The Burden of Memory

Author's Note: and the end to another story has come. Thanks to all who have followed me through this journey... I don't even know how long it's been that I've been working on this one... eight months I think lol. Many thanks to my beta, Shannon and her work on it, and I hope to see you all over at my other stories, I'm down to 3.5 now, not including the one I have yet to start posting (which you should all look for shortly. It's called Forgotten Not Fogiven)

Chapter 24 Who Ever Thought

Harry sat staring at Draco as he recounted the tale of those final days before his memory loss to the small gathered group in Harry’s flat. Hermione, Ron and Lara were in rapt attention as well and couldn’t seem to look away except to occasionally glance at Harry to check his reaction.

“You sacrificed your life to protect Harry? That’s so romantic,” Lara sighed when Draco’s story drew to a close.

“Well I didn’t know that I was sacrificing my life at the time, now did I” Draco muttered.

“Still, that was a brave thing to do when you’d only just figured things out,” Hermione agreed with Lara. The girls seemed to be swooning over the story like something out of a romantic movie while the men remained relatively quiet. Ron sat with a scowl on his face from his girlfriend fawning over Draco again and Harry just hunched on the couch, staring off into space.

“Harry?” Draco whispered, suddenly worried his recollection had somehow offended his boyfriend, but Harry continued to stare at his shoes without answering.

“Maybe we should leave you two alone,” Hermione suggested as she got up from the couch.

“You never told us what happened to Umbridge,” Harry whispered, speaking for the first time since his friends arrived and Draco began recounting his tale.

“Right. Well all is well on that front,” Hermione boasted.

“We nabbed her and Kingsley had her sent to Azkaban,” Ron interrupted with a grin. Hermione swatted him for stealing the limelight but he didn’t care. It was about time he got to play hero for once.

“That’s it?” Harry asked.

“Rather anti-climactic,” Draco muttered.

“Well, we’ll all have to testify in front of the Wizengamot and they still have to round up all the witches and wizards who were loyal to her, but that shouldn’t be too tricky now that she’s in prison and we have full access to all her files,” Hermione added.

“I suppose it’s good news,” Harry mused, though the look on his face didn’t reveal that he actually thought so.

“Did we miss something, Harry?” Hermione asked, looking down at her friend in confusion.

“No, no,” Harry murmured, looking up into her chocolate brown eyes. “I’m just… thinking.”

“We should go,” Lara said and she pulled Ron up with her and began to shove him toward the door.

“Maybe Draco could join you?” Harry asked, and they all looked sideways at his request.

Draco’s eyes fell onto his boyfriend’s and he stared for a moment, trying to figure out what Harry was doing. “You want me to leave?” he asked carefully.

“Just for a little while. I need to be alone,” Harry whispered, breaking Draco’s gaze. “It’s safe now right?” he asked Hermione and she nodded in return.

Draco reluctantly walked away, following Lara and Ron across the hall but with a pointed look to the other three, Hermione hung back, shutting the door behind them. Harry didn’t notice at first, but when Hermione took a seat at the end of the living room he glared at her. “Alone means just me, myself and I, Mione,” he lectured.

“What’s going on, Harry?” she asked softly. “You should be happy. There are no more threats looming over your head, you and Draco are safe and you can even trust that he’s entirely there for you now that he’s regained his memory.”

“That’s just it, Mione. I’m not sure I know how to be this happy. My life doesn’t ever go this perfectly, nothing ever just falls into place and I suppose I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Harry grumbled.

“Just because you’ve run into some bad luck these past-“

“Eighteen years?” Harry finished for her with a snarky look.

“Right, but still, you can’t just assume that the rest of your life will be war. Draco loves you, you love him, and no one at the Ministry is hunting you-“

“For now,” Harry interjected.

“Would you stop interrupting me?” she hissed.

“Sorry,” Harry grumbled. “I do love Draco.”

“I know,” she replied softly, moving further down the sofa toward him. “You two make a great couple.”

The edges of Harry’s lips lifted without his permission as he thought of his boyfriend, the man who had turned his entire world upside down with a look. The man who just a day ago told Harry that he wanted to marry him. The man who was standing in the doorway looking hurt and confused and a little bit angry.

