The boy who third wheeled (A Harry Potter fanfiction)

This one shot is a spin off of the brilliant Harry Potter fanfiction, The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy.

A few months ago, I had asked the talented Speechwriter, for permission to write a few spin offs of her iconic work. And she was kind enough to give her consent.

This spin off looks at the the development of Draco and Hermione's relationship from Harry Potter's point of view.

If you haven't read The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy, then this fic will not make much sense. So it would be best to go to Archive Of Our Own, and read that brilliant story before you read this one.

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Source

The Potter's Cottage at Godric's Hollow was alive with the din of chatter and laughter as Harry Potter, and his wife Ginny Weasly Potter hosted their friends and family. The Weasley clan, along with their group of friends which, apart from Neville, Shamus, Luna, Parvati, Padma, Tonks and Lupin and Dean, now also included Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle and Pansy Parkinson, ate hearty and shared anecdotes. They were gathered to celebrate Harry's promotion. All of twenty-five, he was the new Head of the Dark Arts Division of The Department of Magical Law Enforcement. At an age when most Aurors have just gained enough proficiency to be included in task forces or to protect VIPs, he was entrusted with the charge of the DMLE's most elite division.

Head Auror Nymphadora Tonks had called Harry into her office the day before to relay the great news, before telling him that false modesty did not become him when he expressed surprise. Pansy would later tell him that she agreed. And that false modesty was, quite frankly, offensive.

Pansy Weasley's, place in their circle hadn't been granted solely due to her status as Ron's girlfriend. Soon after her recovery, she became Ginny's shopping partner and Molly's culinary protégé. Today, she was Ron's wife, the Marketing Director of Weasley's Wizarding Weezes, and expecting their first child together. It was hard to think of a time when the confident and opinionated woman hadn't been a part of their family. What was more, she fit right in with the other confident and opinionated women who were a part of their circle.

As for Gregory Goyle, his integration into the group had been slow, yet steady. After the war, the animosity he and Harry had once held towards each other simply evaporated. It was replaced by distant curiosity regarding Greg's apparent change of heart. After a few joint gatherings of the Granger/Malfoy friend groups, Harry had actually partaken in real conversation with Greg. The civil kind where they didn't trade insults, rather, took turns hearing out each other's points of view about subjects of shared interest. And they did have shared interests. Quidditch for one, a mutual aversion to Arithmancy for another. And to Harry's surprise, a shared awe at Hermione's intellect.

Draco had once jokingly called Harry, Ron and Greg "the Anti-Swot Trio". The laugh that this quip got out of Greg held the mirth of someone who knew it to be a sign of Draco's deep affection.

Interactions with him were easy after that. None of them saw any reason to bring up their history at Hogwarts. No apologies were demanded, nor were any explanations offered. The Slytherins had grown up knowing prejudice and little else. The Gryffindores understood.

Although, Draco had confided to Harry that Greg had apologised to Hermione. Some time in the last three years or so, the group had reached an unspoken agreement that Gregory Goyle was indeed their friend.

Greg's thoughtfulness had surprised Harry. He could be deeply insightful at times, and heart-warmingly kind. He spoke in measured tones, as though feeling the need to make up for all those years of blurting whatever callous drivel came to his ill-occupied mind.

Harry had also been strangely comforted by Greg's complete lack of surprise at the news of his promotion.

"Well who else was it going to be?", he had said with a nonchalant shrug, "your takedown of all those Death Eaters is practically folklore now. I'm surprised this promotion didn't come sooner."
The matter-of-factness was greatly appreciated.

And of course, there was Draco Malfoy.

That spiteful boy who had once made Harry's and his friends' lives hell. The one who stood trembling before Dumbledore's and looked as though he would at any minute, be torn apart by the war raging within him. The one who had grown, matured and earned his redemption right before Harry's eyes. The man whom Harry now considered one of his closest, most trusted friends. And the man who had brought such happiness to Hermione's life.

Speaking of which....

