The next morning, Harry awoke by himself. He stretched languidly but took pause when his hands started gliding over what felt like small patches of silky velvet. He sat up to look around him.
Hundreds of rose petals in all different shades surrounded him on the bed. On Draco's side of the bed was a small black box and a letter folded neatly in half. He reached for the letter.
'Dearest Harry,
I have gone to have morning tea with Severus. You will be able to find me in the Great Hall once you're up. Take your time, we do have forever after all.
Yours Forever
Draco'
He finished reading, a smile having crept up his lips. He really did like spending time together but Draco was right. They did have forever, after all.
He lifted the lid off the box and gasped at what he saw inside.
It was an emerald green pendant, cut so precisely that you could almost see green tinted rainbows inside it. It was oval and the size of his thumbnail. Yellow gold filigree wrapped around the stone, making intricate little patterns that outlined it perfectly. It was attached to a yellow gold chain. Underneath the white silk wrappings was another note.
'I had this specially charmed. The chain won't get tangled or grab at your hair and the pendant is meant to give off a subtle glow if I'm thinking about you. And before you ask, I had commissioned the piece a few days ago. It will also warm slightly if someone is lying to you. It won't burn, but the warmer it is, the more severe the lie. I think it's time you knew when people were hiding the truth from you.
You mean the world to me, my angel.'
Harry put the necklace on. As soon as the clasp latched, the gem started glowing faintly. A smile graced his lips-it was nice to know that Draco was thinking of him even if he wasn't there.
During dinner Hedwig glided down towards Harry. She was carrying a rather large package. He gave her a large chunk of his meatloaf and opened the package.
Lining the bottom was an assortment of sweets and chocolates. Lying atop the mass of sugar was a single white rose with light blue tinging the tips of the petals. He smiled at the thoughtfulness. He knew that Draco filled the bottom with sweets for Harry to share with his friends, for he loved sharing things with them. Since Ron was addicted to sweets and Hermione always appreciated chocolate, he couldn't fathom any other reason the blond would have had for sending such things.
Every single day since then, Harry would receive a flower from Draco. Sometimes they came by owl, sometimes Draco would place one next to him before he woke up and sometimes Draco would procure one from behind his back. Besides the flowers, necklace and sugary confections, Draco had also given him a new bottle of metallic gold ink, a new package of specialty treats for Hedwig and whatever was in this package for him.
It was waiting for him on their bed when they got out of classes. Draco had sent him on to drop his stuff while he stayed behind to chat with the potions master. He gently opened it, revealing a box inside with Madam Malkin's logo on the top in white calligraphy. He quickly read the note that was on top of the silk packaging.
'As it's Friday and there are no classes tomorrow, I'm taking you out tonight.' Inside was new dress robes. They were a dark emerald green and were lined with gold thread that seemed to sparkle and shimmer as the light reflected off it.
Draco escorted Harry to Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse, an extraordinarily hard restaurant to get reservations for. The decor stunned Harry, the white walls and detailed gold and silver accents took his breath away. When Draco had given his name, the staff bowed and led them to a separate dining hall. This one was just as extravagant, but magically enlarged and warded for wizards only.
They were seated and Draco gently let his wings out.
"What if someone sees? Do you really want that kind of attention?" Panic laced Harry's voice. He just wanted a nice dinner, not having to worry about people starting.
"Do you see anyone looking?" He leaned forward. "In order for wizards to get a reservation here, they have to fill out an application and undergo an interview. That's to sort out anyone who wouldn't know how to handle people as famous, or unique, as the two of us. It's perfectly safe to take your wings out Harry. I promise you that."
Harry slowly let his wings out, still unsure of the reactions he'd get. Upon receiving not so much as a glance, he relaxed and smiled at Draco. When the waiter brought them their menus, Harry's heart sank a little.
"What's the matter, angel?"
Harry's cheeks flushed with a tint of color. "I don't know French," his voice was soft but the embarrassment shone through. "Don't worry, angel. I learned it just so I could come here with my parents. Seemed such a waste for them to go through all the trouble of getting me on their list of approved reservations for me to now know how to communicate to them. It would be quite rude of me to make them speak in English, even though the entire staff must be bilingual. I can order for you, if you'd be okay with it." Harry slowly nodded. It was better than looking like an idiot.
The waiter returned with the wine Draco had requested and a young woman. She was dressed in a light lavender colored dress that reached the floor, a color that complimented her light brown hair well. She conversed for a moment with Draco, gave the two of them a polite curtsy and moved on to greet other tables.
