Engagement || Drarry

Chapter One

For Draco, marriage was always a simple fact of life. Growing up pureblood, he was taught from a young age that it was just another one of his duties—he was to grow up, marry a respectable pureblood woman and produce an heir. And for a while, Draco was okay with this—that is, until he realized that he in no way, shape or form, fancied women.

He internalized this struggle, though, and by the time his parents informed him that they'd be marrying him to Pansy Parkinson (unless he could find a suitable alternative, of course) he wasn't nearly as bothered by it as he should have been. For one, Pansy was a lesbian, so at least he wouldn't have to hide that part of himself for the rest of his life.

But then the second wizarding war ended, and Draco quickly realized that it didn't have to be this way. Pureblood ideologies were quickly falling out of style as many families renounced the old ways in an attempt to regain their status. Draco saw the effects of this first hand when Pansy tearfully announced her engagement to her future wife. He experienced it again when he mended ties with Harry Potter, and Harry had casually mentioned in passing that he was bisexual.

It wasn't long after that that they started dating, and after three years, marriage was no longer an idea that Draco pushed to the back of his mind—no, it was now at the very forefront. For a long while, he had a hard time determining what he wanted, though. Pansy frequently informed him that marriage isn't for everyone, Draco. You don't have to get married if you don't want to.

That was the problem, though. Draco didn't know if he truly wanted to marry Harry, or if it was simply a side effect of his upbringing.

The accumulation of Harry's little gestures of love was what finally made Draco figure it out.

Harry's love was subtle. It was the way he'd wake Draco from a nightmare with a soft kiss, or how he'd bring Draco lunch at work when he'd forgotten it.

Once he finally decided that yes, he really did want to marry Harry, Draco panicked. He had no idea how Harry felt about marriage—the only time it had ever been mentioned was when Ron and Hermione had gotten married. Harry had been genuinely happy for them, and he never expressed any amount of dislike for marriage, even when Hermione called him in the middle of the night, in tears over the stress of her wedding plans. However, Harry had also never given any hints about how he felt about marriage.

And so, Draco was freaking out.

He bought a ring anyways, of course. It was a simple gold wedding band that sparkled when the sun hit it. It was subtle, just like Harry liked it. He never liked to wear flashy, expensive clothing or accessories like Draco. He was perfectly happy with his worn cloak and frayed pants, even when he had to frequently patch them.

Draco tried not to let his anxiety show—he continued to shower Harry with his affection as usual, whether it was buying every ridiculous trinket that made Draco think of him, or Harry's favorite treats, or offering Harry one of his signature massages after a long day. If Harry noticed any change in his demeanor, he didn't say anything.

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There was a reason that Harry never brought up marriage—it was just something he never thought about. Growing up, he didn't exactly have caregivers who taught him about love, dating or marriage, so everything he knew he'd gleaned from observing the adults in his life. He knew he'd probably get married someday, but it was always something that was in the far distant future.

In fact, he hadn't even considered what it would be like to marry Draco Malfoy, even three years into their relationship. Perhaps he was just oblivious to any hints that Draco dropped, or maybe it was because, for so long, he didn't understand why people got married in the first place. It wasn't until he was twelve years old and he observed the loving relationship between Molly and Arthur Weasley that he started to understand.