Author's Notes:
This is the last chapter! It is surreal to think that this story is coming to a close. 91 chapters and over 500k words! That is a lot of time and dedication that I have put towards this story. It has been an emotional ride just to write it. I really hope you all have enjoyed the pieces of me that I left inside this story!
Funny tid bit, I almost didn't even post this story. I wasn't sure that anyone would want to read it. I was having writers block right after the Malfoy trial. So I thought that I would post the first couple chapters and see what people think. It became a way to force myself to push past the writers block.
I have loved writing this story and I have loved all the positive feedback that has been given to me. I would like to give a shoutout to all of the people who have taken the time to write comments. I have loved every single one of them. The stars are also nice. I thank everyone who has left me one.
I know that it seems like it is ending, but just like the title to this story. It is just the beginning. I know that I mentioned this yesterday but I am going to say this again. This universe is not over. There is a lot more to it. I have plenty of stories and things to go along with this story. Quite a few sequels and many shorter stories for the side characters. If you have questions please don't hesitate to ask me.
If you are looking forward to my future stories on this series then follow to receive my author updates. If not, then I suppose you can just randomly see if I update. Either works. I really hope to see you all on my other stories I will write. I can't stress this enough, but you all are the reason that this story exists. I write for myself and for the people who like it. Thank you for all of the positive feedback and the encouragement. Without you all, I would have given up long ago. <3
The sequel to this story is completely finished and is only a matter of posting it. I might do a chapter every day if that would interest anyone. Or just every few days till the story gets posted. Let me know what you think.
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Harry and Draco had been given their own little table a little ways away from the giant circular table that the rest of the guests were at. Harry looked around and smiled slightly. It was simple and elegant. There were floating candles everywhere and white tablecloths for their tables. They liked the idea of being close enough to the family that they could hear conversations if they so wished but separate enough that they could just bask in each other's comforting presence.
Harry grinned at the happy feelings in the bond. "I can't believe it. We are married." He said with a happy sigh.
Draco grinned and scooted his chair closer to Harry. He nuzzled the side of Harry's face. "My husband." He felt a thrill through the bond from the both of them.
"Husband." Harry tested out the word with a smile. He was never going to stop loving the sound of that. He was pretty sure he was going to annoy everyone with it. He could already see him saying things like, 'That's my husband over there.' 'See the blonde guy, yeah we are married.' 'Draco is my husband.' 'No thanks, I am married.' 'I came here with my husband.' 'Why yes, yes I am married.'
"Zey are just so cute!" Fleur said with a happy sigh as she watched the two newlyweds cuddle into each other.
"They sure are." Demetrius agreed with a little sigh himself. He could feel their bond pulsing and it was nearly distracting. "I can feel it." He admitted. He looked up when he felt eyes on him. Demetrius could see the questioning glances. "I can feel their bond. It is so beautiful."
"You can feel it?" The quartet asked together, in surprise. When Demetrius let out a little nod, they shook their head in wonder. They thought it would be rather interesting to be able to feel their bond.
Demetrius looked to Fleur and Remus. "Can either of you feel the bond?" He didn't often come across other magical creatures and he was soothed by the knowledge that this family welcomed everyone in, whether they were a part creature or not.
Remus shook his head. "No, I can't feel it. But I can smell it." He winced at how odd that sounded. "It's just the way the two of them smell. I noticed that something was different about them when I saw them for the first time after they bonded. They smell the same but different. That is about all I can detect to their bond."
Fleur tilted her head to the side. "I can sense ze magic of eet en a way. Eet wasn't obvious w'at eet was. I zought eet was just zat zey 'ad already bonded en a typical marriage ceremony at first. Eet feels like a strong magical connection. But I can't feel eet like you would zink. Other people 'ave connections zoo zat I can sense, so zey don't stick out zat much zoo me." She shrugged hoping that made sense. She wished that she could feel the bond like Demetrius seemed to be able to. That would be an experience that she would love.
Neville hadn't been aware that they were soulmates until the end of the ceremony. Unsurprisingly, Luna had seemed aware of this fact. He had wondered why they were doing an in perpetuum simul ceremony. It seemed... oddly traditional. He was raised with his grandmother's mentality and he knew that she herself wanted that type of ceremony for him but Neville wasn't going to do it. He didn't give up the hope that he would meet his soulmate in another life. He wasn't going to tie himself for eternity to someone that wasn't his soulmate. For a moment, he had wondered if Harry just didn't know exactly what the ceremony entailed but he discounted that quickly. Harry may be in love but he wasn't blind to reality. He knew that his friend would have wanted to know all the details before agreeing to that kind of ceremony. He sighed internally at the memory of the wedding. He could understand why his grandmother wanted that for him. He could understand, really, he could. The ceremony had been one of the most beautiful things he had ever witnessed, but that wasn't something that was in the cards for him. Not in this lifetime.
