man's polyjuice potion turned gold for fucks sake, he was too good for this world. But that's exactly why this world needs him.

He could be so bitter and violent and vengeful, but he wasn't. He was the exact opposite. And Draco swore in that moment that he fell a little more in love with Harry at the thought.

Draco made love to him that night, slow and sweet, relishing every shiver and riding every high of pleasure Harry's body gave him. Harry never tore his gaze away from Draco as his hips rolled ever so slowly into him. It was gentle and drawn out into a thousand kisses and caresses that employed the little things that Harry had taught Draco he loved. Their heavy breathing and kissing was the only sound occupying the room between Harry's cries and groans of sweet sweet ecstasy as Draco brushed his prostate so slowly he was moaning like he was going to explode. And explode he did, in the form of long sticky ropes that burst from him dangerously hard when Draco came with a high whine deep inside him.

They got up the next morning to find a highly disgruntled Ron just as they remembered they hadn't put silencing charms up the previous night. Draco was shaking with suppressed mirth as Harry blushed hard in Ron's general direction while Ron turned very red indeed.

Classes were fairly fun that day. Harry had a ferret in transfiguration that he found highly amusing, and they were practicing funny little weather charms in charms that resulted in the whole class getting snowed on. Potions consisted of Harry and Draco flirting ostentatiously while they brewed amortentia and Ron and Hermione murmuring and blushing at each other as they worked.

The only person who didn't seem pleased at all was Romilda Vane, who was glaring at Draco and Harry as they laughed sweetly together in their own little bubble of happiness.

"It smells like your shampoo." Harry murmured as they added the last ingredient.

"Nonsense, it smells like your sweat." Draco whispered back.

"Gross." Harry chuckled with his tongue sticking out.

"You smell naturally sweet my love, what can I say?"

Slughorn was chuckling deeply at the boys antics.

"Now it's important to know, this will come up on your quiz tomorrow, that amortentia doesn't work on somebody who is already truly in love with the person that they are meant to be with! Remember there is a difference between honest love that runs through the veins, and superficial love that is an illusion of a relationship between two people who believe they know each other well! Two lovers who are completely dedicated to each other with their whole soul will not be affected by this potion!" Slughorn bellowed importantly.

Romilda was scrutinizing the two carefully. Harry sneezed. Draco focused intently on their report as Harry watched him write. Their expressions had sunk into calm lines as they worked fairly quietly, and it gave her a horrible idea.

She discreetly scooped some potion into a flask and pocketed it. She smiled broadly when she heard Harry tell Draco to pull his head out of his arse, but missed them hysterically wheezing so hard that no sound came out right after.

Harry, Ron, and Draco headed back to the dormitories after class tailed by, unbeknownst to them, Romilda, who was using a disillusionment charm. A girl with large blonde ringlets came flouncing up to them.

"Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy?" she inquired.

"Yes?" Ron blurted.

"The headmistress would like to see you!" she squeaked, handing them a scroll with emerald ribbon.

Ron untied it and read it.

"Yup it's definitely her writing, asking us to tell us how you're doing mate." Ron hummed to Harry.

"How I'm doing?" he inquired.

"She must know you'll never admit yourself that something is wrong unless it's already come to fruition." Draco tittered.

"He's right mate." Ron agreed.

Draco scooped Harry into a passionate kiss.

"Why don't you go relax and unwind for the day, maybe take a shower if you'd like?" Draco suggested.

Harry nodded, "That sounds nice."

"Well get your tight arse to the dorm then!" Draco smiled, shooing him away playfully.

Ron choked on his spit as the two laughed.

"For fucks sake!" he groaned as Harry shot a grin at him.

Ron and Draco headed off in the opposite direction as Harry continued down the corridor. He mumbled the password and climbed through the portrait hole, Romilda slipping in behind him just before the portrait closed.

"Harry!" Seamus roared in delight.

Harry turned to him, intrigued.

"Yeah?"

"Neville's got something for you, thought you'd like it." he hummed, moving a chess piece Harry couldn't quite see against Dean.

"Oh- okay thank you."

"No problem." Seamus chuckled.

Harry ascended the stairs, Romilda still following him, and went to Neville's door. He knocked lightly.

"Hiya Harry!" Neville greeted. "Seamus must've told you?"

"Yeah."

"Well it's not much, Professor Sprout and I accidentally found them, but I thought you would like them." Neville explained.

He handed Harry a crystal vase with Lily's in it.

"Th-thanks Nev!" he gasped genuinely.

"Just make sure to tell your dragon that their just a friendly gesture so he doesn't gut me in my sleep." Neville laughed.

"Got it!" Harry chuckled lightly. "Thanks again!"

And he continued to his dorm. Romilda slipped in before he could close the door and took in the room. There was a third bed that looked mostly unused, while the magically extended one had multiple possessions strewn about it, clearly belonging to either of the two men who slept in it, and the other was fiery orange and clearly belonged to the Weasley.

She watched as Harry set the vase on his beside table and rearrange the flowers a bit.

"How sweet." Harry hummed to himself.

He stretched and went into the bathroom, nearly crushing Romilda as she squeezed in greedily. Harry ran the water and spent a minute looking at multiple bottles before choosing two and setting them on the lip of the tub. She watched him as he moved about, clearly lost in a fond thought. He shucked off his shoes and socks and shook off his robe, unbuckled his belt and undid his fly to pee before dropping his pants and meticulously undoing his shirt with clumsy fingers. She was stricken by just how many scars the man had. He leaned over the sink to look at a large hickey he had, smiling to himself before turning to the shower. Romilda's greedy eyes were glued to his sizable flaccid penis as it hung between his sculpted legs.

He stepped into the water, his body obscured by the blocky crystalline design of the glass door, and washed. He turned off the water a few minutes later and stepped out to grab a towel, gently patting his legs and body dry before combing the water out of his hair and rubbing it dry. He stretched out for a moment before massaging his hips and propping his leg up on the counter to check his slightly sore anus and perineum. He playfully smacked the swell of his arse and chuckled to himself as he set his leg back down.

Harry wrapped the towel around his shoulders for a minute while he applied some cream to his hickeys before discarding the towel into a basket by the door. He collapsed in his bed and pulled a large burgundy duvet around himself, settling for a minute.

Romilda slapped her hand over his mouth and mounted him while removing her charm. Harry writhed in fright, Romilda's hands began to burn from Harry's magic, his hands clawed around, throwing her off him violently.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" he shouted, scrambling for his wand and shouting the disarming spell, but she dodged it and pounced before he could repeat it.

"Incarcerous!" she screamed, binding Harry's wrists and ankles to the bed.

He cried out at the sensation of the ropes on his skin. He hated it so much. It made his nerves burn alight with that painful discomfort that churned his insides horribly. His wand clattered to the floor.

She got on top of him again and in an instant, her mouth was on his penis and he screeched.

That wasn't Draco's mouth, it was much too cold and small and her pallette was rough and uncomfortable. Her tongue wasn't velvetine like Draco's, it was dry and scratchy.

She kept sucking and fondling him and he hated it. She rolled his testicles aggressively in a way that made him whine in pain. She pulled at his foreskin harshly, stretching his frenulum tight.

She pulled off him, her hand still much too tight around his base, and ripped a flask from her pocket and uncorked it with her teeth. She poured the potion down his throat, but he coughed and spat it right back at her. That made her furious. She tore her tie from around her neck and stuffed it into his mouth, pushing his tongue so he choked and spluttered while she wrenched a knot in the fabric at the back of his skull. Her claws of nails dug into the sensitive pink skin that was being exposed and one of them was pressing dangerously on his frenulum.

Harry was beginning to shake violently, he was being induced into a full blown meltdown very quickly by the rough violating treatment of his body and senses.

She growled and pressed her finger hard against his perineum where it squeezed his prostate. He hated that it felt good. She must've noticed the twitch of his muscles because she abused the spot painfully until he was erect and bruised.

He was in tears, thrashing and kicking and screaming to no avail. He was having a panic attack, but she paid no mind as she ripped off her pants and snarled disgusting things to him, abusing his vulnerability and disability. He was verging on another seizure, he could feel it. He felt so dirty. He was erect and he felt like he'd betrayed his lover by being able to have such a reaction to this foul woman.

She snarled the imperious curse in his ear to make him fall slack while he fought it off.

She slammed him into her, bending his muscles sharply and sending a painful shock through his penis that made him absolutely scream. The pain snapped him back into reality. He hated it. He hated hated hated it. Her body was folds not rings, weirdly sticky instead of nice and slick. He felt himself going soft.

He was sobbing and was too overloaded to realize that the door had just flung open and Draco, Ron, and McGonagall were stood there.

Draco looked murderous. He shot a nonverbal spell that threw Romilda off Harry onto the floor. Harry was hyperventilating terribly and trembling so bad that not even holding his head could stabilize him.

"RELASHIO!" Draco hissed with so much venom, it could kill.

The bonds broke and Draco was able to slip the tie from around Harry's head before he convulsed violently and his eyes rolled back into his head. Draco untangled the blankets carefully as his lover seized and seized and seized on.

"Oh baby boy... Cmon relax... Please relax..." Draco murmured, hating that he couldn't touch his poor Harry.

It was a tense four minutes before Harry's back released from its arch and his hands and legs unfurled.

"Mon amour... Harry my love... Baby boy..." Draco choked before dissolving into choked sobs.

It was two minutes before Draco stood again, turning to stomp over to Romilda, tear tracks glittering on his cheeks.

"You. Absolute. Fucking. Monster. Do you realize how much you've just set back everything I've worked toward with this man? You took advantage of his autism and overloaded him because you knew he'd be in too much pain and mentally scrambled to react strongly. I'm going to have to completely redo everything with him because of your act of disgusting greed. Who knows when I'm going to be able to have any type of sexual contact with him again because of what you've done? Harry is my everything, my lover, my one and only, and you go and take advantage of him because he's so good. Harry's told you multiple times that he's a gay man in a gay relationship. Get that into your fucking miniscule brain. And what bothers me the most is that I can see that you don't give a single fuck... You're greedy... And you're a criminal..." Draco growled in a deadly level tone.

"Put your pants on Vane." McGonagall barked.

She slowly got to her feet.

"Now!"

"This isn't even about his autism anymore... This is just cruelty..." McGonagall whispered. "Take Harry to the hospital wing Draco. Ron, please tell the house elves to come clean their bed and disinfect the duvets, and go find Hermione before she panics."

She flicked her wand to duplicate the mostly untouched one so Draco could wrap Harry up as he carried him.

"And you... Vane... Will be coming with me for your expulsion notice and mark of sex offender toward Harry Potter on your record. Never in all my years have I witnessed such a crime being committed and by a member of my own house no less. I am disgusted." she snarled, her lips the thinnest of thin lines.

McGonagall marched out of the room, dragging Romilda out of the dormitories.

Draco bundled Harry, more tears flooding his eyes at the bruising on his neck and sides of his mouth, he didn't even care that they were falling profusely now. Everybody in the common room perked up at the scene curiously, every face flooded with concern.

Draco carried Harry like he was the most precious and priceless thing in the world as he made his way to the hospital wing with him in his arms. He arrived and called out for Madame Pomfrey, who bustled out from her office in alarm.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's Harry... He's just been sexually assaulted and he had a seizure." Draco panted.

"Sexually assaulted?!" Madame Pomfrey gasped as she began pulling back the bed clothes. "Lay him here... Who did such a heinous thing?"

"Romilda Vane..." Draco growled.

Madame Pomfrey bit her lip and sighed.

"I expect she's finally getting expelled then?"

"I would hope, seeing how we found him with her on top of him..." Draco grumbled.

Madame Pomfrey unwrapped the duvet and began looking Harry over.

"Very bruised...very tense... Burst capillaries and a cricked muscle in his shaft... Stretched glans frenulum... And another psychogenic seizure with a duration of?"

"Four minutes and twenty nine seconds." Draco answered, "I counted."

"Thank you..."

Draco finally brought himself to look at Harry's penis. There was a purple bruise near his base on the left side of his shaft.

"Can you repair it?" Draco asked.

"Of course I can, but he'll need at least a day without any arousal or stimulation so he can heal properly... And from his current bodily health records-" she explained, glancing down at the little blue screen above her wand, "It tells me his sphincter is still a little loose which suggests that the type of sex you two engage in most prevalently won't effect his healing, just be gentle with him for about a week while the muscles work themselves out..."

She flicked her wand to display a blue model of what Draco knew to be Harry's hips with all of his internal structure showing.

"You wouldn't mind if I explained exactly what happened and how to not hurt him during intercourse do you?" she asked

"Not at all." Draco hummed.

"Right then." she nodded, flicking her wand to show his pelvis, rectum, and all of his internal penile structure and testicular structure.

"The part that is damaged is this part of his shaft." she began, indicating the bruised area, "Whereas what I'm looking at based on his health records suggests that he is the one being penetrated, not you?"

"Yes. He enjoys it more." Draco murmured.

"Well that works in your favor concerning his recovery because even though the prostate is located toward the front of the body," she indicated a small swollen gland that had thin tubes connecting to each of his testicles, "The way the rectum is positioned against the other internal organs presses just right against that spot you would stimulate to give him pleasure and distract from the stretch of your shaft inside him, am I correct?"

"Yes." Draco mumbled with a faint blush.

"Now if we look at how the sphincter releases when the legs are pushed up," she indicated the figure, which adjusted accordingly, and Draco watched the band of muscle loosen, "And how his body is affected during intercourse-" she flicked her wand at him and then back at the figure, which displayed a perfect replica of his own penis, fully erect, "considering you are a very sizable man, his body is affected a bit differently..."

Draco watched in awe as the figure of his erection pressed inside the model of Harry's hips, the blunt head parting the rings of his body to wrap around him.

"Assuming you go to the hilt inside him, that presses right against his prostate, which means that you consequently won't be able to hurt any part of him that is injured unless you pull too hard on his shaft, so just be gentle when pleasuring him... He's also very likely traumatized but I think if you spend a lot of time with him, you'll eventually work back up to where you were." Madame Pomfrey concluded, healing the last of the contusion marks on his ankles and dabbing a salve on his bruises. "This type of education is so important, I'm glad you were willing to listen."

Draco nodded just as Harry began to stir. He collapsed onto his knees beside him, petting his hair ever so gently. Madame Pomfrey smiled at the tenderness in his eyes as he looked at Harry.

"Draco..." Harry croaked, reaching up to cup his cheek. "M Sorry..."

"Why are you sorry baby boy? It's not your fault, I'm not mad..."

"She was touching me... And I couldn't fight her off... I didn't even notice she was there..."

"Listen to me. It is not your fault. I'll say it as many times as you need."

Harry chuckled softly and placed his hand on Draco's chest.

"Lay with me... Please... I just want to feel you and only you right now... Please..."

Draco complied, readjusting so he was on his side beside Harry. Harry was having a hard time moving his right hand and arm.

"Harry dear let me bandage that hand for you..." Madame Pomfrey suggested, bustling over with some gauze.

She expertly wrapped his hand and wrist before rubbing some more salve on his ribs from where Romilda's knees had jammed into him.

"Mr Malfoy, if you'd please put this salve on his intimate areas." she hummed, handing him the jar.

Draco took the jar and scooped some cream on his fingertips.

"Look at me Haz..." Draco murmured.

Harry did so.

"You're going to be sore but it's over, she won't hurt you anymore... It's my hands touching you, not anybody else's..."

Harry nodded and grabbed his shoulder nervously.

Draco, gently as he could, dabbed the salve into the sensitive skin.

"Almost... Almost... Breathe baby boy breathe..."

He softly rubbed his hip bones and stomach as Harry's fingers dug into his shoulders. He was shaking.

"Too much?"

Harry nodded with a bit lip.

"That's okay... It's okay..." Draco murmured, pressing angel kisses to Harry's eyelids.

He felt Harry's body convulse beside him, opening his eyes to find him gritting his teeth as his right side completely seized up.

Madame Pomfrey bustled over and felt the hard muscles.

"That seizure aggrivated your nerves and synapses dear... I know you're tired but you have to stay alert for at least an hour before I can give you another potion to help you sleep." she explained, handing Draco a bottle of green potion.

"Sit him up carefully and make sure he drinks all of it."

Draco nodded. He sat up before gently helping Harry sit up and covering his sore modesty while packing loads of pillows behind his head, his body still very stiff in the neck, and handing him the potion to drink little by little while he stroked his curls. He had only just finished when a gaggle of people came in through the doors.

Ron, Hermione, McGonagall, Hagrid, and Neville came hurrying in.

"How is he Poppy?" McGonagall asked as she drew up chairs for all of them.

"He'll be fine in a few days time, and I do believe he has a very good partner to help him mentally recover from this ordeal. Very bruised and a rather nasty injury to his intimate areas."

"How are you feeling mate?" Ron asked softly.

"Like shit honestly. My whole body aches and my bruises are still healing which means I can't even get a massage from Draco to help with that." Harry groaned.

Hermione hugged Draco with one arm and gently hugged Harry before sitting down.

"You had another seizure?" she inquired.

"Yeah..." he sighed, unable to nod.

"I've asked Slughorn to bring you a special potion to release the post seizure tension and calm the nerves."

"Thank you Miss Granger." Madame Pomfrey hummed as she felt Harry's forehead, "It'll help rebalance your equilibrium."

"I brought the lily's for you... I thought you'd like to look at them while you're stuck in here, we all know how much you hate it..." Neville murmured, setting the newly repaired vase and lily's on the bedside table.

"Thank you..." Harry breathed, closing his eyes as a shock of pain traveled down his neck.

"And I brought yeh a little somethin' Draco asked me to make for yeh." Hagrid said with a small smile.

He took something from his breast pocket and held it out on his large hand. Sitting in Hagrid's palm was a wooden carving of two stags with their heads pressed together, their ornate racks making a beautiful heart. One was carved out of a light wood and the other, a very dark wood. The darker one was smaller with tiny green emeralds for the eyes, the lighter one, larger, with eyes carved from moonstone. Harry reached out with his good hand to take it, completely awestruck.

"Carved em myself... Do yeh like it?" Hagrid quietly asked.

"I love it, I love it so much! Thank you Hagrid! I'd hug you if I could move further..." Harry exclaimed, holding the hefty piece out to Draco.

"They're brilliant Hagrid! Absolutely brilliant! Thank you..." Draco chuckled while running his finger along the intricately carved racks.

Draco kissed Harry's temple very gently and handed them back to Harry to hold, as he had reached for them when Draco had gone to set them beside the lily's.

"Ah... It was nothin'." Hagrid blushed.

"I brought you some clothes and pajamas too." Ron murmured, setting a stack of pajama pants and one of Harry's favorite oversized sweaters on the table.

Draco smiled at the fact that Harry's romper was on top.

McGonagall patted Harry's covered leg.

"Well you'll be pleased to know that your main harasser has been expelled, and as you know that is very hard to do, but this crosses the line. Miss Vane's parents are waiting outside, they'd like to talk to you when you're ready." McGonagall explained.

Slughorn came waddling in with a red vial in his hand.

"Harry m'boy! Miss Granger has told me you're in need of this tricky little potion?" he greeted jovially.

"Ah- Horace, perfect." Madame Pomfrey commented swiftly before plucking the vial from his grip and handing it to Draco.

Draco spent a few minutes helping Harry lean back far enough to drink the potion.

"Let us hope for a speedy recovery m'boy." Slughorn sighed as he patted Harry's shoulder rather tentatively before leaving the wing.

"Your twenty five minutes are up! This man needs rest and I assume he would like to get modest before confronting the parents of the girl who did this to him." Madame Pomfrey called, shepherding them out of the hospital wing.

Draco helped Harry slip on some seamless boxers and pull on his sweater meticulously, so as to not distress any of his injuries, and sat down in one of McGonagall's chairs.

A couple came in. A woman that looked terribly like Romilda but with straight hair and an older man with a tired face and curly wizened hair tensely made their way over to Harry. They sat and took a breath.

"H-hello Harry Potter, we're Romilda's parents, although you probably already knew that." The mother greeted nervously.

"I did, it's nice to meet you I suppose." Harry responded rather flatly, he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"We simply came to apologize and ask what on earth led up to this incident." The father coughed.

Harry drew in a long breath.

"Your daughter is well... Rather taken with me I assume... I get that I should expect it as the current climate stands but as an openly gay man, I found her advances disturbing. I assume you've seen the Prophet piece on my autism my that Skeeter woman? Well everything in there was illicitly obtained during the beginning of the year and printed for all to see without my permission. I'm okay with it now but while I was still adjusting to the new label, Romilda and a bunch of her friends attacked me in the corridor because of my open gayness and my autism, she didn't like that I have a boyfriend and provoked my anxiety disorders and hypersensitive senses to drive to me to have a seizure and destroyed a precious possession in vengeance I suppose..."

He felt Draco's reassuring palm on his thigh and continued on for several more minutes detailing every assault Romilda had committed over the months. Harry let out a long suffering sigh once he'd finished detailing what she had done to him in his own dormitory.

The mother was in tears.

"Th-Thank you Mr Potter... I'm so incredibly sorry our daughter has put you through this and violated you like this..." she sobbed.

"I don't want to believe it... But there's more than enough evidence to prove her wrongdoings... I'm sorry Mr Potter..." The father breathed, completely stunned.

They left and Madame Pomfrey gave him a drought of dreamless sleep.

Draco stayed by him until he dropped off to sleep, deeming it safe to draw the privacy curtains and let him sleep on.

He came back with a thermos of hot cocoa and sat in the chair, enjoying his dinner while he simply watched Harry sleep. His brow lines were peaceful for several hours until the potion wore off and he woke.

"Want some hot cocoa?" Draco asked as Harry precariously sat up against the pillows.

"Yes please..." Harry mumbled tiredly.

Draco poured him a mug and sat back as he woke up a little more.

"How are you feeling?" Draco inquired.

"A little better... But you're definitely giving me a massage tomorrow and then preferably making sweet sweet love to me..." Harry hummed.

"So you're okay with sex? Even after all of that?"

"I mean I want you to be gentle of course but I just feel dirty... I want you to make me feel like I'm all yours again... I want you to erase her touch from my body, clean me... All I could think about was you and how horrible she felt when she was y'know... Touching me..."

"Madame Pomfrey said you'd be cleared for sex tomorrow... But you're really okay?"

"No I'm not. I'm very much not okay and I want you, my handsome and gentle lover, to reclaim my body... She didn't touch me where you do... She didn't soil my insides... But I think I'm going to need a while before I can top for you... I want to feel your gentle hands with the hard lines and edges... I want to feel your mouth on me... Your come in me... We'll take it slow because fast scares me even more than it already did... But I want you to make me all yours, not Romilda's, yours..." Harry clumsily explained.

Draco kissed him.

"I'd be more than happy to make you feel so good... Erase her filthy hands from you and replace them with mine... I'm all yours tomorrow, however you'll take me... Because I love you... And if you're ready, then you're ready, and I won't treat you like a piece of glass... Cause you're my strong strong lover and I trust you to know yourself."

Harry smiled.

"I love how you get me." he chuckled.

"I love your sweet heart."

"I love how you love me."

"I love your forgiveness."

"I love how you make me feel."

"I love your golden soul." Draco breathed.

"I love you, and I'll stop at nothing to protect you." Harry murmured.

They linked hands.

"I love you." they whispered in unison.

And that was enough. Three simple words that explained how much they meant to each other. It was the reason that Madame Pomfrey wasn't surprised to find them sleeping together the next morning.

Notes:
AHHHH I'M SORRY YOU GUYS!!! They'll get better I promise promise promise! Another brilliant Gwg101 suggestion for this chapter! There's going to be a long reconciliatory sex scene next chapter that is exploratory for the boys and focuses on making Harry feel comfortable in himself and his body again now that Romilda is finally gone! Harry's going to heal and Draco's going to be the best boyfriend ever I promise!

afterending

Chapter 35: Healing is Hard But We'll Make It Through It

Summary:
The healing process begins with love.

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
Harry spent the morning in the hospital wing with Draco getting tested for STIs and STDs.

"I'll do it with you." Draco had murmured when Madame Pomfrey presented the task.

They lay side by side, hand in hand, as Madame Pomfrey drew privacy curtains around the bed and murmured things to the quill and parchment following her around. Harry was very nervous and shaky, extremely apprehensive of anybody other than Draco getting anywhere near his bits. Draco didn't mind that Harry was crushing his fingers in a vice like grip. It wasn't like he was going to tell him off for being traumatized.

Madame Pomfrey draped a privacy sheet over both of their nude thighs as they lay back with their knees up. She required that Harry have a full physical exam as well as a magical to ensure he was okay. Harry was visibly very very scared, so she insisted on taking things slow so she didn't startle him. She decided to examine Draco first so Harry could have some type of anticipation.

He was perfectly healthy and well groomed. Draco kept murmuring gently to Harry, stroking his hand lightly like Madame Pomfrey wasn't currently conducting his prostate exam.

She couldn't help but click her tongue at Harry's condition as she changed her gloves. Romilda very obviously had some sort of infection that was irritating Harry's penis.

"Now Harry, I'm not going to lie, you're very red and inflamed, nothing I can't fix but this is going to be uncomfortable."

He looked surprisingly pale compared to his normally healthy golden glow that his brown skin carried. Draco was holding his hand and using his other to trace each one of his fingers as a tiny distraction.

Madame Pomfrey dropped some disinfectant into his slit and began gently rubbing it into the areas that were irritated. Harry gasped and his muscles rippled while Draco worked to keep him calm. He got shivery and clammy when she examined his scrotum for abnormalities, and yelped loudly into his hand when she felt his testicles in a similar fashion. It broke her heart to see him so shaky and jumpy, what had that girl done to make him so much more hypersensitive and scared? She rubbed fast acting bruise salve into the abused spot on his perineum, he was breathing very deeply and shaking very hard by then.

"Do you need a minute before I check your prostate?" she asked gently.

"Please." he breathed with a slightly frantic nod, trying valiantly to hold back tears.

She backed off and let each of the creams do their job while she checked his right arm for satisfactory motor function. His hands were always tense when he was having a panic attack or after he had a panic attack. She stretched out his fingers tentatively and asked if he could bend his wrist. He had much difficulty, but managed as she felt his pulse points all down his arms.

She tentatively gave his scrotum a gentle touch after she replaced her gloves and poured a significant amount of lube on her hand. Harry looked worried but Draco murmured words of comfort that calmed him as she pushed one finger inside him. He made a small noise when her fingertip found his prostate and began pressing around. He was the least uncomfortable during that.

Two scrolls of parchment produced themselves from under the potions that were checking both men's samples for infection or disease. She grabbed them and began looking them over

"Well Mr Malfoy, you are perfectly healthy and your saliva and semen is safe for bodily contact with Harry. And Mr Potter, you are also healthy and not carrying any viruses, infections, or diseases in your blood, saliva, or semen. You do however, have a transferred yeast infection from her in your urinary tract and on your glans, but I can clear that up no problem, especially because the problem doesn't originate in your body." she explained, handing him a potion. "And Mr Malfoy, your iron levels are low so take this."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he knocked back the potion.

"But other than that, once this infection clears up in a few minutes, you're both healthy men ready to indulge in sexual contact if you please. I only require that you be gentle with his bruising on his shaft Draco, but you can both touch eachother. You're both cleared from classes today so you can spend time rectifying this Incident with eachother, and food will come when called to your dormitory. I've also been informed that your bed has been thoroughly cleaned and that one Ronald Weasley requested that you would like the sheet color changed to dusty lavender today." she smiled almost knowingly. "You'll be cleared to go back in thirty minutes and after I've had one last look at your condition."

And she bustled into her office.

"You okay my love?" Draco asked.

"I do feel much better now that I know it's just an infection... I was really scared because it hurt so bad... But I can feel it clearing up." Harry murmured, looking over at Draco.

They were both still on their backs.

"So how are you feeling about sex today now you've had a check up?" Draco inquired, looking into those gorgeous green eyes.

