Draco slowed down as he stepped outside and went through the archways and courtyards leading to the greenhouses. Draco spotted Weasel's mop of red hair above the mob of students and was suddenly glad he existed, weaving through the crowd to where the trio were stopped in front of the doors, arguing about- Draco couldn't care less- they stopped when they spotted him.

"Can I speak with you?" Draco asked Harry, his voice sounding remarkably calm, considering how badly his heart was pounding.

Harry nodded and went back inside the slightly warmer greenhouse. Draco followed him, ignoring the other two. There were students still inside, fussing with plants and talking to Professor Sprout.

Draco was practically vibrating with nervous energy, he felt like he might burst, "Somewhere more private?"

"Is everything okay?" Harry asked quietly.

Draco nodded but before he could answer-

"Harry," Longbottom called. He waved them over to a door into Sprout's private greenhouse. He held the door open for them, "You can talk in here, just don't touch anything. Because I'll get in trouble and you might die. Yell before that happens though."

"Thank you," Draco said, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him inside. Sprout's greenhouse was warmer and more humid than the student greenhouse, it smelled sweetly of damp soil.

"What-?"

But Harry couldn't finish his question because Draco engulfed him in a hug, squeezing him far too tight. Harry grasped his robes, tugging at him until Draco relented, taking a single step back but refusing to let go.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, a little breathlessly.

"You know how I've been helping the house elves?" Draco said.

Harry nodded, "About the treaty thing and huddles and crofts-"

"Wait, you're what?" Granger asked.

Draco ignored her, nodding excitedly, "They're forming a proper guild, it's like a muggle union-"

Harry grinned tentatively, "Sounds brilliant."

"The house elves are-?" Granger said.

"They're going to demand a new contract, a proper working contract, and if the Ministry doesn't give it to them, and I doubt they will, they're going to strike-" Draco had to pause to breathe, "-and McGonagall has agreed to help- sort of. She-"

"Excuse me? What's going on?" Granger interrupted, looking utterly bewildered.

Harry glanced at his friends guiltily, "I've really only told them about the brewing you've done. I sort of... hadn't got around to the rest."

"The rest? What rest?" Granger said.

"What are you two even doing here?" Draco sighed, he had wanted this moment to be just the two of them, but the piddling pair had apparently missed the memo.

Granger glared at him, "I was following Ron, who was following Harry, who was following you."

"I figured we should come along so it didn't look suspicious," Weasley said with a shrug, "Harry wants people to like you, so, yeah."

"You're forgiven," Draco said, pointing at Weasley. He pointed at Granger, "You're annoying, and nosey."

Granger pulled her shoulders back, "Yes? SO? I want to know what's going on. I've been working for house elf welfare for a long time, you know. Since fourth year."

"I want to know about the rest Harry mentioned, personally," Weasley said.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Brewed potions after the war for shortages, brew wolfsbane for... those that need it, gave loans to business that couldn't afford to reopen after the war-"

"Really?" Harry said.

"Did I forget to tell you that one?" Draco said, "It wasn't much, just a handful of shops."

Harry smiled, and Draco had to roll his eyes again.

"What about the elves?" Granger asked.

"He arranged for the counsellors and mind healers to come to the school to help the students as well," Harry added, apparently not wanting to leave it out.

"Good on you, mate!" Weasley said, smacking Draco on the back with an oven mitt of a hand.

Draco stumbled, but Harry steadied him. He shot the oaf a glare anyway.

Granger raised her voice, "What about-"

"I said, didn't I?" Draco interrupted impatiently. He felt Harry's fingers curl around his wrist and give a gentle squeeze, cooling his growing temper. He took a deep breath, "I've been talking with the house elves, here and at the manor, since seventh year. They're bound by an old contract drawn up ages ago and want to renegotiate for better terms, more protection, more allowances-"

"And freedom," Granger said.

Draco grimaced, "It's not that simple... As per the contract, they're bound to serve the master of the home so long as they aren't killed and are provided for- in this case specifically meaning having enough magic to live off of- the only thing that breaks this obligation is the master dismissing them with a piece of clothing or other agreed upon item or, as I said before, an elf is killed."

"Which is why they ought to be all freed! It's immoral what the wizarding world has done to them," Granger said.

