Strong Love

Harry's attention was caught immediately, and he sat down as he was told without saying a word. He wanted to know as much about Malfoy and his past as he could get, and occasions like these where Malfoy was willingly talking about it were rare, so Harry wanted to waste not a single second.

"In the summer before our sixth year, I had to spend quite a lot of time at Borgin and Burkes. You know that," Malfoy said pointedly, and Harry held back a smile. He knew that. He had seen him there, after all. He suppressed the memories that came with it and shoved them into a little box, shutting it tightly.

"Frank was there a lot, too. He had finished Durmstrang that year, so he was working in the store a lot with his grandfather," Malfoy continued, and Harry could hear that talking about this was as hard for Draco as listening was for Harry, but this was what they had to do. They had to get through this every time if they wanted to talk about things, which they did and - quite frankly - had to.

"As Frank said earlier, his family and mine have been friends for generations. My father had visited Frank's father in that store during their time at Hogwarts, and my grandfather had filled his office with their furniture and Dark artefacts. So my father was very happy when mother reported that Frank and I got to talking."

One look at Harry made Malfoy grin, and he shook his head. "Talking, Potter. I can just be friends with men, you know?"

Harry nodded, smiled, and blushed. "Yes, how silly of me to assume that not everyone can resist you."

Malfoy's eyebrows rose, and he shifted in his seat. "Shut it, or we'll have to have story-time at a later point."

"Oh, don't threaten me with a good time," Harry mocked but raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, continue."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes for a moment. "Tell me, what was I supposed to do?" he asked, but Harry knew that it was a rhethorical question. "He was there, and the only other people I could have talked to were Greyback, my mother, or Frank's grandfather who might have liked me, but I definitely didn't like him."

Harry smiled and shrugged. He guessed Malfoy had a point, and Harry knew better than to be jealous, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't help feeling insecure about the fact that Draco had spent so much time that summer with a man Harry had known nothing about a few days ago. What was worse was that the two families had a history, and of course, how could Harry not have seen that families like those had to have known each other. He also couldn't help wondering if Lucius would have reacted the same way had Draco told him he was in love with Frank instead of Harry. He was still man, yes; Draco would still be gay, yes; but at least not gay with Harry Potter.

"Anyway," Malfoy continued, pulling Harry out of his horrible thoughts, "when school started again, I didn't hear from Frank, and I didn't have any desire to. I had... other things to do... When not surrounded by worse conversation partners, I realised that Frank was far from someone I could get along with."

"I guess he felt the same way, then," Harry said, and only when Malfoy levelled an offended glare at him did Harry realise how that might have sounded, and he laughed. "No, I don't mean that you're not interesting," Harry laughed, "I just meant that he seemed to... Let's say he was a little unfriendly earlier."

Malfoy nodded and shrugged at the same time. "We've heard all this before," he said casually. "I'm a disgrace to my - and by extension his - family,  and I never should have gotten what I have now."

Harry didn't have to ask; he guessed his face was enough when Malfoy smiled and said, as if it were obvious, "A husband who is you, a job at Hogwarts of all places, and a life not on the run or underground but happy and in public."

It hit Harry that he had never seen it that way. He and Malfoy had been told the same things but from different sides: that they were a disgrace, they brought shame over their names, and they should separate. But Harry had never thought that everything else in Malfoy's life apart from that was cause for hate and anger, too. He had made it out of that life - the life of a Death Eater - and he was doing something with it. He had been given - no. He had taken a second chance and wasn't willing to waste it. Harry liked to believe that everyone else could have gotten the same opportunities if only they had faced the consequences like the Malfoys had and decided to do something good with the choices presented to them.

"So now he hates you because you... have a life?" Harry asked. This seemed utterly ridiculous to him, but it sounded indeed like something a person like Frank Burke might feel.

Malfoy shrugged and put on a smile that was less convincing than he had probably anticipated. "He'll get over it," he said, "and if not, I'll kick his ass."

Harry had to grin at that. Every now and then, Malfoy used phrases the Muggles used, and he sounded either really adorable or really hot. Right now, it was the latter. Maybe that was also because he had just opened up to Harry. Either way, Harry climbed into Malfoy's lap, straddling him, and grinned at him, their noses so close they were almost touching.

"What are you doing?" Malfoy asked.

Harry touched the tips of their noses together. "Story-time over?" he asked back, his voice lower than he had expected.

Draco's lips stretched into a smile he could barely contain before it turned into a smirk that made Harry's heart fluttter. His stupid heart was always the first to react, and then his prick followed mere seconds later. His trousers felt tighter, but he could feel Malfoy beneath him, too, and that didn't make it any easier for Hary to stay calm.

"Listen, Malfoy." His voice came out in nothing but a whisper. "I'm really sorry you lost your friend-"

"Shut it, Potter, or I'll drop you."