"Who was that?" Draco smiled, clearly getting amusement out of the faint trace of jealousy that laced Harry's voice.
"That's Lavande. She owns this place. She just wanted to offer her personal congratulations at finding you. If there's one thing about Lavende, it's that she loves seeing her favorites come here with a partner." They looked through the menus, Draco describing everything to Harry, and the waiter suddenly appeared for their orders once they had decided.
"Draco? You had mentioned something about a bond between us getting stronger when you have to leave me...what bond?" The veela tilted his head, thinking.
"Well, there's this...connection between us. It allows us to send our emotions to the other over distance, as well as the direction the other is in. Once it's more solidly formed, most can tell about how far the other one is as well. Some pairs were so strong, it's said that they could send images to one another as well as a few words."
"Oh, is that the pulling sensation I get every now and again when you're across the hall?" Draco nodded, happy that he had caught on so quickly. "So how can we strengthen it? Before you leave, I mean."
"Well, it's not very hard. It just takes a lot of practice. You just have to find that pulling sensation and send whatever you want me to receive towards it. I know that's not a very good explanation, but it's the best one I've got."
"No, I think I get it." Harry closed his eyes, and concentrated on sending a wave of desire towards his better half. He opened his eyes when he heard a tiny gasp. "Like that?" Draco nodded, his cheeks warming. He hadn't been expecting Harry to grasp the concept so quickly, or to be able to send such a strong emotion to him and he especially didn't expect his angel to send something so naughty his way.
"Alright Harry, calm down there. In time, I shall stake my permanent claim to you but until then, you must be patient. Isn't that supposed to be a virtue of yours?"
"The vampire negates that, I think."
They spent the rest of the night discussing when they thought they could move onto the next stage and practicing strengthening their bond over dinner. By the end of it, they both were watching each other with passion etched in their eyes and pheromones flying. It had been so strong that the couple sitting a few seats away from them were now sharing a heated kiss.
Draco continued to send Harry small gifts until early December. They went out every Friday night for a romantic dinner and on Saturday they would go out for lunch. Sunday they would catch up on homework and have a nice candlelight dinner in their room. Harry insisted on cooking on Sunday, wanting to show off his culinary skills to his veela. He wanted to show him how good of a submissive he could be, and without Draco having to tell him what to do, or how to do something.
"Harry, I was just wondering," Harry smirked. He knew there was only two things Draco 'just wondered' about anymore and both of them had to do with Harry. "Our bond has gotten much stronger, wouldn't you agree?" Before Harry could answer and before Draco lost his nerve, he continued. "I just thought that since the holidays start in a week, and since you're spending the holidays at Malfoy Manor, I figured now would be the best time for use to continue on to the next part of our relationship." He looked down, hating the way they had to separate. They both understood why it was necessary, but neither one of them liked it.
"I-I just thought it would be easier for our school work if we spent the holiday together instead of cutting out time from our classes or becoming a distraction to everyone else. I understand if you don't want t-" his speech was cut off when Harry kissed them. It was gentle, slow and understanding.
"I don't like that we have to, but I like the idea of having the entire holiday break to spend entirely attached to your hip." He winked, causing the pale skin to flush. "Besides, the sooner we get it over with, the sooner we won't have to worry about it."
"I've already talked to the Headmaster about it. He gave us permission to skip classes this week. All any of the teachers do the week before holiday is review what the class had learned so far. I'd be going to stay with my parents and you'd be staying here."
"For how long?" They both winced. Neither one liked the idea of spending so much time away from the other.
"Father had looked into it a little further for me. He said most dark angels have to spend up to two weeks apart. He did say that when a dark angel has a mate that is another creature then it depended on the creature they were mated to, if they were submissive or dominant and how much power they possess. With all the bits of information Father gathered, he thinks we'll be on the shorter side, needing only a few days."
"When will you leave?" Draco grabbed him around the waist and held him in his wings.
"Whenever you're ready, my angel." They held each other, neither one of them wanting to let go. It would hurt them both for them to be apart, but Harry knew that they would push out the other side of it stronger than every.
"I'm ready. I don't want to be, but I have to be if we're ever going to get past this." Draco packed while Harry stopped him every so often to plant gentle kisses on his face. When he had a few outfits stashed away in an overnight bag, he turned around and held the man against his chest.
The kiss they shared was searing, burning with silent pleas and desire. It eventually softened and spoke only of love and tenderness. Harry's cheeks were flushed and Draco's eyes burned with passion and regret. He truly didn't want to leave, but he understood it was necessary to their relationship.
Harry waved at him sadly, watching him step into their floo and disappear in a flash of green flames.