Draco?” Harry asked, looking up into the steely gray stare of his lover. “Look, Draco-“

“No, you look, Harry,” He demanded, shutting the door firmly behind him. “I don’t know what’s going on, but whatever it is we can work through it.”

“I know,” Harry replied, the smile on his face widening.

“We love each other and we can get through anything,” Draco continued.

“I know,” Harry repeated softly, a chuckle at the back of his throat.

“I’m not letting you go without a fight. I don’t care what you say or what you do-“

“Would you just get over here?” Harry demanded, interrupting Draco’s rant.

“What?” Draco asked, not understanding Harry’s sudden mood shift.

“You. Here. Now,” Harry repeated, pointing at his lap.

With a cheeky grin Draco leapt upon his boyfriend and with eager lips Harry pulled him into a heated kiss. “I was so sure this was going to fall apart,” Harry admitted when they paused for breath. “I thought that when you got your memory back that something would make you change your mind about us.”

“I didn’t,” Draco replied, pointing out the obvious.

“Did you really discover your feelings for me out in those woods? I mean, I just can’t see how a lost boy who thinks he’s got to die to save the world would be terribly attractive,” he told his boyfriend half-jokingly.

“I’ve never seen anyone so brave,” Draco whispered reverently. “I’ve never seen anyone stand against him that way, even the people on his side always cowered at his feet. The entire time that monster was in my home I wanted the stand against him as you had in that forest, but I lacked your courage and heart.”

“I’m glad for that,” Harry whispered. “If you had stood up to him you’d be dead right now. Where would that leave me?”

“Without a brilliant wizard to make you more of that echo potion,” Draco replied, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“I love you, Draco,” Harry whispered against his boyfriend’s lips.

“I love you, too,” he replied before taking Harry’s bottom lip into his teeth and pulling him into another glorious kiss. The boys were too distracted to notice Hermione slip out of the house with a satisfied grin.

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There was no bell to ring, or knocker, or Elvin butler; the giant ivory door simply swung open on its own as they approached the towering marble manor. As soon as their shoes clacked against the stone floor, Narcissa appeared at the top of the stairs and waved daintily down at them.

“I’m so glad you could make it,” she cooed before pulling both boys into a tight hug. “I’ve had the elves prepare your favorite, Draco. I hope you like roast pheasant,” she added to Harry as she patted his jaw lightly.

“Er, I can’t say that I’ve had it, but I’m sure it will be lovely,” Harry replied, trying to keep the wince from his face at the idea of eating the foreign bird and perhaps not liking it.

“It’s just like chicken,” Draco whispered in his ear, “only better.”

Harry smiled back at his boyfriend and gave his hand a tight squeeze as Draco’s mother led them into the dining room. He had to stifle a gasp at the opulence and he could feel Draco’s stormy eyes watching him nervously as he took it all in. Everything from the massive dining table to the looming family portraits on the wall; all of it was pristine and looked more expensive than anything Hogwarts had held within its walls. Even the ceilings were decorated with a plaster fleur-de-lis designs paired with a moving painting that made Harry feel as though he were standing beneath the Eiffel Tower.

Each family portrait on the wall seemed to depict a different generation of the Malfoy family, going back to only Merlin knows when. The painting of the Malfoy’s Harry knew was on the wall closest to the head of the table Harry smirked as he looked at the younger Malfoy, clearly trying not to fidget beneath his parents pale grip. They were all dressed in slate gray velvet, which made Draco’s eyes shine and as the younger portrait version looked up at him a smile formed on his tiny mouth and he seemed to reach out for Harry as if they could touch one another.

Narcissa stood nearly mesmerized by the transaction. “I’ve never seen him do that before,” she whispered.

“Little me likes you,” Draco teased beside him and Harry shot him a crooked grin.

Harry paced forward, as if drawn in by the child-like visage of his lover, and placed his hand against that of the young blonde boy. The portrait was probably created shortly before Draco left for Hogwarts that first year and seeing him at that age -the age they first met- brought back a flood of memories.

Draco’s hand twitched within his own and Harry looked back at his lover curiously.

