During dinner, none of the eighth years could quite process that they had just attended their last class ever at Hogwarts. The group of 16 had spent the whole day together, and they solemnly walked back into the common room after the meal.

"This feels like one big pity party," Lavender lamented.

"Is that a call for drinks?," Pansy and Seamus asked.

The two didn't even wait for an answer as they went to grab their respective stashes.

"I was thinking we could have a small party actually."

All eyes turned to Harry in bewilderment.

"Really?," Theo asked.

Instead of being offended, Harry laughed.

"I know I've mostly kept to myself all year, but I really will miss all of you. I erm... even baked a cake actually."

"Harry Potter the sap, who knew?," Daphne asked.

"Oh you have no idea," Seamus lamented. "He's a very emotional bloke."

"Lay off Seamus, you're not much better," retorted Dean with an eye roll.

"At least I-"

"That was very thoughtful of you Harry," Hermione interrupted.

"Where are we having it?," Blaise asked.

"I've spoken with McGonagall. We have permission to throw one for ourselves tonight to celebrate the end of classes. She also said we can have one last dance before graduation."

"You got her to agree to that? When I asked she said no!," Pansy chimed in, arms full of alcohol.

"I managed to talk her into it, but I'm now on your planning committee. We'll talk later, especially about the budget," Harry warned.

"You go over budget one time," she muttered to herself.

"Yeah by how many Galleons?," Blaise teased.

"Meet back here in an hour?," Harry asked.

Everyone agreed, with only a few people staying behind. Pansy and Seamus wanted to set up the drinks first so they made a makeshift bar. Blaise decided to focus on the music, while Luna and Ginny had arrived to help decorate.

"I can never get rid of you can I?," Ron teased Ginny, wrinkling his nose.

"You'd miss me terribly if I wasn't around and you know it. Just wait until tomorrow after studying."

"What's tomorrow?," he asked suspiciously.

"I'll leave that one to Harry. I've already said too much."

"Luna, do you want to get set up in the corner?"

"Yes, thank you Harry. I do hope that I have some more volunteers. I'm so glad Draco liked the last one."

"Well I'm planning on getting another one actually-"

"Another what?," Hermione inquired.

"Another tattoo."

"How many do you have?"

"Three. No wait, four."

"Mate what?," Ron asked, coming over.

"A snitch, the Deathly Hallows, a constellation, and a star."

"I didn't know you had a star or a constellation."

"To be fair, I didn't know he had a constellation until not that long ago either."

"It's Draco's isn't it? How romantic!," Hermione swooned.

"There's a few other tattoos I've been thinking about getting, but yes."

Harry turned around, and Draco brushed the hair away from his ears to show off the tattoo.

"Where did you get the tattoos mate?"

"From Luna. She did such a wonderful job. The star is on my ankle, here. I'm still planning a few more tattoo ideas, but I think the snitch is my favorite."

"Oh, are we showing off our star tattoos?," Ginny asked, pulling down her sock.

"You've got a tattoo?! Does mum know?"

"It's just a stick and poke. Luna wanted to practice on someone other than herself. I watched her do it first."

"I have a star too," Draco interrupted.

"So that's four star tattoos? Make it five Lovegood, they're cute," Pansy chimed in.

"If you're getting it then I'll get it too," Blaise volunteered.

Soon enough, Luna had the majority of the eighth years lining up to get matching star tattoos on their ankles.

"Mione?," Ron inquired, tilting his head curiously.

"Why not? I think it's sweet. We've all gone through shared experiences, it might be nice to share something other than scars."

The music was playing, drinks were flowing, and Luna was happily giving her tattoos.

"I also do magical tattoos, they're painless, right Harry?"

"Right Luna. She does amazing work, I vouch for her."

"She did my cover-up piece. The flowers are stunning."

For the first time, Draco felt completely safe and comfortable as everyone crowded around his left arm.

"Alright," Pansy announced, clapping her hands together. "Who wants to learn about my favorite muggle game?"

"Oh Merlin, not Uno again," Draco lamented, burying his head into the side of Harry's neck.

"Stop your whining."

"Must I remind you of the train ride back here?"

"That's neither here nor there. Are you in or out?"

"I'm in obviously. Someone has to put you in your place."

If looks could kill, Harry Potter would have died for the third time at the hands of Pansy Parkinson.

"That's it Potter, you're banned from playing anymore!"

"You're the one who wanted me to play, and now you're mad that I'm winning?"

"Yes!"

"I fold then," Harry replied with a laugh.

With a sigh, Draco leaned against Harry.

"Yes sweetheart?"

"I think I need some air."

"Does anyone feel up for a pickup game of Quidditch?," Harry asked.

"There's no way you're getting me back on a broom," Hermione replied with a snort.

"There's 16 of us," Ron said with a grin.

"And you only need seven per team," she said pointedly.

"Who would actually want to play?"

Harry, Draco, Neville, Blaise, Ron, Theo, Seamus, Dean, and Ginny immediately raised their hands. Pansy followed when she saw her girlfriend was playing.

"Why not?," Lavender volunteered.

This got the Patil twins to join as well. Daphne volunteered as the last player.

"We need team captains," Ginny spoke up, coming back with two pieces of parchment.

"I say it should be the two seekers."

"Three of us play as seeker though Blaise."

"I actually want to try chaser," Draco said sheepishly.

"Really?," she asked.

"Harry thinks I'd be good at it. I want to try."

"He's amazing at muggle basketball. It's close enough."

"Alright, we'll pick teams then."

Harry's team was composed of Draco, Seamus, Ron, Lavender, Parvati, and Padma. Ginny had Pansy, Neville, Blaise, Theo, Daphne, and Dean as Dean and Seamus wanted to play against each other.