"Nervous honestly... But I trust you to make me feel good... You always seem to know what I need... And I don't doubt that you'll figure it out, because all I know that I want is you inside me... I'm really nervous about you touching my shaft though..." Harry rambled.

"So you're only nervous about your penis, but not me being inside you?"

"Well not exactly... I want you to be inside me but I want you to be gentle because you know how things swing and bounce when we're in certain positions, cause I'm sore and I don't want it to hurt while you're making me feel good... Y'know? I don't know if I'm ready for you to touch me there yet..."

"Of course. You're getting treated like the Prince you are today baby boy..." Draco purred.

"Yeah?"

"Obviously, I have to make it up to you. Make you feel so amazing... And so loved."

"I'd like that." Harry breathed.

Madame Pomfrey came back a few minutes later. She checked him over, put some extra salve on all his bruises and magically pulled back his foreskin to check his glans.

"Everything is a healthy pink once again, your bruises have cleared up visibly but there will still be soreness and all the burst capillaries have mended themselves. You could use some weight gain on these ribs of yours, but you're as healthy as you normally are considering you're underweight and stunted severely in growth." she hummed, more to herself than Harry.

They sat up and pulled on some pants and trousers, Harry trembling rather violently.

"You're gifts from your friends were taken to your room yesterday while you were asleep." she pointed out when Harry turned to grab them.

"Oh- okay." Harry mumbled as he stretched.

"Well you are good to go, be safe." Madame Pomfrey hummed.

They made their way up to the dormitory rather slowly, as Harry had a knot in his back that was making it painful to walk, and went into the room.

Their bed was completely redone up with enormously fluffy lavender duvets and new clean burgundy hangings. The bedside tables were cleaned so that Neville's lily's and Hagrid's stag carving were organized nicely beside Harry's fidget toys. Draco's bedside table had the lubricants and oils neatly situated by bottle size beside his quills. There was a little piece of parchment laying in the middle of the pillows.

Harry picked it up and recognized Hermione's neat writing.

'Dear Harry,

Ron and I weren't able to see you out of the hospital wing today because Madame Pomfrey told us you wouldn't be let out until later this morning as you were to be tested for infection. I do hope you are alright and I hope you and Draco are coping okay. Ron and I wanted to have dinner with you if that's alright, although I understand if you are planning on spending the day with eachother (even if Ron doesn't realize we could literally walk in on you two at the worst time) but keep an eye out around 8 o'clock.

Love, Hermione and Ron'



Harry set the note beside the lily's after letting Draco read it.

"Well that gives us plenty of time to make you feel somewhat better." Draco murmured, noticing Harry's flexed hands.

He leaned down to give Harry a few angel kisses and began to gently pull off his sweater.

"Clothes off baby boy, it's time for your massage." Draco whispered, gently sitting Harry on the edge of the bed to take off his shoes and socks.

Harry shimmied out of his jeans and boxers while Draco undressed, climbing onto the bed fully and squeezing the duvets hard as he lay on his back. Draco got on top of him very gently, he shook slightly as Draco's weight settled on top of him.

"Look at me Haz..."

He did.

Draco cupped his cheek as he settled on the plane of his stomach.

"It's me, my hands, my weight... Just feel me for however long you need... I'll wait."

Harry shook for several long minutes until he finally was able to level his mind and think about how different Draco felt. He was heavier, his legs were thicker and longer, there was the weight of his penis and testicles between them, his hands were bigger, his skin was softer, his muscles were hard and edged, his body hair was rougher, and his arse was slimmer and more square. Harry rested his hands on Draco's thighs, breathing deeply while simply feeling the small but intimate part of his body that was resting on him. He could feel the minute movements of Draco's thumbs as he rested his splayed hands on Harry's chest. He had to keep looking up and down, surveying the beautiful alabaster body of the man astride him, to reassure himself that it really was him and not Romilda.

Draco patiently waited for a long and quiet thirty minutes, not minding one bit as he looked Harry's handsome figure up and down. He watched the minute twitches of his mouth and eyebrows as well as the spasmodic lurches his stomach and chest gave carefully, keeping his expression tender while Harry breathed through the rushes of anxiety that coursed through him intermittently.

"Ok... I'm ready..." Harry murmured.

Draco leaned forward to kiss him, which he returned passionately. He breathed an internal sigh of relief, she hadn't kissed him. Draco broke the kiss to nose his jawline and move his hands up to Harry's neck.

"Is this okay?" he asked as he placed his hands on either side of his neck.

"Yeah..." Harry breathed.

Draco began gently kneading the muscles with his thumbs, laying kisses all over his face and slowing when he needed to take a deep breath. He worked ever so slowly and carefully down Harry's shoulders, arms, and chest, releasing large knots and cracking his sore joints as he went. Draco spent a long time on Harry's stomach and hips, rubbing his large hands over the skin until Harry's breath evened out and his fingers uncoiled from his hair that he had been gripping. He traced every muscle in Harry's legs with his fingers just how he liked it and kissed each arch of his foot. All the while, he made a huge effort to not so much as brush Harry's penis.

It was another hour as Draco massaged Harry's back. Running his hands deeply through every muscle, he pressed tender kisses to the back of Harry's neck. He gently massaged his sensitive scalp and teased him a little when he was working out a knot in his arsecheek. Draco spent a few more minutes stretching Harry out in the shoulders and hips before peppering kisses all over his body.

Harry was giggling gently by the time Draco exaggerated loud kisses going up his chest.

"Shower?" Draco murmured into his ear.

"Yeah..." Harry breathed.

Draco slid off him and let him sit up and stretch for a minute, admiring how effortlessly gorgeous he was. Harry caught Draco's gaze on him and looked over.

"What?" he inquired with a small grin.

"You're beautiful..." Draco whispered.

"M not..." he mumbled, face falling as he looked down at his feet.

"You are though..."

"M ..."

"What?"

"..."

"Harry darling, what did you say?"

"..."

"Harry?"

"Dirty..."

Draco swore he felt his heart break into a million pieces at the simple word.

"Harry no love... You're not..."

Draco watched as a pearly drop fell from behind his curtain of curls.

"Harry you're not dirty..."

Harry rubbed his hand harshly into his face, seeming to close in on himself entirely as a sob wracked through his body. Draco reached out a hand, only to have his wrist grabbed very tightly.

"I let her do it Draco... I couldn't even fight her off... I'm supposed to be the savior and I can't even take on a stupid lower year... I basically let her have me! She made me get hard for fucks sake! I could've broken the bonds- I could've thrown her off me- but I laid there and let her do it! I'm a dirty, ch-cheating-"

"Stop..."

Harry looked up to see Draco with tears flooding down his cheeks.

"Stop..."

Harry's grip on Draco's wrist loosened.

"I can't stand to hear you degrade yourself in such a way... Just hear me out my love... I'm not mad or upset about anything that you might've done or any way your body reacted. You. Are. Not. A. Cheater. I don't think you're dirty. You had no choice or say in the way you and your body reacted. She knew how to overload you, and that is absolutely not your fault. You're a human male, you reacted that way because she made you react that way. She abused your prostate through your perineum to make you get hard so she could take advantage of you because she knew how sensitive you'd be. You're so strong. You, Harry James Potter, are beautiful in every aspect of your being, and I blame you for nothing." Draco asserted.

Harry hugged him hard and sobbed into his chest.

"I-I feel so icky and gross a-and tainted... I feel like she'll n-never get off me no matter how hard I scrub..." Harry choked.

"Then let's make you feel clean and beautiful, exactly as you are." Draco murmured, stroking his hair as they walked into the bathroom.

They had a long shower of many kisses and lots of soap as Harry obsessively ran it over his skin. Draco refused to turn the water off until Harry smiled, which didn't take very long at all with his usual antics.

Draco brushed Harry's hair so gently as he sat on the counter with a towel around his shoulders, thinking about him. Harry had gone through literal hell all his life and the fact that he was able to smile at Draco with so much love in his eyes, the day after he'd been raped by the girl preying on him for so long, meant the world to him.

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Yes?" Draco inquired.

"It's Ron, I was only wondering how Harry is doing. Thought I'd come by and say hello."

"Let us get dressed into something a bit more fitting." he called back.

"Right."

Draco helped Harry into his pants and loose trousers, accidentally brushing Harry's package as he slipped the waistband of the joggers up.

"Sorry..." Draco murmured quickly.

Harry shook his head like it was nothing and then proceeded to stumble away from him in panic and lean over the toilet to vomit.

"Oh... Sweetheart..." Draco whispered apologetically.

He filled a cup with some water and turned to Harry to give it to him, reaching out with it in his hand. Harry only had Draco partially in his vision and didn't register that he had a cup in his hand.

"D-Don't FUCKING touch me!" he screeched before promptly throwing up the rest of his breakfast.

"Sorry- sorry- I'm sorry... Sorry... Draco- that was stupid- Draco Draco I'm sorry..." Harry rambled.

"It's a cup of water my love... I'm not mad... It's okay." Draco murmured, pressing the cup into Harry's very shaky hand.

Harry spat out the water after swishing it around in his mouth and flushed the contents of the toilet away. He scooted away from the toilet looking ashamed, and staring at his crotch.

"Baby boy... It's okay... It's okay to feel and react like this right after something so serious happened to you... Breathe my lovely..."

Harry wiped his eyes and looked up, his hand going down to rest on top of Draco's as he crouched on his toes beside him.

They eventually got out of the bathroom and to their astonishment, met Ron with a worried looking Fred and George.

"Mum got sent a letter from McGonagall last night explaining that you'd been... Been assaulted... And uh- she wanted us to come check up on you while we're off work." George explained.

Harry took a few long seconds to process this information before saying "I'm fine." monotonously.

Draco looked over at Fred with a worried lip.

"Course you are." George scoffed.

"We know better Harry." Fred hummed.

"You're very much not okay, nobody would be." George pointedly stated.

"And that's why we've brought you our newest line of fidget toys to help keep your mind off things during the most traumatic weeks of processing." Fred announced with a small grin.

That got Harry's attention.

"New line?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Yup! We've got loads of new puzzles and toys of the sort you enjoy!" George exclaimed.

The twins began pulling out an assortment of brand new toys Harry had never seen before.

"We've been developing these based on our thorough research into autism and other special needs conditions in the same field and we figured you'd be the perfect first owner of the whole set!" Fred explained, setting a tactile knot into Harry's hand.

"That one is based on a muggle toy, but now you can actually untangle the thing into a reasonable shape." George hummed as Harry untwisted the warped loop in his hands.

"Thank you guys..." Harry breathed, awestruck.

"Hold out your wrist." Fred requested.

"My wrist?" Harry inquired.

"Yeah."

Harry did so, albeit nervously.

Fred slipped on a burgundy bracelet that was ribbed and articulated at certain points.

"Self cleaning and waterproof sensory bracelet! You can fiddle with it, put it in your mouth, or anything else you might fancy doing with it." he explained.

George handed him a black bag with the Wheezes logo on it while he admired the bracelet. Harry eagerly opened it and pulled out a small synthetic fabric tube that was sewn shut at both ends with a little white ball inside it, woven loosely in such a way that you could scrunch and stretch It. There were many other assorted colors in the bag. It was extremely satisfying.

"Thank you..." Harry breathed as they set the new items beside his existing ones.

"No need to thank us Harry! You deserve it!" Fred chucked despite the weary look in his eyes at his choice of words.

Harry didn't mind though.

They left shortly after having some treakle tart Molly had made and sent with the twins. Ron stayed for a few minutes while Harry vented his frustration, although he was a bit restricted in his language, almost like he didn't want to admit it to himself. After Ron left too, Harry twiddled the tactile knot for a few minutes before falling asleep.

Ron, McGonagall, and Draco had charmed the door to only allow people the occupants permitted in while Fred and George were demonstrating an infinity cube to a very engrossed Harry, so he felt safe to leave him alone and go to the library. He drew the hangings after nosing Harry's hairline and pressing a feather light kiss there, and left for the library.

People completely went around him in the corridors, which suited him just fine. He'd rather not have to answer any questions about Harry, especially because the story had gotten twisted somehow by some stupid first year who didn't understand the complete gravity of the situation.
Draco entered the library and swore everybody inside got quieter still. Searching through every aisle diligently, he picked up books he thought useful on aftermath and recovery of such an assault as well as one about the reintroduction of intimacy to a male rape victim. Madame Pince was being unusually helpful and nice to him, which worked in his favor seeing how he was checking out more books than she would typically allow. He spent a few minutes skimming through a book titled How to be Therapeutic to Your Traumatized or Otherwise Mentally Distressed Significant Other, and got an idea.

They had dinner in their dormitory that night with Ron and Hermione. Harry rambled on and on to both of them for a very long time and Draco was pleased to see him visibly becoming less strained.

The next few days were tense and Harry stayed very far away from brunette women with ringlets, except Hermione of course. He twirled his new fidget toys in his hands wherever he went and his study habits got better with the initial days following. Draco had been waking up nearly every night to a shouting and writhing Harry having a nightmare that made him refuse to sleep.

It was distressing knowing that he would wake up to Harry kneeing him in the ribs or clawing into his shoulders while thrashing about, but Draco always made sure to comfort him to the best of his ability. They took long showers in which Draco had put away the sponges and loofahs so Harry didn't rub his skin raw on accident, and gradually Harry became more and more okay with being touched. Draco implemented a charm that would make his bracelet heat up if Harry was actively hurting himself or having a meltdown, as he knew he would've been offended if Draco kept checking in on him like he was some uncontrollable terrible child.

Most would've called it a chore, gotten exhausted from taking care of somebody who was hurting so bad, but not Draco. No, Draco brought Harry books about dragons from the library as he knew it was his special interest, he respected Harry's boundaries exactly how he expressed them, and he was understanding when Harry broke down or overloaded. Because he loved him. He didn't treat Harry like a charity case that was lucky to have him. He didn't flaunt the fact that his boyfriend was autistic to gain sympathy.

He treated Harry as he normally would, teasing and poking fun with snarky remarks that made him get fired up. But fuck he loved him. He made his heart turn to a sticky mush of affection just by his sweet gappy toothed smile. Only Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew how much of a sap Draco got around him. How utterly domestic they could be.

Harry was finally reaching the acceptance stage of his post rape trauma and it made him fall into a bit of a slump. Draco never pressed Harry to get out of bed when he just couldn't bring himself to do it, and now that the shock had worn off, he felt worse than ever.

The first day after the situation had finally sunk in, Harry simply lay and gazed out the window, lost in his own head, and Draco didn't push him. The day after that, he was finally willing to eat a larger portion of food. He and Draco had an emotional conversation of how Harry was feeling that night. Harry let him touch his sides and he sat astride him after they ate, kissing rather passionately, but stopping when Harry felt Draco's erection pressing against his own. Harry had said that he didn't think he was ready for that yet even though he was in a similar state, and Draco respected that, getting up to have a fairly unsatisfactory wank in the bathroom before coming back to snuggle with him.

He had had a meltdown in the middle of charms the day after that. Draco shepherded him out into the corridor to calm down and led him up to their dormitory. He had to get back to classes as their NEWTs drew ever closer, but he had sprinted out of transfiguration when his bracelet burned shockingly sharp around his wrist. Harry was collapsed in the corner of the dormitory with long bleeding scratches running up his arms to his elbow. He was trembling violently and he had a blank unfocused stare that conveyed a raw terror.

"Breathe love... Breathe... It's okay. You're in our room at Hogwarts, not anywhere else..." Draco murmured, taking Harry's arms and healing them slowly.

Harry let out a small feeble whine and flexed his hands in agitation as his cuts knitted themselves back together. He felt like his stomach was going to explode with anxiety as Draco reached the crook of his arms. He smacked his hand down on the floor, craving the shock it sent through his hands while releasing the tension in his whole body in tiny pieces every time his palm met the stone.

"It's okay it's okay... Is that making you feel better? Let it out Harry love..."

It was a long six minutes before he was finally able to stop. His hands were numb and bleeding from the rough texture of the floor.

"Can I heal that for you?" Draco murmured, taking Harry's bloodied hand in his.

Harry nodded and closed his eyes.

Draco delicately healed the abrasions and took Harry's cheek in his hand, stroking the peach fuzz gently with his thumb.

"What happened baby?"

Harry took a deep breath and scrubbed hid hands over his eyes and thighs.

"Too much... Just too much... I got... Uhm..."

"Overwhelmed?" Draco supplied.

"Yeah... That..." Harry breathed.

"C'mere." Draco grunted, taking Harry under the knees and thighs and hoisting him up.

Harry clung to his neck and buried his face in his shoulder. Draco rocked Harry gently up and down by the hold he had on his thighs. Harry fell slack in a few minutes of simply being rocked lightly by Draco's arms. Draco laid him on the bed and carefully undressed him, wrapping the cool duvet around his sweaty skin.

"Love you a lot..." Harry murmured as he reached over to grab his newest erotica.

"I love you. Enjoy your book darling." Draco chuckled, handing Harry his bookmark before leaving for the rest of classes.

It was now three weeks after and Harry, unbeknownst to Draco of course, was having the beginnings of a very wet dream indeed.

Draco set down the rubix cube that Harry had successfully taught him to solve and brushed his raven curls away from his forehead. He sighed to himself. Harry looked absolutely exhausted, his eyes had sunken in slightly and there were very dark anxious purple circles beneath them.

He headed to McGonagall's office. When he pulled on the gryphon knocker, the door immediately opened. McGonagall looked up from her long scrolls of parchment and made a small noise of acknowledgement as she set her quill down.

"Good afternoon Mr Malfoy, there's no issue with Harry is there?" she inquired.

"Oh no no professor..." Draco murmured in a slight undertone, still gazing, transfixed, at the large oak doors.

"Ah yes, you've noticed that I've charmed the door to open to your or Harry's magical signature in case anything happens... He's rather stubbornly resilient and I trust you to recognize when something is wrong." she explained as Draco sat in the chair before her desk.

"Well it is about Harry, but he's not hurt or stricken with paralyzing anxiety or seizing..." he sighed.

"Do tell what has brought you here then."

"I was only wondering if- well- large therapy animals were allowed in the castle..."

"A therapy animal?" McGonagall coaxed.

"Yes, I was reading up on the best methods for emotional therapy on a rape victim... And it said that animals were very beneficial to victims but also for people with the type of anxiety and depression he has... It said that having an animal will distract from the obsessive compulsive habits or repressive habits that are likely to arise in the months following the attack." Draco began.

"And what is Harry exhibiting?"

"His already obsessive compulsive behavior has gotten more extreme and he's obsessive about cleaning himself... I wouldn't let him use sponges or loofahs when we're in the shower because I'm afraid he'll scrub his already so sensitive skin raw..." Draco slumped in the chair, pressing his hand over his eye.

"A-and I've no idea what to do... He's so sensitive and he's already had a meltdown today... I can't even touch him remotely intimately anymore without inducing a panic attack and he's just so exhausted looking and his already abysmal apetite has gotten worse and his texture preferences are different and more restricted and he's already so thin even if he's starting to get better. He feels awful and dirty and there's nothing I can do about it... I don't know what to do... I know things like this affect the people around the victim but this is awful... I hate seeing him like this... And I feel like it's my fault for not being there fast enough... He's the only person on this earth that makes my heart this soft and makes me feel this many things..." Draco groaned into his hand.

"I just want to be able to do something, anything, to make him happy... And I thought a dog might be perfect for him... A great black dog that looks like Sirius Black... He misses his godfather so much and that type of paternal figure is what he needs... He misses Hedwig more than I can say and I feel like he wants a companion again... It's been an idea in my mind for quite a while and I figured I'd do it after Hogwarts, but I think it would be a really good time to give him a nice companion..." Draco choked.

There was a long pause and then McGonagall spoke, and Draco was surprised to hear that it was wavering and watery.

"Of course... Of course Harry can have a dog... Sirius was an Irish wolfhound and a black German Shepherd mix with very specific traits but I promise I'll find one that looks like him..."

"Do you think it could be rescued?"

"Of course." McGonagall murmured.

"How much gold-"

"You will not have to pay a single sickle for this dog Draco. I'll task Hagrid into finding the perfect dog and I'll send you a letter when we've found just the right one."

"Thank you- thank you so much professor!" he hicoughed.

"I know love when I see it Mr Malfoy... Take good care of him in the meantime... Hagrid has really grown to like you, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to do this for Harry... He bought him Hedwig after all..."

Draco grabbed his things and thanked McGonagall again before heading back to the dormitory.

He parted the hangings to find Harry with his face buried in his pillow, the gay erotica novel he had picked out open to a very intimate sex scene beside his head, as he held it tightly to himself and inhaled Draco's scent. Draco pet his hair gently and settled down beside him, cracking open a book he had started earlier in the week entitled Hyper or Hypo: Understanding the Effects of Sexual Assault on Male Victims and beginning to read. His hand rested in Harry's hair as he read, playing with the cowlicks and stroking his incorrectly fused orbital bone, broken from an incident with Vernon.

The book was extremely helpful and informative. It was very detailed on the different cases and specifications that different situations have on the psychology of men who have been attacked by women. Draco read about the effects of hypersexuality and hyposexuality on individuals who are sexually active prior to the incident and how erectile trauma can elevate either sense of sexuality.

He certainly wouldn't mind if Harry ended up having trouble with getting aroused but it was interesting to think about when they had had such an active sex life up until this point. On the other hand, hypersexuality would make him extra sensitive and more craving of enjoyable sex as a coping mechanism to empower himself and reinforce his sense of safety in his sexuality, and Draco thought that was pretty interesting as well. He read a long chapter on how immediately after the incident, victims might cling to or completely push away from intimacy and have a spike or a significant drop in sex drive.

He read another chapter on love and intimacy and how to be a good partner and a source of comfort to Harry. He refined his skills on how to recognize signs of paralyzing anxiety and the preceding symptoms of an impeding panic attack and, in Harry's case, a meltdown or sensory shutdown. He studied a chapter on how diet, apetite, and cravings might be affected and how to remedy or aid under eating in a tactical manner.

Harry stirred while he was in the middle of a chapter about the true aftermath phase. What Draco was not expecting, however, was Harry to rut into the bed and wrap an arm around his waist. Draco paused, searching Harry's sleeping face as his hips rolled methodically into the mattress, and brushed a stray curl away from his face. Harry gave a harsh buck of his hips and jumped as he woke, his glasses slipping back down onto his nose with a quiet rattle of wire.

Harry had a confused mixture of emotions running all over his face as he pushed himself up onto his forearms.

"Hello love..." Draco murmured gently.

But Harry didn't look up, a sense a dawning comprehension on his face.

"You okay?" he inquired.

Harry smacked his hand down on the pillow repeatedly, words failing him as he stared into an oblivion Draco could not see.

"What do you want?"

Harry flexed his fingers significantly.

"My hand?"

Harry nodded.

Draco closed his book and set in on the bedside table and set his hand, palm facing up, on the pillow. Harry grabbed it and squeezed his palm hard before laying a tender kiss in it.

"What's up?" Draco asked in a would be casual tone.

"I-I'm..." he cleared his throat, "Hard..."

"And how do you feel about that? Are you okay?"

There was a pregnant pause in which Harry's arse tightened and his hips drew up slightly.

"I feel okay... Right now..."

"So what are you going to do about it? I don't think you want me to touch you."

Harry nodded.

"I think soon... But maybe if I'm feeling confident enough... I'll let you make love to me..."

"You could touch yourself if you feel ready for that, or you can keep grinding into the bed... Whichever you're more comfortable with." Draco suggested, slightly breathless at the prospect.

They hadn't had sex in weeks, albeit for a good reason, and Draco's libido was through the roof.

Harry stayed silent in thought for a minute.

"I can leave the room if you want to be alone?" Draco suggested a bit reluctantly.

"No- I want you..."

He ground into the bed and shivered harshly.

"Come here..." Harry breathed, sitting back on his haunches, his erection very visible through his joggers.

Draco complied, sliding to the center of the bed in front of Harry and stretching out his legs on either side of him. Harry got back down on his front and ran his hands along both of Draco's thighs and nuzzling his nose into his stomach while pulling his button up out of his pants. Draco shivered, feeling the blood rush south and shifting slightly.

"Harry I- I really don't want to make you uncomfortable..." Draco asserted while he squirmed.

"Draco..." Harry murmured.

He looked down at Harry as he rested his cheek on his growing bulge.

"I'm more than willing to touch you if you'll let me... Only if you want to... Do you?"

His eyes were large and significant as he surveyed Draco's pink cheeks.

"Of course you can touch me- I just didn't want to scare you by getting a hard on if your intentions were innocent." Draco rambled.

Harry smiled.

"I love you." he murmured shyly, looking down at Draco's navel.

He cupped Draco's package in his hand and rubbed his straining length, breathing hotly on his exposed stomach. Harry gave him a squeeze that made him close his eyes and whine in an undertone.

"Fuck..." he panted after several minutes of tentative teasing.

Harry glanced up at him, a little worry showing under his loving emerald eyes.

"If you don't- ah- want to that's... Okay... I won't ever pressure you to go further than- mmh- you're comfortable with..."

"I want to... I want you... I'm just a little nervous about getting carried away and freaking myself out... I haven't blown you in a while..." Harry expressed.

Draco thought through the cloud of lust about the last time Harry had performed fellatio on him. It had been quite a while since Harry had done it, Draco usually was the one sucking Harry off while he collapsed in a mess of moans, not that he minded of course.

Harry began to undo the button and fly of his jeans and shimmy them off Draco's legs, discarding them on the floor. He pressed a kiss to Draco's thigh and looked Draco straight in the eye as he ran his hot tongue over his boxer clad erection.

Draco moaned exquisitely. The sound kicked up something within Harry that made his erection jump with excitement. He found that the lurch no longer scared him, it intrigued him and excited him like it used to.

Harry wrapped his lips around Draco's shaft and tongued the lowermost artery through his boxers, feeling him twitch and stain the front of his boxers with precum. Draco was panting deeply by the time Harry was nosing his waistband, his hand caressing his erection gently as he slid his hands up to tease his fingers on his waistband before pulling away. Harry slipped out of his jeans and reached down to palm himself. Draco's chest gave an anxious lurch when Harry's fingers made contact with himself, but relaxed when Harry sighed in pleasure.

He leaned back down to slip his fingers beneath the waistband while lightly running his teeth along Draco's aching shaft. Draco kept his eyes on Harry as he felt his waistband being pulled down. The way he'd gotten angled in his underpants made his erection spring out animatedly and smack Harry right on the lips. He was about to reach forward in concern but Harry chuckled and took him firmly by the base.

Harry rubbed his cheek against Draco's long, rosy, uncut erection and gave him a slow stroke that fully retracted his foreskin. He teased his tongue around Draco's glans and dipped the tip into the slit, eliciting a long low groan from him. He squeezed and rolled Draco's testicles while kissing the underside of his shaft, making him twitch again.

"Fuck Harry..." Draco breathed, watching as Harry's lips wrap around his head and suck gently.

Harry quirked a brow, taking more into his mouth as he squeezed Draco's thighs and smiled around his girth. He popped off and sucked on the sensitive faces of his fingers before placing Draco's fingers in his mouth. Draco gasped as Harry's velvet tongue swirled around his digits, slipping smoothly between each finger as Harry looked up at him. He released Draco's fingers and leaned back down to give his erection a long, wide tongued lick, his hips wiggling slightly as he pressed his hand into his own erection before settling back on the bed.

Harry pumped Draco's erection, watching his foreskin slide over and under his shiny head, and took him into his mouth once more. Draco swore he could've came by that sight alone. Harry's plump dual toned lips wrapped around his girth, his lovely green eyes peaking out from his thick eyelashes, and his angular hands moved rhythmically to sink his mouth lower and lower. Draco was barely stifling his moans and loving the way the warm plush back of Harry's throat felt.

Draco didn't expect Harry to go further, he had a higher gag reflex than he did, but he felt his head slip past that soft pillowy throat and touch the ribbing of Harry's trachea. He gasped sharply and reached for Harry's hair, looking for any signs of discomfort from his lover, but none came. On the contrary, Harry looked incredibly pleased with himself, his curls were beginning to drip with sweat and his brows were tilted slightly up in effort and satisfaction.

