#draco mal

© credits for the owners of the pictures used. they don't belong to me. credit is not mine for the pictures.

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FIRST PART

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

FINAL CHAPTER

SECOND PART

TWENTY

Bonniebirddoesgifs:

Growing up a Wizard meant that Draco was used to magic. He was used to the ability to make things happen, to watch things change and shift; the ability to affect the world around him with the flick of his wand.

It wasn’t that he took magic for granted exactly, it’s just that having it around him was the same as breathing. It simply was.

There was always a thrill when he learned a new spell or got his casting just right. But all the same nothing about it was new or unexpected - until the moment he started dating Potter.

He’d know of course that other people didn’t grow up with magic. Of course, he’d fucking known. It was hard to forget when he’d spent his life assuming he was better for this fact. But knowing and experiencing it were two entirely different things.

Nothing could prepare him for the little spark of wonder Potter sometimes got when Draco do something complicated by magic that could have easily be done without, and nothing could get him used to the way Potter’s heart rate increased or his eyes flashed with life when he was casting. 

Potter loved magic.

Something about it made Draco stop. Made him appreciate. Made him think. Made him wonder.

Mostly though it made him want.

Draco wanted to be in awe, wanted to feel that alive.

It wasn’t until months later when Draco was pressing Potter back into the sheets for the first time - his hands on Potter’s body as he pressed inside of him - that Draco realised he’d found his own kind of magic. It couldn’t be taught. It couldn’t be learned. It didn’t come from a wand or book. It wasn’t something that could be seen, only felt.

It was the small sounds Potter made when he kissed him, or the way Potter curled into him - trusted him - in the dark of night, it was in his laughter and his smile. It was in the way Potter made him feel - alive, as if his light burned bright like a beacon, not ravaging the world in its destruction.

Draco and Harriet share a moment together at Kingsley Shacklebolt's Christmas party.

