The Boy Who Lived

House-Elves and Stuff

They stood in Willow Ulrich's waiting room and Harry hitched Teddy up onto his hip and Draco stepped into Harry's hold as he reached for Hercules's collar. Harry was wrapped in the smell of his aftershave of vanilla, gingerlily and apples so he pulled Draco closer against him because it was too nice to ignore. It was then that he was ready to Apparate them all to the coordinates that Runchbark had given him. Not that Harry needed the coordinates: Beaumont Hall called him. It was finally time to go home.

Still, he hesitated.

Draco held him tight or perhaps it was the other way around and he couldn't help staring at the other man, wondering why he'd suddenly let his carefully maintained guard down.

You do realise what you do to me, don't you? His own words echoed in his ears. It was true. They both knew it. It was foolish to believe otherwise from the way Harry's wild magic went haywire when they were in the same room.

But then Draco had said, you do realise its reciprocated and the world tilted and realigned with all the pieces in place and Harry knew, he knew Draco was always meant to be in his arms. But despite Draco's words, he still needed confirmation that Draco was alright to be with another man. It was one thing to feel a connection and quite another to consider sex with another man.

Harry felt surprisingly nervous and his hands felt clammy. As they stood so close, just staring at each other awkwardly, Harry didn't fail to notice Draco wet his lips. His own mouth suddenly felt uncomfortably dry but then Hercules gave a single bark as if to chivvy them along and Teddy exclaimed, 'come on, Da!'. Harry ignored the sudden tingling sensation down his side where Draco was pressed against him and they whipped away.

Harry felt the Wards at Beaumont effortlessly admit them both.

Hercules hit the ground running. He always did and he was off, sprinting across the open lawns in front of them, tail wagging wildly, barking ecstatically as if he knew. Teddy, too, wriggled from Harry's arms and ran after the dog, whooping with delight in the evening sunlight. In comparison, Draco stumbled slightly as they landed, perhaps because they were so close together. Harry automatically pulled him in tighter against his body using both hands to stop him falling. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his nose practically buried into Draco's neck. Even just the heady smell of Draco's aftershave made him feel disorientated. Merlin, he'd never felt anything like it; it wasn't just of a morbid attraction to his former nemesis but actual overwhelming desire that sent shivers coursing through his body and meant Goosebumps raced across his skin. And, Merlin, he could feel Draco's breath on his neck as Draco cautiously returned the embrace and then they were hugging so tightly that Harry never wanted to let go. His stomach was clenching and all it would take would be for him to move slightly and he could capture Draco's lips with his...

It was Teddy who shook Harry from his reverie with his joyful shouts. He was yelling, 'Da, look at this place!' He reluctantly stepped away from Draco who mumbled a thank you and refused to look Harry in the eyes. All Harry could think was that it was a moment missed, though it clearly wasn't the right time with everything that was going on and Teddy demanding their attention.

Harry let out a low whistle. 'Fuck!' he murmured, looking for the first time at the enormous Hall across the vast open lawn in front of them.

'Indeed!' Draco drawled in response as they both stared at the huge turreted sandstone building. It certainly wasn't a Hall in the sense of Malfoy Manor. The low evening sun sent long shadows from huge oak trees across the open lawns and a pale gravel path led them towards the Hall. Sunlight danced in dappled patterns across huge windows, inviting them in.

Harry felt his shoulders drop. Despite the overwhelming size of it all, this was home; not Hogsmeade, or Hogwarts, London or Godric's Hollow-this was what he'd been searching for over the past year.