Nearly

A week before the July full moon, Sirius comes home from work with a package that he places on the kitchen table before making himself a cup of coffee. Harry looks up from his toast curiously and reaches for it. It’s wrapped in the regular, non-descript brown paper that most shops in Diagon Alley tend to favour, but the small seal stamped on the side says ”Slug & Jiggers apothecary, est. 1207”

”What’s this?” he asks his dad. 

Sirius glances over his shoulder and gives Harry an exasperated once-over. 

”Is that your breakfast? Did you just get up?” 

”No…” Harry lies. ”What’s in the package?”

”It’s your daddy’s wolfsbane. Don’t break it.”

”I wasn’t going to break it”, Harry huffs. ”I’m not a kid…”

”No?” Sirius says with a teasing grin as he brings his coffee cup over to the table and plops down in the seat opposite Harry. ”When did that happen, then?”

Harry sticks out his tongue at him and the man lets out a bark of laughter. 

”Why’d you go to Slug and Jiggers for the wolfsbane?”

”They have it on special order for Remus and a few other customers…”

”Why can’t Professor Snape continue to make it for him—?”

”Because, Harry…” Remus says as he joins them in the kitchen. ”I’m not a Hogwarts professor anymore, so he has no obligation to help me.”

Remus bends down to give Sirius a quick kiss, before taking the seat next to him. 

”I’m sure he wouldn’t mind”, Harry says. 

”I’m sure he would”, Sirius mutters, but Harry and Remus both ignore him. 

”I’m sure he wouldn’t either, but I don’t want to put him out. It’s not an easy potion to make and he’s got enough on his plate as it is… How was work?” he asks his husband, combing his fingers through the man’s hair briefly. 

”It was uneventful.”

”That’s good…” 

”Says you”, Sirius mutters. ”If I’m stuck inside for another day without much to do, I’m going to go stir crazy…”

”I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

”Look, I’ve told you a thousand times, just because I’m not allowed to talk about it doesn’t mean it’s dangerous…”

Remus just gives him a doubtful look and turns back to Harry and asks him if he’s cleaned his room yet. Harry can see the subtle tension of fatigue around his daddy’s eyes now, one of the early signs of the transformation… Around this time tomorrow, Harry knows the man will be weak and poorly. 

”Well, you’ll have about four days to get it done while I’m away”, Remus mutters. 

”Daddy… Why don’t you just stay home?” Harry asks carefully, then looks between his dads as the two men exchange an uncomfortable glance. 

”Harry, we’ve been over this—”

”Yeah, but I don’t get it. You have the wolfsbane, so why do you have to go away?… Professor Snape explained to me how it works”, he adds quickly. ”It allows you to keep your — ehm — mental whatsits—”

”Faculties?” Remus guesses with a smirk. 

”Yeah, that one”, Harry nods. 

”Do you know what that means?”

”Yeeees…” Harry says slowly and rolls his eyes. ”Your mind stays human, it’s just your body that turns, so it’s perfectly safe…”

Remus looks down and nods, ”Yes, it is. I usually just curl up and sleep through the full moon.”

”Yeah!” Harry says. ”So why don’t you just do that here?”

Remus says nothing for a moment, just shifts awkwardly in his seat. Sirius watches him carefully and says nothing either, until the other man shoots him a quick glance. Then he grabs his husband’s hand, and turns to Harry.

”That’s a good idea, Harry and I’m sure we’ll do it that way in the future but I don’t think your daddy is quite ready for it yet…”

Harry frowns, ”Why?”

”Harry…” Remus says heavily, but trails off. 

”I’ll leave you alone, I promise—”

”No, I know, but I just don’t like the idea of transforming with you nearby—”

”But it’s safe—”

”Yes, so far I’ve been lucky enough to only receive properly brewed wolfsbane, but there is a possibility, even if it is a small one, that the brewer might have made a mistake with the batch and—”

”That’s just paranoid”, Harry interrupts. 

”And… The idea of you seeing me in my wolf form makes me uncomfortable, as well”, Remus adds, avoiding his eyes. 

