Chapter Text
Draco insisted that he didn’t wear rings. He didn’t really like it. He had never been fond of jewelry, and if Harry was going to insist on formality for the rest of their marriage, then he got to not wear a wedding ring.
So Harry wore one, a simple black metal one, thin and unassuming. Most days, he didn’t even remember it was there. But he liked when it caught the light and his eye got drawn to it. He liked the look of the ring, showing that someone had claimed him. It looked nothing like the rest of his rings that he wore, and that made it special.
After their first year of teaching, Harry had popped the question. Draco had cried and hit him in the arm a few times before saying yes. They had a small summer ceremony in the backyard of Andromeda Tonks. It was a small and beautiful affair and in the end, they were married. Husbands. Some days, Harry still couldn’t believe it. It had been a little over a year since then, and he was still not over it.
They were in their third year of teaching, having settled into routine and consistency. Harry loved teaching and he loved being at Hogwarts. He was unsure of why he had fought it so hard in the beginning but decided not to worry. He was meant, at that moment, to teach students. Harry felt very lucky.
Draco and he had moved into one of the housing quarters in the castle since Draco was the head of Slytherin. He needed to be near in case of emergencies. And Minerva had attended the ceremony, so there was nothing to worry about in terms of propriety. So they had settled quite comfortably into the castle, not really flaunting their marriage, or even really discussing it.
It turned out that this would be their downfall.
Harry was sitting on his desk, watching Gilfrey, a little pigeon-like bird that had the ability to speak in complete sentences, fly about in circles around the ceiling. He had offered to care for the bird since Minerva wasn’t a big fan of him in her office. He liked the small creature. He always kept him entertained between classes, repeating some of the things the students said. As he stared up at the ceiling, he almost missed the movement of his husband walking into his classroom.
“Hello love,” Draco said, his face warm.
“My darling! Welcome to your least favorite room in the castle.”
“Thank you kindly. It does have a certain… air about it. One of superiority and aggression. So many terrible memories within these walls.”
“Hmm,” Harry hummed. “I could say the same about your room.”
“Is that why you never come down to say hello?”
“That, and I wouldn’t be able to help myself. What with all the colorful potions and the dark lighting.”
“Disgusting,” Draco laughed. “I would never allow such a thing.” The two were smiling widely at each other and Harry wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist, pulling him between his thighs. Draco let his shoulder rest against Harry’s chest and looked up at Gilfrey. “I don’t know why you like this bird so much, Harry. He’s just like a tiny gossip. He doesn’t even really do anything beyond repeating words.”
Harry gasped as if affronted. “Gilfrey, please let Mr. Malfoy know how we feel about that.” But the bird just chirped and landed on his little bed, ignoring them both. Draco laughed, as if victorious, and his husband grumbled, pulling him in nice and close. “He’s a good bird, Draco. I like him. That’s enough.”
“Alright, my love. Whatever makes you happy.”
“You make me happy.”
Draco gazed at him with slitted eyes. “Don’t start that, Potter. You know how insufferable I find you when you try to be charming.”
“I was paying you a compliment!” Harry argued, trying to hide his smile. “In fact, I was simply stating a fact.”
“I will make you sleep on the sofa if you say anything even remotely romantic again for the rest of the night. Do you understand?”
“Yes, professor,” Harry chuckled, pulling Draco in and giving him a soft kiss. As he was about to deepen the kiss, the door to the room started to swing open.
Draco was not one for openly showing his affection and so stepped out of Harry’s embrace. Two students walked in, stopping in alarm at the sight of the potions professor in their beloved DADA professor’s room. It had long been thought that they had a bit of a rivalry going on, their bickering noted by many students as they would meet in hallways between classes. However, it was beginning to morph. Some of the older students began to watch their professors and wondered if maybe the rivalry was hiding attraction beneath it.
The Gryffindor’s and the Slytherin’s didn’t agree on much, but they certainly agreed that Professor Potter and Professor Malfy were perfectly suited for each other. And it was a bit of a secret goal to get them together or to catch them in the act.
Andrew and Tuy stopped in the doorway, eyes wide as they took in Harry on the desk and Draco moving away from him. They shot each other sly glances and knew that the other members of the house would flip with this new knowledge.
“Thank you for your time, Professor. I’ll see you at dinner,” Malfoy said, moving past the two boys with a kind smile. They grinned at him.
