Soul Seeker

I am so exhausted. Friday morning, got woken up at 7am, and had to work until 11pm. Had to work Saturday morning at 9, and am babysitting until 2am, then have to work Sunday at 8.30am, and my friend is staying over so I probably will get no sleep. Then I have to bring my friend and myself to college Monday at about 8am, and am working till 11pm that night, as well as Tuesday. WTF?

This chapter is so lucky to exist. I was going to do The Lambs cause the next chapter is already slightly done, but no, I’m being nice to the Drarry fans!

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Words: 6,404
Chapter 4
Heart Felt
April 1st 1998.

The week had passed so quickly Harry wasn’t even sure if he had lived it. It had seemed, to him, like he had fallen back asleep in the Hospital Wing, and then he had stayed asleep for all of this time.

The reconstruction of Hogwarts was already underway. Snape had been found, healed and confined to his personal quarters. He had the floo system cut off, of course, and he was being forced to share with the Malfoys, but he was happy enough to have survived. There wasn’t a minute that went by when you didn’t see at least one Auror. Hogwarts was swarming with them. They were always coming and going, checking this and that, questioning so-and-so, etc. Minerva McGonagall was instated as Headmistress, and Snape was currently an ex-professor, because Horace Slughorn had agreed to stay on one more year.

Harry had spent most of the last week cleaning away fallen stones, and walls, and banishing them to god-knows-where, then repairing doors and windows. He had most of the house elves helping him, and pretty much all of Wizarding England chipped in with the work load, but to Harry it felt like he was all alone. Like it was all some dream, and he was just drifting, moment to moment, cleaning one mess to another mess, just waiting to wake up and realize Voldemort was still out there.

It wasn’t until just then that it really sank in. Voldemort was gone.

He wasn’t coming back.

“Harry, are you listening to me?” Ginny screeched, her hands on her hips. One foot slid forward slightly and she pursed her lips, before letting out a deep breath. “Harry we need to talk about this. You can’t keep avoiding me.”

“I haven’t been avoiding you.” He was being honest. Harry honestly hadn’t been avoiding Ginny, in fact he hadn’t really thought about Ginny much for a while. He had woken up the morning after he put Draco into the bed with him, and Ginny had no longer been by his bedside. Harry still didn’t know she had ever been there that night. His thoughts mostly centred on when would Voldemort next attack him, or on Draco.

“Don’t lie to me. You haven’t spoken to me in a week!” Her voice was growing shrill again and Harry winced a little as he thought about how much she reminded him of Molly.

“Ginny, I’ve barely spoken to Ron and he’s my best friend!”

“But you’ve spoken to Malfoy,” she accused, an ugly sneer spreading over her face.

“Well, yeah,” he shrugged as he spoke. “I had to talk to the Aurors about them. It was only fair that they were there as well. And anyway-” He stopped mid sentence. Harry didn’t know that Ginny had seen him share a bed with Draco, and he didn’t think it was any of her business anyway. “He saved my life.”

“He didn’t!” She protested. “Not really. His dad might have helped, but Harry, you defeated Voldemort without them. Malfoy picked up that Horcrux, it doesn’t matter. It would have been destroyed anyway!” Ron had thought it was only fair to tell his sister everything that had happened during the past year. He figured as Harry’s girlfriend she had a right to know. Harry had been close to punching Ron when the redhead told him. That was about three days ago, and also the last time Harry had spoken to Ron since.

“Ginny, let’s not argue about this. I haven’t been avoiding you, the end.”

She grinned then, and Harry let out a sigh. He figured the conversation was over but before he could walk away she grabbed his hand and held it tightly. Ginny moved closer to him, smiling wider now. She tried to kiss him, but he recoiled unconsciously not noticing the hurt flash across her face. He hadn’t meant to pull back, but the moment he realized what she planned to do, his whole being screaming that it was wrong, she was wrong. She wasn’t what he wanted.