Neville listened to them talk about the bond and the different ways that they could sense it and he wondered what that would be like. He would love to be able to sense something like that. What he witnessed today, the way their souls had connected... it was breathtaking. He hadn't thought that after the war, there would be a whole lot to celebrate. But that, that had been like seeing the sun after weeks of rain. It had been something so magical and so beautiful that he knew he would never find something like that again. He would never witness such wonder in his lifetime. He thought it was ironic that two enemies had been right in front of each other's faces and never even knew it. It was nearly poetic in the karma of it all.
Conversations all around broke out over dinner. Harry smiled at his friends and family. Kreacher had taken Sirius back home so that he could finish his duties and check in on the animals. Remus and Severus were listening to Demetrius talk about life on the Dragon Reservation. Luna was telling Fleur all about the last hunt her and her father went on for the crumple-horned snorkack. 'We came across an abandoned nest!' Lucius was asking Neville about his plans for after Hogwarts. Narcissa was listening to Fred and George talk about their newest invention. 'Giant wings! We reckon we will have to put a, use at your own risk, warning on the box. We aren't taking chances that we will be blamed if muggles see them and think angels are descending from heaven.'
Draco nudged Harry and nodded his head towards Bill and Charlie.
"I just don't get it Char. I gave them sunflower seeds. I know I did. I can't figure out how the Wolfsbane could have come out of that. It just doesn't make sense." Bill complained to Charlie. It wasn't like he was upset, the flowers had been rather beautiful. It was just a mystery and that was something that he didn't like.
Charlie shrugged. He didn't understand it any better than Bill. He didn't think it was that big of a deal. He thought the flowers had been a beautiful touch.
Harry could have easily told him about the flowers but he didn't want to. This was something that was between him and Draco. This was a piece of their past life that meant something to them. This was just a mystery that Bill wouldn't get answers to.
Pansy and Blaise were talking about going back to Hogwarts. They hadn't been sure how long it was going to take to get rid of the darkness but they had thought it would take longer than it had. Neither one of them really wanted to go back but they also didn't really want to just study on their own at home. They were procrastinators at heart. Not to mention they would get zero homework done around their partners. They wanted to pass their N.E.W.T.S so that they could take the shop further and expand far.
"We will have to go back." Blaise admitted with a sigh. He really didn't want to but it was kind of a no win situation.
"Neither do I." Pansy admitted. "But at least we will have Harry and Draco there with us."
"You will have us with you where?" They looked up and saw that Harry and Draco were standing by the table holding their chairs to sit down. Draco shoved George till the redhead got the hint and moved to allow them entry.
"Hogwarts." Pansy and Blaise answered in unison.
Harry and Draco let out 'ahh' noises of understanding. "Sort of." Harry admitted.
Draco and everyone that was now shamelessly eavesdropping, meaning the whole table, frowned at Harry.
"What do you mean angel?" Draco asked. That had always been the plan. They were to get rid of the darkness, get married and then finish school. He was just amazed that they had managed to do it all before school picked back up.
Harry looked at him pointedly. "Our honeymoon. I am not skimping on our honeymoon just to go to school. No thanks. I was promised a trip around the world and I damn well better get it." He said with a slight pout. "Besides, I already have the necessary books and papers to study for the N.E.W.T.S while we are gone. I figure a month-long honeymoon will give us the time to enjoy each other and take a well-deserved break since... you know." He finished a little wary of the listeners.
Draco smiled at his demanding husband, another thrill went through him. "A beautiful honeymoon with the love of my life, or dreadful boring lessons in a school with too many plebian children? Hmm. That is a tough one." He teased before kissing Harry's nose.
Severus narrowed his eyes at the two of them. They were adults and married, it was entirely up to them how they handled their future. "Do you think you will actually study on your honeymoon?"
"Yes." Harry told him firmly.
"No." Draco told him just as firmly.
They both looked at each other before laughing. "Draco." Harry told him with a disapproving tone. "Harry." Draco retorted, dragging out Harry's name in a whine. "It is our honeymoon, I want to be able to enjoy you... I mean enjoy our honeymoon." He amended weakly once he heard the snorts of laughter.