“Don’t eat all of the pudding this time, Professor. You know how I get without it.” Harry called after him, trying to smother his amusement.
Draco scoffed and rolled his eyes, disappearing down the hallway. It was peculiar that they had been in the same classroom. Other rumors of the two often pinpointed them in Hogsmeade, corridors, or the quidditch pitch. They were rarely spotted in the other’s classroom. The students moved toward Harry, looking at him curiously.
“Sorry to intrude, Professor,” Tuy said, face red. “It’s just, Andrew wanted help with his paper and I didn’t want to tell him wrong, and Lynn said you were still in here, so we thought-”
Harry waved him off. “It’s no worries, lads. You aren’t intruding. Come on in. I’m happy to help.”
The three sat and discussed the information needed for the paper, despite Harry hating papers and never wanting to give them out. Minerva told him he was required to assign homework to his students, despite how much he hated to grade it. So they compromised. Harry assigned one paper each term, and that was it. Even then, it was practically the easiest homework of any professor, more like an opinion than based on fact. Harry liked it that way. He thought it encouraged more free-thinking.
When Andrew had finally gotten enough to finish his work, he started rolling up his parchment. “You’re a lifesaver, professor.”
“We can always count on you for anything, at any time of the day.”
Harry laughed. “Don’t tell my husband that. He’ll think you kids will start showing up in our bedroom unannounced.” He didn’t think much of the comment, since he felt like he was pretty open about his marriage. He was sure that he had mentioned his marital status before, with some student or another. It was almost an assumption of his that it was common knowledge. But his words had shaken the two students.
Married? Professor Potter was married? Then what on earth was he doing, flirting and chasing Professor Malfoy?
“Is there anything else I can help you two with before we head into dinner?”
Andrew shook his head. “No sir, we’ll just go ahead of you. No worries.” He grabbed Tuy’s hand and the two raced out of the classroom, intent on sharing the horrible and intriguing gossip they had received straight from the source. Professor Potter was married, which meant he and Professor Malfoy were most likely having an affair!
Harry sat on his desk, watching the two of them disappear, and shook his head. “Strange boys,” he murmured before leaving to head to dinner.
———–
Milly was raising her hand as if her life depended on it, which surprised Harry. She was a talkative girl, but she didn’t care much about the subject of Netherland wraiths. She had made that clear the last few classes on the subject.
“Yes, Milly. Go ahead.”
“Professor, I was just wondering. You always say that the best way to make a potion is to collect the correct ingredients. No matter how far away they grow. Right?”
“That’s right, Milly.”
“Would you say it’s true of people as well?”
Harry couldn’t understand the looks of shock and the gasps of alarm that rang from the students. His class was comprised of Ravenclaws and Slytherins, and while houses were much more inclusive since the war than his own day, he hadn’t seen any of these kids around each other outside of class. And he didn’t think they had much to discuss outside of his lectures. But here they were, riveted by Milly’s question and in turn, his answer.
“I don’t really see how that’s relevant-” he started, but she didn’t let him finish.
“Don’t you always say we should be curious about anything? That there should never be a time limit on our curiosity?”
He frowned. “I suppose.”
“I just want to understand better. You’re one of the only professors, besides Professor Longbottom, that discusses relationships. The other professors say that it isn’t important for us to understand the intricacies of human relationships, we just need to study academics.” There were murmurs of agreement at the statement, which took Harry by surprise. Were the other professors really so tight-lipped about their lives outside of their classrooms? The students were interested in the world, they had questions that wouldn’t be answered anywhere else. “We just want to learn more about connection, and the “right ingredients”, you could say.”
He had to laugh. This was ridiculous. While he was glad they felt comfortable enough to ask him questions about life, it didn’t change the fact that they were all doing it to avoid learning about Netherland Wraiths. Were they seriously attempting to get out of classwork by asking questions on relationships? But, he guessed that they felt there wasn’t much choice. There was a moment where he remembered a young Harry Potter attempting to do the same, and he smiled. Sometimes, kids just didn’t want to learn.
He shut his book lightly and walked back to his desk, pulling himself up onto the ledge.
“Alright then, Milly. Let’s talk about connection.” He rubbed his face and wondered what to say to her question. “I suppose, to answer you, that it is true of people as well. Good relationships are proven when they are tested, right? Just like potions. Having the correct ingredients and putting them in at the right time is critical. Same with people. If you have someone in your life that fits you just right, but they show up at the wrong time, it can be disastrous.”
