To Love Again

Draco's head snapped to face the Slytherin stands. He saw Pansy waving and shrieking frantically while gesticulating towards the quickly plummeting Gryffindor. There was no time to think...all that mattered now was Harry. The young Slytherin looked like nothing more than a green blur as he sped his Nimbus 2001 in Harry's direction, as quickly as he could manage. Draco's heart was fiercely jack-rabbiting in his chest as he flew in a mad race against time.

"I'm coming, Harry!" Oh Merlin, please don't let him hit the ground! The Gryffindor's body continued falling, closer and closer to the hard earth below. Draco swooped down, nose-diving toward the ground at record-breaking speed, as Harry was now literally inches from death. Letting go of his broom handle, Draco stretched his arms and upper body out to Harry, catching the Gryffindor just in the nick of time before he could make contact with the ground.

Relief flooded Draco as he fell off the broom and tumbled to the ground, Harry alive and well in his grasp. The entire student body erupted into deafening cheers and applause, but Draco didn't care. He was just glad to have his beloved back in his arms again. In the middle of the Quidditch field, the two young men embraced and sobbed on each other's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," Draco whispered in Harry's ear with jagged breath, holding the Gryffindor as tightly as he could without hurting him. It felt so good to hold his ebony-haired lover again, and he didn't want to let go...ever. He vowed right then and there that nothing would never come between himself and Harry ever again.

"It's all right, love," Harry whispered back as he buried his face in the Slytherin's hair, his tears dampening the silky blond locks.

The two boys were off in their own little world until a sudden hush fell over the crowd. Draco looked up and saw Lucius standing before them, a disgusted sneer creasing his aged, demented face. The younger Malfoy glared back, his arms wrapped protectively around his beloved Gryffindor as if silently daring Lucius to separate them.

A quiet yet deadly fury blared in Lucius' eyes as he raised his wand and prepared to attack the newly reunited couple. His voice loud enough for everybody at the Quidditch pitch to hear him, the elder Malfoy bellowed, "Scindo!"

The spell forcefully separated the two young men, catapulting the two young men several feet into the air and a few meters away from each other. Then anger filled Draco to the brim as he watched Lucius start to torture the Gryffindor with the Cruciatus curse. The sparks from Draco's wand intercepted those from Lucius' wand, casting a protective shield over Harry, and the sparks from Lucius' wand shot out in every direction as they hit the invisible barrier. Lucius then pointed his wand at Draco, who stood his ground when the madman approached, his dagger in one hand and his wand in the other.

Draco sneered with hatred at the older Malfoy, lifting his chin confidently. He no longer feared the six inch blade that caught the light, nor did he fear this bastard. "Go ahead and kill me, Father. I'm the one you want, not Harry."

"Draco, no!" The Boy Who Lived cried desperately, tears in his eyes. Harry attempted to stand, but the magic barrier held him down protectively. If only he had his wand, he could do something to save Draco. Accio wand...accio wand..., Harry chanted silently, directing all of his attention at retrieving his wand as he attempted to find a way out from under his protective shell.

Meanwhile, the Gryffindor felt helpless as Lucius swung the steel blade at Draco, just barely missing his pale throat by a fraction of an inch. Lucius narrowed his eyes at his son and hissed, "It would be a pleasure to stain the Hogwarts grounds with your blood, Draco. But first, I'm going to kill your precious little Potter."

The young Slytherin aimed his wand ominously at Lucius, "No you won't! Avada-"

"-Petrificus Totalis!"

Draco instantly froze. Unable to maintain his balance, he toppled over like a tree that had just been chopped down, a thud emanating throughout the Quidditch pitch as his stiff body hit the ground. There was nothing he could do but watch Lucius as he circled Harry like a vulture about to attack its prey. No, Merlin, please don't let him kill Harry! Tears started puddling up in his eyes and running down the sides of his face as he lay there, watching Lucius use his wand to cut through the magical barrier that kept Harry safe.

Right then, Draco noticed a wand flying through the air out of nowhere. The wand landed directly in the palm of Harry's hand, and the Gryffindor stood up to face Lucius. Please be careful, Harry!

"Sectumsempra!" Harry cried, his wand magically cutting through Lucius' ragged clothing to his flesh. Malfoy blood would indeed stain the Hogwarts grounds that day. Obviously weakened by the significant loss of blood, Lucius struggled to remain standing.

Harry took that moment to quickly unfreeze Draco, then he held his hand out to the blond boy. "Grab your wand and take my hand," the Gryffindor instructed.

Draco gave Harry a questioning look, but did as he was told. As his hand clasped Harry's, he could feel his magic, and his love, entwining with Harry's, growing stronger as it swirled within them and flowed into one another's bodies. The two lovers now stood hand in hand and faced Lucius, ready to fight. Together.

