Chapter Text
Day 25: Gazing into each other’s eyes
When they returned to Grimmauld Place, both young men were quite tired. They changed into pyjamas and curled up in their oversized bed. Draco fit his body to Harry’s and was rewarded with a sigh of contentment. Draco sighed into the messy black hair and soon both were fast asleep.
~
Draco sent off a note to Ginny that Harry was back and everything was quite all right before he left for work the next morning.
Harry wandered downstairs after Draco had left, scratching his head and yawning, when Ginny and George came sweeping in the kitchen.
“’Lo, Harry,” greeted George.
“Hullo. Shall I put the kettle on?”
“We came by to apologize,” Ginny said instead of answering.
“Dray said you might,” he hummed as he put the kettle on anyways. “Don’t worry about it, really. I understand and I’m glad you understand now too.”
George smiled, “Thanks, Harry. We didn’t mean to get between you two.”
“And we’re really sorry for not trusting you,” Ginny added.
Harry chuckled. “I know, but thanks for coming by.” He set two mugs of tea on the table and waved to chairs, which the pair took. Harry sat down opposite them with his own mug and smiled to it as though it held a secret. Ginny and George exchanged looks but neither said anything.
After a moment, Harry spoke. “I really love him.”
He raised his eyes and saw the Weasleys with small smiles on their faces, unsure of what to say.
“Really, really, embarrassingly much.”
“That’s great, Harry,” Ginny tried. George snorted back a laugh.
Harry blushed and drank his tea. “I’m going to ask him to marry me,” he said quietly after another moment.
“That’s wonderful!” Ginny grinned. “How are you going to do it?”
“Haven’t a clue, I just decided right now.” Harry laughed and the others joined him.
The easy laughter faded into a lazy conversation that carried into the afternoon, where Draco found all three lounging in the front room swapping Quidditch stories. When he entered the room Harry grinned and patted the sofa next to him. Ginny and George exchanged a glance before Ginny jumped up and began gathering their dishes.
“We should be going, I suppose,” Ginny explained with feigned ease. “Mum will be wondering where we’ve gone off to.”
“You don’t have to go,” Harry began, but Ginny cut him off.
“We really should; we’ll just clean up first, right George?”
“Don’t worry about the dishes, I’ll get them,” Draco said, taking a mug from Ginny’s hand. “Are you all right?”
She seemed tense. Something was going on. She shook her head with a blush, snatched the mug, and scurried into the kitchen. George chuckled and followed Ginny with a pair of plates from the coffee table. Draco turned to Harry.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing!” Harry answered a bit too quickly, jumping up from his seat. The rising blush on his own cheeks begged to differ, but Draco let it slide with a slow shake of his head. Instead, he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist.
“How was your day?”
“Better now that you’re home,” Harry replied.
Draco rolled his eyes in mock embarrassment and kissed him lightly. From the kitchen, Ginny called out. “Bye Harry, Draco! We’re off now!”
“Bye guys, thanks for stopping by!” Harry called back over Draco’s shoulder. As the whoosh from the hearth faded Draco raised an eyebrow.
“Why were they so eager to get out of here, exactly?”
“No idea,” Harry lied. He squeezed Draco and kissed him again. Then, taking his hand, led him back to the sofa. He pulled Draco down next to him and met his eyes.
“I love you, Dray.”
Draco smiled automatically. “I love you, too. Now are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Harry refused to answer and instead continued to stare at Draco’s teasing smile.
“Draco…” Harry began after a moment, but trailed off and shook his head. Draco gently lifted Harry’s chin up again.
Green eyes again met gold and Harry blurted, “Marry me.”
Draco’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “Really?”
Harry laughed, “Yes, really! I love you, you dolt! Marry me, ah—!”
Harry’s shout of surprise was cut off as the quick moving figure found its target and covered his mouth with a kiss.
Harry smiled against Draco’s mouth. “Is that a yes?” he prompted when Draco broke the kiss.
“Yes, you dolt,” Draco mocked. “Yes.”
Day 26: Getting married
Unlike Ron and Hermione, Draco and Harry decided to have a small ceremony. This was how they found themselves on the lawn of Hogwarts the last weekend of August under the shade of the Astronomy Tower.
The trees had begun to alight in bright hues and the giant squid was floating along lazily in the middle of the lake. The birds flitted among tree branches and the crowd gathered to witness murmured as they waited for the ceremony to begin.