He bobbed his head minimally before pulling off with a quiet pant. Draco watched Harry's throat work as he learned how to relax his gag reflex, admiring the way his dark skin looked against his own alabaster. Harry took him back down to a little over half way, which was pretty impressive considering Draco's impressive seven and a half inches, and sunk a little lower.

Harry's throat was so warm and the rings of his trachea felt so good. Draco craved to envelope the rest of his shaft in that succulent wet heat, but he knew better than to thrust up. No matter how much restraint it took, he refused to hurt Harry even as he sunk lower still. He puffed tremulously, feeling his length follow the curve of Harry's working throat as he breathed steadily through his nose. It was agonizingly slow yet so so good.

Harry pulled off to breathe and stroke him before taking him into his mouth again. Draco couldn't help but moan loudly as his cockhead slipped past the plush backing of Harry's mouth into his throat further still. He closed his eyes, breathing hard, and slipped his fingers into Harry's hair as he took even more into his mouth. Draco was astonished at how well he was managing his gag reflex and loved the sight of Harry's saliva running in thick tendrils down his shaft as he removed his hand from around his base to rest on his hip.

Draco watched Harry hollow his cheeks a bit, creating a brilliant light sucking sensation that made his head fall back and a groan to escape him. He felt the circle of pressure sink further and a small weight of his pubic hair being pushed down. He looked back at Harry to find him completely down to his hilt as he relaxed his body.

"Fuck baby boy... Fuck..." Draco mumbled, feeling himself go lightheaded for a moment at the sensation.

That seemed to encourage Harry, because he began gently bobbing his head and pressing his tongue on the lowermost artery. Draco sucked in a stuttering gasp as that wonderful sensation of plunging in and out of that impossible warmth sped up into a mild pace. Harry was learning what made Draco tick and began experimenting with different things as he sucked him.

"Ah! Harry... You're doing amazing... Holy shit..."

Harry pulled off to catch his breath, his hand coming back to work in skilled twists up and down on his shaft.

"Now I see why you like doing it to me so much..." Harry chuckled, shimmying out of his briefs to stroke himself thrice.

"Is there anything you wanna do? Try maybe?" he inquired as he leaned back down to lick Draco's glans, finding comfort in the dominance this gave him.

"I don't want to be too rough or hurt you..." Draco breathed.

"Does that mean you want to have a little control? Grab my hair maybe? Only don't be too rough... You know how sensitive my scalp is..." Harry purred.

Draco swallowed thickly.

"Y-Yeah, would that be okay?"

Harry nodded and dove back in, sinking carefully to the hilt and grabbing Draco's hand to place it in his hair. He popped off and murmured "I'll tap your stomach if I need to come up to breathe, ok?"

Draco nodded and guided Harry back down. Harry teasingly left his lips closed so Draco's head could push through his lips and open him up.

It was amazingly erotic watching Harry's head bob and his naked arse flex behind his hoodie hem. His lips were so perfectly plump that he had this look about him that oozed confidence and sexuality as he worked in slow clever twists of his mouth and tongue.

He tapped Draco's stomach.

Draco immediately let him pull off and breathe.

"You okay?"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah I just- I just got an idea."

Draco cocked his head in inquiry.

"I trust you and well- it's a bit hard to suck you because of the angle my throat is at- and y'know my mouth is relatively small... A-and well... Uhm..." Harry came to a shy halt.

"Harry, it's okay to ask for anything you want or want to try sexually. This is our safe space and our private activities. If you want to try something, just ask... It's really okay and you're safe... You can stop or say no at any time if you don't like it... There's absolutely no pressure to continue if it hurts you or makes you uncomfortable, no matter how much I might like it, okay?" Draco murmured, stroking Harry's cheek as he sat up.

Harry smiled fondly.

"Okay... But same for you too. This is about both of us, not just me. If you need y'know, to stop at all, I'll listen too..."

"Okay..." Draco chuckled, admiring Harry's positive mentality about sex.

"So uhm... In my book- ah- there's a part when they're having sex and one of the guys is y'know smaller like me and his mouth isn't very big but he wanted to perform oral but it was hard with the angle of his throat and the size of his boyfriend- so ah- he layed on the bed with his head tilted off the edge so his throat was straight and I dunno... I trust you to try that with me..." Harry murmured.

Harry had been reading a ton of erotica novels over the past three weeks to reinforce a positive mentality about sex and how both partners should work together and have basic rules about when to stop. He'd taken to the task himself, tired of feeling bad about his sexuality and his sex drive, and had gained a very positive message from them. He was more comfortable with Draco touching his body and being on top of him, exhibited clearly right now.

Draco got to his feet and stripped off his sweaty button up and let his boxers fall to the floor before stepping out of them. Harry laid on his back facing Draco and let his head tilt slightly back over the edge.

"You ready?" Draco asked gently, stroking Harry's wonky orbital bone.

"Yeah... Same tap if I need air okay?"

"Okay my darling."

He took himself by the base and guided his glans into Harry's mouth, pushing in slowly and listening to Harry's breathing through his nose. He got a little over a quarter of the way in when he noticed Harry's throat start to bulge slightly. As he slid further and further in, he was transfixed by the way Harry's neck wrapped around his penis as he thrusted shallowly, tracing his length moving in and out of Harry's mouth.

"Fuck baby boy... That's beautiful..." Draco panted, stroking Harry's cheek with his thumb.

He watched his chest heave and his legs spread as he took him for a few long minutes. Harry was stroking himself languidly as Draco thrust into his mouth.

The sensation of having Draco's penis slip back out of his throat was strange and made a rush of electric chills run down from the crown of his head all the way to his toes. They repeated the slow and steady thrusting with much teasing of Harry's tongue, until he tapped his stomach when they were at a mild pace. Draco pulled out of Harry's throat when he felt Harry's hand on his belly and when he felt himself nearing the orgasmic edge.

Harry breathed deeply for a moment before turning onto his stomach.

"Was that alright?" Draco puffed.

"Brilliant... Absolutely brilliant..." Harry panted.

"What do you want to do now?"

"I want you inside me and I want you to keep calling me- uhm- baby boy... I like it..." Harry murmured with a slight flush.

Draco smiled.

"Of course."

Harry tittered with a hard blush blooming about his features.

Draco ran his hand through his hair as Harry shed his hoodie and rolled to the center of the bed, his glasses lopsided on his nose. He climbed onto the bed and loomed over Harry, kissing him fully on the lips before peppering his handsome well developed chest with kisses. He traced his tongue around each of Harry's dark ovular nipples and kissed the little moles and freckles he had.

"You're absurdly beautiful..." Draco mumbled into Harry's neck as he kissed two of the little moles he had there.

"Not as beautiful as you..." Harry murmured, holding Draco's shoulders as the electricity of his arousal chased itself over his skin.

"Nonsense." Draco purred, his soft grey eyes meeting Harry's.

"Can I touch you?" he followed up quietly.

Harry bit his lip and took a deep breath before nodding.

Draco's large gentle hand slithered down his sex lines to trace his fingers along his acute erection. Harry gasped and shifted his foot a bit. Draco watched him as he wrapped his fingers around his shaft loosely, studying him as his brows tilted in worry. He descended to lay between Harry's legs, his breath now tickling his penis.

"Can I suck you?" Draco inquired.

"I-I'm still a bit nervous but yes please..." Harry murmured.

Draco licked his shaft tentatively, paying attention to his reactions.

Harry gasped at the familiar feeling of Draco's velvetine tongue on him.

"Ah-"

Draco gave him a gentle stroke.

"Mm-"

He kissed his glans and dipped his tongue into the slit.

"See baby boy? This is supposed to feel good, make you feel good... You're not dirty... Feel my mouth on your shaft? Yeah? I wouldn't do this if you were dirty Harry... You're beautiful..."

Harry crooned softly, his muscles still a little anxiously taught.

"Feel my tongue on you love? This is about us, not just sex... Not just getting you off. No, I'm cherishing this beautiful body of yours to show you how much I love you, just as you do to me... This is about healing and healthy sex... I wouldn't care if you had trouble getting it up or if you were a little more excited and adventurous... Either way I still love you."

Draco spent a few minutes repeating what Harry had done for him. He had about half of Harry's erection in his mouth when his breath hitched and his thighs snapped shut around his head.

"D-Draco! Wait- wait just a minute-"

Draco pulled off quickly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah- fuck- just go a little slower... I'm still readjusting to your mouth..." Harry breathed a little shakily.

"Okay love."

Draco continued at a slower and incredibly sensual pace that made Harry sweat profusely and push his curls out of his face. When Draco got Harry back in his mouth after coming up for air, he pressed Harry's smaller length down his throat with much less effort than he had done for him. Draco was simply a proportionately larger man compared to Harry, which made his mouth bigger and made it easier for him to take Harry down the throat. He played with Harry's glans and frenulum more than he pressed his shaft fully into his mouth, making Harry squirm with pleasure.

Draco caressed his lean tummy and ran kisses all the way up from his happy trail to his chin. They met in a slow passionate kiss, Draco resting his forearms on either side of Harry's shoulders. It was a while before they broke apart.

"Was that okay?" Draco inquired softly.

"Amazing." Harry murmured, his hand sliding down to begin prepping himself

Draco sat back and handed him the bottle of lube. Harry thanked him and began gently working himself open. Draco moved to lounge beside him on the pillows, stroking himself every other minute as he and Harry engaged in another passionate make out session. It was very gentle as Harry focused on sliding his fingers in and out of himself, and harder when he was resting with a finger pressed to the knuckle.

They broke apart with a jump as the dormitory door flung open. Draco rolled swiftly on top of Harry to hide his modesty, wrapping his legs around his waist and pulling him close so that their erections touched. Harry let out a little squeak, his legs tightening around Draco's hips.

"Woah- kay!" Ron's voice sounded.

"Ron! Just grab it and leave, honestly!" Hermione snapped.

The door closed softly.

"Sorry! Sorry! I just need to get something so Hermione won't murder me! Sorry!" Ron hurriedly apologized as he blundered over to his own bedside drawer.

There was a rustling and clunking that made Harry bite his lip in an effort to contain his laughter.

"All right Ron?" Harry snickered.

"F-Fine just fine- got them! Sorry!" he spluttered, his embarrassment evident in his voice.

And he left quickly.

Draco snorted loudly, his head falling onto Harry's chest as he began to shake with laughter. Harry followed suit until Draco brushed their noses together while gazing intently at him.

"Honestly Ron..." Harry giggled.

They met in another kiss, their bodies rolling together as Draco pressed Harry's legs further apart.

Harry broke the kiss to rut into Draco pointedly as he descended his body to sit back on his haunches. Draco scooped his hands underneath Harry's arsecheeks and cupped the square muscles while his fingers kneaded the curves and dips of his cheeks.

"You okay?" Draco mumbled.

"Yeah... That was more comical than startling... This is still just us... Our private experience and our sex..." Harry chuckled lightly.

Draco kissed Harry's hairy shin as he rested it atop his shoulder, guiding his penis to sit in his cleft. He held his other leg briefly before reaching forward to grip Harry's gorgeously lurid thigh to add another leverage point as he began thrusting. His erection slid between Harry's cheeks and over his sensitive hole and perineum.

And Draco noticed the subtle yet significant change in Harry's sexually reactive behavior with a lurch of his stomach. He was very vocal. So gorgeously vocal. Fuck he sounded wanton and lascivious. It was naughty how breathless and forward he was.

"Fuck baby boy..." Draco moaned, feeling his legs twitch excitedly.

This was definitely a new kink being roughly unveiled. He felt his erection jump away from Harry's cleft as the muscles squeezed a ferocious gush of precum from him.

It was licentious, lewd, brilliantly concupiscent to the fullest degree. Draco panted heavily as his heart beat against his sternum with a hammering force. It was almost offensive how delicious and titillating Harry's soft voice sounded as he moaned indecently with every other breath. Draco's insides burned with a fierce and starved desire that hadn't been fulfilled in weeks. He felt a few things inside him twitch and squeeze as he felt himself drool involuntarily all over Harry's happy trail.

"Draco- please... Put it in me..." Harry panted through his heavy whining.

Draco's eyes snapped up to Harry's face. He was ruddy with blush and his lips were swollen with their kisses. He was trembling and his chest was heaving.

He snatched up his wand and performed his usual three charms before tossing it aside and preparing to enter him.

Draco took Harry with a possessory snarling groan, loving, craving, how his furrowed entrance resisted slightly before parting to accept him.

Harry crooned as Draco's penis delved inside him, slipping into chamber after chamber of lower intestine wonderfully. The burn was minimal as he mastered the relaxation of his sphincter until Draco thumped to the hilt. His large pale hands were holding each of his cheeks open with a loving gentleness that was contrary to the blown pupils and hungry flush of his face. There was a single pale grey ring of color around his enormous pupils. His mouth was swollen pink and hanging open as he panted.

Draco's hips were angled in a very lower central manner, meaning Harry's pleasure points weren't being touched too directly as he restrained himself.

"You can move darling." Harry murmured.

Draco moaned loudly and carefully gave a shallow thrust. Harry was enjoying the pleasant in and out of Draco's shaft when he readjusted his hips to point upward.

Harry's breath hitched as a new sensation surged through his body. It was a feeling that had always been there but it was like it had been amplified tenfold all of the sudden. His legs shook as he let out a long and overwhelming moan. Draco's long erection was not only brushing his prostate, but he was pushing up into his bladder. It was a dual shock sensation that made him arch in a cacophony of short breathless and husky moans.

"Ahh ohh ahhh ahhh ahhh hahh mmmn ahhhahh hhaaa ohhh ohh ohh ohh Draco... Ohh that's ah good..."

Harry's legs were twitching spasmodically in Draco's hands, his thighs squeezing and his shins jumping. Harry's heart was pounding while he reveled in the feeling of Draco. Draco's glans making the partition to slide inside him at a nice languid pace.

Draco felt like he was going to explode even at this slower less frantic pace. His balls were drawn tight by the sounds Harry was making, and Draco knew they would never get old. He looked down to watch his pale rosy penis slide in and out of Harry's pink hole. His black curls were wet with precum, spit, and lube around his slick entrance, his balls sitting nicely on either side of his acute erection as they got jostled and bounced by Draco's thrusts.

"Shit that's beautiful baby boy... So beautiful..."

Harry's body was gorgeous on top of his incredibly personality. He was sweet and loving yet impossibly tough and his features had a way of reflecting it. He wasn't tall and chiseled like so many fantasized him to be, he was small and lean while still being a few pounds underweight with stretch marks on his lovely thick thighs. He was scarred and he was imperfect, and Draco loved him so much despite every flaw and issue he had.

He loved him with those ages old glasses sitting lopsided in his hairline as he rocked with his thrusts. He loved him with the hundreds of pink and gold scars that littered him. He loved him as he smiled at him through his incredible pleasure.

He leaned forward, his hands cradling Harry's arched back as he wrapped his lips around Harry's earlobe exactly how he liked it. He repeated those three beautiful words in Harry's ear like a mantra.

Harry was stroking himself furiously, obviously having some trouble getting to the edge of his orgasm. Draco put more effort into his thrusts as he brought his hands up to run through his hair and cradle his skull, his fingers pushing his glasses off onto the pillow, directing his gaze into Harry's fierce worried emerald eyes.

"C'mon baby boy... Come for me, it's okay to come... Your mine... My baby boy... All mine... Come... It's okay..."

He watched as Harry's whole expression dissolved into one of immense pleasure and felt his insides flutter around him, squeezing him tight inside, as he came hard. Draco distantly saw some of Harry's cum spatter in the hollow of his collar bones and his coil tightened impossibly.

"Fuck Draco fuck- come inside- c'mon love..." Harry stammered through an orgasmic haze.

Draco gave one more thrust before he completely unloaded three weeks worth of cum and sexual energy inside him. Harry cupped Draco's cheeks as he just kept coming in great spurts inside him.

"God I love you so much..." he panted as Draco's erection jerked with the finality of his load.

Draco let his head fall to Harry's chest and began leaving lazy, exhausted kisses all over.

"I love you... I love you... I luvyou... Iluvyou..."

They stayed like that for several minutes as they both finally ceased to shake with aftershock.

Draco slowly pulled out of Harry, and as soon as his glans slipped out of him, his enormous seed came spilling out in great gushes as Harry relaxed and readjusted his sphincter.

"Beautiful..." Draco breathed as his warm come poured out of Harry onto the bed in a great sticky puddle.

"Ahhh fuuck..." Harry moaned softly with a little chuckle.

"You okay?" Draco inquired as he ripped his eyes away from Harry's pink hole to look at his smiling face.

"I just feel like me again... I got scared I wasn't going to be able to come... But I did... And I feel like a weight has been lifted from like... My soul..." Harry murmured.

Draco smiled and kissed him gently. He cleaned them up, set Harry's glasses on the bedside table, and proceeded to wrap them both up in the pillowy duvets.

"I'm really really proud of you darling..." Draco whispered as he closed the hangings.

"Me too..." Harry chuckled softly as Ron came stumbling back in and collapsed on his bed.

"Fuck NEWTs... Hermione's going to kill me..." Ron grumbled before promptly falling asleep.

The two men chuckled as Draco wrapped his arms around Harry's waist and pulled him close.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me..." he murmured.

He heard Harry chuckle tiredly and felt his soft lips on his neck, barely registering that he had murmured, "You too love..."

Notes:
Nice huge chapter for you guys! I hope you like it and enjoy it! Harry is finally getting better, so now it's Draco's turn to pour his heart out... The boys are nearly done with the school year :0 but there will be a continuation of their life after Hogwarts and the lead up to some rings on their fingers ;)

afterending

Chapter 36: Amber Eyes

Summary:
Draco's gift to Harry has finally arrived.

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
Ron lay with Hermione on Saturday morning, gazing at the ceiling of his empty dormitory. Nearly everybody had gone down to Hogsmeade, including Harry and Draco, and the eighth year dormitories were basically cleared out completely. Hermione was rereading an arithmancy book due to her obsessive study habits within the three months leading up to exams.

"I wonder what Harry and Draco are doing in Hogsmeade. They never usually go." Ron commented.

Hermione broke her gaze from her book to look up in thought.

"Well they didn't go because people were harassing them for various reasons, but you figure it must've calmed down after a while..." she hummed.

"Maybe Harry was craving some Honeydukes?" Ron suggested, turning his head toward her.

"Maybe... You know, I think it's that adult shop that opened a few months ago, I heard Draco telling Harry about it a few days ago..." Hermione murmured thoughtfully.

"Oh god don't remind me..." Ron groaned.

"About what? The shop?"

"Anything to do with those two and their sex life. Did you know Draco speaks French? Cause I sure as hell didn't until about a week ago."

"Well I figured he could given his lineage but you'd think they'd be decent enough to put up silencing charms."

"That's the thing though 'Mione! They do! Damn solid silencing charms that work amazingly. But you also have to realize that the person who cast them has to be concentrated while they're doing it, and I don't think either of them are concentrating much when they're making out."

"You don't mean-" Hermione snickered.

"They fall a few minutes before they're finished usually."

"Usually?"

"Sometimes they fall really early and I mean, they're not going to check if their charms fell in the middle of it, I certainly wouldn't."

"You don't sound too bothered about that fact?"

"I dunno... Men aren't very loud in general during sex I think you've noticed, even Harry at his loudest isn't too bad. They're generally passionate usually so it's even quieter and more sensual, but it's the subtlety that makes it embarrassing I think."

"I could agree with that."

"They're just so... So... Nice together... Harry's happy and Draco turned out to be not a total cock, so it could be a lot worse. It's just a bit weird hearing your best mate who you've known since you were eleven getting made love to by the guy who he'd been enemies with for the same amount of time."

"Made love to?" she inquired, tracing his splinch scar.

"I know I don't use that phrasing a lot but you can tell just by the sound that they don't just have sex most of the time, they make love. And I think that's a lot more comforting than knowing, say, how hard they pound each other into the bed... Y'know?"

"That's a pretty good way to look at it."

"I think the only thing that makes me want to melt into a puddle of mush even more than the sex sounds is the pet names they've got for each other."

"Well that's a bit hypocritical- we have pet names."

"I know that, but it's kind of hard pretending you didn't hear your best mate get softly pressed into the bed by Draco fucking Malfoy while they called each other love and darling and- no that's too intimate..."

"Softly pressed into the bed huh?"

"I literally can't use any aggressive language when describing what they do- you wouldn't be able to either. It's not like they're slapping cheeks with a pounding force, it's so vanilla!"

"I think it suits Harry."

"How do you mean?"

"Well you figure he's been nothing but abused and hurt all his life and he just wants to feel loved and not overshadowed by every reputation he has." she explained.

"That makes sense. He is really such an interesting person." Ron hummed.

"I think that's why you two got along so well in the first place."

"What?"

"Well, Harry was hellishly abused and kept in the dark about basically everything about him until he got his letter from Hagrid personally. And you were poor and overshadowed by all your brothers but you had everything familial that Harry never did. You remember how battered up he looked on the train?" she asked.

"Glasses much too big for him broken in four places and held together with muggle tape, an enormous flannel over a shirt with more holes than i could count, pants about twelve sizes too big for him along with shoes roughly five sizes too big, and so sickly looking with that thin little face." Ron recited perfectly.

"Exactly. You didn't point out that he looked poorer than you or rattier and more broken than you. You sat with him and talked to him. Then he went and bought out the whole sweets trolley and his first instinct with the candy he bought with the first bit of money he'd ever had in his life was to share it with you. He's really a sweet man."

"Tiny he was... So tiny..."

"And he's still the smallest of us three. The point is, you were there and loyal to him when nobody else had and you are still, to this day, his absolute best friend. He told me the other day that your approval meant the world to him." she sighed fondly.

"Did he?"

"Yeah, he was really nervous how you'd take to him being gay and in love with Draco Malfoy. He's happy that we think it's okay and that that stress has been lifted off his life." Hermione hummed.

"Makes sense. I've been a bit of a bell end when it came to some things in the past..."

"Too right you were."

There was a beat of silence before Hermione inquired, "Do you know what they're going to do after this school year ends?"

"Yeah, I was talking to Harry about it just the other day actually. He said they were going to gut Grimauld and redo the whole thing and then head to France for a wizard tattoo artist who specializes in white ink after they've settled a bit, as far as I know at least."

"Does Draco know?"

"He knows about France and Harry wanting to see that artist but not Grimauld, Harry hasn't told him about that yet, I think he said he was going to at the end of exams as a surprise so don't say anything."

"That's sweet."

"Yeah, who knew they were such saps?"

Hermione scoffed and chuckled lightly.

"What are we going to do after we're out of here?" Ron inquired.

She thought for a moment.

"I think I'd like to get a nice little flat with you somewhere... I don't know maybe we could go to France too? It sounds awfully romantic but also incredibly interesting..."

"You want to move in somewhere with me?" Ron asked almost incredulously.

"Of course silly!" she tittered, kissing him on the cheek.

Ron fell silent as he flooded with color.

"Tattoos sound nice... Maybe we could get some?"

"That sounds wicked..." he murmured.

"Do you know what Harry wants to get?"

"I think he wants that artist because he wants antlers somewhere on his body, but I know he wants the coordinates of King's Cross somewhere, his chest maybe?"

"And Draco?"

"He wants a cover up over his dark mark. I heard them talking about flowers and what different types and colors mean, so maybe something like that..."

Hermione rifled around for the book while humming in acknowledgement and settled herself back on the bed with all her books around her as she urged Ron to study.

They studied for about two hours before they heard Harry's laughter coming from the hall.

The door opened a bit clumsily and the boys clambered in. They were so intently focused on each other that they had no inclination that Ron and Hermione were even in the room. Draco was murmuring in husky French as Harry dragged them toward the bathroom. They disappeared within in as Draco dropped their bags outside by the door.

There was a green Honeydukes bag and a Zonko's x Weasley's bag, but there was one Ron had seen Lee Jordan with once, but didn't recognize. It was black with red handles that had white triple x's on them and it was rather full.

"So they did go there..." Hermione murmured.

"Where?" Ron asked blankly.

"Lovers Emporium For All Occasions."

Ron went red.

The bathroom door opened a bit and Draco's hand groped around for the bags. He found the black one and began rummaging around inside. There was the sound of running water and Draco's fairly damp hand grabbed a gold bottle and retreated, causing the bag to topple and spill. Hermione flushed scarlet as a pearly bottle, a red rectangular box, a silver square box with a snitch on it, and three flat white rectangular boxes with green ribbon fell out.

Ron hopped off the bed and hurried to put everything back in the bag. He saw that the three flat boxes all had golden stickers that read 'custom' in cursive black lettering and his ever mounting curiosity perked. He picked up the snitch and the red box and he couldn't help but look before returning them to the bag. The silver snitch had a picture on the side of the box that showed it had very small wings. He thought he knew what that was for. The long red box wasn't very defining save for small white letters on the side that looped 'For smaller/shorter men (stature) color: jet black- silicone lube recommended.' He turned it in his hand to find another handwritten label that read, 'Double stimulation- prostate + bladder- requested by customer.'

Ron flushed scarlet to his ears.

He set the pearly bottle that was obviously lube back in the bag and lay the two boxes beside it before going to grab the flat ones. The lid slipped off as soon as he grabbed it and came thumping down with a light clatter of cardstock. There was a neat square of white fabric with gold and black trimming that he couldn't identify inside. He slipped the lid back on and quickly put them neatly back in the bag before scurrying back onto his bed with Hermione.

They were able to study for a good forty five minutes, partially drawing the hangings closed in the process, before Harry and Draco came out of the bathroom. Obviously still oblivious to their presence, Draco walked out carrying Harry in his arms, both completely buck naked. Harry let out a low whine as Draco expertly carried him to the bed, laying him down on the edge and kissing him passionately. Draco made a squelchy noise on his stomach by kissing him there and rapidly pulling air in and out of his teeth against his skin. Harry reveled in it with a low moan as his magic snapped the hangings shut.

Ron was red down to his neck and Hermione was barely containing her laughter while hiding her own scarlet flush behind her arithmancy book. The only sound occupying the room was the heavy breathing of Harry and Draco while Ron rummaged for his wand to put up a silencing charm.

He threw his charms book at the four poster when he dropped his wand shouting "Oi! Harry your silencing charms are shit!"

The hangings rustled and Harry poked his head out, ruddy to his love bitten shoulders. Draco pulled the hangings open a bit more look comically wide eyed beside him, also pink to his ears.

Hermione burst into hysterical laughter as Harry tripped over his words, fumbling with his cowlicks nervously.

"Why didn't you make your presence known?!" Harry stammered.

"Thought you might've used your eyes mate!" Ron exasperated began to lightly chuckle.

"He's not too great in the vision department." Draco murmured coolly, a complete contradiction to his disheveled state.

Harry mocked offense and playfully shoved Draco's shoulder. Draco bumped Harry's shoulder with his own, snickering lightly.

"We don't mind what you do, just keep the hangings closed and your charms up." Ron snorted.

"Right you are." Draco tittered as he accioed the black bag through the hangings and performed a silencing charm.

They disappeared behind the hangings and the hum of the charm fizzled out as it took full effect.

Ron sighed and sunk back into the pillows beside Hermione, his brows scrunched as he attempted to read his potions book.



On the bed behind the hangings, Harry and Draco simply lay with each other, saited from their intercrural thigh frottage in the shower. Harry could still feel he imprint of Draco's penis between his thighs and he loved it. Draco was stroking Harry's tummy softly with his large hand and kissing his hairline gently. It was nice and cool on the duvets and their bodies were warm and damp, making the sensation feel even better.

Draco was tracing Harry's ovular locket scar with his index finger, letting it lazily trail off into the lightning bolt that spanned his entire chest. Harry sighed contentedly, closing his eyes to focus on the feather light feel of Draco's fingertip running over his slightly numb scar tissue.