Hermione, Luna, Hannah, and Susan decided to bring snacks and blankets outside to continue the party on the pitch while everyone was playing. They began planning their last dance, which would take place after exams while watching their friends play.

Draco looked positively exhilarating, and more than once did he mistake the glint of his boyfriend's hair for the glint of the snitch. Harry had forgotten how fun it could be to train with Ginny, and a pickup match was even more competitive than it normally would have been. As most of their teammates were inexperienced, it came down to who caught the snitch in the end.

It was extremely close, but Draco cheering him on encouraged Harry to be more reckless than usual. He caught the snitch, and narrowly avoided falling off of his broom in the process.

"That was bold, even for you."

"I'm flying with the best," Harry replied cheekily, pulling her in for a hug.

"We need to fly more often. Draco makes for a great chaser," she complimented as Draco threw himself onto Harry.

"He was wonderful wasn't he?"

"Do you think so? I'd love to play against some actual quidditch players to see how I'd hold up."

"Anything you want sweetheart."

"What was that last move?! You could've gotten hurt!"

"You sound like Mione. I'm fine, see?"

"I'll have to check for injuries later. Very thoroughly to be sure I don't miss anything."

"That's my cue to leave."

After exchanging a kiss, they collapsed into the grass amongst their friends.

"Alright Potter, what's up with this dance?"

"McGonagall said we can kick off the party either an hour earlier with just us or extend it an hour later. We have the Great Hall to use. That's about it. Decorations and music are up to us, and we need to let the elves know what we want to eat and drink."

"I think we should do another ball," Pansy announced.

This had everyone's attention, and she continued excitedly.

"I think it would be great! We never get to dress up so nicely, and this is our last time here together. We can even do a mixture of wizard and muggle fashion! I can even take makeup and hair appointments."

"I can help, I'm quite good with accessorizing," Luna offered airily.

This was all it took for the eighth years to begin chattering excitedly as Hermione took detailed notes.

"What if we had an open queue this time? I don't mind being the mc again or sharing it with Seamus, but I think we should let everyone in on the fun," Blaise volunteered.

"I like that idea," Harry agreed.

Dates were thrown around, and Harry relaxed as he laid in his head in Draco's lap.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered. "And you still get all flustered after all of this time. My beautiful boy."

"I only get flustered when I'm not expecting compliments," Draco retorted, willing the blush to go away.

"I love you."

"And I love you," Draco replied, kissing Harry on the forehead.

"Would you be my date to the dance?"

"Your official date?"

"Yes. I want to match with you, arrive with you on my arm, and be able to dance with you all night. We can keep the flirting to a minimum, but I want to spend my last Hogwarts ball with you."

"Do I get to pick out our robes?"

"Of course you do."

"And I can do your nails and fix your hair?"

"Whatever you want."

"And-"

"Merlin Draco, will you go with me or do I need to find another date?"

"Obviously, you're my best accessory. Now I need to plan. Oh I think green would be quite nice with silver accents. Should we wear the same dress robes or invert the colors? Are you going to wear your contacts or keep your glasses on? Do we- mmph."

"We have more than enough time to plan my Prince," Harry promised, pulling away from the kiss.

"More than enough? I'm behind on my planning! I need to take your measurements at once. There's so much to do!"

"Pansy, you broke my boyfriend."

"Oh I positively cannot wait until your wedding."

"This isn't the first time marriage has been brought up today. Is there something you want to tell me Potter?"

"That's Malfoy-Potter to you sweetheart."

"I love the sound of that."

"Do they always act like no one else is in the room?," Theo questioned.

"I think it's sweet," Lavender commented. "Who doesn't love an enemy to lovers story?"

In the end, Harry happily listened to Draco ramble about various things he didn't understand. What he did understand is that his boyfriend was excited to be able to share these traditions with him, so Harry listened wholeheartedly.

"What do you think of that?"

"I think that I'll go along with whatever you want me to because it makes you so happy. And I honestly have no idea what's going on, but mostly because I love seeing you so happy and excited. I know that you love to dress up and fashion is something you know a lot about, so I'm more than happy to let you take the lead on this one."

"Just another reason as to why you're perfect."

"I'm not perfect, but I try to be perfect for you."

"Are you ready Harry?"

"Oh, yeah. It's getting late isn't it?"

"We can clean up Harry, don't worry about it," Hannah insisted. "You've done more than enough for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Go before we change our minds. I'm still bitter over Uno. Take Draco with you while you're at it."

"Have you decided what you want then Harry?," Luna asked when they were inside of Harry and Draco's room.

"On my shoulder, I want mine and Draco's patronuses."

"I knew you could do it, Draco. A doe is quite sweet, especially when it complements Harry's stag. Could you cast them for me please?"

It took Draco a few tries to achieve his corporeal patronus again, but when he did, he thought from now on he would think of Harry's proud smile as his doe nuzzled into Harry's stag.

"Absolutely perfect."

Luna continued to chat with them while she worked on Harry's tattoo.

"Is there anything else you're thinking of getting?"

"I might turn it into a full sleeve, I don't know. I want something to honor my parents, Sirius, and Remus. I haven't decided on one thing yet. I've been toying with the notion of getting a Mischief Managed tattoo though."

"I would get that."

"So would I," Luna agreed. "I think it's very fitting. Think about the placement, and let me know. I'll make it your last tattoo here right before graduation, as a final goodbye to Hogwarts."

Harry thought a final goodbye seemed too finite, but he wouldn't say that, not yet. He knew that he would never truly leave Hogwarts, not really. Parts of him would always live within these walls and the surrounding grounds, and he knew in one way or another, he would be returning in the future. 

Even when the story has come to an end, nothing stops the reader from picking the book up in the future and returning home.