“Harry?” Her voice shook. “I told you I’d wait for you. It’s over now Harry. We’re safe. It’s safe to be together. I love you, Harry.” She tried to kiss him again but he took hold of her shoulders, pulling his hand from her grasp, and shook her gently.

“It is over Ginny. I know. This last week has been a blur for me. I kept thinking that there was something else coming, something else Voldemort concocted to keep me on my toes, but you are right. It’s over. But so are we. I’ve changed Ginny, this past year has changed me, and I’m sorry but I won’t pretend to be something I’m not. Not even for you.” He let her go then. She didn’t say anything. He noticed that look in her eyes though as he walked away, the look that meant she had made up her mind and she was determined to get what she wanted. He let it go without saying anything else. Eventually she’d come to terms with it, he thought, she just needs time.

Harry walked slowly, away from Ginny, with no particular destination in mind. He ended up walking straight into Draco. He had seen more of the blond than he had his own friends in the past week, but that was mainly because his friends were busy repairing Hogwarts and Draco wasn’t trusted to do that. The morning they had woken up together Draco’s face had turned a particular shade of red and he had bitten his lip shyly before whispering ‘hello Harry’. Harry had just grinned back and said ‘you looked uncomfortable’. Draco had looked around for Ginny, though Harry didn’t know that, and not seeing her Draco had beamed at his mate. Harry had smiled bemusedly back at him but then Madame Pomfrey had walked into the room.

“Hello.” Draco said quietly. “I was looking for you.”

“What’s the matter?” Harry’s eyebrows drew close together as he tried to think about why Draco would come searching for him. Draco didn’t particularly like being on his own anymore. He was convinced that his entire family was going to Azkaban any day now and he wanted to spend as much time as possible with them first. And, also, two days ago he had the living daylights beaten out of him by five Ravenclaws and he probably wouldn’t have risked something similar happening unless it was important.

“The Aurors want to speak to you.” He was still speaking quietly so Harry stepped closer to him. The movement made Draco smile softly.

“What’s with these little grins of yours?” Harry teased, elbowing the blond. Draco just glared and hesitantly reached out for Harry’s hand. It was strange of Draco to show such open emotion, especially considering the fact that if he was rejected he could die. He didn’t particularly take well to rejection. But he hoped for the best. In his dreams Harry had always said it wouldn’t be easy, but that Harry would accept in the end. Even while awake the brunette was being strangely kind to Draco, and a part of him thought maybe he was about to be betrayed and humiliated, but that wasn’t really something Harry would do.

“Interesting new development.” He said in response. “Maybe I’ll tell you about it sometime. Come on, they’re waiting in the Potions classroom.”

Harry let Draco keep his hand. He didn’t really understand why. He didn’t like it when Ginny touched him, but with Draco it was different. The green monster of jealousy had been raging last year every time he saw Ginny with Dean, but now it was gone completely. When he thought of Draco he was suddenly happy and calm, but he didn’t get jealous. It was as if a part of him new Draco belonged entirely to him. They were something that Ginny could never compare to, and Harry really wanted to find time to think about everything. Right now he was running on instinct, and he was afraid that if he thought about it too hard he’d end up hurting Malfoy unnecessarily.

They walked silently to the Potions room. If the Aurors were back in Hogwarts then they must have been nearly finished with the Death Eaters they had managed to capture alive. A lot of the Dark side had been killed in the battle. The Light side had used the fight as an excuse to take revenge for the years of suffering and fear they had been forced to live through. The Werewolves and Giants had been taken care of and Harry had never really cared to find out how. Remus was dead, and as far as he was concerned those other Werewolves didn’t matter to him. They had fought for the wrong side. The other Death Eaters had been tested repeatedly under Veritaserum, cross interrogated, had information tortured out of them and anything else the Aurors could think of to get what they wanted.