”I’ve already seen you once”, Harry reminds him. ”You were howling and everything—”

”Harry”, Sirius snaps.

”—and I wasn’t even scared of you then!” Harry finishes stubbornly. 

”Harry, that’s enough”, Sirius says sternly. ”Your daddy’s not ready and you have to respect that.”

”Fine…” Harry says heavily and slouches down in his seat. ”Can I ask one more thing though?”

”No—” Sirius starts, but Remus gives his hand a squeeze and he cuts himself off. 

”Of course you can, Harry…” 

”Can I become an animagus?”

Both his dads blink in surprise. Whatever they expected him to ask, it obviously wasn’t that. The two men exchange a look and Harry can tell his dad at least seems to like the idea.

”Please?” Harry adds hopefully and turns to Remus.

”Not before you’ve finished school”, Remus says finally.

”But you said it takes years”, Harry protests. ”I’ll be in my twenties by the time I’ve finished if I don’t start now!”

”Well, then, you’ll be in your twenties”, Remus says. ”I want you to focus on your education.”

”But it would be part of my education!” Harry counters, then immediately changing tactics when his daddy simply frowns at him. ”What if I promise to keep my grades up? In all my classes, including Potions and Transfiguration? And get at least two Os and three Es in my O.W.L.S? And—”

”Tell you what”, Remus interrupts. ”I will make you a deal… If you pass all your O.W.L.S you can start the process of becoming an animagus after that. If you don’t pass them, you will have to wait another two years until you’re of age, after which you can do whatever you want.”

Harry had hoped he’d be able to persuade his dads to let him start immediately, but his daddy has his stubborn face on so he knows this is the best he’ll get and nods his agreement. 

He gets up early the next day so that he can have breakfast with his dads before they take off. Remus hugs him goodbye and promises to be back for his birthday, then brushes a kiss over the lightening bolt scar on his forehead. 

After they leave, Harry takes all of Draco’s letters outside and sprawls out on the lawn. Draco has been writing him almost daily, telling him all about this little seaside town in France where he’s holidaying with his mother for the month of July and if Harry reads them chronologically it’s almost as if he’s right there with him. 

Harry closes his eyes and focuses on the warmth of the sun beating down on him… He can almost imagine himself on a beach in France right now, with Draco stretched out in the sand next to him. He pictures the lazy rush of waves lapping against the shore and the frantic shrieks of seagulls. Draco’s hair would be almost white from the sun, maybe his skin would be a nice cream tan instead of his usual porcelain complexion…

Harry smiles to himself… No, something tells him Draco’s skin doesn’t fair that well in the sun. If anything he’s more likely to burn and somehow the idea of Draco with a pink nose makes Harry smile even wider; He can just imagine the blonde compulsively rubbing a protective potion into his skin every five minutes and walking around with a frilly parasol just to give himself some shade — 

”Hey, you lazy pooch…” 

Harry opens his eyes again and squints at the doorway where his dad is lounging against the frame with a teasing grin on his face.

”I distinctly remember you promising your daddy you were going to clean your room…”

Harry props himself up on his elbows, ”What are you doing back? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

”They can survive without me for one day”, Sirius says with a shrug. 

”Dad…” Harry says in exasperation and gives the man his sternest frown. ”I’m fourteen, I don’t need constant supervision!”

”Yeah, I know!” Sirius says. ”Want to shoot some hoops?”

Harry feels a grin tug on his own lips, but stubbornly pinches them together. 

”You can be Keeper!”

”Fine…” Harry mutters and jumps to his feet. ”But I’m no good at it… I wish we had a Snitch.”

Something wistful comes over his dads face and Harry’s heart stutters in his chest; He knows that look. It’s the look his dad gets when he remembers his school days… More specifically, he usually gets that look whenever Harry does or says something that reminds him of James… Ducking his head, Harry quickly crouches down to redo the laces on his trainers and hopes his dad won’t say it aloud, whatever it is. But when he stands back up, the grin on his dad’s face is definitely nostalgic and Harry swallows a sigh. 