Harry looked into pleading grey eyes and he sagged in defeat. "We will enjoy the honeymoon but at least one hour a day will have to be spent on some type of studying." He offered fairly.
Draco considered this. One hour, that wasn't so bad. "Alright love, you got yourself a deal." He offered his hand out to shake. Harry grasped his hand but didn't let go.
"You know..." Harry said thoughtfully. Draco narrowed his eyes in suspicion. That was the look that his lover got when he knew he had Draco right where he wanted him and Draco couldn't do a thing to stop him.
"On days that we study more than one hour... I am sure I can... reward you." Harry blinked innocently. Draco sucked in a sharp breath. That was just cruel. Offering him rewards that were no doubt worth it. Draco looked to Severus. "I don't think you need to worry about us studying. We might even come back a head of where we need to be." He told him in a strangled voice.
The table broke out into laughter and Severus shook his head with his lip curling. That was a mental picture he didn't even want to know about. "You would turn even studying into something sexual." He said with another shake to his head.
Draco grinned wickedly. "Why not? Makes learning more fun. Imagine the amount of higher academic scores that would increase if they implemented something like this at Hogwarts." He told him with a leer.
Remus hummed in thought. "That's not a bad idea." He mused out loud. He looked around and furrowed his eyes at the incredulous looks he was being given. He rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean sex." The quartet shuddered, adults talking about sex was cringe worthy. "I meant a reward method. Studies show that children try harder when they know they are going to get something out of it."
Severus arched a brow. "Good grades aren't a good enough award?"
"No." Harry, Draco, Neville, Luna, and the quartet all said in unison.
Lucius and Severus sighed. "Back in my day." Lucius began but was cut off by Draco groaning. "Please don't start this spiel. What is with the older generations berating the younger generation for just being themselves?"
Lucius arched brows but held his hands up in surrender. "Alright. If sex is what it will take you to learn, then I am just glad you waited till you were of age before figuring that out."
Draco didn't like hearing his father talk about his sex life. It made sex seem so... dirty, and not in a good way.
"So." Pansy interrupted quickly before Draco could say anything. "You guys will be gone for the first month of school?" She asked with a sad expression. "I am going to be stuck with only Blaise for an entire month?"
"Hey!" Blaise said indignantly while everyone let out chuckles.
"It is only a month Pans." Draco told her gently. He reached out to grip her hand. She sighed heavily. "I know but it is already going to be difficult without seeing Fred and George daily."
Harry and Draco frowned. "Why wouldn't you see Fred and George?" Harry asked.
Pansy and Blaise looked at him in confusion. "Because we would only be able to see them on Hogsmede weekends."
Draco arched a brow. "We are coming back for an eighth year. Hogwarts doesn't have an actual eighth year. This is something that is unprecedented and no rules have been set into motion. They won't have set rules that go through the Ministry since this is a onetime instance that they are doing. They cannot make adults over the age of 17 stay every night inside of Hogwarts. The only reason the seventh years have to stay is because they transition from 16-17. There should be no reason that you have to only see Fred and George on the Hogsmede weekends." He finished with a shake of his head.
Harry nodded his agreement. "I could even make an argument against any 17-year-old staying at Hogwarts at night. It would be a little difficult since it is a boarding school and they make their own rules but the argument is there. As long as the student had decent grades and made it to class on time, I see no reason why a 17-year-old adult couldn't stay outside of the school at nights."
There was a silence while everyone stared at them in surprise. Pansy smiled brightly. "So then I will be able to go home every night?" She asked with a grin. She dropped Draco's hand. "Then I don't need you." She told him with a wicked grin. "You can stay as long as you want on your honeymoon."
Draco huffed in annoyance. "I see how it is. I am just second-class goods against George."
George puffed out his chest. "Damn right. It is nice that you have admitted it. They say that is the first step."
Draco shook his head at the snorts that could be heard.
Demetrius looked at the two of them in interest. "You two really have a knack for the law." He said impressed. He couldn't remember being very gifted at 18 other than liking dragons.
Harry and Draco shared a grin. "Thanks." Harry said. "We want to become lawyers and we have been considering a lot of things lately."
Charlie looked at them with a calculating look. "Would you guys be good at foreign law?"
Demetrius snapped his head up and narrowed his eyes. "Charlie." He said in warning. Charlie ignored his fiancé and kept his eyes on Harry and Draco.
