Chapter Text
“I'm just saying they don't know-”
“And we can get them back before they know,”Draco finished. He carefully sorted through his trunk and took out three carefully folded hoodies, one of which he pulled on before returning the other two to Harry.
Harry took the hoodies and tossed them haphazardly over the end of his bed, “Exactly! Revenge!”
Draco snorted, “Revenge.”
“What!?” Harry said testily.
“Nothing,” Draco grinned, “I like it.” he stepped closer to Harry, grabbing the hem of his green jumper to pull him closer, “I've missed you.”
“Oh. I-” Harry said softly, flushing slightly, “I have too.”
Draco kissed him, pulling back with a smirk, “Now, shall we get to plotting? Any brilliant ideas?”
“Well...” Harry mused, tugging absently on one of Draco's hoodie pull ties, “They were talking about locking us up in a room together after the whole lake thing.”
“Locking them in a room together?” Draco hummed, “I can't see that doing anything other than annoying them.”
“...Yeah, want to throw them all in the lake?” Harry suggested.
Draco laughed, “I would like that, but I have no idea how we'd do it.”
“I suppose we could just douse them all as they came back to the common room,” Harry said.
Draco blinked and smirked wickedly, “Actually, there's this spell I researched recently, I couldn't do it on my own but if we cast together-”
“What does it do?” Harry asked.
“Just a little rain,” Draco said enigmatically, “We'll trap them in a room together; we can set the foci beforehand and cast from outside.”
“I know a good room,” Harry said, pulling the mauraders map out and opening it to point out the room in question. They located their friends on the map, Ginny and Luna out on the pitch, Pansy and Blaise in the dungeons, Hermione and Ron in the library.
“Can you send messages with your Patronus?” Draco asked.
Harry nodded, “What shall I say?”
“I'll think of something,” Draco said, leading the way out of their dorms.
“Harry! Malfoy!” Neville called, “the house elves gave me a whole chocolate cake!”
He had set a massive frosted cake in the middle of the largest table in the common room.
Harry and Draco looked at each other.
“Can you put a preservation charm on it, Nev?” Harry said.
Draco pulled open the common room door, “We're just going to go collect everyone and then we'll be right back.”
Neville nodded, “Yeah sure, don't be to long.”
“Harry?” Hermione called as she pulled open the door and stepped inside. It was a smaller room that looked like it might have been a classroom a long time ago. Ginny and Luna were sitting on top of the only two desks that were left in the centre of the room, angled together in a V.
Ginny looked over at her, “Hermione? Did Harry send you a patronus too?”
“Yeah,” She nodded, walking over to them, “He said he wanted to talk about what had happened and that he thought I was right.”
Luna tilted her head to the side slightly, “Our message said he wanted our help to win Draco over.”
Hermione's eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion. She spun towards the door as it opened again, expecting Harry, and instead finding Pansy, Blaise and Theo, looking around warily.
“Did you get a patronus from Harry?” Hermione asked impatiently, “What did it say?”
Blaise frowned slightly, “He wanted our advice on what to say to Draco. What's going on?”
Hermione hurried past them to the door, grabbing and turning the handle to no avail, “Locked.” she took out her wand, starting with the simplest unlocking spells.
“Who would-? What's going on?” Pansy asked, starting to sound nervous.
Ginny slid off her desk, “Harry, of course.”
“Potter? The Golden Boy?” Blaise asked.
Hermione snorted, “He can be very petty and vindictive when it strikes him.”
“He heard what I said, about locking them in a room didn't he?” Pansy asked.
Hermione was about to start on the more complicated unlocking charms when she felt something like... a rain drop-? hit her forehead. She looked up, The high ceilings were full of dark ominous storm clouds tinted in greens and purples.
The downpour began. Within seconds they were all wet and would soon be soaked.
Pansy yelped, pulling out her wand and cast an umbrella charm. Her wand sputtered a bubble of protection the size of an egg shell before the spell broke.
Hermione put her wand away, pulling her robes up so they covered her head, “Don't bother. I researched this spell once. We won't be able to cast while it's raining.”
“Potter took revenge,” Theo said thoughtfully, pulling his robes up like Hermione had to shield himself as much as possible.
Hermione shook her head, rain soaking through her robe plipped onto the top of her head, “I very much doubt Harry would ever bother to look up twelfth-century battle magic from the goblin wars.”
“Draco would,” Blaise said grimly, his arms wrapped tightly around his chest and beginning to shiver.
“And Harry would have the power to cast it,” Hermione said.
Ginny pushed her hair back and wiped her face, “So they're working together?”
“Seems like it,” Hermione said.
Pansy was a dripping miserable mess, “The lake thing was a mistake," she said with chattering teeth.
“You think?” Ginny said sarcastically.
Pansy glared at her, “You all agreed-”
Water splattered up over all of them. Luna smiled from the puddle she had just jumped into right in front of them, her eyes widening innocently.