The Aurors had tried to convict the Malfoys and Snape first. The Malfoys had all immediately declared they had saved Harry Potter’s life and they deserved some sort of pardon. Snape had refused to say anything except, “come see me when Potter wakes up.” Apparently they had come back to see him, and Harry couldn’t help but wonder if he would finally see what memories were inside of the vials.

Draco knocked on the door of the classroom and it immediately creaked open. Two eyes peered through the crack between the door and the frame. It swung open wider when the eyes landed on Harry’s scar and went round. “Mr. Potter, sir, it’s an honour!” The Auror gushed as he enthusiastically shook Harry’s hand, pulling him into the room and completely ignoring Draco. The blond scoffed and Harry threw him a helpless look over his shoulder as the Auror started to introduce his friends. “Ooh, Mr. Potter, my name is Henry Avonmore. This is Davis Jason, and this is Emily Hecktor. It really is such an honour!”

Harry pulled his hand free and smiled at all three of them in turn. “Great to meet you all as well.” He paused politely, waiting for someone to tell him what was happening. All three Aurors merely smiled at him. Lucius and Severus traded irritated glances while Narcissa covered her smile with her hand. “Ok, what’s going on?”

“Oh, oh,” Emily said suddenly. “So sorry. We’re here to interrogate Severus Snape. Uh, question, we’re here to question.” Harry merely raised an eyebrow. “He refused to speak unless you were present.”

Harry turned to face his old Professor, and the man attempted what looked like a smile before he seemed to remember it was Harry and a sneer crossed his face instead. Harry just grinned cheekily back. Without a word Snape handed over the first vial of memories. Harry opened his mouth to ask about the second vial before stopping himself, a flick of his eyes towards the group of Aurors had Snape smiling for real. “The second vial is of a personal nature, pertaining specifically to Mr. Potter, and will be given to him for perusal at a later date if I deem it appropriate.”

Harry took the out held vial and nodded softly. “Go ahead Mr. Potter.” Davis Jason said pointing at a rather large Pensieve resting on the front desk. Harry recognized it as Snape’s personal one and he blushed as he remembered what he had done in his fifth year.

Harry emptied the vial into the bowl and a few pictures swirled to the surface before drifting back under the silver liquid. Harry was about to lean forward and enter the Pensieve when Snape spoke. “Only Mr. Potter may view them all. When he is finished, he may show you which ones he wishes for you to view. Many are of a personal nature.” Harry hadn’t even realized that the three Aurors had followed him over to the desk.

He looked up at Snape, and received a nod in return. With that Harry leant forward, and felt himself spiralling down into Severus’ memories. At first every thing seemed to be a little blurred, but then it slowly came into focus, starting in the middle and working outward, like a camera lens. Harry blinked his eyes a little, waiting till the picture was perfect before he focused on what he was seeing.

Harry’s mouth dropped open as he watched two children playing on a set of swings at a park. It wasn’t what they were doing, nor was it what one of them was about to do that shocked him. The little red headed child got off the swing and picked up a flower. It sat in the palm of her hand, its petals opening and closing on its own as the brunette child shrieked at her sister. Harry watched the child perform magic, but then again he already knew she could do that. He was looking at his mother. That was what surprised him.

Snape had known his mother as a child!

“How do you do it?” The younger Petunia Dursley asked, torn between curiosity and horror.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” A third child said. Harry’s eyes widened, though he thought he should have seen it coming, as Severus Snape stepped out from behind the bushes wearing little more than rags. Harry blushed in embarrassment at the same time the Snape in the memory did. He had used to dress like that, he remembered.

“What’s obvious?” Lily asked and Harry grinned at the sound of her voice.

“You’re a witch!” He said, his voice full of pomp, until Lily took offence and marched towards her sister with a scowl on her face. “You are!” Severus insisted, chasing after her. “So is my mum, and I’m a Wizard!” Petunia just laughed.