”James had a Snitch that he used to play with”, he says offhandedly, but the melancholic glint in his eyes betrays him. ”Stole it from Quidditch practise in our fifth year… He used to let it get a few feet away and then he’d catch it again. He had incredible reflexes.”

”Okay…” Harry says awkwardly. 

”I’m sorry I missed seeing you play, Harry… If I’d have known it’d be your only year on the team, I’d have tried calling in dead instead of sick”, he adds jokingly. 

”Right, well”, Harry mutters. ”Snape might let me play again this year…”

”If he does, I promise I won’t miss a game.”

”I might not be as good anymore, I haven’t played for over a year…” 

”You’ll be fine, it’s in your blood—!”

”Right”, Harry mumbles. ”So do you want to play, then?”

True to his word, Remus returns the night before Harry’s birthday and although he is clearly still recovering from his transformation, he stays up to cuddle with Harry and Sirius on the sofa. Sipping hot chocolate, they discuss what to do for Harry’s birthday and Harry asks if he can invite Draco over again. 

”Didn’t you say the Malfoys are in France?” Remus asks, petting Harry’s hair absent-mindedly.

”Yeah, but they get back tomorrow. So can I invite him over for lunch next week?” 

”Why don’t you invite your others friends too and we’ll make a party of it?” Remus suggests.

”Really?” Harry says excitedly. 

”If you want, sure…” 

His first birthday party! Well, with other kids, at least. One or two times when Harry was younger they’d have guests over for this birthday, but it was always friends or colleagues of his dads and never any other children, because his dads didn’t really know anyone with children Harry’s age and there weren’t any in the area where they lived either, so he never really had friends before he started Hogwarts. 

Why he hasn’t had a birthday party and invited his friends from there since he started school, he’s not sure. But considering both his first and second year at Hogwarts ended with a life-threatening adventures, he supposes his dads just wanted to keep him safe and all to themselves for the summer… Or maybe it just hadn’t occurred to them either. Regardless, Harry can’t be more excited about it! 

As soon as his dads have said good night to him and shut themselves in the master bedroom, Harry grabs a quill, an ink pot and some parchment then throws himself down on top of his bed to compose a letter to Draco telling him all about it. 

The next morning Harry is woken up with the traditional belting out of Happy birthday to you and a symbolic breakfast in bed that they end up carrying back out into the kitchen as soon as Harry has blown out the candles on top of the cake, and of course his dads take turns commenting on how much he’s grown and how they can’t believe it. Harry just rolls his eyes and smiles as Sirius reaches out to ruffle his already messy hair. 

As he hops down from the bed to follow Remus out of the room, Harry nearly trips over Selina who is eagerly running figure eights between his legs, but Sirius catches him with accustomed ease and they make their way out into the kitchen together, where two long rows of birthday cards are waiting for Harry, lined up on display on his side of the table. A handfull of them have little wrapped gifts behind them as well and Harry eagerly moves down the length of the table, scanning the signatures. 

He’s received cards from both the Weasley family and Granger again, and also from Hagrid (fortunately unaccompanied by biting literature this time),  Colin Creevey and half the Slytherins in his own year and above, including his closest friends Seamus, Blaise and Theodore, who have all included small gifts. 

And then, of course, there’s a card from Draco, with both a letter and a gift attached. Ignoring all the others, Harry eagerly picks that gift up first and almost immediately drops it again. It’s a lot heavier than he expected. 

”The poor owl that delivered it nearly passed out”, Remus tells him. ”I gave it some water and one of Hedwig’s treats, then let it rest for a few minutes…”

”How heavy is it?” Sirius asks curiously and grabs it from Harry. ”Not too bad…”

”Give it back”, Harry says impatiently.

As he snatches the package out of his dad’s hand again, he almost drops it for the second time but it catches on the edge of the table and topples over with a thump, sending several cards flying. 

