{A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you for being patient while I took an unexpected hiatus. I finally came into some time for writing and I cannot tell you how happy I am to finally be able to continue this story. There will be more chapters left in this story than I initially thought, so I'm not even going to try giving an estimate as to how many are left because this chapter was not planned at all. I'm also on AO3 now, the link to my account is on my profile!

I hope that you're all well and staying safe, especially with current events. I'm sending you all of my love as always. Enjoy!}

Tomorrow was to be the last day of classes, and Hogwarts seemed to be vibrating with all of the pent up energy it was containing. End of term exams were on the horizon, and the eighth years especially were worried about what their NEWTs could hold. For them, this would be their first time really stepping out into a post-war world, and no one knew what the unsheltered walls outside of Hogwarts would hold.

The Slytherins especially were anxious, and Harry could do little to try to calm their nerves.

"It's complicated Harry," Blaise began to explain. "If we don't work, we'll be relying on old money. If we do get a job, it'll be something menial because no one else will hire us unless it's to exploit us as being beneath them."

"I can-"

"Then it'll look like favoritism my darling. It's a double-edged sword," Draco lamented.

"I don't know what it will take to make people learn. By perpetuating hatred and prejudices they're not better than Voldemort!"

"Hey, you already helped me with what I want to do. I have a client base now because people trust me since you did. Change starts with us remember?," Pansy chimed in.

"I hope I don't have to use my bat-bogey hex anymore, but I'm prepared if I need to."

"This is why we've been following my study timetables, which I've revised for the upcoming week by the way. I've divided up the subjects based on who excels in what, and we can each teach our own review sessions. Bring your questions, and we'll go over them together."

It was times like these where Harry truly was grateful for Hermione. She handed out the timetables, and then she was off to the library, with Pansy, and Ginny in tow. Ron exhaled heavily once they were gone.

"Do you lot fancy some exploding snap?"

"Please, I need a break," Neville agreed, dropping his head into Blaise's lap.

"Don't sweat it Nev, you've come a long way since first year. You've got this mate. We all do, really."

"Thanks Ron."

Draco could tell that Harry's mind wasn't completely focused on the game, but he kept insisting he was fine every time Draco brushed their hands together.

Once Hermione came back, good naturedly lecturing them for not studying, Draco took that moment to slip away. He had a letter to write.

When he came back to their room, Harry was laying in their bed, staring at the ceiling, his dragon plushie in his arms.

"Harry my darling, are you alright?"

"In theory. I'm just thinking."

"Would you like to share?," Draco asked, getting into bed next to his Harry.

"I'm just thinking about how all of this is going to be over soon. What we've built here, it's finally coming to an end. We'll all never be together for this long in our lives ever again. It's honestly terrifying. I don't even know if I know how to be alone in a healthy way for long periods of time."

"While I completely understand that Harry, you don't have to be alone if you don't want to. I respect your boundaries, but if you ever need me you know that you have me. I'm all yours. Our friends are also not going anywhere anytime soon.

I think we all need to talk about what our future plans are once we graduate. We'll all pick a few days a month to get together as a group. No one is going away forever Harry. Pans loves throwing house parties, and if anything they'll just increase in frequency. The end of one chapter brings on the start of the next. What we've been through together will always keep us connected."

"You truly are my better half, my Prince."

"Don't you ever forget that Scarhead."

Draco kissed Harry softly, but he could tell something else was bothering his boyfriend.

"Tell me what else."

"I don't know if I should mention it now," Harry admitted.

"Why would you waste your time worrying about something when we could discuss it now and clear your mind?"

"I just-"

A tapping on the window made him stop in confusion.

"As eloquent timing as ever," Draco muttered with an amused snort.

Knowing Harry was clearly upset about something, Draco had written the Weasley twins at their shop asking for them to send some of Harry's favorite sweets. He had warned them in advance that Harry was in no mood for pranks, and they complied. This time at least.

"What's that?," Harry asked, sitting up curiously, head tilted in that innocent way that made Draco's heart flutter.

"Open it and find out."

Feeding the owl a treat, Draco handed the box to Harry. In hindsight, he should have checked it first. While the sweets themselves seemed to be fine, an alarming amount of confetti exploded from the box as soon as Harry opened it.

Thankfully, the sight of Draco pouting and covered in confetti made Harry laugh hysterically.