The elder sister led Lily away but Harry wasn’t watching them go anymore. He was watching as the scene changed. It slowly shifted from Snape glaring after the two children, to Snape sitting cross-legged on the ground opposite Lily. “But once you’re eleven and they start training you, you’ve got to be careful.” He said with a nod of his head, like he was somebody important.

“Petunia says you’re lying to me,” Lily said quietly and Snape looked affronted for a moment. “It is real, isn’t it? It’s not a joke?”

“It’s real for us,” Snape promised. “We’ll get a letter. Not her.”

“Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?” She asked tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear.

He looked her up and down. The fluttery feeling in his chest started again as he took in her red hair, pale skin and stunning green eyes. “No, it doesn’t make a difference,” he lied.

“Good.” She relaxed. He knew she had been worrying.

Harry watched and smiled softly again. In some ways his mother reminded him of Hermione. The scene changed again.

Harry found himself on Platform 9 and ¾. Snape was standing beside a sour faced woman who was presumably his mother. They were both watching a family of four a little way away from them. “Maybe once I’m there I can go to Professor Dumbledore and get him to change his mind.” Lily said.

“I don’t want to go.” Petunia sneered, trying not to cry. “You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a-to be a-” She looked over at Snape, and noticed him staring. “You think I want to be a freak?” Snape glared back.

“You didn’t it was such a freak’s school when you wrote to the Headmaster and begged him to take you.” Petunia turned scarlet at Lily’s words.

“FREAK!” Petunia spat and turned her back on Lily.

The scene was suddenly different. Harry was so busy glaring holes in Petunia’s head that he missed the fuzzy transition from one memory to another. His eyes immediately landed on an eleven-year-old James Potter. His father. “Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” Harry snorted. It sounded so much like what Draco had said about Hufflepuff the first time they met.

They argued some more, but Harry was so busy thinking about Draco that he missed it. He shrugged, figuring he could look again later, with the Aurors. “See you, Snivellus!” Sirius called as Snape slammed the compartment door closed behind him and Lily.

A few years had obviously passed since the last memory. It was the memory from Snape’s Pensieve, the one Harry had accidentally watched during his fifth year. He suddenly realized why it was Snape’s worst memory. It wasn’t because James Potter humiliated him. It was because—

“I don’t need help from a Mudblood!” Snape shouted, his face red from embarrassment and from having the blood rush to his head. Lily drew back as if slapped, a gasp rising to her lips. Snape’s eyes immediately widened and she turned from him, ignoring his apologies and his pleas for forgiveness.

This was his worst memory because this was the moment he had lost his only friend. The woman he was in love with. Harry actually felt pity for him, then he realized that Snape could have been his dad, and shuddered at the thought.

The next memory started to play out. Albus Dumbledore looked down on Severus, who sat on his knees, his face emotionless. “Well, what message does Lord Voldemort have for me?”

“The prophecy – the prediction- Trelawney!” Severus gasped out.

“How much did you tell him?”

“Everything I heard. That is why I am here. He thinks it means Lily Evans!”

“The prophecy spoke of a son.” Albus said patiently.

Snape became flustered, and rose to his feet. “You know what I mean. He thinks it means her son. He is going to hunt them down, he’ll kill her.”

“If she means so much to you surely Lord Voldemort will spare her. Couldn’t you ask?” Harry didn’t think Dumbledore meant what he was saying.

“I did ask.”

“You disgust me.”

The scene changed again. “Help me protect Lily’s son.” Albus pleaded, and Harry knew from the look of abject horror on Severus’ faces that his parents were already dead. “Lord Voldemort will return and Harry will be in abject danger when he does.”

“Very well.” He said quietly, seeming to shrink in on himself. “Very well.”

The next scene had Harry fighting to control his breathing. He could barely believe it. Dumbledore leant back against his chair, his hand blackened and burnt and he seemed semi-conscious. They spoke of the ring, but Harry already knew all of that. He knew Dumbledore had tried it on, and he knew why. “He plans to have the poor Malfoy boy murder me.” Albus said at last, his eyes slipping closed as he spoke. “In short, the boy has a death sentence pronounced upon him as surely as I have. Once Draco fails, the natural successor is you?”