"Where are those two?" Ginny whispered to him, just as Bill was about to regale them with tales of his and Fleur's travels to the Far East.

Harry stepped away from the crowd to see what were those two up to.

He looked in the kitchen, before going into the backyard and there they were. Draco, in his perfectly tailored suit (Savile Row probably, as he wouldn't shut up about the brand) sat on the patio chair, and Hermione in her lovely knee length dress, had made herself quite comfortable on his lap. Her eyes were closed, while his mouth was on her neck.

Harry immediately stepped back into the house before they could see him. Not that they noticed of course. You could blast firecrackers right next to those two, and they wouldn't notice once they were lost in each other.

"They're..... ummm... busy", Harry told Ginny as he rejoined the gathering.

Ginny, who knew all too well what he meant just smiled and rolled her eyes.

This wasn't the first time Harry had caught Hermione and Draco in each other's arms. It wasn't even the first time he had seen them embrace in this very house.

If he were to pinpoint exactly when it all began, he'd say it was probably the night of Halloween 1997.

Then

On hearing that the Malfoys had spent the night at the Granger's residence, Harry was immediately uneasy. Both he and Ron had been to Hermione's house and knew it to be elegant and quite comfortable. In fact, it was the most luxurious non magical home Harry had ever been to.

But this was the Malfoys. Pureblood supremacists and Wizarding royalty. No matter how comfortable the house was, no matter how beautiful the interiors, they would only see it as "Muggle filth". Rage boiled within Harry as he thought of the vile things they may have said to Hermione, who would be alone and traumatised from watching Dumbledore die.

He had been surprised when she revealed that while Lucius and Narcissa hadn't even bothered to conceal their utter disdain for her home, Draco hadn't said anything about it at all. She even laughed about his reaction to the television, how utterly flabbergasted he had been. Harry realised, with some amusement, that he would have liked to see that.

Even after their fall from grace, the Malfoys were as haughty as ever. Treating the Burrow, the home that provided them with shelter and safety, with the kind of contempt one might reserve for a dump sight. They would stick up their nose at everything and not once did they have the decency to complement Molly's cooking, or to even thank the Weasley family for takung them in. Narcissa's usual facial expression of just having smelled something foul seemed to have intensified.

Draco was no better. Looking absolutely miserable when he was shown the room he'd be staying in.

Harry had felt a distinct sense of satisfaction watching him struggle to adjust to his new living conditions. The git probably had several rooms to himself at the Malfoy Manor. Maybe a whole wing even. And now he was forced to live in the home of the family whose financial struggles he had relentlessly mocked for years. Harry had to put physical effort into suppressing his smirks whenever he saw Malfoy cast looks of distaste at the Weasley's furniture, and then have to sit on that same piece of furniture, because what else was he going to do? He had nowhere else to go.

The cruel, bigoted rich prat was out of his depth and it made Harry feel a vicious glee.

The Malfoys were as cold and as subtly hostile to everyone as they get away with being. Ron and Harry had taken Hermione aside and asked her if she was comfortable with them here, if they'd said something to her. She told them how she went out of her way to avoid Lucius and Narcissa. As for Draco, he hadn't been hostile to her at all.

Harry himself began noticing things about Malfoy. The way he'd look at Hermione sometimes. It wasn't with the hateful looks he had graced her with for six years at Hogwarts. Even when he sneered at her, which wasn't often, it just seemed less caustic.

Harry had immediately rushed to get Hermione out of harm's way, as Ron flung counter curses, when they saw the Death Eater aim his wand at Hermione. It was surreal when Malfoy beat them to it. It didn't look as though he thought about it. Just saw the curse coming and lunged at her, getting them both out of it's path.

It had happened so quickly, Harry had to ask himself if he had imagined it. In the moments it took for Hermione to apparate them out of the Burrow, Harry had realised that it hadn't been his imagination. Draco Malfoy had saved the life of his best friend.

