Harry received the owl from Grolick's in the Defense classroom and fortunately it was between classes. He hurriedly opened the package and took out the little velvet box. He wiped his sweaty palm on his trouser leg and opened it…and it was exactly how he imagined it. He smiled. Draco would love it, love the irony. The body of the snake was gracefully entwined about the lion and they gazed into each other's bejeweled eyes. It was perfect.

He tucked it away into his robes. Today was the fourth and also the students' last day and they were all preparing to leave for the train tomorrow. The feast would begin in an hour and he still had his own preparations to make.

* * *

Draco tapped his finger irritably on the table as Dumbledore made his final speeches, summing up the house points and awarding the House Cup to-surprise, surprise-Gryffindor. Draco had been sure that Slytherin would get it this year. He did his best to help them along, but he suspected Potter somehow cheated and felt no remorse whatsoever in that thought.

But all through the announcements, all through the presentations, Harry had failed to appear. "Unbelievable," he muttered. How could Harry miss the leaving feast in his first year as a teacher? Snape was right. What an irresponsible git!

And worse, it was Draco's birthday and no one had made mention of it. He thought Harry might at least have said something, but no. It never even occurred to him to find out when Draco's birthday was. "Happy birthday, Draco," he mumbled and lifted a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"What's that you said?" asked Hagrid beside him.

"Nothing."

"Draco. Where's Harry? I thought he'd be here for sure."

"Yeah, me too." Draco had enough. "I'm going to find out. And if I have to drag him by his ear I will bring him back." He got to his feet and stomped from the Great Hall.

He climbed the stairs and with each flight he ascended he grew angrier and angrier until he was in a right rage. How dare Harry leave him alone at that feast? All these damned secret things he was working on. It made Draco angry that Harry wouldn't confide in him. "A surprise my arse!"

He entered the Defense classroom, stomped across the empty room, climbed the pulpit stairs, stormed across Harry's study, and stood before the painting of the dueling wizards that hid Harry's private quarters. "Gryffindors rule!" he yelled at the painting, cursing Harry's choice of password for the millionth time.

The frame slid aside and Draco strode in. "Now what is so sodding important that you miss your first leaving feast!" He stood in the doorway and glared his most Slytherin glare at Harry.

And there he was, looking innocent as you please, sitting at a small round table set with a tablecloth, sparkling china, silver, and a single rose in a bud vase. "What the-" Only two candles illuminated the table set for two. Beside that was a trolley full of covered dishes of wonderfully aromatic food. Champagne chilled in a bucket beside the table.

Harry, dressed in emerald dress robes, stood and smiled at Draco. "It's about time you showed up. Happy Birthday! Surprised?"

* * *

The look on Draco's face was worth all the stress and effort. He had stormed into the room in a rage, just as Harry predicted he would. It had taken Draco a good hour to smolder enough to come up, but the look of shock was certainly priceless.

Draco was frozen to the spot and Harry had to move forward and take his arm to lead him to his chair. "So do you still hate surprises?" he asked softly against Draco's cheek as he sat him down.

Draco stared at his empty plate. "You did all this…for me?"

"Of course. I think birthdays are special. One shouldn't have to celebrate them alone." He couldn't dispel the pang in his own chest when he said it, remembering those first eleven birthdays living with the Dursleys.

He grabbed the champagne and popped the cork. He poured for both of them and then wheeled the cart closer, lifting the lids on the dishes. "We have roast goose with currant sauce, lemon asparagus, and potatoes Narcissa, with escargot in puff pastry for starters."

"But…these are all my favorites. How did you know?"

Harry smiled and set the plate of snails in front of Draco. "I asked Dobby," he said.

"Ah!" Draco closed his eyes and nodded. The Malfoy's former house elf was reluctant to help at first, but seeing how it would make Harry happy, he finally relented and prepared it all.

"Well…tuck in," said Harry taking a seat. "Oh wait. First, a toast." He raised the champagne flute and smiled at his dumbstruck lover. "Here's to Draco-twenty-one years old today. May he have many more wonderful birthdays and may they be as filled with as much love as this one. Happy Birthday." He leaned over and kissed Draco's still slack lips and then clinked his glass against Draco's.

Draco shook his head and gazed at Harry, eyes glossy. "You did this," he kept saying.

"Will you eat already? The food will get cold."

"I love you, you know," he said to Harry.

Harry smiled back at him. "I know."

After Draco got over his initial shock he happily devoured the first course. They had gotten to the entrée and Harry pierced the meat of the goose breast with his knife, when he suddenly felt a foot slither up his leg. He glanced up at Draco who seemed innocently intent on his food. Harry tried again, but the sock-clad foot rose higher, pushing open his legs and running up the inside of his thigh. Harry suddenly forgot what he was doing, concentrating only on that foot traveling upward and finally landing gently on the increasing bulge of his trousers. The foot found what it wanted and slid over that bulge, adding pressure with a certain fervency hard to ignore.

Harry dropped his silverware.

He looked up at Draco. The other man's dark lashes hung low over gray eyes, dark as a storm. Harry stood suddenly and waved his hand over the table. The tablecloth lifted, taking everything with it and slid to the side, hovering in mid air. Now that the table was cleared Harry dragged Draco from his chair and pushed him face down on the table's surface.

