On the morning of his sixteenth birthday, Harry woke to the sensation of gentle fingers stroking his cheeks and jaw. "Morning, beautiful," Draco greeted quietly, fuzzy around the edges due to Harry's lack of glasses. The blond leaned in, kissing him slowly. "Happy birthday."
"Mm, it certainly is," Harry agreed, lifting up the duvet so Draco could join him in bed. The Slytherin was a little cold, and eagerly crawled into Harry's cocoon of blankets, cuddling in close. "What are you doing here?" Despite temptation, and the knowledge that their guardians didn't really care at this point, Harry had gone to bed alone.
"Wanted to be the first to wish you happy birthday," Draco murmured, tangling their legs together. "And thought maybe I could give you part of your present early." His lips brushed the edge of Harry's mouth.
Harry felt heat rush to his cheeks, even as a different part of him also got a quick rush of blood. His present… they had decided, together, that they were ready to have sex, and decided Harry's birthday was the day to do it. As much as it seemed a little cliche, doing it as soon as the younger partner turned sixteen… but they wanted it to be special, so prior planning seemed like the way to go.
"Oh," he breathed, inhaling the scent of Draco's shampoo as the blond kissed his way down Harry's neck, sucking right on the spot that felt like a direct line to Harry's cock. Harry's breath hitched, his body arching automatically, desperately seeking friction. "I— now? You think?" How early was it? If they missed breakfast, someone would come looking for them.
"I said part of your present," Draco murmured, though his hand slipped below the waistband of Harry's boxers. "Not the main present. Consider this a… preview."
Harry relaxed; that was something he could fully get behind. He rolled over, pulling Draco on top of him, thrusting his hips against his boyfriend's body. Merlin, he could hardly wait.
Draco started to wriggle down Harry's body, pulling the dark-haired boy's boxers down as he went, licking his lips intently. Harry keened, gasping as Draco's mouth went around his length, grey eyes fixed on Harry's face the entire time. Harry scrambled for his glasses; he wanted to be able to see this properly.
Draco swallowed him deep, moaning low in his throat, and Harry tried not to choke him as one hand threaded through silky blond hair. Fingers started to play with his balls, occasionally slipping teasingly further back, expertly seeking out all of Harry's most sensitive spots. Harry threw his head back against the pillow, pleasure building in his veins—
And then there was a loud knock on the door. "Happy birthday, pup!" Sirius called loudly, banging another couple times for good measure. Draco choked, scrambling back off Harry's cock, spit trailing from his mouth. "Ceri's making pancakes, come down when you're ready!"
Then it went silent outside, and Harry looked down at Draco, still kneeling between his legs, though Harry's erection had deflated at the sound of his godfather's voice.
"He knew you were in here," Harry realised, utterly mortified. "He would've come in otherwise." Draco went bright red, wiping at his mouth.
"He can't," he denied, shaking his head. "I— surely he didn't—" But he trailed off at Harry's knowing look; Sirius absolutely would have noticed Draco sneaking over, and decided a loud interruption was in order.
Fucking Marauders.
"I can never look him in the eye again," Draco groaned, and Harry laughed. He reached down, hauling his boyfriend up to eye-level, feeling a little silly with his boxers still hooked around one ankle.
"Hey, he didn't see anything. He's just guessing," he pointed out, kissing Draco's nose. "He wants a reaction, which is exactly what we're not going to give him." He winked, green eyes full of challenge. "Put that Slytherin mask to good use, yeah?"
It took a little more encouragement, but eventually Harry sent Draco back off to his own room to get dressed, and when he came down for breakfast Harry just smiled at his godfather, hugging him around the shoulders. "Morning, Pads. Thanks for knocking for me; I overslept a bit," he said brightly, internally laughing at the taken-aback expression on Sirius' face. "Ooh, blueberry pancakes! Thanks, Ceri."
The house elf grinned brightly, and Harry took his usual seat, smiling as the rest of the household wished him happy birthday, kissing Draco as if it was his first time seeing him that day.
All through breakfast, Sirius looked between Harry and Draco as if expecting one of them to break, but they had not studied under Severus Snape for nothing.
.-.-.
As was tradition at this point, Harry and Draco headed out to the quidditch pitch to go fly together. "I have to say," Harry said, capturing Draco's mouth as they hovered side by side, ten feet in the air, "it's much better having you here all day on my birthday."
"Good to hear you're not sick of me yet," Draco agreed dryly, kissing him again. He had already veto-ed both of them climbing onto Harry's Firebolt to make out properly, so this was the closest alternative. Harry was offended at the insinuation that he'd lose control of his broom at the slightest distraction, and already had plans for the Room of Requirement when they got back to school.
He would show Draco exactly what he was capable of on a broom. Give him something else to fantasise over during the next Slytherin/Gryffindor match.
"It's only fair that I get to be here the whole day, considering you're making me share you with the rest of your friends this evening," the Slytherin mock-pouted, and Harry laughed.
"They're our friends, not mine — don't front, you like them. Even Neville." Harry knew better. Draco liked the heirs and he couldn't hide it.
"They're not as bad as I anticipated," Draco said, which was practically a glowing endorsement.
Harry smiled at him, drifting higher, beckoning Draco to follow him. "I've never had a birthday party before," he said, excitement bubbling up within him at the prospect of being surrounded by all his friends on his birthday. "Not a proper one. The closest I've ever come is having you and your mum over. Most of my birthdays I was just alone in my cupboard."
Draco's face morphed into a mixture of sadness and anger, and Harry swooped closer to kiss him again. "Hey, it's okay," he soothed. "I'm free of them, now." He hadn't told Draco much about his life at the Dursleys, but between the scars and some of Harry's off-hand comments over the years, the Slytherin had pieced most of it together. "Better late than never, right? This is for the best, anyway — if I'd had a birthday party when I started Hogwarts, it would've just been Ron and Hermione." Draco made a face in response.
"I suppose," he relented, softening. "I promise you'll never spend another birthday alone. Even if it's just the two of us." Grey eyes sparkled. "Wait until we're old enough to legally apparate," he declared, "I'll spoil you rotten. As you deserve."
Harry smiled just imagining it; Draco taking him out on some fancy date for his birthday, threatening to hex the nosy reporters that would inevitably follow Harry around in public as they always did; maybe going back to their house for a party with their family and friends.
