Disclaimer: All the characters, places, creatures and concepts you recognise from either the Harry Potter books or films belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros respectively. By writing this, I mean no offence to anyone and I certainly don't make money with it either.

Author's Note: The very last part of this story! *sniff* Anyone need a handkerchief?

Beta: TheElementalMaster, thank you! I'm once again impressed with your speediness!

Warnings for this chapter: I thought you deserved another small Lemon, though it's neither as long nor as graphic as the last one so it should be safe... (The beginning and the end are marked.)

35. EPILOGUE

"Lucius! Narcissa!" Harry skidded into the living room, greeting them in surprise. "We weren't expecting you, or were we? Sirius better not have made your letter disappear again, he'll be so dead..."

"No, actually we did not find the time to inform you of our visit beforehand," Narcissa replied, a hint of amusement flitting over her strained face. "We were hoping to be able to talk to you?"

"About what?" Sirius entered the room, looking suspiciously at the two blonds and wrapping himself around his small mate.

"Sirius," Harry hissed, staring pointedly down at the veela's bare feet. "You're not wearing socks."

Sirius grinned. "Hm, I have plans... Now, would someone care to tell me what is going on here? I don't think this is a social call."

"No, it is not," Lucius admitted, drawing Narcissa's slender form into his arms. "Could we maybe sit down?"

"Of course." Harry smiled apologetically at them. "Take a seat. Sirius, go put on socks. Would you like something to drink?"

"No thank you, Harry," Lucius answered, but led his wife over to the sofa while Sirius obediently summoned a pair of socks. "I hope you will forgive me if I come right to the point."

"Sure, go ahead, Malfoy. No point in making Harry nervous," Sirius replied, pulling Harry into his lap.

"We never made a secret out of it that we have been visiting Draco in Azkaban for a while now and on a regular basis, even though we do not in any way condone his actions or are willing to make excuses for him," Narcissa started, her hand tightly entwined with Lucius'.

"I know that and I'm glad you do," Harry said softly. "He's your son."

"Yes, Harry. But we came here to ask you a favour, to ask your permission in a way," Lucius continued, ignoring Sirius' furious glare.

"Oh, no, you don't, Malfoy!" Sirius spat. "You won't ask Harry to drop all charges against your scum of a son! You fucking won't ask him to give that little asshole back his freedom because he damn well doesn't deserve it!"

"Sirius, please, hear us out," Narcissa asked, but Sirius only glared at her. "We did indeed come to ask Harry for Draco's freedom, but the reason is quite different."

"Do you remember Fleur Delacour, Harry?" Lucius asked.

"Of course. But... She's married to Bill. They have a beautiful little daughter. I don't understand, Lucius."

"We were contacted by her on behalf of her little sister Gabrielle," Narcissa said, reaching into her handbag for a photo which she handed to Harry. "She recognised Draco from a photo in the Daily Prophet. She has dreams of him, Harry."

"No." Harry shook his head, his eyes wide in denial. "I don't... This... No!"

"Harry..."

"No, dammit. He'll hurt her. Who is to say that he won't hurt her as well?" Harry demanded angrily.

"She is his mate and of course, we wouldn't leave them without supervision," Lucius answered immediately. "With your permission, we would convince the Ministry to put Draco under house arrest instead of Azkaban, then invite Gabrielle to stay at the Manor as well."

"We will not allow Gabrielle to get hurt, Harry," Narcissa promised. "But she needs him, and I want to believe that Draco can change, that despite everything, he is not completely evil."

"I know that he isn't," Harry answered, gnawing at his bottom lip. "But his gentleness never lasts, Narcissa, and what then?"

"Then we will still be there," Lucius insisted, but Sirius snorted.

"Like you were there for Harry?" he asked acidly.

"We made a mistake then, we won't make it again," Lucius said decisively.

"One mistake?" Sirius spat. "You made more than one fucking mistake, Malfoy. You made one mistake, and then another, and another, until you finally opened your eyes to see what was right in front of them."

Lucius sighed but inclined his head in acceptance of the rebuke before looking back at Harry. "She needs him, Harry."

"I want some securities," Harry finally stated, locking eyes with Lucius, who nodded at once.

