LABYRINTH of HEARTS (DRARRY Romance)

MEMORY VIAL 27: THE MAGIC WORDS (YEAR 5)

Harry stood at the bottom landing of the Astronomy Tower under his Invisibility Cloak. The time of their rendezvous had come and gone, and he was getting increasingly anxious, almost as much as when he had waited for Draco in the enchanted garden at the Yule Ball. Figuring he might have misunderstood the instructions in his Valentine's letter—and also forgetting that he had the Marauder's Map on him—he reopened the letter Draco had given him and reread it by the Lumos of his wand.

Nothing stood out.

Maybe Draco had already gone up. Or maybe Harry had been stood-up.

Leaving his gold-and-red scarf on a statue at the bottom of the steps, in case Draco showed up late, Harry turned up the stairs and climbed to the top of the tower by himself. He braced himself against the gusts that buffeted him when he gained the top, and, ambling over to the railing, Harry pulled off his Invisibility Cloak and gazed out at the steel-gray clouds, which were unnaturally illuminated for how late it was.

The weather earlier in the day had been pleasant apart from the rain, but it was far too windy and chilly now. He wondered why they were meeting up here at all while it was this cold, unless, of course, the prefects' bathroom was no longer their secret.

Harry did not hear when Draco arrived. He would have expected to hear the sound of Draco's shoes scuffing up the last couple of steps, but all he heard was the familiar drawl of, "Are you alright, Potter?"

Harry turned around. Draco was standing a few feet behind him looking winded, with Harry's Firebolt and scarf in one hand and Draco's Nimbus Two Thousand and One in the other.

Draco moved nearer, a gloating smile twisting up his handsome face.

Harry fixed his gaze on the Firebolt, heart lurching in his chest. "I don't believe it."

Draco offered the Firebolt to Harry. "You're going to get me into serious trouble one of these days, you hear me?"

"How'd you do it?" Harry took the handle of the broom, then blushed when Draco refused to let it go.

"It wasn't difficult. Just nerve-wracking is all, and I had to practice a couple of spells for several weeks beforehand. Still haven't mastered them, but apparently my spellcasting was good enough. I had backup from your favorite blokes, by the way, in case anything went wrong."

Harry grimaced at the obvious reference to Crabbe and Goyle. "Not like they did it to be nice..."

Draco let go of the broom and took an idle step back. "Of course, I'll need to return it before our Messiah-In-Pink wakes up, otherwise you'll be the first on Umbridge's list of suspects, and I won't be taking the fall for you this time around."

"I wouldn't want you to." Harry's grip tightened on the broom handle. He had dealt with Professor Umbridge enough times now that he did not think much of having to endure any more punishment from her.

Draco studied the way the muscles in Harry's throat contracted. "So, Potter... what do you say? Have I earned your attention for the rest of the night?"

Harry was trembling, probably partly due to the cold, but the truth was that he was so moved by the recovery of his Firebolt that he was having a hard time containing his excitement. He dropped the broom, stomped forward, and swung his arms around Draco's neck. His heart was hurting for some reason, and getting close to Draco was the only thing he thought would ease it.

Draco squeezed Harry tightly around the waist. "One day, love," he murmured softly, "I'll give you everything you ever wanted. I'll make you the happiest boy who ever lived."

"Then promise me you won't leave even if you get married. Don't ever leave me."

"If you can share me, Potter, everything between us will be just fine. I'll never leave. I'll break all the rules for you, and I'll live a secret life just for you. You make it impossible to say no, you know? Now... do you wanna fly, or did I break into Umbitch's office for nothing?"