Married life had been treating Ron well and his dress robes sat a bit tightly across his middle. He stood grinning behind Harry. On his mirror image stood Pansy, decked in a splendid teal set of silk robes and dabbing her eyes every so often with a handkerchief, careful not to smudge her mascara.
Harry and Draco stood in a matching set of cream silk dress robes, a broach fastening each closed. Harry’s was an orange lily and Draco’s was a yellow narcissus. Narcissa herself sat in the front row and beamed at her son when he glanced her way. His father nodded, only a small twitch on the side of his mouth betraying how proud he was of his son.
Hermione and Hagrid occupied the remaining front most seats, Hagrid sobbing into his great handkerchief.
The officiating wizard coughed softly and the small crowd fell silent.
“We are gathered to witness the joining of Draco Lucius Malfoy and Harry James Potter.”
A fresh sob burst out of Hagrid and Hermione patted his arm gently.
The wizard continued. “The couple will exchange their own vows.”
“Draco. You have been the light in my life for nearly five years. Since that first kiss fifth year, you have been a constant surprise and often the only thing that kept me going. I don’t know what I would have done without you sometimes. You keep me grounded and you remind me that I am loved on a daily basis. I couldn’t ask for anything more from my life. I love you more than I ever thought possible and I am so glad to be marrying you today. You are my everything.”
A delicate sob escaped Pansy and she shook her head and wiped her eyes before Draco spoke.
“I never thought I would be so lucky in my life to find this great of a love. Your presence in my life has given me hope. I know it sounds sappy, and I know a lot of people claim you as their source of hope, but, Harry, you’re my hope. You are such a strong man, and such a good man, and being loved by you is all I could ever ask for. I love you for your strengths, and I love you for your weaknesses. I love you for your highs and I love you for your lows. I love when you rush to help someone in need and when you stand up as a public symbol you never wanted to be. And I love you when you can’t deal with it anymore and come to me to lean on. I will always be there for you and I will always love you.”
Tears glistened in Harry’s eyes now, too, and he smiled at his almost-husband. The official smiled and spoke again.
“May I have the rings?”
Ron withdrew the rings from the pocket of dress robes and handed them to Harry. The couple slipped the rings onto each other’s hands and the tears began to escape Harry’s eyes. Their hands did not separate, remaining linked between them.
“I now pronounce you wizard and wizard. You may kiss your groom.”
Never much one for public displays, Harry leaned in and planted a firm but innocent kiss on Draco’s lips. Draco smiled, dropped Harry’s hands and wrapped his arms tightly around his husband’s shoulders. Harry tucked his head against Draco’s shoulder and fit his arms around the slender waist of his husband.
He could feel slight tremors in Draco’s thin frame and when the pair drew back he could see Draco had begun to cry as well. Draco leaned down and kissed Harry again, the tears mingling on their lips.
“I love you,” Draco whispered, taking Harry’s hands again.
“I love you, too, Dray,” Harry smiled. “We’re married!”
Draco laughed shortly then turned to the crowd and shouted, “We’re married!”
~
The reception was in the great hall, where the enchanted ceiling shone with the last sun of summer and an occasional cloud drifted along. A single table had been set in the center of the room and the newlyweds took their place at the head of the table.
With a wave of her hand, Minerva summoned the wedding feast and everyone dug into roast beef, pork chops, roast potatoes, chips, yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, and of course peppermint humbugs. The pumpkin juice flowed and as everyone finished, Ron rose to give a toast.
Everyone fell silent and turned to the head of the table where Ron sat at Harry’s right side with his wife.
“Harry, my best mate, I am so glad to be here on your wedding day.” A short round of applause followed and Ron smiled before turning back to Harry. “To see you as happy today as I am with Hermione is a dream come true. Draco,” he turned to address his best mate’s husband, “I never really liked you in school.” Laughter echoed around the hall good-naturedly. “But you’ve turned out to be a well good bloke and I’m glad to see you and Harry so happy together.” He raised his goblet, “To many more years!”
The table echoed his cheer and drank. Harry and Draco exchanged a brief kiss and smiled foolishly at each other. Before the murmuring rose back up, Pansy stood.
“I’d like to give a toast, as well,” she began before the water works broke free again. “Draco, I love you,” she sniffed, “and I am so proud of you,” she wiped her eyes, “and so glad to see you this happy.”