"We intend to bind his magic and Gabrielle agreed to be put under an Observation Spell that will alert us immediately if she gets hurt in any way," the blond wizard offered. "She will be safe."

Harry gave a light nod before resting his head back against Sirius' shoulder, playing absently with the large, calloused hands and rubbing at a smear of engine oil.

"What do you want to do, tiny?" Sirius asked, kissing Harry's temple.

"I don't want to be responsible for Gabrielle having to live without her mate," Harry whispered, snuggling a little closer to Sirius. "And Draco could be nice, even to me, so maybe he will be good to her, but I just don't know. What does Gabrielle say to this? And Draco?"

"Gabrielle knows that Draco supported the Dark Lord and abused you," Narcissa said softly, reaching over to grasp Harry's hand. "We did not keep any of his faults from her, and I got to know her as very strong, independent and stubborn young lady. I do not think that she will allow Draco any leeway, Harry, but neither will she go without her mate."

"And Draco? What does he say to this?" Harry asked suspiciously.

The two Malfoys shared a look before Lucius answered. "He seemed eager to meet her and he cherished the letters she sent him."

"And of course, this is also his chance to get out of Azkaban," Sirius mocked.

"We cannot completely eliminate that possibility, yes," Narcissa confessed. "But Sirius, we all know how important mates are and how they change us. We came here to ask Harry for his opinion since he knows that part of Draco better than we do and we will respect his decision, whatever it will be."

"What about Sébastien?" Sirius demanded, refusing to back down and let Harry answer because, dammit, wasn't it obvious how he would answer? Utterly predictable. But he wouldn't allow the bastard, who still haunted Harry's nightmares, to go free, to return to a life in luxury and to act as if nothing had ever happened. Forgive and forget?! Certainly not! "He'll be able to take care of her."

Harry turned to bury his nose against Sirius' neck. "Don't be angry. Sébastien would no doubt take care of her, but it's not really fair to always use him as the rebound guy. You know, he wanted to go to Brazil for an expedition. With Lysander."

"We are taking care of his stupid goldfish so this is really the least he could do," Sirius groused. "And it's not like he is in a relationship or anything."

"He might not be now, but that does not mean that he hasn't cast an eye on someone, you know that," Harry corrected him gently. "And Capone is a koi, Siri."

"Whatever, I still had to save that silly fish more than once from either Butterscotch or Jasper," Sirius insisted. "Surely, if that boring, cold, slippery thing can hold his affection, looking after Gabrielle won't be that much of a sacrifice."

"I think she would prefer not being a sacrifice at all," Harry murmured quietly. "I certainly did."

"Harry... I don't want him anywhere near you, never again," Sirius growled, massaging Harry's back. "And I know you, Harry, you'll be right in the middle, thinking everything is your responsibility and trying to protect everyone but yourself... What do you find so amusing now, Harry?"

"Nothing, nothing," Harry answered quickly, laughing when Sirius dropped a noisy kiss on his neck. "But what can happen to me? It's clear that you won't leave me alone with him. If Lucius and Narcissa say that they'll look out for Gabrielle and if that's what she wants, I think she has a right to try. I got you out of Azkaban as well and I didn't regret it so far."

"Well, I was innocent," Sirius thought to point out, tucking Harry's head under his chin so that he couldn't fall prey to Harry's large green eyes. "Malfoy isn't, and she doesn't even know him! All she has is vague dreams and a probably skewed image of the mate of her dreams."

"You had dreams as well," Harry argued gently. "And you found me because of them. Do you regret that?"

"No, of course not, Harry. My love for you is not in question. Is it?"

"No." Harry smiled at him. "But you always say that mates are made for each other, that we're perfect for only each other. Believe me, I know, Draco is a cruel, egoistic scumbag, but maybe he isn't for her? Draco and I never got along."

"That's no reason to treat someone like he treated you," Sirius said forcefully. "I don't like Snape, either, and he doesn't like me, but still I allow him into our house and pretend to have pleasant conversations with him while you and Remus catch up. Merlin, I even told him that he looked good in that suit on his wedding day and that really wasn't something that came over my lips easily. But I did and - "

"For me?" Harry asked carefully.