"I agree how they were treated was wrong-" Draco started.

Granger narrowed her eyes, her tone cold, "You think they should stay slaves."

"Hermione," Harry said in a pleading tone.

"...I think they should decide for themselves," Draco said, "I gave them as much information as I could and they decided to form a guild."

"But it's not right," Granger said in utter frustration.

A great many things came to Draco's mind: that it wasn't up to Granger what they did, that she sounded like just another wizard trying to control them, but she looked on the verge of tears; so he bit his tongue.

"-I was going to help them! I was going to fix it! To fix everything," Granger said.

Weasley put his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently, "It's alright, Hermione. You can't do everything, you know. It's alright to let other people help out, even Draco Malfoy."

"He doesn't even like them," Granger said, blinking back tears, "He owned Dobby, remember?"

"Yeah, well that was before. He's changed," Harry said.

"I'd be rather reprehensible if I came out of that horrid war without becoming a somewhat slightly better person," Draco said.

"Still an arse, though," Weasley said with the faintest slightly mystified grin.

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Yes, but that's fun."

Weasley coughed, quite possibly covering up a laugh, "Total arse."

"Rest assured, Granger, if the house elves don't find me helpful, they can always fire me," Draco said.

"Wha-?" Harry said, "But- they hired you?"

Draco smiled again, the excitement filling him back up in a great crashing wave, "Yes! I'm going to be their human representative in the contract negotiations. That's what I came to tell you. I couldn't wait."

"You came to tell me first?" Harry asked with a small smile, "Not Pansy?"

"Yes. Now congratulate me," Draco said impatiently.

Harry laughed and wrapped his arms around Draco's squeezing the air out of him.

"Har-!" but before Draco could complain, Harry managed to lift him up and spin him in a short half circle before putting his feet back on the floor. Draco laughed from surprise and then delight, looping his arms around Harry's shoulders.

"Congratulations," Harry said.

Draco nodded.

Harry grinned.

And Draco would have kissed him right then and there if Weasley hadn't said-

"Why in the world would they hire you? You don't need the money."

-and utterly ruined the moment.

Draco sighed loudly, "So they can fire me," he said, again. "Not that they'll need to, but they could. And it's not like I'll be paid extravagantly. Actually, I think I ought to be paid as much as they are. That would be remarkably poetic, don't you think?"

Weasley snorted, "Draco Malfoy, one of the sacred twenty-eight, paid house elf wages."

"It's poetic," Draco repeated with annoyance.

Weasley rolled his eyes.

Granger lifted her chin, trying to make herself taller through sheer force of will, "Fine. I'm going to help you then."

"I can manage just fine on my own," Draco said.

"And I suppose you know when the wizengamot meets? And how to submit a proposal? And what sort of paperwork you'll need? And-"

"No, fine, I don't know," Draco agreed just to make her stop.

"Then I'll help you," Granger said.

"...So long as you still work on getting rid of that werewolf registry," Draco said, "The sooner I can stop brewing that horrid potion the better."

"Of course, it's my number one priority," Granger said.

"All your priorities are number one," Weasley said.

Granger shot him a glare.

"What? It's true!" Weasley said.

"What will happen to the elves that are kicked out during the strike?" Harry asked him.

Draco turned away from Granger and Weasley's squabbling, "They'll hide here. McGonagall can't directly support them, but she'll turn a blind eye so long as they stay out of sight."

Harry nodded, chewing on his bottom lip.

"Any suggestions? That map of yours show any good hiding spots?" Draco asked.

"...Well, there's always the chamber of secrets," Harry said thoughtfully, "It's a bit creepy, but there's lots of space, and only me and Ron can open it. Once the elves know it's there, they can just apparate in, right?"

"The chamber of secrets," Draco repeated faintly, "The real, not a story, legendary chamber built by Salazar Slytherin himself?"

"More like exceptionally creepy, damp, and gross," Weasley said, "Plus there's a bloody great dead snake in it. Nearly threw up from the smell when we went in last."

Granger nodded, "Although, cleaning it up shouldn't be too much trouble with magic."

"You didn't-" Draco said haltingly, "kill a giant- oh...the petrifying... it was a basilisk?"

Harry nodded.