The tears overwhelmed her then and she began to sob uncontrollably to the great discomfort of the table. Draco stood and wrapped his arms around the shaking young woman.
“I love you, too, Pans. I’m so glad you’re here today.”
She nodded her head and wiped her eyes again before raising her glass. “To Draco and Harry!”
Again the table echoed the cheer. The table, emptied of the main course while Pansy sobbed in her theatrics, suddenly held a large white cake in front of the newlywed’s place settings.
Harry laughed and looked to Hermione. On the top of the cake stood two tiny figures of himself and Draco which had been enchanted to waltz slowly around the top of the circular cake. Hermione blushed, “You two looked so happy at Ron and my wedding, there’s a picture of you dancing, and I just had to make it for your wedding.”
“It’s perfect.”
Draco carefully plucked the dancing figures and placed them on the table where they continued to spin in slow circles.
After some debate on how to cut the cake (it was decided magic was easiest), and everyone had had their fill, the party wound to a close. By the end of the night, only Ron, Hermione, Pansy, Draco and Harry remained at the table. A glance passed between Harry’s best mates and they stood to go, their intentions understood in only a second. Pansy, too, made her excuses and Harry and Draco were left alone.
“Astronomy Tower?” Harry asked after they heard the front door to the castle close with finality.
Draco smiled.
~
The view from the top of the tower was one of Harry’s favorite. The memories there were mixed. But with the finality of his marriage night, it would forever be a magical place.
They kissed. It was unlike their first kiss atop that tower, full of fear and hurried, but slow and languid; an embrace inside an embrace.
And Harry and Draco, like their tiny cake topper counterparts, waltzed across the top of the tower under the clear August night sky, finally married men.
Day 27: One of their birthdays
“Happy birthday, Harry.”
Harry opened his eyes to his husband standing beside their bed with a tray of breakfast. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and affixed his glasses to his face. Sliding up against the headboard he accepted the tray.
Draco slid into the bed beside him and kissed his cheek. “Sleep well?”
Harry hummed in the affirmative and took a bite of toast. Draco nuzzled next to him and stared into space, mindlessly musing about this and that while Harry ate. When he seemed done, Draco turned to face him again.
“What do you want to do for your birthday?”
“I think we should go see Hagrid.”
“Hagrid?”
“Ten years ago today he rescued me from the Dursleys. I ought to go see him.” Harry examined the bedspread.
Draco smiled, “Whatever you want to do, we’ll do. Hagrid’s sounds nice.” Harry looked up and smiled.
After a languid kiss, the pair climbed out of the oversized bed, giggling. Harry wrote a quick note to Ron inviting him and Hermione to dinner that evening at the Leaky Cauldron. They dressed and made for the fireplace, spinning into the grate in the usual burst of green flame.
Once in Hogsmeade, they made a stop off for a butterbeer and a chat with some old classmates there. Seamus was in town visiting with Dean Thomas and the group passed the time easily as they reminisced on the last ten years. A few well aimed jokes were sent Draco’s way but he charmingly deflected them and Harry’s hand in his reassured that they were only teasing.
After an hour, Harry and Draco made their excuses and made the long walk up to the castle. They found Hagrid in his garden planting what would undoubtedly be enormous pumpkins.
“Hullo Hagrid!” Harry called.
“’Arry! Draco! Whut brings ya out here?”
“It’s my twenty-first birthday and it got me reminiscing. Who better with than you?”
“I’m much obliged! Come in, come in, I’ll put the kettle on!”
They passed the afternoon pleasantly and somehow managed to avoid eating any of Hagrid’s extremely stale biscuits. Hagrid told story after story of Harry as a kid: Harry as a baby riding with him on the flying motorcycle, Harry on his eleventh birthday and scaring the Dursleys half to death with his pink umbrella (“Do you still have that?” “O’ course! Don’t tell Minervuh…”), and all the occasions over the years where Harry got into something he had no business in (“You three never could resist something weird going on”).
They talked about Ron and Hermione and Harry assured Hagrid he would tell them to come visit soon.
They talked about Draco’s family.
They talked about Harry and Draco’s wedding.
They talked about Hogwarts. The secret passages and the dangerous (“There’s nothin’ that’d hurt yeh in that castle!”) creatures they had found within.