It sounded incredible.
"And you wait until we're graduated and your birthday doesn't clash with the start of exams," he drawled in return. He still felt guilty for not doing anything special for Draco's sixteenth.
"One of the many reasons I'm looking forward to being done with school," said Draco airily. He leaned in for a kiss, and when he pulled back he was holding the snitch that had been in Harry's pocket. "Best two out of three?" he challenged. "If you win, I'll finish that blowjob I started this morning."
Harry's eyes darkened, even as he had to adjust his seat on his broom. "You're on." That was an easy bet, and they both knew it.
.-.-.-.
At five that evening, all of them except Snape apparated to Longbottom Manor — neutral ground for a birthday party, where no one was disrupting secrecy spells. Also, it was Neville's party too, since his birthday was a day before Harry's.
Harry handed his best friend a wrapped gift, grinning widely. "Happy birthday, mate."
"You too," Neville returned amusedly, offering up a present in return. "It's, uh, from me and Ginny."
"Ooh, joint presents already?" Harry teased, yelping when Neville punched him lightly in the arm.
"Don't be a dick or I'll take it back," Neville told him. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"You really have been spending a lot of time with Ginny this summer, haven't you?"
That made the blond boy blush, and Harry's eyes narrowed. They would definitely be discussing that reaction at a later date. "Come on," Neville said instead, resolutely ignoring the statement. "The party's outside. Uh, you all can come too," he added to the small group of adults at Harry's back. "Gran and Amelia and the rest are outside as well. And, um, welcome to Longbottom Manor. Well met."
With Draco's hand in his — mostly so the Slytherin could not escape — Harry followed Neville out to the garden. It was his first visit to Longbottom Manor; it was about the same size as Seren Du, though it didn't have the same vast woodland surrounding it. A lot of the outside space was taken up with huge greenhouses, which was not a surprise in the slightest. But over by a set of French doors off the conservatory, Harry beamed to see a huge gathering of people, and a long table set up with food. Someone had even spread twinkling magical fairy lights through the trees and bushes, though it wasn't quite dark enough yet to see them.
"Harry!" The shout was the only warning he got before a whirl of red hair slammed into him. He coughed, winded, but hugged Ginny back.
"Hey, Gin. Good to see you."
"Happy birthday!" The youngest Weasley beamed. "Hi, Draco."
"Hello, Ginny," Draco replied wryly — Harry belatedly realised that Ginny was one of the few party guests who hadn't properly met Draco as his boyfriend. Harry held Draco's hand tighter, happiness flooding his belly; he was at his own birthday party, with his boyfriend, in front of the rest of his friends.
A glance at Draco showed that he'd come to that realisation as well, but was distinctly more nervous about it than Harry. Harry kissed his cheek with a reassuring smile; everyone there knew about them, they had nothing to be afraid of.
Over with the rest of the group, Daphne wolf-whistled, and Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm going to…" He trailed off, and Harry laughed, kissing him properly before sending him on his way.
"I'm glad everyone could make it," Harry said, gaze trailing over the group. All of the heirs who could risk coming to a party at Longbottom Manor — that was to say, everyone except Pansy and Millie — were there, along with partners. Cassius had even brought Oliver, who had his arm wrapped around his Slytherin's waist, looking overjoyed at being able to act like a couple in front of other people; Harry could understand the feeling. Fred and Angelina were there as well, Angelina's gaze narrowed at Draco while Fred whispered in her ear, looking amused. Of course; she didn't know about their relationship. Oops. Over by the conservatory, the adults were clustered together, wine in hand; not just Neville's gran and Amelia Bones, but Bill and Fleur, and Tonks and Kingsley. And, of course, the group from Seren Du — Remus was introducing himself to Mrs Longbottom, as one of the few who hadn't met her through Wizengamot dealings.
"And miss an excuse to get together?" Ginny pointed out, grinning. "I'm sure as hell glad for the chance to get out of the house. Hermione's still visiting, and I'm ready to kill the pair of them."
"Does Hermione even see her parents anymore?" Harry asked incredulously; the girl spent most of her year at boarding school, her Christmas breaks either at school or with the Weasleys, and now she was spending most of her summer with the Weasleys too!
"She's going home for a bit after booklists have arrived, she says," Ginny replied, though she sounded skeptical. "But she'll be back to stay with us before school starts. Luckily," she continued, looping her arm through Neville's, "Mrs Longbottom thinks I am a delightful young lady and is happy for me to visit as often as I like."
"You've got her fooled, then," Harry teased, making Ginny laugh.
"Oi, Ginny's not the only one who hasn't seen you in ages, y'know," Susan mock-complained from a few feet away. "Aren't you going to say hello?"
"Hello," Harry replied dutifully, then turned his back on her, only to snicker at her shout of indignation. "Kidding," he said, heading over to hug her. "Hey, Theo. How's it going?"
"Doing well, thanks." Indeed, the Slytherin looked much better than he had when Harry had left him at the Pottery; he looked like he'd actually slept, for one.
Harry made his rounds of the group, saying hello to everyone and accepting the birthday presents offered with bashful smiles, putting them all in his Twilfitt and Tattings extended satchel to open later. He wasn't really sure what the protocol was, but he hoped no one would mind; opening presents in front of his guardians and the Malfoys had been bad enough, he didn't want that sort of pressure.
When he saw Parvati, she hugged him tight. "Thank you for the flowers, you absolute sweetheart. You didn't have to do that."
"I got an E in Divination because of you and Lavender," he retorted, as he'd said in the card with the flowers, "you deserved them for dragging me through that class."
"I got an O in Defence, and I sure as hell wouldn't have done that without you," she argued, smiling fondly. "It's what friends are for."
"Then shut up and accept flowers from your friend," Harry teased, and she laughed. "Congrats on the O, that's brilliant!"
"Ooh, are we swapping exam results already?" Anthony cut in, looking at them in interest. "How'd you do, then, Harry?"
"Yes! Inquiring minds want to know," Ginny pestered, smirking. "Ron passed six, mostly As and Es. Hermione's been insufferable — she didn't do half as well as she expected." She rolled her eyes. "Only seven Os, three Es. A true tragedy," she said in mock dismay.
