Put It All On Me (Drarry)

Chapter 5 - 2002

Harry wiped his brow.

He reckoned that he should call it a day, but he would put the work on hold for a week when Draco will come back for Christmas break two days later. So he dumped another dollop of concrete mixture on the bricks and kept smearing.

Sirius got a boatload of money. Turned out, he wasn't doing half-bad himself before he was mistakenly chucked into jail, but after being released from the hellhole, the compensation he received for being in jail for sixteen and a half years was more than enough for all of them.

Frankly, it was a miracle that Sirius managed to stay sane, his memories and consciousness still intact after sixteen years of wrongly convicted madness. But after he fought down (he was held back by guards) the urge to throttle Peter to death and made sure with his own eyes that he was thrown behind the bars for life, Sirius went back to his lively and humorous self, creating an instant bond with his godson.

Remus still insisted on living in the old cottage, though, even with a very energetic and persuasive Sirius giving the most enthusiastic presentation Harry had ever seen in all his school years (it contained spectacularly choreographed dance moves) of living on a yacht.

The little cottage was built by Harry's parents, Sirius, and Peter as a surprise for Remus. He was still an intern at that time, following Professor McGonagall around and taking notes. He used to live far away from Hogwarts, which made it hard for him to go home every weekend, so he was constantly torn between a four-hour transport to and back, or having students breathing down his neck while he was just trying to enjoy a Saturday morning croissant. As much as he loved boarding at Hogwarts and interacting with students, he needed some time off like all the other teachers to unwind and relax on the weekends, somewhere he wouldn't be gawked at by students every second.

It became Remus' permanent residence the night Harry's parents got killed.

Thus, it was apparent that some do-it-yourself work would be required.

Remus had agreed to some renovation and slight expansion. The plan was a slightly larger cottage to fit Remus and Dora, another cottage connected to theirs for Sirius, and another one beside the two for Harry and Draco.

Harry might've thought the idea of Remus and his former babysitter getting together a bit squirmish, but luckily Dora only took care of him for three years before he was chartered off to nursery, no longer in need of a babysitter. Most of the memories with her were a huge and very quick blur. Remus and Dora reunited the year Harry graduated from Hogwarts one night at a seminar at the school about drug safety, and that was that.

Harry also quite liked Dora. During the years when she was taking care of him, she was actually taking several night classes and studying hard at the same time. She was now a practiced legal medical expert, taking great pleasure in chattering on (sometimes in too much detail) about her work with her jumpy personality.

Harry insisted on helping with the 'cottage project,' so Sirius always waited when Harry was back from uni on vacation to work on the construction. After four years of on-and-off build-your-own-cottage with Sirius, Remus' and Sirius' were done.

Upon graduating from uni, Harry decided to take a gap year to start on his and Draco's own little place to live in, before joining the police force in which he already had a spot reserved. Meanwhile, Draco was far away at the University of Edinburgh, earning his Master's degree in Chemistry.

It was their first time being apart for so long, and not a day went by for Harry without missing him. But the testament proved their love worthy, during which they rang each other up daily, still going strong but not trespassing into the clingy and possessive zone.

Finally, after nearly four long months without a hand to hold, Draco would be coming home. Home to Harry. Only two more days to go.

Harry stood from his stool and admired his handiwork. The fireplace was just right, just the way Draco liked it. He mopped a towel over his bare chest— even though it was December and it was cold enough to freeze one's arse off, all the sweat work and labor ensured that Harry was nothing but blazing hot.

Now he could call it a day. With the fireplace done, he was ahead of the game and would make up for half the progress he would lose due to all the future mind-blowing shagging sessions with Draco for a week. He would've gotten more done if Sirius had been there to help. Normally, they did the work together, but strangely, Sirius was nowhere to be seen that particular day.

Just when he was about to leave to let the mixture dry and probably search for Sirius, a pair of cold hands covered his glasses.

"Guess who?" came a sly, saucy voice.

Harry's heart soared through his lungs.

Draco was tackled within a split second, Harry kissing every inch of skin he could reach, both of them grinning like idiots.

"I thought you weren't coming back in two days!" Harry managed between kisses.

Draco broke into the most mischievous smile. "Why, that would've ruined the surprise, wouldn't it? And it was rather easy to arrange, too, your senses really shut out when you're concentrating," he said with a cheeky grin.

Harry pulled away at that, realizing that his boyfriend was probably right. He had his back to the room for so long working on the fireplace, during the long period, the rough and exposed concrete floor was swept clean of grit, the furniture-less clearing now had an elegant table for two.

But that wasn't the only 'artifact' in the room.

Sirius and Remus stood there, Remus trying to keep a straight face and Sirius grinning unabashedly ear to ear, his teeth shiny and his wavy shoulder-length hair whipping in the winter wind.

"Sneaky bastards! You were all in on this!"

Harry ran over and gave them both a huge bear hug, laughing.

"Oh, I wouldn't call giving a few pointers 'in on this,'" Remus said, smiling fondly.

Sirius was incredulous. "A few pointers?! The boy was going to buy a princess c—"

"And that's all from us tonight!" Remus said quickly, whisking Sirius away before he could finish.

Harry turned, very slowly, around. "Er, Draco? Did Sirius mean—"

His breath caught in his throat.

"Well, I was planning to do this after we've eaten, but I've got to say, I was totally counting on Sirius to ruin the plan. Got to get a bit creative, no?"

Draco was holding a beautiful round cut diamond ring in his hands... down on one knee.

"Harry James Potter, will you marry me?"

Harry smiled widely through the flowing streams of tears, sniffling fondly, " Put it on me, you utter lovely dork!