Draco arched his brows in surprise before sharing a considering look with his husband. "I am assuming you mean Romanian laws. I unfortunately do not know much about Romanian laws." He said regretfully. "I am also going to assume this revolves around creature rights of some kind." He mused out loud. "I know some Romanian creature rights. I know that they aren't as progressive as the British Ministry." He snorted humorlessly. "Which is awful considering that our Ministry are bags of dicks that need to pull their heads out of their arses and see past their own self entitlement."
Harry leaned back and smiled at his lover. He did not know anything about Romanian creature rights. So there was not much input he could add to the conversation. He looked to Demetrius and noticed the unhappy look, he wondered if it was some type of embarrassment.
"Why do you ask Charlie?" Harry asked kindly. He kept a close eye on Demetrius and noticed a small tremble to the man. He reached out his hand and grasped Demetrius's hand. "Hey." He told him softly.
Demetrius looked up warily into Harry's eyes and relaxed at the comforting green eyes. There was no judgement or pity in them, just understanding. "Whatever it is, it is not something to be ashamed of. No matter what the Romanian government or what anyone else tells you, you are just as important as they are. You have the same rights as anyone else. You are not different or bad because of the blood that you carry inside of you. You are not someone to be talked down to. You are just as much a part of the world as anyone else. You want to know something that I learned?" Harry reached out and took his other hand as well. When Demetrius nodded jerkily, Harry continued.
"People can't take away your dignity unless you let them." He promised him. "I know that is a generic statement and you have already no doubt heard it countless times, but I know from personal experience." Harry swallowed thickly before gripping the man's hands tighter.
"I may not know what it is like to face the prejudice that you have had to face, nor am I trying to make light of it." Harry began. "But I was raised... in a very hateful family." He closed his eyes for a moment.
"I- they didn't like magic. They were muggles who didn't understand me. They were supposed to be family but they told me every day that I was useless and a freak." Harry's voice trembled. He hadn't really told anyone this besides Draco before. He could feel Draco's support through the bond.
"There is only so many times you can hear an insult before you start believing it yourself." He blinked rapidly to clear the tears. He could see that Demetrius understood this much. The poor man probably believed all of the things that people said about him.
"I didn't know my own name until I hit school. They never called me Harry. I was boy or freak." His voice wavered. "I believed for the longest time that I must have done something wrong to deserve the treatment that they gave me. It wasn't until I was able to go to Hogwarts, that I realized that I was not a freak and I was not useless. I had let the opinion of others who didn't matter make up my own beliefs." Harry squeezed his hands gently.
"I know that you understand that. I know that you must believe the things that people tell you but I want you to know that it just isn't true. There is nothing that they can say to you that is the truth. You Demetrius are worth it. You are worth something. You are your own person. Don't let what they say to you, define who you are. Let the opinions of the ones who love you, define you. Fill your ego with the love and the compliments that Charlie gives you." Demetrius let out a watery chuckle. His lover was always complimenting him.
Harry smiled. "See? That right there is the reaction I want to see. Charlie's opinion matters. Your opinion matters. Not the ones who spew hate. Not the ones who can't understand what they don't know. They can only take your dignity if you allow them to. Don't allow them to Demetrius. Don't allow them the pleasure of breaking you when they don't matter." Harry told him firmly.
Demetrius closed his eyes. He had never met someone like Harry before. Never met someone who would just open himself up like that to a complete stranger. The words Harry spoke struck a nerve within him. He knew that he was right, knew that he shouldn't let the words get to him. He looked to Harry and marveled that someone who wasn't even a magical creature had had to face prejudice too. A different kind but prejudice nonetheless. If only other people could see the world like this young man in front of him.
"Thank you." Demetrius choked out. He squeezed Harry's hand in another show of gratitude before sliding them over to Charlie. He laid his head on Charlie's shoulder.
Draco grabbed Harry's hand and brought it to his mouth. He kissed the palm reverently. He loved this man. He loved him so much. To hear Harry so easily talk about his past to Demetrius had made him fall even more in love with him. He looked back to Demetrius. "Now whatever the problem that you guys are needing help with, it is okay. Whatever is happening, it is wrong. Whatever they have said or denied you, it is not okay."
Charlie was impressed with the way that he had been able to already figure out what was wrong without knowing the details. But they did live in a sad world for magical creatures, so perhaps it wasn't that big of a stretch to figure it out.
"We will help you in any way that we know how." Harry assured them both. "If we have to study Romanian laws in our spare time, then so be it." He promised.
Charlie and Demetrius shared a long look before they both nodded in agreement. "Thank you. It means a lot to us."