Across the circle, Draco froze, his eyes meeting Harry's triumphantly. "I told you, Potter!"
"I had one more subject, that doesn't count," Harry argued feebly, but Draco was shaking his head, then he turned to Ginny.
"Harry got eight Os," he bragged. "It would have been ten, I'm sure, but there was the mess with Hagrid in Astronomy and then that whole vision business in History."
Immediately there was a wave of exclamations.
"Eight Os! Blimey, Harry!" Ernie said, impressed.
"You little brainbox!" the twins chirped, beaming with pride. Harry felt his cheeks heat, and he turned to glare at Draco, even as a smile threatened to overtake his face.
"I did pretty well, I guess," he admitted. Draco laughed, and kissed him hard enough for Fred to wolf-whistle.
"Fucking nerd," he teased fondly. "Practically a Ravenclaw."
"Oi!" the four Ravenclaws in the bunch piped up, offended.
Harry looked around, desperate for a change in subject. "Alright, what about NEWTs, then? Cassius, how'd you do?" He already knew Angelina's results, and the twins would be sitting theirs at the Ministry in a week.
Cassius' pale cheeks flushed, and Oliver slung an arm around his shoulders, beaming proudly. "Five Os, one E," the Scotsman declared, kissing his partner's cheek. Belatedly, Harry noticed the gold ring shining on his left hand, and gaped.
"Ring!" he exclaimed dumbly, pointing. Cassius raised an eyebrow at him.
"I told you I asked him," he said, and Harry hurried forward, Oliver smugly holding out the hand for Harry to admire.
"You didn't mention you did it properly," Harry said. "You said nothing about a ring! It's gorgeous." When he looked up, Oliver was smiling like he'd won the World Cup singlehandedly, and Cassius was looking at his partner with barely restrained adoration. "This is brilliant. I'm so happy for you both."
Oliver let go of Cassius to bundle Harry in a bear hug. "Couldn't do it without you, mate," he insisted, ruffling Harry's hair. "We've not set a date, mind. But now he's given me a ring he can't change his mind," he joked, winking.
"Really? Bugger," Cassius said dryly, and Oliver just laughed.
"Hate to interrupt, but we got bored of waiting for the birthday boy to come to us." That was Bill, Fleur at his side, and Harry turned to smile sheepishly at them.
"Sorry! There's a lot of people here." Harry wasn't used to having so many people around all expecting to talk to him. Was that what birthday parties were like?
"No worries, kid," Bill teased, clapping Harry on the shoulder. "Happy birthday! Here." He held out a present, but had to wait for Fleur to finish kissing Harry's cheeks before Harry could actually take it. "And congrats on the exam results; Charlie's been bragging all week," he added with a wink. "You'd think he was your godfather, not Sirius, the way he goes on."
Harry blushed — that was news to him. He glanced over at the dragon tamer, who was chatting with Tonks. Had he really been bragging about Harry's exam results?
He didn't know how to handle so many people being so vehemently proud of him. What was the correct response to that??
Eventually, Harry just decided to continue trying to change the subject, and accept that he was going to be blushing for most of the day. Was this what it meant, having a family?
.-.-.
Luckily, after the initial rush of greetings and well-wishes and congratulations, the party was a lot easier for Harry to handle; people split up into smaller groups to talk, and Harry was able to drift between them, spending a little time with everyone. He made sure to go over and talk to the adults — especially Mrs Longbottom, thanking her for hosting the party — but it was easier when everyone started to mingle; Charlie came over to congratulate Oliver on his engagement and meet Cassius properly, and Bill and Fleur joined them so Fleur could introduce Bill to her ex Yule Ball date, Cassius jokingly warning Bill to treat her properly. Then Tonks came over too, claiming the 'proper adults' were less fun, and soon everyone was spread out and chatting.
At one point, the twins put on a record player with music both wizarding and muggle, and there was a little makeshift dance floor space cleared. For the first time in his life, Harry had the experience of standing awkwardly while a crowd sang Happy Birthday to him — but Neville was stood right beside him, looking equally uncomfortable, so it wasn't as bad. They were free once they cut the cake, and Harry warily eyed the twins before taking a bite. There hadn't been any surprises in the food yet, but he didn't entirely trust the pair to be on their best behaviour, even after Blaise's promise that they weren't going to mess with his birthday party.
The sun started to set and the fairy lights glowed brighter, some of them dancing wildly when Luna came over to whisper to the little creatures, and then she was dancing too, Daphne watching on with a fond smile curling at her mouth. The music got turned up, and Harry managed to drag Draco out to dance with him. "Think of it as payback for ignoring me at the Yule Ball," he teased, playfully shimmying beside the blond in an effort to get him to loosen up.
"I wasn't ignoring you at the Yule Ball," Draco retorted archly. "I just couldn't go over and dance with you. Believe me, I was staring at you all night."
Harry laughed, and kissed him, then moved to dance beside Susan and Hannah. Most of Draco's reluctance was just for show; soon he was dancing quite happily with Harry, hands wandering a little too inappropriately on occasion. It was a constant reminder of what they had planned for after the party, and it was slowly driving Harry to the edge of frustration.
But there was so much else going on, he couldn't spend too much time thinking about being alone with Draco later — his friends were there, and he wanted to enjoy spending time with them all, because he didn't know when they would next be able to gather like this. Especially with half of them graduated now.
And with so many of them in difficult positions due to the war, but Harry tried not to think too hard on that.
Neville's gran retired for the evening not long after the sun set, assuring that anyone who wished to stay the night was welcome to. Kingsley went home around the same time, though Tonks stayed, waving goodbye to her partner and promising to see him bright and early at work in the morning, with a wink that was so heavy-handed Harry wondered how many glasses of wine she'd had. It seemed those two were the only ones deemed 'real adults', as the party got a little bit wilder after that. Considering Sirius was right in the mix exchanging prank spells with the twins, he certainly wasn't looked on as adult supervision, and even though Remus had taught many of them he thoroughly lost the air of maturity when Sirius egged him into sharing some of his own pranking secrets. All the while, Amelia and Narcissa stood in their own corner with ever-full glasses of wine, ignoring the party entirely and occasionally startling the gathering with a burst of laughter. Wisely, no one dared interrupt to ask what the two women were talking about.
