That Sunday brought Harry more joy than he had felt in awhile as they made multiple trips to officially move Draco in. Harry had given Draco his own room so that he had his own space if needed, but anything of value was moved into Harry's room which they were now sharing.

They spent the day continuing to restore parts of the old house and then cooled off later that night together in the pool. Harry couldn't deny that the house was brighter and more alive with Draco in it.

Their fitting on Wednesday went quickly. Harry admired how efficiently Pansy worked, and the whole process took an hour tops for both men to have their robes re-fitted. After that, Draco took Harry back to their diner.

"Hello again boys, I'll have your table ready in just a moment."

"Take your time Delilah, we're in no rush," Draco reassured, squeezing Harry's hand in his.

Draco was talking about what kind of shoes both men should be wearing when they were escorted to their table. Throughout the course of the meal, they continued to discuss what they should be wearing and how they should proceed with the announcement of their relationship.

When Delilah dropped off the check, she looked at both men with a knowing smile.

"May I just say that retirement looks well on you Harry. The past few years that I've known you I have never seen you this happy and carefree. I hope once your gala passes on Saturday you'll finally put down the weight of the worlds that you've been carrying."

"How did you?...," Draco began, head tilted in confusion.

"A witch never reveals her secrets," Delilah replied with a wink. "You needed anonymity and a safe, magic free place to vent. I provide that."

"I always thought this place had an air of magic about it, but I thought I was just projecting," Harry replied, shaking his head with a laugh. "I'd be honored if you would attend my retirement gala on Saturday."

"Oh I don't know. I've been quite removed from that world for some time now."

"I'll drop off an invitation later, if you change your mind."

"Thank you. Off you go now."

"Well, that was surprising," Draco remarked.

"It is but it isn't. Her and the diner brought you back to me, that's the true magic."

"Take me home you big sap."

Harry was surprised on Friday when he woke up late and Draco was still in bed with him.

"My love?," he murmured, gently shaking Draco awake.

"Yes darling?"

"Are you alright? Your shift was supposed to start an hour ago."

"They gave me today off."

"For what?"

"It seems as if your undying love for me was quite obvious. My supervisor told me to take today off to finish preparing for your retirement," Draco replied softly, rolling over to face Harry.

"How did she find out? I haven't even kissed you at your workplace!"

"Do you remember when your retirement was leaked to The Prophet?"

Harry snorted, burying his face in the juncture of Draco's shoulder.

"Of course I do. Everyone fell into a panic and I refused to be seen in the wizarding world."

"But you came to see me and have lunch with me. When I started bringing in the packed lunches you would make me and read your silly notes, she put two and two together. She noticed I was happier after you came to see me. She'd never ask outright but I confirmed it yesterday because I couldn't stop smiling. And there's a picture of us on my desk. So she told me to spend today with you, and I would never pass that up."

"I should send her some flowers," Harry announced, before playfully capturing both of Draco's wrists in one hand.

"Oh? Not nicer than mine I hope."

"I'd buy you a whole wildflower preserve if that's what made you happy. Anything you want."

"I want to know just what you're going to be doing to me when you have my hands restrained."

"I'm going to take you apart slowly again and again. I need my breakfast, I'm a growing boy you know."

"Fuck, Harry."

"Soon enough Draco," Harry promised with a cheeky grin.

They didn't actually start being productive until dinner time. Draco ran them a bath and then began preparing all of their things for the gala tomorrow.

"Can I do anything to help my love?"

"Figure out something for dinner?"

"On it. Don't miss me too much."

"My heart aches more and more every step you take away from me."

"Don't even joke about that because I will take you with me everywhere I go."

"You do, every single time you wear the bracelet I gave you," Draco promised, kissing Harry sweetly.

Harry kissed Draco back, lovingly caressing his face.

"I'll go get dinner before I go looking for seconds from breakfast."

Draco smacked Harry's arse as he made his way out of the bedroom, his laughter following him down the hallway. Harry ordered some pizza, made a salad, put out some candles, then popped out to the shops for wine, flowers, and the pizza. When he returned, he arranged Draco's flowers in a vase, lit the candles, and set out the food.