“That I believe is the plan.” Severus spoke stiffly. “Are you intending to let him kill you?”

“Certainly not. You must kill me.”

“If you don’t mind dying,” Snape said after some silence, “why not let Draco do it?”

“The boy’s soul is not yet so damaged.” He smiled in a way that made both Severus and Harry think that there was something more to it. If the elder Severus were watching he would probably guess that Dumbledore knew Harry was Draco’s mate, and that Draco wouldn’t want Dumbledore’s death on his hands while in a relationship with the Gryffindor.

“And my soul, Dumbledore? Mine?”

“You alone know whether it will harm your soul to help an old man avoid pain and humiliation.” After a tense silence, Snape gave an even tenser nod. The scene changed again, but it was only the first memory beginning to play again. Harry stepped backwards and found himself sprayed across the classroom floor. He nodded at Snape first and then at the three waiting Aurors.

The four of them went back in together, but Harry somehow managed to fall into the Pensieve in time to watch only the last two memories play. When Harry came out of the Pensieve again, he landed standing up. Draco cast a quick smile in his direction and he managed to smile back. “You told him,” Harry said quietly. He wasn’t looking at the Potions Master, but Snape knew he was being spoken to.

“And I have regretted it ever since.” Neither looked at each other. Both were staring at the Pensieve, where the memories of Lily Evans would occasionally swirl to the surface.

“Ok.” Emily Hecktor said at last. “I think we can safely say that Professor Snape can be acquitted of the murder of Albus Dumbledore.” She turned to look at Draco. “You won’t be held accountable either, based on the Professor’s memories.”

“But them!” Davis sneered at the elder Malfoys.

“She hasn’t got a Dark Mark,” Harry said suddenly, surprising the other occupants of the room. Narcissa hadn’t ever done anything to help Harry, and yet Harry was defending her without being asked. “And Mr. Malfoy helped to defeat Voldemort during the Final Battle, potentially saving my life. I can’t actually give you all of the details, it’s really too dangerous for the general public to know.”

Henry nodded, beaming at Harry. “Well, if you vouch for them, we can pardon them, but,” he frowned, “if they break the law again you’ll be held accountable along with them.”

The brunette tried not to grin. “I understand.” He tried to sound solemn, but he didn’t think they’d be prosecuting the Boy-Who-Defeated-Voldemort any time soon.

“Henry!” Davis hissed, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Henry Avonmore had just gone well against protocol and broke the rules.

“That’s all for now,” Henry said and led the Aurors from the room. Harry waved at Draco, and followed them.

XXX

April 6th 1998.

Five days past and Harry didn’t see Draco or Ginny once, but he did spend more time with his friends. The blond Veela was trying to work up the courage to confess to Harry about being mates, and he had taken to avoiding the brunette in case everything came bursting out before he was quite ready. Ginny was angry, with both Harry and Draco, but she was clever enough to cool off before confronting Harry again. She would give Harry time to realize he still loved her, and then he couldn’t accuse her of suffocating him.

Most of them were staying in the castle until the repairs were done. They had been going on for two weeks now, but there was still quite a lot to do. Harry was going through his trunk, unpacking everything and repacking the things he wanted to keep. He kept all of his sixth yearbooks, because he would probably need to brush up on the material before he did his NEWTs. He still had to get the books for seventh year. Those who wanted to repeat the year were welcome to, but those who didn’t were invited to sit their exams in the Ministry in August. Harry thought he might study really hard and do his exams in August. If he failed them, he could always repeat the year anyway. It would be too weird to come back to Hogwarts. He couldn’t imagine a year at the school without Voldemort trying to kill him.

