Always, Even After Death, It Seems

Draco pulled away from the kiss slowly, smiling down at the shorter boy, grinning broadly as he stroked his left cheek, “It feels so good to have finally done that.” he murmured to him.

Atlas couldn’t help the stupid grin that had made it’s way onto his face, “I agree completely. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted you to kiss me, my dragon.” he added cheekily with a wink, “Better late than never though.”

The blond chuckled, holding him close, ignoring the fact his cheeks were tinged pink, “I agree, better late than never, my prince and you seem to know how to wield that as a weapon.” he pointed out playfully, pecking his nose, referring to the wink.

The redhead smirked a bit, “I haven’t the faintest idea what you mean, Draco. Now, let’s get out of this alcove, it’s rude to dwell in places like bats.” he playfully jabbed.

He laughed softly at his words, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead, “Hm, I don’t think so, not yet, Atlas. I want at least one more kiss from my boyfriend, thanks.” he whispered the words with a smug smirk, knowing the words would disarm the shorter man.

He would have been scarlet if he could blush, but he simply smirked at him, “Boyfriend, eh? That was quick, I had been hoping you’d ask first, I’m a wizard of standard, you know, love.” he fondly teased.

Draco kissed his nose, “Atlas, will you be my boyfriend?” he asked with smugness in his voice.

He punched his shoulder playfully, “Shut up, you git, you know I’m going to say yes, I was just teasing.” he kissed his lips gently, pulling him down to his height.

The blond laughed against his lips, pulling him close to his chest as they kissed in the alcove. They parted the kiss and walked back to the Great Hall, sitting down next to Blaise.

The Italian wizard looked at them with an arched eyebrow, he asked, “You two seem awfully cosy again, all sorted?” he asked with a knowing smile.

Knowing no one else in the hall would understand, Atlas told him casually, “ Ovviamente dobbiamo tenerlo segreto, ma io e il mio drago ci stiamo frequentando. ” He told him that he and Draco were dating with a grin.

The dark skinned boy smirked at them, “Well, took you long enough, I’m very glad that you are, but is the secrecy necessary?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“For Pureblood reasons, yes, it is. His father can’t find out, because it would be dangerous for him and that’s the last thing I want to do for him, cause danger.” the redhead replied softly with consideration in his tone.

He nodded and replied, “Fair enough, but I suggest telling your friends, and telling them to be quiet about it.” He cast a quick glance to the pair of twins.

Draco looked confused, “Why would he need to tell them about it?” He hid the fact that he was a little bit jealous of his boyfriend’s closeness with the Weasley twins, but had never spoken about this.

“They’re my friends and deserve to know, star boy.” Atlas replied defensively, knowing that the twins would kill him if he didn’t tell them.

A hand squeezed his under the table as the blond spoke, “I know, I just don’t want anyone knowing, you know? How do you know we can trust them?”

The redhead looked a little offended, showing that he was his mother’s son as he replied, “Draco, they are my friends, and deserve to know important things in my life. I’ll tell them to keep it a secret, just calm down about it.”

He nodded and left it at that, not daring to even squeeze his hand when the redhead left the table to go and meet with the twins.

Blaise drawled with amusement, “Jealousy is an ugly emotion, Draco. He’s been friends with them for almost as long as you two have been friends, get over it.”

The blond scoffed, “I am not jealous of the Weasleys, don’t be stupid, Blaise. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and discreetly inform my godfather of certain things.” He sniffed and rose from his seat.

Atlas walked over to the Gryffindor table and told them, “Meet me in the usual place in ten minutes?” he gave them an excited grin.

George knew that something had happened between him and Malfoy, he wasn’t blind, but he feared that it might have something to do with the redhead’s mood, so he grinned back, “We’ll walk with you, red prince. Come on, Gred.” He got up, smiling when his twin followed him.

The three of them walked to the Room of Requirement, walking past it three times asking for a comfortable place to chat, which was given without fail. Atlas opened the door and walked in first. He looked at them with a warm smile, “I have some news, but it’s vital that you guys don’t tell anyone, like with me and my condition.” he explained, referring to his vampirism.

Fred rested a hand on the shorter man’s shoulder as he nodded, “It won’t go anywhere past this room, that’s a promise, little moon.” he ruffled his hair.

George nodded, feeling his heard sinking already but he replied casually enough, “It’s between us three and the four walls, red prince.” he playfully bowed, flopping down on a squashy armchair the room had provided.