There was no arguing that, so Harry pressed his lips together not only to show his husband that he was doing as he was told, but also to stop himself from whimpering at the growl in Malfoy's voice. Harry moved a little back and forth in Malfoy's lap, his hips moving in a motion that stroked Harry along Draco's length until Malfoy was so riled up that he grabbed Harry's hips, hard, and held him still, slamming their lips together. A soft moan escaped Harry's lips at the force the blonde was using, and he ran his hands up Malfoy's perfect torso all the way to his shoulders and along his neck.

When Harry's fingers found the thin strap of leather that bound Draco's hair together at the back of his head, Harry pulled at it. The soft, silver mass of hair fell between Harry's figers, and his heart skipped a beat. He had told Malfoy already that if they were ever arguing, all he had to do was let his hair down, and Harry would give up in an instant. So far, Malfoy had not abused this power, but Harry knew that he had saved that information in the back of his head for emergencies.

They had sex, then dinner, during which Malfoy told Harry all about his day and about the exams he had to prepare. In just one schoolyear, he had become several students' favourite professor, and even though Malfoy insisted that this was not a big deal, Harry kept arguing that it was.

"Malfoy, you have girls fighting over consultation hours," he pointed out, "and no one has skipped your class in months."

Malfoy rolled his eyes, but the smile on his lips wasn't able to be hidden even behind the glass of wine as he raised it to drink. "I'm sure that's not because of my excellent teaching skills, Potter."

Harry let out a laugh. "Are you suggesting your students fancy you for your looks?"

A grin tugged at the corners of Malfoy's lips, and he raised his eyebrows in a provocative manner. "Dangerous men have always been more interesting," he said. Malfoy leaned closer and lowered his voice. "You should know."

Harry choked on his sip of wine, which made his husband's grin widen. Harry gave him a look, then smiled, too. "Did you really just say that?"

"Why, yes, I did, Potter."

Just then, Harry realised how much he loved this joking and happy side of Malfoy. They had had far too little moments like these in weeks; all owing to Avery keeping them on their toes. Even when they stripped down to their underwear and socks and climbed into bed with the window open, but the curtains drawn, Harry was hoping that things were going to be okay for a while. Even though they still had no clue on how to actually find Avery, they had rescued the hostage, all the other houses were still shielded, and they had an insider working with them now.

Malfoy was lying on his side and furrowed his brow. "What are you smiling about?"

Harry turned his head to the side, looking away from the sliver of streetlight on the ceiling. Malfoy's eyes were confused, but he looked as happy as Harry felt. "Nothing," said Harry. "Tomorrow is just the first day in weeks where I won't have to wake up at five and come home sometime after midnight."

"You deserve it."

With a roll to his side, Harry grinned at Malfoy and pressed a kiss to his nose, which made him wrinkle his nose the way he always did. It was an adorable habit that made Harry want to kiss his nose even more. "Thank you, my love."

The face Draco made when Harry called him that was even better than the wrinkled nose. It was everything Harry dreamed about and everything that made his life worth living. It made his heart skip a beat and a chuckle escape his throat. Harry discovered every day again and again how very much in love with Malfoy he was.

"Hey, remember last night?" Malfoy asked suddenly.

Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Do you mean when we had earth-shattering sex? If so, then oh yes, I remember. If not, then you should probably be a bit more specific."

When Malfoy sat up, Harry's eyebrow lowered and furrowed. He was confused as to what was going on, so he sat up, too. "What's going on?"

"Remember when you said we should make a baby?"

Harry sat up even straighter now. "I do."

"Did you mean it?"

The expression on Malfoy's face was enough to make Harry's heart race. Were they really talking about this? For weeks, Harry had thought of nothing but Avery - finding Avery, getting back at Avery, saving people from Avery - but before that, before the horror had begun and team had been formed, taking up all of Harry's time, he had wondered what it would be like to have a family with Draco.

Of course, even last year when they had begun going out, Harry and Malfoy had been over the topic of children and families and their family names dying out with them. Harry had, back then, not been as stressed out about this as Malfoy had been. He remembered their conversation as if it were yesterday where Draco had been panicking about the fact that his last name would end with him and his parents would never have grandchildren. It wasn't that Harry hadn't been concerned about that and about the fact that even if they were to have children, they would never really be theirs.

"I did," Harry replied, ignoring the flutter in his stomach. "Someday when all of this is over, sure." The flutter died in an instant when he realised that this might not be the reason why Malfoy was mentioning this now. Maybe Malfoy didn't want to have children. Or not with Harry. What if- "What are you thinking?" he decided to ask instead of making himself crazy.

There was a soft smile on Draco's lips when Harry looked back at him, and his heart immediately unclenched. "That I love you more than anything in this world, and I would like nothing more than to have a child with you. Someday when all of this is over."

If Harry's cheeks had been hurting before, it was nothing compared to this. And Malfoy's smile was as beaming as the streetlamps outside; it could have turned the night into the brightest day. They kissed, tasting like wine and happiness, and Harry felt like he could finally breathe.