"Merlin Draco, I love you the absolute most," Harry said in between giggles.

"The things that I subject myself to for you make me question myself on the daily."

"Will kisses make you feel better?"

"I may be persuaded. That is, if you have a sweet and then tell me what else is wrong."

"It's nothing wrong this time, I've just been meaning to talk to you about something."

"If you're breaking up with me, you have to give the sweets back," Draco teased.

"I'm never breaking up with you, it's quite the opposite."

"Potter, if you ever propose to me and I don't look my absolute best, I'm saying no. You will keep trying until you get it right."

"Maybe you should just propose then."

"We both need to look good for pictures. If I pick out clothes that look too nice for you, you might be suspicious"

"I always look good when you're right by my side," Harry replied with a grin. "Besides, if I dress up too nice then you'll be suspicious."

"We're a right pair aren't we?"

"There's no one else I'd rather be with than you my love," Harry said honestly. "It's not the proposal, I just wanted to talk about us."

"I don't care where we live, I just want to live with you," Draco replied immediately.

Harry released a shaky exhale and pulled Draco into his arms, the box of sweets forgotten.

"We can maybe move into Grimmauld together officially after graduation, then maybe look for a different place? I don't know how much I want to live there. It's my connection to Sirius, but it's never felt like my home. Not like... not like you do."

"I told you Harry, I will follow you wherever you decide to go. Wherever we are, can we keep the walls and ceiling the same as our room here? I've grown quite fond of it."

"Of course we can. Whatever you want Draco, I'll make sure you have it."

"What I want and what I need are two very different things. Wherever we are just needs to have enough rooms to house all of our friends. I want something cozy, like The Burrow. Not empty and cold like The Manor. We need a place fit for our family."

"Our family," Harry whispered happily, kissing Draco with all that he had in him.

Pulling away before they got too carried away, Harry smiled lovingly at his boyfriend.

"What are you doing after dinner?"

"Studying. Didn't you read your timetable?," Draco teased.

"10pm, you're all mine."

"Am I now?"

"I mean I could go find someone else-"

Draco kissed Harry and didn't pull away until they were both breathless.

"Where am I meeting you?"

"Here is fine. Then I'll take you where we need to be."

"What should I wear?"

"I'll take care of it," Harry promised.

"This is bringing me back to the proposal conversation."

"Even I'm not daft enough to propose here of all places. There are so many better places."

"Oh, like where?," Draco asked airily, packing up his things with an air of indifference.

"Our beach home, the Ferris wheel, the diner we went to, our tree," Harry suddenly caught on to what Draco was doing and began to switch up his answer, "the forbidden forest, the chamber of secrets could be fun actually because we get to go down that slide, the dungeons of The Manor-"

"Okay okay enough. You've made your point now, Scarhead."

"If you propose to me I just want it to be personal. I don't want to be surrounded by tons of people I don't know. Those massive public proposals don't appeal to me. What about you?"

"All I care about is that you're the one down on one knee, and hopefully on two later on- hey!"

"I gave you a real answer and you're blowing me off!"

"Well actually you'd be-"

"Draco Lucius Malfoy I am five seconds away from canceling our date."

"You're no fun. I just need to be with you honestly. I'd like it to be intimate or where we're surrounded by our close friends. As much as I love a crowd, I don't want it for something like this. It feels impersonal then and like I'm trying to exploit our love."

"That's the answer I was looking for. Good luck with your studies sweetheart."

"I'll see you at dinner?"

"Keep track of time will you? I don't want to have to drag your sorry arse out of the library because you forgot about dinner again."

"Oh you love this sorry arse."

"I also love the prat attached to it. Most of the time anyway," Harry teased.

Draco gasped dramatically.

"How dare you-," he demanded, walking back to Harry, who was still in bed.

Harry easily pulled Draco on top of him, then flipped the both of them over so he was on top of Draco.

"My little drama queen," he cooed, covering Draco's face in kisses, but avoiding his lips. "Go before Pansy comes looking for you."

"If I get a real kiss first."

Once Draco was satisfied, he practically skipped out of the room, professing his love for Harry over his shoulder. Shaking his head, Harry had his own study plans to perfect before getting ready for his and Draco's date.

He hadn't even realized how much time had passed until Draco was coming back into their room.

