Harry Potter fell back, a coating of perspiration sopping his naked body. He snuggled into Draco Malfoy's bare chest and breathed in the intoxicating aroma of his lover's sweat. Harry was more content than he'd ever been in his life, and wasn't it all due to this man he just made love to?

Draco tightened his arm around Harry and Harry kissed the skin in front of him, not yet aware as his mind returned to its senses exactly what body part that was. "I love you," he sighed, lips against said skin.

Draco murmured something that was probably the same. Harry smiled against the Slytherin's flesh. There was absolutely nothing compared to this. Flying on a broom?-not even close. The rest of the world leaving him alone?-Contentment, yes, but not this overwhelming sense of happiness. Amazing that they could find this much bliss with all that had happened in so few months. What a year it had been! Their first year as teachers at Hogwarts was finally coming to a close and it looked as if the both of them would actually survive it. Death threats, poison, impropriety suits, hateful letters and deadly packages, coming out to the Wizarding world, almost being sacked… Yep. Just another day at Hogwarts.

Draco dragged his fingers down Harry's back and Harry shivered at the wonderful sensation. "I just want to make sure you heard me when I said I love you, too," Draco whispered.

Harry nodded against Draco's chest. "I heard you." He squeezed. "And I felt you. And I tasted you. It all said the same thing."

"You, Potter, are an incurable romantic."

"Speaking of which, you could call me 'Harry' more often, you know."

"I call you 'Harry' all the time. I particularly recollect mere moments ago when my head was exploding. I called you 'Harry' rather loudly."

Harry grinned, remembering.

"And several incoherent things as well. So. I don't see why you should complain when I lapse into an occasional old habit of calling you 'Potter'."

"Mostly you do so when you're angry with me."

"As are you when you call me 'Malfoy'."

"Well that's true."

"Besides, don't I also refer to you as 'my Harry'?"

"Yes," he said with an uncontrollable blush. "And you are my Draco."

"I have absolutely no argument there. I like being 'your Draco'." His fingers stroked into Harry's dark hair.

"Now who's the incurable romantic?" said Harry sleepily.

"Can you blame me? You're so adorable, after all." He chuckled and the sound vibrated with a deep resonance against Harry's ear pressed to Draco's chest. "How is it you bring out the most ridiculous sentimentality in me? That is very unSlytherin."

Harry shrugged and made a trembling sigh. Draco's fingers continued carding his hair.

That's when Harry decided it.

* * *

Harry Potter strode purposefully down the corridors of the Ministry of Magic. Some people he encountered waved while others just stared worshipfully. His fame didn't seem to diminish as time passed but neither did his embarrassment of it. Not only was he still the Boy Who Lived, but at twenty, he was now the Slayer of Voldemort, Hero of the Wizarding World, Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher at Hogwarts, and also the most controversial title of them all: Draco Malfoy's lover.

And everyone knew it.

Their infamous "coming out" at the Yule Ball was legendary and almost caused them to lose their jobs at Hogwarts. But with a little help from Dumbledore and with all four houses of the school banding together, they had prevailed. And in the first time in Hogwarts history, two openly gay teachers proceeded to teach and practically live together on Hogwarts premises.

Harry thought about Draco as he wandered through the halls. In fact, there wasn't much time in the day when he wasn't thinking of Draco. They spent practically all their waking hours together when they weren't in their separate classes teaching. He smiled when he thought of the Slytherin.

He turned the corner and found Hermione's office. He tapped lightly on her door and she looked up, eyes bright. "Harry! What a pleasant surprise. Come in."

He smiled at her and took the seat she offered. Her tiny office was cluttered with books and parchments piled nearly to the ceiling. It was every bit Hermione.

"Does Ron know you're here? We could all do lunch."

"No, he doesn't know." Harry had deliberately come the long way around to avoid Ron in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department. "Actually, I came to see you."

She sat back and cocked her head at him. "Oh?" Harry gave her a half-smile. His nervous fingers clutched one another as he sat. "Is everything all right?"

In Hermione-speak, that meant "is everything all right with you and Draco?"

Harry smiled broadly. "Everything is just brilliant." He blushed. And it was. He'd never had feelings like these for anyone. He was completely and utterly happy for the first time in his life, and it was Draco's doing. He leaned forward. "You see, I'd like for you to do a little research for me."

"That is what I do."

"Yes." He scooted closer. His voice dropped to nearly a whisper, even though her door was closed. "I'd like you to find out if it's legal…that is…if it's acceptable…I mean with all the trouble we've had it's just…" He sighed and started again. "I need to know about wizard marriage."

"You mean a Wizarding marriage license?"

"Yes. But for…you know. Two wizards."

Hermione stared blankly at Harry for several seconds before the implication of his statement bloomed on her face. She suddenly smiled. "Oh Harry!"

He couldn't keep his own smile controlled. He laughed nervously. "We've had so much trouble with the Ministry already I'd like this to go a little more smoothly."

"Congratulations!" and she leaped from her seat and engulfed him in her arms.

He hugged her tightly. "Well, don't congratulate me yet. I don't know if we can, so I haven't asked Draco yet."