"Please tell me you didn't kill a basilisk when you were twelve," Draco said.

Harry ran his hand through his hair, "No one would believe me, and Ginny was dying so I couldn't wait-"

"You were twelve," Draco said.

"I was there too, sort of," Weasley said, "and Lockhart, he tried to oblivate us and hit himself with the charm instead, that was a laugh."

Draco did not find any of it amusing.

Harry pushed up the sleeve of his robe, to above his elbow where he had a strange perfectly round patch of skin the colour of milk, contrasting sharply with his darker skin. Draco had seen it many times before, but it wasn't scar tissue, so he had thought, foolishly it seemed, that it was something Harry had been born with.

"The basilisk bit me. Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, cried on the wound and saved my life," Harry said.

"You were twelve," Draco repeated, blinking back the ache in his eyes. When he had been twelve, he had just been a tit, not saving people's lives and killing massive fuck-off snakes. "I don't suppose there's any year in school where you didn't almost die," he said weakly.

Harry shrugged.

Draco cupped Harry's face in his hands and kissed him. Ignoring Weasley's groan in favour of kicking back and connecting with Weasley's shin, which turned the groan into a yelp of pain. Then pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead.

Harry curled his fingers around Draco's wrists, seemingly content to keep Draco's hands where they were, "Could you maybe not donkey kick my freind?"

"If we're going to be around one another, I'm probably going to see him being affectionate with Granger, so I get to be affectionate with you as well without him being an arse."

"Fair enough. Give him a warning from now on, alright?" Harry said. He pressed a kiss to Draco's palm before pulling Draco's hands down.

Weasley very nearly managed to suppress the faint noise in the back of his throat.

"Hey, Ron," Harry said cheerfully, "You have these things called eyelids, try closing them next time."

Draco snorted.

Weasley rolled his eyes.

Draco took a deep breath. "I'm just... glad it's all over with," He very nearly hugged Harry again, only the fact that Harry was still holding onto his hands stopped him."No more almost dying, I can't stand the thought of it," he ordered jokingly, meaning it with every fibre of his being.

"That's going to be tough in the auror's, fighting dark wizards and what have you," Weasley said, "but we'll have each other's back, yeah?"

Harry's expression froze, and he looked down at his feet.

"Mate?" Weasley asked.

Draco squeezed Harry's hands.

Harry nodded and let go, turning to Weasley, "I'm... I'm probably not going to be an auror after school."

"What? But... that was the plan, wasn't it? Since fifth year and everything," Weasley said.

"Back then, I thought I needed to. I didn't think the war would be over when I was seventeen or that I would have to end it. We were going to join the Order just like my parents had, and Dumbledore would have a plan, and we would fight and..." Harry trailed off, looking exhausted from the recollection.

"First Nev and now you-?" Weasley said.

"Sorry," Harry said, "To be honest, the only part that still appealed to me was us working together."

"..but then...now what?" Weasley faintly.

Draco glared at him.

"It's not the end of the world," Granger said, nudging Weasley.

"I know," Weasley said stiffly, "I get it. You want to do something else, fine, but it was my future and plans and everything too, wasn't it? I'm allowed being a bit upset about it," he scrubbed his short bristly hair in frustration, "I've never thought about doing anything else."

"You could still be an auror," Granger said.

"I don't know. Maybe?" Weasley threw up his hands, "I don't know! This is a lot to spring on a bloke before NEWTs, you know? I don't have much thinking left to spare!"

"I find it hard to believe you had much to begin with," Draco said, and it was utterly worth the elbow Harry jabbed into his stomach.

"What?" Draco frowned, "I didn't kick him this time. You can't ask me not to make fun of him. Kicking and outright cruelty, fine, but I draw the line at teasing."

Granger rolled her eyes and forcefully changed the subject, "Do you have any ideas what you might do then?"

"I don't really... know yet," Harry said. He scrunched his face up and ran his hand through his hair, back to front, so most of it stood entirely on end, "...I think that's okay."

"You could help me, there's always so much paperwork," Granger said.

Harry grimaced, "Thanks, Hermione, but I'll probably do... anything else."

"It's more interesting than it sounds," Granger said, "It's rather like a puzzle in some ways. I can't tell if it's all really poorly planned or they've made it obtuse on purpose to dissuade people from trying to get anything done. I'll fix it, of course, once I've finished making use of it for myself."