Atlas giggled softly at the bow, it always made him glow for some reason when George did that, or made him laugh, it was unusual. He looked at them and grinned, “Draco apologised...in his own way, but he also told me that he likes me, and now we’re dating and I’m way too excited about it.” he spoke really quickly, sitting down on a squashy armchair too, laughing when the room changed it to a three-seater couch, and now he sat between the twins.

George felt his heart break at his words, but he saved face, smiling as best as he could, casually wrapping an arm around his shoulders at the new seating arrangement, “Oh Merlin, that’s great! I’m glad that the stupid git finally realised that you two were falling over each other.” he shot him a cheeky grin.

Fred could see it in his twin’s face that he was happy for the younger man, but heartbroken that it wasn’t him that was his boyfriend, all he could do was sympathise. He grinned and also wrapped an arm around his shoulders, “Well, I hope that the two of you will be happy. Will you two be public or...?” he asked curiously.

Atlas would have blushed, but he stared at the floor as he replied, “No...unfortunately, for his safety, we have to hide how we feel.” he looked sad at that, but smiled.

“That’s a bit shit, but I know it’ll make you happy, so alright.” Fred replied but then added, “I just hope he won’t hurt you, Al.” he nudged him gently.

George added, “He’d better not, because I don’t know about anyone else, but us and Harry will be right pissed if he does.”

Atlas jumped up from the embrace, “I completely forgot that I’m going to see my papa for tea! I have to go, I’m sorry but I’ll see you tomorrow? Sorry...” he stumbled voer his words.

They smiled at him and assured him that it was fine, watching as he dashed from the room.

Fred turned to his twin and told him, “Well, I told you, Georgie. Tell him while you could, but now it’s too late. As bad as it is for me to say, Malfoy will probably hurt him, so if he does, be there for him and you might be lucky.”

George gave his twin a watery-eyed look as he replied, “I hope he doesn’t hurt him, as much as I want him to be mine instead, Freddie. Come on, let’s get cracking on this prank, eh?” he grinned, planning with his twin.

A few weeks later, the blond had been on a few secret dates with the redhead. Once, they had almost gotten caught holding hands by Pansy who was infuriated by this, and didn’t like that. Little did the dragon know, she wrote to his father, telling him that she thinks he might be gay, something very dangerous indeed to tell Lucius Malfoy about his son.

A few days later, Draco got a letter from his father in the Great Hall, and felt himself grow even paler, it was about his oldest friend.

The letter read; ‘My son, I have heard some displeasing news from your ex-fiancee, who has since nullified her betrothal contract with the Malfoy family. This is not good news, my son. You know that you must marry one of the other members of your own tier of society, not someone below your station. If you are, as suspected, a homosexual, you have brought shame on this family, and are no longer my son. I have arranged another betrothal contract for you with one of Walter Greengrass’ daughters, Astoria. You are to marry her son, begin your courting while in Hogwarts. If I find out that you are affiliating yourself with someone other than her, I will properly discipline you when you come home for the summer. Your father, Lucius.’

Draco felt his throat tighten, and he put the letter away, noticing the dark haired girl talking to her lighter brunette sister far away at the table. He gulped, seeing his bride-to-be and sighed, knowing he must succumb to his fate, to make his parents proud. ...But it hurt his heart to know that he would have to break up with his boyfriend, because he would miss that sassy, mischievous boy with green eyes. He put the letter into his robes pocket and kept an emotionless mask on his face, used to doing so. He got out a quill and ink, writing on it, ‘Meet me in an empty classroom in ten minutes – D’. He blew it towards the Gryffindor table, where his boyfriend was sitting with his best friends.

Atlas grinned at the note, taking his wand from behind his ear as he transfigured a napkin into parchment as he took a quill and ink out of his satchel, writing a reply quickly, ‘Very well, love - A’ He excused himself from the table with the twins, looking shy, he walked over to Draco as he asked, “Draco, come on, we need to finish our Potions essay.” He had been taught to school his emotions from his father as of late, and had since, been using those lessons wisely.