"Well," and here her smile faded. He didn't like that look. She walked slowly around her desk and stood by her chair. "Actually, I have researched it." She blushed. "Sort of in anticipation I guess." Harry smiled. That's his Hermione. "As it turns out, it is legal…but-"

Harry slumped into the chair. "I knew it. There's always something."

"Now Harry. Just listen. When a witch and a wizard marry, it's pretty much like a Muggle wedding except for some joining spells. No big surprises and no problems, really. But when a witch marries a witch and a wizard marries a wizard, it becomes more complicated."

"Of course it does."

She gave him a look that silenced him. "It's more complicated because when the same sex marries through these joining spells, their magic is joined. It's as if they become one powerful wizard. That doesn't happen when a witch and a wizard marry."

Harry slid forward. "Hang on. What are you saying? Their magic is joined? I thought you couldn't do that."

"It's very rare, but it can happen, and it happens most often when two wizards join. That's why the Ministry of Magic reserves the right to refuse to allow two wizards to marry. And they have done since 1517."

Harry looked at her. Her brow was wrinkled as it usually did when she was working out a difficult problem. Her bushy hair was drawn back with a black velvet ribbon revealing her concerned face. "So…you're telling me that Draco and I could have the strength of two wizards combined?"

"Three, actually. You've already got a bit of Voldemort in you. So you'd both have the strength of about three wizards. Now the Ministry probably wouldn't object to you being that powerful, as you already are the most powerful wizard on the planet, next to Dumbledore, but as for Draco-"

"Nobody wants a former Death Eater being that powerful." Harry frowned.

"You see their point, though, don't you? I mean, I know Draco and you know him, but everyone else still thinks of him as a danger. And a dangerous wizard having the strength of three? ...I don't really think they'd give you permission." Hermione looked as dejected as Harry felt.

"But why not? I mean, I've never asked for anything!" His voice was dangerously close to whining, but he didn't care. "They've heaped all these awards and honours on me and I've never wanted it. I've had to endure sixteen long years of complete and utter crap from the Durselys and the Ministry and Death Eaters and Voldemort, and the very least the Wizarding world can do is this for me! I'm Harry-Frigging-Potter! Doesn't that mean anything!"

"It means a lot to me," she said quietly.

He glared at her. He couldn't believe it. Why was happiness always snatched away from him when he was so close to it? "Well, do we really need the Ministry's permission? Can't we just…you know…do it anyway?"

"There are penalties-"

"No wait. Let me guess. Azkaban?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry. But if you could get Dumbledore to help you he might be able to change some minds. All it takes is a simple majority of the Wizengamot to get permission."

Harry smoldered. He hated to go to Dumbledore for something that was so private. No one else had these problems. But certainly there were a lot of gay wizard couples out there. What did they do? "Is permission given very often?"

Hermione looked down at the parchments on her desk. She toyed with her quill and Harry noticed that the tips of her fingers were soiled with black ink. "As I recall from my research, the Wizengamot hasn't given their permission since 1951."

"WHAT!"

"And even then it was under all kinds of restrictions."

Harry jumped to his feet and paced, even though there wasn't much room for it. "I can't believe this. So really, even with Dumbledore's help, there isn't much chance."

"You could live abroad. They don't have these restrictions in, for instance, Australia." *

"Australia! I don't want to live there. Hogwarts is my home. How am I supposed to teach if we live in Australia?"

"It's only a suggestion. But I wouldn't discount Dumbledore just yet. He's pulled quite a few tricks out of the hat, you will recall."

Especially when it came to Harry and Draco. The two of them seemed like magnets to trouble. He had no choice, then, to go to the old wizard, but he hated like hell to do it. "Okay, Hermione. Really. Thanks. I didn't mean to get mad at you, I just expected that one thing I actually wanted wouldn't be so hard."

"You still have Draco, you know. Whether you marry him or not."

"I know. But it's not the same, is it? You got to marry Ron. How would you like the Ministry to decide whether you could or not?"

"I see your point. Seems like we should take a second look at that law."

"Yeah. But not soon enough for me, I'm afraid." He stood mutely, looking at the floor.

"Shall I…shall I get Ron and the three of us can take a long lunch?"

He shook his head. "I really don't feel like it today, Hermione. Sorry."

"Another time, then. You talk to Dumbledore, and I'll see what I can do from here. Discreetly, of course."

"Thanks Hermione. And if you wouldn't mind not saying anything to Ron…" She nodded and folded into his arms in a hug before he left her office. He'd been so happy, so excited. And now it was turning into another mess. Why couldn't anything just go easy for him? It was just a simple wedding. Even Muggles were doing it. Of course, they didn't have Wizarding powers…

He made his way to the lobby and apparated to Hogsmeade. More people waved at him when they recognized him. I bet no one here would care if I married. No one would care if I was three times as powerful. But they would care if Draco was, and that was the crux of it. Even after all the false arrests and the fraudulent suits were dropped against him, there were still some families who had not returned their children to Hogwarts because Draco taught there. Despite Harry Potter vouching for him, coming out to the world that he was his lover and partner, there were many that did not trust Draco and never would. That Malfoy name was a stigma as much as the Dark Mark still cursing Draco's arm. Neither could be removed entirely.