Draco eyebrows rose, impressed at Granger's underhandedness despite himself.

Weasley hugged her from the back, resting his cheek on the top of Granger's head, "That's my Hermione, smartest witch of the age."

Harry was watching him, and Draco obligingly turned all his attention back to him.

"I've been meeting with McGonagall, just once a week for an hour or so," Harry said.

"Going well then?" Draco asked.

"Well, it's not going badly. We talk about things I could do mostly. Sometimes she has me help with grading or testing out demonstrations. Everything feels a bit more...." Harry nose wrinkled as he grasped after the right word, "manageable."

Draco smiled, feeling happy and proud and excited and hopeful in a great tangled mess he couldn't ever hope to put into words. Instead, he took his hand, threading their fingers together and squeezed gently.

Weasley was complaining about being hungry, and the door was open again which, meant he'd have to let go of Harry's hand and go back to playing at just friends. Granger and Weasley went back into the main greenhouse, but Draco grabbed the door before Harry could leave, blocking them both inside.

Longbottom was still by the doors fussing over a tray of seedlings, watering can in one hand, checking the soil for dryness with the other.

"Longbottom-? Can I call you Neville?" Draco asked.

"That is my name," Neville says bemused, brushing dirt off his hands.

"Neville," Draco said, "Could we have five minutes more. I promise we won't touch a thing."

Neville's brow furrowed.

"We have some snogging to do," Draco explained.

The furrow deepened.

"It's very important," Draco said, contriving to make it sound very dire indeed.

Neville shook his head and waved them off, "Five minutes, only five, mind you."

"Not a minute over," Draco said as he shut the door, casting a privacy spell for good measure.

"You're not actually going to keep track of the time," Harry said, letting himself be pushed back against the door.

"Not a chance," Draco said.

Harry grinned, cupping the back of Draco's neck and pulling him into a kiss.

.

.

Draco sighed and tapped his quill on the sheet of parchment, muttering fuck when a drop of ink blotted all over the page. Hurriedly vanished the mess, along with half of the last sentence he had just written, the ink still damp enough to be caught by the spell. Around him, the students that remained in great hall after dinner were working or chatting idly at the empty tables, wasting time until they would have to return to their dorms.

Draco managed to resist the impulse the thump his forehead on the table and instead rewrote what was missing before adding another sentence about house elf treatment. He hoped they accepted it but rather expected another meeting where they argued for hours over minutia.

It turned out, a sadly large number of the huddles and house elves hadn't understood why punishments should not be allowed. He had finally managed to sway a majority by, not by convincing them that physical violence was wrong, but by explaining that beatings were not permitted in any other jobs or guilds, so if they wanted to be accepted and gain support it would be best to follow suit.

"Hullo, Draco," Luna's voice broke through his annoyed line of thought.

He glanced up and nodded, "Hello, Luna."

Luna sat down across from him, setting a package wrapped in brown paper on the table, "I'm afraid I have to interrupt you. I hope you don't mind."

Draco dropped his quill on the table and sat back, rolling his shoulders, "I needed a break anyway."

Luna smiled and slid the package to the centre of the table, "These are for you."

Draco picked up the package, feeling the shape and outline and guessed, "The Quibbler?" As he pulled off the string.

"It's tomorrows edition, We all thought it would be best to give it to you the day before since you might be very busy after it comes out," Luna said.

Draco frowned suspiciously, tearing open the top and pulling out five copies of the Quibbler, with a photo of himself on the cover.

He was studying in the library, bent over a stack of notes, book in front of him, in the foreground of the picture was Granger and Weasley, Harry and Pansy, all working with him. Nothing much in the picture changed, his quill moved as he wrote, until the very end when he glanced up and smiled faintly.

All around the cover were little teasers about the strange and interesting articles the Quibbler was known for. The biggest of them said, The Secret Philanthropy of Draco Malfoy.

Draco looked up at Luna, his mouth falling open, utterly dumbfounded.