"Aww, isn't that sweet," Lucius spat sarcastically, looking as though he'd just swallowed something awful. Then he grinned maliciously at Draco as he held his wand up to Harry, "Say good-bye to Potter." Before Draco had a chance to act, blinding green light was flowing out of Lucius' wand and straight at the Gryffindor's chest.

"Noooo!" Draco started to scream. Then he experienced a sense of deja-vu. Instead of the curse killing Harry, a protective red ball formed around himself and the dark-haired boy, just like when Lucius had tried to murder Draco in the corridor. He looked over at his lover, and felt indescribable happiness; Harry was all right!

Harry squeezed Draco's hand and said, "It's your love, Draco! It's keeping me alive! I can feel it channeling through me! Whatever happens, don't let go!"

Draco shook his head, "Never!"

Like a protective, driving force, the love swirling around Harry and Draco surged into Lucius' wand, causing it to explode in his hand so that now, he only held the dagger as a weapon. He began to swing the blade at Harry, dangerously close to piercing the Gryffindor's flesh when Draco aimed his wand at the dagger and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Draco caused the large knife to float out of Lucius' hand and several meters too high for him to reach it.

Still determined to carry out his plan, Lucius lunged forward and tried to knock the boys onto the ground. If he couldn't Avada them or cut them to pieces, he could at least beat them to a bloody pulp.

Right then, Draco lowered his wand, causing the knife to fall from midair and plunge itself directly into the center of Lucius' back. They thought for a moment that the madman was dead, but then he started to move again, his claw like hands reaching out for the two young men.

Harry caught Draco's eye and whispered, "On the count of three. One...two...three!"

The crowd gasped with disbelief as the two former enemies, hand in hand, simultaneously pointed their wands at Lucius and chorused, "Avada Kedavra!" After blinding green light shot out at Lucius from both wands, the escaped Death Eater was finally dead.

Relieved to be free of his father, and thrilled to have Harry back, Draco enfolded the Gryffindor in another passionate embrace. The Slytherin thanked Merlin for sparing Harry's life as he held his beloved and cried tears of joy. They stood amidst the field, just embracing for a long moment and oblivious to the thousands of shocked, bewildered eyes watching them.

"It's over now, love," Harry smiled as he placed a hand on Draco's shoulder, guiding the young Slytherin off the field and away from the crowd. "Your father will never harm you again. In fact, nobody will ever hurt you again...I will make sure of that."
_________________________________________________________

"Uh, Harry, I don't know if I can do this."

The Gryffindor smiled encouragingly at his boyfriend, who was nervous about meeting up with Ron and Hermione outside. "Of course you can. You saved my life and killed your Death Eater father, in front of the whole school! They can't possibly hate you after all that."

Draco stared at the floor and laughed softly. He knew logically that Harry made a good point. Once the students and staff got over the initial shock of seeing Harry and Draco together--not just together, but getting along--they were surprisingly accepting and compassionate towards the two boys. Draco believed it was partly because they felt sorry for himself and Harry, for the terrible things Lucius attempted to do to them earlier that day. Well, whatever the reason for their understanding, he was glad he and the Gryffindor no longer needed to sneak around under Harry's Invisibility Cloak. It was also nice to once again feel safe walking the halls of Hogwarts by himself. But facing Harry's two childhood friends? The same ones he'd bullied and harassed for so many years? Now that was scary.

Harry took Draco's hands in his and met the handsome blond's nervous gaze. "It's all right, love. They already know that we're friends. Now I want to show them what kind of friends we are," Harry grinned and winked at the Slytherin.

"But Harry-"

The Gryffindor interrupted Draco's protest with a sweet kiss, then looked into those uncertain grey eyes as he caressed the Slytherin's pale cheek.

Draco nervously wrung his hands and bit his lip. "They're never going to accept me after all I've done and said to them in the past. And I wouldn't blame them for not forgiving me. Can I just stand back a bit? I-I mean, what if Grang...er, Hermione...slugs me again?"

"She won't hit you, I promise." The Gryffindor opened the door and guided his beloved out onto the Hogwarts grounds, rubbing his back with a comforting hand. From behind a blanket of grayish white clouds, the sun attempted to shine, casting very soft shadows on the fresh, green grass. The lake in the distance rippled beautifully in the softly blowing breeze, the tree branches swaying gently to the quiet melody of the wind.

A sudden thought occurred to the blond Slytherin as his heart--Ginny's heart--accelerated in his chest. "Harry, uh, have you told them about my...um..."

A worried frown creased the Chosen One's brow. He had told Hermione and Ron the truth about Ginny's heart residing in Draco's chest. In fact, Harry also revealed the fact that he'd been secretly friends with the Slytherin since the start of term. The only thing he didn't tell them was that he Draco was his boyfriend. He hesitantly looked up into those expectant silver eyes.

