Regency AU. Harry courts Draco and Draco accepts.
The first time Draco saw Harry Potter again, it was across a ballroom.
Candlelight spilled gold over everythingâsilk, jewels, polished floorsâand the orchestra carried the soft rise and fall of a waltz through the air. Draco stood at his fatherâs side, posture perfect, expression carefully neutral, as befitted the heir to a Duke.
He was not expecting to forget how to breathe.
âCommander Potter,â someone whispered nearby.
Dracoâs attention snapped toward the entrance.
Harry Potterâno longer the scrawny, sharp-faced boy Draco remembered from childhood summers and stiff, distant visits between their families. War had carved him into something else entirely.
Dangerous, in a way that had nothing to do with violence and everything to do with presence.
His dress uniform was dark, severe, cut to fit him perfectly, medals catching the light at his chest. But it wasnât the uniform that held the room.
Dracoâs fingers tightened imperceptibly around his glass.
âWell,â Lucius Malfoy said beside him, voice cool, âit seems the hero returns.â
Because Harry was looking at him.
Harry started walking toward him.
Dracoâs pulse stuttered.
âThis should be interesting,â Lucius murmured.
Draco inclined his head just enough to be polite. âPotter.â
Harry had always had green eyesâbut now they were sharper, steadier, like they had seen too much and come back anyway.
âYouâveââ Harry paused, like he was recalibrating. ââchanged.â
Draco arched a brow. âSo have you.â
A flicker of somethingâamusement, maybeâcrossed Harryâs face.
âYes,â he said simply.
An awkward silence threatened.
Draco hated awkward silence.
âSo,â he said, âI hear youâve been playing soldier.â
Harry huffed a quiet laugh. âSomething like that.â
âCommander, isnât it?â
Draco tilted his head. âModest.â
Then Harry did something entirely unexpected.
âDance,â Harry repeated, gesturing toward the floor. âUnless youâve forgotten how.â
Around them, the room seemed to sharpen, attention quietly shifting.
Luciusâs presence at his side felt suddenly⊠very pointed.
âYouâre serious,â Draco said.
This was a terrible idea.
This was a very terrible idea.
Entirely too sure of itself where it settled at Dracoâs waist.
Draco forced himself not to react as they stepped into the rhythm of the music.
âYouâre staring,â Draco said under his breath.
âSo are you,â Harry replied.
âThis is highly inappropriate,â he muttered.
âAnd yet here we are.â
Harryâs grip shifted slightlyâsubtle, guiding.
âYes,â he said. âHere we are.â
Draco risked another glance.
Harry was watching him like the rest of the room didnât exist.
âYouâve made quite an entrance,â Draco said, grasping for something safer.
âWasnât trying to.â
âNo, I imagine it just happens naturally.â
Harry smiledâsmall, but real.
âSomething like that.â
And for one brief, ridiculous momentâ
Draco forgot that this was Harry Potter.
Forgot the war. The distance. The years.
Draco stepped away immediately.
âThank you,â he said, cool and composed once more.
Luciusâs gaze was waiting when Draco returned.
âExplain,â he said quietly.
Draco lifted his chin. âHe asked.â
Luciusâs expression darkened.
âBe careful,â he said.
Harry did not leave him alone after that.
Not in the intrusive sense.
In the⊠persistent one.
Conversations that started polite and ended somewhere sharper, more interesting.
âHeâs courting you,â Hermione said bluntly.
Draco frowned. âDonât be absurd.â
âYes,â he said finally.
Hermione just looked at him.
Ron Weasley was less subtle.
âThis is a terrible idea,â he said, arms crossed.
Harry didnât look up from where he was writing.
Ron groaned. âThatâs not reassuring!â
âHe is not suitable,â he said coldly.
Draco met his gaze. âAccording to whom?â
âAccording to sense.â
âHeâs a decorated commander.â
âHeâs new money,â Lucius snapped. âNew power. Unstable.â
Dracoâs lips twitched faintly.
Luciusâs expression hardened.
âThis is not a game.â
The summons to court came unexpectedly.
Harry stood before the Queen, posture straight, expression unreadable as the chamber watched in hushed anticipation.
âFor your service,â she said, voice clear and carrying, âand for your loyalty to crown and country, we bestow upon you lands and title.â
The word rippled through the room.
Draco, watching from the side, felt something shift.
Harry had always been meant for something like this.
âYou didnât tell me,â Draco said later.
Harry shrugged lightly. âDidnât think it mattered.â
Harry huffed a laugh. âIs that what this is about?â
âYou cannot be serious.â
âThatâs not how this works.â
Dracoâs pulse quickened.
âThis isâthis is reckless.â
âBecause I donât want to stop.â
Then Draco exhaled slowly.
ââŠyouâre impossible.â
âAnd youâre still here.â
At the man heâd become.
At the future standing right in front of him, askingânot demanding, not takingâ
ââŠyes,â Draco said.
The wedding was not quiet.
It could never have been.
Ron looked resigned. Hermione looked pleased. Lucius looked like he was reconsidering several life choices.
Draco adjusted his gloves, glancing sideways.
âThis is still a terrible idea,â he murmured.
Then Draco allowed himself the smallest smile.
And stepped forward anyway.