"Who's got the sorry arse now?"

"Still you sweetheart," Harry muttered around the quill in his mouth.

"What are you fretting over now?"

"Patronus teaching."

"Oh."

Harry held an arm out for Draco to lie against him.

"We haven't tried for you in months Draco," Harry said gently.

"Because it was embarrassing that I couldn't even get a wisp."

"I passed out if it makes you feel any better."

"You were 13 and had two souls in your body Harry, it makes sense."

"Did I ever tell you how I learned to cast it?"

"No, you didn't."

"It ties back into Buckbeak actually."

"That bloody chicken?!," Draco asked horrified.

"Let's eat dinner and I'll tell you afterwards."

Begrudgingly, Draco followed Harry down to the Great Hall. He was becoming increasingly bothered as all of his friends were talking about how excited they were to learn to cast a patronus the next day.

"I'll pass out all of my reference materials once we get back to the common room," Harry promised.

Draco was just moving food across his plate with a look of annoyance on his face.

"Have I told you how cute you are when you're angry?," Harry whispered in Draco's ear.

"Shut up," he grumbled, fighting off the faint blush creeping up his cheeks.

"My beautiful boy," Harry continued, grabbing Draco's hand under the table and giving it a light squeeze.

"Nev, are you all set for your Herbology lesson later?"

Draco truly had the best boyfriend in the world. Despite all of the teasing and banter, Harry always knew all of Draco's limits.

The lesson after dinner seemed to last forever, and Draco would be lying if he said he wasn't a tad miffed when Harry left half an hour before the scheduled ending time and wouldn't let him leave either.

"I'll be back at 10 sharp to pick you up. Your clothes are on our bed."

Harry had kissed Draco and left before Draco could even muster up a faint noise of protest. Neville noted his mood change and left him alone for the rest of the lesson, for which Draco was grateful.

When 9:45 finally arrived, Draco practically ran up to their room. He washed his face and then went to see what kind of clothes Harry had laid out.

"Definitely not a proposal," he said to himself, eyeing the well-fitting trousers and soft sweater.

He hoped it would be a night lying under the stars with his head on Harry's chest. That was exactly what he needed to calm down. Relief swept through Draco's body when he saw that their stargazing blanket wasn't where they normally kept it. He had just finished putting on his shoes when Harry showed up for him with a big smile.

"Are you ready to go sweetheart?"

"You have no idea," Draco huffed, walking towards the door.

Pausing in confusion when Harry didn't follow him towards the door, he tilted his head curiously.

"Now don't be mad at me."

"Oh Merlin Potter no date ever ends well with that!"

"Relax will you? I just had a thought is all."

"We've talked about this, those are quite dangerous for you."

Instead of being offended, Harry just laughed while Draco cringed at his comment.

"I'm sorry my darling, I'm just on edge."

"It's okay, I should have had a better lead up. I was just wondering if we could get to our date location through a different means."

"Like what?," Draco asked suspiciously.

"The window."

With a flourish, Harry pulled a broom out from underneath their bed.

"Harry," Draco said quietly. "I don't know if I can."

"We've avoided this for a year, Draco. I think it's time to try again," Harry said gently.

"I need a minute."

"Sit on the bed and hold the broom at least? I know you miss it because I miss it. Voldemort has taken so many things away from me, I'm not letting him take away the joy that we shared for flying too."

It was the sheer determinedness and power in Harry's voice that made Draco look up and before he knew it, Draco was agreeing to the insane idea.

"Are you sure?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely not. But you're right. We've lost too much for him to take another thing from us."

"That's the spirit! Do you want to be in the front or do you want me to be in the front?"

"I'll be in the front. Merlin you're rubbing off on me you Gryffindor. Anyone with a sense of self-preservation would stay inside like a sane person."

"You're just as sane as I am," Harry responded with a cheeky grin.

"You've speaking with Luna again haven't you."

"I saw her earlier actually, but that's beside the point. Let's go."

"Since when were you able to hide your nerves better than me? Fine. But if I die, I'm haunting your arse."

"Specifically my arse?"

"Yes. You'll never be able to sit down again," Draco threatened.

"I do love the sound of that. Let's save that for later hmm? We have to mount a different broomstick first."

"You're absolutely horrible."

Taking a deep breath, Draco mounted the broom.