"It's the most work I've ever done for an article, you know," Luna said, seemingly unaware of his shock, "I had to interview Harriet Kinwillow, she runs a charity that provided supplies after the war. In her interview, she mentioned that Professor McGonagall wrote a letter of recommendation about the quality of your potions. So I interviewed her, and she told me about how you helped businesses reopen after the war and hired all the lovely counsellors that come in on the weekends now, so I had to interview all those people as well."

Draco flipped open the magazine and skimmed through the crowded and strangely formatted article. There were the interviews Luna mentioned as well as shorter ones with Harry, Granger, Weasley and Longbottom, all talking about him in startlingly glowing terms.

"Harry and Pansy told me about the potions," Luna said. She tilted her head thoughtfully, "That was wonderful all on its own. I wasn't expecting the rest, at all, and it was even more wonderful."

"Harry and Pansy," Draco repeated faintly. Had this been their little plan all along?

"They wanted to be in the article as well, which was very nice of them, for you, and because it will sell twice as well," Luna said, "Oh. And Pansy said to meet her at the owlery."

"Why the owlery?" Draco said.

Luna shrugged.

Draco stood up, it took three tries before his shaking hands managed to charm all his things back into his bag.

He stopped next to Luna and wavered uncertainly.

"Yes?" Luna said.

"I can't thank you enough," Draco said.

"How about a hug then? I think they make excellent thank yous," Luna said. She stood up with a smile and held her arms open, "You have to make it very tight and squeezy."

Draco hesitated for only a second and then hugged her as hard as he dared, Luna patting him gently on the back.

"You should probably hurry, Pansy gets impatient very fast," Luna said, not bothering to break the hug.

Draco took a step back, "Thank you, Luna."

Luna waved as he hurried out of the great hall, taking the meandering hallways around to the owlery. He spotted Pansy standing at the bottom of the steps, and ran the rest of the way, stopping breathlessly in front of her.

"You can't be mad at me," Pansy said, "I know you didn't want to tell anyone about your silly good deeds, but that was stupid so I-"

Draco hugged Pansy around the waist, picking her up and squeezing her, eliciting the most undignified squeak Pansy had ever made.

She tolerated the hug for approximately two seconds before smacking Draco's shoulder repeatedly, "Let. Me. Go. You Oaf!" She kicked him when he didn't set her down fast enough.

"I'm not mad," Draco assured her with a smile.

Pansy glared at him as she straightened her hair and brushed invisible wrinkles from her robes, "You're not mad. You're not- then why did you insist it had to be a fucking secret?"

"I couldn't tell anyone because they would assume I did it for selfish reasons. Someone like Luna Lovegood telling everyone about the things I did makes me look like a bloody martyr, obviously," Draco said, "I wasn't going to bother helping people if it was going to be thrown back into my face, so it was better just not to tell anyone."

Pansy rolled her eyes, "That is fucking ridiculous, and so very you it makes me want to throw up."

"It's not ridiculous."

"It is," Pansy shot back. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, "At least I've finally managed to pay you back for... everything. Even if I needed Potter and his lackeys help to do it," she wrinkled her nose, "They have a ridiculous amount of power, social power, anyway. They're just too stupid to use it.

Draco felt like he had to correct her on Harry's behalf, "Kind. They're too kind to use it."

Pansy rolled her eyes, "Same thing? Obviously."

"Not all kindness is stupid," Draco said.

"There is a point where it is though, isn't there," Pansy countered.

"True," Draco nodded, "But... you know just being my friend was more than enough. It would've been much easier not to."

"Being your friend is a fucking delight," Pansy said sarcastically, though he knew her well enough now to tell she meant it.

"Thank you, Pansy," Draco said.

"Don't you dare try and hug me again," Pansy said, leaning away from him.

Draco grinned, "For now."

Pansy narrowed her eyes and shook her head. She nodded up the stairs of the owlery, "There's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Still a surprise, asshole," Pansy said, "Go on. I'll make sure no one interrupts. And give me your bag."

Draco handed over his bag, "A good surprise?"

"Would you go already," Pansy said impatiently.

Draco went up the stairs slowly, one hand on the wall. He knew who he wanted to be at the top of the stairs. He wasn't disappointed.

Harry was leaning out the window, staring down at the grounds that were surely too dark to see. He startled up when he heard Draco's footsteps, meeting him halfway in the centre of the room.