The blond nodded, getting up from his chair, escusing himself from their fellow Slytherins, “Of course, Altas.” he walked with him, seeing those green eyes go dull, it broke his heart a little to see them lose their usually practically dancing sparkle full of mischief. Once they were alone, and the door to the classroom locked, the taller boy held him close in his arms, pressing soft kisses to his boyfriend’s face, just about getting out, “I got a letter from my father.” he closed his eyes, “He’s suspicious, because Pansy sent him a letter saying that she things I’m gay. This is so dangerous, Atlas. If he knows…I don’t want to think about–”

The redhead pressed his lips against his, holding him close, soft fingerst stroking his face reverently, “Ssh , I know, love. I know how dangerous it is if he finds out about us. We’ll just have to be more careful, I guess.” he looked at him, a little mischief returning to his green gaze.

Draco’s voice cracked as eh spoked, “...No.” He sucked in a breath, not even bothering to put up his walls of being a snooty Pureblood aristocrat at the moment, it would only cause more pain, “No, my prince. He’s gone and betrothed me to Astoria Greengrass, ordering me to begin courting her at Hogwarts.” 

Atlas blinked a few times, unable to stop the laughter that bubbled in his throat and kept going until he doubled over, a wide grin on his face, “That’s rich, considering I know for a fact she at the very least likes both.” This gave him hope, because if the two of them could somehow find a way to confuse Lucius into thinking Draco was being a good little Pureblood prince and dating his would-be wife while he actually was with his boyfriend, then he wouldn’t have to go through such serious heartbreak that he had set himself up for.

Draco looked offended at his laughter, but then his eyebrows knitted, “That can’t be right, I overheard her talking to her sister yesterday about how, and I quote, ‘dreamy’ me, you and Blaise were.” He was confused, but if they could somehow turn this to their advantage, he would do his best to save the sweet redhead from as less pain as possible. He grabbed his hands, “If she is, then maybe we can make this work to our advantage.”

A curve of his lips pressed against his boyfriend’s chin gently, “There’s the boy I know, Narcissa’s son. Come on, use that sharp blond head of yours and help me ruse a way of using this for our gain, my dragon.” he playfully scolded him.

Draco chuckled softly, “Demanding, aren’t we, my prince? Alright, let’s try and figure something out then.” He took his hands, moving them to wrap his arms around his boyfriend, kissing him a few times. They talked for awhile, trying to find out a way to turn the situation on it’s head, thankfully having put a silencing charm on the classroom they were using.

It came to a point where Atlas simply deduced, “I’m going to invite her to tea in my quarters, I still share with my papa but he promised that would change once sixth year ended which is ages away but still, you see my point, don’t you?” he asked, looking at him, long hair moving with him in it's tidy ponytail.

Draco kissed his lips gently, resting his forehead on top of his head, “It’s worth a shot, and if not, then I’m sorry, but I can’t outwardly defy my father, handsome. I care deeply for you, but…” he trailed off, not knowing what to say, looking hopeless.

He kissed his cheek, reaching up to stroke his neck gently, “Had either one of us been born the opposite gender, this would be fine. I know it would, I know it would. Lucius is an arrogant fool and dammit, Gryffindor or not, I still say Sirius is a better godfather than your father could ever be.” he firmly stated, his gaze going a little hard, eyes sharpening to cut emeralds. He nodded firmly, defiant now, “I will find a way to make this work for us.” he whispered.

Draco whispered with worry, “If not, I’m going to have to court her, there’s nothing I can do about it. I know how much it’ll hurt you, I’m sorry. And the worst thing is…I’ll have to be a snooty prick about it.” he scowled, hating his pristine Pureblood prince act with an astounding degree of malice.

In a voice barely above a whisper, Atlas replied, “I know, I don’t like it, and I won’t lie to you, I’ll be heartbroken, but I’ll survive.” He let hsi head fall onto Draco’s shoulder, simply just standing there with each other, leaning on each other like they had all of their lives, the blond's pale fingers stroking his hair.

The next morning at breakfast, Atlas was a man on a mission to ask the brunette to tea that evening, but she beat him to it, walking over to him and Draco, smiling sunnily at them both, “Good morning, boys.” she greeted sweetly, seeming to know exactly what was going on.

“Miss Greengrass, I would require a word with you, in private, if that would be alright.” Atlas asked her, sounding eerily like his father, not that he noticed, it was simply how he had been raised. Last names and titles meant authority, formality and respect.

She laughed softly, smiling at him, “Don’t be so formal about it, Mr. Prince, I know I’m a lady of the sacred twenty-eight, but there’s no need to act differently. I was simply going to say good morning to my betrothed.” the smile she shot the blond was ladylike and soft.