Harry and Draco waved away the thanks with smiles. "Now, tell us what is going on." Draco asked as he summoned a quill and parchment to take notes.
As Demetrius and Charlie began talking about their dreams of their own Dragon Reservation and what the Ministry had been doing, the rest of the guests were in their own conversations.
Lucius, Severus, Remus and Narcissa were all leaned close together. "Did any of you know that?" Narcissa asked with a frown.
Remus tilted his head to the side. "Kind of. He never really talked about his life at the Dursleys but I didn't think it was that bad. The Order had given them some subtle hints to the Dursleys to leave him alone but I don't know if they worked." He finished with a whispered growl. He was incredibly angry that anyone had dared to treat Harry like that.
Lucius narrowed his eyes. "I can't believe muggles would treat anyone like that, let alone a magical child." He closed his fist tightly at the fact that Dumbledore let Harry return to those people every summer. Hadn't the man done any research on the muggles that were housing the savior of the world? "Say Remus." Lucius began sweetly. "You wouldn't happen to know where these muggles live would you?" He asked innocently.
Severus snorted while Remus furrowed his brows. "Yeah but what does th-" His eyes widened. "I am not letting you kill them." He finished firmly.
Lucius huffed out in annoyance. "I can find them on my own." He told him warningly. He tilted his head to the side as he thought of the contacts and favors that he could call in.
Narcissa put her hand on her husband's arm. "First see if Harry objects to it. They are related to him." She pointed out gently. Lucius conceded this fact with only a small amount of grumbling.
"You remember when Draco came home after the battle?" Narcissa told Severus and Lucius. "He had been giving you a lecture for treating Harry badly." She reminded Severus.
Remus snorted loudly. "He did?" He would have loved to have been there for that. Remus rubbed his hand on his lover's knee soothingly when he caught the glare.
"Yes. What of it?" Severus asked tightly.
"He said that Harry had been abused. I wasn't sure what to make of it. He kind of skipped over that and didn't really ever pick up the conversation again on the subject." She was feeling guilty that she had actually forgotten about that until now. Harry was always so happy and loving that she couldn't see him as anything but that.
Remus looked at the three of them with narrowed eyes. "Draco said that?" He was wondering how they could have heard that and not mentioned it to him.
Severus rolled his eyes. "It was in the middle of a giant rant on how I was horrid to him. It really was said in passing. Not to mention it was the first time we were hearing of Draco liking someone and that person ended up being Harry Potter. So forgive me if it was a shock to our systems."
Remus conceded this. That would be a little shocking. "Alright." He grudgingly told them. Severus and Lucius rolled their eyes.
The quartet were looking at Harry and Draco in mock disappointment. "I just don't get it. It is their wedding day and they are going over legal crap." Pansy said shaking her head.
George nodded his head. "I agree. I would be dancing it up and doing pranks on everyone here."
Blaise rolled his eyes. "That is just a regular day for you though." He pointed out. George grinned in reply. "I suppose that is true."
Fred looked at Harry and Draco in a calculating look. "They are enjoying themselves. They like all of this lawyer stuff." He pointed out. "Plus we have all seen Harry dance, I am sure we don't need to see it again." He said snickering.
"Hey!" Harry said standing right behind him. Fred looked up a little sheepishly.
"I wasn't that bad." Harry argued. Sure, he had let Parvati lead him but he didn't think he had done that bad.
"Yes, you were." Fred, George, Pansy, Blaise, Neville, Luna and Fleur all said together.
Harry looked at them all with narrowed eyes. He harrumphed and crossed his arms across his chest. He looked to his lover with a question.
Draco took one look into those pleading green eyes and he melted. "I thought Harry did rather well." He admitted.
Harry could feel no lie in the bond and he happily kissed his husband.
"You would say that." George and Pansy grumbled.
Draco broke away from the kiss and frowned. "I can't lie without Harry knowing. I was not lying." He was insulted.
Fred and Blaise rolled their eyes. "They weren't implying that you were." They argued. "They were saying that you think everything Harry does is amazing."
Draco shrugged his shoulders. "You aren't wrong." He admitted. "But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Everything Harry does is amazing."
Harry grinned widely before sticking his tongue out at the quartet. He pulled on Draco's hand. "Come on love. You can teach me how to dance to their horrid standards." Draco led him over to the dance floor just a little bit away from the tables. He waved his hand and music began to play.