"Are you angry? Pansy said you might be," Harry said.

Draco shook his head, "Not in the slightest."

Harry let out a sigh of relief, "Well, that's good... And are you maybe happy about it then?"

Draco let himself smile, "Yes, I am."

Harry grinned with relief, "Okay. Okay," he took a deep breath to psyche himself up, "So, Pansy told me everything you did to try and win me over while I was being a right tit. And she said I ought to at least put in as much effort as you had."

Harry reached into his pocket and took out a sheet of parchment, creased and fraying at the edges. As he opened it, Draco recognized his own handwriting, as well as Pansy's and in the margins, Harry's.

It was a list with seven steps, the stupid list that had started it all.

Draco's eyes widened as things began clicking into place in his mind, "That's why you started sitting next to me in class? And started greeting me in the halls and complimented my cloak?"

"And the study sessions, for doing something together," Harry added, "I'd have rather played a few seekers games but, Pansy said it had to be more public so-"

"Studying," Draco finished with a brilliant smile, "What about step six?"

Harry looked embarrassed for the skin of a second before he rolled his eyes, "I already know you like blokes."

"Oh, do you? Are you certain?" Draco teased.

"Yes, Draco," Harry smiled and lifted the list, "The thing is, I noticed you never crossed off the seventh step."

Draco's mouth went dry, and it took a few tries to say, "Things got... complicated."

Harry nodded, "I have a bit of a habit of complicating things."

"That's a bit of an understatement," Draco said.

"I was thinking, we could cross it off right now, the two of us," Harry said.

Draco looked at number seven, Date him, his emotions feeling too mixed up, all excited and uncertain in equal measure in the pit of his stomach.

"While we're in school, we can still sit together during meals and go out to Hogsmeade. People can think we're just friends if they want," Harry said, "but once we graduate, I want to take you out on a proper date to the nicest place I can find."

"...I would like that," Draco said.

A cold breeze blew through the archways, owls hooting and ruffling their feathers overhead, and Draco shivered.

Harry slipped the list into his pocket and took Draco's hands in his, holding them tight and moving even closer to block the worst of the wind, "I...," he bit his lip for a second and spoke in a rush, "I like you... I like you a lot. The more I get to know you, the more I like you. I'm pretty sure like you more than I've ever liked anyone."

Harry paused and swallowed hard, "Half the time I feel like I want to just rush in without thinking or worrying about anything, but I also don't want to rush, I want to take everything slowly I don't- I don't want to-"

"Mess it up," Draco said.

Harry shook his head, "I don't want to miss anything...This is the best thing to happen to me in a long time, and I don't want it to ever end." His smile wobbled, and he huffed, "I don't know why I was afraid to say that."

"It's a frightening thing," Draco said, "I was scared out of my mind."

"But it's the sort of breathless, heart pounding feeling that comes with flying more than anything," Harry said, his pressed Draco's hand against his chest, his heart thrumming fast under Draco's fingers, "I feel like I'm flying."

"You were always the brave one," Draco said softly.

Harry shook his head, "You're the one that started everything, remember? You pushed me, and didn't give up, and wouldn't let me run away."

"That... that was more selfishness than anything," Draco said.

"Brave to me," Harry said.

Draco smiled.

Harry shivered and hunched his shoulders.

"We could leave," Draco said, "I don't really know why we're here in the first place."

"Because this is where it started," Harry said, "And because I was hoping I could redo that kiss."

Draco was tempted to say that you couldn't redo a kiss, but it meant he got a kiss and another memory for his pensive. Because really, he was going to treasure them both. He was going to treasure every memory he had with Harry.

Harry leaned in, and Draco lifted his chin, taking advantage of the fact that Harry was just slightly shorter than him.

Harry gave him a look but obligingly went up on his tiptoes, one hand cupping Draco's neck, his thumb brushing across his cheek and he kissed him, chaste and careful and slow. Draco pulled Harry closer so he almost couldn't feel the chill, leaning into him as he rocked back onto his heels. They parted, and Harry pressed his forehead to Draco's.

I love you was on the tip of Draco's tongue, but he didn't think Harry was ready to hear it. It didn't matter because he was sure Harry already knew, and that was enough.

He could wait. They had time, all the time in the world.

.

-The End-