How to Save a Life

As predicted, Narcissa quickly acquiesced to her son’s request for a party. Not only was she willing to allow it but she also made numerous offers of assistance.

Truth be told, she still thought longingly of the days when her salons had been at the heart of fashionable wizarding society. When an invitation to a Malfoy ball was more highly prized than an Order of Merlin.

Narcissa was not naïve enough to believe that she could ever recapture those heady days of position and influence. However, that didn’t stop her from yearning to hear the halls of the Manor echo once again, with tinkling laugher, stimulating conversation, and beautiful music.

As Lucius Malfoy’s trophy wife, very little had been required of her other than to look beautiful and produce the required heir. The first, she did effortlessly, and the second, she had managed early on in their marriage. It had left her with very little else to occupy her time, or her brain. So she had thrown her considerable talents into becoming the ultimate hostess. No detail was beneath her notice and, as such, her soirees were talked of in awed tones throughout polite society.

It was a gift that it seemed she had passed on to her son, and between them, they laid plans for a New Year’s party to rival the ones of old. That time was limited was of no concern, they only thrived on the challenge.

After their initial assistance with the guest list, Harry and Pansy’s services had been promptly dispensed with. Harry used the time apart from Draco to further bond with his godson. Narcissa had relaxed enough to allow Andromeda to assist with the industrious party planning, so Harry consequently spent a lot of time with Teddy.

Pansy was with him most of the time, in body at least. Her mind however, was elsewhere. Harry suspected that a certain red-haired dragon handler was featuring rather heavily in her daydreams.

It was good to see her mind occupied by more pleasant thoughts. Harry had no qualms about the budding friendship, romance, whatever it was. He rather suspected that the age gap, which would put most people off, would prove to be a positive thing.

Charlie was no thoughtless teenage boy, out for only one thing. He was mature enough to handle Pansy’s more sensitive issues - if need be, and could be relied upon to treat her with respect. All things considered, Harry thought he couldn’t have picked better for his new friend if he had tried.

It snowed quite heavily during the week between Christmas and New Year, and pretty soon, Wiltshire was buried beneath a thick blanked of crisp white snow.

Harry and Pansy amused themselves having snowball fights, building snowmen (to entertain Teddy), and on one memorable occasion, sledging down a nearby hill in the company of several local Muggle children.

Draco could not be persuaded away from his party planning long enough to join in these simple pleasures. However, he was overjoyed at the turn in the weather, informing his friends that it was perfectly in keeping with his theme. More, he could not be convinced to share.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t know why you won’t tell me what you’re planning for this party,” Harry whined to Draco one night in bed.

“Because it’s a surprise and you can’t keep a secret.”

“I can,” Harry cried, outraged at the unjust accusation.

“Oh really,” Draco replied, lazily. “So who was it told Pansy about our present from the gay Weasley?”

“His name is George, Draco. And I didn’t exactly tell her,” Harry defended. “I just gave her a hint and left it to her imagination.”

Draco snorted. “This is Pansy we’re talking about. Do you have any idea of the sort of things her imagination can come up with? She has, what I can only describe as an unhealthily in-depth knowledge of Muggle sex toys.”

Harry squirmed a little, allowing his groin to press against Draco’s thigh.

“Maybe it’s time we improved our knowledge,” he suggested saucily.

“Be very careful what you wish for, Harry,” Draco teased.

“Wish for, dream of, fantasise about - it’s all the same thing. Now get out of bed and fetch that box, I’m suddenly not tired.”

Draco didn’t need telling twice. The words had barely left Harry’s mouth before the naked blond was back, clutching said box, and a wicked gleam in his eyes. He tipped the contents out onto the bed and surveyed them with satisfaction.

“Anything in particular catch your eye, Harry?”

Not being the most sexually experienced of teenagers, Harry was faintly bewildered by the array of toys. Certain things were self-explanatory, such as the blindfold and the various tubes of lubricant; other items were a complete mystery.

Sensing this, Draco just grinned. “How about I surprise you?”

Harry nodded eagerly, not wanting to expose his lack of knowledge.

“Anything you want to put back in the box before we start?” Draco asked, wanting to make sure Harry enjoyed it as much as he intended to.

Harry ran his eyes over the various items thoughtfully. He raised his eyes to meet Draco’s gaze. “No. I trust you.”

In no time at all, Draco had Harry naked, face down on the bed, with a black silk blindfold over his eyes.

“It will heighten your other senses,” he reassured his boyfriend.

Draco selected a strawberry flavoured massage lotion, one that heated up on contact with skin. He straddled his boyfriend’s legs and smoothed a generous amount of the liquid between his palms.

He rubbed his hands over Harry’s shoulders. “You feel tense,” he murmured. “Just relax.”

Harry suppressed a snort at this. It was all very well for Draco to tell him to relax, but he wasn’t the one blindfolded and at the mercy of a Slytherin with an array of sex toys at his disposal. But he had to admit that it did feel good, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea.