"Dinner is here my love!"

"Everything is ready- oh, Harry darling."

"Your favorite wine, pizza, and flowers. Then I have some chocolate lava cakes for after dinner."

"The candles are a nice touch," Draco added, sitting in the chair Harry had pulled out for him before doing the same with a flick of his wand.

"I think any meal can be a five star meal if you dress it up properly."

"To us," Draco raised a glass, clinking it against Harry's.

"To us," Harry agreed, looking at Draco lovingly.

That next day, Draco repaid Harry's kindness by making sure he didn't have to lift a finger to do anything.

"Draco!," Harry shouted with a laugh, playfully batting his arm away as he once again used magic to do something for Harry that he could've easily done himself.

"Let me show you my love!"

"I feel your love, don't worry about that."

"You need to learn how to relax and let me take care of you. Like you said, just because you can, doesn't mean you should have to."

"Okay, I concede then. Until later tonight anyway. Do you think they're going to make me speak?," Harry asked, propping himself up on their bed as he watched Draco cast anti-wrinkle charms on their robes.

"Most definitely."

"I don't even know what to say. Thanks for nothing? Thank you for making me hate my life and subsequently reintroducing me to the love of my life?"

"Please make Hermione read your wedding vows in advance," Draco deadpanned, sitting next to Harry and grabbing his hands.

"Oh please, I don't need any help. I already know what I would say," Harry replied with a scoff.

"Do you now?"

"When you re-entered my life, I was at one of the lowest points I had ever been. In a time of such a great, dark despair you were the bright light at the end of my tunnel. I thought I was destined to a life of simplicity and monotony, but you make even the most mundane tasks fun. You've brought color into my dull world and taught me that I'm worthy of being loved, and you mean everything to me. I promise to love you in all of the ways you deserve to be loved," Harry swore, looking in Draco's eyes.

"Well now I'm crying and I'm going to look puffy at the gala so thanks a lot Potter."

"I love you so much," Harry whispered, pulling Draco into his embrace.

"I love you too. That was incredibly endearing, you know."

"When I have nothing else to think about I think about you."

Draco held Harry as close as he possibly could, relishing in the calm before the storm.

"You're going to break your witch weekly's eligible bachelor streak."

"Oh no. How will I ever cope with that? I guess I'll have to cry into my gorgeous boyfriend's arms over the loss."

"Just when I thought I could've had a chance, you've taken me off the market."

"You're off the market forever. I don't share."

"Neither do I."

"I'm glad we're in agreement," Harry replied, pressing a kiss to Draco's cheek.

"You missed."

"My apologies," Harry teased, kissing Draco's other cheek.

"You're insufferable."

"Only to you my love."

"That's how it should be," Draco replied, lips brushing against Harry's. "Let's get ready now shall we?"

"Do we have to?," Harry questioned with a dramatic sigh.

"Well, I'm going to take a shower. I thought you could join me but-"

"I'll race you!"

"What an idiot I have," Draco muttered fondly to himself as he followed Harry into the bathroom.

"This was a trap," Harry accused sometime later, arms crossed over his chest.

"We're making our debut in the wizarding world. If you would stop moving I wouldn't have to keep fixing your hair! Don't make me restrain you!"

"What if I want to be restrained?"

"Will you please just do this one thing for me Harry?"

"Okay."

"Okay?," Draco repeated slowly.

"Clearly this means a lot more to you than it does to me. This whole dressing up thing is your world, not mine. I've lived most of my life with oversized hand-me-downs, I'm at the point where I question anything that actually fits me. I honestly don't care how I look in our photos because I'll be looking at you the whole entire time. So would any sensible person really."

"I have always loved a good party," Draco admitted, caressing Harry's face. "I forget sometimes that you don't enjoy the attention like I thought you did. If I'm doing too much please tell me so we can compromise."

"You're just excited, and I love that about you. I would show up wearing a rubbish bin if it meant I got to attend with you on my arm. I trust you not to surpass my limits, and if I don't like something I'll tell you, I promise."