“What happens after that? Do they come back? Can you wait for them for the right time?” This question came from Roy, a Ravenclaw boy.
Harry laughed. “You can. If you think that that person could be important to you, sometimes it’s a good idea to let them back in at different times, like testing the waters. My parents were a good example of this. My father was in love with my mother basically from the first time they met. But she wouldn’t give him the time of day because she thought he was a prat.” The class laughed, which made him smile. “But, as they grew up, my mum started to test the waters and found that he was her perfect match. It just took about seven years.”
A Slytherin girl, Hannah, raised her hand quickly and said, “Were they happy together?”
This made him pause. There was a tug in his chest that often came when he thought of his parents. But he knew the answer. “Yeah. Yeah, they were happy together. Sometimes, the ingredients as Milly calls them, are actually right under our noses, waiting for us to sniff them out.”
“What if,” Milly spoke up again, “What if you find the perfect ingredient, but you’ve already… made the potion?”
It was an odd question, and the girl beside Milly, Tanya, elbowed her to shut up, but Milly stared Harry down. In fact, it looked as if the Slytherin students were all casting him suspicious glances because of the questions, while the Ravenclaws were avoiding the conversation at this point entirely. He was surprised that it was coming to this.
“Are you… Are you asking me what I think about cheating?”
She nodded.
It was an odd discussion to be having with these fifth-year students. But he knew that some of them were dealing with terribly difficult situations at home, some not having good parents, others having no parents at all. But cheating? He wondered if they were dealing with this as well. It made sense. He really had no way of telling what their home lives were actually like.
“Well, Milly, I think this might be a bit out of my league of knowledge,” he said, feeling himself get sheepish. “As your professor, I can’t give you a factually driven answer. But, if you’re asking me, Harry, what I think then I’d tell you that life is really hard. And the people you choose to keep in your life deserve to be loved and respected. And other people can become the right ingredients, over time.” There was a moment as he gathered himself before he pushed on. “I don’t think cheating is the way to go through relationships. I think it’s unfair and cruel. There should always be healthy communication in any relationship, and if that means calling it off before anything happens, then that’s important to recognize.”
Milly nodded, her face thoughtful. “And if, say, you knew that someone else was cheating and you and your friends didn’t agree on what was right and wrong and had split ideas about who and what to support, what would you do?”
Harry considered a moment before answering, “I would try and do what I thought was right. Sometimes people have different opinions than we do, and while it’s good to recognize that, what we think and what we feel deserves precedence. We can’t let other people’s opinions hinder our desire to do what’s right.”
The students were quiet. Some were staring at him as if hurt by his words. Others seemed angry or unsettled. Others were staring at anything other than him. He didn’t know what was going on.
“Any other questions?”
A hand, a timid hand, rose from the back of the room. His name was James, a Slytherin boy, that reminded Harry a bit of himself growing up. He didn’t speak much, so Harry felt shocked at seeing his hand.
“Yes, James?”
The boy cleared his throat. “Are you… Are you happy, professor? Have you found your right ingredients?”
It was, without a doubt, the most personal question he’d ever been asked. But faces flashed in his memory; Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Neville, the rest of the Weasley family and the Order members, and of course, Draco. And he smiled. “Yeah, James. I think I have.”
Class finished shortly after that, and Harry noticed many of the Slytherin students refused to look at him as they left. He said goodbye to everyone he could and watched in confusion as his classroom emptied. He was unsure of why class had gone the direction he had, and he worried he had said the wrong thing. But, he had just been honest with them. Wasn’t that what they wanted?
Gilfrey flew and perched on the large branch sticking up beside Harry’s table, and opened his mouth. “The Gryffindors were wrong,” Gilfrey mimicked a student’s voice, though Harry wasn’t sure who it was. “It’s time for war.”
Harry stared at the bird in alarm. “War?” he said, shocked. “What war? What were the Gryffindors wrong about?” But Gilfrey didn’t say anything else.
“Oh Merlin,” he groaned, pressing the heel of his palm into his hands. “What have I done this time?”