Draco rubbed his hands over the brunet’s back and legs, and Harry could feel the intense heat from the lotion tingling his naked flesh.

A contented sigh escaped Harry‘s lips as he felt skilled hands rubbing and kneading at his back. He hadn‘t realised just how tense he was until now.

Draco casually ran a teasing hand down over his boyfriend’s buttocks and down his leg, before continuing back up on the other side. Harry felt a shiver course through him at this touch. His cock throbbed and he couldn’t help but rut gently against the bed, aching for some friction.

“Naughty,” Draco chided, placing a stilling hand on the small of Harry’s back. “It’s not time for that yet.”

Harry whimpered at this, but stopped moving all the same.

Draco pressed his thumbs firmly into Harry’s lower back, edging ever closer to the cleft of his buttocks. He moved his hands over the creamy mounds of his boyfriend’s arse, kneading the soft flesh gently. As he massaged, he slowly spread the brunet’s cheeks and Harry felt the cool air against his puckered hole.

Harry raised his hips slightly towards the exploring finger that was running down his crack, desperate for release. Draco gave him a light slap. “Keep still,” he growled, watching in pleasure as the pale flesh pinkened.

Harry gasped loudly when he felt the first swipe of Draco’s tongue over his hole. Whatever he had expected the blond to do, it certainly hadn’t been that. He couldn’t quite work out how something could feel so dirty and so amazing all at the same time.

Satisfied with the reaction he was eliciting from his boyfriend, Draco swirled his tongue over the puckered flesh, delighting in keening noises that he could hear coming from Harry.

He placed the tip of one finger against Harry’s entrance and slowly pushed in as far as he could go. The tight heat of Harry’s channel felt like velvet against his skin. He wiggled his finger teasingly, brushing lightly against his boyfriend’s prostate, before pulling back out.

“More,” Harry whimpered.

“Oh, you’ll get more, Harry. Don’t worry about that.”

Draco added a second finger, scissoring them slowly, stretching Harry ready for the next step. Suddenly the fingers were withdrawn and more lube was being applied to Harry’s loosened hole.

He tensed slightly as he felt the tip of something cold and hard, nudging against his entrance. “What…?”

“Shh,” Draco soothed, blowing lightly on Harry’s skin, his breath heating up the lotion all over again.

Draco sat back on his heels and looked in arousal at the picture his boyfriend made. His skin gleaming, cheeks flushed, eyes blindfolded, and a small plug easing its way inside his tight cavity. The blond twisted and pressed gently on the plug, slipping it in slowly, not wanting to hurt his boyfriend in any way.

Harry couldn’t remember having felt this stretched out before. Not even the first time he and Draco had sex had felt like this. Draco was being as gentle as he could, but there was still a small burning sensation as the hard plastic of the plug filled him completely.

Once the widest part had breached Harry’s entrance, his hole sucked the rest of the plug inside, its base resting snugly between his buttocks. He could feel his arse pulsating wildly as it became accustomed to the intrusion. Harry took a few deep breaths, willing himself to relax into the sensation.

Then Draco had him roll over onto his back and raise his hands over his head.

He heard the snap at the same time as he felt the cold metal of the cuffs tighten around his wrists. Giving an experimental tug, he realised that Draco had cuffed him to the headboard and that he was now totally at the blond’s mercy.

Then the massage began all over again. Draco started by stroking Harry’s face, running his fingertips in feather light strokes over the brunet’s cheeks and forehead, before continuing down over his neck and chest.

He skimmed over Harry’s nipples, teasing them into hard nubs, before tweaking them between thumb and forefinger. Harry arched his back at this, and then discovered that every movement caused the head of the plug to brush against his prostate, causing a shower of stars in front of his eyes.

Being unable to see what his boyfriend was doing, Harry found that he was able to focus so much more on the sensation of Draco’s hands running over his taut stomach, teasing the edges of his belly button. He was biting down so hard on his lip that Draco could see it was red and swollen from the abuse.

The blonde ran a finger over the abused lip. “Don’t do that,” he murmured. “I want to hear you.”

Hands ran along Harry’s torso before drifting down over his hips and thighs. He could feel the gentle puffs of Draco’s breath ghosting over his cock. A firm hand was placed on either side of Harry’s groin, fingers tracing teasing circles. It was too much for the brunet to bear and he began bucking up off the bed.

“Draco, please,” he begged. “I need…”

“What do you need, Harry,” Draco asked, huskily. Harry could feel the heat of his breath so close to his erection and he keened in desire.

All of a sudden, Draco bobbed his head down and engulfed Harry’s aching cock in his mouth. The brunet arched off the bed, desperate to bury himself deeply in the warm heat. Draco swallowed deeply, taking the cock as far in as possible, all the while his fingers massaging his boyfriend’s balls.

“I can’t stop,” Harry gasped. “I’m gonna…”

Draco didn’t need to hear the end of that sentence to know what his boyfriend meant. He felt the familiar pulsing of Harry’s cock and, as the first jets of cum emptied into his eager mouth, he reached down and swiftly pulled the plug out.