Looking in the mirror for the first time with Draco by his side, he was stunned.

"If you ever get tired of being a healer, you can do whatever Pansy does because Merlin, Draco. I look good! I actually look good."

"You look better than good. Sexy. Sophisticated. Smart," Draco punctuated as he pressed kisses across Harry's face.

"We're just missing one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"Flowers to pin to our dress robes of course. Or wear on your wrist if you prefer."

"I'll pin it. Thank you Harry, that was very sweet of you."

"Anything for you my love. Last finishing touches?," Harry questioned, doing a slow spin for Draco.

"Just one last thing... perfect. We'll floo there, yes? Let me cast the anti-soot charm."

"The what?"

"Anti-soot charm of course."

"Everyone has let me look like an idiot for years but in reality I could have been using a charm!"

Draco stifled a laugh as he cast that and some other charms on Harry's robes.

"After you."

Watching Harry go through the floo, Draco took a few quiet moments to hype himself up and shake off the worry. No matter what, Harry was his, and no one would be taking him away. He could do this. It was a simple gala, and his friends would be there. He wasn't alone.

"There's my beautiful date," Harry greeted, extending a hand to walk Draco out of the floo.

The uproar was immense, but Harry took it in stride, only having eyes for his Draco.

"Should we wait for Pansy and Blaise?," Harry whispered in Draco's ear, practically blinded by the flashing of the cameras.

"Please."

Harry stood there, his arm around Draco's waist, ignoring all of the questions thrown at him. When they arrived, the noise levels only increased.

"Harry, congratulations. The dress robes turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself," Pansy greeted.

"Auror Potter, Ms. Parkinson designed your dress robes?," someone questioned.

"Mine as well as Healer Malfoy's. She did an excellent job, and I will use her shop for all of my needs. Thank you, we'll be heading in now."

Harry released a breath he didn't know he was holding when he entered the reporter free room.

"Auror Potter!"

"I was unaware there would be a greeting party Head Auror Robards," Harry replied coolly.

"You know how these events are. Healer Malfoy, always a pleasure."

"Head Auror Robards."

"We've taken the liberty of setting out seating cards. Healer Malfoy, Ms. Parkinson, and Mr. Zabini are seated over here. Auror Potter-"

"Will be sitting with his boyfriend," Harry interrupted.

"My apologies. I'm sure we can switch some seats around."

"Thank you."

"Blaise and I will be mingling, thank you for the business opportunity Potter."

"Of course. I didn't lie, anything else I may need I'm coming straight to you. With more advanced notice of course."

"Thank you. Come along Blaise."

"Everything okay, my love?"

"It's so hot when you tell people off in my honor," Draco confessed, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck.

"Hopefully I won't have to, but I always will if needed," Harry promised, kissing Draco quickly. "Let's find our seats, I'm sure I'll have more rearranging to do."

With a grin, Draco engaged those around them in conversation while Harry wordlessly and wandlessly rearranged some of the name tags. He and Draco made a great team, and he told him so.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy."

"Minnie!"

Minerva laughed and shook her head fondly, eyes twinkling.

"Still taking after your father I see."

"Would you expect anything less?"

"Never."

"You're sitting with Draco and I, if you'd like."

"It would be an honor. I must say that you both look well."

"That's what finding love will do to you," Harry replied with a grin, pulling Draco into his side.

"Is that so? They say hate and love are the two sides of the same emotion. It seems as if it was inevitable."

"Minerva?"

"Delilah is that you? It's been years!"

"Delilah, you came!"

"I thought it rude not to."

"What a small world," Draco mused.

"Delilah and I attended Hogwarts together."

"That would explain why I was drawn to you. You do remind me a lot of Minnie."

"We must catch up."

"If you'll excuse Draco and I, we'll be making our rounds."

Harry was more than happy to let Draco lead all of their conversations. He was pleased to find that everyone held Draco in a high regard and treated him with nothing but respect.

"Harry mate! Hello Malfoy."

"Weasley. Hermione, you look lovely."

"Parkinson knows her stuff, clearly. Thank you, you both look wonderful."

