The Lion and the Serpent

Hermione was true to her word, and took care of everything. The invitations, the rings, the vows – nothing was overlooked.

Draco was more than a little stunned when she announced the location of the wedding. Harry just shook his head in disbelief, but did not protest.

When the time came, Harry and Draco Apparated there together, to find themselves near the meadow of the Forbidden Forest, the place where the Unforgiven once held their blockade, the place where both Draco and Harry nearly died. Draco understood the reason, of course. The place that used to be permeated with the memory of death and darkness, would now acquire a new history.

The terrain was completely transformed. Gone was the withered grass, the little dreary shrubs – all replaced with luxurious carpet of greenery. The evening sky above them was dark, but the entire meadow was illuminated by glowing orbs that hovered in the air, casting brilliant lights around them.

Rose bushes adorned the perimeter of the meadow, each flower glowing magnificently, as if somehow imbued with light from within. Behind the bushes, in the grove, the trees rustled, and eyes of magical creatures stared from the darkness with curiosity, drawn to the crowd of wizards and witches gathering in their meadow.

“Looks like you are getting your petals, after all,” Harry said with an amused smile, glancing at the rose bushes.

Draco didn't smile back. He couldn't even bring himself to lift his eyes. Everything around them was planned and prepared thoughtfully and deliberately, with love and care going into every detail. Hermione had wanted something like that for herself and Ron, he thought. Her dream wedding. The one she never got to have.

Harry's hand went around Draco's shoulder.

“It may have been her dream, once,” Harry whispered quietly. “But she's giving it to you now. To both of us. So come on.”

Draco could only nod. He finally looked up, and looked at the crowd of people. He recognized some of them: Cho, Terry, Luna, Fleur, some relatives of Neville's, and to his complete shock, Ginny Weasley.

“She was the only one of the Weasleys who came,” Harry said softly. “The rest ...”

Draco nodded meekly. After what he had done, it wasn't surprising in the least.

Harry shook his head. “No,” he said. “It's not that at all. We've been talking. They are still too ashamed because of Arthur.... By the way, did you notice? Your friends are here, too.”

Draco looked around again timidly. He saw Hyperion, Layre, Kaige and Rockford, standing next to each other. Calixa was there too, wearing a formal green dress, with an elegant silver choker of serpentine design around her neck.

"Just look at her," Draco whispered. "Our little viper will grow up before we know it.”

"Who knows? A couple of years from now, you might want to divorce me and marry her instead," Harry chuckled, and was recompensed by a sharp elbow poke to his abdomen.

"Gah! Damn it, Draco...."

"Harry, some jokes are just not funny," Draco growled. "This is one of them. If you say something like that again, you'll be writing some lines for me."

"In your dreams, snake-boy," Harry chuckled, looking obviously pleased by Draco's spirited rebuttal. "Now, look there, behind her," Harry admonished. Draco followed his gaze, and saw two tall men, their backs turned to the rest of the crowd, talking quietly to each other. Draco could have recognized them a thousand miles away.

"Which one of them is the funny one, and which one is the deep one, again?" Harry asked with a smirk “I could never tell, you know.”

"Goyle and Crabbe," Draco asked, astonished. That Hermione thought to find them and bring them, was both reassuring and unnerving. That they both came, and were both behaving themselves, was nothing short of a miracle.

Harry and Draco walked to the center of the meadow, hand in hand, towards Minerva who was waiting for them with a welcoming smile. The crowd fell silent.

"Shall we proceed?" she asked kindly. Harry and Draco nodded to her together.

When Minerva spoke, everyone listened intently:

“My father used to call marriage the Fourth Unforgivable.”

Everybody laughed at that, and she continued:

“It makes sense, I suppose. When you get married, you die to some of your old ways of life, in order to embrace something new: a shared life with another person. Marriage, can also cause a great deal of pain, but I am also told it's worth it in the end. You will also find yourselves changing in a way that enables you to accept and fulfill your mate's desires, spoken and unspoken. And finally, like with the Unforgivables, when you say those words - you have to mean it.”

She turned to Draco with a warm look on her usually stern face.

"Do you, Draco Malfoy, take Harry Potter, as your soul-mate and life-mate, to love, honor, cherish and comfort, for as long as you both live?"

"Yes," Draco said. He held out the ring, red gold and silver interwoven together in an intricate pattern. He slipped it on Harry's finger. He opened the envelope with his vows, and looked at them for the first time, wide smile on his face. He read them out loud, proudly:

"With this ring I wed you. With my body I honor you, and with all my worldly goods, I endow you.”

Minerva turned to Harry, and asked seriously:

"Do you, Harry Potter, take Draco Malfoy, as your soul-mate and life-mate, to love, honor, cherish and comfort, for as long as you both live?"

Harry nodded vigorously.

"We will need a verbal response to that, Mr. Potter," Headmistress admonished.