The twin sensations of his orgasm and the removal of his plug, had Harry almost sobbing his relief. He was shaking slightly with the force of his release as Draco lovingly sucked the last drop of his seed from him.

Harry barely had time to catch his breath before his legs were hoisted up onto Draco’s shoulders, and he felt the head of the blond’s cock nudging at his entrance. Draco buried himself deep inside his boyfriend with one powerful stroke.

Harry was nicely stretched by the plug, but he still gasped loudly at the sensation. The first moment of penetration still held that incredible, heady mixture of pain, pleasure, and anticipation.

“I’m going to fuck you so hard,” Draco told him.

“God, yes,” Harry whimpered. “Please.”

Needing no further encouragement, Draco pulled all the way out and then rammed his cock back in hard. He did this over and over, and Harry could feel his cock start to get hard again from the delicious sensation of being filled so forcefully.

Every thrust sent shockwaves through Harry’s body and when he felt Draco’s hand wrap round his, now hard, shaft, stroking in time to his thrusts, he moaned loudly.

“That good, Harry?” Draco panted, between thrusts.

“God, yes. Please don’t stop.”

Suddenly, Harry’s body went rigid and pearls of cum sprayed over Draco’s hand and all over his own stomach. Draco growled and thrust harder, driving his own cock deep inside Harry and within seconds, he too came, filling his boyfriend’s channel with his seed.

Tremors from his orgasm still ran through Harry’s body and Draco lowered himself down on shaky arms, pressing their naked torsos together. He reached up, slipped the blindfold off, and found himself almost dazzled by the love shining at him in Harry’s emerald eyes.

“That was amazing,” he whispered. “I love you so much.”

“You were amazing,” Draco corrected. “And I love you more.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry woke on New Year ’s Eve to find himself alone in Draco’s bed. He could hear no sounds coming from the bathroom, so figured that the blond must have gone downstairs already.

Hopping out of bed, he padded into the bathroom and turned on the water. Stepping in, he winced slightly as the hot water stung the red chafing around his wrists.

“Bloody Slytherin,” he muttered.

Harry was beginning to rethink his decision to allow Draco free reign when it came to uses of George’s Christmas present. He had unleashed a monster, and that monster loved nothing better than having Harry tied down and at his mercy.

Not that Harry didn’t enjoy it exceedingly while in the throws of passion. It was only in the cold light of day that he thought twice about it. Only the morning before, he had barely been able to sit down at breakfast, such had been Draco’s enthusiasm with the paddle the night before.

Once again, Harry’s cock disagreed with his brain. Just the mere thought of their nighttime activities had him hard and straining for release.

When Harry finally dressed and made his way down to breakfast, he found Pansy there alone.

“Morning, Harry. You’re late. Draco keeping you up at night, is he?”

Harry snorted softly. “Something like that.”

He reached over for the butter and the sleeve of his jumper rode up. Pansy grinned madly at the sight of his wrists.

“Oh, I see. It’s like that, is it? Not that I’m surprised,” she continued, ignoring the warning glare that Harry was shooting her. “Draco always has been a kinky little bugger - if you’ll pardon the pun! I didn’t think it would take long for him to corrupt you.”

“Shut up, Pansy,” Harry growled, nodding in the direction of a loitering house-elf.

“Quite right,” she agreed. “This isn’t the time. We’ll go for a nice walk later and you can tell me all about it.”

Harry spluttered into his cup of tea. “No, I bloody well won’t. Besides, Draco would have a fit.”

Pansy just smiled blithely and continued munching on her toast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you think of this one?” Pansy demanded, twirling around, causing the raspberry silk to swirl out around her.

Harry raised his head from where it had been resting comfortably on his folded arms. He ran his eyes over the dress and nodded, smiling.

“It’s nice, I like it.”

Pansy huffed. “They’re all nice, Harry. What I’m looking for is perfect.”

Harry shook his head slightly. “Shouldn’t Draco be the one helping you with this. He’s the expert on clothes, not me.”

“True, but…” Pansy trailed off, her cheeks colouring prettily. “Draco’s busy anyway.”

“That’s not what you were going to say.” Harry sat up, cross-legged, on the bed, his interest caught.

“Oh, shut up, Potter,” Pansy grumbled as she tugged the dress off over her head, not remotely concerned about standing in front of a boy dressed only in her underwear.

Despite having seen this sight several times already that day, Harry still felt a little uncomfortable. That said, he was also incredibly flattered by the level of trust that it showed Pansy had in him.

“This isn’t just about looking your best for the party, is it?” Harry teased. “You want to make a good impression on a certain someone.”

Muttering could be heard from where Pansy’s head was currently buried in her wardrobe, and Harry got the distinct impression it was just as well he couldn’t make the words out.

“How about this one?” She emerged triumphantly, holding a delicate looking dress in duck-egg blue silk.

