harry goes to grimmauld
Despite everything—the Tournament, Voldemort’s almost-return, and the political chaos—exams still happened.
And now, the results were here
The students sat in the Great Hall, the usual excitement of the end-of-year feast mixed with nervous anticipation.
The results had been posted on the large enchanted board near the front.
Harry, who usually didn’t care much about rankings, found himself a little nervous as he scanned the list.
First place: Hermione Granger.
Second place: Draco Malfoy.
Harry grinned. Of course.
Then—
Third place: Blaise Zabini.
Fourth place: Daphne Greengrass.
Fifth place: Harry Potter.
"Fifth!" Harry yelped, turning to Draco. "I beat you in the Tournament, and you still beat me in school?"
Draco smirked. "Of course, Potter. Unlike you, I don’t get by on sheer luck."*
"Excuse me, I work very hard at procrastinating," Harry said proudly.
Draco rolled his eyes, but Harry caught the small, pleased smile Draco tried to hide.
---
The adults were waiting at Malfoy Manor, and when the students arrived, Lucius and Narcissa greeted them with a rare warmth.
"Well done, all of you," Narcissa said gracefully, eyes flickering over Draco and Hermione with approval. "It is not easy to balance both studies and… outside distractions."*
"Outside distractions?" Sirius smirked, nudging Harry. "She means you, kid."*
Harry grinned. "I am a very entertaining distraction."*
Draco gave him a deadpan look. "That is one way to put it."*
"Draco!" Narcissa scolded lightly, but her lips twitched with amusement.
Lucius, meanwhile, had already poured drinks (butterbeer for the students, firewhisky for the adults). "To another year well done," he said smoothly, raising his glass. "And to a summer of learning."*
Harry groaned. "Please, let me have one day without studying."*
"No promises, Potter," Draco murmured, smirking against his glass.
With Grimmauld Place now being used as the Order’s Headquarters, Dumbledore had suggested that Sirius and Remus move in with Harry at Malfoy Manor.
Sirius had initially resisted.
"I refuse to live with Malfoy," he had announced dramatically.
"And yet," Lucius had replied smoothly, "here you are."*
Sirius had grumbled about it for an hour, but in the end, he had no choice.
Which is why, a few days later, Harry found himself officially moving in.
"You’re going to regret this," Harry told Draco smugly. "I basically live here now."*
Draco pretended to be horrified. "Merlin, save me."*
"Too late, Precious. You’re stuck with me."*
Draco sighed dramatically—but his hand was already in Harry’s.
---
With Grimmauld Place being used for Order business, Malfoy Manor had become Harry’s new home—which was something no one would have believed just a few years ago.
Sirius still grumbled about it. Snape was far too smug about Sirius living with the Malfoys. Remus just looked amused by everything.
And Harry? Harry was just happy.
Harry woke up in his massive bedroom—one that Narcissa had personally designed for him. It was elegant but cozy, filled with deep greens, golds, and blacks that somehow suited him perfectly.
But he wasn’t alone.
Draco was curled up on his bed, his platinum blond hair falling over his face as he slept soundly.
Harry smiled softly. Merlin, he was in love.
He reached out, brushing a few strands of hair out of Draco’s face. The boy stirred slightly, scrunching his nose before blinking awake.
"Potter," Draco mumbled sleepily. "Why are you staring at me?"
"Because you’re cute."*
Draco blinked. Then scoffed, rolling over. "Go back to sleep, idiot."*
Harry grinned and wrapped his arms around Draco, pulling him closer.
Draco huffed. Did not resist.
---
downstairs, breakfast was… an event.
"Malfoy," Sirius greeted, eyeing Lucius warily.
"Black," Lucius returned, just as warily.
They both sat down as far away from each other as possible.
Remus sighed. "Children."*
"I agree," Narcissa said, taking a sip of her tea. "Honestly, I expected more maturity from grown men."*
Draco leaned toward Harry, whispering, "They’re going to kill each other by the end of the summer."*
"I know," Harry whispered back. "And I kind of want to watch."*
Draco hid a smile behind his teacup.
With Voldemort back, the adults weren’t taking any chances.
Lucius, Narcissa, Snape, Sirius, and Remus all agreed on one thing:
Harry, Draco, and their friends needed more training.
So, summer wasn’t just going to be lazy mornings in bed and secret kisses in hidden corners—it was also going to be dueling practice, advanced spellwork, Occlumency, and Animagus training.
"No offense," Harry said after hearing the plan, "but this sounds an awful lot like school."*
"Potter," Draco said smugly, "the difference is that now I get to watch you struggle with complex spells up close."*
"You enjoy my suffering too much."*
"Immensely."*
Harry just rolled his eyes.
"Come along," Narcissa said gracefully. "You can flirt later. Right now, we train."*
And with that, the summer officially began.