Enjoy!

~~~

"Hello, Harriet," Draco Malfoy smiled next to her as he gripped the nape of her neck. "You look lovely."

Harriet tore her eyes from her friends and met his approving gaze. She...she was speechless. Just like the last several times when they dressed up, he always knocked the breath out of her lungs. His suit matched the color of her dress, velvet and buttoned to his neck. A bow tie clipped to the collar of his white shirt, and black polished shoes reflected the lights coming from around the room.

His nearly white, blonde hair was combed away from his silver eyes. A confident, arrogant smile tugged at his lips.

Harriet swallowed nervously. "Th-thank you."

Draco's appraising eyes swept over her one last time before his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against him.

"Doesn't my date look enchanting?"

Harriet squeaked, slapping a hand over her mouth the moment Draco's fingers pinched her rear.

"Your date," Hermione and Ron never noticed. "Looks beautiful."

"Of course she is, she's the best dressed woman here tonight. Aside from you, Granger, of course."

Hermione's red lips twitched in the slightest of smiles. While she and Ron didn't get along with him as well as Harriet, he'd done his best to stay cordial with them out of respect for her. Over time, the bullying and taunts between them faded into friendly spars and quips, though his personality never quite let up.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "I was caught up in Ministry business."

He caressed the soft fabric of Harriet's dress. "Shall we, Potter?"

Harriet had no time to say anything as Draco excused them, pulling her away from her friends and guiding her across the floor. Rather quickly she told them she'd see them later before stumbling along with Draco, almost tripping over her heels.

"Goodness," she hissed. "What was that for?"

"I was eager to get you alone," drawled the Malfoy heir.

"Why?" Harriet scowled. "We just got here."

Draco didn't answer as he let go of her waist and interlaced their fingers, leading her toward the dance floor. In the midst of the people conversing, snacking on various foods and drinking all kinds of drinks, many of Shacklebolt's guests were parading across the lit up floor, twirling and landing gracefully on their feet.

Across the floor was a stage with a band playing slow, intimate music in the form of flutes, violins, and low drums. Immediately, Draco pulled the young Potter against him, hitting him directly in the chest.

"Ow."

"That didn't hurt," he rolled his eyes teasingly.

"I'm not the one with a rock solid chest, Draco."

"So it's 'Draco' now?"

Harriet was so close to steppig on his foot, which he barely managed to avoid when her heel came into contact with his toes. Grinning, she simply shrugged as he frowned.

"Oopsie."

Growling, Draco held her even tighter, making her smile widen as he swept her across the floor. His eyes traveled along the length of her dress to the pendant around her neck, which swished as he twirled her in his arms. The entire room seemed to disappear, leaving only the two of them. It reminded Harriet so much of the Yule Ball, when Draco paraded her for all of the students and staff to see.

This time, Harriet wanted him to lead her. She didn't care if people were staring and marveling, all that mattered was Draco. When he spun her around, switching to the opposite side, when they waltzed, she followed him with ease and grace.

"Near, far, wherever you are..."

Around them, Draco's parents and Harriet's friends joined in. Lucius and Narcissa watched their son dance with Harriet, their energies propelling like two dueling wizards. Lucius's jaw dropped at the sight of his son, while Narcissa smiled wide with pride.

Rom and Hermione distanced themselves from the couple, watching them in the corner of their eye. They'd seen them only dance one time like this before, when Draco interrupted Harriet and Ron's dance for a waltz of his own. Now, they were sharing the floor with equal dominance.

Draco clasped Harriet's hand tightly in his as he dipped her to the floor, his knee perched between her legs. When he lifted her in his arms, their noses were mere inches apart.

"You're here, there's nothing to fear! And I know that my heart will go on..."

Their dance slowed as the song came to a complete close.

"We'll stay forever this way! You are safe in my heart and my heart will go on and ooooooonnn!"

With the final note, the band's instruments faded into the background with the singer, and the entire office broke out in loud applause, breaking Draco and Harriet from their concentration.

"Bravo, bravo!" Kingsley Shacklebolt walked across the stage, wearing a gold and red suit. "Give it up for Adeline Heathers!"

More clapping echoed through the office, with the woman wearing a crown of jingle bells at the microphone blushing a deep scarlet, smiling fondly at Mr. Shacklebolt.

"Not only that," Kingsley turned to the audience. "We have the pleasure of some very special guests in the crowd. Give it up for Harriet Potter and Draco Malfoy for the INCREDIBLE dance they blessed us!"

All around them, Harriet watched as the band, Kingsley, his party guests, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, and her friends cheer in whoops and hollers. Lucius looked extremely pleased that his son was getting attention, clapping with a fond smile while Narcissa wiped happy tears from her eyes. Ron shouted Harriet's name over Hermione's ear, which made her wince and slap his chest.

Next to her, Draco wrapped an arm around her waist, waving at the crowd.

"Ok, everyone," Kingsley quieted the crowd. "Remember, we have the upcoming game for a very fine one-of-a-kind ruby necklace that came all the way from Tibet-"

Draco nudged Harriet's shoulder, leaning close against her ear. "Come with me."

In an instant, he led her through the crowd and out of the office, barreling through streams of people with the girl following close behind.

"Where are we going now?" asked Harriet as she walked beside him.

"Just to the Atrium," Draco answered. "Gives us a bit more room."

Soon, they traveled through one of the exits leading to the Atrium. In the space of what looked like a small city decorated for the holidays, they saw the Fountain of Magical Brethren, shimmering gold and glistening, frozen over with water shooting from the statues' wands, arrow, hat, and ears.

The Atrium was not full at all, with only a couple passerbys here and there.

