Just Breathe

Chapter Twenty-Four

He had made four circles around his living room while he waited for Harry to finish brushing his teeth and pressing his robes. Since he was going as his Auror escort, he had to be in uniform.

"You ready?" his head snapped up and Harry was standing in the doorway, his scarlet robes neat and tidy, his hair somewhat combed to his head.

"I'm ready. You don't think Kingsley and the others will get mad that we arrive earlier than them?"

"No. It's your home, too, Draco. I think it will be easiest for your parents as well."

"Okay." Harry held out his hand and together the disapparated from the apartment right into the foyer of the Manor.

"We didn't go back to the front gates?"

"No, I lifted the protection charm the last time we came so we'd be able to get in easier. So I guess now we just wait." He tapped his fingers on the side table under the large mirror and he straightened his tie. He hadn't slept much the night before. Instead he had mainly focused on Harry's breathing and his steady, strong heartbeat under his cheek.

"I forgot how nice you looked in a dark suit," Harry said, coming up behind him, looking over his shoulder in the mirror. "You wore them more in school than you do now, but I remember. I love the way your blue shirts bring out your eyes, but the black seems to make you glow."

"Is that a good thing or does it make me look radioactive, like I've been around too many x-ray machines?"

"It's a good thing," he laughed. He put his arms around his waist and when he put his chin on his shoulder, he kissed the side of his head.

"I know this might not be easy for you, Harry, but I want to thank you so much for coming today. I love you, so much." He turned to face Harry and grinned down at him.

"I love you too." Harry pulled him close and tightened his arms around his waist and they stood that way in the quiet for some time. Draco wondered what Harry was thinking. After the extremely short trial, Harry had gone back to work and he had visited with Andromeda and Teddy before taking some food and necessities to the Manor for the next day and it had been late when they had both gotten back to the apartment. They hadn't discussed what was going to happen when his parents arrived. He didn't know how long it was going to take them to acclimate to being on the outside of the prison and he certainly didn't know when the time was going to come for him to tell them about his relationship with Harry.

A knock on the door startled them both and Harry pulled back, but not before Draco grabbed him by the chin and kissed him once more. Harry's cheeks turned red and Draco winked at him before moving to the answer. He took a shaky breath in and turned the knob.

"Good morning, Draco." Kingsley was standing in front of a large group of people and when he moved to the side, he saw the Head Warlock from the trial as wall as Harry's boss. Draco narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at him but he stepped to the side to let them in to the house. Luckily the front door was wide, because as his parents came in, there was an Auror on either side of them. Greg wasn't with them.

His father's face looked better, no more dark bruising and there was a spark in both of them that he hadn't seen in a long time.

The procession stopped in the middle of the foyer and Harry stepped a few paces back in the direction of the door, and farther away from him. His eyes were also trained on his boss and the formality of it made his throat tight. He knew he was just being professional.

"Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, you are hereby permitted your freedom from Azkaban. You will be placed under house-arrest for one year starting on this date. You will have weekly meetings with a team of Aurors to determine the legitimacy of your new lives and the changes you must be making. When six months from this day has passed, you will be reexamined and will have the possibility of earning your wands back. At this time they are being kept in a secret location which is only known to two people. Do you have any questions?" Robards looked between them and they shook their heads. He looked at him and he shook his head as well. The man looked at Kingsley and nodded and stepped back.