Remus gathers them up with a soft sigh and puts them all in a neat stack at Harry’s elbow, before he continues setting the table for breakfast. Harry mumbles a quick thanks and starts tearing the wrapping off the quite heavy gift, revealing a thick, leather bound book… 

Except it’s not just a book, Harry realises quickly. Because the golden inscription on the front cover isn’t a title or the name of an author, but a large illustration depicting two Quidditch players flying high in the sky, both chasing a golden Snitch and beaming… One of them has light hair, the other dark hair and round glasses… And if he squints, Harry can even make out a tiny little jagged line on that player’s forehead… A scar shaped like a lightening bolt… He huffs out a chuckle… 

”He gave you a book?” Sirius says sceptically. 

”Yeah… No”, Harry says. ”I don’t think —”

He flips open the book eagerly to see if his hunch is true… The very first page has a drawing on it that is identical to the illustration on the front cover, except more rich in details and with a lot more depth due to the shading… Harry doesn’t know much about art, or specifically drawing, but he can tell that there is definitely some talent behind this. But then again, maybe he’s just biased. Because even though he’s never actually seen Draco with a pencil, there’s something about this drawing that reminds him of the Christmas card Draco made him three years ago which makes him certain that Draco has made this as well. 

Harry holds the book up and looks at the drawing from a bit more of a distance, spotting the signature at the bottom of the page for the first time; Draco Malfoy, June 1993

”Oh, wow…” Remus murmurs from behind Harry. ”Did Draco draw that? It’s really quite good…”

”Yeah…” Harry says, feeling oddly out of breath. 

”Look, Sirius…” Remus says. ”Draco made a drawing of him and Harry playing Quidditch together…”

The other man heaves a sigh, but pushes himself to his feet and comes to stand behind Harry’s chair next to Remus. 

”Oh yeah…” he says. ”Very cute… Did he make a whole book?”

”No!” Harry says, chuckling nervously. ”Don’t be silly —”

But as he starts to flick through the book, it soon becomes evident that there are drawings on every single page and they get better and better, except some are obviously done in a hurry and contain more frantic scratches than any actual shading, but those are almost more beautiful somehow… Raw in their emotion and just… real, Harry thinks, pausing at one in particular that really catches his eye.

”That one’s a bit dark, isn’t it…” Sirius mutters.

Harry gives a non-commital hm, because yes it is dark, but there’s something about it that just draws Harry in. There’s a sadness to it, a vulnerability that is just beautiful. It’s impossible to tell if it’s meant to be him or Draco or someone else, but it’s obviously a boy, sitting curled up against a wall and with his arms curled over his bowed head. Harry can almost feel the tension in the boy’s shoulders and, even though the face is hidden and there is no possible way of telling, he’s just sure the boy is crying… Glancing down at the date at the bottom of the page, Harry’s heart stutters in his chest; Hallowe’en 1993

That’s the night I found Draco crying in the bathroom, he thinks.

He quickly flicks back to a page where there’s a sketch of him, in profile, sitting in a classroom and it’s dated 1st of October 1993. 

”Oh wow…” he mumbles. ”It’s the whole year.”

”What’s that, pup?” Remus says, combing his fingers through his hair. 

”Draco, he — he drew these — one every day — all year, look, look at the dates!”

Harry quickly flicks through some of the book’s pages, indicating the dates at the bottom. Then lets it fall open to very last page — 7th of June 1994 — which is a drawing of Draco himself, sitting hunched over at a desk and writing something with a quill, looking almost transparent as a ghost in the flood of sunlight streaming in through the large window in front of him. 

”That’s amazing, Harry…” Remus says and bends down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, before walking back over to the stove to finish up breakfast. ”Are you going to open your other presents as well?”

”Mm, yeah, in a minute…” Harry mumbles. ”They’re really good, aren’t they? I mean, he’s really talented, isn’t he?”

”Yeah, very”, Remus agrees. 