They talked all afternoon until Draco and Harry could no longer ignore their empty stomachs and made their good-byes.
They met Ron and Hermione at the Leaky Cauldron where the couple was occupying a corner table and talking in hushed tones. Ron’s face told Harry something was up but he didn’t ask as they took their place across the table.
“Happy birthday, mate!”
Harry grinned. It was good to be with friends.
They ate pub stew and drank butterbeer. They exchanged stories and told jokes. They laughed and they empathized. And at last, Harry could hold it in no more.
“So what’s going on between you two?” The pair exchanged a look of fake surprise and Harry barked a short laugh. “Don’t give me that, you’re my two best friends, I think I know when something is up.”
Ron grinned so wide his face was split in half and Hermione blushed and unconsciously touched her hand to her stomach. “Should we tell him?” she asked her husband.
“You’re pregnant!?” Harry shouted.
The noise in the pub fell silent and Hermione nodded. Then a loud roar went up and everyone was clapping Ron on the back and hugging Hermione. Harry stood between his two best friends and beamed as though he were expecting.
“I’m gonna be an uncle!” Everyone laughed and he and Hermione hugged again. When the fuss eventually died down, Harry returned to his seat and gripped Draco’s hand tightly under the table. They continued their conversation for a bit longer until Hermione started yawning.
“Better be getting home,” she said. Ron jumped to his feet and got her coat. As he helped her into it, she mumbled a protest, “I’m not helpless, Ronald, just pregnant,” but let him ease it onto her shoulders anyways.
~
Harry and Draco collapsed into their bed later that evening. Both were covered in sweat and smiling through their exhaustion.
“Happy Birthday, Harry.”
Draco had pulled a small box from the bedside table drawer and laid in gently on Harry’s chest.
“Oh? I thought that was my present?” He smiled mischievously and Draco blushed in return.
“It was part of it. Open it.”
Harry wiggled off the top of the small box and inside found a tiny locket. He eased it open and Draco’s voice issued from within: “Never forget that I love you.”
Tears pricked at Harry’s eyes and he turned to see Draco propped on his elbow watching him.
“I love it Dray,” he whispered. “I love you.”
Draco smiled and held out his hand. Harry gave him the locket and Draco clasped it around Harry’s neck, planting a tiny kiss on top of the fastener. Then he enveloped Harry in his arms and squeezed. “Happy birthday, my love.”
Day 28: Doing something riddikulus
Harry and Draco often went to Andromeda Tonks’ house to visit Ted Lupin. One late summer day found them at the Tonks residence with little three year old Teddy throwing quite the fit. His grandmother answered the door and the screaming that exploded from the hallway was enough to make Harry flinch.
“How’s my godson today?”
Andromeda rolled her eyes and beckoned them inside. Teddy was sitting in a booster chair at the kitchen table screaming and turning his hair a new color every few seconds.
“Teddy, Uncle Harry and Uncle Draco are here to see you, but you can’t play with them until you eat your peas.” The older woman explained calmly as the child continued to scream.
He opened his eyes a tiny bit to see if his uncles were really there and promptly stopped crying. His hair stuck on a shade of violent fuchsia and his cheeks flushed with exertion.
“I hate peas,” he answered.
“They’re very good for you,” Harry replied with a smile. “Eat your peas and then we can go to the park!”
Teddy studied Harry for a moment.
Draco crouched next to the chair Teddy was in. “Hey Ted,” Teddy looked at him. “We really wanted to play with you today, but if you’re not gonna eat your peas, we’re gonna have to leave. We don’t want that, right?”
“No,” Teddy pouted. “I wanna play.”
“Alright, let’s finish these peas, then,” Draco smiled back at Harry and picked up the tiny fork to scoop up some of the vegetables.
Harry nodded to the sitting room and he and Andromeda left to sit down.
She sighed heavily, “Sometime I fear I am too old for a toddler”
Harry smiled sadly. “We can take him off your hands whenever you need a rest, you know.”
“Oh I don’t want to impose on you boys, you’re so young.”
“It’s no imposition. We love spending time with Teddy. And I don’t work most of the summer. Just drop me an owl.”
Andromeda gave Harry a weak smile. “I think I will go take a nap. This little one has had me up since five.”
Harry squeezed her arm and she climbed the stairs. “We’ll keep him out of the house,” he called after her. She waved he hand and shuffled heavily upwards.