"It's strange seeing the Ministry at Christmas," Harriet tugged Draco toward the fountain. "It's so...empty."

Draco chuckled. "It is the holidays, Potter. Everyone's home."

Home. She was home herself, wasn't she? Biting her lip, she gazed into his eyes, swallowing nervously.

"I've never spent a Christmas outside Hogwarts before," she explained. "I've always stayed at the castle with Ron."

"Because those disgusting Dursleys wouldn't let you come home?" Draco inquired.

"Because I didn't want to go home. Getting a pair of moldy socks isn't really the best Christmas present."

Draco grate his teeth. He knew how her Muggle family treated her, as they treated all wizarding folk: like vermon. His parents may have been supportive of purebloods rather than half-bloods, but they didn't go around forcing Draco to sleep under the stairs or lock him in his room to prevent him from seeing Harriet.

"There will be no moldy socks for you, darling," he cupped her chin. "Because I have a present you will love."

"The dress wasn't enough?" Harriet laughed.

"Nothing's ever enough for you."

Her cheeks flushed crimson. Nobody ever told her that, at least romantically. Draco unbottoned his suit jacket, reaching inside and pulling out a small box from one of the pockets. Harriet's eyes bugged as he opened it.

"D-Draco?"

"Trust me."

When he lifted the lid, her eyes would have jumped right from their sockets. Inside the little box was a silver and ring, bearing the heads of a snake and lion side-by-side. The lion's eyes shimmered with tiny green emeralds, while the snake hissed. Its scales and eyes were green as well, the color of Harriet's eyes.

"May I?"

Speechless, Harriet offered him her hand. He slid the ring on her finger, the perfect size and fit.

"This is my vow to you, Potter," he told her. "That our houses will never separate. You are mine and mine alone, in war and peace, in life and death."

Harriet tried speaking, but her words caught in her throat, croaking in short gasps. Draco wasn't proposing to her, but promising her that between them, they belonged together. Slytherin and Gryffindor, once two houses who competed against each other, were now united, or two students from them were.

"Draco!" her jaw dropped. "It's...it's..."

"A promise."

"I was going to say gorgeous," Harriet chuckled, her voice watery and hoarse. "I-I love it."

Draco watched her admire the ring, flexing her fingers as she raised her arm out. The colors may not have matched her dress, but it was beautiful, more beautiful than the dress or the jewelry she wore. She'd wear it for the rest of her life.

"It almost makes my gift look foolish," she grinned.

"My gift?" Draco quirked a brow. "You got me something?"

Harriet's grin thinned. "Just a box of limited edition Chocolate Frogs."

Taking her hand, Draco lifted her off the fountain and wrapped his arms around her waist. His silver eyes danced on her face.

"No gift is greater than you."

And he kissed her. He didn't just kiss her, he devoured her mouth. His tongue plunged between her lips, tasting her palate, sliding across her teeth. dueling with hers. Harriet drowned in him, surrendering to his kiss. If he were a dementor, she'd let him suck her soul right out of her. Except, this wasn't a kiss of death.

Draco tangled his hand in her hair, grabbing a fist full of her curls. The sweetness fogged her glasses, his hot breath scorching her cheeks, her ears, tingling down her spine.

"I can't-get-enough of you," he rasped between kisses.

"Me-me neither."

"My, my, my..."

Their eyes snapped open when they heard a man's deep voice. Breaking apart, Harriet's chest heaved as she wiped the mist from her glasses. Draco whirled around and noticed they were no longer alone in the Atrium. Standing in front of them was a face they never expected to see at Christmas outside Hogwarts.

Professor Snape looked moreso the same in his black robes, yet this was the first time either of them met him at the Ministry of Magic.

"Do my eyes deceive me, Mr. Malfoy, or did I see you with Ms. Potter ever so closely?"

Harriet swallowed, feeling like a sharp stone lodged itself in her throat. Draco's silver eyes narrowed into slits as Snape approached them in long, slow strides, taking his sweet time.

"Hello, Professor," he kept his voice neutral. "Merry Christmas."

Snape did not answer, rather, his cold black eyes peered over Draco's head right at Harriet. Her lips, swollen from Draco's kisses, sucked through her teeth. Her hair was slightly dishelved, cheeks tinted pink.

"Shouldn't you two be at Mr. Shacklebolt's party?"

"We just came out for fresh air," Draco stepped in front of Harriet, blocking Snape's view. "It was a bit cramped in there."

"And you decided to get some air in the Atrium," Snape answered the rest. "Where everyone can see you."

"We've-" Harriet cleared her throat. "We've done nothing wrong."

Snape's frown deepened. "This..."

He gestured at the couple. "Isn't something to be so open about. You two were lucky it was I who caught you. If anyone else saw you...it'd be most unfortunate."

Harriet hissed in a breath as Draco glared at him.

"You'd punish us for being together?" he challenged. "Your best student from Slytherin with the one you despise most from Gryffindor."

Snape halted when he heard those words. My best student from Slytherin with the one I despise most from Gryffindor?

"If it bothers you so much, complain to Dumbledore. I'll be happy to talk with him."

Draco wrapped an arm around Harriet's shoulders. "But she'll be going nowhere. If you touch her, you'll answer to my father."

"Draco," Harriet gasped. "It's ok, I'm not-"

"I mean it," Draco silenced her. "You can tear me limb from limb, but you'll stay away from Harriet. I'll always protect my family."

Staring down his own teacher and the Head of Slytherin, Draco was not afraid of Snape. He was never the target of his cold eyes nor his animosity. There was a time when he used to idolize him, a time when he thought he was the best teacher in the world. Now, Snape just blinked as if he'd been hit by the world's biggest bludger.

"Let's go," Draco smiled. "Mr. Shacklebolt's waiting for us, my love."

Harriet's green eyes widened at those words. They shouldn't have made her heart swell in this moment, not with Snape watching them. Yet they did, and she only nodded, her own smile returning. The pair walked away hand-in-hand, stopping at one of the entryways. Before they stepped inside, Draco swept a few strands of hair from her forehead.

"Merry Christmas, Potter."