”No, but, really”, Harry insists and looks up finally. ”Not just because it’s Draco. Wouldn’t you still think so even if you didn’t know who made them? If you saw this”, he tilts the book up, showing them a particularly detailed drawing of Harry and Seamus playing Exploding Snap in the Common Room. ”Framed on a wall somewhere, or in a book, and you had no idea who’d made it, wouldn’t you still think it was really good?”

”Yes, Harry”, Remus says slowly. ”I think they’re really good. Really.”

”They’re okay”, Sirius says, then lets out a bark of laughter at Harry’s sharp look. ”I’m kidding! They’re good!”

”I can’t believe he made one every day, all that time… We weren’t even talking”, Harry says. ”I thought he hated me!”

”I’m glad it all worked out”, Remus says. ”Now clear the table please, so we can eat.”

Harry and Remus spend the entire afternoon planning the party, or rather Remus plans the party and Harry agonises over the guest list, unsure whether he should invite Ron and the twins or not… He’d really like to, but he knows Draco won’t be too pleased if he invites Ron, and he can’t very well invite the twins and not invite Ron as well… That’s a good point, he thinks to himself. Maybe if I invite Ron and the twins, I should invite Ginny as well. 

He really doesn’t fancy having the Weasley girl at his party. She’d cooled down considerably the previous year compared to the one before, but Harry still gets flash backs of a red-faced dwarf dressed like Cupid singing about his eyes being the colour of a freshly pickled toad whenever he sees the girl, and he really wouldn’t feel comfortable having her in his home. The twins on the other hand would be awesome to have around, and Ron too if Draco didn’t get so bent out of shape around him… 

Finally, when he still hasn’t come to a decision and it’s almost time for supper, Harry decides to ask his daddy for advice. 

”I think you should invite whomever you want”, Remus says simply. 

Harry slumps over his empty guest list with a sigh. 

”All right…” Remus says. ”Why don’t you just invite your closest friends from Slytherin?”

”So you don’t think I should invite the Weasleys?” Harry asks uncertainly. 

”If you really think it’s going to make Draco feel uncomfortable to have Ron at the party, I think it might be a better idea not to… If anyone asks, you can just tell them your dad and I wanted to keep it small and intimate.”

Harry nods, feeling strangely relieved over not having to make the decision himself. 

”I doubt anyone will ask though”, he says and starts jotting down Seamus’s name on top of the list. ”They all think I’m weird for even saying hello to the Gryffindors, so…”

”Don’t worry, they’ll start talking to people from the other houses before long…”

”You think?”

”That’s what happened when I was at school”, Remus tells him. ”Towards the end of fifth year people started making friends in other houses, I remember… Not so much the Slytherins, actually, now that I think about it, except for… Well…”

”What?” Harry says curiously. 

”Nothing”, Remus says and shakes his head dismissively. ”Anyway. That was just our year. I’m sure it will be different for you. I mean, it already is, isn’t it? You already have friends in Gryffindor, don’t you?”

”Yeah…” Harry says. ”Kind of, I guess. But I’m half-Gryffindor too…”

”Well…” Remus says vaguely and combs his fingers through Harry’s hair with a smile. 

”Daddy, did you have any friends in Slytherin?”

”No, not… exactly… I mean, I was friendly with most people, including the Slytherins.”

”Were you friendly with Professor Snape?”

”Sure”, Remus says breezily. ”Now, finish that list so we can get those invitations out.”

”I’m done!” Harry says and waves the guest list in front of his daddy’s face until the man plucks it from him. 

”This is it?” he asks with a frown. 

”You said to invite my closest friends!”

”Yeah, I know… But…”

”In Slytherin!”

”Yeah, I know what I said, Harry. But I was expecting at least five guests. Are you sure you don’t want to invite anyone else?”

”I guess I can invite the Quidditch team…”

”What about the rest of your year?”

”I’m not inviting Pansy!” Harry says with a burst of passion that makes Remus raise an eyebrow at him. 

”That’s fine, but aren’t there any more boys in your year? I really think you should invite everyone from your dorm at least, or it might get awkward when school starts…”

”Ugh…” Harry moans. ”Do I have to?”