Shame was an emotion Malfoy had obviously never experienced before. His face certainly didn't know how to express it. He was struggling to look at Hermione as tears of rage welled up in her eyes. He had sputtered a few words of protest at her when she'd brought up Dobby. But it seemed the blood had been drained from his face when she mentioned personal relevance. He looked panicked, as if struck by someone he couldn't hit back. He looked like he was desperately grasping at straws in order to mount some kind of defence, but failed pathetically.

Even Harry himself had been stricken by it and had exchanged an uncomfortable look with Ron. Not once had it crossed their minds that Hermione's empathy for house elves may stem from knowing first hand what it meant to be treated as less than, simply by virtue of her birth.

It had felt so disorienting to see his own shame being mirrored in the face of Draco Malfoy.

They had all fallen silent after that.

Harry had wondered if her words had made some sort of impact on the git, because the next day, as they discussed the Muggle-born registration process, Malfoy had actually stopped himself from using the other M-word. He had looked surprised that they were surprised at this and had looked at Hermione with shades of that same discomfort he had shown in the Room of Requirement.

Malfoy hadn't given them too much trouble. In fact, Harry would be lying if he said he hadn't been helpful. And save for that one argument he had had with Ron, when the latter suggested Malfoy would betray them the first chance he got, they hadn't had any real rows with him.

Though he hadn't asked her, Harry had a feeling that Hermione had spoken to him after he and Ron had stormed off. He wondered what she'd said to him, because after that, Malfoy had made it a point to avoid Ron, if at all possible. Living together had been almost easy. For the most part.

He had half expected to see the Slytherin looking at his childhood home with the same superior distaste with which he had regarded the Burrow. But the way he had eyed the cottage and the pictures on the walls seemed almost....respectful.

The Occlumency lessons were the first time when Malfoy truly surprised Harry. He was sure that his enemy would sieze the opportunity to hurt him, cause him to feel shame and humiliation. Just like Snape had done. And try to play it off as being part of the training process.

However, Draco's entrances into his mind hadn't been nearly as unpleasant as Snape violently forcing his way in. Harry could feel that the Slytherin was making genuine efforts not to hurt him. He really wanted to help. Draco Malfoy was being gentle with Harry Potter.

The next shocker came when Malfoy participated, without being coerced, in the cleaning of the Potter's Cottage. Using both magical and non-magical methods, he worked just as hard as Harry, Hermione and Ron in making the cottage livable. Getting dirt on his face and hands, and sweat in his eyes, but still soldiering on.

Harry remembered the look of amused amazement Ron had given him when Malfoy haf joined Hermione in cleaning up the carpet. Pureblood Scion and Slytherin Prince, Draco Malfoy was doing manual labour. He knew how to clean.

He could cook too. The few times he had made breakfast for them, it was rather good.

Where would he have learned?

Harry had wondered if learning to cook and do scullery work was part of some elite Pureblood training. Perhaps to make sure the kids would be self sufficient, in case of any eventuality?

Another surprise came in the form of the comfortable, even friendly discussions he saw Hermione having with Malfoy. It soon became apparent that they had plenty of common interests. Draco could actually carry out conversations with Hermione on subjects that would go over Harry and Ron's heads.

Malfoy was intelligent. Like Hermione, he was logical and analytical. He was even interesting. Hermione certainly agreed.

Harry would forever be grateful to him for noticing the Diadem's effect on Hermione. His concern for her had been unexpected, though strangely enough, not shocking. It blew his mind to think that neither he nor Ron had noticed anything off about her, but Malfoy had.

Source

Were he and Ron so close to her that they had stopped seeing all of her, without even realising it? Malfoy's different perspective really had proved useful just as Hermione said it would. Of course, the extent to which the diadem had affected Hermione would be revealed a bit later.

The Fidilius Charm was excellently executed by Hermione. No surprises there. It was perhaps the very first time that Harry saw a genuine smile on Malfoy's face.

After that, something seemed to have shifted between Hermione and Malfoy. Their interactions seemed warmer, their conversations more intimate. Someone who had never met them before could never have guessed what complicated history they shared. That self satisfied smile on him every time she laughed at one of his jokes was hard to miss.