"Ron looks alright, I was hoping for a new bonnet."

"Oh sod off will you?," Ron asked with a laugh, elbowing Harry playfully.

"I'll never let you live that down."

"I can't wait to share all of your embarrassing stories with Malfoy."

"He'll be charmed, I'm sure."

"Unfortunately, he's right. I do think I need my head examined," Draco replied dramatically.

"They'll just find me because I'm always in your thoughts."

"Yes, well- oh I love this song!"

"Would you like to dance?"

"I'll lead."

"Obviously," Harry replied with a snort, letting Draco bring him to the dance floor.

"Look at me, not your feet or you will step on me."

"I might step on you anyway."

"You'll need lessons before the wedding."

"Of course."

They talked, danced, and laughed and it was like no one else was in the room. When it came time for dinner, Harry was quite pleased with his new table mates. He hadn't wanted to sit with his old team, who's numbers had certainly dwindled down.

It was after dinner when Smith had approached him.

"Auror Potter, may I have a word please?"

Draco gently placed his hand on top of Harry's thigh in support. Harry looked at Smith, really looked at him, and agreed.

"You may. Excuse me for a moment."

"I wanted to apologize."

"For?"

"For how I acted on your team and taking advantage of you. I thought I was invincible because you were invincible. I didn't realize that I was putting everyone else at risk. I've thought a lot about what you said to me, and you were right. I did need a kick in the arse if I was going to prove you wrong. I'm sorry."

"Thank you for the apology. I really do hope you prove me wrong. I'll be keeping an ear out for you."

"I expect nothing less sir."

Clapping him on the shoulder, Harry made his way back to his seat.

"Alright darling?"

"He wanted to apologize."

"That counts for something at least."

Once dinner was cleared, Head Auror Robards called everyone's attention for his speech.

"I'll make this quick so Auror Potter can say a few words himself. Auror Potter, the whole department thanks you for your time, dedication, and years of service. While we are all saddened that we didn't have more time to serve with you, we wish you well with your future endeavors. There is always a home here for you, if you ever decide to come back. Thank you."

Harry walked up to the podium, and looked out at the many faces staring back at him, before taking a deep breath and addressing the crowd.

"Thank you all for attending my retirement gala. This is actually the first and last time I have been recognized by the department for my years of service. I've done a lot of good for others here in my role, but now it's time to finally do some good for myself.

I had hoped by joining the Aurors that I could be just Harry, but time and time again I have been proven wrong. When you're Harry Potter, things tend not to go your way. Everyone thinks that I'm invincible, that I'm indestructible, and that is not the case. I'm a normal person, who had some extraordinary things happen to him. People forget just how quickly I had to grow up, and joining the force right after Hogwarts was not the lateral move that I thought it would be.

For my parting words, I hope you all learn to treat each other kinder in my absence. Your life quite literally depends on those around you, and it's important to remember that you're a team. You can't help people if you're taken out because you were injured in the field. Thank your teammates, and thank your healers. They do a lot for us to make sure that we can keep doing our jobs, and they don't don't get enough appreciation. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Healer Malfoy going above and beyond his job every single time. Thank you."

"I love you, I'm so proud of you Harry," Draco whispered in Harry's ear.

"I love you too."

After the speeches, Harry was looking for an out to be able to leave. He hung around for another hour because Draco finally deemed it acceptable to leave. Instead of taking the floo, they apparated outside to avoid the press.

"I cannot wait to go to sleep."

"Not yet."

"What do you mean not yet?," Harry asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Their dessert bar was lacking, so as tradition dictates, we need to make a stop first."

"I suppose I can make an exception for that," Harry replied with a grin.

"We'll just pop home to remove the outer layers of our dress robes. We can't go to a muggle establishment looking like this, unfortunately."

"I think you'd make it a new muggle fashion trend honestly. I agree though, let's change first."

Draco helped Harry undress to make sure his dress robes stayed in pristine condition. He hung their dress robes up in the closet of a spare room before heading back to their bedroom to make sure he still looked good. The nerves were beginning to set in, and Draco worked hard to shake them.