”No, you don’t have to”, Remus mutters. ”I just think it might be a good idea.”

”What’s a good idea?” Sirius asks loudly as he strides into the room and hops up to sit on top of the kitchen counter, but quickly hops down again when Remus gives him a sharp look. 

”For Harry to invite all the Slytherin boys in his year.”

”That’s your definition of a good idea?” 

”Sirius…”

”What? Fine… Who don’t you want to invite, Harry?”

”Crabbe and Goyle”, Harry mumbles. ”They’re thick and mean, and we’ve said maybe three words to each other since we got Sorted…”

”Fine…” Remus says in exasperation. ”You don’t have to invite them. Just… Invite the Quidditch team and then that’ll be it.”

”Flint too?” Harry says sceptically. 

”Or don’t”, Remus snaps and lifts his hands in defeat. ”Four guests is fine!”

”Great!” Harry says with a grin. 

Harry sends Hedwig with the invitations immediately and then starts helping Remus plan the menu. Much like the time they had Draco over for lunch, they end up indecisive over what to make and finally decide to make a little bit of everything including two different flavoured cakes and a considerable assortment of biscuits and other desserts. 

”How many are coming again?” Sirius asks, frowning at the massive spread of foods on the kitchen table and counter on the morning of the party. 

”Harry is really getting the hang of this!” Remus says proudly, ignoring his husband’s question even as he curls his arm around his waist and leans in for a quick kiss. 

”Yeah?” Sirius murmurs, chasing the other man’s lips as soon as he leans back again and steals a second peck. 

”You guys…” Harry groans. ”Impressionable youth in the room!”

Sirius lets out an amused snort and immediately snakes his arm around Remus shoulders and tips him back, muffling the other man’s startled yelp with searing kiss. 

”Dad—!” Harry cries and smacks his hands over his eyes, and doesn’t remove them again until he hears both his dads start laughing. 

”Yeah, he’s really quite talented”, Remus says, smoothly steering the conversation back on track. ”Must be all those Potions lessons…”

”I quite love cooking”, Harry admits, eager to change the subject back as well. ”It’s even more fun than Potions though, because the worst thing that will happen if I don’t follow the recipe exactly is that it might taste a little differently so there’s really no pressure… Plus you get to taste what you’ve made after you’re done!”

”Yes, well”, Remus mutters good-naturedly. ”If you taste any more, there won’t be anything left for your guests… Speaking of which, they should be here soon, so why don’t you go get yourself ready while I finish up here?”

”Okay!” Harry says and darts out of the kitchen. 

He takes a quick a quick bath and makes a sloppy attempt to tame his damp-yet-still-inexplicably-wild hair, before running out of the bathroom and skidding to a halt inside his bedroom, where he ignores the dress robes his daddy has laid out for him on the bed and dresses instead in a pair of trousers and a casual button down shirt. 

He’s not surprised to see that Seamus and Theodore have also chosen to go with a casual attire, nor is he surprised to see both Blaise and Draco decked out in the smartest of dress robes. Probably not by choice at all, Harry guesses, knowing both boys’ families are a lot more strict about things like etiquette than either Seamus’ or his own, and probably Theodore’s as well. Also, both boys have found their own subtle ways of revolting to said etiquette, if you look a little closer… Blaise’s collar is unbuttoned at the top and he’s wearing shoes in the wrong shade, whereas Draco’s entire outfit is immaculate but his hair hangs freely in his face, his fringe just slightly too long… Harry’s stomach flutter as soon as he sees him and those steel grey eyes flicker over to meet his from underneath what can only be described as a delicate curtain of pearly-blonde hair. 

The boys spend a good two hours eating their way through the small feast Harry and Remus have prepared, then move out into the back garden for a game of Quidditch. Theodore insists Harry and Draco be on opposite teams, as they’re the ones with actual Quidditch match experience and it would be unfair on the other team if they teamed up. 

”Not really”, Harry argues. ”We’re both Seekers and we haven’t got a Snitch, so…”

”Yeah but you’ve still been on an actual Quidditch team and practised it on a regular basis!”