So for one night, all of them could just be stupid teenagers, dancing and drinking butterbeer — and firewhiskey, which Charlie had in a charmed flask and passed around quite liberally — chatting about school and having fun without a single mention of Dark Lords or Dumbledore or the Ministry. It was perfect.
Naturally, with the twins in attendance, there were fireworks. Longbottom Manor didn't have any neighbours for a four mile radius, so they didn't have to worry about being seen; the Weasleys' Whizbangs were in fine form, filling the air with elaborate displays of light and colour — several of which they recognised from the prank against Umbridge, and whooped at the sight of. They all stopped dancing to watch the fireworks, and Harry leaned back against Draco's chest, the blond's hands on his hips. He could feel Draco's breath catch with every loud bang or particularly impressive firework.
"That was amazing, guys," Harry enthused when the display was over, and the twins gave elaborate bows in response to the applause.
"Only the best for our favourite birthday boys!" George replied, tipping an imaginary hat to Harry.
"Even if one of you did wait until after we left school to put his paws all over our little sister," Fred continued, elbowing Neville gently with a smirk.
"Oh, leave him alone," Ginny grumbled.
"Anyone who was in that common room can attest that it was definitely Ginny doing the pawing, don't worry!" Parvati piped up boldly, and there was a loud chorus of 'oooohhh's at her words. Ginny just grinned unashamedly, sliding her arms around Neville's waist.
"Can you blame me?" she remarked, making her already blushing boyfriend turn even redder when she patted him on the backside. "Had to get my claim in there first."
"Our little sister's all grown up and pawing at boys," Fred wailed in mock-despair, looking at Bill.
"With the examples we all gave her, are you surprised?" Bill joked, giving a pointed look to Charlie, who was wrapped around Sirius like an octopus 'to ward off the chill'.
"On the contrary, I couldn't be prouder," George cut in, offering Ginny a thumbs up, his other hand in the back pocket of Blaise's jeans. "You get 'em, sis!"
As Ginny kissed Neville passionately to a cacophony of wolf-whistles, the music was turned back up and the party continued.
It was almost midnight by the time things finally started to wind down — Amelia had gone to bed, Remus and Narcissa went home, and even Bill and Fleur were calling it a night. Meanwhile, half the couples had buggered off to go and snog in a dark corner somewhere. Harry and Draco were one of those couples, briefly, but then they'd been found by Tonks who demanded they both dance with her to her favourite song.
There were only a few groans when Charlie tapped the record player with his wand, ending the music; everyone was tired, and no one really complained at the concept of going to bed. Only a handful were staying the night; those who couldn't floo back home easily, or travel some other way. Ginny got a bit of ribbing from her brothers when she said she was staying for the night, but none of them kicked up a real fuss. They liked Neville — and they knew better than to try and treat Ginny like a baby by now.
There were hugs all around as everyone prepared to head home, and Harry made sure to give Neville an extra long hug. "Thanks again for organising all this, Nev. And thank your gran for hosting."
"It was fun," Neville agreed, grinning. "Best birthday I've ever had, for sure. We should do it again next year if we can."
Harry liked the sound of that.
Making sure he'd said goodbye to everyone, promising to write soon, Harry took Draco's hand and walked with him over to Sirius and Charlie. Sirius had Charlie's cardigan draped around him, far too broad in the shoulders for his much slighter frame, and he grinned at Harry, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "You ready, pup?"
"Are you two okay to apparate?" he teased, knowing how frequently they had both been drinking from Charlie's flask. Charlie laughed.
"Kid, I've apparated far drunker than this," he assured with a roguish grin. "We'll be fine. Good to go?"
Waving goodbye to his friends, Harry held tightly to Sirius while Draco did the same to Charlie, and with the uncomfortable squeezing sensation that Harry was sort-of getting used to, they were back at the ward boundary of Seren Du. Harry's stomach lurched a little bit, but he hadn't had much alcohol, so it wasn't too bad.
"Drink water," Sirius advised nonetheless, calling Ceri to bring each of them a large glass. He ruffled Harry's hair, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "Good birthday, then?"
"The best," Harry assured, beaming.
"Good." Sirius nudged Harry towards the stairs. "Come on, then; bed time for all of us, I think."
Harry wasn't quick enough to avoid seeing the heated look Sirius shot Charlie, though he desperately wished he had missed it.
They all headed up the stairs, and Sirius paused outside the door to his and Charlie's room. "Goodnight, you two. Keep the noise down," he said with an exaggerated wink. "Love you, Mischief."
"Uh, goodnight, guys," Harry stuttered, blushing. Charlie waved, following Sirius into their room, and then Harry and Draco were alone in the corridor. Harry felt his face heat, biting his lip. "Should we, um." He gestured towards his room, trying not to spill his water.
His heart was racing as he entered his room — this was it. This was the big moment.
Draco shut the door behind them, and Harry noticed his hands were trembling. Was he nervous, too? That was good. Sort of. Harry didn't really want both of them to be nervous, but he also didn't want to be the only one quietly freaking out.
It was ridiculous, really; they'd done just about everything else together, why did this one act have such significance? Plenty of stuff they'd already done was technically sex. But… this was different. This was the thing that people talked about when they referenced losing your virginity. This was a big deal.
Harry set his water down on his desk and shrugged off his jacket, unable to meet Draco's eyes. When he sat down on the edge of the bed, he was hit with a wave of exhaustion, muscles aching from all the dancing. Draco was bent over in front of him, stepping out of his jeans, and while Harry's cock jumped at the sight of the blond's arse in green silk boxers, it wasn't the overwhelming burn of lust that he anticipated. He unzipped his own jeans, letting his fingers brush against his half-hard length, trying to stir that heat. As he did, Draco's silver eyes caught his, and they both paused. "Should we—"
"Are you—"
They spoke at the same time, and blushed. "You first," Draco said, walking over with his shirt half unbuttoned to stand in front of Harry. Harry's hands automatically went to the blond's hips, thumbs settling into the dips of his back.
"Are you…kind of… tired?" he said hesitantly, hoping he wasn't about to ruin everything. There was a beat of silence, and then slowly Draco fell face-first onto the mattress with a soft thump, rolling over to look up at Harry.