“That's it, Lovegood!” Pansy sputtered furiously, rushing Luna like she was going to strangle her with her bare hands.
Luna ran off, her laughter trailing after her like a string of bells.
Hermione dropped her robe with a sigh, letting the rain pelt her hair, slowly soaking the fluffy curls flat and dark. She smiled as Ginny ran around the desks to intercept Luna, standing in front of her like a shield as Pansy tried to dodge around her.
Blaise chuckled quietly. He snuck around Pansy's back, ringing an arm around her waist and picking her up all in one smooth movement. She shrieked in protest, kicking out at the air with a string of expletives that would make a sailor blush.
Luna ringed her arms around Ginny's waist, hugging her from behind, “My hero,” she said, pressing a kiss to Ginny's neck.
Ginny turned in her arms, fingers tangling in Luna's hair as she kissed her.
It wasn't all bad in the end, Hermione figured. She did resent Ron begging out, being sensible and not getting involved for once, but only a little.
Hermione glanced over Theo who hadn't moved.
The rain had soaked through Theo's robe and was dripping steadily onto his head. He looked completely unamused. “This sucks,” he muttered.
Hermione burst out laughing.
The rain finally stopped and between the six of them they managed to dry Hermione enough with weak drying charms so she could cast an unlocking spell to get them out of the classroom. They all trudged up to the eighth year common room in silence.
The noise of the common room dropped as they stepped inside looking like drown rats or, in Hermione's case, a frizzy one. Then rose as everyone cheered for their arrival, clapping and laughing as the door slowly swung shut behind them.
There was a party happening, with cake and butterbeer. The cake was almost entirely gone except for seven slices laid out on plates with a bottle of butterbeer for each one.
“You're late!” Neville said, then his eyes widened, “What happened?”
Before any of them could answer a lazy drawl echoed, “Yes, you're terribly late.”
“So late,” Harry said, biting his lip to keep from laughing.
The two of them were sitting together on a small couch, Draco had thrown one leg over Harry's knees. Draco pointedly put an arm around Harry's shoulders and raised an eyebrow.
“Finally!!” Ginny yelled.
Luna smiled, “Congratulations.”
“No thanks to you lot,” Harry said with a laugh and pointed at Neville, “He's the one that managed it.”
The group stared at Neville.
Neville shrugged and with a tiny pleased smile.
Pansy scowled, “I'm still sorry about the ”lake thing”-” she finger quoted, “-and I'm happy for you, Draco. But also, you're dead to me.” She stomped back to her dorms.
Her departure was heralded by Draco good-naturedly flipped her off with both hands.
Theo grabbed a plate and butterbeer, “We're even now, right?”
Draco nodded.
“Good,” Theo said and walked over to the fireplace asking Millicent to use a drying spell on him.
Blaise glanced after Pansy and then shrugged, grabbing a butterbeer, “I have to admit, that was good.”
Draco grinned smugly, “We know.”
Blaise snorted and turned until he spotted Seamus and Dean, “One of you have some fire whiskey to make this more interesting?” he held up his bottle as he made his way over to them.
Hermione sighed and walked around to Harry, bending down to hug him briefly, “I'm happy for you.”
“Thanks, Mione,” Harry said with a grin.
“What, no hug for me, Granger?” Draco said archly.
Hermione smirked faintly, raising an eyebrow and then leaned over and gave Draco a very definite sort of hug.
When she let him go, Draco was frozen in dismay, “I didn't mean it, Granger!”
“Better get used to it,” Hermione said.
Draco frowned, “You can't threaten me.”
“She wasn't threatening you,” Harry said, “Hugging is not a threat.”
“Sounded like one to me,” Draco said suspiciously.
The common room opened again and Ron stepped inside, his brow furrowed, “What's going on? Something happen?”
Hermione closed her eyes briefly, “You have no idea.”
“What's with the roses?” Harry asked as he came into the common room.
Draco flushed faintly, tugging on a pale blue petal until it fell off, “It's for you- From my mother-” he grimaced at the small bouquet wrapped in a white ribbon, refusing to look Harry in the eye, “I mean my mother picked them and sent them.”
Harry fought down a grin, “So are they from you or your mother?”
“From my mother,” Draco said.
“For me?” Harry asked, “Did you tell her about us?”
Draco flushed, “I did no such thing,” he shot a glare over to where Pansy and Blaise were apparently reading out of the same trashy romance novel.
“What? It's not like she dislikes me?” Harry said, stepping over and trying to take the bouquet.
“That's not the point!” Draco said jerking it out of reach, “I had a plan to tell her slowly over time and warm her up to the idea!”
Harry raised an eyebrow, stepping around Draco to try and grab the flowers, “Seems like she likes the idea well enough to me.”