Harry returned to the kitchen to find Draco playing airplane with the last of the peas.
“Zoom!”
Teddy giggled and ate the forkful of peas.
“Uncle Hawwy!” he cried with his mouth full of peas.
“Chew first, Teddy,” Draco scolded lightly. Teddy deliberately chewed his peas before Harry lifted him from his seat while Draco washed the lunch plate.
“Did you finish everything?”
“Yep!”
“Great! High-five!”
The toddler aimed a clumsy high-five at his godfather’s open hand, which Harry found sticky.
“Let’s get you washed up and then we’re going on an adventure!”
“OOOH!” The toddler shouted.
Harry directed his next comment to Draco. “Andromeda is going to take a nap, we need to get him out of the house.”
After Teddy was clean – though he would surely be dirty again soon – and had been convinced to change his hair to its normal red, they departed with stroller in tow for the park.
They chattered as adults chatter with toddlers: about the sunshine and the flowers and the bugs.
As Harry and Draco were swinging Teddy between them, the bush next to the pavement rustled and a Dementor rose out of it. Harry automatically shielded his husband and godson bodily and whipped out his wand. He began to cast the Patronus charm but was stopped by a hand on his arm. Draco had scooped up Teddy and then noticed he didn’t feel cold.
“It’s a boggart, Harry,” Harry turned to look at Draco, then back to the Dementor.
“Riddikulus,” he stated matter-of-factly. The boggart tripped backwards on his robe hem and landed comically on his rear in the bushes.
Teddy’s laughter filled the heavy summer air and Draco joined in with his laughter. The Boggart vanished with an embarrassed pop.
Harry sighed as the adrenaline slowed in his veins.
“Let’s thank Uncle Harry for saving us from the Boggart, right Teddy?”
“Thank you Uncle Harry!”
“You’re welcome, Teddy. Gotta protect my boys,” he smiled as Draco handed the toddler to him. Teddy nuzzled into Harry’s shoulder and was soon sleeping as they continued their walk.
“Kids amaze me. Wide awake to asleep in no time at all,” Draco mused as Teddy fisted the back of Harry’s T-Shirt.
“I want a baby,” sighed Harry.
Draco stopped walking. He looked at Harry quizzically. “A baby.”
“Yes, Dray, a baby. A little Teddy of our own.”
“You know we can’t actually make one of those. Us being two blokes and all.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Surely there’s a wizard adoption agency.”
“I… I don’t know,” Draco answered. “We’ll have to ask around. Are you sure about this?”
“Don’t you want kids?”
“I would love to raise a child with you, Harry.”
Harry just smiled.
Day 29: Doing something sweet
More than a year had passed since they had first discussed adopting a child. Harry was beginning to give up on the prospect. Draco wasn’t far behind.
But one Saturday in December, they received an owl from the Minister of Magic.
Harry and Draco,
Please come to the ministry at your earliest convenience. I have a matter which may concern you.
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Harry read the letter first and shouted up the stairs to where Draco was showering.
“Dray! We’re going to the Ministry!”
Draco came downstairs, hair still wet and tousled from the shower. “What’s up?”
“Kingsley wants to see us at the ministry!”
“Alright, let me get dressed.”
~
An hour later they found themselves in the Minister of Magic’s office being offered tea.
“What exactly was in that letter that has gotten you so excited?” Draco asked warily.
“I just have a good feeling,” Harry replied, actively trying not to bounce in his chair.
“Ah, Harry, Draco, thanks so much for coming in,” Kingsley Shacklebolt swept into the room like the presence that he was.
“Hello Minister, we just got your letter,” Draco answered as Harry grasped his hand tightly.
“I’ll get right down to it, since I can see you’re excited,” Kingsley chuckled and Harry tried anew to restrain himself. “I know you’ve expressed interest in adopting a child.”
Harry squealed and Draco squeezed his hand.
“It’s rather an unfortunate circumstance. A young witch in France has passed away leaving a two week old daughter behind. Her father is non-magical and wants nothing to do with the child. The French Minister asked if I knew of anyone willing to take her in. I suggested you.”
“Where is she currently? Can we meet her?” Draco spoke calmly as his husband seemed unable to.
“Yes, of course. We can take the Floo to the French Ministry now.”
~
Draco and Harry were introduced to the French Minister and then brought into a separate chamber to meet the baby. Margot was a tiny ball of pink blankets. She was being held by a ministry official who seemed less than enthused about his current job.