"I love you..." Draco murmured as he pushed back Harry's soft curls to nose his scar.

Harry smiled and returned the sentiment, resting his hand in Draco's hair.

"Hey Dray?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Draco snarked.

Harry scratched his scalp as he let out a puff of laughter.

"Arse." Harry tittered back.

"But seriously, what did you want to ask?"

"Well I've been thinking for a while and... And I was going to wait until the end of the year to ask you but I don't think I can..."

Draco waited with baited breath.

"I don't think I would be the same without you sleeping in the same bed as me after this... Without you waking me up with your dramatic antics and snide comments... I don't want to be in a home without you... And uhm- I er- was wondering if... After our exams are over and we've graduated... Uhm- will you move in with me?" Harry stammered nervously, his hands anxiously flexing away from Draco.

Draco stayed silent for a long and pregnant pause before Harry had gathered enough nerve to look over at him. There were tears running down his face down over his nose bridge, a watery smile wavering on his trembling lips.

"Of course! Of course! Of course!" he burst out, attacking Harry with many kisses and hugging him tight.

He rolled on top of him, grinning hugely.

"Y-You will?" Harry breathed.

"Yes! I love you! Fuck Harry- making me cry like a slob!" Draco chuckled tearfully.

Harry hugged Draco tight and let him take him for the second time, reveling in the long tedious preparation before Draco slid inside him. They were both in overjoyed tears by the time Draco had begun thrusting. It was slow and gentle love as they constantly murmured to eachother until they were both holding each other's heads with their fingers tangling in the other's hair like they'd never let the other go no matter what.

By the end of their fantastic sweet passion, Ron had thrown two more books at their bed posts in outrage.

The next few weeks were nothing but studying for hours on end as March drew to a close and April was nearly over by the time their professors started really stressing the importance of their NEWTs. Draco's expertise in potions helped immensely with Slughorn's new workload. McGonagall had the hardest and most tedious work by far. They were all in the library well into the afternoon every day struggling to cram seven years worth of material back into their heads.

Harry could only focus for so long until he had to take a break and do something else. He tended to lay his head in Draco's lap, making it appear that he was alone if Ron and Hermione weren't with them. This caused many lower years to approach him, whether it be out of malice or interest. Harry's already protective habits were sharpened and accentuated when anybody approached Draco. Some had been vicious until Harry sat up, tousle haired and furious with his glasses sitting lopsided on his nose, and they would immediately shoot him a coy smile or an awkward laugh before fleeing.

Draco noticed that these encounters didn't bother Harry too much, but there was one that set him off like the firecracker he'd always been. A black haired Slytherin girl, who was clearly a seventh year and rather conventionally attractive, sauntered up to Draco. She'd set her hands on the table and arched her back provocatively like a cat, asking if he was free the coming Hogsmeade weekend. Draco was about to respond when Harry turned quickly onto his side and wrenched himself up by his vice like grip on Draco's thighs. He was pissed.

"Does everybody think this is some fake relationship?! Cause it is very much real! And as you were wondering, no! He is not free this weekend because he is going with me- you know- his boyfriend!" he snapped, his curls tickling Draco's nose.

Draco patted his head while chuckling softly to himself, threading his fingers into his thick raven curls.

"He's right you know." Draco sternly asserted.

The girl kept looking between him and Harry as she walked away.

Harry resettled himself on his front, his chest rising and falling rather hard.

"Who expected that to happen?" Draco puffed in slight amusement.

Harry looked at him incredulously, turning to lay on his back again and laying his hands on his chest.

"I did arsehole." he huffed.

Draco furrowed his brows at Harry's burning green glare.

"What?"

"Look, at this point there are quite a few people who have seen that you have redeemed yourself and well... They think I'm too broken for somebody like you." Harry mumbled, looking at Draco's ear.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means people think I'm your charity case and that you don't actually care about me because of e-everything that's wrong with me... People think I'm going to be disposable when we graduate... That it'll never last because did you know Potter's brain doesn't work right and he's bound to ruin it..." Harry choked, getting suddenly emotional.

"What makes you think that? You know that's not true..." Draco murmured.

"I-I heard that girl talking with her friends about it... Exact words... Said I was better off alone cause I probably couldn't handle being in a relationship... Said she read about autism and that I shouldn't be able to keep it stable because of my social skills..." Harry grumbled, burying his face in Draco's lean stomach.

Draco rubbed Harry's shoulder with his large comforting hand.

"You know that's not true. I know that's not true. Just because you have trauma and stress and anxiety disorders and autism doesn't mean you're incapable of love or being loved... Harry my darling, mon amour, mon chou, mon chéri, I love you so much, and your autism and trauma isn't going to change that one bit..."

Harry choked on a soft sob and Draco sprang into action. He packed their bags quickly and slung them both over his shoulder before gently moving Harry to sit up as he stood. He offered his hand. Harry took it. They walked back to their dormitory, Harry rubbing at his face, when they were stopped by a small Gryffindor boy.

"From the headmistress Mr Malfoy!" he squeaked, handing him a scroll with green ribbon.

"Thank you." Draco hummed as the boy scurried off.

He unrolled it to find two sentences.

'In case you are with Harry at this time, you know what is here in my office. You may come get it whenever you like.

- Headmistress McGonagall'



Draco felt a leap of excitement in his stomach. Harry was looking curiously at him, his tactile knot perfectly wrapped up in his hand.

"What's that?" he inquired.

"I just have to go meet with McGonagall later."

"Oh."

And they continued on, Draco inwardly thanking Harry's slowness just this once.

When they reached the dormitory, Draco cuddled with Harry for a few minutes, murmuring sweet loving reassurances in his ear, until he fell asleep. Draco pulled the duvet a little farther up Harry's stomach before creeping out of bed.

Draco swiftly made his way up to McGonagall's office, striding in through the door to meet her. Hagrid was sitting by her desk accompanied by an absolutely enormous shaggy black dog that was panting gently on a lead in his hand. The sound of the door caused the dog to perk and look over at him. It had great amber eyes and wild black fur that looked comically like bristly eyebrows.

"Ah Draco!" McGonagall greeted.

He nodded, his eyes still surveying the sweet face of the dog.

"Well here he is, he's a male Irish wolfhound mix that Hagrid rescued from a wizard animal shelter. He's only about a year old and he's definitely been through quite the ringer." she gestured to a long scar on his muzzle.

He nosed her hand shyly. Hagrid handed him a treat that he happily crunched.

"He's very well behaved." Draco noted.

"Trained him myself! He's a nice good service dog now!" Hagrid bellowed proudly.

"I wanted him to be the right temperment fer Harry."

Draco got down on his knees to pet his soft yet scraggly fur. He spent a while just petting and getting to know him.

"Spent the last month and a half trainin' him to recognize panic attacks." Hagrid murmured with a smile.

"His food will be sent up in the mornings during breakfast by the house elves." McGonagall hummed.

"Thank you both so much." he breathed, "Harry will love him."

He took him by his lead and waved goodbye to McGonagall and Hagrid as he led the great black dog down the hall. He was sniffing around excitedly, his long legs gangly and amusing as he trotted quite merrily down the hall.



Harry woke to a warm sensation on his hand. And again his fingers were... Licked? Yes, that was definitely a tongue. A rather large tongue with big teeth and fur around it. He blinked to find-

"Sirius!" he gasped, surveying the large dog.

Only he wasn't, couldn't be Sirius, he was a bit smaller and his muzzle had a scar on the right side rather than the left. His eyes were amber and soft rather than yellow and his head wasn't quite the same shape.

Draco was sitting at the foot of the bed watching Harry nervously, the dogs folded up lead in his hand.

"Draco- what? Is he- is he..." Harry stammered.

"He's yours." Draco confirmed.

Harry sat up, looking at every detail of the dogs face. He wasn't quite Sirius but his eyes had that same amount of soul. He pet his head and looked over at Draco.

"You- you got me a dog?" he breathed in disbelief.

"He's a service dog trained to recognize panic attacks. So if I'm not there if you need me, he will be." Draco explained.

Harry tracked him in an enormous hug and kissed him full on the lips. When they broke apart, Harry was crying profusely.

"I-I can't believe you'd do something like this for me..." he sobbed.

Draco kissed his eyelids.

"I'd do anything for you."

"He looks like Sirius..." Harry choked, overwhelmed.

"Is that okay?" Draco tentatively asked.

"It's more than okay! You remembered that I wanted a dog one day... You remembered..."

"Of course I remembered my love."

"That's what I'm gonna call him." Harry chuckled breathlessly.

Draco cocked his head.

"Sirius. Sirius Remus. In honor of the two men who stood in for my father before they died."

"I think that's a great choice darling." Draco tittered.

Harry scratched his big half floppy half pointy ears and conjured a collar to fasten around Sirius's neck. Draco conjured a small silver tag that had his name engraved on it and hooked it into the lead loop. They both conjured a large bed for him, in which he immediately settled, curling up to lay peacefully on the fluffy bed.

"He must sense the mood..." Harry purred, leering at Draco lasciviously.

Draco raised his brows, glancing at the snoozing dog.

"Clever." he breathed.

Harry kissed him swiftly on the lips before turning to rummage through the bedside drawer. He pulled out one of the white boxes with green ribbon and peaked under the lid. Draco nearly choked when he saw that they were the white ones with the black toes. Harry winked at him before grabbing his favorite oversized sweater and disappearing into the bathroom.

Draco waited with baited breath, feeling amber eyes on him. He looked down and he swore Sirius was smirking at him, his doggy cheeks tightened to pull up his black lip edge. He stuck his tongue out at the dog, earning a lazily wagging tail that made him chuckle to himself.

Harry came sauntering out of the bathroom, adjusting his sweater self consciously. Draco felt his breath quite literally get taken away by his beautiful handsome man. Harry was clad in a new pair of stockings they had purchased many weeks ago, white with black toes and gold trim on the top. He had thin little gold briefs with white trim and he was wearing a decorative custom garter belt, fashioned specifically to feel good on his sensitive skin. His overlarge sweater was knit in soft thick burgundy yarn, also specially treated for Harry's skin.

The white looked absolutely amazing on Harry's gorgeous legs. The sheer look showed the hue of his honey cocoa skin through them magnificently, the tight enticing briefs showing the outline of Harry's erection. Draco felt breathless and incredulously aroused. He shucked off everything, though his oxford button up stayed loosely hanging off his shoulders as Harry's sweater similarly dipped deliciously off his shoulder.

They were making out heatedly, the sound of their kisses filling the room as Sirius slept on. They spent a few long minutes prepping and sucking each other before Harry sheathed Draco inside him. Harry felt so good straddling him. Those juicy stocking clad thighs swelling intermittently with the contractions of his muscles as he rolled his hips dramatically. They hadn't had sex in weeks because of their exhaustive exam study schedule and they were both especially frisky because of it. It seemed the perfect occasion to thank Draco with his love before taking Sirius out to play.

It was heated and passionately desperate to convey the pure love they felt for each other. Harry squeezed his tight arsecheek as he rolled, stuffing that last bit of Draco inside him and moaning. His sweater slipped to hang mostly around his upper arms as his powerful body worked languidly on Draco's erection. Harry's hands were everywhere and Draco's were squeezing his tight arse while guiding him up and down when he rolled, his body arched in chilling, explosive, orgasmic pleasure.

Harry heard the voice before he realized the door had even sounded.

"Hey Har- Oh my bad! My apologies!" came the unmistakable voice of Hagrid.

Harry flushed, gathering his sweater around where he and Draco were intimately connected frantically.

"H-Hagrid!" Harry spluttered, whipping his head to face him.

Hagrid was very red in the face, his huge hands covering his eyes as he stammered, "Just thought I ought to let yeh know that I can teach yeh what he knows whenever yeh like!" while he gestured toward Sirius.

"R-Right- thank you!" Harry squawked, feeling very hot and bothered as Hagrid left.

Draco spent the next few minutes consoling Harry and riling him back up so they could finish.

It was several long minutes until Harry was laying in a crumpled heap of utter sexual satisfaction on top of Draco, having been milked and filled of all they had.

They cleaned up and showered, changing into pajamas just before Ron came blundering in to have a look at Sirius.

He was enthralled to play with the shaggy black dog with Harry for hours. They ran, played fetch, and watched Sirius nip at the giant squid's tentacles curiously. Draco watched Harry run with his dog, happy as could be and overjoyed to have a companion again. He was adorable trotting alongside his gangly dog, his curls flouncing as he went and his best friend by his side.

Sirius looked like a great black wolf with doggish features. His legs were longer than a wolf, a feature of the wolfhound he garnered, and his fur was wild and charmingly unkempt like Harry's hair.

They eventually sat by the lake, the moon high in the inky sky, simply enjoying each other's prescene.

Life was finally looking up for them it seemed.

Harry looked intimidating with Sirius by his side as they went from class to class over the next few weeks. Sirius would lay by his feet during class and licked his hand or pressed his body against Harry's legs when he showed signs of overload. If that didn't work, the dog would tug on his robes to lead him out of the classroom, and patiently wait for him to calm down in the hall. Sometimes not even Sirius could help his severe meltdowns, but he was an enormously comforting presence before Draco could arrive to help if he was nauseous or having a physically aggressive episode.

One day during the first week of May, Draco's bracelet burned savagely in the middle of arithmancy. He sprinted out toward the soft inside barks of Sirius, low enough to not hurt Harry's ears, yet strong enough to carry. Harry was collapsed in a crumpled heap against the wall near an alcove, the Slytherin girl and her friend from the library a few feet away talking loudly and deliberately.

"I don't understand why that hottie Draco is even with him, honestly... Crying in charms like an attention whore... I mean he's famous but damn, does he really want more attention for his broken head? I don't even know how Draco could be with somebody so high maintenance that doesn't even understand that he's in a relationship." The black haired Slytherin scoffed.

"I mean he's kinda cute." The blonde one tried.

"Oh come on, I wouldn't date anybody shorter than me."

"He's got a good reputation and I dunno he's nice?"

"He does and is, but he did kind of save the wizarding world so I guess you can't really hate him for that. I just can't believe he's gay and autistic all of the sudden. He dated Weasley and Chang, why did he have to get with the guy I've been wanting to fuck since fifth year, I thought they hated each other."

"Well you read that autism makes him super sensitive and stuff, maybe that's why Draco stays with him? Cause he's a good fuck?"

"I could show him something so much better than the disabled boys asshole. You think he's rough? Ooo that'd be so good!"

"I dunno, I heard Vane got in his pants and fucked him, but she got expelled because it was rape. She said he was really big though so I guess that's a plus."

"Draco was a death eater though?"

"Yeah but anybody with eyes could see that he didn't want to do it."

"Well yeah."

"Y'know I bet Harry liked getting fucked by Romilda, she said he was hard."

Harry shook with silent tremors, Sirius sitting helplessly beside him.

Draco furiously sprinted the length of the corridor, sliding onto his knees beside Harry. His footfalls made the girls turn and smile coyly at him. He took Harry into his arms and gently stoked his curls, calming him slowly. Harry rambled indistinctly as Draco helped him to his feet and beckoned Sirius to stand. He was so overwhelmed that he wasn't even crying.

"Come on, it's okay..." Draco murmured.

Harry stammered something so emotionally slurred that Draco couldn't make out anything except "Good fuck..."

"No... Don't listen to them... It's so much more than that and you know it."

Harry coughed and mumbled, "Wrong with me?"

"Hey Malfoy! Why don't you ditch golden boy and come get a real woman!" The black haired girl called.

Draco turned sharply on the spot and snarled "Why don't you take your disgusting prejudice against my lover and shove it up that arse you so desperately want me to fuck. Don't you dare think for a second that I'm going to be okay with you degrading him and insulting the fact that he is a rape victim by fetishism. I'm with him because he's an amazing person and I love him. Having sex with someone who loves you and cherishes you no matter what is so much more than just a good fuck. It's so much more emotional and precious than you're making it out to be. You need to respect the fact that we are both gay men in a serious relationship and neither of us are interested in women. Romilda tried to make Harry like her by assaulting him, and look where that got her."

Harry stood a little straighter and inhaled.

"And I didn't just suddenly become autistic or gay, I've always been like this. I just didn't realize it myself. That shouldn't make me any less of a person to you. I'm just trying to put my life together and have something I've never had before, seeing how I was dueling Voldemort this day last year. You'd think the general mood of the castle might've gotten to you. It's May second. Please just let me be with the man I love."

Draco nodded and reached for Harry's hand, only to find it to be very bloody. He rested his hand on the small of his back and guided him to the dormitory.

Draco sat Harry on the bed and pulled up his sleeves. Both of his arms were deeply scratched and bitten by his nails. Draco healed them quietly as Harry stomped his feet in anxiety and anger. Harry began pressing him about every accusation the girl had thrown at him. Draco spent the next two hours reassuring Harry honestly that they weren't true and that he loved him very much with his soft voice.

Harry developed a texture preference that was just now showing itself during dinner. He insisted on having breakfast foods for dinner but he freaked out at the texture of scrambled eggs. Almost immediately, a new platter appeared of little circular eggs cooked so they had cheese and bacon implemented into them. Harry took one and cautiously bit off a piece of the muffin shaped egg bite, and his face lit up. They were soft and squishy to the perfect degree. Harry had about ten before he relaxed against Draco, Ron and Hermione taking some from the platter as well. Draco took one when Harry looked thoroughly full, all of them knowing better than to take off a plate that Harry was eating on unless he offered it.

"Do you like it?" Harry inquired excitedly.

"It's delicious." Draco chuckled, taking another.

"Damn! I'm going to have to ask mum to learn how to make these!" Ron exclaimed, taking about six.

"I think this is a French style of egg?" Hermione observed, grabbing two more.

"Do you want some toast?" Draco asked, offering two slices of toast slathered in honey.

Harry nodded enthusiastically and took them, nibbling through them at his usual slower pace.

After dinner, McGonagall had a long speech about the war and everybody who contributed or died for it that made everybody emotional.

People began to back off Harry and Draco in the weeks following. Draco still encountered the occasional shout of "Death Eater scum!" or "Should've been sent to Azkaban!" but Harry was there to defend him as he always was. Harry still got the occasional flirt, chase, or attempted feel up and shouts of his name that made Sirius growl, but all his friends were always there for him. Ron, Hermione, Draco, Ginny, Luna, Seamus, Dean, and anybody else who loved Harry always stepped in when they saw anybody picking on him.

Dean and Seamus helped him get out of a sticky situation with a bunch of girls trying to convince him to go out with them. Luna helped Draco get away from a bunch of rude younger years spitting insults and shooting hexes at him. Ron and Hermione shot tricky little curses and hexes at those who had enough nerve to find something about Harry to make fun of. Ginny caught a Hufflepuff who was trying to hex Draco while his back was turned with a bat bogey hex. Neville disarmed anybody who drew their wands on either of the boys. Hermione helped Draco whenever he got hit with a curse or hex and Ron was there for Harry as his best friend when he needed him.

Everybody loved Sirius and played with him when they passed him in the halls, scratching his big ears and his furry rump. Neville always gave Sirius a treat when he passed him. Luna liked to poke him playfully on his large wet nose and Ginny enjoyed throwing a spare chicken leg under the table during dinner. The dog relished the attention and walked with a goofy lope when he saw those who were kind to him.

It was everybody united and it was brilliant. Harry didn't have any overloads or meltdowns in these weeks and it seemed everybody was finally warming up to Draco.

The quartet had tea with Hagrid every Thursday and studied hard in their free time. NEWTs were approaching quickly and so were the rest of their lives.

Looking back on it, if you had told anybody that they'd be this happy and content a year after the war, none of them would've believed a word.

Notes:
Lovely! It's nearly time for their NEWTs and we're going to get a lot of Sirius time next chapter! As always, I love to hear feedback, comments, and suggestions!

afterending

Chapter 37: NEWTs and Other Important Things

Summary:
NEWTs are imminently approaching. How will they all cope with the stress?

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
"Harry my love, you have got to eat..." Draco stressed to his shivering boyfriend.

It was the Saturday morning before their NEWTs began and Harry looked absolutely dreadful.

"I feel like I'm gonna be sick..." he wheezed, swallowing thickly.

"You're really underweight for a man of your height... Fuck are you going to vomit?" Draco inqured when Harry lurched.

Harry nodded.

Draco scooped him up and raced him to the bathroom, setting him down just before he heaved. It was a gush of bile and nothing more. Harry spat and Draco handed him a cup of water. Once they were back in their bed, Harry shivered and had even more cold sweat than before.

"C'mon... Just a bite?" Draco murmured, offering a spoonful of rice from his plate of stir fry.

There was a long pause before Harry nodded slightly and opened his mouth. Draco gingerly fed him and waited for him to swallow.

"Was that okay?"

Harry made a small hum somewhere in his throat that Draco took to mean yes. He kept giving him small spoonfuls and pausing so he could sip from his water cup.

This was one of Draco's first encounters with the long term effects of Harry's chronic malnutrition. Harry was a modest 5' 5" and weighed under 100 lbs, giving him a BMI of 16.6 and classifying him as severely underweight. Draco weighed a good 55 lbs more than Harry at his height of 6' 2", which made the matter even more pressing seeing how they were the same age. He was no longer wasting from acute malnutrition, that had been remedied mostly in his first year, but the chronic effects were much harder to get rid of and mostly irreversible, like the fact that he was stunted.

Harry was having trouble staying warm and kept shivering and chattering incessantly. Draco was trying his best, but the potion Madame Pomfrey had given him during Harry's check up in the morning didn't take effect for another half hour.

Now Harry lay nestled into Draco's side, his shaking as he nuzzled into his flank rattling him thoroughly. Sirius laid across Harry's legs in an attempt to warm him, gradually scooting upwards toward his chest. Draco stroked his curls, trying to warm him up best he could by pulling the duvets to his shoulders, but to little avail. The large dog rested his head on Harry's chest, the warmth of his shaggy fur expanding over him.

Twenty minutes passed before Harry stopped shivering and was finally willing to finish eating the very small portion Draco got for him.

Ron and Hermione came up to check on Harry to see if he was still up to go to Hagrid's for tea. They had been coming every evening after studying to eat dinner with Hagrid, bringing along a large meal that reflected their culture or lifestyle. Ron had brought some of Molly's finest cooking the previous evening that he had requested to be sent, and Draco had brought a French layout the night before that.

Harry shot up, remembering that it was his day. He clambered to his feet, suddenly very excited, and beckoned Sirius and Draco to follow him as he hurried down to the kitchens. Draco curiously followed as Harry stumbled into the kitchens and cheerfully greeted the elves. He was taking charge of a station before Draco could even utter any inquiry.

Harry was expertly getting out pots and pans and ingredients in a flurry of experienced hands. Draco was amazed when Harry started cracking into it without a recipe, his deft hands dancing around the utensils as he prepared the deferent meats for the curry he was making. Draco watched him fold samosas and skillfully make an enticing smelling flat bread he didn't recognize.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?" Draco asked in awe.

Harry paused very slightly as he added cumin to his curry.

"Uh- Dursley's- I always cooked..." he mumbled.

"When did they make you start?" Draco near whispered in horror.

"Uhm- five... I was five..." he coughed, tapping a bit of three more spices into the pot.

"Five..."

"Yeah... I wasn't allowed to make curry while I was there... They were really, well, racist toward me I guess... Didn't want me making any type of food that even remotely reflected my dad's family's culture... It was one of their many motives for hating me... Cause they couldn't just make me blend in with the rest of the family because I'm so much darker than them..." Harry murmured, looking at his hands briefly.

"Vernon especially... Prejudiced pig he is... Always called my dad loads of horrible things whenever my parents were brought up... Would spit the same insults at me because my skin is brown like my dad... Called me dirty a lot... Vernon would always laugh when he would... Whip me... I guess you would call it... Cause the scar tissue was pink and not pigmented very much... Always laughed that he'd do my whole body if he had to... Smacked me if I rolled my letters certain ways that sounded 'too Indian' when I was learning how to talk properly..."

Draco watched Harry cook, completely dumbfounded by his boyfriend's nonchalance as he spoke.

"I was nervous when I came to Hogwarts... I saw how many kids weren't of y'know similar pedigree or background as me and I got really worried that I'd get bullied and harassed for my skin color like I did in primary school... And then everybody was so nice- except you, you arse- but even you didn't care about it, and then I saw Hermione and Dean and Angelina... And I felt a lot better..."

Draco nodded sightly.

"Race hasn't been an issue in the wizarding world... It was more blood and familial status than anything." Draco murmured.

"And heterosexuality..." Harry chuckled.

"Also true." Draco tittered.

There was a pause as Harry mixed together the contents of his vegetable samosas.

"You know, before I died, I used that resurrection stone to bring back the essences of my loved ones," Harry began randomly, taking Draco by surprise, "And it was kinda odd cause none of them were surprised to see how much I've grown or matured, it was like they knew... Like my mum and dad have been kind of- I dunno- watching over me? If that makes sense?"

Draco hummed.

"Well there are a lot of tales and legends that suggest something like that."

If only Harry knew how right he was. The souls ripped from the bodies of Lily and James Potter went on to watch over their baby boy in a space of existence that was technically passed on but could only be recalled into visibility by the resurrection stone as Harry had done before. Aching when they weren't able do so anything for their son when he was being starved and beaten, unable to fathom the pain he was experiencing. Watching their baby display his autistic habits and nobody noticing or recognizing what he needed, straining when he struggled, crying when he came within an inch of death over and over again.

It was pain beyond physical contemplation to watch him lay awake at night in his early teenage years and simply cry, letting the tears run down his cheeks. Hating that they weren't able to be there when he began having meltdowns, not knowing what they were and shaking through them before running to the bathroom to be sick or to rock on his toes.

It was quite amazing to watch how sweet natured he was. Never mean, hot tempered and silver tongued yes, but never viscous, always considerate. His past spats with Draco always made Lily laugh, especially when they were witty with each other. They watched him date here and there and be utterly perplexed by girls. Held their breaths as he struggled with his sexuality during sixth year, becoming more and more confused when he wasn't interested in Ginny's body. Biting their lips when he shot awake in a high flush and a cold sweat at the end of his sixth year muttering repeatedly 'that was a boy that was a boy holy shit...'

It was almost painful watching him push his dilemma aside during their horcrux hunt and have it come back to bite him after certain events.

Although, it was beautiful watching him fall in love with the man he'd had so much animosity toward but understood better than anybody. Waiting with baited breath when they interacted and admiring the gleam in their eyes when they talked to each other. Watching Harry absolutely light up when Draco piqued his interest with the slightest thing and vise versa. And then cooing when he kissed Draco with all the passion he had to give. James had thought he'd end up with Ginny for sure, but Lily always had a feeling that her son was gay and gradually falling for a certain blonde.

"It's just strange to me that I'm not very much younger than my parents, and soon I'll outlive them just by entering the prime of my life... Isn't that odd?" Harry hummed.

"Tragic really... That was a big part of the tragedy, they were so young with a brand new baby and all of that was just ripped away..." Draco murmured.

"Y'know... You and I fell in love like my parents did..."

"How so?" Draco coaxed, loving the way that phrase sounded on Harry's lips in his gentle voice.

"My mum and dad didn't like each other at all until their seventh year. They fought and were just generally horrible to each other... My dad had a stick up his arse most of the time and my mum thought he was an absolute tosser." Harry reminisced fondly, offering a spoonful of curry sauce for Draco to taste.

"And then my dad calmed down and my mum fancied him a bit later... Familiar innit?" Harry laughed as Draco moaned at the wonderful flavor.

"Fuck you're a good cook." Draco mumbled as he licked his spoon clean.

"I'm excited to cook for you when we move in together..." Harry purred, testing some rice.

They jabbered on while Harry finished cooking his large quantities of various Indian foods. He plated them and gave Draco a bit of naan to try that he had started cooking a few hours earlier before his cold spell hit. He and Draco carried the large portions, now shrunken and stabilized in their pockets, out of the kitchens while thanking the elves.