Draco turned again, lifting the flowers overhead, “And these are her favourite roses, she's not just supposed to- to-!”
“To what-!?” Harry laughed, dancing around Draco trying to grab the roses.
Draco kept moving the flowers out of reach and rather suddenly they were playing keep away, the reason for why entirely lost of the both of them. Harry finally just grabbed Draco around the shoulders, holding onto him and trying to drag his upraised, flower holding arm down within reach. Realizing he was about to lose, Draco reacted instinctively and threw them. Into the fire.
“You-” Harry said, staring at the fire and then back at Draco who was wide eyed at what he had just done, “That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen.”
“It's- I-I-” Draco spluttered, staring at the blackening roses.
Harry laughed, “I can't believe-! You just threw them!”
“This is- This is your fault,” Draco said with desperate conviction.
“Is it now?” Harry said, raising an eyebrow. “I'd say, you owe me a bouquet.”
“I am not buying you roses,” Draco said.
Harry licked his lips and smirked suggestively, “I suppose you could repay me another way.”
Draco slipped his hands around Harry's waist with an echoing smirk, “I might be amiable to such a proposition.”
Ron slowly let his head thunk down in the cradle of his arms, “I regret everything.”
“You knew it would be like this,” Hermione said absently, “You told me yourself back when it all started.”
Ron groaned loudly in self-pity. Before he could complain further, he was hit by a stinging jinx that startled him up from his chair followed by an incarcerous that wound him in thin white rope from head to foot. He stayed upright for just a second before toppling over backwards onto the floor with a yelp.
Harry and Draco slowly lowered their wands and walked over to him.
“I was joking!” Ron groaned.
Draco raised an eyebrow with a smirk, “Terribly sorry, Weasley, but we owe you one.”
Harry turned to the room in general, “Wanna help us throw him in the lake?”
Ginny shot to her feet with a wicked grin, “Yeah! Absolutely!”
“Count me in!” Pansy said, pushing her book into Blaise's hands.
Draco shot her a look, “Really, Pansy?”
“What? I already apologized for the whole lake thing!” Pansy said, edging through the chairs and tables to where they were all standing.
“You can't throw me in the lake!” Ron said, wriggling against his bonds, “Hermione! Save me!”
Hermione was biting her lip trying not to laugh. She cleared her throat and very nearly managed to say in a straight voice, “You can't throw him in the lake.”
“Hermione!” Ron said, sounding wounded at her lack of conviction.
Draco looked down at Ron contemplatively, his smirk didn't so much fade, as it did grow, “Keep your pants on Weasley, we're just taking the piss.” He leaned over and whispered something into Harry's ear, who grinned and whispered to Ginny while Draco passed on his message to Pansy.
“Hermione!” Ron said in alarm, struggling even harder.
They all drew their wands, holding them low in front of their crotches, and cast aguamenti.
Four streams of water splashed over Ron who spluttered, “I hate you all! What are you five years old? Hermione!”
Hermione bit her lip even harder.
The wands were put away and Ron was released from his ropes. He stood up, wet and unhappy, “You-” he pointed at Harry, “-are a terrible friend!”
Harry shrugged, “It was good fun.”
“And you-” he pointed at Ginny, “traitorous blood-kin-”
“Aw, I love you too, Ronikins,” Ginny said sweetly.
“And you-” he looked at Hermione, “-were supposed to save me!”
Hermione choked down her giggles, “I wouldn't have let them throw you in the lake!”
Ron glared at all of them, sulkily casting a drying spell over himself and collecting his things from the table, "I'm going to the library."
Harry looked over at Draco with a huge grin, “That went well.”
Draco nodded. He bit his lip for just a second then impulsively took Harry's hand, threading their fingers together, “Spend easter hols with me?” he blurted.
“Here? Or... with your parents?” Harry asked.
Draco's cheeks tinted pink, “Mother would be happy to have us but either would be fine.”
Harry smiled faintly, “On one condition-”
“What?”
“-you spend one day at the Burrow with the Weasley's.” Harry said and raised one eyebrow in challenge.
Draco bristled faintly, lifting his chin, “I can manage one day.”
“Alright, owl your Mum and tell her we're coming then,” Harry said with a smile.
Draco nodded and added quietly, “and I apologize about the flowers.”
Harry stumbled out of the floo, his head still spinning through his body was not. Draco caught his elbow and steadied him.
“Thanks,” Harry said weakly.
As soon as Harry had stopped wobbling, Draco let go of him to go over to his mother and hug her tightly.
“Hello, Mother,” Draco said quietly.
Narcissa smiled and smoothed her hands down his sleeves, “Draco. I'm so pleased you decided to spend the spring break with us.”
Harry fruitlessly tried to pat down his hair, “Err, thank you for letting me stay.”