Harry’s eyes began to fill with tears and Draco whispered, for fear of waking the baby, “Can we hold her?”
The French Minister nodded and the babysitter handed the bundle to Draco, who carefully shifted the sleeping infant so he and Harry could equally coo over her. A tiny blonde curl stuck out from the blankets and Harry gently tucked it in. She made a small noise in her sleep but did not stir.
“Is there a protocol? What do we need to do?”
The French Minister looked to Kingsley and shrugged. Kingsley chuckled softly and gestured for Harry and Draco to follow him back to the French Minister’s office. The parents-to-be sat on one side of the desk and Kingsley stood on the narrow end of the desk.
“We already have a signed release from her father, and as he is the only living family member, we would just need you to sign the adoption papers. Are you absolutely sure about this?”
Harry and Draco looked to each other and smiled.
“We’ve been sure for a very long time,” Harry answered for them both.
The French Minister procured a very long quill from his desk and handed it to Harry to sign the document. He did so, and then took Margot from Draco so he could sign as well.
“If you want to change her name at all, even just to give her your last name, we will do that back at our ministry,” Kingsley explained. He offered a hand to each of the young men seated before him and nodded to Harry who gripped Margot tightly.
With a loud crack, they reappeared in Kingsley’s office. Margot woke and began to cry. Harry’s eyebrows rose up under his messy fringe and he rocked her and whispered sweet things to her. He gave her his pinky finger and she began to suck on it. Soon she quieted and was back asleep.
Kingsley gestured for the couple to sit. “Do you want to change her name?”
“I’d like to name her after my mother. Maybe her middle name?”
Draco smiled sadly and watched Margot sleep. “Margot Lily Potter-Malfoy?” he ventured.
“Perfect.”
Kingsley wrote some things on a form and handed it to Draco who read it over, murmuring and nodding as he went. At the bottom, he signed his great looping signature and passed it to Harry, exchanging paperwork for the infant a second time. Harry read the papers to himself and signed as well.
Kingsley took the papers, rolled them up, and handed them to an aide standing near the door.
“Congratulations. You’re parents.”
Harry began to cry.
Draco hugged him with one-arm, Margot nestled between them. Harry brushed the insistent curl off her forehead and looked up at Draco.
“She’s beautiful. And she’s ours.”
“She’s ours.”
Day 30: Doing something hot
“Margot, stay where Daddy can see you, honey!” Harry called out across the hot Spanish sand. Draco was already following the child across the beach to where she had plopped down and begun to build a sand castle with Teddy.
Teddy loved playing with his younger cousin and she absolutely adored him. Much of the time, Teddy stayed with them at Grimmauld Place as Andromeda felt a bit frail to be chasing around an eight year old. Harry and Draco didn’t mind.
Both children were slathered in a thick coating of sunscreen and were splashing about in the waves with Draco when Hermione and Ron came out to the beach. Rose was only a year older than Margot and the two were best friends. Hugo toddled after them, one of his parents supporting him on either side on the sand.
“Look, Papa,” Margot exclaimed, holding up a bucketful of sand to Draco.
“What is it, Margot?”
“It’s a tower!” she exclaimed and dumped it onto his lap. “Papa’s a castle too!” Rose giggled and soon the three eldest cousins were all burying Draco in the sand. Naturally, Harry came over to help.
The morning of fun had to come to a close when the sun overhead got so hot the kids started whining. Even Teddy seemed to have had enough.
Ron called out, “Alright kids, let’s go get cleaned up for lunch. Nice cold lemonade!” Teddy cheered and Hugo copied him as toddlers are wont to do without knowing what was going on. The girls splashed each other one more time in the waves and then followed Ron and Hermione up the beach. Harry brushed off Draco’s arms and hauled him out of the sand laughing.
“They buried you quite well,” Harry grinned as Draco brushed some excess sand off himself. The two men linked hands and followed the procession of children up the beach to the hotel.
After everyone was dry, or at least wrapped in a towel, the whole bunch sat down to lunch. Cold sandwiches and juicy fruit were on every plate and lemonade that never seemed to run out filled each cup. The kids chattered constantly and the adults just tried to keep up.
Harry and Draco linked hands between them on the table as the hot sun passed over them.
It was a perfect day in a wonderful life.
All was well.