“I think that’s the one,” Harry confirmed.

The door burst open at that point and a harassed looking blond entered the room.

“Don’t you knock?” Pansy demanded, strategically holding the dress in front of her underwear-clad body.

Draco rolled his eyes. “Please, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before, and it’s certainly nothing I’m interested in. What I am interested in is why you are cavorting round practically naked in front of my boyfriend?”

Pansy just smirked, but Harry hurried to allay his boyfriend’s suspicious mind.

“I was just helping Pansy pick a dress for tonight.”

Draco through his head back and laughed loudly at this. When he finally managed to get his amusement under control, he wiped at his tear-filled eyes and smiled at his, now put-out, boyfriend.

“I’m sorry, but that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time. Pansy, have you lost your mind? Asking Harry for fashion advice?”

“Hey! I’m not that bad,” Harry protested.

Draco sank onto the bed at the side of his boyfriend and clasped one of his hands, patting it gently. “Harry, as much as I love you, you are that bad. You do remember those revolting excuses for clothes that you used to wear?!”

“Didn’t seem to put you off at the time.”

“Well, no,” Draco admitted. “But then, I was rather more interested in who was inside them.”

Harry’s scowl faded at this and he leaned in to give his boyfriend a quick kiss.

“Hey! As interesting as this ‘dear diary’ moment is, could we get back to my problem please?”

Both boys turned to face Pansy, who had, by now, slipped the new dress on.

“That’s definitely the one,” Harry confirmed, nodding to emphasise his approval.

“It’s pretty,” Draco reluctantly agreed. “But I think you should wear that green one with the silver edging.”

Pansy thought for a moment, considering the suggestion. Harry however, was having none of it.

“She’s going to a party, Draco; not a Slytherin convention.”

Pansy grinned. “I think I’m going to go with Harry on this one.”

Draco huffed. “Fine, take the advice of the fashionably stunted. It’s not like I’m a style icon or anything.”

Harry struggled to smother a giggle at this.

“Ordinarily you would be the first person I came to for advice on this subject. But though Harry isn’t an expert on clothes, he does know…”

“Know what?” Draco glared at his friend.

“Charlie Weasley,” Harry said smugly. “That’s it, isn’t it? Why you want my advice? You want to make a good impression on Charlie.” Harry sat back on the bed in satisfaction at having worked out the mystery.

Pansy squirmed uncomfortably and Draco snorted. “Impress a Weasley? I should think that wearing an item of clothing that wasn’t owned by several members of your family before you would be enough to impress them.”

Harry gave the blond a sharp slap, and even Pansy glared at him.

“Play nice, Draco.” Harry glared at his boyfriend. “You know you don’t really feel like that, so why say it?”

Draco just shrugged. “Force of habit. I’ll behave, don’t worry.”

Pansy wriggled out of her dress and tugged her jeans and t-shirt back on.

“Now we’ve got my outfit sorted, all we need to do now is pick yours out, Harry.”

As the dark-haired boy began to get up off the bed, Draco’s hand stilled his movements.

“There’s no need to do that. I’ve already had one of the house-elves lay your outfit out for tonight.”

“You picked my clothes for me?” Harry looked at his boyfriend with a mixture of annoyance and adoration.

“Of course. I didn’t spend all week planning every minute detail of this party, to let you then wear what you wanted. It’s perfect, don’t worry.”

Harry just shook his head, bemused. He knew that he should be feeling more angry than he was about being managed in this fashion, but there was something just so warming about Draco’s behaviour that he couldn’t find it within him to be cross with the blond.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.” With that, Draco got up off the bed and turned towards the door, his robes swirling out behind him.

Pansy and Harry just looked at each other and grinned. “Snape!” They both said together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, Harry showered and dressed in the outfit that Draco had selected for him. The shirt was a dark purple colour and in a fabric that he couldn’t help but run his fingers over. At first glance it looked like silk, but it felt almost liquid to touch and reminded Harry of his invisibility cloak.

Teamed with a pair of classic black jeans, Harry had to admit that his boyfriend certainly had an eye for clothes. The shirt clung to his torso in all the right places, and as he admired his reflection in the mirror, Harry couldn’t help but note how the jeans hugged his arse snugly.

He attempted to tame his hair with the product that Draco had pointedly given him for Christmas. After several failed attempts, he was forced to admit defeat; he picked up the tube and headed in the direction of Pansy’s room.

Pansy was stood in front of a full-length mirror, regarding her reflection critically.

“Are you sure this is ok?” She demanded as soon as Harry entered the room.

“You look lovely, Pansy. Charlie won’t know what hit him.”

Pansy ran her fingers over the duck-egg blue silk, settling the pleats that ran down the centre of the dress. She slipped into a pair of silver strappy sandals, and pulled on a silver sequined shrug.

“I hope you’re right,” she admitted nervously. Then, spotting the tube in Harry’s hands, she stepped closer and held out her hand.