———–
Harry couldn’t explain it other than the fact that the students had split themselves in half. After hearing that the Slytherin and the Gryffindor houses were at odds over something, most likely regarding Harry, he began to notice how their behavior started to change. Students who smiled or waved at him in the hallways started ignoring him completely. Some students that he hadn’t spoken to since teaching them years before were actively seeking him out. He wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“Draco,” Harry broached the topic one morning as the two got ready for the day.
“Hmm?”
“Have you noticed that the students are being a little bit… odd?”
Draco looked over at him, eyes smiling. “Is this about the supposed war you heard about last week?”
Harry didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
His husband rolled his eyes and turned back toward the mirror, slipping his tie together and pulling it snugly against his neck. Harry couldn’t help but admire how handsome he looked. “I haven’t noticed anything more than usual. The Slytherins and the Gryffindors have been at odds with each other since the beginning of time. I don’t know what you overheard and what war they were talking about, but I wouldn’t let it get to you, love.”
“Right,” Harry agreed, feeling paranoid. “But, you really haven’t noticed a shift? Some students treating you differently, classes being tenser?”
Draco hummed for a moment. “You know, perhaps. I think my Hufflepuff classes have gotten significantly more… protective. Many of them ask how I’m doing or how I’m feeling as soon as they come in.”
“And that’s not normal?”
“Not really. I mean, a few of them do it out of habit, but I have seen an influx lately.”
“The Slytherins won’t even look at me without glaring,” Harry grumbled, folding his arms. “I feel like I’ve offended them somehow and I just don’t know how. Have the Gryffindors given you any trouble?”
Draco laughed and turned back to Harry, crossing his arms over his chest. “You mean more so than the normal behavior of Gryffindors?” Harry smiled back at him. “I suppose there have been occasions. The older classes have definitely been looking at me oddly, but I try not to dwell.”
Harry sighed and agreed and the two finished getting ready and headed toward the great hall together. As they walked, their hands started brushing against each other and Draco rolled his eyes at Harry’s juvenile attempt for physical touch.
As they walked, neither of them heard the movement behind them as a Slytherin boy was pushed by a group of his friends and he pushed between the two of them. Harry stumbled to the side and Draco almost lost his footing. The boy pulled himself up straight and turned toward his head of the house.
“Professor Malfoy, sir, I think there’s something you need to know!”
Draco’s eyes were wide. “Uh, alright Neil. What is it?”
Neil looked back at his friends as if shocked that he had gotten this far. Florence moved forward to stand by her friend, her chin lifted.
“You’re being lied to.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what he’s said or done to make you think that he isn’t taking advantage of you, but we’ve all seen it and we think it’s time you knew.”
“What on earth are you talking about?” Draco asked, voice incredulous, before looking up at Harry who looked just as confused as he felt.
“Professor Potter is married!” Florence declared, followed by gasps from her fellow students at her bluntness. “He’s been married this whole time. And I know that you fancy him and that he’s not bad looking, but he’s using you.”
“You’re basically his mistress!” came a different student.
“You deserve so much better!”
The clamoring continued as the two professors stared at each other, eyes wide, humor building. Then suddenly, the yelling multiplied as a group of Gryffindors rounded the corner and joined the fray.
“You can’t accuse Professor Potter without blaming Malfoy as well! He seduced him away from his husband!”
“Potter wanted Malfoy and didn’t care about his own husband to talk about his feelings and give him an out!”
“Malfoy is just as much to blame. He probably knew about Potter’s marriage and pursued him anyway.”
The shouting continued, both sides trying to place more of the blame on the other. Harry was being accused of being unfaithful to his husband and Draco was being labeled as a seducer who was a home-wrecker. On and on the fighting went, Harry trying to track the accusations back and forth like a tennis match. And then he looked at Draco, who had a grin growing slowly on his face before he burst into laughter. Without another second, Harry was joining him, which made the students surrounding him fall silent.
“Wait, so, you all think-” Draco gasped between bouts of laughter. “You all think that Professor Potter and I are… are having an affair?”
It was so ridiculous that Harry started laughing harder.
Draco grabbed at his hand and pulled him closer. “Come on, Harry, I think we’ve got some explaining to do.”
———
It had been an odd request, Harry knew, but McGonagall had learned to not ask him too much about the details. He and Draco had told the students that they would address all of their concerns in the great hall after classes and before dinner, so if anyone wanted to come and listen, they had to spread the word. And it spread, quickly and thoroughly.