”I haven’t played for over a year—”

”Just leave off, Harry!” Theodore snaps. ”You’re on different teams, deal with it!”

”Fine…” Harry mutters and rolls his eyes. ”I don’t even care, anyway…”

Seamus lets out a derisive snort, but just shakes his head when Harry shoots him a sharp look. 

”Or…” Blaise says slowly. ”Seeing as we’re an uneven number, why don’t we let the birthday boy play with his teammate of choice and the three of us team up?”

”Oh, yeah, that’s fair!” Draco says. 

”I think so”, Blaise grins. ”Quality versus quantity, old chap!”

”I’m fine with that”, Seamus says and shrugs. 

”I’m not!” Draco says. ”What, you’re going to have a Beater on your team? Or two Keepers?”

”No, Seamus and Theodore will both be Chasers and I’ll be Keeper”, Blaise suggests. ”That’s the most fair.”

”It’s not fair though”, the blonde insists. ”They’ll be able to pass the Quaffle to each other. Harry won’t stand a chance!”

”Then what do you suggest, Draco?” Harry asks. 

”We take turns!” Draco says with a eye roll that speaks volumes. 

”All right”, Harry nods. ”Let’s do that, then!”

Theodore immediately opens his mouth, presumably to protest, but Seamus swiftly elbows him in the stomach and he doubles over with a gasp. 

”Let’s do it!” Seamus exclaims happily. ”Nott, you’re on the bench!”

The others exchange confused looks. 

”What bench?” Blaise says.

”Sorry that’s a muggle football term”, Seamus says. ”It means he sits out until one of his teammates wants to switch.”

”Okay”, Harry says. ”Theo, you okay with that?”

”Yes…” the other boy mutters, sending a glare in Seamus direction as he sits down crosslegged in the grass, still rubbing his tummy. 

As it turns out, it’s a very close match. Draco is very quick and with only the one hoop he should be able to save the Quaffle from going through it every time, but halfway through the match Seamus discovers his weakness… If he throws the Quaffle as hard as he can and aims it straight at Draco, the blonde will instinctively swerve to the side or duck in order to avoid being hit, allowing the Quaffle to shoot through the hoop behind him. Harry would be exasperated, and even annoyed with his teammate, if he didn’t look so adorably ruffled and abashed when he repositioned himself in front of the hoop, blushing a vivid pink and swatting his fringe out of his eyes. 

Even after Seamus has figured out how to score on Draco they’re still fairly evenly matched though, since Blaise hasn’t been on a broomstick since their flying lessons with Madam Hooch in first year and Harry can easily feint and get him to swerve to one side and then swiftly turn and score before the other boy has even managed to get his broom to change directions. 

When they’ve been playing for about forty minutes, Sirius and Remus come outside to watch them and settle down in the grass next to Theodore. 

”Why aren’t you playing?” Harry can hear Sirius ask the boy. 

”I’m on the bench”, he replies seriously. 

Harry tucks the Quaffle under his arm and swerves around in time to see his dads exchange a confused look. 

”What bench?”

”It means I’m sitting out, because we’re an uneven number of players.”

”Oh…” Sirius says and looks up at Harry, catching his eye. ”Need another player?”

”Are you any good?” Draco calls out from his position in front of his and Harry’s hoop. 

”Well, I can hardly be worse than you, now can I?” Sirius calls back and even though he grins good-naturedly to show he’s teasing, Draco’s cheeks immediately light up in a furious flush. 

”It might be fun to have two Chasers”, Harry says. ”What do you guys think?”

”Sure”, Blaise and Seamus answer in unison. 