Then there was the way he looked at her, when she wasn't looking at him. With a curiosity, as though he had never known her before and was trying to figure her out. And at times, these looks held something that seemed insane to even consider.

Malfoy had also begun to look increasingly uncomfortable when the radio broadcasted the Ministry's anti Muggle-born propaganda. He'd cast these furtive glances at Hermione that contained just a hint of worry. Was he concerned about how the rhetoric made her feel?

Malfoy's injury had come as a shock to Harry. When Hermione suggested that it should be she and Draco polyjuiced as Mr and Mrs Parkinson and enter the Ministry, Harry had been troubled. Even though Malfoy's behaviour gave no indication that he might betray them, Harry was not free from worries about whether or not he could be trusted to have Hermione's back. Draco Malfoy was selfish. Always had been. And surely if things went sideways, he wouldn't hesitate to abandon her to save his own skin.

But he hadn't. Malfoy had been brave. He took a risk, and was cursed by none other than Delores Umbridge. It left him with a nasty gash on his shoulder that Hermione dressed every day.

For the first time, Harry respected Draco.

Ron's departure broke Hermione's heart. Harry too had been hurt by it, but on some level, he understood that his best friend just couldn't bear the thought that she had trusted Malfoy with her troubles. Malfoy and not her best friends. Harry himself shared that feeling of shame and anger.

How could they have been so blind? He remembered when back in 1992, Ginny had been possesed by one of Voldemort's Horcruxes - Tom Riddle's diary. How traumatised she had been. It was sickening to think that the same thing could have happened to Hermione.

But it hadn't. Draco had prevented it.

Harry had not hesitated in expressing his gratitude.

Harry also felt annoyed at Ron for calling Draco a "Death Eater". It just seemed so unfair, and unnecessarily cruel. Especially since Draco had risked his own life so they could secure the Locket of Slytherin and get a step closer to defeating Voldemort.

It was quite disorientating, really. Just a year earlier, Harry himself swore up and down that Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater. But now, it felt wrong to even think of him as one. And he had felt almost compelled to let Draco know this.

Halloween. That was the night something had happened. Harry was sure of it.

He, Hermione and Draco had had a great time drinking, talking and laughing. It was a night of carefree, unburdened levity that was in such stark contrast to their otherwise grim situation. Drunk out of his mind, Harry had been listening to Draco talk before sleep claimed him.

The next morning, a rather interesting scene greeted him in the kitchen. Apparently, Hermione had cut Draco's hair.

What was even stranger was that deep flush she wore. The last time he had seen that particular colour on her cheeks was in fourth year at the Yule Ball, when she was on the arm of Viktor Krum.

Not that Draco was faring any better. He was making far too much noise. Talking a bit too quickly and loudly.

Neither of them met Harry's gaze that morning.

Harry had told himself he was being ridiculous. Nothing could possibly happen between those two.

But those looks Draco would cast at Hermione. That same look of curiosity he had worn in the days following the casting of the Fidilius Charm. But now that look held something more. Something Harry could no longer ignore since it was so obvious.

Did Draco fancy Hermione?

Harry knew his friend was beautiful. Over the last few years, Hermione had really grown into her looks. And she carried herself with a certain confidence that only added to her attractiveness. He knew that a lot of boy at Hogwarts had fancied her.

But Draco Malfoy? Even if he didn't hate her anymore, or no longer thought of her as inferior, would he really go as far as to allow himself to feel attraction towards her?

To add to the utter bizarreness of the situation, Harry himself had started to enjoy Draco's company. He had a wicked sense of humour, was sharp as a whip. He was fun to talk to. Either being cooped up in the cottage really was driving him insane, or Harry had actually started to like Draco Malfoy.

Harry's mind would often take him back to that first time he rode the Hogwarts Express. How he had been willing to shake Draco's hand and accept his offer of friendship, until the git ruined it by insulting Ron.