“Tickles,” Draco informed him, causing them both to smile.

“Fascinating, simply fascinating,” boomed a familiar drawl from the entrance. Harry turned around to face Draco’s father and bowed slightly at his arrival. “That painting has shown nothing but an obstinate young boy for years, I’ve never even see it smile before. I’m curious to see how the one in my study would react to Potter’s presence here.”

“The one in father’s study was painted at my graduation, so it’s less than a year old,” Draco explained in a level tone. “And it’s Harry, father,” Draco added as an afterthought.

“Of course, I apologize, Harry,” Lucius intoned, but Harry simply waved him off. It was odd having the elder Malfoy apologize to him without a thick dose of sarcasm behind the words. Before Harry had an opportunity to respond, however, a pop brought his attention closer to the floor where he spied a large silver tray with legs.

With a start, Harry quickly realized that it was a House Elf carrying a platter and dome that was far larger than its own body and then slowly levitated it higher as Narcissa beckoned everyone to take their seats.

Harry felt incredibly awkward in the midst of Draco’s family, but his boyfriend was a calming presence at his side while they waited for the first course to be served. After a moment, a bowl made from sourdough bread was levitated in place directly in front of him. Steam coated his glasses when he removed the tiny bread lid and the aroma of rich melted cheddar attacked his nostrils.

They ate in polite silence until the plate disappeared and fresh green salad took its place. Harry picked at it, pushing the red and purple lettuces around his bowl until Draco gave him a sharp look that seemed to indicate that Harry should eat it and not play with it. Harry tried, but found the leaves to be rather bitter so he left them on the plate while stabbing at tiny round tomatoes and shoveling them into his mouth instead.

“So, Draco, you said you had news for us?” Narcissa asked, her icy blue eyes gleaming in the light from the chandelier overhead.

Draco rolled his eyes and thought of his mother’s unusual foresight. “I’m sure it’s hardly news to you mother, and if you know then surely father does too, but I thought we should announce it formally.”

Narcissa beamed and began shaking in her chair with excitement. “Go on, show us the rings then,” she ordered giddily.

Harry and Draco both extended their left hands to show Draco’s parents the simple matching bands that adorned their fingers. “We’re to be married in the fall,” Draco announced with a glowing smile at Harry.

“Splendid,” she cooed and leapt from the table to pull Harry up from his chair and into a tight embrace. “You’re a welcome addition to our family, Harry.”

“Er, thanks,” Harry responded with a gasp as his face was pressed against Narcissa’s shoulder. When she let go he peered over at Draco’s father who gave him a warm smile and a sharp nod, which was probably the best Harry would get from the man for a while.

“Did you talk to Harry about moving into the Manor?” Narcissa asked, addressing her son.

“We discussed it and thought it might be best to wait until after the wedding,” Draco replied, squeezing Harry’s hand tightly within his own.

“I anticipated that. We should have the ceremony here of course, and that will keep you both out of the way while I work my magic, so to speak,” she chirped.

Draco had already warned Harry that his mother would do this but Harry didn’t care. He was disinterested in planning an event like that himself and just wanted to get to the part where he got to spend the rest of his life with Draco. With a genuine smile, Harry nodded at all of Narcissa’s suggestions for flowers and invitations and followed her dutifully as she led them into the back gardens where she painted a beautiful picture of where the ceremony could be held.

A pristine white gazebo sat on the edge of a pond with a vast grassy lawn beside it that looked as if it were made to hold hundreds of white chairs. Harry smiled at his lover, his fiancé, his life and kissed him softly on the lips. “Who ever thought I’d get my happily-ever-after?” Harry asked and Draco smoothed his thumb across Harry’s jaw.

“No one deserves it more than you,” he whispered in reply. “Unless we're counting me of course,” he added cheekily and Harry smiled, knowing that this beautiful sarcastic boy was his forever.

FIN

Author's Note: Sigh, another end, and yes I'm aware I could continue this on forever and ever but this Harry and Draco have had their story told, now onto the next pair in need of my assistance (or lack thereof. I can be quite mean... they might prefer it if I left them alone...)