Harry had stopped counting the groups of whispering students that entered the great hall, shooting him and Draco odd looks. They had pushed the tables out of the way and had the students bring benches over when each one was filled. There were hundreds of kids, of all houses, sitting and eagerly waiting to hear the story.
Draco had been laughing and grinning since the altercation that moment. They had escorted the students to breakfast and Draco said that he understood the war now, considering how violent both sides had been and how willingly they had all defended their professors. And then he suggested an intervention.
So, there they stood, surveying the students, watching them gather close together until there was barely any room in front of the professors' table at all. “You know,” Harry whispered, voice filled with enthusiasm, “this wouldn’t be happening if you just wore a bloody ring.”
“I have changed much of my life for you, Potter. I will not compromise the freedom of my fingers. Just because you like the adornment doesn’t mean I have to. And besides, I wear your ring. They just can never see it.” He patted his chest gently, drawing focus to the ring Draco wore on a necklace around his neck.
Harry rolled his eyes but smiled. Draco pushed off from the table as Harry pulled himself to sit atop of it.
“Alright then, settle down please.” The students immediately did so, their eyes glued to their professors. “It has come to our attention, that is Professor Potter and me, that there are rumors floating around about the nature of our relationship. We wanted to get to the bottom of it, but we need to understand just what you all believe. So, I’ll have a few of you stand and explain what you think you’ve seen. Are there any of you who could offer some clarity?”
A few hands shot up, as if only waiting to be asked. Draco called on a Ravenclaw girl, Andy, which seemed a smart move to Harry. Ravenclaws weren’t too involved in the house war. Andy got to her feet and clasped her hands together.
“Well, it started at the end of last year, Professor. A few of the Gryffindors had noticed the interactions between you and Professor Potter, and they began asking around. It became a bit of a bet, an ongoing trial, to see if we could discern if you were together or wanted to be together or not. It was a long process. Neither of you gives much.”
Harry snorted, and looked away in amusement. Merlin, had they really been so discreet that no one knew they were married? Draco smacked at Harry and gestured for Andy to continue.
“Well, this year, it became a bit more obvious that there were… feelings going on between you. You were seen chatting in the halls or going together to Hogsmeade, and we kind of started to believe that you were seeing each other. On the down-low.”
Andy then sat down, rather quickly, as if reluctant to continue and explain the rest. “Thank you, Andy,” Draco said, surprised at her abrupt ending. “So, you thought we were seeing each other, is that correct?” A murmur of agreement and the nods of heads told them that that was in fact the case. “So, what changed? You thought we were seeing each other and then you all suspected that we were having an affair?”
A Slytherin boy called Malcolm raised his hand after seeing that no one else wanted to own up to it. Harry recognized him from the classes he had with him. He had been in the class with the relationship questions, he realized suddenly. That had been the class that had changed everything.
“A few weeks ago, some Gryffindors started spreading around the fact that Professor Potter was married. He had told them in passing, but it was pretty big news to everyone. We were in class one day, and Milly,” he gestured to the girl who had started all of the relationships talk in the first place in that class, who looked awkward at being mentioned, “she started asking Professor Potter about his life and it got a little… personal. We were all worried and on edge because of the marriage rumors about the both of you, considering that this was the first year anyone actually took notice of Professor Potter’s ring. All of us thought it was just for fun or fashion because he does wear a lot of rings. But some of the Slytherins began to suspect that Professor Malfoy WAS seeing Professor Potter, but he wasn’t wearing a ring. So we… well, there started to be questions about the relationship between you.”
“Alright, and what happened in this class full of questions?”
Malcolm cleared his throat, blushing profusely. “Well, Milly asked him about how to tell if a relationship was good. It was the first time that Professor Potter had ever openly acknowledged being in any sort of relationship, so it felt like a shock to all of us. Just because it seemed to be proving a point. And then she… well she asked him about cheating.”
Draco glanced at Harry who shrugged. “And what did Potter say that had you all so riled up?”
“He, basically, said that sometimes life is hard and decisions are hard but hard things happen to good people. And then James asked him if he was happy and he said he was. That was when the rumors really started. If Professor Potter WAS married, as we all were starting to believe because of the ring and the relationship talk, then there was a high possibility that our thoughts of the two of you being in a relationship were going to take a nasty turn. Because Professor, you… well, you don’t wear a ring.”