"Harry, do they know about my heart?"

Harry took a deep breath, "Yes, Draco. I told them about what had happened last year...with your Puter Pectus affliction, and Ginny's heart...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told them without asking you first."

"It's all right, Harry. I'm glad you told them; we would've eventually had to tell them anyway." Draco immediately started to tense at the sight of Granger and Weasley standing together under a distant tree.

The raven-haired Gryffindor understood why Draco was so hesitant to speak to Ron and Hermione again, but he also knew that Draco had nothing to worry about. Now that his best friends knew the truth--the whole truth--they had agreed that Draco deserved to start over with a clean slate. In fact, it was Hermione's idea to conveniently forget the old Draco, and welcome the blond Slytherin as they would any other new friend. "Relax, love," Harry whispered soothingly. "Don't think of this as facing your worst enemies. Think of it as a second chance."

He gave Harry a panicked look, but his boyfriend merely smiled and gestured for him to follow. The Slytherin expected Harry's friends to shoot him looks of detest or call him Ferret, but to his surprise, they didn't do either of those things.

For a moment, the four students stood together in awkward silence. Harry's friends didn't seem to know what to say to the Slytherin, but regarded him with pleasant expressions. Unsure of what to do, Draco gave Weasley and Granger a polite nod, then shot a pleading sideways glance at Harry. Why the hell did they have to just stand here like this?

Harry cleared his throat. "Ron? Hermione? I don't believe you've met my boyfriend, Draco." He smiled lovingly over at Draco as his fingers entwined with the Slytherin's. "Draco, this is Ron and Hermione."

Draco was a bit taken aback by this introduction; Harry apparently meant it literally when he said this was a second chance! Awkwardly playing along, the Slytherin grinned and muttered, "Nice to meet you."

"Now was that so bad?" Harry asked teasingly after their meeting with Ron and Hermione.

With a sheepish grin, Draco wrapped an arm around Harry as they strolled through the castle together. "That was...not bad at all, actually. I think I'm going to like Ron and Hermione. But I'm not used to calling them by their first names."

"That's quite understandable," Harry chuckled softly. "After all, it took time for us to get used to being on a first name basis."

As they walked along, Draco looked up at the seventh floor, where he could see the blank wall across from the dancing troll tapestry. So much had happened since the beginning of the week, that it seemed like ages since they last spent quiet time together, just talking intimately and holding each other, among other things. "Um, Harry, I was thinking...since this is our last night at Hogwarts, what would you say to spending it in the Room of Requirement?"

Harry chuckled and replied, "But Draco, we don't need to hide anymore, remember?"

A mischievous grin lit up the blond Slytherin's handsome features, a slight reddish tinge flushing his cheeks as he wrapped his arms around the Gryffindor's trim waist and pulled him close. Damn, it felt good to hold him again. "Well actually, Harry, I was hoping we could...you know, be alone together."
___________________________________________________________

Draco woke up before Harry the next morning and smiled as he stretched catlike under the green and silver covers. This was undoubtedly the best morning of his life.

Careful not to wake the sleeping Gryffindor, Draco climbed out of bed and grabbed his school robe off the floor, which he wrapped around his hips like an oversized bath towel. The stunning blond sleepily rubbed his eyes as he made his way across the room, where the first rays of dawn were beginning to light up the darkness, glimpsing shyly over the Forbidden Forest and into the Room of Requirement.

The Slytherin basked in the rising sun's rays, enjoying the warmth that seemed to seep through the window, comforting him. This glorious June morning marked the beginning of a new life; a life free of his father's threatening shadow...a life in which he was finally free to be himself and show the world how much he loved the Boy Who Lived. They could now hold hands and kiss in public, just like any other couple in love. It felt good.

Then Draco's smile started to fade as another realization occurred to him. Here he was, soon to depart Hogwarts forever, and he had no home to return to...no family...no money. Draco's brow furrowed as he wondered, What am I going to do?

Behind him, Draco could hear the creaky mattress and the rustling of covers, indicating that Harry was awake. Then he heard his lover's feet padding across the floor towards him, felt the Gryffindor's reassuring arms wrap around his chiseled torso from behind. The blond turned to face Harry, and his breath caught in his throat, his heart pounding wildly. The Chosen One stood before him, looking every bit the picture of ideal masculine beauty. Harry's seductively touseled dark hair perfectly framed his gorgeous face, and he wore only the green and silver bed sheet wrapped around his slender hips, the jewel tones of the fabric perfectly matching his startling green eyes.