They fetched Ron and Hermione and headed down to Hagrid's, Sirius trotting merrily at his side all the while.

Once they arrived, Harry and Draco spread out the vast plates and resized them, flooding Hagrid's hut with the wonderful scent of chicken curry and garlic naan. Hagrid settled himself down and placed a large kettle of hot tea in the center of the table.

They tucked in to a delicious dinner, Hagrid still unable to look at Harry and Draco without going a bit ruddy as he talked. Hermione noticed, because of course she did, and asked Hagrid why he was so flushed.

"Well er- yeh see... Uh..." Hagrid stammered, clearly not wanting to embarrass the two men.

"He accidentally walked in on us right after I got Sirius, and let's just say I was thanking Draco, as you do, while wearing something meant for Draco's eyes only that he caught quite the glimpse of." Harry snorted, his cheeks flushing subtly, patting the dog's head as he rested it by his leg.

Hagrid went pink and took a long draft of tea to hide his face. Hermione looked curious and seemed to be making a large effort to hold her tongue. Ron's ears went rather pink, the more he thought about the little boxes that had fallen out of the bag, the more he started to have an inkling of what the contents were.

"Never seemed like yeh'd be the type of person to be into that..." Hagrid barely mumbled behind his cup.

"It's more Draco than me." Harry murmured.

Draco's had paused on its way up to his mouth as he turned his head to frown mockingly at him.

"I seem to remember that you were the one who bought that set. I got the burgundy and the emerald ones, you went back for that one while I was paying." he pointed out, gesturing at Harry with his fork.

Hagrid choked on his own curry at the vague statement.

"Well you aren't wrong, but you bought the black ones the first time."

Draco thought for a moment.

"I might've introduced it, but you're the one who ran with it in those little black briefs and long thigh high stoc-" he broke off, flooding with color at the slip up.

Harry flushed at Ron's incredulous expression and Hermione's blatant gawk at him.

"Maaaate! You're a lingerie man eh?" Ron chuckled with a low whistle.

"Hypocrite." Hermione coughed.

Harry nearly fell over laughing. Ron was spluttering indistinctly, very red indeed, and Hermione was snickering. Draco was laughing breathlessly into his hand, failing to wheeze out anything other than hysterics.

"What type?" he barely got out between snorts.

"Same as you two i expect, only tailored to me!" Hermione chortled, pink across her nose bridge.

Ron shoveled more food into his mouth in embarrassment, even Hagrid was chuckling lightly.

The rest of dinner was fantastic. Harry was suddenly wolfish and ate a large amount of food while chattering away with everybody. Sirius and Fang both received a small bowlful from the center platter that they lapped up happily. Harry scratched Sirius' hindquarters as he licked the bowl clean.

Hagrid let both dogs out to run about as they all finished off the naan and samosas with the sauce left on the now empty plate of curry. They gathered up the dishes in a neat stack and shrunk them to a small pocket size to carry back up to the castle.

Harry eventually called Sirius back as they headed up to the castle, admiring the bear like dog galloping toward him and handing him a treat when he cantered to his side, panting hard.

Most of the kids from Hogsmeade were heading back in with large bags from Honeydukes, some already halfway through a chocolate bar while holding books or notes to study from. Hermione crossed a tiny fifth year obsessively studying for her OWLs who jumped when she saw her.

When Monday finally arrived, the castle was in an unusual state of disquiet. The anxiety was basically palpable and the distant scratching of quills was incessant. Luna was the only person who was completely unaffected by any of it, but most people knew that already. Fifth years were collapsing in the halls with the weight of their books and seventh years were snapping at anybody who dared interrupt them.

They were currently doing their potions practical exams, Harry alphabetically a few tables down from Draco. Draco and Hermione waited for him after he finished to ask how he thought he'd done. Ron came stumbling out about half an hour later looking thoroughly ruffled and mildly confused.

"Whadya reckon?" he sighed.

"Pretty okay I think." Harry shrugged glancing up at Draco for a moment.

"Well you've got the potions prodigy for a boyfriend." Ron scoffed pointedly.

Harry tittered, nudging Draco with his shoulder as they meandered down the hall.

Their potions theoretical was shortly after their charms practical. They all went down to the kitchens to eat while they studied for the next days exams.

The week dragged on agonizingly. The summer heat was making Harry's head ache and Draco was miserable in the face of prejudiced examiners that resulted in him having to take three of his exams all over again to get an accurate score. Ron's last name meant he went very last in the order of everything, making him extremely stressed and riddled with nerves. Hermione's fear of failure was making her waspish and aggrivated on top of being terrified about how she'd done and making even Draco feel like he'd missed something crucial.

There was an incident in charms where Professor Flitwick came up to Harry in the middle of their practical exams.

"You may have a different task if it is easier for you Mr Potter." he pointed out, making Harry crack the key he was charming to grow wings.

He quickly mended it and turned to Flitwick. He couldn't help but feel looked down upon by the simple statement, condescended, underestimated.

"I'm sorry professor- what?"

"I only meant that if the task was too overwhelming, I permit that you request a change." he elaborated politely.

"Professor- you were here when I fought against Voldemort last year were you not? Please don't treat me like that just because now you know I have autism, I'm not suddenly less capable of magic or anything else because of that." Harry huffed.

Flitwick blinked at him for a moment before taking in his well built physique and hardened gaze.

"Right, my apologies Potter..." he murmured before shuffling away.

When their exams had finally ended, it was relief beyond relief. Harry was snoozing with his head in Draco's lap under the beech tree, Hermione similarly passed out in Ron's. Their last exam had been their transfiguration practical, and McGonagall had asked all four of them to deliver a speech at the end of year feast.

Draco was nervous and Harry was anxious even thinking about it. He hated talking in front of such a big crowd like the entire Great Hall. Draco suggested that they go to some muggle shops to find some nice dress shirts that would look good on Harry and find himself one that would match his. Harry didn't particularly like dress robes so it made him rather excited to know what they were doing the following day.

Sirius stayed with Ron and Hermione while they headed out, much to the dogs dismay, but Harry wasn't sure how many shops would allow the massive hound without a license or vest.

They entered a store with a large array of dress shirts in different collar cuts and lengths. Draco was rifling through the different colors, trying to find a tone that looked good with Harry's dark skin. They decided on a green that near perfectly matched his eyes and were now looking at the different styles.

"I think it makes you look mysterious." Draco hummed from the other side of the rack.

"I dunno, they all kind of look good..." Harry murmured from somewhere to Draco's left, holding up a burgundy one.

"You and the burgundy." Draco chuckled breathily, but complying to looking at a warmer tone.

"It's a good color."

"It looks good on you."

Harry went to go try on some shirts, coming out to see what Draco thought as he was the more fashionable of the two.

Draco was adjusting Harry's collar to run a silver tie through it, when the rack beside them gave an almighty lurch and a warbling voice grunted and spoke.

"This needs to be perfect- this is my only chance to remake that deal business deal with Mr. Mason I lost from that wretched freak boy!" came a horribly familiar voice.

"I think it'll be much better in a different location, the freak won't have a chance. He's been gone for a while anyway, I doubt we'll ever have to see him again." replied Petunia's voice.

Harry blinked, generally unfazed, while Draco clipped his tie to the front of his shirt. Draco tucked the bottom into Harry's black slacks and stood back to admire him.

"What do you think?" he inquired just as Vernon meandered into the section they were in.

Harry hadn't noticed that his uncle was glaring at him and simply turned to test the fit.

"I think I like the collar a bit lower so my robes won't create a divide, but these slacks are a nice fit... What do you think? Makes my arse look fantastic yeah?" Harry observed, turning to face the mirror.

"Definitely." Draco purred, paying no mind to the horsey woman and seething man.

He gave Harry's arse a solid smack and squeeze, loving the way his muscles tightened as it jiggled down into his gorgeous thighs.

"Perfect, I think." Draco tittered, ignoring the offended gasps to his right.

Harry yelped and chuckled softly.

"Let's find one with a shortened collar in both colors okay love?" Draco murmured.

"You know darling... Now that exams are over... We can finally have sex again... You know... I want that sweater we were talking about... To celebrate..." Harry whispered in his ear.

Draco's mouth fell open.

"You want that sweater?" he puffed excitedly.

Harry nodded, smiling confidently up at him.

Draco kissed his forehead tenderly, so very lovingly.

"I just know you've been looking at it for a while and I just thought maybe... You'd like it?" Harry rambled, never really confident when it came to making decisions like this.

"I love you." Draco murmured, kissing him briefly as he held up the other tie to compare the colors.

"Love you too." he mumbled back, lifting his head to meet him in the short peck and exposing his neck to Draco for easier access to look at the ties.

"Disgusting..." came Vernon's voice.

They looked over at him, Harry a bit startled and Draco feeling himself puff up defensively.

"Can I help you?" Harry drawled, not even turning his body toward him.

"What're you doing here?" Vernon snarled.

"Getting a new shirt for my speech." Harry said with a slight benign smile.

"Speech?" Vernon grumbled.

"Well yes, you know I'm rather influential."

Harry turned back to Draco and cuffed his sleeves.

"You don't own me nor control me anymore." Harry sighed calmly as he adjusted his sleeves, "I have better things to do than to listen to you complain about me being affectionate with my boyfriend. I'm an openly gay man and so is he. Get over it."

And he took Draco's hand to guide them toward the changing room with all of their things. They gathered their things and changed back into their shirts, Draco into a very light lilac button up and Harry into a green sweater over a black tee shirt, before heading out of the rooms and right back into a seething Vernon.

"You're a nasty ungrateful, unnatural, horrible boy-" Vernon began.

"Do you not understand the fact that you are threatening two adult wizards who could obliterate you in half a second?" Draco intercepted in an undertone.

Petunia choked and Vernon flushed an ugly puce, clearly not knowing what to say to the basic aristocrat towering over them.

Draco raised his brows significantly before leading Harry to the check out counter.

They had a nice dinner date at a muggle Italian restaurant. Harry was giddy at the fact that this was their first proper date and Draco was itching to spoil his beloved. It was nice to simply talk to each other and learn little things about the other in the low lighting of the restaurant.

They left a few minutes after paying and went into Diagon Alley in search of the sweater. After verifying that they were of age, they entered a risque adult shop in the very corner of the alley. Harry was a man on a mission. He was confidently meandering toward the back of the shop with Draco in tow, occasionally pausing to glance at something that caught his eye as he pursued the garment that made Draco's throat tight just thinking about it.

And there it was, sitting atop a display of both a male and female torso that readjusted every so often.

"Fuck you'd look good in that..." Harry breathed, his eyes fixed on the light grey virgin killer sweater.

It was a simple thick knit sleeveless halter neck sweater that covered the front of the chest and nothing more. It was seductive and fuck both men were imagining the other in it.

Draco swallowed thickly, glancing over at Harry, who was grinning at him, his thick brows raised.

"Yeah..." was all he could say.

Harry called for a clerk to get two down for them.

"A medium and a large in a slender fit please." Harry requested.

He was handed two beautiful silver boxes with gold ribbon. Thanking the clerk, he brought them to the counter and paid with a few galleons. Draco was pressed to his side the whole time breathing rather shallowly at Harry's flushed cheeks.

Draco practically rushed Harry back to Hogwarts, apparating right outside Hogsmeade and tugging him to the castle. They stumbled into their dormitory and met in a heated kiss. Harry broke it to nip at Draco's neck and to grab two great handfuls of his arse. Draco crooned at Harry's touch, his rougher hands flying over his body with a clumsy grace, and melted into him.

"Harry..." Draco groaned.

"Can we switch today Dray?"

"How do you mean?" Draco panted, pulling away slightly to make sure he knew what Harry wanted.

"I think I'm finally okay with- with being inside you again... I still want you in me but I'd like to begin that way..."

Draco smiled softly down at him.

"Of course." he breathed, "Just be gentle... With both of us..."

Harry nodded.

"Well, I'll go get changed." Harry murmured, grabbing his sweater and disappearing into the bathroom.

Draco waited after slipping into his own sweater, perched on the bed patiently. He knew Harry was highly self conscious, so he didn't mind waiting a few minutes for Harry to get his bearings straight.

After a few minutes, the door distinctly unlocked and holy shit. Harry, fucking gorgeous Harry, came elegantly out of the bathroom. His big thighs were on display under the hem of the sweater that hugged him and fell loose in all the right places. His body hair was mesmerizing and added an attractive element to the whole look. The pale blue grey of the sweater made his skin look extra rich in that honey undertone and brought out the deep ruddy color flooding his cheeks.

Harry turned experimentally. The large open back displayed his scarred back magnificently, and the swell of his arse looked delicious under his two dimples and the line of his spine. Fuck he was unbelievably handsome.

And Harry couldn't get enough of Draco, sitting there looking effortlessly gorgeous. The way the sweater outlined the small details on his chest as it was stretched taught over his long torso was glorious. His long legs were neatly crossed and completed the elegance of the look. His white blonde hair fell in a sweep just above his eyebrows that framed his glittering silver eyes. Harry could feel himself getting aroused already simply from how bold and gaudy he appeared in the halo of moonlight outlining him.

Draco gave him a coy sort of smirk and bit his plump lower lip invitingly, his neat eyebrows quirking to convey the pure want he had for Harry. Whether he be bouncing atop him, rocking below him, or on top thrusting desperately, Draco didn't care. It wasn't so much who liked to top or bottom more, it was just the fact that he could feel his love trembling with ecstasy in either position that attracted him. It was Harry who made disheveled look beautiful. He who made Draco lose every sense of self awareness and self consciousness to achieve the sense of palpable love. The kind of love you could smell in the sweat of their sex, that mingling burn of male musk and sweetness that came from Draco's cologne and Harry's natural pure scent, feel in the thick air as it vibrated with moans and breaths.

They met in a searing kiss, Harry craving to run his hands over the crests and valleys of Draco's body. There was a comfort in the solidity of Draco's male form, the edges of his slender torso such a pleasurable spot for Harry to find with his fingers.

Draco craved to press Harry into the bed in this extraordinarily erotic garment and listen to him moan in his soft voice. Harry's sensitive auditory reaction had turned something on in Draco's brain that made chills shoot down his spine whenever Harry crooned in purest ecstasy.

But it was time he learned how to relinquish control and be brave enough to be vulnerable to Harry. Whom he loved. They had done this before, that much was true, but Draco had been quite tense upon Harry's entrance into him and throughout until they switched. So Draco focused on Harry. Not the thought of him being on top and in control over his body, just Harry. His hands, his weight, his lips.

Harry pressed his hand into Draco's chest, requesting him to lie back. Draco did so, breathing deeply as Harry sucked a love bite into his shoulder. The next thing he knew, Harry was grinding into his thigh tentatively, suddenly much lower down over him. Draco rested his fingers in Harry's hair as he lion mouthed through his sweater, kissing down until he was nipping thigh.

Harry's mouth kept descending lower and lower until his soft mouth was ghosting kisses over Draco's perineum. Draco clenched his muscles nervously

"Draco... It's okay... Just breathe darling..." Harry murmered into Draco's hip bone.

Harry crawled up to kiss Draco gently before peppering his face in kisses. It soon evolved into a tumble of sweaty bodies and kisses all over. Draco took Harry's ear between his lips, parting his jaws to breathe hotly on the shell. Harry nearly collapsed with the electric pleasure it sent through his body, the moan that escaped him lascivious and loud, his hands coming up to squeeze Draco's pectorals before he rolled back on top.

They freed both their erections from under the sweaters and laid them on top of each other. Harry gasped and rutted minimally into Draco's erogenous lower belly as their shafts slipped away from each other. Harry was fixedly gazing at their realigned penises, simply observing the significant amount of length Draco had on him as they frotted. He could only wrap his hand so far around both of their shafts as they rolled together in a messy tandem. Neither of them could restrain cries of pleasure when their glans frills rubbed against each other before their foreskins retracted back over the sensitive head on the back thrust.

Eventually, Harry lifted his hips and reached down to press his middle and ring finger against Draco's furrowed entrance, rubbing tiny circles experimentally. Draco keened very softly, his sphincter still readjusting constantly.

"Relax your hips Dray... " Harry murmured, trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

Draco complied. Harry couldn't help but notice that his hands were rather shaky.

"Do you want to keep going? Or should I just bottom?"

Draco cupped Harry's cheek and shook his head. Harry began to move away but Draco found his voice.

"I do- I do want to keep going... I- I just have a really hard time giving up control..." Draco mumbled, flooding with embarrassment.

"But you trust me right?"

"Of course I trust you... Never think that I don't..."

"You know, there's still a way for you to be dominant... I do it..."

"Harry you know I never mean to bring this up, but if you're talking about riding you, I don't think I'd be comfortable with that until you're at a the weight you need to be. I'm almost fifty pounds heavier than you... I'd hate it if I hurt you... You're ridiculously strong don't get me wrong... I'm just a lot bigger than you."

"Well obviously there are certain positions that we can't do when you bottom because of that difference but... It's not like you'll crack my pelvis, you've sat on my hips and stomach before and I was fine remember?" Harry reasoned.

Draco nodded with a slight shaky smile.

"I want you to take me my love... I'm just being paranoid... I really want you to be on top just as we are. Okay?"

"O'course Dray..." Harry mumbled into his chest, smiling broadly while rubbing his cheek along the knit of the sweater.

Harry continued to slowly prepare Draco, knowing the burn of the initial insertion would scare him if he wasn't. Draco simply focused on Harry. Harry's hair, his glasses, his eyes so intently focused on his hole, his hands, his lips as he bit them, his lightly muscled arms. Finally Draco was loose, lubed up, and relaxed to the extent where it wouldn't burn too much if Harry pressed in. It was a sensation Harry had grown to like slightly, but Draco had only been penetrated once before by Harry and he really didn't want him to get freaked out.

Now Harry was nervous. He hadn't been inside Draco since Romilda had assaulted him. He breathed deeply as he sat back on his haunches and slicked himself up. Harry set his shaft between Draco's cheeks as he adjusted his legs to be comfortable and better relaxing for his sphincter, and thrusted lightly. The sensation was immensely pleasurable.

He repeated that for about two minutes before he'd steeled himself enough to press inside.

Harry lined his head up with Draco's entrance, slightly shaky in the hands, and moved his hips forward infinitesimally. He focused on how Draco's body resisted before opening up, spreading around his head as it delved inside. How tight that ring of muscle was around him, how his body seemed to pull him in to the hilt and squeeze him just right.

Harry rested his head on Draco's chest, eyes closed and glasses askew, trembling as he tried to block out the memory of Romilda. Draco was warm and tight, his long ribcage had a way of swelling with breath before he moaned and hissed through his teeth, and his legs were vice like around his chest. Harry made a small noise as Draco's body clenched and relaxed around him. He had to focus on the rings of chambers and Draco's hands on his upper arms. Large hands, long legs, and a deep groaning voice that oozed that masculinity Harry craved.

Draco began petting his hair, tangling his fingers deep in his curls.

"You okay?" he murmured.

The burn he had been experiencing was minimal and easily distracted as it faded.

"Yeah..." Harry panted, beginning to move his hips.

Draco laid back and let himself drown in the feeling. Harry was searching for Draco's prostate with shallow thrusts and ever changing hip angles. It was about thirty seconds before Draco gasped and arched into Harry.

"There!" he cried, his spine tingling with the shocks.

Harry adjusted his thighs to ground himself steadily before he propped himself up on his hands and rolled his hips meaningfully. The association with Romilda was gone from his mind as soon as Draco began moaning and spreading his legs a little wider.

It was blissful. Breathily beautiful in his lovestruck brain. Draco was keening and gasping, Harry was panting low in his chest.

"Harry Harry Harry Harry!" Draco babbled.

Harry adjusted his pace every so often. Slow then fast then loving then hard. Draco screamed his name in a mantra as he threw his head back and came hard over his belly. Harry slowed, his own release not piqued as he rolled. He was still hard even though he felt so good. He didn't think he could come like this yet.

Draco noticed that Harry hadn't spilled inside him, looking up into Harry's tearful emeralds.

"Harry baby don't cry..." Draco panted.

"I'm sorry..." he mumbled.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Can't come like this..."

Harry pulled out gently and sat back on his haunches, wiping his eyes.

"Harry my love... Don't feel guilty, it's not your fault, it really isn't."

"But you've already come... And I haven't... I feel bad that I couldn't come with you... I'm sorry..."

Draco sat up, stroking himself back to full mast.

"C'mon baby boy, you up for a round two?"

Harry looked up incredulously.

"We can do that you know. We're young," he pulled Harry to his chest, "And full of energy," he turned them around so Harry was where he had just been, "And we've got the libido to take us for hours." Draco purred as he pushed Harry onto his back.

Harry smiled, wiping his eyes before meeting Draco in a passionate kiss.

Draco kissed him all over, played with his sweater and rolled him onto his stomach. Harry hiked his hips up and arched his back, grinning at Draco. He looked gorgeous in that sweater. The long halter neck that resembled the top of his favorite jumpers accentuated so many beautiful parts of him. The line of his spine was so gorgeous that Draco couldn't help but run his tongue down it before lovingly attacking his hole with his tongue. He spent several long minutes eating Harry out, teasing him with a tiny bit of teeth and swirling patterns with his tongue, savoring the bitter taste of him. Harry was in a right state after that, wordlessly begging him with his great emeralds eyes.

Draco loved the way Harry's body pulled him in. He was a mess. A beautiful mess of raven curls and ruddy cheeks, glasses long gone on the bedside table, and eyes still a bit red rimmed from his tears.

"Fuck!" Harry cried out as Draco nailed his prostate dead on.

His body curled and writhed with the reactions of his insurmountable pleasure. Draco was astounded to watch Harry accidentally drool copiously as his mouth hung open and his salivary glands gushed in reaction to the electric shivers of ecstasy coursing through his very veins.

"Draco Draco! Oh- oh... Mmmm..." Harry was trembling as Draco pressed and sucked kisses and hickeys to his neck and right behind his ears.

Harry stammered out "I love you- I love you- fuuck I love you..." before he came explosively all over the duvets.

Draco returned the sentiment three times over as his second release gushed inside him.

They lay, completely exhausted and overstimulated, in a heap of sweaty bodies, Harry's hips still propped up by his gorgeous thighs. Draco took Harry's wrist with his bracelet and kissed the two stags over and over until Harry stopped shaking with aftershock.

He pulled out and admired his thick copious seed spill gorgeously out of Harry.

They cleaned up and lay curled into each other's chests, Harry's arms tight around Draco's ribcage like a lifeline.

"I'm proud of you." Draco murmured.

Harry smiled, the guilt he had felt virtually gone.

Notes:
Hope you all enjoy as always! I must remind those who are worried that this is not the end! There's a lot more to come!

afterending

Chapter 38: Speak

Summary:
The day of Harry's speech has finally arrived. How will his nerves hold up and how will the others react?

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
The day of Harry's speech finally came. He was incredibly nervous and Draco was at a loss at how to calm him. Even Sirius looked woeful and depressed at being unable to help him.

They had had sex the previous night to relieve some tension, a fact that both Ron and Hermione were painfully aware of. He and Hermione had been laying in his bed cuddling when Harry and Draco got riled up with no regards for a silencing charm. One of them had tried to put one up, but it fell within minutes, subjecting Ron and Hermione to their lovemaking.

It was even stranger how different their voices were and how easily one could tell which belonged to which. Draco had a very specific nasally edge to his rather low voice while Harry had a very telling treble in his voice and he spoke from his chest as opposed to Draco who spoke higher in his throat. They often murmured to each other while having sex, though it was a relief to Ron and Hermione that neither of them seemed to be into the extreme sex or nasty dirty talk. On the contrary, they spoke very gently to each other while being intimate, often not even loud enough to hear every word.

The only thing that made them both blush to the roots of their hair was the fact that both men were incredibly guilty of being very vocal. Draco had a tendency to moan in a high erotic keen whereas Harry's voice crescendoed the closer he was to his orgasm. Their kisses also tended to be quite wet and passionate, and it was always easy to tell when they met at the mouth from their breathing patterns.

One of them, Ron and Hermione couldn't figure out who, had a tendency to hiss through his teeth incessantly.

Harry was very vocal when it came to one thing: prepping. Harry loved to be eaten out. Absolutely loved it, not that they knew what elicited such a reaction from him of course. He was obviously a mess just by the sound of him. He kept babbling "yes yes yes yes yes!" over and over again through the undertone of Draco's heavy nasal breathing. It was the only thing that made him filthy in his language, and disheveled so badly that it showed thickly in his voice. Whenever Draco pulled off, he was panting before they met in a thousand more wet kisses.

Draco had this growling groan he did when he was penetrating Harry. Harry did this thing where he tried to hold in his voice for a few seconds before it escaped him in an erotic moan and puff of breath. He keened higher and higher until it was evident that he was on his stomach as he bit down on the pillows and writhed into the duvets.

There was so much to be interpreted from the sounds before they both crescendoed in groans as they went. Ron and Hermione initially thought that they had both finished after a long pause of heavy breathing spanned the pregnant halt in motion, but they didn't yet know how very wrong they were.

"Draco... Fuck... Draco... Could we try a little faster? I want you... I want you to really do what you want..." Harry had panted.

"You want to? You're okay with that?" Draco murmured.

"I know you've been holding back when it comes to just raw sex, not lovemaking... I really want you to drive me into this bed however you like..." Harry purred.

"Fuck baby... Okay... Let's get some pillows so I can really use your hips as leverage." Draco panted excitedly.

They spent a minute readjusting before either of their voices sounded at normal speaking level again.

"Shit... Harry you'll be the death of me." Draco strained.

"Dray..." Harry panted, his sentence cut off as Draco audibly entered him again and he moaned low.

Draco groaned like a wild animal as he grounded himself, his hands holding Harry's pelvis tight on either side, his hairs falling loose tickling the back of his neck. He spat out a string of French before lightly biting Harry's trapizium to suck a hickey there.

"It's okay love... I want you to to do what you want... I'm okay." Harry assured, gripping the pillow tight for support.

Draco began thrusting and bucking at a fairly normal pace, which had Harry moaning higher and higher as he sped up. The faint slapping of their hips was audible through their breathing, only growing louder and louder as they went. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Draco murmured something too quiet to hear and there was a pause and more rustling of sheets.

The sound started again, not their usual breathy sensuality, but harder and more desperate. It was strange because the noise was far different than when he and Hermione were in a similar mood. It wasn't that soft smack of hips against a round female body that Ron knew so well, it was hard muscle against hard muscle echoing with sweat. Harry had a very voluptuous arse for a man, but he still was a man with hard square muscles designed for breeding that were being pounded against by Draco's solid pelvic front and thighs.

"Harder..." came Harry's soft voice a minutes later.

"Oh mon dieu, oui! Vous bel homme!" Draco cried.

Ron tried a silencing charm multiple times, but their magical signature was too thick in the air and far too impermeable for anything to work.

Draco obeyed the gentle plea, slamming harder into him as his voice was ripped from its confinement.

"H-holy shit!" Harry cried, his voice no longer breathy, but gutteral.

"Vous aimez ça, n'est-ce pas?" Draco purred.

Harry let out a string of loud grumbling groans from deep in his chest, not pained, rather experiencing an unknown pleasure. His voice cut off when he met Draco in a kiss and moaned into his mouth as he came. Draco's strained panting turned into a low keen as he finished inside Harry.

The only sound for several minutes was of slow kisses, panting, and mumbled I love you's.

Ron and Hermione were furiously red when Draco ambled, arse naked and thoroughly love bitten, to the bathroom to grab a washcloth to clean them up before he leapt into bed and snuggled with Harry.

They distinctly heard Draco murmer "I love you." and without missing a beat Harry mumbled "That's gay." before they both burst into laughter and kisses.

Now they lay nude in bed on the morning of Harry's speech, kissing gently, Sirius curled up on his bed by the wall. Harry hadn't slept at all and it was currently pouring rain. Draco knew Harry had a hard time falling asleep but it still made his heart ache that they both lay fully conscious some nights. Sometimes they just curled up, all too aware of the other's restlessness. Sometimes not even the consuming exhaust of sex could cause either of them to fall asleep.