They resume the match with Sirius joining Blaise and Seamus team, on Blaise insistence, and Theodore joining Harry and Draco but not as a second Chaser, because Draco has finally had enough of Seamus pelting him with Quaffles and the thought of Sirius joining in is apparently too much for him, so he insists Theodore switch with him… Which is how, even with Sirius on the opposing team, Harry and Draco end up winning the match… 

”That was actually amazing to watch”, Remus tells Harry as they all land and start to make their way over to the house again for cake. ”You and Draco are really in sync with each other, it’s incredible…”

Harry can only beam in response, because he doesn’t possess the proper words to decribe all the amazing feelings filling him to the brim right now. Flying was what really brought him and Draco together as first years and to this day, being on his broom, swerving and swirling through the air with Draco, is the one place where he feels completely at ease and happy, and whatever else might be going on in his life just fades away while they’re flying together… It might be childishly naive of him, but Harry thinks Voldemort himself could come back and he’d be able to forget all about it for as long as he and Draco is in the air…

Remus curls his arm around his shoulders and steer him towards the doorway where the others have already disappeared, then guides him over to his seat at the table before lighting the fourteen candles on top of one of the cakes with a quick flick of his wand. 

”Don’t forget to make a wish!”

Smiling, Harry leans forward and inhales a big breath… His eyes flicker over to Draco in the seat opposite and lock with his steel grey ones for a split second, his stomach fluttering as the blonde’s lips twitch, and Harry feels himself smile back, wider and happier than he probably should… After all, you’re not meant to reveal your wish… And he blows out his candles in one strong rush of breath to the smatter of indulgent applause from his his friends and dads. 

After they’ve all stuffed themselves with enough cake to feed all of Hogwarts, Seamus demands a re-match and they all make their way out into the garden again and play Quidditch until the sun starts to single down to the horizon, the sky flaring up in orange all around them… Seamus’ mum and Theodore’s dad show up to take them home, but settle down in the grass next to Remus to watch the end of the match first. Harry scores the last point for his, Theodore’s and Draco’s team and recieves a small round of applause and whoops from the tiny audience on the ground. 

They all touch down on the ground and Harry shakes hands with Mr Nott and Mrs Finnigan just as Remus reappears leading Mrs Blaise out into the garden and Harry walks over to shake her hand as well before she Side-Along Disapparates with Blaise. 

”See you at school, Harry!” Seamus yells happily while gripping his mother’s hand tightly, getting ready to Disapparate as well.

”See you in a month!” Harry calls back and waves at him. 

As Mrs Finnigan turns swiftly on the spot and Disapparates with Seamus, Harry feels something brush against the side of his arm and quickly turns his head. Draco’s grey eyes peer back at him from underneath that curtain of white-blonde hair. 

”I had a lovely time”, he murmurs softly and Harry’s stomach flutters. 

”I’m glad”, he says, just as softly. 

Fingertips graze against his palm suddenly and his fingers twitch, but he doesn’t look down. Draco blinks slowly, his long lashes brushing against his fringe and Harry feels his smile soften. Draco’s long, slender fingers slide into the spaces between Harry’s own and curls around his hand. Harry mirrors the gesture and squeezes gently.

Draco leans in and brushes a feathery kiss over Harry’s mouth, then smirks playfully as he leans back again and Harry follows, as if pulled magnetically to Draco’s lips. 

”Tease…” Harry mutters in mock annoyance and Draco giggles. 

”Draco!” Narcissa Malfoy calls from the doorway behind them. ”Time to go!” 

Draco lets go of Harry’s hand again and backs a few steps slowly, ”Happy birthday, Harry… See you at the Manor in a few days?”

”Try and stop me!” Harry says lightly. 

Draco’s smile widens happily, before he spins around and runs over to his mother. Narcissa inclines her head politely at Harry and he waves back, then stays where he is in the middle of the lawn and watches as Narcissa ushers Draco in front of her and disappears into the house to floo back to the Manor.

Harry keeps watching the empty doorway for a while, just soaking up the moment, and doesn’t budge from his spot until Remus appears in the doorway and smiles back at him. 

Harry runs over and wraps his arms around his waist and snuggles close. Remus burrows his nose into the crook of his neck and inhales deeply, returning the embrace.

”Did you have a good day, pup?” 

”The best!” Harry says, his happy voice muffled by Remus’s shirt front.