Ron grinned over at his friend. Harry picked up the bundle of clothes that had accumulated by his feet and pitched them into the fireplace. Neville and Ron cheered as Dudley’s old clothes caught fire. Harry folded the scare items of clothing he could still fit into that he had bought himself in Diagon Alley, as well as his old school robes, and put them back in his trunk.

“When things calm down, we need to go shopping.” He frowned into his trunk.

“What’s this?” Neville held up a wand and Harry rolled his eyes. “I know it’s a wand. Whose?”

Harry was about to say, ‘mine’, but then he thought it might be the Elder Wand but he hadn’t gotten around to putting it back in Albus’ grave yet. He had used it to fix his Holly and Phoenix feather wand though. It could also have been Bellatrix’s wand or, “Draco’s. It’s Draco’s.” Harry said, recognizing it as he took hold of the hawthorn wand. He probably should give it back soon. He stood up then, clutching the wand tighter. “Be right back, guys.”

Neither boy protested as Harry left the room, his trunk still half packed. “That was weird,” Neville said at last.

“That’s Harry for you.” Ron said before poking the burning pile of rags on the fire.

Harry poked his head through the door of the Potions classroom. He didn’t actually know where Snape’s private rooms where, and he wasn’t even sure if the Malfoys were still living there considering they had all been cleared of any charges now. Luckily, Draco was sitting on one of the desks, swinging his legs back and forth as he watched Narcissa brew some sort of Potion. Lucius and Severus were both in the room, talking quietly, but they fell silent when they noticed Harry.

“Uh, hello. I was wondering if I could talk to Draco?”

The blond beamed and jumped down off the desk. “Hey Harry.” Harry smiled. Draco immediately took hold of his hand and pulled him from the room.

”We can talk in my room. My family and I are staying in my Head Boy room. I was Head Boy,” he grinned, “I’m probably not any more though. But we’re staying in the suit. There are two rooms though, because the Head Girl was a Ravenclaw.” Draco led him to a painting of, strangely enough, a yellow brick road. Draco used his finger to tap a sequence of the yellow bricks, much like the entrance to Diagon Alley, and the painting swung open. “Come in.”

They went into one of the bedrooms, ignoring the single couch in the living room completely. Both boys’ eyes immediately landed on the double bed in the centre of the room, and both boys blushed. Draco wondered what it would be like to make love to his mate on that bed, and Harry wondered what Draco would do if he pushed the blond onto the bed and kissed him.

“I need to talk to you.” They said simultaneously.

They both laughed slightly, and Draco held a hand out in invitation. “I have your wand. I almost forgot about it you know. Do you know any wandless spells? Accio, maybe?” Draco frowned but nodded slowly. “Say it?”

“Why?”

“Your wand might not work if you don’t ‘win’ it back from me. The wand chooses the Wizard, and they can be quirky like that.”

Draco’s eyes narrowed, trying to decide if Harry was teasing him in some manner, but eventually he raised his arm slightly and said “accio.” He dropped his arm when he remembered he wasn’t holding a wand, but his wand flew back at him from Harry’s pocket and smacked him in the chest. He clutched at it, grinning slightly, his fingers running over the length of the wood gently.

“Now I need to talk to you.” Draco blushed as he spoke. Harry looked up at him intently, just waiting, but the room stayed silent. Eventually, Draco said, “how much do you know about Veela?”

XXX

April 6th 1998. Few hours later.

After a relatively quick lesson on Veelas, Harry sat open mouthed on Draco’s bed. The blond looked at him worriedly but didn’t say anything.

“You can’t feel me?” Harry asked confusedly.

“Not in the normal sense, no. Generally I should be able to feel a tugging sensation in my chest or abdomen whenever you’re around, and likewise you would feel compelled, as the Dominant, to seek me out. But you aren’t, are you?” Harry shook his head. “I can’t feel you either. But I have the dreams. All Veela do.”

“I have dreams too.” Harry said quietly, even though his dreams were more like nightmares.