"Merlin, yes," he sighed, gaze apologetic. "I don't think we thought this through."
Harry chuckled, suddenly giddy with relief, and he kicked off his jeans and patted Draco's thigh. "I think thinking it through too much was our problem," he countered, lying down beside Draco, their noses almost touching. "I want our first time to be special," he admitted, "but… putting all that pressure on it just seems a bit… much." He'd spent half the day thinking about it, and now they were there he was exhausted just from running over every possible scenario in his mind. "There's no rush. Hell, we've got half the summer ahead of us still. And it's not like we're sneaking around behind our parents' backs or anything." Draco had told him about how utterly mortifying it had been to get caught by Snape brewing lube, but thankfully no embarrassing conversations had followed.
"I want you," Draco murmured, and as always the words sent a delicious shiver down Harry's spine. "But without sounding like an utter Hufflepuff, it's going to be special not because it's your birthday or we've planned it or anything, but because it's you, and I love you." He tilted his chin for a kiss, lips moving languidly. "And being entirely honest, I don't think either of us are up to performing our best right now," he added, eyes trailing over Harry and pausing on the slight bulge in his underwear. Harry chuckled, grabbing the collar of Draco's shirt and pulling him into a sloppy kiss.
"I love you, too," he murmured. "And all I really want right now, is for both of us to get naked… and to go the fuck to sleep, because it has been a really long day." He cracked a lopsided smile. "Rain-check on the birthday present?"
"Deal," Draco agreed. To Harry's amusement, the blond didn't even bother getting back up to finish undressing; he unbuttoned the rest of his shirt while star-fished in the middle of the bed, wriggling out of his underwear in a very graceless move that the Malfoy boy would never admit to anyone but Harry. Harry tugged his t-shirt over his head, dropping his own pants and doing a wandless Tooth-Cleaning charm, then draining his glass of water just in case he did end up with a headache in the morning.
Finally, he shoved Draco over enough to get both of them under the duvet, and pulled the blond into his arms. It felt amazing, having all that naked skin against him, but it still didn't give him more than just a low hum of arousal beneath his exhaustion. He tangled his hand in Draco's soft hair, kissing him deeply, and it was perfect. No need for anything else, not right then.
"Happy birthday, Scarhead," Draco whispered, kissing him once more before slumping against him, tucking his face into the curve of Harry's neck.
They fell asleep within minutes, smiles on their faces, and Harry's last hazy thought was that it was going to take a hell of a lot to top that birthday next year.
.-.-.-.
He woke with a gasp, screams still ringing in his ears and the scent of blood lingering in the back of his throat. Draco was right there, stroking his forehead. He put Harry's glasses on his face, and the world came into focus, including those worry-filled grey eyes. "What was it?" Draco whispered with dread. Harry grimaced, dragging himself into a sitting position.
"My birthday present," he spat, squeezing his eyes shut. "Family of muggles. He…" He couldn't even say out loud what Voldemort and his Death Eaters had done to the poor family. His stomach rolled, but Harry clamped the nausea down.
"Fuck." Draco held him close. "Do you need me to get someone?"
"No, s'too late anyway." They would be long gone by now. Also, he belatedly realised they were both naked, and that would be a whole lot to explain to any of the adults in the house. "What time is it?"
"Little after five," Draco replied, and Harry sighed.
"Sorry." It would be difficult to go back to sleep for any length of time to be worth it.
"Don't be daft," Draco dismissed instantly. "You didn't ask for this."
He manhandled Harry until the Gryffindor was lying against his chest, Draco's hand stroking through his hair. Harry let his eyes fall half-shut, wishing he didn't have such horrifying images in his head when he did. "Fucking Voldemort," he growled. "I had such a nice birthday, too." Why did he have to ruin everything?
Draco had no response, and the pair lay there for a while in silence, Draco just stroking Harry's hair as the shudders slowly faded from his body. Even the goblins didn't have an answer for why Harry felt an echo of Voldemort's Cruciatus curses in visions, but it often left him with muscle spasms the morning after a vision.
At seven, Harry gave up on even the vaguest hope of going back to sleep, sitting up and stretching out his arms. "I'm gonna take a shower," he declared, pressing a kiss to Draco's lips. "I'd ask you to join me, but…"
"Visions are a bit of a mood-killer," Draco finished knowingly. "It's fine."
They got out of bed, and while Harry grabbed his dressing gown and a new towel, Draco put on just enough of last night's clothes to have the important parts covered as he snuck back to his own room.
Showered and feeling a little better, Harry went down to the kitchen. Remus and Snape were the only ones up, and they both looked at him in mild surprise. "Harry," Remus greeted. "I thought you'd have a lie in this morning."
"So did I," Harry replied bitterly. "But Voldemort decided to give me a birthday present. Nothing we can do," he added as both men tensed. "But that poor muggle family… I don't even know who they were." Likely Voldemort had some reason for choosing them in particular, but it was a mystery to Harry.
"Oh, cub, I'm sorry." Remus hugged him, and Ceri floated over a cup of tea. "I… are you sure you don't want to do the ritual with the goblins? I hate that you're having to suffer through all of these visions."
"These visions save lives, Moony," Harry insisted. "I can't give that up just so I can sleep a bit better."
Remus levelled him with a searching look, but eventually sighed, shaking his head. "There's no convincing you, is there?"
"He's a Gryffindor, Remus. Are you surprised?" Snape muttered wryly.
Draco joined them, and neither of the adults seemed surprised that he already knew about Harry's vision. Harry was too tired to be embarrassed by that.
When Sirius came down, he was grinning widely, clearly ready to start throwing around innuendo — then he saw the looks on the rest of their faces, and his smile faded. "What's wrong?"
"Vision," Harry explained. "Apparently the Dark Lord's idea of a perfect birthday present is torturing a bunch of innocent muggles on my behalf. No wonder he doesn't have any friends."
Draco snorted behind his teacup.
"Oh, pup, no." Sirius' face fell. "Are you alright?"
"Fine." At least, he would be, once he could close his eyes without seeing that little girl's terrified, bloodied face.
"Well. Moony and I had plans for you boys today, but if you'd rather postpone, that's completely fine."
"Plans? What plans?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes. Sirius and Remus shared a small grin.
