mostly beause it omes quiker thao. hermioold him not to think of it as an ending, but harry had a hard time finding another word for it, when boxing up the piees of his house felt like boxing up piees of himself, too, old baggage that he should have shoved iime ago fi go of and all the old ghosts of the war finally fihat feels like peae, settling down into his ski evehem anymore.
&hihinks, looking up at the new eiling over his head a to where he an feel drao to him. that does everything has to.
“you really o sleep.” drao’s voie is nothihan a murmur, the words slurred from the way that he is buried into the pillow. they have beewo hours now, but harry ao sleep, not when every nerve in his body is awake a able to settle ihere are so mao hek for raks, so many shadows that ould shape i a. and as long as harry annot sleep, drao annot sleep, so used to havihihe pae fht. “the wedding is in like four hours.”
the weddi fotten. luna had thought it was sort of symboli for the four of them, that these heir lives would both be startiime, but harry just thought it was sravating. both he and drao were heavily ihe wedding pnning, and almost solely respohe paking (though wheressed from work, she sometimes omes over with a bel maker a’s beause she does not trust their abilities, but that exuse works better with harry and ron than harry and drao), whih meant that the st few weeks had been ha seems like he hadn’t eveo fihe.
“you mea just sleep through the eremony?” harry rubbed at his eyes until it stung, w if it might just be more prudent to stay up through the night and drain a gallohe m. “it’s nning to do.”
“probably not, seeii row.”
harry snorted. “luna wouldn’t mind.”
“but ginny would kill you.”
harry barks out a ugh, as again, trying to fore himself to sleep. it almost works, but then drao is talking again, his hand searhing out for harry’s so he a. “you o khing.” his voie is a little bit breathless, a little bit strangled, and a little bit sared. “i probably love you.”
& said it yet, even though harry had. hadn’t said it, even though they both kh. hadn’t said it beause, as the boggart proved, he was still terrified what he krue. harry hadhe wait. but this? this was so muh better.
“okay.”
“i meay sure i do. i think i do.” there’s a smile in his voie, and now drao is not afraid anymore, apparently omforted at harry’s ontinued presene beside him a he wasn’t trying to make any graions of his own. “hard to tell.”
“how ertaihehings a bit bakward, is what harry is thinki really bothered by it, not when he ao hover on top of drao, smiling down at him. “like, a good bit, or only a small bit?”
“a good bit.” drao pretehi y-five perent.”
“y-five?” harry bit bak a ugh again. “i thought i’d be worth y-seve.”
“maybe y-eight.”
&hing muh to say, after that, so they just stare at eah other. harry half exepts drao to shy away after his deratio, just strethes out beh him like there was nothing sary about this i.
“hey harry?” his voie is softer now, no joking.
“yeah, drao?”
“i really do love you.” he reahes out to trae the spikes of the lightning bolt sar, and harry’s hands find his way to drao’s stomah, to the silver lines he had sshed aross them ay ago. “really, really.”
harry wants to ry. he wants to ugh. he wants to hold onto all of draes and broken piees and old sars until he an drain the ahe away, but he ales with i love you instead, over and over and that it finally makes him believe it.
“good,” is onds with, hoking it h his ughing and his tears. “good.”
chapter 43
drao
there’s a moment where he almost turns around.
it’s o, he justifies ter, whe (and how did she even know, she was bak in the burrow a ohe garden) and gih a gre, but it’s long enough for him to stand and wath the others all to eah other, fall i had been drawn before drao had eveo stahem, and the mark on his arm seems t him of how he does not belong, how they annot want him, how he will only taint this, taihen harry turns to ath sight of him and r an arm up iing and hermi aross the grass, lipboard in hand, until she barrels i.
&!” the whole pe looks wo’s draped in silver and gold a blue, olors that he would not have piked but hermione had somehow made work, just as luhat they would. despite giane, she had agreed to have it at the burrow at fleur’s i her. hoare to yours, vhen y a voma? lukily, everyohe room had taken it as a ompliment and ginny had agreed without any further issue. “i didn’t thio, but we did! and it’s all on shedule!”
ron