"Yes, for you!" Sirius answered. "Because you're friends with him and because Remus loves him and because it hurts you two much more when I insult him than it hurts him."

"So you're not doing it for Severus," Harry concluded. "You do it for us. Maybe Narcissa is right and Draco will change for Gabrielle as well."

Sirius sighed. "Fine, I see your point. Doesn't mean, I have to like it. And I reserve the right to beat him to a bloody pulp if he steps out of line."

"I'm afraid, you will have to share that privilege," Lucius replied wryly, but something like understanding passed between the two men.

Harry rolled his eyes and shared a look with Narcissa full of amused exasperation.

"How about we leave our men to plot and take a walk over the grounds?" Narcissa suggested, offering her arm to Harry. "How is college? Are you prepared for your exams?"

Harry groaned a little. "Mione is driving me insane. I should never have agreed to going to the same college. Two exams this week alone and just as many projects due by Friday and I still don't know if I really have the talent to become an artist."

Narcissa smiled at him, squeezing his arm encouragingly. "I saw some of your works, Harry, and I heard that Merlin's Magics expressed interest in employing you as an illustrator for children's books."

"It's only a spot in their training programme over the summer," Harry mumbled with a light blush. "And it's still not certain. They are waiting for the results of this semester before they give me their final yes or no."

"I'm sure you will do just fine," Narcissa answered. "Unless you and Sirius have other plans? Such as adding to the family?"

"What? No!" Harry exclaimed, shaking his head wildly. "I'm only 22 and anyway, Severus told us in no uncertain terms that he would brew the potion for me to become pregnant only after I finished college or Sirius managed to hold a job for more than six months. I'm not sure what will come to happen first."

Narcissa's clear laugh rang out and the sun glinted on her long blond hair as she brushed it over her shoulder. "Is he still working for the Daily Prophet?"

"No, he just started in Greene's Garage for magical vehicles and modes of transportation," Harry answered lightly. "I think working with his hands is more to his liking, anyway, but for now he just enjoys his freedom. And I'm happy as long as he is happy."

The blonde smiled at him. "I'm very glad that you are, Harry, and we won't allow Draco to ruin this for you."

"I don't think he could," Harry murmured, glancing up at the slender witch. "I'm stronger now, I'm not afraid and I don't have the urge to fall over myself to please any non-entity dominant. He's just that." He shrugged. "Sirius is my mate and he's the one I want to please. Only him. Plus, I'm secretly hoping that Gabrielle takes after her sister because Bill doesn't often get a say in their decisions." He grinned a little, then turned back towards the manor, smiling brilliantly at the two veelas, who approached them, especially of course at his own mate.

Sirius opened his arms with a wide, welcoming smile and Harry ran towards him, laughing happily when Sirius swirled him around and captured his lips in a kiss to the happy barking of Jasper and Butterscotch.

"How are you, my beautiful mate?" Sirius asked, not yet putting Harry back on his own two feet. "Now that I successfully plotted that filthy jerks demise, we can plot how to spend the rest of our anniversary."

Harry cocked his head. "It's our anniversary? Don't tell me I forgot!"

"What else am I supposed to say if you can't remember what a special day today is?" Sirius mocked gently. "I'm pretty sure we married exactly three years ago - and Remus seemed to agree with me."

"You cheated!" Harry accused, glaring indignantly at Sirius. "You had outside help."

"But I share my results with you, don't I?" Sirius offered, kissing Harry's cheek. "So we win both."

Harry grumbled, but then returned Sirius' grin before it could fade. "Okay, but we're going to write that date in our calendar. We already forgot it last year."

"Hm, I'm pretty sure we still had our fun." Sirius chuckled, leading Harry's hand to his mouth for a chaste kiss. "As we will have today, gorgeous. Malfoy, Cissa, please, don't take offence if I throw you out now."

"Siri!"

"Of course not, Sirius, how negligent of us to disturb you on your wedding anniversary. Our apologies," Narcissa said, linking her arm with Lucius'. "Let's go, honey."

"I shall inform you of any development with my son, Sirius," Lucius added before smiling at Harry. "Enjoy your anniversary, little elf, Sirius."