“I dreamt about the night you found Gryffindor’s sword. Severus sent the Patronus, you know.” Harry didn’t know, because the memory was the one in the second vial that he hadn’t been allowed to look at. “I could see everything as if I were right there, like in a Pensieve, exactly like that. I was dreaming everything that had happened to you that day. Our souls are connected, Harry. I belong with you, and something is trying to stop that from happening, but I’m a soul seeker. Veela, Vampires, Werewolves, we all are. My soul is desperate for its other half, and if that means I have to force a different sort of connection between us-”

“Such as sharing dreams?”

“-Then that’s what my soul is willing to do.” Draco finished, not acknowledging Harry’s question.

“I think about you a lot you know. I don’t know why and I can’t remember when it started, but do you think it’s my soul’s way of getting the message across?”

“It could be.” Draco frowned as Harry stood up.

“You won’t die if I tell you I need some time to think?” He grinned softly.

Draco shook his head. “You’d have to come right out and say it.” He tried to smile, but failed. The sudden fear of rejection was over whelming. “Veela are stubborn like that.” Harry didn’t think he’d reject Draco, but he didn’t smile at the blond’s bad joke either.

Harry left the room without another word, not looking back at the blond sitting dejectedly on the bed. Draco was almost sure Harry would come back; it was Harry’s answer that he wasn’t sure about.

Harry spent an hour wondering the corridors. His thoughts swirled around in his head in no particular order. Being told he was the life mate of a Veela was not one of the possible options he had considered to explain away his new feelings for Draco. But he thought, they weren’t all that new. He had been thinking about Draco before Dumbledore was killed. He had dreamt about the blond since around then as well. Though Draco did say he came into his inheritance almost a year before that point. Maybe that explained it?

No.

Draco had been an obsession of his since first year. That had nothing to do with him being a Veela. Draco being a Veela had forced feelings onto him, it was just making him act on them. It made him want to see Draco, speak to him, spend time with him and protect him. It didn’t make him care about the blond, or fancy him or want to kiss him. But Harry felt all of those things anyway, and none of them were Draco’s fault. So at least he knew he wasn’t being forced to do anything against his will.

He still had a choice. He could say nothing to Draco, and let the boy spend the rest of his life alone and Mateless, or he could out right reject the Veela and watch him die, or he could accept him, and spend his life with Malfoy even though they still didn’t know why there was a block on their soul bond. His scar flared in pain as he thought that. Harry winced, and automatically clamped his hand over his forehead.

Back in the Head Boy rooms, Draco forehead hurt suddenly as well, and his first thought was that something bad had happened to Harry. Despite being a Submissive, he wanted to help his mate. He left the room quickly, not noticing his parents were sitting on the couch as he left, and went in search of his mate.

“Harry?” Ginny asked quietly. She drank in the sight of him, not having seen him in five days. “How have you been?”

“Hmm?” Harry made a non-committal sound. He wasn’t really listening to her, he was too busy thinking of Draco, but he figured it was polite to offer some sort of reply.

“I’ve been thinking, Harry, about us.”

“Hmm.” He said again. The way Draco reacted when Harry didn’t want to be his friend in first year could be explained away by the fact that he was a Veela, who had potentially been rejected by his future mate. Even if Draco didn’t know it yet, it would have been enough to make him angry and upset. Harry could understand his behaviour over the past seven years in that case.

“—And I was thinking, maybe, when things calm down a little and the shock wears off—”

“Hmm.” Harry nodded his head this time.

“—I love you Harry, and I know you love me too. We’d be so great together. You know it. I can wait, Harry. I don’t mind waiting for you—”

“That’s great.” He said, his mind still pondering his seven-year relationship with Draco. Was he willing to take six years of animosity and one year of tentative alliance and try and change it into a long future of possible happiness? Would it be worth it? He wasn’t sure, but he did know that if he said no or gave no answer he’d regret not attempting to make this work. After all, Veela naturally are loving creatures, they would do anything to please their mate, and so Harry really wouldn’t have to do much in the relationship. If he were unhappy about something, Draco would change to make Harry happy. It wasn’t necessarily what he wanted from life, but it would have been better than being stuck in a loveless marriage just so some girl could say they married the Harry Potter.

