Shackles

Chapter 10

Epilogue – 3 months later

Draco let out a deep breath and swept the sweaty hair out of his face. The potion for his final exam had been difficult and the brewing had kept Draco occupied for the past three hours. He made a face, knowing that his hair was a mess and his face was pink from leaning over his cauldron for so long. He probably smelled like frog spleen or something.

On the bright side, his potion was absolute perfection.

The examiner made a hum of approval as he bottled a sample from Draco's cauldron.

"You may go, Mr. Malfoy."

This was his last exam, and then he was done forever. Graduation was set for tomorrow, and Draco would celebrate his victory later, just as soon as he cleaned up.

He was on his way back to the Slytherin common room when a hand reached out of a dark alcove, seized his wrist, and pulled him out of sight.

Draco sighed, rolling his eyes. "Potter, I'm disgusting. Let go of me, you twit."

Harry only hung on tighter, burying his nose in the crook of Draco's neck. Draco didn't bother trying to escape. He smiled, because Harry couldn't see his face, and wrapped his arms around Harry's waist.

"You have frog spleen in your hair," Harry murmured happily into his ear.

Draco huffed out a short laugh. "Yes, I know. That's why I was on my way to my dorm. Cleanliness, Potter. I know you know what that is."

"You're perfect like this."

Draco felt his face flush horribly. No matter how many times Harry said it, he still couldn't believe he was this lucky. Harry was ridiculously content to cuddle him, whenever or wherever they were. He often walked straight out of potions or off the Quidditch field only to find Harry waiting for him.

Harry just grinned and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth.

Draco melted into it, quite happy to allow Harry to push him up against the wall and snog him breathless. After a moment or two, he laughed and untangled himself.

"Seriously, Potter. I am getting clean, and then I'm all yours. Okay?"

"I'll be waiting."

When Draco emerged from his dorm, absolutely clean and fresh out of the shower, Harry was indeed waiting still. Draco sighed as he realized that Harry had managed to pick of a few people along the way. Granger and Weasley were with him, and they seemed to be chatting amiably with him.

They all turned at his approach.

"Malfoy," Weasley said in a neutral tone. "I hear you're done your final exam."

"Yes," Draco answered in a civil voice. "Granger was in Potions with me. How did you find it?"

He made small talk with them as best he could. He still found it awkward sometimes, and he'd bitten his tongue more times than he could count trying to hold back a sarcastic comment. It appeared to be working, as they'd stopped shooting him distrustful looks. Mostly.

Harry cut in, grabbing Draco's hand and grinning at his friends. "I'll see you at dinner. I have to talk to Draco about something."

Draco felt his stomach seize up. He wasn't expecting Harry to want to talk to him, as everything was going surprisingly smoothly, as far as he could tell. He quickly sifted through the memories from the past week, trying to figure out what Harry could possibly want to discuss. Nothing came to mind, which was worrying.

Harry lead him outside, pulling him towards the lake. Draco followed with trepidation. He remembered the argument they'd had by the lake that had started this whole thing off. He'd been extra vigilant ever since then, being careful not to get kidnapped again.