They were both as bad as each other, always thinking or anxious about something. Harry's nightmares were worse whereas Draco just dwelled on the past obsessively. Draco had lost count of how many times he'd woken up to a thrashing sweaty Harry kneeing him in the ribs or silently sobbing while facing away from him. Harry had experienced at least twenty one occasions where he'd woken up to Draco crying into the pillows. They both would comfort the other to the best of their ability, but sometimes they just needed to lay with each other and not talk at all.

Harry was incredibly nervous and shaky, his fingers trembling tellingly whenever he lifted his hand. The Great Hall was rowdy as all hell during breakfast and Harry couldn't handle the noise on top of his stress, so they traipsed lazily to the kitchens in their pajamas they'd thrown on and ate there. Draco noticed he had this air of anxiety in his demeanor and kept having to set down his fork because he was so tremulous.

Draco went to go get the egg bites and honey covered toast cut into quarters that he knew Harry loved, thinking the finger food would calm him down a bit. He divided up the plate into halves so nothing different was touching each other, which he knew Harry didn't like. Harry, Draco knew, noticed his anxiety less when he ate with his hands as it was more sensorily grounding for him than utensils.

When he came around the counter with the plate on display in his hand, Harry gasped and tapped his feet very quickly on the floor in a repetitive fashion in excitement.

"Have this instead love." Draco hummed, taking Harry's other plate and replacing it.

Harry immediately glowed, snatching it up and stuffing an egg into his mouth.

"Thanks." he mumbled through his mouthful.

Draco smiled. Many would think it strange that such a simple gesture of thanks would warm his heart so much, but he knew how hard it was for Harry to say certain things that would be considered simple. Harry had issues with eye contact and expressing sentiment, making it all the more meaningful when he was able to meet his gaze or thank him. Even every I love you he murmured was one of the best, maybe even the best, feelings.

He pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead before sitting back down across from him and picking up his own plate.

"How are you feeling?" Draco inquired.

"Nervous." Harry mumbled, scratching his nose.

"Well, is there anything I can do to make today a little less shit for you?"

Harry puffed through his nose in a small laugh.

"I think you're doing everything just perfect." he chuckled, taking a bite of his toast.

"There's no point in telling you that there isn't going to be anybody who isn't going to make fun, especially Romilda's old lot." Draco sighed.

Harry sucked in a breath at her name, taking another bite of toast in an attempt to mask it.

"Sorry... I should've known not to use her name..."

"No-no it's okay..."

"It's not... She's the person who attacked you... I should've known better." Draco murmured, brushing the inner side of his foot against Harry's ankle in apology.

Harry smiled dolefully at him, his lips twitching into a sort of slight half grin, as he twisted his ankle against Draco's arch to accept the small display of affection.

"You're right though... I know that her friends are still here and bitter toward both of us, and I know the whole lot of them has hexed you at least three times a piece." Harry assented.

"It's different though. They're going after me because I made horrible mistakes that I can't genuinely excuse because I actually believed all that until I was in his inner circle, and they can't see that I've changed, so it's hate by association of an event that killed... But they're going after you because you were born with a neurological condition that nobody even knew nor cared you had until it was exposed by that pestilential Skeeter woman. It's different because I made a choice and a mistake that I can't just undo, and you were simply born this way. You can't help that your father was of the descent he was, nor can you help the fact that you have autism, but people are shitty... That's the gist really. They're looking for anything to attack you with because they can't have you for your fame that they don't realize you hate." Draco explained as he spread a thick layer of honey over another piece of toast and handed it to Harry.

Harry nodded, his eyes flicking around as they tended to do when he was thinking, and bit the corner of his toast.

"It's just annoying how everybody goes from worshipping me and licking my fucking shoes to considering me an invalid because I have autism..." Harry huffed, "I mean, you know I hate the attention but it kind of sucks to do a complete 180 in a matter of a few days because of an article."

"Yeah... It'll blow over once the idiots realize you aren't any different, but nobody can really know how long that'll take." Draco murmured, handing Harry a cup of tea.

Harry took it, sipping it slowly as Draco poured his own cup. Harry finished his last egg as Draco scooped up the last remnant of his own poached egg.

"I love you Harry." Draco breathed offhandedly.

Harry smiled to himself, his cheeks going very ruddy, before he beamed goofily at Draco and rocked on his favorite wonky stool.

"Love you..." Harry mumbled into his cup, his giddiness causing a wiggle to course through his shoulders

They finished breakfast a few minutes later, Sirius happily gobbling up a spare piece of bacon from Draco's plate as they cleaned up. Harry rifled around in one of the cupboards for a minute before getting out a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. He gathered a great dollop and offered it to the happily wagging dog. Sirius lapped the spoon clean with a great swipe of his long tongue and began snapping his jaws open and closed as he attempted to unstick it from his pallette.

Harry patted his muzzle and began to wash the dishes out of habit. Draco didn't stop him, as he seemed rather relaxed in his own head, and settled himself on the counter behind him. He looked up and down the pajama clad figure of his boyfriend. It was utterly domestic having him in pajama pants and one of Draco's tee shirts that was quite big on him washing the dishes with his great black dog by his side unsticking peanut butter from his jowls. Harry still had some features that were slightly wasted from his being under weight, like his thin wrists and prominent achilles behind knobbly ankles and the slight visibility of a few of his vertabrae and lower ribs.

Harry rocked on his toes and twisted his feet around each other while he worked. Harry glanced around the kitchen every so often, feeling conscious of himself and Draco's eyes on him. He looked around at him, sitting there with that easy elegance about him, and smiled ecstatically at the grin that pulled Draco's lips up when he saw him.

"What?" he inquired playfully.

Draco chuckled lightly.

"You're just cute."

Harry stuck his tongue out at him through his adorably gappy teeth at the front.

"Why's that?" Harry challenged with a slight breathy laugh.

"No idea." Draco murmured.

Harry smiled at him once more with such an earnest look of affection in his tired eyes as he focused on his lips out of habit. He turned back to the dishes, his little leg shake that he did before rocking on his toes beginning again.

Draco watched Harry prop himself up on his toes, his ankles bowing outward, and began to move to and fro in a smoothly repetitive fashion. He was just gorgeous, Draco thought faintly, with that little gap in his thick thighs where they just barely didn't meet, and his wildly unkempt hair that curled in every which way.

Now that Draco thought about it, Harry really hadn't changed at all. Sure he was a bit different because of his post traumatic stress, but he was just Harry. Same snarky wild personality and firey temper that Draco loved to tease, same bright eyes and sweet noble heart. At the middle of it all, autism was just a label, it was no longer something defining. Harry was Harry and that's all there was to it. He didn't love him because he felt the need to take care of him, nor did he love him because he felt he needed him.

No, he loved him because he was himself. Unconditionally.

Harry finished and dried his hands, tapping his collarbones with his knuckles three times, before turning to Draco.

Sirius followed them out of the kitchens and back up to the dormitories. They showered together when Harry's nerves started to rattle up again. Draco found that Harry's shoulders gradually released their tension as he let the water run over him. There was a moment when Harry leaned his head back to rest on Draco's chest, his curls sticking to his skin, and Draco felt his heart stutter.

Harry had that effect on him. Always managing to make his insides burn and his chest constrict with the love he felt for him. Sometimes he still couldn't believe that this was real and Harry was really his. The boy he'd been pining after for years, sleeping in the bed that had become theirs and resting his head on his chest because he found comfort in him.

Harry inhaled Draco's spicy vanilla scent after turning to face him, yawning hugely as he nuzzled his nose into his wet shoulder. Draco washed the remaining conditioner out of Harry's hair as the man closed his eyes. He was hoping to carry Harry's tiredness over to the bed so he could get even a little bit of sleep. He turned off the water and they dried themselves, Harry's sleep deprivation and fatigue catching up to him all the while. Harry lethargically pulled on some boxers and one of Draco's hoodies that he'd come to love wearing. Draco pulled on the sweater Molly made him and some joggers before guiding Harry over to their bed.

Sometimes they just didn't need to talk, and that was the beauty of their relationship. They kind of just knew when the other wasn't talkative or feeling exhausted. It was a feeling that they got when alone, knowing what he needed, knowing when he was having a bad day, knowing when the exhaustion from sleepless nights was finally catching up to them.

Draco laid on his back and beckoned Harry over. Harry collapsed on top of him, almost immediately falling asleep. Draco could feel Harry's finally calm heartbeat against his lower ribs in tandem with his own. Harry's head tucked under Draco's chin and his hands came up to loosely clutch his turtleneck when he'd aligned himself with his body. Draco groped for the book on the nightstand and slid it into his grasp by the pads of his fingers.

He cracked it open after pulling the weighted duvet over Harry and himself. It was the book on being a good and healthy partner to a person with post traumatic stress disorder. He read many books of the sort, as he wanted to study and understand the psychology of Harry in general. He wanted to understand not only his own psyche, but Harry's too. He's had more trauma than he, Ron, and Hermione combined and Draco wanted to help him begin to heal.

He didn't really take the books at face value though. He liked to understand the why but not the how, letting Harry exhibit his own characteristic traits. Harry didn't like to talk about how he felt, Draco knew that, so he simply let him be as he wanted to be, never pressing medications or remedies. Harry was just Harry, as he always had been. He knew how insulted he'd be if somebody had tried to 'cure' him of his depression and anxiety, he knew Harry didn't need to change. He wasn't going to be the person who tried to make him change, because he was one of the people who didn't think he needed to in the slightest.

It was a question of mental stability, not changing or curing. It was the night terror and breakdown aspect that he wanted to help Harry get through even just a little bit easier.

Said man shifted in his sleep, his nose nuzzling into the hollow of Draco's collar bones and his curls wrapping around his jaw. Draco rested his hand in Harry's hair and ran his fingers through the cowlicks, feeling sleep come over him in slow waves. Eventually he felt himself begin to drift off, setting his book down to wrap his arm around Harry's waist and pull his weighted duvet higher up.

Draco woke a few hours later with Harry still deeply asleep on his chest. He pet his head before surveying the room to look for something else to read while Harry slept. He spotted it, leather bound and with neat gold handwriting. Harry's baby book.

They had recovered a thick stack of photographs from McGonagall before the exams and they had been working to put them all in order. Draco noticed that Harry's eyes when he was an infant were much farther apart than they are now. His nasal bridge was normal, he even had a bump of where the bones stuck out like his father. It was quite charming really. He didn't know if it was something else that caused the distance between Harry's eyes, not that he minded, but it was interesting.

Draco's stomach bubbled warmly at the thought of Harry's face. His features were incredibly unique. His eyes were big, slightly far apart and always shrouded in thick black eyelashes. He'd noticed that Harry always touched the broad space self consciously, and he had no doubt in his mind that Harry had been teased for it before Hogwarts. He knew Harry was self conscious about his teeth as well. Even in the pictures of his baby teeth, his front two had always been far apart causing the others to be spaced back as well. Draco noticed that Harry had a tendency to bend his glasses very slightly at the nose bridge so they lined up with his eyes and took away the blatant width of them.

It saddened Draco to see Harry so self conscious about his features, he was absolutely gorgeous, but not idealistically perfect, and he liked that. He had a handsome jaw and nice cheekbones that went well with his short face. It gave him a unique individuality that no other boy in the school had.

Draco scratched Harry's wild curls and brushed his finger along his prominent ear before cracking open the book.

His heart leapt. Harry was adorable. A few days old and already a full head of thickly curled hair adorned his head as he looked around curiously from his mother's arms. The next had James cradling Harry as the baby boy looked up at him with his tiny little hand was outstretched, his expression almost pensive. There were only a few where they had caught Harry giggling and laughing, but he always had a curious look about him in all the others. His big wide eyes made him look intrigued and his fat baby's cheeks made him all the more charming.

There was a picture of James holding Harry with one arm and dangling a stuffed stag over him. Harry had the faintest line of a smile on his lips.

It was all too apparent how much Lily loved her baby. Accepting him and choosing to let him be how he was knowing full well he had autism. Not insisting on 'curing' him, but spending every moment of her last year with him and her husband. Loving him no matter how quiet or expressionless he might be, letting him be a baby instead of trying to make him 'normal' like so many parents would have done. It was that unconditional love that made it so beautiful and so tragic. They would've been such good parents to Harry.

Draco felt Harry stir on his chest and closed the book to greet him. His eyes blinked blearily open as he propped himself up on his elbows, his brow furrowing as he glanced at the dark window with rain streaming down it.

"Time is it?" he inquired hoarsely.

"6:30." Draco murmured, "We still have a bit of time to relax before we have to get ready."

Harry buried his face in the crook of Draco's neck, breathing deeply.

"You okay? Do you want something to eat?"

Harry shook his head.

"I'll just throw it all up."

"Okay, no dinner until after maybe?"

Harry nodded, squeezing Draco tight as he half stretched.

Harry grabbed his rubix cube and began to scramble and solve it over and over again to calm himself down as he lounged on Draco.

Ron and Hermione came in a few minutes later as they were getting dressed to grab their own things. Harry was straightening Draco's pale green collar while Draco tucked Harry's light burgundy shirt into his slacks and doing up his belt. Ron gathered up his things and started to change while Hermione went into the bathroom to change.

"Finally got some bloody good dress robes." Ron chuckled as he did up his shirt.

"Dunno, I think anything is a step up from those frills." Harry snickered.

"That was a positively dreadful set of robes." Draco tittered.

Hermione came out a few minutes later wearing a nice gold dress robes and the black flat shoes that she usually wore.

"Practical." Ron grinned.

"Very." Draco hummed, brushing Harry's hair out of his eyes and adjusting his glasses.

Harry pulled on his robes, a fitted simple dark grey with some gold trim. Draco adjusted Harry's cuffs and gave him a kiss.

"Gorgeous." he chuckled, "Give us a spin?"

Harry twirled in a circle, his robes fanning out elegantly, beaming at Draco when he returned to facing him.

Ron smiled at his best friend's happiness. He hadn't seen him so excited since first year and it was nice to see him finally at a point in his life where he is content and not covered in bruises. Hermione nudged him with her elbow, raising her brows significantly at him.

Harry was tying Draco's tie, bouncing his foot as he did so.

"They're sweet." Ron murmured in an undertone.

Hermione smiled.

"Ready?" Draco inquired in a slight breathy voice.

Harry held up his parchment with everything he wanted to say written on it and nodded shakily. Draco rubbed his back as they headed down.

"You're stronger than them." he murmured.

Harry nodded vaguely.

The closer they got to the bustling Great Hall, the more nervous he got. It was like snakes were writhing in his stomach and his ears were burning. McGonagall came out to welcome Harry up to the staff table, Draco, Ron, and Hermione sitting immediately in front of him at the eighth year table.

She pulled up a chair for him beside her own so that he was next to Hagrid and herself. She offered some food to Harry but he simply shook his head, too nervous to eat. The normal din of the feast rang out in the hall for a few minutes before Harry started to get finicky.

His hand shot out to scoot Hagrid's goblet a few inches.

"You keep hitting your knife against it." Harry puffed, his hands working furiously with his cube.

Hagrid murmured a short apology and paid more mind to avoid hitting his silverware against his plate or goblet.

Eventually the time came when food was being cleared and the noise levels began to pick up again. McGonagall got up from her chair to call the hall to silence.

"May I have your attention please?"

The hall quieted almost immediately.

"Now, as I am sure you are all aware, for this end of year feast I have requested a student to speak for this year and everything that the war and his life's journey has meant to him. I am also sure that you have noticed him sitting next to me, and I do request that you be respectful as you would to any other."

She gestured toward him, "Harry, if you could please take my place up here?"

Harry got to his leaden legs, feeling immensely self conscious of everybody's eyes on him. He was suddenly so much more aware of his teeth and his eyes and his voice as he drew nearer to the podium. He placed his parchment script upon the ornate golden owl, deciding to keep his eyes on the parchment instead of the crowd.

He cleared his throat and glanced at his three best friends, Draco, Ron, and Hermione all silently rooting him on with their expressions, Sirius on the bench beside Draco and Hermione like a person. Draco tapped his chest significantly and mouthed 'breathe' as he gave him a soft look Harry knew he only reserved for him.

"Hi." he greeted awkwardly, "I'm Harry, Harry Potter, although I'm pretty sure you all know who I am at this point." he began, licking his lips and wetting his very dry palate.

There were a few chuckles here and there that made him feel good enough to continue.

"I think I can honestly say that my entire Hogwarts experience was simultaneously the best and worst time of my life, and now that it's finally coming to a close and I'm finally on the track to beginning a life I never thought I would have, I wanted to express a few of my thoughts."

He took a deep breath and blinked a few times before continuing.

"Coming here, I had no idea of my fame or even that I was a wizard. I grew up with muggles, and that's a fact that not too many people are aware of. Most of you sitting here today weren't here during my first year, but maybe you'd at least heard talk from a sibling or other adults, that I faced Voldemort when I was newly introduced into this world. He was always this constant in my life and in everything involved with my circumstances. Voldemort was the one who killed my parents, nearly killed one of my best friends, was the reason for the deaths of my godfather Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Tonks, Moody, Dumbledore, Snape, and so many others. He almost destroyed my partner by giving him an ultimatum of kill or be killed."

There was a distant scoff of "Fag" from the Ravenclaw table.

Harry didn't mind, but it did make him feel a lot more self conscious. He rubbed the space between his eyes nervously before continuing.

"I- I think that I can say that this year was one of the hardest and yet one of the most wonderful I've ever experienced. Between finding out why I am the way I am, finding the love of my life, and learning more about the culture my dad comes from, this year had a lot of really amazing moments despite the fact that I started off last year not knowing what to do with myself. We all lost amazing people and great mentors to this. Voldemort ripped families apart just because he was powerful enough to. He didn't care in the end if he-"

"You lied about Romilda!" a Hufflepuff suddenly screamed.

"Yeah! Are you just going to ignore that you got somebody expelled?!" a Ravenclaw chimed in.

"Why are you just talking about yourself faggot!" a surly Slytherin yelled.

"Where's the evidence she raped you you fucking liar?!"

"Why would Romilda fuck a bleeding fairy!"

The majority of the hall looked appalled at the shrieking students.

"Look at his eyes! He looks like a lizard!" a Slytherin screamed with mirth.

"And his stupid teeth!"

"Bet it's from all the cock sucking the squatter does!"

"You think the death eater poof fucks him?"

"Course he does! You seen how tiny the paki bitch is?"

That word triggered something deep and dark in Harry's memory.

"Paki bastard!"

"Retard!"

Harry remembered Vernon screaming those words over and over at him when he would hit him. His knees felt very weak and his head began to spin. He could hear his heart in his ears. His ears hurt. Too much. Too bright. Too loud. Too tense. Every eye was on him and he hated it. It was like he could feel his face and mouth burning where they'd directed the insults. His legs were all shaky and his hands ached, he couldn't hear anything but McGonagall's and Hagrid's voice distantly. His whole body was electric with the shame of it all. He could hear those kids who were so much bigger than him laughing at his appearance and pushing their fingers between his eyes where his glasses, shattered by his feet, had once sat when he was eight.

And then big hands grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from the podium and he was pulled against a hard familiar chest that smelled so good. Another pair of two different hands grabbed his shoulders as large hands began to coast through his hair delicately. He felt a wet nose on his hand and hot dog breath blowing between his fingers. He inhaled.

Draco.

He began to hear soft whispers as his ears ceased their ringing.

"Your feet are on the ground, You're in my arms, Sirius is to your right, Ron and Hermione are on either side of you... Breathe Harry breathe..."

Draco's hands cupped his cheeks and tilted his head upwards.

"There you are... There you are... It's okay..."

He pressed his thumbs between Harry's eyes and stroked his nose bridge.

"Handsome man." he whispered.

Harry was finally able to focus on Draco's pink face.

"Show me a left?"

Harry held up his left hand, hesitating briefly as his brain started to process.

"And a right?"

He did so.

"Give me your hands?"

Harry set his numb appendages in Draco's hands. Draco began lightly squeezing his hands in intervals, causing the sensation to come back slowly.

"How are your hands? Can you feel this?" Draco murmured, giving Harry's palm a kiss.

Harry smiled faintly as Draco pressed his lips to each of Harry's fingers.

"There's that beautiful smile."

Harry blushed but grinned.

"How are you doing mate?" Ron inquired.

Harry shrugged, still rattling.

"Have some water." Hermione suggested, presenting a glass to him.

He took it and sipped the cool water, feeling it slither down his throat like an icy snake.

"What triggered you?" Ron asked.

"Paki... My uncle used to scream that at me a lot..."

Draco brushed his curls back with his fingers.

"You can give the rest of your speech, they've left the hall." Hermione murmured.

"Yeah, the whole hall was listening to you." Ron nodded.

"Except those idiots, but you know they've had it out for you since the beginning of the year." Hermione added.

"We'll stand up there with you if that'd make you feel better." Ron chimed.

Draco nodded.

"We all know how much you hate public speaking." Hermione murmured.

"You'll definitely be able to get your message across now they're gone." Draco assured.

"We all believe in you." Ron hummed.

"You won a war, I think they'll respect you just a bit." Hermione chuckled.

Harry smiled and nodded.

McGonagall came bustling over looking worried.

"Harry, are you alright?" she inquired.

Harry nodded.

"I'd like to continue professor, if that's alright."

She looked at him for a moment before conceding.

"Very well Potter, the stand is yours." McGonagall said with a small smile.

Harry rolled his shoulders and walked up to the podium once more. His notes had gone in the flurry of movement, so he supposed he'd just have to wing it. He took a deep breath before clearing his throat.

"Well- uh- sorry about that." he started, scratching his nose with his shaking hand.

"But you see now that this is the type of harassment I've been getting for being who I am. It's upsetting to see that kind of hatred still brewing viciously in this school- uhm... But I want you all to know that whether you're a Slytherin or a Gryffindor, gay or straight, or anything that might set you apart from others by the stigma, that you aren't alone and there are people who care... And now after we've lost so many honestly good people and countless family members, I think it's time we just love or at least be kind to others who might be different. I'm a bloody basket case and there's still a man who loves me for who I am and not for my fame."

Harry glanced up at the rapt crowd.

"I'm kind of just speaking off the top of my head because my notes got blown away, but I hope you guys understand that my message is the thing that saved me and gave so many others a second chance. Love. I know it's cheesy and it was Dumbledore's thing that he preached, but I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for the love of my mother and father, my two best friends in this world, and my wonderful boyfriend. Just forgive, show heart, and love with all you have, even if it seems like the most impossible thing in the world, trust me I know, just love. It really can change somebody's life." he finished.

A burst of applause rang out and he heard professor McGonagall hum "Well said Potter" as his three closest friends came bounding up to him. His best friends squeezing him in a mild pressure hug that made him laugh. Draco sauntered up to him coolly and wrapped his arm around his waist.

"Always short and sweet hmm?" he chuckled.

Harry beamed at him and let himself be led to the table, where his great dog gave him slobbery kisses.

"You did brilliant Harry!" Hermione panted like she had run a marathon.

"Yeah mate! They loved you!" Ron cheered.

"For the two minutes I was up there?" Harry snorted, grabbing a bowl of soup.

Sirius licked his ear and nibbled it with his front incisors, making Harry laugh and pat the great dogs head.

"Yeah, keeps their attention better I reckon." Ron agreed.

Dinner was finally over in a few short minutes. They trooped back up to their dormitories, Sirius trotting beside them, where they all undressed and got into bed with their respective partner. Ron had suggested they crack open a fire whiskey, but Harry wasn't a fan of drinking as he was afraid of becoming violent like his uncle. They all perched on the footboards of their beds as they chatted away. He had nothing against the others drinking, so they each had a shot to spice things up.

"It seems so inappropriate to be in the mood right now." Ron snorted.

"It's celebratory." Hermione chuckled.

"I think you both know I'll be ravaging this one tonight." Draco snickered.

Harry blushed.

"I'd like that." he murmured.

"Never took you to be the submissive type Harry." Ron puffed.

"Well this one has a bit of a fear of being out of control, which is something I had to learn to be okay with during our first time." Harry said matter of factly.

"Figures." Hermione hummed.

They chatted for a while as Harry sat tiredly beside Draco.

Eventually, Ron leapt into bed with Hermione and drew the hangings shut around them as Harry and Draco did the same.

Harry lay on his back after he stripped his boxers and traced his fingers through the diamond of hair on his chest. Draco rested himself on Harry's chest and began drawing little figure eights in the scar on his sternum.

"Are you tired or do you want to have sex my love?" Draco murmured.

"Can we do that intercrural thing again?"

"Of course." Draco chuckled.

And so they did. Loving and slowly caressing each other as they made sweet unconditional love, Draco covering Harry in kisses before eating him out just how he liked. Harry dragged his warm warm hands over Draco's back as he thrust languidly between his cheeks.

Graduation was in two days, and Harry didn't have to do anymore speeches. He was so so happy to be curled up in this bed with Draco and he couldn't wait to bring him to Grimauld so they could make it theirs.

Notes:
I hope you enjoyed! There's going to be more so don't worry! We're going to have some graduation and moving into Grimauld and I'm super excited to write these new things. Also I have an idea for the marriage proposal brewing so that'll be happening soon too!

afterending

Chapter 39: Graduation

Summary:
Graduation has finally arrived!

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
Harry gasped as his forearm bumped the pan, causing the knife to slip and slice his finger. He stuck the gashed finger in his mouth to quell the bleeding by any means. He was eight and sickly looking. Half the size of his beefy cousin in height and extremely underweight and wasted in his thin limbs.

Marge and Vernon were guffawing grossly at something as Dudley screeched at his video game.

Harry withdrew his knobbly little finger from his mouth, finding the cut to be badly clotted and puffy. He continued to make breakfast, shivering with the cold winter air biting at his bones combined with his body slowly wanting to give out from lack of sustenance. He was tired and desperately hungry and his brain kept hyper focusing on the asymmetrical tile work of the countertop instead of the food. He wanted so badly to just rock on his toes or wiggle his feet in some way. Figuring he might be able to get away with it while Petunia wasn't looking, he propped himself up on his toes and began to rock very gently.

His legs seemed to tremble with relief as he moved ever more vigorously, finally managing to focus on the food fully. He was so absorbed in spreading butter over fat slices of toast that he didn't notice Petunia angrily stomping over to him until she came into his line of peripheral vision. Immediately falling back onto his heels, he glanced up at her, but too late. Her heel clad foot came sweeping under him aggressively and he lost balance.

He hit the floor with a sickening crack of small bones on tile, the knife impaling his hand as he collapsed.

"What did I tell you about that abnormality?! Just be normal you freakish little rat! Stop moving for God's sake- if a neighbor saw you-" she snarled, watching the tiny boy delicately take the blade out of his thin hand and hold it close to his body as he set the knife in the sink.

"Sorry aunt Petunia..." Harry mumbled, hastily wrapping a paper towel around his bleeding palm.

He mended his crumbling glasses with a lot more scotch tape before slinking back over to the breakfast.

"You get the pieces you've burned." Petunia snapped, throwing the scorched French toast and two pieces of bacon onto a plate and thrusting it into his thin chest.

"Cupboard. Now."

Marge laughed heartily at the little boy as he traipsed to his cupboard.

"Good of you to take the paki runt! If he were a dog, I'd've drowned him! With all those facial defects and the obvious brain problem, he'd be basically useless! Unprofitable! Use more extreme force on the boy Vernon! It's the only way he listens!" she warbled.

Harry hung his head in shame as he shuffled to his cupboard. He sat on the hard floor, wrapping his beyond tattered blanket around his shivering body and peeled the French toast in half. The center was still warm and soft, so he used his fingers to scoop out the innards of the vaguely sweet bread before moving on to eating the bacon. He didn't like the texture at all, but he knew he couldn't live on the surplus of bread Petunia gave him. If he was lucky, he might get a can of cold soup, but it wasn't looking up for him at the moment.