"We thought we'd take you to some of our old haunts, in muggle London. Obviously none of the over-eighteens places," Sirius added quickly, eyes darting towards Narcissa. "But a couple of places we loved when we were your age. They've changed a bit, but they're still worth a visit."
Harry perked up a little — that sounded like the perfect distraction from the images swimming in his head. The prospect of showing Draco muggle London was bound to cheer him up.
"No, we can do that today," he insisted. "I want to."
Sirius brightened up. "Good. We'll leave at around nine, then."
Across the table, Snape set down his paper, eyeing Remus flatly. "You're taking them to Infinite aren't you," he said, sounding resigned. Remus' eyes twinkled.
"We are. Want me to bring you back anything? Or maybe something from the place next door?" he added teasingly.
"That dump is still in business?"
"Oi, watch what you're calling a dump," Sirius piped up in mock-offence. "I found some great stuff in that shop. And on second thought, please don't ever tell me what you and Remus did or saw or bought in there, I don't need those mental images."
Harry had no idea what kind of shop they were talking about, but from the look on Sirius' face, he could make a few good guesses.
Snape turned to Remus, smirking slowly. "I'll give you a list," he drawled, and Sirius groaned.
.-.-.
The 'old haunts' Sirius and Remus were referring to turned out to be a series of hole-in-the-wall shops in a dodgy corner of Soho, their doors covered in stickers, one of them with a rainbow flag hanging from an upper window. The first one they went into was a record shop, and Harry stared in awe at the music options available. "I bought my first ever muggle record from this shop, when I was fourteen," Sirius declared proudly, a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Go have a look, see what strikes your fancy."
Harry had very little frame of reference for what he might like, but he flipped through the record bins anyway, pausing at covers that caught his eye or band names that he recognised. Tonks and Sirius were both trying to work on his musical education, which was giving him some… eclectic tastes, to say the least.
They left the shop with a handful of records shrunk in Sirius' bag, heading down a few doors to a place called Infinite, the sign small and showing nothing more than a rainbow infinity symbol on a black background. Harry took a quick look at the shop next door — there was a sign on the front that declared under-eighteens were not allowed in, and from some of the stickers surrounding it he confirmed his suspicions that the place was a sex shop. He flushed, tearing his gaze away.
Maybe they could come back to that one under glamours, sometime.
But Infinite was equally fascinating, and more than a little risqué itself. Sirius laughed when Draco turned bright red over a large framed drawing of a naked man, and pointedly sidled across to the other side of the shop when the boys got into browsing certain sections.
It was a much bigger shop than it looked from the outside, and Harry found his way to a small book section. There was a shelf entirely full of non-fiction books on sexuality and gender — muggle equivalents of the book George had given him once, and what looked like a newer version of the book on the gender spectrum that Remus had given him. A couple of them looked interesting, and Harry added them to his basket.
On a lower shelf was a collection of what were very clearly queer erotica novels, and Harry daringly picked one of those out, too. Draco would probably get a kick out of it.
There were some t-shirts along the back wall emblazoned with flags and slogans, and Harry grabbed a couple — both because he liked them but also to wear around Hogwarts when he wanted to piss off Dumbledore.
When he found Draco once more, the blond was staring with a sort of horrified fascination at what seemed to be a blown-glass dildo. Harry slid in behind him, kissing the back of his neck. "Find anything fun?" he drawled, feeling Draco press back against him. "Muggles really have thought of everything, haven't they?" the Slytherin whispered, awed. Harry chuckled.
"Just about." He took the blond by the hand, leading him over to a display of weird-looking novelty toys. As they looked, a young woman ducked out from behind the register, smiling brightly. Her hair was bright pink, and there were several piercings in her ears and face. She looked like someone Tonks would be great friends with.
"Hey, you two looking for anything in particular I can help with?" she asked, and Harry shrugged.
"Not really. We've, uh, never been here before. My godfathers brought us," he explained, looking around for either Sirius or Remus, but they were nowhere in sight. Perhaps it was planned; giving them privacy to explore the shop without being embarrassed to have either adult looking over their shoulder.
"Aww, inducting the baby gays, I love it!" the woman cooed in delight. "Well, welcome, I'm June, and the sign on the door says we check IDs but I'm gonna be honest with you, we only have that up so the police get off our backs about distributing pornography," she added with a roll of her eyes. "Let me know if you need any help or anything, okay? Also, you two are very cute together." She grinned when they both blushed, and retreated back behind the counter.
Harry could have spent hours in that shop, in all honesty. Everywhere he looked there was something else interesting, and while a lot of it was quite sexual there was also a lot of tamer stuff that was just about being proud to be yourself, and helping to explore identities and become comfortable in your own skin. Even in the wizarding world, where homosexuality wasn't nearly as taboo as it was with the muggles, Harry couldn't imagine finding a shop like this.
He thought about teenage Sirius and Remus, the way he'd seen them in their pensieve memories, kicking around this place on their summers. Remus bringing Snape in when he knew Sirius wouldn't be there, both of them enjoying the anonymity of the muggle world to be a couple, even if it was only within these walls.
It felt like a safe haven, like a hug in a shop — come in, it said, feel welcome here, even when you don't feel welcome anywhere else.
"I like this place," he murmured, and Draco hummed quietly, nodding.
"Me, too."
They kept looking, and after June's assurance that she wasn't going to ID them for anything — and a quick look around to check Sirius was nowhere in sight — he added a book of gay sex positions and some flavoured lube to his basket, smirking at Draco's blush. June rang him up without batting an eyelash; Harry imagined she'd seen all sorts of purchases, working at a place like this. As if by magic, Sirius appeared right as Harry was putting his purchases away in his bag. "What do you think, pup?" he asked, smiling slightly. There was a knowing look in his eyes when Harry smiled back.
"It's really cool," he confirmed. Sirius' grin widened. "Where's Remus?"
"Next door, I think."
Harry froze at the implication, then shuddered. "I should not have asked."
Behind him, he heard June giggle quietly.
"Are you, uh, buying anything, Sirius?" Draco asked, voice a little strangled. Sirius barked out a laugh.
"Nah, don't worry. This trip is all for you guys." Then, because he was Sirius and he was the worst, he smirked lasciviously. "Charlie and I went on our own shopping trip last week."