“C’mon, let’s sort that mop of yours out.”

Several minutes later, Pansy had managed to tame Harry’s wild hair so that it now looked sexily messy, rather that the dragged-through-a-hedge-backwards look that that he usually favoured.

“I don’t know how you did it.” Harry sighed. “I’ve tried so many times and it never looks like this for me.”

“Magic hands,” Pansy replied, waggling her fingers at him and smirking.

Any further conversation was brought to an end by the arrival of a wide-eyed house-elf, who informed them that ‘Master Draco’ was most impatient that they join him in the entrance hall to welcome their guests.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As they headed down the staircase into the Hall, the two friends could see that a small number of guests had arrived already. Pansy gave Harry a nudge.

“Looks like Draco wasn’t the only one playing dress-up with his boyfriend tonight,” she murmured.

Harry looked confused for a moment, but then his eyes fell on a nervous looking Neville, who was hovering on the edge of the small group, looking slightly awkward in his new leather trousers. The dark-haired boy grinned and made his way over to his friend.

“Hey, Nev. He got you some then?”

“Huh? Oh, the trousers? Yes, and insisted I wear them tonight. I’m not sure they’re really me though.”

“I think they look great, Neville,” Harry replied, running an appraising eye over his friend. “I told you, you have a nice-”

“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence, Potter. I’ve told you before about looking at arses other than mine.”

Harry turned round to see Draco standing behind him. He leaned in and gave his boyfriend a quick kiss. “Relax, Draco. You know I love your arse the most.”

“Not as much as I love your arse.” Draco leered, before turning his attention to the other boy.

“Longbottom, good to see you. That reminds me, I must remember to thank you and Blaise for that interesting t-shirt you got me for Christmas. I’m sure I can come up with an ‘appropriate’ way to express my thanks.”

There was a glint in the blond’s eyes that made Neville gulp nervously. “I think I’ll just go say hi to Seamus,” he said quickly, before turning tail.

Draco turned to Harry, a devilish grin on his face. “I’ve still got it,” he stated proudly. “C’mon.” He tugged on Harry’s arm. “I can hear more people arriving, we ought to be there to welcome them.” With that, he hooked one arm through his boyfriend’s and the other through Pansy’s, and dragged them off in the direction of the front door.

Pansy’s good mood was tempered somewhat by the arrival of Theo Nott and Tracey Davis. Despite her newfound attraction to Charlie, she still had feelings for the other boy, and the sight of him arm in arm with one of her friends caused faint stirrings of jealousy.

Not that she had any reason to be jealous, she told herself firmly. She had had her chance with Theo and she had made it very clear to the boy that nothing could happen between them. It had been a rather difficult conversation to have, especially as she wasn’t able to tell him the true reason for her feelings.

But whenever she found herself relenting and wondering if, just maybe, she could get past what had happened, she would catch a glimpse of Theo from a certain angle, or in a certain light, and it would be like looking at his father.

So she plastered a smile on her face and welcomed the new arrivals, before turning her attention gratefully to Millicent Bulstrode who entered behind them.

As Harry watched the, now constant, stream of party guests arriving, he felt a knot of worry forming in his stomach. He had been expecting there to be the usual group of Slytherins and the few Gryffindors that knew about him and Draco. But as he watched Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbot enter, he felt the first stirrings of panic. He tightened the grip on Draco’s arm and dragged his boyfriend unceremoniously away from Blaise, and into a dark corner under the grand staircase.

“Harry! What the hell has gotten into you? I was in the middle of talking to Blaise then.” Draco snapped. But then, as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he could make out the worry on his boyfriend’s face.

“Harry, what is it? What’s the matter?”

Harry chewed nervously on his bottom lip, an action that always filled Draco with the desire to suckle on the abused flesh. However, he suppressed the urge and placed a hand on his boyfriend’s arm. “Come on, it can’t be that bad.”

“No,” Harry admitted. “It’s not bad, really. It’s just…when I decided not to invite Ron and Hermione, it was because I didn’t want them to find out about us before I was ready. But half of these people don’t know that we’re together; it will be all round school by the end of the first day.”

A grin spread across Draco’s face and Harry huffed. “I’m glad you find it amusing. I’m not that fond of having my private life dissected by all and sundry.”

“I’m not laughing at you, Harry. I was just smiling because sometimes I forget that there’s a lot you don’t know, being raised Muggle and all.”

Harry just looked at him in confusion so Draco took pity on him.

“Everyone who’s coming here tonight will be placed under a mouth-binding spell as they enter. They’ll still remember everything, but they won’t be able to talk about it afterwards. It’s quite a common practice really.”

“Oh.” Was all that Harry could manage to say. He kicked himself mentally for thinking that Draco would have put him in that position, knowing how he felt. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t realise; I just panicked. And you’re sure they won’t be able to tell anyone else?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Yes, Harry, I’m sure. Now stop fretting and enjoy yourself. You’re acting like people finding out about us would be the worst thing ever.”