"Come on you prat."

Harry sat carefully behind Draco, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist.

"Let's just hover for a little bit first," Harry offered, moving his hands to rest over Draco's, rubbing comforting circles on them.

"You're something else Harry Potter," Draco whispered a few minutes later once he had calmed down. "Let's do this."

With a burst of confidence Draco leaned forward, and they flew quickly out the window. As the first gust of wind hit his face, Draco tilted his head back and laughed, his head resting on Harry's shoulders.

Harry fell in love with Draco more and more each day, especially when it came to precious moments like this. They flew for what felt like hours, with no words being exchanged as Draco got more and more comfortable with flying a broom again. His moves became more daring, and Harry held on tightly for the ride.

"Where are we going now?"

Leaning forward, Harry placed his hands over Draco's and took over steering until he saw the twinkling lights he had set up.

"There."

When they dismounted, Draco couldn't stop giggling .

"I love you with everything in me Harry."

"The feeling is mutual. Thank you for trusting me."

"Trusting you? You let me fly you around. That's trust. I didn't think I'd be able to do that ever again."

"I knew you could do it."

"You think I can do anything."

"I know you can. I'll always believe in you."

Draco kissed Harry, sighing into the familiarity and safety of it.

"You're forever my number one. Now, show me what else you have planned."

Harry led Draco to their blanket spread out under the stars, surrounded by twinkling lights, and began to pull out desserts.

"What's all of this for?"

"I know you've been under a lot of stress lately because everything seems so uncertain. I wanted to remind you that we're certain, and you'll always have me, no matter what may happen. With that being said, I know you'll get all of your NEWTS because you're hardworking, incredibly smart, driven, and ambitious."

"Oh do go on, I love hearing you talk about me."

Draco was already covering up a blush, but Harry continued on.

"You're incredibly beautiful on the inside and out. Your laughter is my absolute favorite sound in the world. Your smile brightens up every room that you step into. Whenever your arms are around me I know that I'm safe, and nothing can hurt me. Just thinking about you puts such a big smile on my face, and sometimes I just stare at you because I can't believe that you're real and you've chosen me to spend most of your time with. Having you near me makes me a better person. You fill me with warmth."

"You're such a sap," Draco whispered with a sniffle, because the way that Harry was looking at him made him want to cry.

When Harry looked at him like he was the most precious thing in the world that needed to be protected, Draco couldn't help but get emotional.

"Because I love you and you're worth it," Harry promised.

"I think I finally believe it."

The rest of the night was filled with eating, kissing, and cuddling. Harry finally told Draco the stories surrounding his patronus, Buckbeak, and the time turner.

"It's getting late, we should probably head back inside now," Draco whispered after a few minutes of silence.

"One more thing," Harry whispered back, pulling out his wand and placing it in Draco's hand.

"Harry-"

"Close your eyes. Concentrate and tell me what you're feeling."

"I feel warm and loved. I feel seen and appreciated and like nothing can hurt me. I feel like with you by my side I'm safe and that I can do absolutely anything. I believe in myself."

"Try it again," Harry coaxed.

"Expecto patronum!"

Draco opened his eyes to finally see some blue wisps coming from the tip of Harry's wand.

"Harry look!"

"I told you that you're capable of producing a patronus! I'm so proud of you my love!"

It wasn't exactly what Draco was going for, but it gave him hope and made him even more determined. He tried a few more times, continuously producing wisps, and at one point a wispy blue blob.

"Let's go back to our room, I need a shower."

"Of course. Do you want to go up now and I'll finish cleaning up?"

"Let me rephrase. We need a shower," Draco purred, sliding his hands from Harry's shoulders to his hips.

"Oh. In that case..."

With a wave of his hand, everything was packed up.

"Have I ever told you how hot I find your wandless magic?"

"You can show me."

When they finally got into bed, Draco had his eyes closed, and he was channeling all of the feelings that he felt towards Harry. Sliding out of Harry's arms and grabbing his wand, he was determined.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?"

"I love you Harry," he whispered, channeling his love into his wand.

When he felt like he was going to burst due to how filled with love he was, Draco cast the spell again. He gasped as his patronus finally took shape in front of him.

"Harry..."

Casting his own patronus, Harry watched through tear-filled eyes as for the first time in years, the stag was reunited with its doe.