"Why Harry! Whatever are you doing?"

He noticed a lone shoe sitting beneath the table. "I'm going to give you an early birthday present." He grabbed Draco's trousers and yanked them down. "Any objections?"

"Can't think of a one," he answered in a trembling voice.

Harry leaned forward, turned Draco's head, and took his mouth, causing a squeak of surprise from the Slytherin that was quickly muffled by warm lips and a searching tongue. Draco's mouth was velvety and moist and certainly hot, and tasted pleasantly of the meal hovering beside them. But even as Harry consumed his lover's mouth he craved more, much more. He tore his lips away and trailed biting kisses down the back of his neck. But the shirt's collar frustrated and he pulled it down over his shoulders, pelting the floor with freed buttons. He pulled it further till he could tear it off completely and laved Draco's back, exploring each vertebra, kissing down to the swell of his bum, and picked at the waistband of his shorts with his teeth.

Draco made a trembling sigh. Encouraged, Harry tugged the undershorts off and slid his hands over the rounded flesh. Draco moaned and writhed, offering himself tantalizingly. Ordinarily Harry would have taken his time, but he wasn't in the mood for that now. He made generous use of the butter from their dinner floating nearby and offered the Slytherin several minutes of unrelenting attention accompanied by mutual moans, soft cries, loud cries, and the sweet slickness of butter shared between them.

After yelling himself hoarse, Harry finally staggered back from his lover and helped him to rise from the table. With a cleaning spell, Harry cleansed them both, dressed Draco again in the tattered remains of his clothes, and drew him in for a hard embrace. He kissed him, more leisurely this time, running his tongue slowly along his upper lip and sucking on tongue, lips, chin. Draco sighed breathlessly and Harry sat the boneless man in his seat. He returned their meal back to the table where it slowly descended, settling back into place.

Draco gazed at Harry with a glazed and sated expression. "I just love surprises," said Draco lazily.

Harry smiled. That little interval was probably a good idea. It helped his nervousness. He watched as Draco's senses returned to him and he picked up his fork and commenced eating his dinner, smiling a silly smile and humming while he chewed. He wanted to wait till Draco was almost finished. He hadn't expected these early extra-curricular activities beforehand, but it would certainly be a nice introduction to what would probably prove to be a long night.

But as Draco finished more of the food on his plate, Harry became more nervous. Ridiculous. This is Draco. Why am I nervous? I guess because I've never asked anyone to marry me before.

With a sigh of satisfaction-not unlike he often made in the bedroom-Draco pushed his plate away and reached for the last of his champagne. This was it. The Moment.

Harry got to his feet and stood over Draco.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Now look Harry. I've just eaten a huge meal. At least wait till it digests a bit."

Harry shook his head. "No, it's not that. I just wanted to say something." He cleared his throat. Draco looked up at him expectantly. "Right then…I just wanted to say that I've never felt this way. For anyone. I've never been in love before, not really." He laughed a giddy laugh. "Except that I have. But it's been with you, always you. Even when you didn't know it and when I couldn't find a good reason for it, because God knows there were many times when there wasn't." Harry paused and licked his lips, tasting Draco there. "You see, there's never been anyone who could quite understand me the way you do. Maybe because we shared so much. Admittedly, mostly it was mutual hatred. But lately, of course, it's been much more than that." He felt a lump growing in his throat and he tried vainly to swallow it away before he couldn't speak anymore. "You've given me a happiness I never knew I could have, never knew was possible. You don't know what you've done for me."

Draco's expression grew pensive and he scooted to the edge of his chair. "Harry, you don't have to make speeches-"

"Let me finish, please… You can't possibly know what you mean to me. But I want to show you that now."

"Didn't you show me that earlier?"

"Not this." Harry stepped back, took Draco's hand, and got down on one knee. Amused as well as confused at first, Draco merely smiled, but as Harry's words permeated his senses, a subtle change passed over his face. "Draco Malfoy, you are my life. Even though we went through some pretty horrific events in this last year, I wouldn't change any of it, because it's all been with you. And I want our experiences to go on, both good and bad. I love you, after all. There's no better way to say it, and you know how much I like saying it to you. As long as it doesn't lose its magic, I'll continue to say it for a very long time to come." He took a deep breath. "Because I'm asking you to marry me."

Draco stared at Harry with such silence and immobility that he looked for all the world as if he'd been Stupefied. Harry smiled warmly at his lover, holding his hand firmly, and rubbing his thumb gently along the knuckles. But Draco's silence went on and the hard floor was starting to ache his knee. "Um…Draco, here is where you say 'yes, Harry, I will marry you.'" But Draco continued to stare with his mouth agape. "Draco, my knee is beginning to go numb. An answer would be good about now."

Draco rose and gently extricated his hand from Harry's. He didn't seem to know where to look, but his eyes never swept over Harry. He breathed harshly, shoulders rising and falling. "My answer," he croaked, "my answer…would have to be… 'no'."

Shocked and still on his knee, Harry watched horrified as Draco gulped a sob, muttered, "I'm sorry," and suddenly ran from the room, slamming the door behind him.


On to Chapter Five
"The Course of True Love"

Back to Chapter Three
"Marks Seen and Unseen"

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