"He's a right pain in my side, but he's useful when we make him. With all his teachers telling us they're concerned that he's mentally inhibited and that load of tosh, he's lucky he's got a roof over his head cause nobody else in Little Whinging would take him and his problems." Vernon grumbled.

Marge hummed.

"Your sister was a bad egg Petunia, I've been saying it for ages, bad bitch, bad pup, and he's especially runty and rude looking that one."

Harry trudged out with his empty plate, hoping beyond hope that they'd all leave him alone. But, of course, Marge, Vernon, and Petunia scoffed at the little boy as he passed. Dudley was shoveling bacon into his mouth while leaning across the table to grab the jug of juice and smiled maliciously when he saw Harry. He knocked it with his fat little hand so aggressively that it spattered all over Harry. He scrambled through the wet floor and set his plate down on the counter, only to find Petunia thrusting the mop into his body.

"Tell me Vernon, do you whip the boy?" Marge gurgled as Harry began to mop the floor.

"Have since he was a toddler. Don't remember what age though." Vernon chortled.

Harry went to put away the mop. And then he tripped. And he knocked over Petunia.

Vernon immediately howled with rage and grabbed the tiny boy by the scruff of his neck. Harry fought, to no avail, as he was dragged up the stairs into Dudley's second bedroom.

Marge came waddling up the stairs after Vernon calling, "Give us a show Vernon!"

Harry was trembling violently by the time he was being thrown to the floor like a ragdoll and Vernon was whipping his belt out of his pants. Marge chuckled, amused at Harry's misery, and pulled off his huge shirt.

"With bulldogs, you've got to grab them by the head so they don't bite you!" she cackled, grabbing two handfuls of Harry's wild hair and wrenching his skull downward to her waistline.

He thought that that probably wasn't true, but he didn't have much space in his frazzled mind to think about it too much.

He fought and wriggled, but her grip was vice like around his head as the first lash came down on him. His skin split so easily, it was terrifying. He felt the belt come down in burning licks that made him bleed and his head was beginning to ache from the pressure Marge was exerting on it. He whined as two lashes were carved on either side of his neck vertebrae, screeching when Marge's thick hand found his neck and wrenched at the bleeding scruff.

"Harry?" came a voice from far far away.

He was thrown onto his chest while they screamed "Paki runt!" at him.

"Harry- wake up! C'mon-" Draco urged.

His ankle was twisted violently in Vernon's hand as he held the struggling boy down and whipped him twice more.

"Haz! Wake up!"

Harry sucked in a breath, his eyes flying open to meet a silvery gaze.

"Baby boy... It's okay... C'mere, you're shivering..." Draco murmured.

Harry tucked himself against Draco's chest as he pulled the duvets higher over their intertwined naked bodies.

"What happened my love?" he inquired, rubbing his chest where Harry had kicked him.

"Nightmare..." he mumbled.

Draco stroked his back, tracing the scars one by one with his fingers. Harry did the same, running his hand up and down Draco's chest to press his fingers into the scars. Draco eventually reached Harry's stretch marks on his hips and bum, feeling the smooth indents of his sensitive skin and giving his hip a little squeeze.

"Was it about your scars?" he asked as he dipped his finger back into each of Harry's stretch marks.

Harry nodded and wriggled away from Draco's touch.

"Stop..." he murmured with a half hearted laugh and a lazy attempt to pull Draco's hands away.

"You know how I feel about them..."

"Your stretch marks?" Draco inquired.

Harry nodded sheepishly. Draco wrapped his hands around Harry's waist and dragged his fingers down the lines covering Harry's outer thighs. He rolled on top of him and kissed down his body until he was nestled between his thighs.

"I think they're absolutely gorgeous, and I'm the only one who really gets to see them besides you... Look at them... They're so beautiful... Like tiger stripes yeah?" Draco observed.

Harry chuckled, watching Draco press his lips to every white, red, and gold line of discoloration.

"These marks are like your eyes... They're yours and they are a part of you. Your eyes are a beautiful emerald green unlike any other and they're a bit far apart, your cute teeth are charming and imperfectly endearing. These stretch marks are gorgeous, I think they show that you've grown out of your past... I couldn't have asked for a more handsomely unique boyfriend." Draco purred.

He continued to press his loving kisses to Harry's thighs until he was giggling softly. Reaching down to grab Draco's hair, Harry smiled genuinely at him, with his sweet face lighting up as he did so.

Draco crawled back up to meet him in a soft kiss, his thumbs stroking Harry's cheeks as their lips moved in a wet tandem. They broke apart and simply lay with each other, occasionally kissing a cheek or shoulder lazily. Draco got up to get Harry an ice cold flannel to help his feverish shivering and aching head. He placed it under Harry's neck and watched him sigh and begin to relax.

Draco stroked Harry's chest, feeling his lower ribs and the inelasticity of his skin, a stubborn symptom of his malnutrition. Sirius gave an immense snore and Harry yawned hugely, tittering breathily, before snuggling into his side and falling asleep.



Hermione woke to find Ron snoring loudly beside her and Harry and Draco's hangings wide open. She stretched, feeling her muscles readjusting as she did so, and slid out of bed to go take a shower. She scooped up her things as she headed over to the bathroom, having placed them there the day prior, and caught a glimpse of Harry and Draco.

They were curled up, completely naked and barely under the covers. Harry was on his stomach, his scars and stretch marks fully exposed in the filtering morning light, while Draco lay on his back, his arm over his eyes and his body uncovered to the mid thigh which exposed his morning wood. Harry had a flannel resting on the back of his neck and his head was facing Draco. She noticed that Harry had a great red hickey on his right buttock, and chuckled to herself.

When she entered the bathroom, there was a clear divide on who's shower was who's. The far left was clearly Harry's, with Draco's things bleeding into the mix, Ron's was on the far right, and Draco's was in the middle, although it was basically unused since he and Harry had started being intimate. She chose the center one, took Harry's shampoo, and grabbed Draco's body wash, as the two were less musky than Ron.

Their morning was long and relaxing. They brought up a whole slew of foods from the kitchens, adorned in nothing but dressing gowns, and had a fun time trying new things that Harry had quickly cooked and seeing how much Sirius could catch when they tossed bits and pieces to him. Their trip down to the kitchens had them all in hysterics by the hilarity of everybody's dressing gowns flying up and swishing around as they scampered down there. Even Hermione was snickering heartily by the time they made it to the kitchens, and Ron was in tears by the time they were collapsed back on their beds.

They meandered into Hogsmeade a few hours later after getting dressed, eventually slipping into different shops with their respective partners.

Harry, Sirius, and Draco, much to Harry's excitement, went into Honeydukes, grabbed a few sweets, Harry having to keep an eye on his mischievous dog, and left to wander around.

"Does any place around here have coffee?" Draco inquired.

"Well... The Three Broomsticks does, but I'm pretty sure Madame Pudifoot's specializes in it." Harry hummed.

"Let's go to that one, I'm not too keen on getting yelled at in the Three Broomsticks today..."

Harry frowned at him, remembering how terribly his last experience had gone in the place, and opened his mouth to interject, but couldn't think of anything.

And that's how Harry found himself sat with Draco, perched cleverly in a chair as they sat in Madame fucking Pudifoot's with Sirius lounging beneath their table. He hadn't been too keen on coming in here, but it was warm and the coffee looked very good. Harry intertwined their hands and smiled at Draco. It was much nicer without all the Valentine decorations.

They were talking about graduation and the different seals that would be awarded, when Cho meandered over to their table.

"Hello Harry- you wouldn't mind if I sat with you two, would you?" she asked tentatively.

Harry blinked at her before nodding.

"Yeah, that's alright."

"How've you been?" she inquired, "I thought your speech was really powerful and it's awful that those people interrupted you like that."

Draco hummed.

"I've been good actually, a lot happier than when we went out definitely."

"I can see that." Cho chuckled, "I never thought I'd see you in here after our disaster date."

Harry grinned.

"When did you go out?" Draco inquired with a smile.

"Fifth year, right before I had my first sexuality crisis over you." Harry tittered.

"Well I know that, Pansy was off her face about it, but what day?"

"Valentine's I think."

Cho nodded.

"It makes sense for you to be into men-" Cho began.

"You can just say gay but go on." he hummed.

"Oh well yes- it makes sense that you are gay, I mean you're in no way stereotypically gay, but you always looked at boys when you were around other girls who liked you. Even with me, you kept looking at boys and you just seemed violently uncomfortable all the time. Or Ginny, I dunno Harry I think you just like jocks." she chuckled.

Draco laughed heartily.

"You know, she's right about that... Cedric, her, Ginny, and then me, we're all seekers Harry."

Harry blushed and tapped his chin with his finger.

"I never thought about it like that..." he murmured.

"Cedric?" Cho prompted.

"Yeah I dunno, he was pretty good looking, not really my type though..." he pondered.

"So your type is..." she glanced at Draco, "Tall and blonde?"

"I guess so." Harry chuckled.

"I think your assumption of jock was pretty correct for the most part." Draco hummed.

"You're not a fucking jock Draco." Harry snorted.

"What am I then?" Draco challenged with a grin.

"A class A dickwad."

He mocked affront and sipped his coffee pointedly.

"You know it's true." Harry chucked.

"Do you see me denying it?" Draco scoffed as Harry playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"I think there's a quidditch trend with me."

"Kink more like." Draco muttered.

"Arse."

"You love it."

"Do I?."

"You know... Ginny could've destroyed you while simultaneously carrying the whole team." Draco snickered.

"I do." Harry chuckled to himself.

"I dunno, I think you were a long time coming." Cho commented thoughtfully.

"Me?" Draco inquired.

"Yes you, there was always this specific type of tension between you two where you couldn't tell if you were going to kill each other or kiss each other."

"I've been interested in the idiot since fourth year, so you're probably right." he laughed.

They chatted for another twenty minutes before a guy, that neither Harry nor Draco recognized, came and whisked her away.

Eventually, they made their way up to the castle for their robe fittings. Harry got pulled onto a pedestal by Madame Malkin and had a tape measure whiz around him. Draco was pulled up by a small and rather old little witch. Ron was on his left being measured around the waist and Draco was two stands down as Dean and Seamus were stood between them. Hermione was on the other side of the room with Ginny, Luna, and Cho being fitted by a few different and younger looking witches. They were all separated by curtains so they couldn't see each other, as they had to strip into their undergarments for the whole fitting. Their outfits were being coordinated completely down to the underclothes, so they really were building the robes from the ground up.

Harry was uncomfortable and requested that he have another privacy curtain behind him.

"Of course dear." The witch hummed, "No need to be uncomfortable, I expect you have scars?"

Harry nodded.

"Not to worry dear, your all covered up so nobody can see you okay?"

"Thank you." he murmured, pulling off his sweater and jeans.

"You've grown into such a handsome man Harry, there's nothing to be ashamed of." she assured warmly.

Harry felt the tape measure snake around his neck and down his arm, then leg, then waist. Everybody was getting fitted by house color with two options of design. There was the option of the main house color with the corresponding accents or the other way around.

She pulled a large white high necked jumper over his head and fitted it to his torso, adjusting the collar so that it was folded neatly. She kept adjusting the color until it was a cool shade of black and fitted him into some pants next.

"Small hips... Very curvy thighs... Your inseam is a bit too long... Adjust that so it doesn't press on the hips..." she muttered to herself.

Harry felt everything continually shifting around on his body until he was in a black turtleneck and some medium grey slacks.

The little witch draped a loose set of deep scarlet robes over him.

"Ooh yes dearie, this color is gorgeous with your skin!" she chuckled.

Harry smiled shyly.

She flicked her wand, causing the sleeves to widen around the wrist and the shoulders to tighten.

"Powerful upper body... Wide shoulders... Let's tighten that up, and add some gold here..."

Harry watched the gold Gryffindor trimming and thread weave itself into the fine details in the wrists and seams over the whole piece. He got the signature lion emblem neatly embroidered on his breast pocket as his buttons were adjusted and switched out. He was fitted into a nice pair of shoes before he was finally having the finishing touches put on.

He turned to face the mirror and received a slight shock at his own appearance. He actually thought he looked good. His chest was being delicately outlined by the skin tight turtleneck underneath his flowing robes that hugged his shoulders in all the right places. He turned, moving the robes to look at his legs and arse. He had a very round and defined bum in these pants and his thighs looked extra thick and juicy by the way the fit was sitting on his body. His shoes were simple black dress shoes like Draco always wore.

"Thank you." he breathed, still unable to believe that he was seeing himself in the mirror.

"Oh no problem dear! Draco should be done as well, why don't you go show him?" she suggested.

Harry nodded excitedly before bounding out from behind the curtains to walk over to Draco.

Draco was having his tie readjusted when Harry peaked through the curtains. He caught sight of Harry and smiled. The witch fitting him finished with a flourish of her hands, causing Draco to immediately analyze his appearance in the mirror. She bustled out of the curtains to finish up Dean.

"I want to see you." he chuckled, beckoning Harry with his finger as he turned to look at him.

Harry slipped through the curtains fully, Sirius slinking loyally behind him, smiling sheepishly when Draco's mouth fell open slightly.

"Chéri, tu as l'air magnifique! Je pourrais faire l'amour avec toi ici... avec ces larges robes fluides..." Draco purred.

Harry flushed. He knew what the second sentence meant and it made him feel fuzzy inside. Draco told him that it meant 'I could make love to you right here' when they were basking in the afterglow of sex a few nights ago and it made his gut heat up with a fierce tension that caused his pupils to expand.

"Gorgeous..." Harry murmured, eyeing Draco admiringly.

He was in long malachite robes with a black button up and a silver tie fastened neatly to the front with a gold clip that had a D engraved in it. He had jet black pants that were ironed to perfection and the silver trimming on his currently optionally sleeveless robe resting beautifully on his shoulders was brilliantly sparkling.

Harry ran his thumb along the clip as he leaned in for a kiss. The curtains drew back as everybody was finished, Harry and Draco still remained locked at the mouth not giving a care in the world. Ron snorted somewhere to his left and Seamus snickered something before yanking Dean in for a peck.

They broke apart to find Ron, Hermione, and Ginny waiting impatiently but smiling nonetheless.



When graduation finally rolled around the next day, Draco was looking fairly depressed. They had just gotten dressed into their robes and Draco was sitting on the edge of the bed looking thoroughly downcast.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, doing his best to keep the sarcastic edge out of his voice.

"It's nothing..." he murmered.

"It's something." Harry tried after a significant pause, sitting down beside him.

Draco smiled sadly at Harry's poor comfort skills and simply held his hand.

"Mother and Father aren't going to be here and I'm... Bracing myself for it..."

"Well... You never know... And Molly is going to be here- she liked you, didn't she..."

"I'd like to think so... Mother might've helped me come back here, but she still doesn't know how to feel about our relationship... or my decisions..."

"I dunno... You said that she wanted an heir as soon as possible... But not that she'd disowned you, right?"

"I suppose so..."

Harry didn't quite know what to say, so he patted Draco the back.

"It'll be okay Dragon..." Harry murmured.

Draco smiled at the pet name.

"I know that, but it's still hard to feel, I don't know, like I belong... With you and the family you've built for yourself..."

"You're part of my family no matter what." Harry firmly stated.

Draco glanced over into Harry's fiery emerald eyes and squeezed his hand a little tighter.

"I love you." Harry near whispered in a soft honest and delicately low tone.

"I love you too." Draco mumbled with an emotional gravelly crackle in his throat.

He accepted Harry's gesture of affection, allowing his curly haired crown to gently press against his cheek, and brought his hand up to sink his fingers into his plush hair. Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around Draco's chest.

"You're strong Draco."

"Not as strong as you..."

"It's all relative."

He kissed Harry's head and let his hand slide out of his hair.

"Well come on scarhead, we have a graduation to go to." Draco tittered.

Harry beamed at him as they stood. He called Sirius with a pat on his leg, making the dog stretch hugely as he loped out of his bed. Hands clasped together, they exited the dorms and headed out into the courtyard, Sirius cantering happily in front of them.

There were bounties of people huddled in groups greeting everybody. A large banner emblazoned with 'Class of '99,' a stage with a small podium and all the house flags had been set up.

They spent a few minutes saying hello and chatting with others, Harry was especially interesting to near everybody there, and Sirius did a brilliant job of making them keep a distance, before McGonagall called them all to order. They were instructed to line up alphabetically, which took a few minutes to perfect, and McGonagall began to speak.

"Now then, before we go any further in these proceedings, I would like to warn all of you that any jeers or taunts about gay couples, queer students, neurological conditions, mental conditions, anxiety, PTSD, death eater pasts, or any offensive language directed toward any of these students, will get you removed from this ceremony at once. I would also like to make it known that any person who knows of the Vane case and expulsion please keep your mouths shut about lies. We have more than enough evidence from myself, the victim and his boyfriend who had to witness her commit such an atrocity against a man she couldn't have because of his sexual orientation. And now that we have that out of the way, let us congratulate all of these lovely students for completing their seventh years and officially becoming Hogwarts graduates!" she began.

After that, every person was called to receive their NEWT results. They cycled through fairly quickly, having been one of the smallest seventh year classes in Hogwarts history, and joined up with friends as they awaited the seals and awards. Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna waved to the whole of the Weasley family that had shown up to watch. Fred and George whooped appreciatively and Bill and Fleur smiled beside Charlie and Percy, who were both waving back enthusiastically.

Draco was glowing after that, smiling broadly and wrapping his arm around Harry's waist, not even remotely resembling his saddened self from the morning. Harry snaked his arm around Draco's waist as well, patting Sirius's head with his free hand.

"See?" he hummed.

"Yes scarhead," Draco chuckled, "But pay attention you dolt, McGonagall's speaking."

Harry perked at the stage quickly, hearing Draco scoff, amused at his attention abilities, through his nose. It was such a simply Harry thing that he found he was incredibly fond of and playfully frustrated by.

"And now, I would like to recognize a few select students for their performances and awards they have gained over the years. Please be aware that some awards have a male and a female category." McGonagall announced.

The group perked excitedly as all talk quieted to listen.

"First, I would like to recognize two outstanding students who have received eight NEWTs each and have had incredible performance throughout their academic careers."

There was a pregnant pause of wild tension.

"Could Ms Hermione Granger and Mr Draco Malfoy come accept the rewards of top of the class!" McGonagall continued with a hearty chuckle.

They were both presented with a gold stole with the Hogwarts crest to wear around their necks.

"And next, for outstanding performance in herbology and the likely successor to Professor Sprout herself, Mr Neville Longbottom!"

He stumbled up onto the stage beside Hermione, recieving a forest green stole from Sprout.

"For incredible performance in Defence Against the Dark Arts regardless of the ever changing track record of teachers and more special services to the school and wizarding kind than I can count, Mr Harry Potter!"

Harry scampered up beside Draco, Sirius lolloping behind him, interlocking their hands as he was presented with a scarlet stole with black edges. Sirius sat down proudly beside him in a highly presentable manner and licked his hand affectionately.

"And the other half of one of the power couples to emerge in this year." McGonagall added with a quiet laugh.

Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, and Percy were cheering and clapping wildly. Even Fleur was laughing happily and waving at Harry. Hagrid was sat beside Arthur and a raw of commemorative chairs with Remus's, Sirius's, James's, Lily's, Tonks', Moody's, and Dumbledore's names on them and parchment sitting on them as an ode to each of them. There was even a golden perch with Hedwig's name on it, which made Harry smile sadly at the memory of his wonderful owl.

More awards were handed out even then. Ron and Ginny for being incredible quidditch players and demonstrating Perseverance during one of the most trying academic periods of their life, fifth year. Draco for his incredible potion work, Hannah Abbott for her great Care of Magical Creatures work, Ron for his impressive charm and hex work, and everybody who was involved in the Battle of Hogwarts for their participation and efforts. They had a moment of silence for all who had been lost.

Sirius leaned against Harry's leg when he started to get into his head, grounding him. Hagrid had showed Harry all of Sirius's skills and training a few weekends ago before their exams, and Harry was immensely thankful for his smart dog. He was trained to put his body under Harry's head if he was to have a seizure, use his paws, body, and muzzle to keep Harry from hurting himself during a meltdown, and recognize when Harry was about to have a panic attack or sensory overload and know which method to respond with. He would either lean his weight against Harry's legs or pull on his sleeves or robes to get him out of the room or place that was causing his overload and bark softly for Draco or somebody to help. He knew that Harry needed a certain boundary around him, besides those he loved and cared for, and enforced it. And he knew when to calm down for Harry's comfort.

Harry pet his dog's big floppy ear and squeezed Draco tight.

Before he knew it, the ceremony had ended and Harry was leading Draco over to his basic foster family. Hagrid squeezed Harry in a hug while the twins one arm hugged Draco on either side. They all got hugs, Molly coming to embrace Draco last.

"I'm sorry your parents aren't here Draco, and I know it's not the same, but you're as good as a part of our family now... You and Harry both. Alright?" she murmured comfortingly.

Draco nodded and lightly returned her embrace, more nervous and emotional than anything. This was officially the next step of his life with Harry, and fuck was he scared, but he was excited all at the same time to be sharing a home with him in only a couple days.

"Well if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go chat to my potential in-laws!" she chirupped excitedly and bustled over to the Grangers.

"Are you still okay with- uh- moving in with me?" Harry inquired tentatively.

Draco raised his eyebrows in concern.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked seriously.

Harry fumbled with his words for a moment before deciding to play with Draco's tie clip and answering.

"I dunno- I just thought maybe I am too high maintenance and that you didn't realize that when you agreed or something." Harry blurted self consciously.

"Hey, Harry..." Draco cooed, tilting his head up by nudging his chin.

"There's no way you are more high maintenance than me. Absolutely none." he deadpanned.

Harry laughed and played with the clip some more.

"I suppose you're right."

"You suppose?" Draco challenged.

"Alright, you're absolutely right... you over opened ferret." Harry replied cheekily.

Draco playfully swatted his shoulder.

"There's nothing about you, Harry, that could make me leave you. You're flawed and I know that, I'm flawed and you know that, but I still love you and you still love me... That's kind of the point of love, don't you think?"

"How do you mean?"

"Love is hard, but the ones who can make it last are the ones who accept their partners unconditionally and are still willing to call each other out on their bullshit. I can't just tell you or myself not to worry, we're both anxious, but I can reassure you that I love you in every way that I can, for you and me."

Harry hummed and brushed Draco's hair away from his eyes and tucked the stray fluff behind his ear.

"You're a lot better with words than me, but you're right, and I love you too Dragon."

"I'm nervous yeah, but I'm ready to move in with you and plus... It'll be all ours... So we can christen every room whenever we like..."

Harry grinned mischievously.

"We'll do it in every room..."

"Every room..." Draco purred.

Harry laughed and smacked Draco's thigh playfully.

That evening was spent packing for the next morning's trip back to King's Cross. They were all emotional and in near tears by the time they were eating dinner in their beds.

"It's kind of crazy how I came to my first home to find the man I'd bring to my second..." Harry reminisced.

"First home?" Draco inquired.

"I consider Hogwarts my home, never the Dursley's... You've seen what they've done to me..."

"Makes sense mate." Ron hummed as Draco rubbed Harry's back.

"Speaking of homes," Harry began through the bit of food in his mouth, "What are you and 'Mione going to do?"

"Ah well, it was going to be a surprise, but I guess I should tell you know." Ron chuckled breathily.

Hermione cocked her head in interest.

"I've gotten us a flat close to Grimauld with Fred and George's help, nice place, not as big as Grimauld though." he explained nervously.

"Oh Ron!" Hermione cried, throwing her arms around his neck and toppling them over, "That's wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

Harry and Draco laughed at her excitement and Ron's bemusement.

"You think?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes!"

They sat back up, Hermione kissing Ron soundly.

Harry was feeling a good bit better about it all now. Seeing his friends and his boyfriend so happy to continue on and move into new homes made him much less anxious than before.

When they curled up for the night, none of them could stop smiling.

Notes:
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it! I'm super excited to start them all moving and settling in and living and just being happy!

afterending

Chapter 40: To Build a Home

Summary:
The quartet are finally leaving Hogwarts to go settle into their new homes.

Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text
The next morning was a very cathartic experience for the lot of them. It was rather fast paced and Harry found himself with a writhing ball of anxiety and a strange sense of excited relief in his stomach. One moment he felt like imploding with nervousness and emotions, and the next he felt sweaty as chills of release ran over his body.

They closed their trunks with a click of clasps that made Harry's brain reel, Draco clipped a lead to Sirius's collar, and they packed away Harry's weighted duvets, figuring that they might as well seeing how they'd had multiple nights of sex and naked sleep on it. Harry packed up all his fidget toys into the bag the twins had given him. Draco put their lube, toys, and lingerie into a neat little bag before stowing it. Harry delicately placed Hagrid's carving and Draco's set of two enchanted tiny broomsticks he'd given him for Christmas, and set them neatly atop his pile of sweaters with imperturbable charms.

Ron and Hermione were running around gathering their own things and sex toys that made Ron pink in the face whenever he caught a glimpse of them.

Finally, with a final click of Harry's trunk, they were packed, their room was bare, and their memories were stowed away. All the beds had been returned to their simple grey state and the drawers were emptied of belongings. It was a bit depressing, but they all smiled at the room that had been the place of so many firsts, and closed the door. Harry, Draco, and Ron all knocked on the plaque bearing their names before starting down the hall.

Sirius's tags were jingling, their trunks were floating behind them, and Harry's hand was clutching his baby book that he had yet to explore the new photos of that had been found in Dumbledore's, Snape's, and the DADA classroom, that could've only belonged to Remus, desk. Ron was carrying a twittering Pigwideon and a meowing Crookshanks.

They descended the marble staircase after weaving through halls that Harry ran his fingers along the walls of, and out into the Great Hall. Students were continuing out into the Entrance Hall in a steady stream toward McGonagall's voice. When they finally reached the summer sunshine, said woman greeted them.

"Potter! Malfoy! Weasley! Granger!" she called.

They all turned to her in intrigue.

"It's been a pleasure to teach you all, even if you three were some of the worst troublemakers I've ever encountered." she chuckled, indicating the Golden Trio.

"More troublesome than the marauders?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Nobody could ever be more troublesome than your father and Sirius." she tittered.

They laughed heartily and McGonagall reminded them of job opportunities just as they got into a carriage.

They were taken down to Hogsmeade to board the train back to King's Cross, smiling solemnly back at the school that held so many memories. Their belongings were put into the overhead luggage rack and they settled into the seats.

Eventually, the train began to move, and Harry kept his eyes on the castle until it was only just visible. He loved Hogwarts so much, but the knowledge that he was officially taking a step in the direction of the life he never thought he'd have was immensely comforting. The castle finally disappeared from view and Harry gazed at the spot it vanished at for several minutes in a distant sort of awe.

Glancing down at his lap, he found his book and Draco's hand resting atop his thigh. Sirius was curled up by Crookshanks basket and Pigwideon's cage on Draco's other side. Ron and Hermione had fallen asleep against each other, mouths hanging open with the exhaustion of packing so hastily.

Draco blew on Harry's ear in his exhale that followed an enormous yawn, garnering his attention.

"Can I see this?" Draco inquired, gesturing toward the book.

Harry nodded absently and watched Draco pick it up to open it to the new stack of photos. He felt a surge of borderline excitement mixed with curious intrigue bubble up in his chest at the sight of his mother and father.

"Can we go tomorrow? To Godric's Hollow?" Harry blurted.

"Of course." Draco murmured, the softness he only showed for him coming out.

Harry stared at the photo Draco had just turned to, finding his mother cradling him, a black haired baby boy, as he was breastfed, eyes closed and cherub cheeks pooched with baby fat, while his father stroked his tiny peachy curls. It really gave the scale of exactly how tiny Harry was when he was born, a bitty 4 lbs 5 oz as labeled at the bottom of his newborn photo. He'd grown a bit, but he was still incredibly small likely due to Lily's stress and her own slim figure. Neither parent minded that they had a low birth weight baby, they just loved him.