Draco's eyes fell upon those slightly swollen, pink lips, and he tenderly kissed that irresistible mouth. Still pondering his post-Hogwarts dilemma, the blond Slytherin enfolded Harry in a long embrace. He didn't care that he was dirt poor, so long as he still had Harry; that was what mattered...but he was concerned about where he would live after today.

He released the Gryffindor just enough to look again at his beloved's beautiful face.

Harry could tell that there was something on Draco's mind; something that was weighing him down mentally. Lightly caressing Draco's fair cheek, the Gryffindor asked, "What's wrong, love?"

After a moment of hesitation, the Slytherin averted his eyes and sighed. "Actually, Harry, I've been thinking...in just a few hours, we'll be leaving here for good...a-and I have no home, nowhere to go..."

The raven-haired boy wrapped an arm around Draco's waist and guided him over to the bed, where they sat down on the edge of the mattress to continue their discussion. Harry was surprisingly calm as he gave Draco a soft, reassuring kiss. "Not to worry, love. I've thought about that quite a bit myself, and I have a plan."

Raising his eyebrows with surprise and interest, Draco asked, "What is your plan?"

Harry just grinned and winked secretively, "You'll see."

The two boys dressed and went to their respective common rooms to pack up their belongings, then met up with Ron and Hermione on the Hogwarts Express. Draco was surprised to find that he actually enjoyed talking to Weasley and Granger, now that the initial awkwardness had faded. He felt a mite guilty for spending his years at Hogwarts taunting and harassing them, but they graciously accepted him and acted as though the past seven years had never happened.

Then his thoughts turned once again to his post-Hogwarts living situation. Sure, Harry had told him not to worry, that he had everything figured out, but his curiosity was driving him bloody insane. Had Harry found a flat for them to live in together? Would they be living in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place? The suspense was unbearable.

Just when Draco thought he couldn't stand anymore waiting and wondering, the Hogwarts Express pulled up to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He looked at Harry, who gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled softly as if to say, "Everything's going to be all right."

The Golden Trio, which was now a quartet, waited for most of the students to leave the train before getting their own things and getting off. Draco stepped onto the platform, and felt a pang of sadness when his eyes fell upon the empty spot where his mum always used to stand, waiting for him upon his arrival. Never again would he get to feel that warm, maternal embrace. Never again would he belong to a family. Right then, a pleasantly plump woman with red hair came up to Draco and surprised him with a big hug.

"Draco, it's so good to see you," Mrs. Weasley cooed as she hugged Draco so tightly he could hardly breathe.

Draco was totally caught off-guard. Not knowing what to do or say, he merely stood there and allowed this woman he once despised to embrace him like a son. He didn't understand why Mrs. Weasley would want to be so friendly to him; after all, he was a Malfoy.

Pulling back a bit, the chubby middle-aged woman couldn't help laughing at the Slytherin's baffled expression. Leaning in and lowering her voice a bit, she said, "I hope you don't mind, dear, but Harry, Ron and Hermione told me everything...all the heroic things you did to save Harry's life, and how you've changed since the start of term." Mrs. Weasley got a bit weepy as she added, "And they told me about your heart! Oh dear, I can't believe my little girl's heart lives on in you!"

Mr. Weasley put a comforting arm around his wife and smiled at the Slytherin. "What Molly is trying to say, Draco, is thank you for being so good to Harry. He's like a son to us." The balding man exchanged glances with Mrs. Weasley, who raised her eyebrows expectantly at her husband and nodded toward Draco. Turning back to the blond boy, Mr. Weasley continued, "Draco, if you like, you're more than welcome to live with us at the Burrow, you and Harry."

It took a moment for Mr. Weasley's words to sink in. Draco remembered a time when he would've scoffed at an offer to stay at the Burrow. But now, as he looked at the Weasleys' genuine smiles, a mixture of happiness and disbelief flooded him. "You want me to stay with you? Really?"

Upon arriving at the Burrow, Draco quietly surveyed the surprisingly beautiful surroundings. The Weasleys' home, although not as fancy or impressive as Malfoy Manor, had a modest charm and a welcoming ambiance about it that made him smile. Malfoy Manor now seemed cold and undesirable in comparison. A small garden flourished near the house, and in the distance was the breathtaking view of a forest, the evening sun's rays tracing shadowy patterns all along the grass as they beamed down upon the trees. As he stood there mesmerized, Draco felt calloused fingers tenderly lace with his own.

"Ready to go inside?" Harry grinned broadly at his boyfriend and gave his soft hand a squeeze.

For the first time in his life, Draco's face shone with pure light. He no longer had to worry about Voldemort, or becoming a Death Eater, or any other unpleasant things that once tampered with his happiness and well-being. He was finally free to start over again, and he was ready to leave his past as a cold-hearted Slytherin behind him.

A/N: Don't worry, there IS an epilogue to this story, which will be posted within the next day or two;)