Harry wandered up the hill towards Hogwarts, deep in contemplation. It all got him to thinking. He was a powerful wizard on his own, due partly to possessing some of Voldemort's powers. But he'd worked out a lot by himself along with the help of Hermione and Ron and others. He was able to conjure a full Patronus, after all, in his third year and many seventh years still couldn't do that. He'd learned lots of skills, lots of spells and hexes, lots of charms and even made up a few of his own. That was supposed to be reserved for very practiced wizards, usually much older than he was. But Harry began to wonder about that Dark Mark on Draco's arm. Maybe if Draco wasn't marked anymore, the rest of the population would start believing he had reformed. If Harry could remove it… Snape had tried over the years to create potions to get rid of it and he couldn't manage it. And no doubt Dumbledore had put his considerable skills into it as well. But what about Harry? If he tried, if he worked on it, might he be able to vanquish the curse as easily as he had the maker of that curse (though easy was not a word he usually associated with that particular task)?

He had reached the gate and went straight for Dumbledore's office. "Raspberry Rat tails!" he told the gargoyle statue, and it slid aside.

Dumbledore was in, and Harry made his way into his office, glancing at the many intriguing objects and snoozing wizards in portraits before he took a chair before the old wizard's desk. Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling over the rims of his half-moon spectacles. "Ah Harry. What can I do for you on this lovely spring day?"

Lovely spring day? He hadn't noticed. "Well…it's kind of a personal problem. I really don't know how to begin."

"At the beginning is best," he said, resting his clasped hands on the desk. "Or, if you like, start from the end and work backwards. Either way will do."

Harry licked his lips. He felt a little foolish. It seemed ridiculous that he should have to ask permission for such a thing. "Well…I-" He looked up into Dumbledore's watery blue eyes and suddenly felt embarrassed. The old wizard was the first to know about him and Draco. He'd had to tell him in order to exonerate Draco from prowling about the castle when everyone thought he meant to do Harry harm. "Well, Draco and I…we…you know how we f-feel about one another-"

Dumbledore's smile brightened. "It is indeed evident to anyone with eyes. You care deeply for one another. I for one am glad to see it. You two seem so well matched, even though that prospect seemed highly unlikely while you both attended classes here."

"Yeah. I suppose. We really get on well now. We've been together almost a year and I…well, I wanted to take it to the next level. Our relationship, that is. The thing of it is…I wanted to ask Draco…to marry me."

He paused to allow this to sink in. It didn't take Dumbledore long. "I see," he said, and sat back in his chair. "You worry over the Ministry giving you permission."

"It doesn't seem likely, does it?"

Dumbledore frowned slightly. "No, it doesn't. What is it you would like me to do?"

"Change their mind. Really, Professor-Albus. I've never asked the Wizarding world for anything. You know that. I've never asked for honours or riches or fame. But I'm asking now. I'm asking for just a little happiness. It seems so little a thing to ask."

"Of course it is, Harry. But the nature of this particular 'happiness' is far from simple. As you well know."

Harry hung his head. "But Draco isn't dangerous anymore. He wouldn't be."

"We know this, certainly, but-"

"I know, I know. They all still think of him as a Death Eater."

"And Harry. They always will."

Harry hadn't wanted to believe it, but suddenly, when Dumbledore said it, it rung with such finality. "But as Harry Potter, can't I just…demand it?"

"And how do you suppose that would go over, hmm? Harry Potter, the most powerful wizard in the world-"

"Next to Albus Dumbledore."

Dumbledore chuckled and shook his head. "Actually, Harry, my time is waning. I am not as strong as I used to be. I am very much afraid that you are in fact the most powerful wizard in the world." Harry was taken aback. People had thrown that term around him for two years since he defeated Voldemort. But he never actually believed it. To him, Albus Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard and always would be. But wizards came and went. And Harry was only twenty. Was it actually true? And if it was, how would it look to have the most powerful wizard there was request something that would make him three times stronger? Did they imagine that he was getting delusions of grandeur, that he was hoping to become another Voldemort, no matter how initially benevolent? The Wizarding world had just gotten over a terrible war. No one wanted the prospect of having to fight another Dark Wizard.

Maybe it wasn't so much Draco Malfoy that they were worried about.

Harry had been holding his breath when he looked up at Dumbledore. "I…I didn't realize…"

"Of course not, Harry. I would have been surprised if you had. So now you can see why you cannot demand such a thing."

"It isn't fair. I've gone through so much!"

"I know." He was grateful that Dumbledore ignored his pitiful whimpering. The old wizard merely gazed at Harry for a time before he drew a deep breath. "But I will do what I can to convince them otherwise. I, too, believe you deserve all the happiness you can grasp. I will try to make them see how unfair it is and how much you have had to endure, more than any other." He stood and suddenly looked as powerful as he always had done. "This is something I promise you, Harry Potter. I have been able to promise you very little before now. But this, I shall."

Harry tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. He believed him.


On to Chapter Two
"Love's Arrow"

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