“Of course,” Narcissa said stepping over to him and giving a Harry a brief hug before he could even react, leaving him feeling stunned. “I'm sure Draco has told you but Lucius is under house arrest and no longer allowed to use magic.”
Harry nodded.
“I don't want you to think for even a second you're not safe here,” She went on, leading them through long winding halls, “Did you get the flowers I sent?” Narcissa asked.
“No. Draco threw them on the fire,” Harry said, with a little bit of vindictive glee.
Draco glared at him, “I was provoked!”
Narcissa tsked, “Draco.”
“Next time just send them to Harry. I'm not an owl,” Draco said sulkily.
Narcissa ignored him and pulled open a set of double doors leading into a large sitting room with tall windows and knobbily furniture that was all in pale blues and creams. The room smelled strongly of fresh varnish and fabrics. Draco and Harry sat on a stiff couch together, Narcissa in a chair opposite. The table in front of them was set for afternoon tea.
Lucius was sitting in a tall-backed chair nearly pushed back into a corner reading the Prophet.
“Hello, Father, “ Draco said.
Lucius let the paper dip slightly to look at Draco and nodded to him, “Draco, welcome home. Are you prepared for your NEWTs?”
“Of course,” Draco said, he gestured beside him, “Harry's here as well.”
Lucius glanced at Harry, his eyes narrowing and then rang a little hand bell beside his chair. A house elf appeared, was given a quiet order and disappeared, only to reappear with tray, with two cotton balls on it. As they watched Lucius took the cotton balls off the tray and began carefully pulling them into tufts which he then shoved into his ears until they poked out of his ears like little clouds.
“Don't mind Lucius,” Narcissa sighed, “He's just being dramatic.”
A grin dawned on Harry's face, “So that's where you get it from.”
Draco's eyebrows shot up and he shoved Harry's shoulder, “How dare you!”
Harry laughed, “It's true isn't it!” He grabbed Draco's wrist, pushing Draco away as he tried to up the ante with a pinch or a smack. They grappled fruitlessly against one another, Harry laughing, Draco trying to pretend he was annoyed.
“Gentlemen, you are eighteen are you not?” Narcissa said.
Draco pulled and Harry tried to twist, sending Harry off the couch and onto the ground with a thud. He never managed to stop laughing.
Draco grinned, sparing Narcissa a glance, “What was that, Mother?”
Before she could answer, Harry sat up, grabbed Draco's arm and dragging him down with him and sneaking a kiss while they were tangled together.
“Potter!” Draco squawked in outrage.
Harry laughed, “Shouldn't have let your guard down!”
Narcissa sighed, leaning back into her chair with a smile, “Never mind.”
“Our heroes have arrived!” George crowed as they stepped out of the floo into the Burrow.
There was a cheer and Harry and Draco were pulled into the crowded living room.
George hugged Harry tightly and clapped Draco on the back so hard he staggered, “Ginny's been telling us all about your match-making disaster!”
Harry groaned.
Draco steeled himself.
Bill leaned forward in his seat, “They actually dropped you in the lake?”
“Yes,” Draco said and added with brittle sarcasm, “It was delightful.”
“I'm more interested in that magic dampening rain you two conjured,” Charlie said.
“It was awful,” Ginny groused.
“Yeah but do you think it might work on dragons?” Charlie asked.
“Aw come on!” George said sitting on the arm of Charlie's chair and shoved his shoulder, “What about taking a piss on Ron? That was golden!” He laughed at his own pun.
“Are you talking about that again?” Ron groused as he came down the stairs, “Can't we just be done with that?”
“Ron.” George said with all seriousness, “We're going to talk about you getting pissed on for the rest of your life.”
“It was water!” Ron threw up his hands.
The conversation began to run together as arguments and jibes filled the room.
Harry leaned against Draco's arm, “So, not so bad right?”
Draco wrinkled his nose, “That remains to be seen.”
“It's only one day,” Harry reassured him.
“I suppose,” Draco said.
Charlie pushed through the mass of Weasley's, “So that spell you two used-”
Harry zipped up his jacket as he slipped outside the Burrow, finding Draco out next to the garden wall, “Almost everyone's gone home now.”
Draco lifted his chin slightly, “I simply wanted to see the stars.”
Harry snorted, “Sure.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Draco asked.
Harry reached over and took Draco's hand, “Nothing. It's nice out here.”
Draco looked back over the black landscape, chilled and damp in the early touches of spring, “It wasn't all that bad really,” he said, “Bill and Charlie were interesting and... Percy, was it-? he was inoffensive.”
Harry laughed, “Yeah, he's that.”
Draco took a deep breath, “I'm quite certain I can manage it again.”
“Yeah?” Harry said a little breathlessly.
“Well, it's the sort of thing we'll be doing in the future, together,” Draco said, hazarding a glance over at Harry.
Harry smiled, his heart feeling like it was too big for his chest. He squeezed Draco's hand, “Yeah, together.”