"Alright my love?"

"I'm just craving chocolate."

Laughing, Harry kissed the top of Draco's head before pulling him against himself.

"Let's make it quick, because I am craving you."

"Come on you."

When they got to the diner, Harry was confused as to how empty their normal section was.

"That's peculiar."

"It's a nice night, I'm sure people decided to take advantage of it and sit outside. I would have if I wasn't so attached to our table."

"It would feel wrong not to," Harry agreed.

"Hello again," Delilah greeted with a grin. "Follow me."

"You're working after the gala?"

"I love the night shift, you know. You meet all kinds of interesting people. Draco, the usual?"

"Yes, please."

"I'll be back."

"I need to use the restroom, excuse me for a moment?," Draco pardoned, stepping away from the table.

It was now or never. He did what he needed to do and returned a few minutes later.

"These are for you," Draco said softly, handing Harry a bouquet of sunflowers.

"Thank you? Where were you hiding these?," Harry asked, voice filled with amusement.

"I have my ways darling."

They held hands across the table, and Harry took in all of Draco's mannerisms, including his slightly bouncing leg.

"Are you going through chocolate withdrawals?," Harry asked with a laugh.

"I am indeed."

"Here you are boys. Enjoy."

"Can we get a second straw for the milkshake please?"

"You're too good to share all of a sudden?," Harry teased.

"I am. This one is my straw," Draco replied with a laugh, bringing the milkshake close to him.

"There you are Draco."

"Will you cut the cake please Harry?"

"Sure."

Draco unwrapped the straw and placed it in the drink while Harry focused on cutting the cake.

"I don't know how you're going to be able to tell our straws apart, they look identical."

"You'll know which one is yours, I promise."

"If you say so my love. Here you- Draco?"

Clearing his throat, Draco slid out of the booth and got down onto one knee, holding the milkshake in one hand and grabbing Harry's hand with the other.

"Harry James Potter, I have known you for over half of my life, and I'm all the better for it. You have constantly challenged me and pushed me past my own limits because you've always known that I could do more, that I could be more. You have saved my life literally and metaphorically more times than I can count. When you first came back into my life in this very booth, I vowed to keep you in it forever. I let you go once, and I would never do it again.

Somehow, I have been blessed enough to not only earn your affection, but to earn your love. I gave up on the idea of my happy ending years ago, and I reserved myself to being content with being alone. You flipped everything around in that special way that only you know how. I want to continue to change the world with you by my side. I love you, you marry me my darling?"

"Yes! Draco, I... I don't even know what to say. I wasn't expecting this, not tonight. Of course I'll marry you."

With shaking hands, Harry removed the ring from his milkshake straw and gave it to Draco who slid it on his finger. Harry grabbed Draco by the back of his neck and pulled him in for a searing kiss.

"Living together and spending every spare moment I have with you has just solidified that I never want to spend any more time without you than I have to. When you jokingly shared your vows with me this morning and said you had been thinking about them, I knew it was time. I know it might be a bit soon but I figured we could have a long engagement. The topic of marriage kept coming up, and you've been letting us move at my pace, so I thought I would ask. I wouldn't have been offended if you said no, I just... wanted to make my intentions clear."

"I promised to love you in all of the ways you deserve to be loved. I meant that. I want to get you a ring too, Draco. I'd been looking already actually," Harry trailed off with a soft laugh. "This, this is beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it."

"I love it."

"Shall we celebrate now?""

"Aren't we already?"

"He said yes!," Draco called.

A loud cheer erupted, and everyone Harry loved came out of the other room to congratulate them.

"I'm so happy for you mate, truly," Ron congratulated, pulling Harry into a hug.

"I would hope so, considering you're my best man?"

"It would be an honor."

Love and laughter filled the air that night, and every single night after that. The two men would run into challenges along the way, but nothing that didn't result in a stronger relationship. Neither Harry nor Draco went a single day without feeling loved ever again.

"Until the very end," Harry swore, sealing their everlasting promise with a kiss.

{This is the end to Bruised and Scarred, thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed!}