Harry decided he just wanted to be held in Draco's arms. He wrapped his arms around his neck and smiled when Draco's arms circled around his waist. "Not the type of dancing I thought we would do." Draco murmured near Harry's ear.
Harry rested his head on Draco's shoulder and smiled as they moved back and forth to the slow beat. "This is better."
Draco smiled sweetly before placing a gentle kiss to the top of Harry's head. "Yes, it is." He agreed.
They stayed dancing for quite some time. They knew that others had come out to dance but they didn't pay them that much mind. They were too involved with each other.
"Excuse me, may I cut in?" Draco blinked in surprise at Luna. She was looking at Draco indicating that she wanted to dance with Harry. He smiled warmly. "Sure. But don't get too handsy with him." He teased her. When she just stared blankly at him he rolled his eyes and turned away. He jumped in surprise when he noticed that Neville was right there. He arched a brow at the raised hand, Neville was asking him to dance?
Well, Draco had always said it was good to try things once. He took Neville's hand and led them into a dance.
Harry shook his head at the pair before taking Luna's hand into his own and settling the other one on her waist. "I have missed you Luna."
She smiled brightly at him. "It has been a while." Harry smiled at her. "How have you been? Has things since Finneus been alright?" He wondered in concern.
Harry was amused that even during a dance, the girl's eyes were wandering around looking for her creatures or whatever else she does. "Things are as they should be." Harry furrowed his brows at the vague statement. If they were bad, then he figured she would have told him.
"That is good. I had been worried about you." He was proud of the fact that he hadn't stepped on her toes yet.
"There was no need, but I appreciate the concern." She told him with a twitch to her lips. "Harry." She said suddenly, bringing them to a stop.
Harry raised his brows in surprise. Was something the matter? "You will change the world, did you know that?"
Harry blinked rapidly at the knowing tone in her voice. "I am sure that I already have." He was thinking of Voldemort.
He heard a sigh and he smiled slightly. It wasn't often that Luna lost patience. "No, that is in the past and bears no resemblance to this." She chided him gently. "You will change the world and you will do it with Draco's help." She stared at him directly in his eyes and Harry froze at the clarity in her light blue eyes. She always had a dreamy quality to them but not right now. Right now, they were the most serious he had ever seen them.
"I- I don't know." Harry admitted. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to that. What does that even mean? How was he supposed to change the world?
"A good place to start, will be with Hogwarts." She told him cryptically.
Before he could formulate a reply, she stepped away and went to find Neville. "Oh and Harry?" She said over her shoulder. "My father will be expecting you tomorrow at noon."
Harry gaped at her for a moment. What the fuck? Why was her father expecting him? Why did she have to speak in riddles? Couldn't she just say what she meant?
"What's with the look?" Draco asked as he wound his arms around his lover's waist.
Harry twisted so that he could look into his husband's eyes. "I am not sure. Luna just told me that you and I will change the world."
Draco raised his brows. "Well my father did always tell me to aim high." Harry snorted loudly. Neither one of them even remotely knew what Luna was talking about.
"Speaking of my father." Draco began nervously. "He has mentioned that we need to file our marriage license with the Ministry. He has plenty of contacts in that regards that can quietly get our papers filed without too much of an issue." He took a big breath. "But, the quiet won't last long. Our marriage will get found out sooner or later. It is better if we give an interview about it before it is discovered. If the media gets wind of it before we tell them, then it will be an even bigger scandal than it will already be. They are going to think we tried to hide it for nefarious purposes." He sneered the last sentence.
Harry scrunched up his face. "I am horrible about interviews."
Draco didn't want to give an interview about their life either. That didn't sound pleasant at all. "I wish we knew of a paper that was unbiased and a reporter that we could trust."
Harry grinned widely. "I fucking love Luna."
Draco blinked rapidly for a moment. "Any particular reason?"
Harry laughed warmly. "She has set up an appointment for us to meet with her father tomorrow at noon."
Draco dropped his mouth in surprise. "Hmmm." He hummed considerably. "It will make my father cringe to think that our announcement will be in the Quibbler." Harry snorted at the pleased tone to his voice. "It is so something that Harry Potter would do." Draco grinned widely. "Let's do it."
"What are you doing?" Came the quartet's unified voice. Harry scrunched his forehead at their odd dancing. It looked like a cross between a waltz and a salsa. It was... interesting.
"I think that I should ask you the same." Draco said with a curled lip. "And you said that Harry had bad dancing." He grinned at the affronted glares being sent his way.
They all four ignored Draco and pointedly looked to Harry for an explanation. Harry snickered but answered them. "We are announcing our marriage in the Quibbler."