Harry groaned, shaking his head. "Nope, nope, don't want to know," he declared vehemently.
"Oh come on, Harry," Sirius wheedled, wiggling his eyebrows, "there's nothing to be ashamed of. It's all perfectly natural."
"It's not out of shame," Harry retorted, "it's out of a desire to kiss my own boyfriend without ever getting mental images of what you get up to with yours."
Sirius laughed again, ruffling his godson's hair.
"It's not me and mine you should worry about, it's Remus and his," he teased. "You still have to look Snape in the eye in class for two more years."
"And that's why we're not going to talk about whatever Remus is buying next door," Harry retorted pointedly. Before Sirius could really get going, Harry turned to June, who was valiantly holding in her laughter. "Thanks for your help. I, um, I'm sure we'll be back sometime."
"Glad to hear it." She smiled, playing with her lip piercing. "Sounds like you guys have an… interesting family dynamic."
Harry snorted. "That's one word for it." She hadn't even heard the half of it.
"Well it's good to hear you have a solid support network. A lot of kids aren't lucky enough to have someone who would bring them to a place like this, let alone anything else." June's voice was soft, and it made Harry look back at Sirius fondly.
"Yeah, I know. I'm definitely lucky."
Sirius slung an arm around his neck, kissing his hair. "Not letting you have the same shitty teenage years I did, Mischief," he promised. "When I was your age, this place and your dad were the only things keeping me sane. God, it's good to be back." "You sure you don't want to look around?" Harry asked with raised eyebrows, but Sirius shook his head.
"Nah, we've got other places to be. Come on, let's go pick up that lone wolf of ours."
They bid a cheerful goodbye to June, and left the shop — at the same time, the door on their left opened, and Remus walked out, tucking a brown paper bag into his satchel. He froze, staring at the three of them for one long moment, then smiled wryly. "Where to next, then?"
Harry shared a look with Draco — yes, they were definitely never going to ask.
.-.-.-.
They spent most of the day in London, visiting more shops that Sirius insisted were integral to their 'queer education', then went over to Leicester Square to eat burgers and people-watch. Or rather, Draco was people-watching; Harry was watching Draco experience muggle life at its finest with a look in his eyes that Remus described as 'utterly smitten'. Harry couldn't even pretend to be annoyed about the call-out; it was true, after all. Draco's joy and incredulity at seeing perfectly ordinary muggle things was adorable, and Harry couldn't wait to one day introduce him to more.
When they got home, Sirius clapped them both on the shoulders and told them to let him know if they wanted him to take them back anywhere in future, then transformed into Padfoot and bounded across the grass, barking happily. Remus sighed, shaking his head in fond bemusement. "He's sixteen all over again," he muttered. "Silly dog. I suppose I'll be out here playing fetch for a while. I'll see you boys later."
He jogged off after the shaggy black dog, and the two teenagers headed inside, making for the stairs. Harry wanted to put away his new purchases before Sirius — or anyone else — could get nosy and start snooping. He wasn't surprised when Draco followed him to his room; both their purchases were in the same bag, after all.
"I had no idea that shops like that even existed," the blond mused, still looking a little overwhelmed by the day's events.
"Me neither." Harry set his satchel on the bed, pulling out more bags than a muggle would expect to fit in such a space. "I mean, I knew they had to — I'd heard stuff, mostly my aunt and uncle talking about how depravedand perverted it all was. But I never really thought about what might be inside one." A wave of his wand had his new clothes hanging up in his wardrobe, and his new books on his shelf. The lube he eyed with consideration, before deciding to put it in his bedside drawer.
When he turned around, Draco was holding a roll of dark green bondage tape, and Harry's eyes went wide. "I didn't see you buy that."
"I can be sneaky," Draco drawled in reply, stepping closer. "It looked interesting."
Interesting was definitely one word for it. Harry's throat went a little dry. "Y'know, I was thinking," he started, voice low, "next summer, once we've got our apparition licenses… we could conjure up a couple of fake IDs and have a look at some of those shops we're too young to go into. What do you think?"
Draco's eyes darkened. "It's a date," he replied. The tape in one hand, Draco let his other slide around to Harry's backside, squeezing lightly. "Now, whatever shall we do with the rest of our evening?"
"I've got a few ideas." After the things he'd seen in those shops, Harry had a lot of ideas. One jumped to the forefront of his mind, blood rushing southwards. "We could… take that rain-check, if you're interested?" He waved his hand, locking and silencing the door. Draco gaped slightly.
"You want to?"
"I've kinda been thinking about it since we left Infinite," Harry admitted huskily. "I— I'm ready. If you are."
"Yeah," Draco breathed, nodding dazedly. "Y-yeah, okay then."
Harry quickly shoved his satchel off the bed, pulling his t-shirt over his head without getting his glasses tangled up. His heart thudded hard against his ribs, but he didn't have any of the nerves he'd had the day before; all he felt was excitement, and near-painful levels of arousal.
This was Draco. His Draco, the boy he'd known since they were eleven, the boy he'd loved since they were fourteen. And after a day being surrounded by erotica and phallic objects and so much pride, Harry felt silly for having been so worried about it before. It was a big deal, sure, but it wasn't a big deal. It was nothing to be afraid of, not with Draco.
He'd loved everything else they'd done together, even the things that had started out a little awkward. Why would this be any different?
They fell onto the bed, tugging at each other's clothes and grinning into open-mouthed kisses. Harry got distracted sucking a hickey onto Draco's neck, loving the breathy moans that spilled from his lips — but then Draco yanked his trousers down and gripped his cock, and Harry arched down into him with a gasp. "Easy," he warned. "Don't make me go too early." He smirked, kissing Draco, biting playfully at his bottom lip. "I want you to enjoy this."
Soon they were fully naked; a familiar sight to Harry, but still one that sent a thrill through him, had him running fingers over flawless pale skin in awe. He would never get tired of looking at Draco's body.
Reluctantly removing his mouth from Draco's right nipple, Harry reached over to the bedside drawer for the vial Draco had tucked away in there a few days ago. This wasn't anything new, either; they had used lube before, stuff that Harry had brewed in the Chamber of Secrets. They had practiced stretching each other, finding that little bundle of nerves that sent fireworks up behind their eyes.