How would things have gone if they had become friends?

Would Harry have been able to pull Draco away from his family's ideology?

Or would Draco Malfoy's friendship have darkened Harry?

Judging from the person Draco was becoming right before his eyes, Harry was inclined to think that it would have been the former.

Something had changed between Hermione and Draco the night she destroyed the Diadem. She'd begun to distance herself from him all of a sudden. She was guarded around him, even cold. Soon, she stopped talking to him completely.

Harry wondered if Draco had said something to her. Had they argued?
Had he throw some hateful insult at her?

That seemed unlikely, as Draco was absolutely distraught that Hermione had stopped talking to him. His desperation to get her back was clear as day. He would invent excuses to talk to her. Jumping at any and every opportunity to get her to engage with him. Hermione, however, remained cold. And Draco would grow more forlorn each day. Quite unbecoming of a Slytherin, to be honest.

Harry knew how hard it could be to break through Hermione's walls. She could turn herself into a fortress and scaling her walls could be near impossible. Draco was trying and failing. She had brought the cool and confident Slytherin Prince to his knees. Harry wondered if she even knew this.

It still wouldn't hurt to confirm that Malfoy indeed hadn't been cruel to Hermione.

He caught her alone one day and asked her point. She smiled and confirmed that Draco had neither said nor done anything to offend her. She was telling her truth, he could tell.

When she expressed disappointment that Draco was yet to outrightly reject his family's views, Harry surprised himself by coming to his defence.

Did he really ask Hermione Granger to have faith in Draco Malfoy? To give him time and not judge him too harshly? Did he actually bring up the positive changes Draco had exhibited ever since he had started living with them?

Crazy times they were in!

As an added precaution, Harry decided to talk to Draco the day they were to go into Muggle London.

Draco had seemed genuinely affronted at Harry's implications that he would say something disparaging about the Muggle world. That he would go out of his way to hurt Hermione.

The sadness in his eyes was unmistakable, despite his attempts to hide it behind his ever present snark.

Quite the experience the trip to Muggle London was. Draco Malfoy was at sea. In the midst of a world about which he had only been fed lies his entire life. He stared at everything. People, shops, automobiles. Harry had to suppress the urge to laugh, fearing it would undo the progress they had made. He and Hermione, mostly Hermione, answered the myrid of questions Draco had.

As they sat in the chip shop, the softness in Draco's eyes as he gazed at Hermione was not something Harry would have ever expected to see. And yet, there is was.

Dinner that night was weird, in a good way. It was hilarious the way Hermione was trying to act normal, while Draco just barely held on to his cool composure. But his small smiles displaying uncontainable happiness still broke through.

Something had definitely happened. Harry had no doubt. He only wondered exactly how far things had gone.

Had they......

Hermione looked happier than he'd ever seen her. She began acting in ways that were so un-Hermione. She blushed when Draco so much as looked at her. Laughed in unbridled mirth at all his quips. Always sat next to him during meals.

And Draco, quite frankly, had started acting like a besotted idiot. He couldn't take his eyes off of Hermione, hung on every word she spoke, and seemed to admire every little thing she did. And the way he smiled sometimes.... Harry wondered if Draco even knew that he was acting in ways that would horrify his old self.

It had caused Harry to wonder, with mounting horror, was this how he had looked when he was around Ginny? Did he too act like a besotted fool?

For all their intelligence, the two of them were doing a poor job of hiding.... whatever they had become.

Did they think Harry was an idiot? Did they think he was blind?

Wouldn't he know what was going on when they invented excuses to go into rooms together? Or when both of them got the urge to go into the yard for some fresh air, inexplicably at the same time? Or the way Hermione's hair would be just a little messier, her cheeks a bit pinker, and how Draco would look a bit too pleased with himself when they'd finally rejoin him.

Harry worried sometimes. Would Draco hurt Hermione? What if her feelings for him were much deeper, and he only saw her as a distraction. He'd certainly had a reputation at Hogwarts. A protective anger would take hold of Harry at the thought of his best friend, his sister, being hurt.