“And so you thought that we were cheating on his husband, right?” Draco clarified, trying desperately to hold a smile back.
“Yes sir,” Malcolm answered. “And Milly had also asked if Professor Potter thought we should confront people we thought were doing wrong. Wind got to the Gryffindors and all of a sudden we were on opposing sides, trying to decide which one of you was in the wrong.”
“Hence the fighting,” said Draco, to which the student nodded. “Thank you, Malcolm.” The boy sat down and the students watched Draco with wide eyes, wondering what he would say in return. He folded his arms, taking a moment to think, before looking up at them again.
“I want to say, first of all, that you are all the kindest and most caring students we could ever ask for. Thank you for caring about us so deeply that you concerned yourselves with our happiness. I couldn’t even express how that makes me feel, and I’m sure Potter can agree.” He smiled at them, and it was like the group collectively turned red in embarrassment.
“The next thing to say is that, what you’ve done; the war, the rumors, the confrontation? It can never happen again. I know you appreciate your professors and you feel that they need your help in their personal lives, but doing things like this can be a gross invasion of privacy that can be harmful. If this affair had been true, and word got around to all involved parties, it can be publicly humiliating for anyone. So I implore you to be kinder and if you have any qualms with the behavior of any of your teachers to speak with them directly before sharing your ideas with your friends. I know many of us are close-lipped about our personal lives, but any of us would be happy to elaborate for you if you asked.”
Nods of acknowledgment and understanding passed like a wave and Draco made sure that all of the students understood just how serious he was, letting the declaration settle over them. And then he smiled.
“Let me tell you a story, then, to maybe give you kids some context. When I was going to school, my father started to consider which family to align ourselves with through marriage. He and my mother, though they had some degree of affection for each other, had been matched at an early age. They learned to care for each other more and more over the years, but it had always been rather obvious that it hadn’t been by choice. And my father made it clear that I would have to go through much of the same. I was to marry for the purity of our blood, no questions asked.”
The students were riveted. Professor Malfoy was known for his soft voice and his kindness during his classes, but they had rarely heard him speak so much, especially about himself and his past.
“After the war,” Draco shot a glance at Harry, who was staring at him calmly, and gave him a smile to encourage him further. “After the war, my father was sent to Azkaban. This is common knowledge and not something I hide in shame. It’s simply how things happened. My mother left to live with my aunt, and I was left here, alone, trying to patch up whatever family reputation I could by donating money, by aiding in construction wherever I could. And my match with my Astoria Greengrass fell through.” The faces of the students showed their horror at the idea of any sort of arranged marriage and Harry couldn’t help but agree. In this day and age, to have an actual arranged marriage.
“She was kind and beautiful, but she knew I didn’t love her. And she didn’t love me. So we ended a century-old tradition in hopes of getting to have a chance to be with people we actually cared about. And then something remarkable happened.” He paused, letting the silence build the suspense.
“I met a boy. I was in a bookshop in Paris when I ran into him. I was there, visiting my mother and my aunt, and had gone to peruse the muggle collection. We got to talking of course, but he wasn’t anything like I expected. He was crass and sarcastic and quick-witted. But he made me smile, in spite of myself, and I liked the feeling.” A few of the students “aw”ed at him, making him smile softly. “I came back to the bookshop the next day and the next day until he asked me to dinner. And then to a play. Then to ice skating. Next thing I knew, I was telling him I loved him.” He paused, laughing a bit as he hadn’t ever told this story like this before.
“What happened?” a voice called out, to which many students started shushing dramatically.
Draco shrugged. “We were both broken in a lot of ways. We’d had our fair share of trouble in our lives and being together sometimes seemed too hard. The war had taken just as much from him as it had from me. But we liked each other more often than not. So it worked.”
“He moved to a small town in France and I returned to England, both of us having unfinished work to do. Him seeking peace and quiet, me hoping to alleviate some of the guilt that was always on my shoulders. We broke up… six different times during our long-distance relationship. But we kept finding our way back to each other. I started going to France every weekend to make things a little more steady. And after a year of this, he asked me to move in with him. And right after that, I accepted this position, without telling him.”
Silence fell over them, all wondering if this story was going to have a happy ending after all.