There was a photo of Lily with a crying James as she held her new baby against her bare chest, medical labor robes draped over the side of the bed as she glowed with happiness and exhaustion. James was overwhelmed by the grip of Harry's tiny hand around his finger, wiping his eyes as he sobbed, overjoyed, at his son.

The next showed Sirius holding Harry while Remus wriggled his finger in the child's small grip. James was by Sirius and grabbing his arm rather tightly, clearly protective of his days old son. There were many of Lily and Harry in the new stack of photos, most likely from Snape, similar to the photo he'd torn in half.

It made Harry long for everything he'd missed. Any semblance of a normal childhood free of fearing which bone would be broken next or what Dudley and his gang would choose to tease next. Just anything like what Ron might've experienced. It was strange to think about. He didn't remember his time with his parents, but he vividly remembered his primary school days when he was always the only person of color in his class. His hand me down clothes and near destroyed backpack made him stick out even more and be an even better target for teasing.

He glanced at the next photo, his brain wandering off into wonderment at what he might've had, only to be brought back to reality with a jolt of his stomach.

It was of his mother with him in her arms in a medical bed beside Alice Longbottom with a newborn Neville. Neville was significantly bigger than he was, nearly twice his size, and had a pinkish tone to his skin whereas Harry was still a shade paler than his normal tone and had a slowly fading purplish undertone that meant he was only hours old.

He never knew how close Neville and he were born. Both mothers looked beyond exhausted, Alice especially, but extremely pleased.

Harry rested against Draco and inhaled his pleasing scent, letting his body rock with the train as he flicked through the pictures. He had that sense of catharsis swelling inside him again, powerful and wriggling rather unpleasantly in his stomach and lungs, but it was freeing. He felt loss at leaving the castle, not to come back for several years no doubt, and yet he had a rushing sense of freedom from everything horrible that had happened there.

From his stressful, cataclysmic fifth, sixth, and seventh years, to his near death first, second, and fourth years, his eighth felt so much calmer in his mind despite everything that had happened to him this year alone. Even though he'd been worshipped in that way anybody who knew him knew he hated or snarled at by those thinking he was attention seeking and blaming him for their friends and family members death's, to downright bring viciously attacked by Romilda for his sexuality, he rather liked this year.

In the beginning it was a drag of nightmares and slam or appraisal pieces on his name all over the prophet, mostly praise he honestly didn't want, and he had an absolute lethargy to go with his zero motivation to do anything. He still fell down hard occasionally, breaking down for a variety of reasons he could barely name, but Draco was a huge help and a caring partner that had the ability to make him feel good about himself like he never had before.

He would've never thought he'd be the one who confidently enjoyed being on the recieving end when it came to sex, nor did he think he'd be okay with wearing things like stockings, large flattering sweaters, or lingerie of any sort. But Draco had a way of making him feel attractive and safe to do what he wanted. He had this idea that he wanted to try with Draco, but he was much too shy to bring it up. Even though Draco made him feel impossibly good and loved, he didn't know how he would take to more aggressive sex.

Sure, they'd done some new stuff here and there, but Harry- he wanted to be vulgar, he wanted his chin to be wet with spit and- he flushed at the thought of it- Draco's come as he fucked his mouth. It was the one thing Harry knew he wanted to try that was dirty when they were all alone. He didn't know why, and he certainly wasn't a whore about it, but it excited him. The thought of relinquishing that part of himself to Draco got him all hot and bothered.

He drifted into a vivid daydream of himself looking up at Draco as his alabaster cheeks flushed pink and his hips drove into his mouth, plunging his length down his throat.

Draco must've noticed him crossing his legs rather obviously, because his hand found his hip and gave him slow comforting touches. Urging Harry to calm down, his fingers grazed his hip bones with earnest strokes. His prescene was calming, his touches non sexual, and soon Harry was asleep on his shoulder.

He gazed at the man as he slept on. He was truly excited to see Grimauld and rebuild it with his lover. To have their own bedroom would be exquisite and Harry could demonstrate his masterful cooking skills in their very own kitchen. The place was probably very beaten up and drab, but he didn't mind at all, the prospect of being on their own was as terrifying as it was wonderful. Harry likely wouldn't take a lot of adjusting, having been very much on his own for the near entirety of his life, but Draco wasn't sure how he was going to cope.

He was still unsure of what to make of his parents basically disowning him, he had no inkling of a clue how his mother felt because she hadn't spoken to him since she helped him get back to Harry, and he knew his father was furious. He'd been beside them trying valiantly to protect them for the past three years and now they were fine with throwing him away. His father was much more insistent about they unacceptable nature of his gay relationship, but his mother was so utterly confusing to decipher.

Harry's mother's death had been the catalyst for everything leading up to this point in his life, he was protected until the end of fourth year by her sacrifice and Draco's mother had been the one to keep him from being killed when he feigned death. So why then, was she reluctant to write her own son? He didn't know, but he hoped that it would eventually become better. He was after all, as Harry loved to call him, a spoiled brat.

Maybe time was the solution, he honestly couldn't know, but he found himself more excited than worried.

Several hours passed before Ron woke, just in time for the lunch trolley. They ate a few sweets before falling asleep once more, all but Draco, who was too preoccupied looking at the adorable pictures of his boyfriend as a baby.

Harry was so peaceful just smooshed against his shoulder. Draco pat his curls and ran his fingers lazily through them, scratching his scalp absently in a way that made Harry smile in his slumber.

When they finally pulled into Platform 9 3/4, they woke with a start and gazed out at all the parents waiting for their children. In the midst of mums, Draco spotted Molly and the twins waiting to greet them. He smiled at Harry, who was rubbing his eyes and stretching out his legs, and proceeded to begin getting their things down.

They made it onto the platform, met Ginny, and hurried over to Molly, Fred, and George, who were waiting to embrace them. Fred and George ruffled Harry's hair when they got to him, even scuffing up Ron a bit to less success seeing how he was taller than Harry. Molly hugged Draco round the middle, as he was as tall as the twins, and patted his broad back.

"It's good to see you all!" she chirupped.

"Ooh Ronikins is getting a bit scruffy!" Fred laughed, reaching out to run his finger along the ginger stubble.

Ron grinned quite confidently.

"I've been trying to grow it out." he tittered, "Whadya think?"

"Not bad. Not bad." George hummed.

"Well anyway," Molly interjected, shepherding them closer together, "I've heard you've all got homes to move into!" she crooned excitedly as the twins knelt down to pet Sirius.

Molly seemed to take notice of the dog at last.

"Oh! is this your new companion Harry?"

Harry scratched Sirius's ears and neck while he chuckled lightly.

"He is! Name's Sirius." Harry responded proudly.

Molly smiled solemnly at him and pet the dog on his long pointy nose.

"Draco got him for me." Harry added.

"Gifts! Already! Lee didn't get me anything yet!" Fred gasped with mock affront.

"You and Lee Jordan are together?" Hermione asked.

"Sure are!" Fred exclaimed cheerily.

"Always thought you liked him." Ron sniggered.

"Well you'd be dead right little bro!"

"Speaking of gifts," Draco murmured into Harry's ear, "I have a little something for you when we get home."

"You do?" Harry gasped, drawing the others attention.

"I do, but we have to get there first, it's a you and me only gift."

Harry felt excitement pool into his stewing catharsis in his stomach.

"Well! The plan is really up to you guys at this point, I'm sure you'll want to have some alone time on your new places." Molly chuckled, "I just thought it'd be nice to greet you!"

Hermione cocked her head before wondering aloud, "We could use some help Ron..."

Ron considered her for a moment.

"If you insist hon."

They chatted about what to do for a few minutes before deciding to go to the Burrow for dinner, Ginny going with Molly after giving Luna a goodbye snog and a promise to write.

Harry whisked them off to Grimauld Place, making sure Sirius was steady on his paws, and led Draco to the front door. He unlocked it and took a breath.

"Be quiet okay? There's a portrait of Walburga on the wall that screams, I'll remove it soon, I've figured out how." Harry advised.

Draco nodded.

They stepped inside, recieving a waft of dusty air, and dragged their things in.

"Kreacher?" Harry whispered.

The elf popped before them with a slight nod.

"Master Harry." he croaked.

"Could you take these to the largest bedroom please?" he inquired, indicating the trunks.

"Certainly." the elf hummed, beginning to gather all their things up.

"I know it's rather drab right now but- but we'll make it ours." Harry stammered, leading Draco into the massive drawing room.

Draco took a long look around, a slight smile on his lips.

"What are you thinking?" Harry asked nervously.

"I am thinking about how great it is going to be to gut the place, and take down those dreadful curtains especially." Draco thoughtfully commented, tapping his chin.

"Why don't we get started then? I'll run out and get all the supplies we need- and then we'll start carving it up!" Harry panted excitedly.

Draco smiled at him.

"Brilliant! Take Sirius along, he'd like a nice walk, and I'll start getting it all ready?"

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed.

Harry was about to turn and walk out but he remembered something.

"What were you going to give me?" he asked bluntly.

Draco flushed a little and dug around in his pocket.

"It's little really but... I thought you'd like it." he murmured, pulling a long gold chain from his pocket.

On the end, swinging merrily with the momentum of being removed from Draco's pocket, was a golden snitch. He held it in his hands very delicately and turned the front to face Harry. Engraved on where it would open up, were their first initials with a tiny heart in the epicenter of where Harry remembered his opening.

"Is there something inside?" Harry asked, taking it from Draco to admire.

"There might be." Draco said coolly.

"I love it Dray..." he breathed, running his thumb over the engraved D, "Put it on me?"

Draco nodded and took the chain from Harry, feeling his stomach squirm with his ideas, and looped it around his neck. He fastened it and kissed the clasp after laying it on Harry's skin.

Harry analyzed it and noticed with a jolt that it wasn't a normal snitch at all. There was a silver band along it's half line all the way around and it had a pearl keyhole at the very bottom.

"Where's the key?" he inquired as he fiddled with the ornate loop that held it to the chain.

"I have it." Draco breathed.

He held up a silver pinhole key fastened to its own necklace of fine silver before tucking it back into his shirt.

Harry gave him a great sloppy kiss and tucked his own away in his sweater.

"Thank you love." he whispered, giving Draco a kiss on the cheek before turning on his heel and meandering down the hall.

Draco stood for a few seconds, hand over his drumming heart, and felt a giddy smile crack his expression at the feeling of warmth Harry's lips left on his own.

He recollected himself before turning to the drawing room and beginning to categorize it.

It was a good half hour before Harry came back to find Draco taking down curtains and picture frames. He set down innumerable boxes and bags of cleaning supplies and took a moment to look over the slowly dismantling room.

"How did you do this much in that much time?" he asked with a small chuckle.

Draco got down from the ladder he was perched upon to give Harry a swift kiss.

"It's quite easy really, I'm just making space so we can tear down this dreadful wallpaper, it's what's making it smell so stuffy all over the house." Draco hummed matter of factly.

"Do you think we should change into clothes we're okay with getting dirty first? I rather like this sweater..." Harry suggested.

"Agreed."

They went up the stairs and passed Walburga to creep up to their new bedroom. They found their trunks neatly side by side by an enormous bed and Kreacher clearing out the closet to put their clothes up in.

"Oh! Thank you Kreacher- you didn't have to you know-" Harry tittered awkwardly.

"Would Master Harry prefer Kreacher did something else?" the old elf asked in his bullfrog's voice.

"You can finish this if you like, and when you're done, could you please start taking down all of the portraits?" Harry politely pressed.

Kreacher looked at Draco and back to Harry a few times and something seemed to register in his mind.

"Is the young Master Malfoy Master Harry's mate? Is that why he's here?" he asked.

Harry nodded.

"Yes, I am here because I am Harry's boyfriend, and I do request that you do as he asks. I know it's hard to unlearn everything you've been taught, but it would mean a lot if you could remove Walburga's portrait and help us start to clean the place up, alright?" Draco gently requested.

"Master Regulus would be very proud of you Kreacher, he cared about you more than that woman ever did." Harry added, knowing it would drive the elf.

Kreacher looked astounded at this bit of information and immediately went to work.

Harry and Draco changed into some old clothes, Harry, an old tee shirt that fit him very loosely and some grey sweats that were a bit big on him, and Draco, a tight nicely fitted tee shirt with an old pair of black joggers that went far above his ankle. Harry slipped on his trainers and Draco pulled on some mint green Doc Martin's.

They went back into the drawing room and began prepping everything they would need to start removing the wallpaper. They layed a large protective sheet over the floor after ripping everything from the walls, turned on a wireless that Ron had gifted them, and pushed all the cabinets and old furniture to be thrown away into the center. Draco poured and slathered a thick potion over the walls, using a bench scraper to neatly spread it around, while Harry carefully took a chisel to the seams and an even larger bench scraper to get it off.

They worked diligently as the wireless played a medley of songs, and in a matter of an hour and a half, had ridded the drawing room walls of all wallpaper. They moved from room to room, smashing and destroying things they absolutely knew they wanted to get rid of, to no screeches of Walburga.

Harry called for Kreacher to see where he was, and was astonished to find the elf in front of him holding the dismantled edge of what he distinctly recognized as her frame.

"Brilliant Kreacher! Keep going, you're doing great!" Harry praised.

The two continued to work, yanking down curtains and cleaning furniture before considering what to transfigure it into. They were in the middle of their bedroom, breaking apart the awful bedframe and taking down wallpaper, when the doorbell rang. Harry cocked his head and went to go check, leaving Draco with Sirius and feeling quite confused, he thought the house was charmed.

Harry walked to the front door and frowned when he opened it. And much to his surprise, Rita Skeeter stood there. He was about to open his mouth when she interrupted him.

"Now before you start barking, the fidelius charm is partially up, but I've come to warn you that there are journalists out here and they can see through the windows. They saw you come here with your husband-"

"Boyfriend!" Harry interjected with a high flush.

"Yes whatever- anyway- and they're looking for something to write on you, because the general public doesn't know about you two so I assume they're going to write some sort of scandal about you-"

"What's with the change of heart?" he asked.

"Well you know I love the gossip even though I'm not allowed to write for about three months, and well... I heard about the Vane situation and how her daughter raped you and, goodness, I might live for drama but that's just too far, even to me."

"Wow- I would've never expected-" Harry tittered breathily.

"Yes yes, so kind of me, but you better watch that bedroom window of yours there are prophet writers here itching for news on you." she warned.

Harry cocked his head in mild interest at her vague warning as she waved and disapperated.

He shrugged and glanced at the writers looming there. There were six of them, three with cameras and three with a quill and pad of parchment. He scoffed and went back inside.

"Who was that?" Draco inquired curiously from behind the bed post he was dismantling.

"Skeeter." Harry murmured in a tone of disbelief.

"What did that old cow want?"

"She was warning me that there are writers outside, look-" Harry explained, pointing out the window.

Draco went over and Harry distinctly saw a flash of white light and him wincing.

"I thought the place was fideliused?"

"It is, but they can see the windows, it's falling from the death eaters that were here last year."

"Hey Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"What if we come out before they can get dirt on us?"

"How so?"

"Luna of course." Draco chuckled.

Harry's eyes lit up, "That's brilliant! And it's Sunday tomorrow which means if we do it today, we'll get the Quibbler tomorrow!"

"Which means that these guys won't have the chance!"

Harry clapped his hands excitedly in very quick repetition and bounced on his toes.

"I'll go get her and you finish clearing up the bedframe yeah?"

Draco nodded, watching his boyfriend hastily make his way into the hall and down the stairs.

He spent twenty minutes getting rid of the old bedframe and disposing of the old mattress and portraits before Harry came back with four people in tow. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna were grinning behind him, Luna with a massive camera in her hands and Ginny with a quill and parchment.

"Oo Daddy will be so pleased to publish this Harry." Luna said in her misty voice.

"Ginny and I will be writing, seeing how we don't have Skeeter in our grasp this time!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.

"And Luna and me will be doing the photo for the cover!" Ron announced pridefully as he held up his deluminator.

Luna drifted over to Harry, after handing her camera to Ron, and miraculously pulled a palette of face paint from her pocket.

"I think you should both take your shirts off." she hummed, pulling a new brush from her other pocket. "It'll bring out the masculinity."

"Yeah mate." Ron agreed, flicking the deluminator to produce three balls of light that hung in the air, having no lamp to go to.

They did so, Harry rubbing his neck self consciously, and stood topless for Luna to examine.

"Aguamenti." Luna hummed, pointing her wand at the lid of the palette and releasing a small bit of water into it.

She wet her brush and carefully painted a rainbow streak pattern under both of his eyes and did the same for Draco.

"Very artsy." Ron commented, handing the camera back to Luna.

"Thank you." she drew out before humming, "Hmmm... Let's see..."

"We've really got to drive the point home don't you think?" Ron suggested.

"Yes... Yes... How about you kiss?" she recommended.

Harry nodded and turned to Draco, a bit stiff in the shoulders.

"Harry relax... Come here?" Draco murmured.

He tilted Harry's chin up, making him blush profusely, and pointedly ignored the sound of the camera. When their lips met, Harry felt himself melt and rest his hands on Draco's collarbones. They held the kiss for several moments, breaking contact and swiveling heads every so often. Draco partially opened his eyes and watched Harry's open a bit, feeling his lips pulling into a smile as Harry's did. They broke apart, holding each other's gazes for a moment before pulling away.

"Perfect!" Luna hummed dreamily.

Ginny and Hermione were scribbling away quickly, heads together as they worked.

They put on their shirts and spelled their faces clean.

Harry's eyes were heavy with exhaustion by the time they waved goodbye to the others at the floo with the knowledge that they would be exposing themselves before anybody else got the chance. Draco conjured a large fluffy mattress and fat pillows to lay down before throwing Harry's duvets over it and scooped him up. He laid Harry in the center of the mattress, brushing his thumb along his cheek. He took off Harry's shoes and stroked his hair.

"Are you too tired to go to the Burrow baby boy?" Draco inquired.

"No no... I just need- need a lie down..." Harry mumbled, his eyes falling closed as they spoke.

"Do you want Sirius to lay with you?"

Harry nodded, reaching out lethargically for his dog. Sirius came trotting over, stepping onto the bed to flop down against Harry's chest.

"I'm going to go to dinner okay? Do you need anything?"

Harry shook his head and nuzzled his face into Sirius's thick neck.

Draco smiled softly. Harry hadn't been sleeping well at all for the past two weeks, and it seemed to be catching up to him at last. He locked their door and put a ward around their bedroom that would break if Harry woke, just in case, and slipped on his shoes.

He flooed to the Burrow and filled Molly in when she came to great him.

"He's been waking up at least three times a night with nightmares and terrors, so it's nice to see him sleep at last." he explained, sitting down to tuck in to some dinner.

"Oh okay... Poor sweetheart... Do you need any help stripping the place down? I know it wasn't in the best shape when we left it..." Molly asked.

"I'd like to ask Harry first of course, I would appreciate it, but you know how driven he is... He really wants it to be something we made together, and you know, he's covered in wallpaper bits dead asleep in our bed, but I think he wants the effort to pay off... I love him so much, he just forgets that he's not alone anymore..."

"Oh yes I am all too aware of how determined that man is... It makes sense though, it's your new home, and I'll respect his wishes if he wants it to be that way."

"I could help you fix that fidelius charm if you'd like." Arthur chimed in.

"That would be wonderful, especially with the article coming out tomorrow." Draco hummed, glancing over at the four diligently working in a huddle at the opposing end of the table.

"It's similar to what he did in fifth year." Fred added, inserting himself into the conversation with a welcome ease.

"That was brilliant wasn't it?" George commented admiringly.

"And more people read the Quibbler now, especially since the battle." Arthur praised with a solemn nod, "They covered it the best."

Molly hummed in agreement.

"Yes, Xenophilius is doing the right thing, odd that man, but he's got a good heart."

"Luna and Ginny used to play together didn't they?" Fred asked.

"All the time." Molly reminisced with a smile.

"And now they're together." George chuckled.

"All the time." The twins chimed in unison.

They laughed lightly and finished up their dinner. Molly gave Draco a neat little box of some food for Harry and hugged him goodbye.

When he arrived back in the home, he traipsed up to their bedroom to find Harry curled up with his Sirius sleeping soundly. He climbed carefully into bed and wrapped his arm around Harry's waist to pull his warm body closer to himself. Draco pressed a gentle kiss to the back of Harry's warm neck and tucked the duvets around himself. He fell asleep almost immediately, the camera flash that winked outside their bedroom window going unnoticed.

The next morning, Draco found himself sleeping in significantly, but still woke to a slumbering Harry. He went down the stairs and made them both a cup of tea with the bags Molly had given him, tapping a small amount of sugar into Harry's cup just how he liked it, and noticed a rolled up magazine sitting by the floo in the drawing room. He wandered over to grab it, got their mugs, and headed back up the stairs.

He set Harry's mug on the floor beside him and settled down in the warm spot he had previously occupied, unrolling the magazine as he did so. There was a note from Arthur inside in his quick handwriting.

'I came by early this morning before heading to work to fix that charm of yours, I figured you ought to know of course. Don't worry about your security, Harry is still secret keeper, all I did was fix the damaged parts of it. Luna gave me this copy to give to you on my way over as well.

-Arthur'

Draco set it on the floor by his shoes and flattened out the Quibbler. Under the gold and pink title heading was a frankly gorgeous photo of him and Harry. Their lips were nearly touching, both with huge earnest smiles on their faces and heavy lids as the soft light illuminated their scars and skin beautifully. A subheading at the bottom read 'Harry Potter comes out as gay and in love!' which made him chuckle.'

He opened it and flicked to the third page to read what Hermione had written with Ginny.

'It sounds quite laughable to proclaim the man of the hour, Harry Potter, as being gay and in love with a man with a sour reputation, but is the photograph not enough? Many would argue vehemently that no, no of course this is not enough proof to make them believe that he is in a stable relationship with one notorious Malfoy! However, the man himself and some recent incidents can prove very much otherwise. If you haven't recognized the handsome and sharp featured Malfoy heir, Draco Malfoy, by now, then you are likely to receive the news of our hero's happiness rather well, but I think those coming in with a clear unbiased slate are few and far between.

The Potter Malfoy rivalry was highly memorable to anybody who attended school with Harry, so then how on earth did these two men find each other? Well the answer is rather simple and the running tension palpable. After the Battle of Hogwarts the Malfoy family were in deep water concerning their sentences, and while Lucius Malfoy was sentenced to 25 years for his crimes associated with Voldemort, Narcissa and her son walked free. Harry argued for them during their hearing, bringing up undeniable evidence that the mother and son duo were driven by the fear of being slaughtered like the hundreds of others who died at Tom Riddle's hands, and freed the two. Later in the same year, the eighth year started by the urge of Headmistress McGonagall was attended by all those who missed their education during the tyrannical control over Hogwarts prior to Riddle's death, which included the likes of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.

Many expected the pair to snap and continue their rivalry with each other, but was proven entirely wrong when the two were put in the same dormitory along with Ron Weasley. In their own privacy, they called a truce with each other and Harry returned the hawthorn wand he had stolen from Draco when his own was snapped only months previous before he was able to acquire the tool to mend it, and ended the aggression between them. Harry says in his recollections that he noticed little things here and there that had been developing for years and writhing to burst out, such as how Draco had calmed down and began to pull away from the beliefs his parents taught him. Harry was able to break down the guarded walls of this man and relate to him, sparking what would eventually become their brand of love.

A slam piece published by The Daily Prophet used illicitly obtained information to "expose" Harry for having the neurological condition known as autism, while refusing to acknowledge the fact that a name for Harry's irregular habits meant nothing, which quickly caused the stigma of his condition to be used as a weapon against him to discredit him. The praise that was once universal was now broken apart by vile students who began to consider Harry as lower and illegitimate because of his being autistic. His "fall from grace" was used to attack him and viciously attempt to tear apart his budding relationship with Draco, who was also being violently harassed for his death eater past, and his coming out didn't help the situation in the slightest. The two got together sometime around the beginning of the year after they bonded significantly, showcasing the brilliant chemistry the pair had. The majority of students thought no different of Harry and praised his bravery for coming out in such a trying time, but one vocal minority picked him apart out of malice and in one students case, jealously that he was taken.

Later into the year and a good bit into Harry and Draco's loving relationship, he was savagely raped by the individual who was furious over his happiness when he was vulnerable and waiting for his partner to come back. The incident left Harry with symptoms of being a rape victim which included a fear of intimacy that affected his partner greatly, to go with the trauma he already suffers from including war aftereffects and a traumatic childhood that has left his body covered in scars. Both men stayed strong and supportive of each other throughout this entire affair, proving their loyalty to one another.

At the end of the day, these two have phenomenal chemistry and no reason to be ashamed of who they are. They are individuals and deserve to be respected like the human beings that they are. Neither wished to give a statement, and I wholeheartedly agree with their sentiment that they shouldn't have to justify who they love. People change and grow, just as Draco Malfoy has. Love is love, and I wish the best for the couple as they settle into their new home.'

Draco smiled at the article, only to feel eyes on him moments later. He glanced over to see Harry's beautiful green eyes gazing at the article and flicking up to him. Draco gave him a kiss, which tasted thoroughly like morning breath and tea, and made Harry stick his tongue out at him.

"Good morning..." Draco greeted.

Harry made a little grunt of affirmation and scooted up to rest on his elbows. He grabbed his mug and took a sip, nuzzling his nose into Draco's ribcage after he swallowed.

"Thanks for making tea..." he grumbled in his massively disused voice.

Draco smiled and scratched his scalp gently.

"Let's go see what our shower situation is." Draco suggested.

Harry nodded, sipping his tea as he got to his feet.

They meandered into the bathroom and were completely shocked by what they found. It was a beautiful white and black marble bathroom with bright candlelight that illuminated the enormous glass shower that had three glittering silver shower heads. A massive marble bathtub that was built into the wall was opposite the shower and adjacent to an ornate black marble sink with two spaces headed by a large mirror. A doorway in the wall beside the sinks framed by gold edges opened up into the toilet, which was incredibly roomy and had a sliding opaque glass door that could be closed for privacy.

"Wow..." they murmured in unison.

Draco went to their trunks and grabbed all of their bathroom things, toothbrushes and paste, hair brushes and products, all their shampoos, conditioners, and body washes, and two fluffy white towels Kreacher had left for them. Harry began running the water and set their bottles of body care products on the ledges between each shower head.

He excitedly stripped off his clothes and stepped into the water coming down in a fine mist. Harry moaned appreciatively and wiggled his shoulders into the water. Draco watched Harry's hair slowly lose its volume and the long column of his throat bobbing as he swallowed. He joined him and immediately felt the tension leave his body.

The scraps of wallpaper coasted smoothly off of them as Draco poured shampoo into his hand and began to work it into Harry's hair. Harry leaned against him, their wet bodies pressing together in a way that made Harry shiver. Draco worked a small bit of shampoo into Harry's body hair, working little circles into his happy trail, and let Harry wrap his arms around his neck to stretch out. Harry slowly became more and more alert and turned to wash Draco's hair in return.

Harry took a cheeky handful of Draco's arse and jiggled it, but Draco's lean figure only warbled so much, though Harry didn't mind. Draco did the same as he kissed him, finding big lovely muscles and a nice beautiful bum to ripple. Harry laughed softly into the kiss.

They finished up a few minutes later and dried off in their plush towels. Kreacher made them a nice breakfast that was quite delicious, he even made the eggs the way Harry liked, before he popped away to Hogwarts to work in the kitchens.

After they ate, they set to work once more on the rebuilding of what was to be their home.

Draco felt his key jingling against his chest and smiled, for the necklace was not the only surprise he had up his sleeve.

Notes:
I hope you enjoyed as always! This chapter is going to lead into a massive date and a long sex scene for the boys! Next chapter is going to be very very long but I'm really excited to write it! We're getting closer to the big date and some tattoos! They're also going to go have an emotional Godric's Hollow scene where they get some interesting things!