Sirius growled at the old nickname, putting himself between his mate and the two blonds and not letting Harry out of his arms until the Malfoys were clearly out of sight. Harry was so used to Sirius' possessive protectiveness that surfaced every once in a while without much warning that he merely relaxed and put his ear over Sirius' heart, listening to the strong, regular thumping that matched the rhythm of his own heart.

"Siri?"

"Hm? What is it, tiny?"

"Are you angry about Draco?"

"Why would I be?" Sirius' voice was low and soothing and his hands slid carefully through Harry's hair. "Gabrielle has a right to meet her mate, Malfoy and Narcissa have a right to support their son and you have a right to say that you don't want to visit them ever again."

"I didn't say that," Harry protested.

"No? That's what it sounded like to me," Sirius replied innocently. "And I informed Malfoy as well."

"You didn't." Harry groaned, hitting his head against Sirius' strong chest. "Tell me you didn't."

"Oh, yes, I did." Sirius seemed awfully proud of himself, and Harry glared at him. "Because I have every right to keep you safely away from the bastard, who hurt and almost raped you."

"But - "

"That is not up for discussion, love."

Sirius' face got that mulish look that Harry both adored and loathed because it meant that Sirius was done listening and wouldn't be convinced no matter what arguments Harry came up with. It also meant that Sirius would use being the dominant mate to his advantage and just tell Harry to accept his opinion. Most of the time, Harry thought that Sirius didn't even know what he was doing and that it was only his worry for Harry that made him act this way and that was also the reason why Harry didn't mind as much as he probably should. Besides, getting Sirius into protective mode had his advantages for him as well.

He hid his smirk against Sirius' shoulder and then glanced up with a decorative pout on his lips. It was like an electric jolt went through Sirius' body and his grey eyes became a bit glassy. Yep, worked every time.

"What, tiny? What is wrong?" Sirius asked in worry.

"This was supposed to be a happy day and now Draco ruined it," Harry whined, bowing his head. "And even though I study almost non-stop, I'll still fail my exams and art projects because I just don't have enough talent and you know that Lucius has allowed me to paint in their studio because the light is just perfect in there, but if you won't let me go there..."

"Oh, hush, my sweet, we'll find a way. You can paint in your studio here and I'll arrange the shadows so that they're just perfect for you. And you're just stressed and worry too much. You have more than enough talent and you'll ace your exams," Sirius murmured, his voice dark and soothing like the shadows that wrapped around their ankles. "How about I give you a relaxing massage and then we can enjoy the picnic Dobby set up for us?"

Harry sniffed, but allowed Sirius to tug him under his arm and lead him to a chequered blanket that was spread out under a tree, complete with a large basket and several pillows. Sirius held out his hand to Harry and considerately helped him to sit down before he settled himself.

"May I?" he asked, motioning to Harry's shirt and only after the elf had given his permission, he started to unbutton it, feathering open-mouthed kisses on the revealed skin.

Harry moaned and Sirius quickly wrapped his arm around Harry's waist before the young man could lose his balance and instead gently lowered him to the blanket, efficiently manoeuvring him to lie on his stomach with his bare back exposed to Sirius' hungry gaze.

The small elf shivered when Sirius dribbled a bit of cool massage oil onto his back before the veela's large, warm hands smoothed over his back, gently tracing his muscles and working out the tension.

"Are you feeling better, gorgeous?" Sirius murmured finally, vanishing the last traces of oil and then pulling Harry into his lap.

Harry hummed, glancing briefly up at his mate before deciding that he could still get some more attention from his mate. "Yeah, I guess, thanks, Siri."

"Oh, I'm not finished yet," the veela stated, nuzzling Harry's neck. "What would you like to eat? Maybe a bit of that walnut cake you like so much?"

"Sounds good," Harry agreed and soon after he was munching on a piece of cake, safely held against Sirius' chest, who was enjoying his own apple pie.

Afterwards, they shared a bottle of butterbeer and Sirius fed his smaller lover some grapes while he himself feasted on Harry's neck and nibbled on his pointed ear. Harry mewled, fisting his hands in Sirius' shirt as he turned around, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw the lust, with which the veela was looking back at him.

"Siri..."