“It’s not that,” Harry protested. “It’s just that I don’t think it’s anyone else’s business. Everything I’ve ever done has been public knowledge, and I like that this is just for us.” He squeezed his boyfriend’s hand. “You understand, don’t you.”

Draco squeezed back and nodded. “I do. But you know they’ll have to find out sooner or later?”

Harry shrugged. “I’d prefer later. As later as possible.”

Draco opened his mouth to reply but the words died in his mouth and his eyes fixed, wide, on something over Harry’s shoulder. Confused, Harry turned round and spotted Dean and Luna entering the room.

“I didn’t know you invited them.”

“I didn’t,” Draco muttered darkly.

It had been Pansy who had tried to insist on adding them to the guest list, citing that they were Harry’s friends as her reason, but Draco had vetoed the idea instantly. He rather suspected that she had ulterior motives for wanting them to come; she was a Slytherin, after all.

The time he had spent at the Manor during Luna’s captivity was something that he steadfastly refused to think about. It had been possibly the most traumatic time of his young life; even more so that the stress and strain of his sixth year. Pansy knew some of what had transpired and he rather thought this was her way of trying to get him to confront it.

Frankly, he was amazed that Lovegood had showed up. It was beyond him how she could want to spend even a few minutes in a house where she had been held as captive for weeks on end. True, Harry had overcome similar issues, but there had been an added incentive for him.

Shaking his head, Draco supposed that the girl’s nickname really did fit and she actually was loony - surely she’d have to be to show up.

He looked round the room and caught his friend’s dark eyes fixed on him, watching him speculatively. He made a mental note to impress upon Pansy the danger inherent in interfering in his life. He fixed her with a trademark Malfoy glare, took a deep breath, and went to welcome his unexpected guests.

Draco’s reaction to Dean and Luna’s arrival did not go unnoticed by Harry. He too, was surprised to see that Luna had turned up. He had only spent about an hour as prisoner in this house, and he had agonised for days about returning. Luna, on the other hand, had been held at the Manor for weeks, being subjected to, God only knew, what kind of treatment; with Bellatrix in residence, Harry didn’t like to imagine what his friend might have been subjected to.

As Harry watched the tense line of Draco’s body, and the tightness of his smile, things began to fall into place. Comments that Hermione had made, Dean’s thanks at the Halloween ball, and Draco’s refusal to discuss the topic.

Something had happened that Easter. Something big enough that it enabled Luna and Dean to overlook what she had gone through at the hands of Draco’s family, and serious enough that Draco refused to acknowledge it.

Harry could see Pansy watching nervously, concern evident in her eyes, and he resolved to speak to her about it before they returned to school.

Fortunately, the next ring of the bell heralded the arrival of their Weasley guests, and the tensions of all concerned were forgotten as they warmly welcomed their red-headed friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once Draco was satisfied that everyone had arrived, he invited his guests to follow him into the ballroom. He slid his hand in Harry’s, noting with satisfaction the look of surprise that slid over many-a-face at this action.

He paused at the large double-doors, and they were pulled open, with a flourish, by two, very excited, house-elves.

Harry smiled warmly at the elves before turning his attention to the spectacle in front of him. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat; he had been expecting something impressive, but this…it was breathtaking.

And judging from the various gasps he could hear coming from behind him, he wasn’t the only one who thought so.

“Draco…it’s amazing.” He turned to face his boyfriend, eyes wide in wonder.

“Isn’t it,” Draco replied, a touch of smugness in his voice.

Harry turned his eyes back to the room, taking in every detail of his surroundings.

The floor was covered by, what looked like, real snow; only a small pathway had been left clear for them to make their entrance. Along the side of this path were small trees who’s branches were thick with snow and sparkling with tiny twinkling lights.

The walls were overlaid with an icy white fabric, illuminated from behind in a faint blue light.

Comfortable looking white leather chairs and sofa’s had been grouped together to provide intimate seating areas for those who chose time away from the dance floor; which, in itself, was amazing. In the centre stood a ornate frozen fountain, it’s icicles glistening in the lights. Above, hung dozens of mirror balls that bounced light softly all over the floor.

To one side, Harry spotted a grinning Lee Jordan, standing behind a DJ booth, and on the other was a bar, carved entirely from ice, that was laden with every drink imaginable.

“How did you…I mean, you only had a week.” Harry was almost speechless.

“Magic, Harry,” Draco replied mysteriously. “And money too,” he continued honestly. “The Malfoy name may be in the toilet, but, ironically, our money still seems welcome anywhere!”

The party got underway fairly quickly; there was none of the usual awkwardness of no one wanting to be the first on the dance floor. That position was nicely filled by both Blaise and Seamus, who seemed to have brought boundless energy with them.

Draco worked the room like a true host. Making sure his guests were relaxed and had everything they could possibly need. He would return to Harry’s side intermittently, sliding his arms round the brunet’s waist and kissing him deeply, before pulling back to enjoy the stunned reactions of half of the room.