"I do!" Harry almost shouted, sounding indignant that someone would even question that. After putting a matching ring on Draco's finger, he opened his vows. When he read them out, his voice was anxious and hurried, as if he couldn't wait to set his lover free:

"As this ring encircles your finger, may may love encircle you always. As the sun follows her course in the sky, may you follow me. As light to the eye, as bread to the hungry, let your presence endure with me.”

Draco's heart skipped a beat when he heard those words.

Minerva looked at them serenely, and addressed them both, reading from the scroll before her:


You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of god.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

"And now, by the power granted to me by the Department of Mysteries, I pronounce you married to each other," Minerva concluded cheerily, and embraced them both, in a quick, motherly way. Rounds of applause filled the meadow.

Ignoring everything else, Harry held Draco close, looking into his face with anticipation and dread.

"Draco... anything? Did it work? Do you feel any different - is the bond gone?" Harry whispered hastily, but his face was ashen, because he already knew the answer.

"It's still there," Draco admitted. “But Harry - please," he pleaded, "It worked! I don't care at all anymore! It won't matter. If you only will love me, it won't matter."

Harry only looked at him painfully, and tears were now flowing freely from his eyes.

“Draco.. what have I done to you?” Harry asked despairingly. “What have I done...”

Draco shook his head, and wiped the tears from Harry's cheeks. “Didn't you hear me? If you will love me, it won't matter. I'm serious.”

"I will love you," Harry promised. "From now on, I will love you. Always."

They stood together, holding hands. Hermione came up to them.. Seeing the look on Harry's face, she smiled apologetically.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“Don't be. It's fine,” Draco assured her.

The three of them stood quietly together, while their friends around them mingled and chatted. The meadow was filled with laughter, whispers, and sounds of happiness. Draco held Harry's hands in his, not letting go, and slowly Harry's entire body began to relax.

“Besides, Granger,” Draco added with a smirk, “The bond has its perks. It's such a brilliant way to annoy you...”

“Well then,” Hermione said with an amused chuckle. “If you two are ready... We have a song coming up.”

Suddenly, as if in response to her words, gentle music filled the air. At first, the notes were almost chaotic, but then, through the chaos, a melody of indescribable beauty emerged and shimmered above the meadow. Draco and Harry turned to the sound of the music, and saw Calixa, sitting on a chair, playing a guitar.

Soon, her clear voice entered the music, intertwining with it. With her eyes closed, she sang:

Has he fallen from the sky
so heavy of heart
the sigh was on his tongue,
the grief was in his arms
he will suffer never,
I mean him no harm.

Draco looked at Harry, bewildered. "Where on god's good earth does she find those songs?" he muttered.

"I know this one. It's a Muggle song," Harry whispered. "Very egalitarian of her. I should give her some points."

"Nah, she's half-Gryffindor now," Draco smirked. "Don't insult her by placing a price-tag on her open-mindedness."

"Hush, both of you," Hermione said sternly behind them.

Draco listened, mesmerized.

He'll come slowly
rising on the air
Lift him weightless
on the air, on the air

Harry looked at Draco sadly. "Draco... if I could do it it all over again..."

"You would do the exact same thing, all over again,” Draco said, without accusation. They all did the best they knew, or could, under the circumstances, and it would just have to be good enough.

Harry sighed deeply. "I know,” he admitted. “And I don't apologize. Just...regret."

Their fingers locked together firmly. Calixa's voice continued ringing:

And the silence was enough
to shed my guilt
He will always know my wishes,
Because I remember how it felt

What does it mean? Draco thought, feeling slightly lightheaded.

"I think it means she decided to trust me with you," Harry said with a smile.

Kisses slowly
rising on the air,
Lift him weightless
on the air, on the air
He will suffer never,
I mean him no harm.

The song finished, and the silence in the meadow was absolute. Harry and Draco stood, facing each other, and everyone's eyes were on them. But to Draco, it was just the two of them now, and the look in Harry's eyes reassured him of it.

Harry took Draco's head in his hands gently, and moved to kiss him. Draco yielded to the kiss instantly, without any hesitation.

Draco's lips trembled and as he was drinking in that kiss, feeling it enter him, open him, fill him. It was like drinking pure light, pure brilliance; it was like tasting life itself. The full splendor of life was lowing into him, and he was overflowing... with pleasure, with emotion, with memories, and hopes.

Slowly and reluctantly, Harry released Draco from the kiss. And then, a soft faint glow of magical energy rose to the surface of Harry's skin and left him. For a moment, the shimmering cloud hovered in the air between them, and then vanished without a trace.

Still holding Draco's face in his hands, Harry said with a delighted smile:

"Draco... I don't know what you are thinking."

Draco stared back at him with a mischievous smile on his lips, and offered:

"Guess."

----------to be concluded --------------

Author's Note:

Just the epilogue left. That's all!

I've re-written this chapter a few times right now, and even though I probably could have done better, I can't wait to finish the story. So here we are.

Song: Suffer Never by Neil Finn
Blessing: Khalil Gibran “On Love” (the prophet)