"Draconis Malfoy." Lucius said in resignation. He shot Luna an apologetic look but it looked like the girl wasn't listening to a word that was being said.
"I think it is brilliant." The quartet argued.
"They will know that the Quibbler will tell the truth of the union and not include any lies or half-truths." Fred piped up.
"A lot of people aren't going to take the article seriously." Lucius warned them.
Harry and Draco shrugged. "We are not in the business of caring what others think." Draco pointed out.
"You don't have a whole lot of time to prepare. Don't you leave on your honeymoon tomorrow also?" Remus asked coming up with Severus.
Draco looked curiously over at Harry when his soulmate nodded. He didn't know that they had set plans. Harry turned to Draco with a pleased grin. "I asked Kreacher to set it up for me this morning while we were separated." He admitted nervously. "Our first stop will be to Singapore."
Draco gasped. Harry had remembered the conversation they had had at the burrow. He didn't think that Harry would remember.
"I know that you have always wanted to go and I thought that we could go see the magical creature sanctuary. They have some lectures scheduled that I thought you might want to go see." Harry told him with a smile.
Draco launched himself at Harry and squeezed tightly. "Thank you!" He pressed a kiss into his neck. "I love you."
Harry closed his eyes and drank in Draco's warmth. "I love you too." They held each other until small coughs drew them apart.
"You should probably work out what you want to say for the article before you go." Narcissa told them.
Harry looked to Draco and could feel the same disinterest inside of himself. "Nah." Harry argued. "We will just wing it. That is what we do best."
Love Between Two Rivals
As my readers know, I do not typically write the articles myself. I like to stick to publishing most of it. But today I was granted the pleasure of doing both. I have been asked to give an honest telling of a marriage announcement.
Harry Potter and Draconis Malfoy have pledged their love for one another. In an interesting turn of events, the happy couple decided to perform the in perpetuum simul ceremony. Now, a lot of you are probably wondering why that would be. It is a traditional ritual that purebloods in the past used to perform. My mother had gotten married with that type of ritual. I can attest that it isn't as outdated as most of you believe. I asked the two newlyweds why they chose that ceremony and this is what they said.
"We have a love that transcends this world. Most won't understand or even get it, but that is alright. We didn't do this ritual for anyone else but ourselves. I am in love with Draco and I will always be in love with Draco. In this life and the next, if we are granted any." -Harry Malfoy
"Harry is my entire existence. If he leaves this world then I don't want to live without him. This ritual does more than just tie our magic. This ritual tied our very beings to each other. This was a beautiful experience and I couldn't be more happy that we went this route." -Draco Malfoy
I can remember there being bad blood between the two boys and curiously asked myself how they had managed to overlook this. When asked, they had this to say,
"It took a lot of courage to approach Harry after the war. Admitting that you are wrong is never easy. No one wants to be wrong. Pride also can get in the way. I am the heir to the Malfoy title. Pride was something that I had been brought up with and letting go of it was rather hard. I almost lost my nerve and didn't approach him. But, something told me that I needed to. What was the worst thing that he could do? Hex me? Already been there with him hundreds of times. What was once more?
I am the first to admit that I do not have much courage. Number one reason why I wasn't placed in Gryffindor. But I did have to use a lot of it to willingly apologize to Harry. It was both one of the hardest and easiest things I have ever done. Hard because I had to own up to my mistakes and take FULL credit for my behavior. Easy because Harry is the single most caring person I have ever come across. Conversations with him are a breeze and everything he says makes one want to listen.
I have always known that Harry was the better man. I have always known that he was a wonderful person. So it wasn't hard for me to see him in a different light. Apologizing to Harry is what led to this moment right here. I would do it again in a heartbeat." -Draco Malfoy
"To say that I was surprised by Draco Malfoy apologizing to me, would be an understatement. I think the only reason that I didn't send him away was that I was just too shocked. I was not in a good place of mind after the war. It had only been three days and I was going through some tough thoughts. Survivor's guilt, mainly. Draco helped me through that. We talked about our lives and how we grew up. It was cathartic, being able to open up to someone. Telling Draco my secrets wasn't hard. What was the worst thing he was going to do? Tease me? Been there plenty of times. What was once more going to hurt?