Harry was relaxing in one of the white leather sofa’s with Neville for company. Harry was listening intently as his friend explained how he had come out to his grandmother over the holidays.

“Bloody hell, Nev. That must have took some guts. How did she take it?”

“Surprisingly well,” Neville admitted. “I was nervous as hell beforehand, but I figured that if I could face down Voldemort, then I could tell my gran the truth.”

“Wow.” Harry was still surprised by just how much Neville had changed from the scared boy he had once been.

“Yeah,” Neville agreed. “She’s a little put out that the family name won’t get continued; what with me being the last male Longbottom, but more than anything I think her only concern was that I’m dating a Slytherin. Old prejudices die hard, I guess.”

Harry nodded in agreement. “I know what you mean. After seeing how they reacted to George’s news, I’m not worried about the Weasley’s reaction to my being gay. But what I am worried about is how they’ll react to me being with Draco - Ron especially.”

“There’s only one way to find out, mate,” Neville advised.

“I know.” Harry sighed. “I’m just not ready for it yet.”

Any further discussion on this topic was brought to an end when Blaise came bounding over and forcibly dragged a protesting Neville onto the dance floor. Harry chuckled to himself at the pleading look Neville shot him over his shoulder.

“Something amusing you, Harry?” Draco purred as he straddled his boyfriend’s lap, knees placed either side of his legs.

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but Draco chose that moment to squirm in his lap, and all that came out was a gasp. Acting purely on instinct, Harry slid his hand’s round Draco’s slender waist, while the blond tangled his hands in Harry’s dark locks.

Instinctively they both leaned in closer until their lips met. Draco’s tongue teased Harry’s bottom lip in a silent request for access that was granted readily. Harry let out a soft moan deep in his throat and flicked out his own tongue in response. Their tongues slid against each other, both of them revelling in the feelings of pleasure this exploration brought.

Somewhere at the back of his mind, Harry knew he wasn’t behaving rationally. Dimly he was aware that they were not alone, that they were, in fact, in a room full of their school friends, who were probably watching them at this very moment. But the pressure that Draco’s shifting body was bringing to bear on his straining erection was too wonderful to give up, no matter where they were.

Draco’s hands were tangled roughly in his hair and Harry felt his head pulled to the side so his boyfriend could suck and kiss his way down the sensitive skin of his neck. Harry tried desperately to arch his body up into Draco’s; even as he let his head fall back, giving access to his bare throat.

Impatiently, Harry tugged Draco’s shirt out of the waistband of his trousers and let his hands roam over the smooth flesh of his boyfriend’s back. Tiny mewling noises escaped Draco’s mouth as Harry slid his hands round onto the blond’s chest, teasing his nipples into hard nubs.

Draco began rocking his hips more frantically against Harry now; both of them oblivious to the excited chatter, and the odd wolf whistle, coming from their stunned audience.

“Please, Dray,” Harry begged. “I can’t…”

“Then don’t,” Draco murmured. “Cum for me.”

And Harry needed no further encouragement. Arching his hips frantically up off the sofa, he wrapped a hand tightly round Draco’s neck, sealing his lips over the blond’s. As his tongue plundered his boyfriend's mouth, he felt an overwhelming wave of pleasure sweep through him. He could tell by the tensing of Draco’s body moments later, that his boyfriend had cum too.

Harry slumped bonelessly against the back of the sofa and Draco leant forward, pressing their damp foreheads together.

“I think that’s the quickest we’ve ever gotten off.” Harry chuckled tiredly.

“It’s also the first time we’ve done it in front of an audience,” Draco replied, not sure if his boyfriend had realised that yet.

Harry’s eyes widened in horrified realisation, but before he could speak, the sound of clapping could be heard. Turning to look in the direction of the noise, both boys found themselves facing a grinning Pansy.

“When you throw a party, you certainly go all out to entertain your guests, Draco. That has to be the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Well make the most of it, Parkinson. It’s the first and the last time you’ll ever see it.” Draco snapped a little because he could feel the waves of mortification that were already sweeping over his boyfriend.

“That’s okay,” Pansy replied. “I think the memory of this will keep me going for years.”

Harry peered round the side of Draco and blushed even more fiercely when he realised that Charlie Weasley was stood there grinning at him also.

“Hi, Charlie.”

“Hey, Harry. I would ask how you are, but after that performance, I figure it’s a redundant question.”

“Can we help you two with something?” Draco huffed, annoyed that their post-coital bliss was being intruded upon.

“I was just accosted by a very persistent house-elf muttering something about getting everyone outside.” Pansy explained indignantly

Draco’s eyes widened and he looked quickly at his watch. “Merlin! I didn’t realise it was that time already.”

He leapt of Harry’s knee and was about to hurry off, when he realised that he had a very sticky problem. Reaching for his wand, he cast a couple of discreet cleaning charms on himself and Harry, kissed his boyfriend quickly, and then disappeared.