“—Oh thank you Harry!” Ginny cried throwing her arms around Harry’s neck, just as Draco came around the corner. Her lips pressed against Harry’s, and the boy blinked in shock and pushed her away just in time to see Draco dash back around the corner.

“What were you doing?”

“You said we could try again!” She shouted, leaning forward to try and kiss him again. “Why do you keep pushing me away?”

“Ginny, I wasn’t listening to a word you just said right now. As far as I know you were talking about the weather. I don’t want to get back with you. I told you last week, I’ve changed. It won’t work anymore, and I’ll tell you why in my own time. I am sorry but I’ll have to ask you to stop trying to kiss me! Now if you’ll excuse me.” He left her there, staring after him with her mouth open as he ran after Draco.

Lucius was standing in the threshold of the portrait when Harry tapped out the correct sequence of bricks. The elder blond Veela glared at him fiercely.

“I know I upset him, but I really need to talk to him. I didn’t die like you said to, and I think that means I get some kind of ‘forgive and forget’ card or something.” Lucius said nothing. He stared at Harry’s face for a moment and obviously saw something he liked because he stepped out of the way and let Harry into the suit.

“Draco?” Harry asked as he pushed open Draco’s bedroom door.

The blond was red faced, and his eyes were swollen from crying. “Go away.” Draco hissed. He jumped off the bed and pushed the door closed in Harry’s face. The Veela in him didn’t get angry about that because he was just as afraid that if he let Harry inside, they’d be rejected.

“Do you really want me to go away?” Harry asked the door, ignoring the elder Malfoys who were trying not to stare at him. “I can if you like?”

“NO!” The door opened again. Draco was standing behind the door when Harry entered the room, shifting nervously from foot to foot. “You kissed her.” He accused softly.

“For someone who hates Hufflepuffs so much, you sure are acting like one.” Draco didn’t smile, and Harry frowned at him. “I didn’t kiss her. She kissed me. I was doing what I said I’d do. I was thinking about this, about us, and she ambushed me. I wasn’t even listening to her and the next thing I know she’s molesting me. I promise,” his hand reached out to barely touch Draco’s cheek, “I don’t want her.”

“What do you want?” Draco was half afraid of the answer. But Harry didn’t answer the question.

Instead he said, “Ever since I’ve known I was a Wizard, I’ve known you as well. And we didn’t always get along but you were always there. There isn’t a point in my life that I can think back on and remember with as much clarity as I can the events that have included you. For half of my life you’ve been a constant factor, generally a pain in my arse, but still, you’ve been there. And I think my subconscious was trying to get a message through all of this time. I like you, Draco. I need you. I don’t know if I love you, but I care about you more than I ever did Ginny or Cho, and I think about you a lot more as well. So it must mean I love you, right? I care about you more than Ginny, and I thought I loved her, so I must love you as well? Maybe I just don’t know what love feels like.”

“I’ve never loved anyone before. Except my parents, and that’s different.” The blond whispered, looking up hesitantly. “Maybe we can teach each other?”

Harry cupped Draco’s cheek and pulled his face forward slightly. Their lips met briefly and it was enough to make the Veela moan softly. “I would like to be your mate.” Harry smiled into the kiss, his free hand running up and down Draco’s back. He still couldn’t feel any wings, and he had been too worried about the answer to ask, so he assumed Draco didn’t have any. He held Draco closer against him in response, and Draco kissed back furiously.

The blond’s eyes closed in pleasure, and he thought his heart might have started to beat just a fraction faster than normal. Draco didn’t think he had ever been happier than he was right then.

XXX

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Thanks for reading. A review would be nice. My gmail broke… Sigh!