Taking this step felt like the most natural thing in the world, now that they hadn't spent several days psyching themselves up for it.
Harry kneeled between Draco's spread knees, vial ignored on the bedsheets as he stroked the sensitive pale skin of his inner thighs, leaning up to kiss him and bucking his hips down into him, their cocks trapped between their stomachs. Draco moaned, one arm coming up above his head, a pink flush flooding his face and spreading down his neck. "Go on, Harry," he urged. "I'm ready."
They had decided it would be this way, at least for the first time. Harry dropped a tender kiss on Draco's lips, then slid down his body, tongue swiping out at Draco's cock just quick enough to make the blond give a full body jerk. "Fucking tease," Draco swore, making Harry grin.
He nudged Draco's legs a little wider, grabbing a pillow to prop under the blond's hips. The book said it was usually easier to start on all fours, but they both wanted to be face to face, even if it meant a little more discomfort to start.
Then, he reached for the vial of lube, uncorking it carefully and pouring some over his fingers. Shuffling down, he pressed a kiss to the inside of Draco's thigh, and slid his first finger in.
Draco let out a long, low groan at the sensation, and Harry's whole body pulsed with arousal at the feeling of the blond's muscles relaxing for him. He'd done this a handful of times before, but this time he would finally get to feel that tight heat around his cock. He added a second finger, moving carefully, searching out that perfect angle. When he found it, Draco's back arched and he cried out, hand clenching against the sheets. "Fuck. Harry, please," he gasped, the sound going straight to Harry's groin. "More."
Harry slid in a third finger, crooking them gently to rub over Draco's prostate once more. Draco made the most incredible noises, and for a moment Harry worried he might not last long enough to even get inside him. Looking at him spread out on Harry's bed like that, face a picture of bliss, Harry's fingers deep inside him… Harry had to take a deep breath to steady himself.
He worked the three fingers in until the muscles relaxed a little more, and leaned down to press a kiss to Draco's stomach. "Are you… can I…?" He couldn't find the words, but Draco looked up at him, pupils wide.
"Yes, fuck," he breathed. "I need you inside me, Harry. Come on."
Harry sucked in a sharp breath. Okay, then.
He reached for the vial for more lube, slicking up his cock generously. The book always said there was no such thing as too much.
Slowly, thighs quivering already, Harry lined himself up carefully. He locked eyes with Draco, smiling slightly. He was glad he'd kept his glasses on; he wanted to see this as clearly as possible. "I love you," he said, and Draco's gaze darkened.
"I love you, too. Now move."
Harry pressed against Draco's slick hole, and ever so slowly began to sink inside. Draco stiffened, spine straightening as he tensed automatically, and Harry stroked over his stomach, lube-slick hand wrapping around his boyfriend's cock, coaxing him through the initial discomfort. For Harry, it was the most incredible feeling in the world, that tight-hot-pressure wrapped around him, knowing it was Draco, he was inside him.
Draco gave a slight grimace of pain, and Harry froze immediately. "No," the blond urged, "keep going. It's just— weird. Keep moving."
Harry did so, going as slow as he dared, breathing steadily to stop himself from coming far too early. He was suddenly very, very glad that they had taken their time to get to this point — if they'd tried it a few months ago, he would not have been able to control himself, and it would have been over embarrassingly quickly.
When he was in all the way, he stopped, looking down at Draco with concern. "You okay?"
Draco nodded. Unable to help himself, Harry leaned down to kiss him — and as soon as he did so, Draco shouted. "What?" Harry pulled back. "Did that hurt?"
Draco shook his head, reaching up to grab Harry's shoulder and pull him back down into a sloppy, gasping kiss. "No, fuck, that's— more." He met Harry's gaze insistently. "Move, Potter. Now."
Harry snorted, lips curling in a relieved smile, and he did as asked. First with just little jolts of his hips, testing the water, then getting a little braver when it seemed Draco was enjoying it. Then, finally, he hit that perfect pleasure spot, and got to feel Draco clench tight around him as he bucked up against Harry, drawing him in deeper. "Fuck, just, go for it," Draco urged, fingers tightening on Harry's shoulder. "Stop holding back. I want it."
Harry eyed him skeptically, but started to push a bit harder, bracing himself against the headboard. Draco moaned with every thrust, eyes closed, one of his hands wrapped around himself, and Harry knew then he wasn't going to last much longer.
"Draco," he breathed, and the blond dragged him down into another kiss, gasping into his mouth. "Draco, I'm gonna—"
"Do it." There was challenge dancing in those grey eyes, and as always Harry rose to it with aplomb, thrusting into Draco and losing himself in the motions, the pleasure building and building. He pulled one hand off the headboard and gripped Draco's cock, determined to make his boyfriend come before he did— with one swipe of his thumb over the weeping head, Draco arched up, and suddenly Harry saw stars as Draco clenched around him with the force of his orgasm. He had no hope of lasting through that, spilling into Draco with a ragged cry, climax ripping through him with such force he could hardly breathe for a moment. He slumped down onto Draco, trying not to fall fully on top of him, Draco's seed sticky between them. His cock slipped out, still sensitive from the aftershocks, and the pair lay there breathing heavily together, Harry's face mashed against Draco's collarbone.
"Oh," Draco sighed eventually — it was a sigh of satisfaction, a sound that made Harry go boneless, warmth flooding through his body. "Was that— how was that for you?"
Harry managed to lift his head, grinning dazedly. "Fucking amazing," he declared, kissing Draco's chin. "You?"
"Yeah," Draco agreed, nodding, chest still heaving. "Sweet Merlin."
The sweat on Harry's skin began to cool, along with other things that were cooling much more uncomfortably. Harry did as gentle a Cleaning charm as he could manage, but both of them still squirmed at the magic. He shuffled further up Draco's body, their heads next to each other on the pillow. "I love you," he murmured, rolling them over, pulling Draco on top of him, trying to get at as much skin as he could reach. "I— fuck. We can do that again, right?"
Draco laughed. "I fucking hope so," he retorted. "Maybe next time we could do it the other way round, see how that feels."
Despite his recent orgasm, the prospect sent a surge of pleasure through Harry's veins.
Merlin, he hoped next time was soon.