“Now, before you all get too worried, this isn’t an explanation of how I seduced Potter or ruined his marriage or anything like that. It’s just so you can understand what has led us to this point. I accepted the position as potions master and head of house for Slytherin, without telling the man I love because I was afraid our relationship wouldn’t be able to handle it. We were just through a rough patch when the offer came through. But it felt right for me, so I accepted. And that same year, Potter came and took up the job of Defense. It was awkward at first, considering our history. But we made it work.”
“Hold on a minute,” Harry stated, pushing himself up off the table to look at Draco, who in turn was grinning like a madman at his sudden interruption. “You’re making this sound like it was all chance, like divine intervention. And you know I don’t believe in all that.”
Draco laughed. “How would you tell it then?”
“After leaving school, I went to Paris to have some peace and quiet,”
“I said that,” countered Draco.
“Right, but then after that, I was the one that pursued YOU.”
“That isn’t true.”
“It so is! And the six different times we broke up during long-distance? That wasn’t mutual, Draco Malfoy, and you know it. Every time you went back to England, you went on and on about how there was too much baggage between the two of us and how you didn’t think we could ever make it work.”
“You broke up with me once,” said Draco.
“That wasn’t me breaking up with you, you twit. That was me telling you that I couldn’t come back to England with you because I wasn’t ready! And I visited you almost every week after that, it wasn’t just you who made the effort to lessen the separation.”
“I think you’re being dramatic, love.”
“No,” Harry said, basically forgetting that they had an audience to whom they were supposed to be addressing. “No, I’m not. Because YOU also accepted the position here FIRST without telling ME. After agreeing to move in with me. As if these two huge life changes weren’t going to have a massive effect on each other! You didn’t know Neville was going to offer me the job, let alone if I was going to take it. And then what would you have done?”
“I had every faith in Longbottom, Harry. I knew he would be able to prick at your pride just enough to make you accept the job. In fact, I encouraged him to do so. And it worked, and you did, so what’s the problem?”
“I’m just saying that this whole thing isn’t a magical chance, Malfoy. I went to that bookshop in Paris because I saw you walk in first. I don’t read books, you know that.” Draco snorted at the admittance, but Harry was too fired up to stop. “I kept coming back after every time you insisted we break up because I knew that I didn’t want to be without you. In all of my peace and quiet, you were the only thing that made me want some noise. And I took this job out of the goodness of my heart. Neville didn’t force me because of my pride. And YOU said yes when I asked you to marry me, even though you insisted you didn’t believe in marriage and that you couldn’t stand to be a Potter and on and on and on. Everything that has happened has happened because of MY choices. And now, here we are, two years into our marriage, and our own students think I’m cheating on you WITH YOU because you insist on not wearing a goddam ring!”
Malfoy was staring at him, eyes brimming with amusement and a smug look on his face. “You ruined the suspense, Potter,” he said softly.
“What do you mean?”
“ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU’VE BEEN MARRIED THIS WHOLE TIME?!” Milly, the Slytherin girl who had started all this, screeched. Harry suddenly remembered where they were and what they had been doing and his face flamed red.
The students exploded in a buzz of noise, talking over each other, exclaiming in disbelief that none of them had put the two dots together. And Draco was laughing. He looked, at that moment, so much like a younger boy, without all of the cares that had been dropped on him. And that laugh made Harry laugh as well until tears were coming out of his eyes. After a moment of shared amusement, Harry turned to the rowdy group of students and lifted his hand to quiet them. They all immediately obeyed.
“I married Draco Malfoy two years ago, after our first year of teaching. He doesn’t like rings, and he refused to take my last name, despite how much better Draco Potter sounds compared to Harry Malfoy. I’m sorry if you lot thought we were being dishonest about any of it, but it wasn’t our intention. I’m not cheating on my husband with Professor Malfoy because Professor Malfoy IS my husband. So, I hope that clears everything up.”
There was a pause, a moment of silence, and then the room exploded in noise again. Draco entwined their fingers together and stepped closer to Harry, looking rather smug about the whole thing. “You know, there’s no need to call me Professor, professor.”
Harry rolled his eyes before tugging Draco in close to his side, staring at the silver eyes he loved so dearly. He reached over to pull the ring hanging on a chain under Draco’s shirt out so it glinted in the torchlight. “We could have avoided all of this if you had just put it on.”
“Where would the fun be in that?” Draco answered, his eyes squinted up in a smile, happiness evident on every inch of his face.