Only he didn't tease me. He didn't taunt me. He didn't take the information to the papers. He kept my secrets right along with my heart. Draco has been my rock from that moment on. That night he gave me a precious gift. Something that no one had ever done before. He gave me understanding. People look at me and they see a hero. Or they see the poor orphan boy who has had a hard life. Not a single person in my life has ever just listened and understood me. Draco took the time to care about my thoughts and opinions. He has treated me with a love and respect that I have never known before. It wasn't hard to look past our rivalry. It wasn't hard to see Draco for the wonderful man that he is." -Harry Malfoy.
I imagine quite a few of you have noticed the name change. It reads Harry Malfoy. I asked Harry why he would change his name. It is such an iconic name after all.
"I knew that a lot of people would wonder about that. Draco himself wondered as well. He was ready and willing to become Draco Potter but I decided that I wanted to become a Malfoy. I love my parents as much as I am able to but my name has never given me anything in my life but trouble. I don't have a sentimental value to my last name. If my children one day choose to embrace my maiden name then I will give them that choice. They can be Potter-Malfoys if that is what they want. But that was not what I wanted for myself. I am honored to be a Malfoy. I take the Malfoy name with pride.
I know that there are a lot of people out there who will think that Draco has pushed me into being a Malfoy but that is the furthest thing from the truth. He has never pushed me into anything. I am the one who chose to do this. I am the one who is dropping my last name. It is a personal choice and it is one I came to on my own, of my own free will." -Harry Malfoy
I asked the two of them what their thoughts were on their future. Harry had mentioned children. Was that something that they both wanted?
"The future? Sometimes life gets in the way of things that you plan. I have learned that life with Harry is always an adventure and that planning ahead might not be the wisest decision. We are people who just live life on a whim. But we do plan on going to Hogwarts to finish our education, right after our honeymoon. After that? Well that is undecided. We have career choices that will remain quiet for now until we establish it more permanently. Children? Definitely. That is something that we both want. Children are precious gifts and we can't wait until the day that we will embark on that adventure." -Draco Malfoy
There has been some controversy surrounding the two for a little while. It had started with the trial of the Malfoy family. I wanted to know how they handle things, do they think about what the media or the wizarding world will think?
"It is funny that you mention this. No offense to you but we honestly don't care what the media or what anyone has to say on our relationship. They are neither me nor Draco. We are the only two opinions that matters when it comes to our marriage. I learned a valuable lesson my first discussion with Draco as friends. 'I do what I want.' I had him repeat that multiple times when he was worried about what his family would say to him going down a different path. It was something that has stuck with the two of us. It matters none what others think because the only thing that really makes a difference, is what you want. So really all I have been doing, is whatever the fuck I want to do. The most important person will always be yourself first. Take care of yourself first and the rest will fall into place. So if you take anything from this interview, let it be that." -Harry Malfoy
The two young men in front of me are obviously in love. There is an aura to them that does indeed seem to transcend this world. I count myself lucky to have been the one that they chose to come to with their story. I find myself very grateful for this experience. This article will have no doubt come as a shock to many of you out there. I imagine that there will be a lot of opinions as to what the couple should and shouldn't do but I urge you all, just let them be. Because in the end, they are just going to do what they want.
-Xenophilius Lovegood
Editor of The Quibbler
Harry set the edition of the Quibbler down on the coffee table of their suite in Singapore. It had turned out better than they had thought it would go. He looked to last line, 'They are just going to do what they want.' There had never been a truer statement out there. He looked to his still sleeping husband and smiled. Doing what he wanted got him this far. Perhaps that could be their family motto. Had to be better than the Black family motto.
"I do what I want." Harry mumbled. It had a nice ring to it. Perhaps he could convince Draco to put that over their own family tree. He shook all thoughts of the article and family trees away. He was on his honeymoon, he had a sexy naked blonde right in front of him. Priorities. He walked away from the table and set out to wake his husband up in the best way that he knew how.
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Author's Notes:
This chapter is a little all over with the emotions. That is alright. That is just how things go sometimes.
Usually I ask you all kinds of questions and point out bits of the chapter that I liked but I won't do that this time. This is the last chapter of the story and I feel a little nostalgic.
If you have any questions or thoughts on this chapter. Ask away. I can't promise I will answer the question if it contains spoilers. But I will try. :)
I really really hope that you have all enjoyed this piece of my imagination that I have written down. Sometimes my mind works in odd ways and it is just better to write it out. That is how this story really began, an overactive imagination. I know I said this earlier in the beginning of the chapter but I would like to thank you all for the positive feedback and the comments. It has been a wild ride and I have you all to thank for that.
Let me know what your thoughts on this story as a whole. <3
-XxTheDarkLordxX