But it would leave him just as quickly when he saw Draco cast one of his besotted looks at Hermione.

Harry soon realised that they'd stay up every night after he retired to bed. One night, he had been woken by some noise and decided to go into the living room to check. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

Draco and Hermione sitting together in front of the lit fireplace. His arm possessively around her, her hands on his shoulders. Hermione's face was hidden from Harry's view due to the back of Draco's head blocking it. He was sure they were kissing. Thankfully, they were too wrapped up in each other to notice him as he slunk back into his room.

Were those two actually doing this here in his childhood home? Where his parents had once lived?

As Harry thought about this he realized that it didn't bother him at all. In fact, he was glad. He was glad that in the same home where his mum and dad had nurtured dreams of building a life together, Hermione and Draco were able to break free of prejudices and find something special.

Draco's icy grey eyes had held a primal, raw, naked desire when he'd seen Hermione in her red evening gown. The sheer intensity of it had caused Harry to look away immediately. He'd made some excuse to leave the room so those two could get their emotions out of their systems. He'd also made sure to be as noisy as possible when descending the stairs five minutes later, so they'd have time to gather themselves.

Just because he wasn't opposed to what was going on, didn't mean that he wanted to see them snogging.

Draco had risked exposure to save Hermione. Without any hesitation, he had commanded Pansy to stop just as she was about to throw a hex at Hermione's back. Harry would later reflect on how the act showed the depth of Draco's feelings for her.

Draco had also faught valiantly. Blocking herxes and curses and throwing his own with impressive ferocity. He always had been good at martial magic. In the thick of battle, they'd been side by side, keeping one another safe, watching each other's backs. Draco took the same risks as the other Order members.

Had they managed to Gryffindorize the Slytherin prat?

The arrival of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had caused an unwelcome shift in the headquarter's atmosphere. By now, the Order had accepted Draco. More or less. But that didn't prevent tensions from rising at the idea of sharing this sacred space with two people who were so vehemently opposed to everything that the Order stood for.

Hermione tried to hide it, but she was nervous. Harry wanted to reassure her, but didn't know what to say. Because he knew she wasn't nervous about what the Malfoys might say to her. That she was more than capable of dealing with. What had her worried was how their presence might effect Draco. What could Harry say when he himself had no idea which way Draco would turn.

He recieved his answer soon enough. When Lucius had expressed disgust at the idea of doing chores on Hermione Granger's orders, Draco had placed himself between Hermione and his parents with the swiftness of a viper poised to strike, before the slur had even left Lucius's mouth. He had uttered a vehement "No", before letting his father know that Hermione, unlike him, was fair and divided the work equally.

Harry relished the look of shock on Lucius and Narcissa's faces. Once again, he took a moment to be proud of Draco.

Harry had not expected what the Horcrux revealed about Draco inner turmoil. He had to stop himself from offering comfort, knowing Draco would not want it. Not from him.

All the guilt, the self doubt, the shame he'd felt had been laid bare. Draco really had been thinking of his past self. Harry supposed he shouldn't be surprised, given the changes he had undergone in the last six months. His plea about not wanting to add to the list of his misdeeds came from a place of deep regret.

Harry himself had been at pains to explain to Draco that he hadn't meant to hurt him with that Sectumsempra spell. He remembered how panicked he had been, the way the guilt had nearly drowned him. Draco, thankfully, seemed to understand and forgave Harry easily enough.

Did he even know how unburdened Harry had felt after that conversation?

Harry, in turn, had understood Draco's concern for his parents and their safety. Lucius was living scum, Narcissa was a bitch, but Draco didn't deserve to lose his parents. Merlin knew the bloke had come a long, long way.

Harry had seen his own relief mirrored in Hermione's face when Ron and Draco shook hands. He was worried for a while that once they were back in Headquarters, and the adrenaline had worm off, their age old bitterness and enmity would resurface. No such thing happened. Both Draco and Ron were at ease. Partly because they knew the mission was bigger and more important than their egos, and partly because they truly had come to respect each other. Ron's apology was accepted instantly in the form of Draco's effortlessly snark. Interactions between them had been easy after that.