He frowned at the fact that she seemed to know exactly what was going on, so he simply nodded, “Very well. In that case, may I call you Astoria?” he asked with an innocuous enough tone, noticing her hair was tied up, which wasn’t uncommon for a witch of status.

"Of course you may, but I ask that I call you Atlas in return." Astoria replied wittily with a smile. It was true, she found both boys charming and handsome but one would only need to observe the redhead’s mannerisms to know he wasn't Pureblood but also definitely not a Muggleborn wizard either.

Atlas nodded, offering her his hand to shake, as if introducing himself, "Very well, Astoria." He nodded to her, letting go of her hand as he added, "Draco is very dear to me, one might say we're closer than brothers." He smiled a little, "It would be my pleasure if you would join us both for tea service after dinner this evening." 

The brunette giggled slightly, squeezing his hand before letting go, "It would be my pleasure and sounds quite delightful." Astoria replied kindly.

He was slightly taken aback at her instant agreeable  nature. The woman was a flower like her name, but that didn't mean he had to like her, in fact, it made it both harder and easier to dislike her.

Draco smiled at them both, "Thank you, my lady. it will be nice for the three of us to gave a little chat." he nodded, taking some breakfast from the silver platters on the Slytherin table.

Atlas usually took breakfast with the twins and Harry, bur he was almost frightened to do so, but it would seem out of place if he did, so he smiled at them, looking at Draco, "I'm going to have breakfast with my cousin, like usual, so see you both later." he told them, trying not to sound panicked or afraid.

Draco sniffed a little, across in place, "The sort of people you consort with Atlas, honestly. If they weren't practically familiar to you, then I would wonder why you always take breakfast in the company of blood traitors."

Astoria looked a bit  shocked, "He eats at the Gryffindor table?" she asked, judgement in her tone.

Atlas bit his tongue and turned to Draco with a sigh, "I promised my mother I would, for her sake." That wasn't a lie, Lily had asked him not to just associate with Slytherins because she was afraid they would turn him, introducing him to the dark like they had his father. He got up from the table and walked to sit between the twins, smiling a little at them, "Hey, twins." 

George could hear it in his voice that he was hurting, so he grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightky, "What's wrong, Al?"

He hesitated as he filled his plate with fruit and pastries, "Do you know Occlumency by any chance, George?" He mysteriously replied.

The taller boy chuckled a bit at his mystery but nodded, "Yeah, we had to learn it about a year ago to keep our map safe… why do you ask, red prince?" He added curiously, stirring cinnamon and honey into his porridge.

Atlas thanked his lucky star, using the skill he'd learned young, 'My dad taught me when I was very young, to keep my condition a secret.' He ate a pastry as he added, 'Draco got threatened by his father to chat up his fiancée or he'll disown him. Don't worry, we have a plan.' He sipped his coffee.

George looked at him sympathetically as he replied, thrilled to be trusted to enter his mind, 'No use telling me not to worry, because me and Freddie do. I hope your plan goes well, I don't want you to gey hurt.' He ate his porridge, wanting to hug him desperately, hold him close, card his fingers through his friend's pretty red curls and tell him it would be okay.

Atlas looked down at his food, 'For both our sakes, I hope it works, Gred.' 

The gentle sound to his voice hurt him to hear because he knew he was hiding his pain, and quite masterfully. George nudged his knee against his thigh in a friendly gesture, "Are you dobe? Fred wanted to know if you wanted to help us prank ickle Ronnie." he grinned.

It was too early for Harry to be in the Great Hall anyways, so he grinned right back, "When do I not want to prank Ron? Let's go." Atlas got to his feet, falling over a scarf someone had left on the floor, expecting to fall when his hand kept him upright, so he turned and saw George holding his hand tightky.

"Are you okay? Some bloody idiot left their scarf on the floor." George asked with worry, trying not to think about the scenario he was playing in his head – catching him in his arms and joking that he'd fallen for him.

Something twitched in Atlas' heart, but he wasn't sure what it was, but he flashed a lopsided smile at George, "Yeah, come on, let's go." 

They walked out of the Great Hall, spotting Fred flirting with Angelina Johnson, the brilliant Quidditch player, trying to ask her out on a date. By his grin, it had gone well. The trio of redheads went to the Room of Requirement and planned their prank on Ron Weasley for being a tosser to Ginny, the twins' first year sister, who the three of them were protective of.