Harry leant back against the leather sofa, somewhat bewildered by the events so far.

“Having a good time, Harry?” Pansy enquired, biting back laughter.

Harry raised his head slightly and nodded. “Yeah, are you?”

Pansy glanced quickly to where her hand was now snugly wrapped in Charlie’s. “Yes, definitely.”

Charlie chose that moment to place a chaste kiss to Pansy’s cheek. “Me too,” he added, smiling widely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Draco A.W.O.L, Harry decided he had better circulate and chat to a few people.

If he was honest, what he really wanted was to gauge people’s reactions, to what had just happened, and more importantly, to the idea of him and Draco as a couple.

He didn’t get very far before he was accosted by George Weasley, who thrust a drink into his empty hand.

“Here, have this. You looked like you just worked up a bit of a thirst!”

Harry flushed a little and mumbled something incoherently.

George gave him a few hearty slaps on the back. “Harry, Harry, Harry. Don’t be embarrassed. That was quite the performance you just put on. Almost makes me regret I didn’t keep you for myself.”

Harry looked at George nervously now. “Y-y-you mean…”

“Don’t panic, I’m only joking. You’re practically family. But I’m not the only one you should b e worrying about. I practically had to restrain Seamus from joining in with you guys; I’m fairly sure that you made him cum in his pants, just from watching.”

“George!”

“It’s a bit late to start getting prudish, Harry.” George teased with a wink, before continuing. “And it’s not just Finnegan; there’s that blond lad over there who hasn’t taken his eyes off you since.”

Harry looked in the direction that George indicated and found Ernie Macmillan staring back at him, eyes burning, unmistakeably, with lust.

“Great,” Harry muttered. “Draco will have a fit if he sees that.”

“Possessive is he?”

Harry snorted. “You could say that.”

“Well, the two of you must be doing something right; you certainly seem to have set a trend for Gryffindor/Slytherin pairings. If I’m not mistaken, there are a couple more forming as we speak.”

This caught Harry’s attention; hopefully this new development might take some of the heat of him and Draco. “Really? Who?”

“Well,” George pondered. “First there’s my dear brother and the lovely Pansy.”

Harry looked over at the couple who were now dancing slowly, wrapped tightly in each other’s arms. Pansy’s head was resting on Charlie’s shoulder, and his cheek was gently pressed against the top of her head.

“I never thought I’d see the day that Charlie was smitten by a girl,” George admitted. “I was beginning to suspect that he played for our team. That, or he was a little too fond of those dragons of his, if you know what I mean!”

Harry snorted at this and ended up spraying George with his butterbeer.

“Watch the new coat, Harry. It was a Christmas gift from two generous young men.”

“Who wouldn’t have bought it if they had known what you were sending in return.” Harry glared meaningfully at his friend.

George only grinned from ear to ear in response. “C’mon, Harry. Don’t tell me that you haven’t enjoyed a good play with them.”


Harry shifted uncomfortably at this line of questioning.

“I knew it,” George declared gleefully.

“That’s not the point. What if Draco’s mum had seen it?”

George dismissed this with a wave of his hand. “I knew young Malfoy would appreciate it, even if you didn’t. Right kinky buggers those Slytherins.”

“Is that the voice of experience speaking?” Harry teased.

“Two words, Harry,” George replied. “Marcus Flint.”

Harry’s eyes widened at this. “You mean, you…” Harry trailed off, unable to put what he thought this meant into words.

“You’re a bit too young to hear that story just yet. Ask me again in a couple of years.”

Harry nodded in return, making a mental note never to raise the subject again, and desperately trying to rid his mind of the images of George and the burly Slytherin.

“So, where are these other couples then?” He questioned, changing topic quickly.

In reply, George gestured over at the DJ box, where Millicent Bulstrode stood chattering away eagerly with a, seemingly interested, Lee Jordan.

“She’s been there most of the night. Lee always did have odd taste.”

“She’s not that bad.” Harry felt the urge to defend the Slytherin girl who had been nothing but pleasant to him this year.

“No, I suppose not,” George relented. “She doesn’t scrub up too bad, I guess.”

“So, is that it? Or are there any others?”

“Just that one.” George nodded over to the far wall where Daphne Greengrass had Seamus pinned up against it. Not that the Irish boy appeared to be protesting.

Harry’s eyes widened as he watched Seamus’ hand snake up the back of the girls dress, pulling it so high that the lace of her panties was visible.

“Although, I think that those two are just working off the sexual tension that they built up watching you and Draco.”

Harry snapped his gaze back to George and just smiled uncertainly.


A short while later, as midnight approached, Draco herded all the guests out through the French doors, onto the terrace outside the ballroom.

Lee had hooked the WWN up to the sound system so that they could hear the countdown to New Year. As the chimes struck, an array of fireworks exploded over the grounds of the Manor, to the delight of everyone.

Except Harry and Draco, who barely noticed the pyrotechnics; they were too busy wrapped in each other’s arms, creating their own fireworks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~