"He's different somehow", Ron had said to Harry when they were alone, "I mean, he could have died doing what he's been doing, yeah? That's gotta mean something. Besides, people change. Once they've been through the ringer, all that blood purity talk quickly looks like the bollocks that it is."

Harry had agreed.

Then, his best friend had surprised him by asking, "how's he been with Hermione?"

When Harry had asked what he meant, Rod just shrugged and said, "Nothing... they just seem closer".

Further confirming that Harry was, in fact, not losing his mind and seeing things.

Ron wasn't the only Weasley who had noticed.

Ginny had asked him soon after arriving at the cottage, what was going on between Hermione and Draco. Harry had told her he wasn't entirely sure, which was mostly true. One night when they were just about to turn in, they heard what sounded like footfalls on the stairs and suppressed whispers. Opening the door just a crack, Ginny had seen Draco and Hermione hurriedly get into the latter's room.

Confirmation for Harry that the bumps he'd been hearing for the past few nights had indeed been those two.

The two idiots weren't exactly being stealthy. Both Harry and Ginny had spotted them casting longing glances at each other, as if they weren't in a room full of people. Ron and Pansy were actually doing a better job of hiding their relationship than the genius couple. Ginny was just curious to see which couple would get caught first.

The fly over mission being sabotaged came as a shock to everyone. Draco appeared to be just about keeping his rage under control when he told them that it was his parents. Besides anger, Harry also saw a hint of fear in Draco's eyes.

Did he really think that, after everything he'd done, they would blame him?

Hermione's assurance that he had actually prevented a massacre visibly calmed him. Harry could practically see the way Draco was drawing strength from Hermione's eyes. In that moment, he'd felt a surge of warmth for the couple. His heart had begun to harbour a desperate hope for them. That they'd make it.

The two secret romances were finally revealed to the rest of the Order the day little Ted Lupin was born. Apart from joy Harry felt a sense of relief as he no longer needed to tip toe around Draco and Hermione at night, lest he happen to "discover" their secret.

This reveal had brought Headquarters some much needed levity. Not only did they celebrate the birth of Tonks and Remus's son, but also the budding relationships.

Draco really enjoyed flaunting his relationship with Hermione. As if he wanted to leave no doubt in anyone's mind that they were together.

And wasn't that exactly what she deserved? A man who was proud to be hers.

For as long as he lived, Harry Potter would never forget the sheer panic he saw on Draco's face after Bellatrix had taken Hermione. Any grief over losing his father seemed to have been drowned by the fear of losing his mother and the woman he loved.

He had looked downright dangerous when Harry found him with his arms around a trembling Hermione. Like a ferocious dragon hoarding his treasure. He'd even issued a warning to Harry, letting him know that his Hermione was in pain and needed to be treated with care.

Finally, the war came to an end with Voldemort's death and the surrender of most of the Death Eaters. Harry had seen Draco and Hermione from a distance. Leaning on each other, finally able to be together in a world where they didn't have to worry about the next devastating blow tearing them apart. This is what had caused Harry to smile, seeing his best friend safe and cherished in the arms of his former enemy.

Now

"Oh there you are! Where have you two been?" Harry was brought out of his trip down memory lane by Molly's voice.

"Mum, do you really want them to answer that?" Ron asked with a knowing smirk, drawing chuckles from the others.

Draco smirked proudly at this as he sat down with them, pulling a blushing Hermione on to his lap. Her engagement ring glittered prettily, as her hand rested on her fiancé's chest.

The war had taken much from them. Fred and George being not the least of the casualties. But they had also gained the ability to see those they'd once called their foes in a new light, and eventually call them their friends. Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy had defeated prejudice passed down through generations, faught for and won their happiness in each other's arms.

And for that, Harry Potter was grateful.