The veela growled before pouncing on the small elf, knocking him over backwards and just barely protecting him from landing on the ground head-first. His lips found Harry's, his teeth scraping over the velvety skin and tugging his bottom lip into his mouth, while his hands closed around Harry's waist, holding him down as he slid his body over Harry's, pinning him down with his weight.

Harry buried his hand in Sirius' hair, spreading his legs a little so that Sirius could slip between them and then looped his right leg over Sirius' waist. The veela growled, claiming Harry's mouth in a forceful kiss. Harry knew what it meant. It meant: You belong to me. You're mine. No one will touch you but I. There was also an undercurrent of: I'm your dominant. Submit! But Harry wasn't too bothered about it because firstly, he didn't really mind and secondly, there would be no repercussions if he didn't obey, except perhaps that Sirius would sulk a little.

Sirius' hands had slid under the waistband of his pants, tracing his hipbone with gentle, reverent fingers before he blindly reached behind him to get rid of Harry's socks. It was an unspoken rule that they would always first take off their socks and only then their underwear and though Harry didn't really remember why it was so important to Sirius, he still appreciated the fact that Sirius stuck to it religiously because it meant that he, Harry, was important to Sirius.

He gasped when Sirius bit into his neck at the same time as vanishing the rest of their clothes with a wandless spell, pushing Harry a bit more firmly into the ground.

BEGINNING OF LEMON

"Shh." Sirius sounded distracted, and he didn't stop biting and suckling a path from Harry's collarbone down to his navel. "Lie still."

Harry obeyed, giving in to the myriad of sensations, drowning in the pleasurable feelings Sirius' mouth and fingers invoked in him, stroking and caressing and licking and suckling and tweaking and biting until Harry wasn't sure anymore if it was soreness or lust that made his body thrum and shiver and tremble.

Sirius prepared him with a single-minded gentleness, focused on Harry's body and reactions and nothing else to find the spots that made Harry see stars and others that wrought whimpers and mewls from his younger mate.

When he finally slid into him, it was like coming home. And what a warm welcome it was! He moved with slow, deliberate thrusts, allowing Harry to adjust and then to move in counterpoint against him, meeting each inward stroke with a small push of his own. The sounds Harry made caressed his auditory canal and travelled in a shiver up and down his spine until they triggered low groans and inarticulate shouts from his throat.

The small gasp of his name was the only warning Sirius got before Harry's petite body was seized in a powerful orgasm that shook it like the storm shook the trees, that made Harry's muscles ripple like the wind a smooth surface of a lake, that pushed Sirius towards his own climax.

Harry snapped his eyes open as Sirius howled out his name and shot liquid warmth into him to be able to see the storm-grey eyes lidded in pleasure, the shadows that reared up around them, momentarily concealing the sun. Or maybe Harry had blinked even though he had tried so hard not to. Sirius' hands, broad and calloused and ever gentle, had moved from Harry's waist so that he wouldn't leave bruises, instead fisting in the blanket left and right of Harry's body.

Sirius regained his breath first, carefully sliding out of Harry and quickly checking for blood though he was not surprised when he found none. They were perfect for each other, after all. With practised ease, he rearrange Harry to his liking in his arms, one of his own muscled thighs held snug between Harry's creamy white legs and Harry's back resting comfortably against his chest so that he could bury his face in Harry's neck.

END OF LEMON

"How's your day now? Better?" he murmured, absently trailing his finger up and down Harry's side.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, better, but I think we'll have to do that a few more times before it's really perfect," Harry whispered, pressing a little closer to the veela. "I still feel stressed."

"We couldn't have that," Sirius replied earnestly, hiding his grin against Harry's neck with only two thoughts on his mind: Firstly, he was grateful that Jasper and Butterscotch had found a large branch to amuse themselves with and hadn't watched their masters' activities. And secondly, that, yes, Harry was very predictable. Deliciously so.

THE END

Well, that's that. I hope you liked the ending (I'm quite fond of it) and of course the story in general.

I want to thank you all for reading this, for bearing with irregular updates, short chapters and evil cliffhangers, for adding me or this story to your favourites or alerts or communities, for reviewing and giving me the encouragement and motivation to finish this story. Thank you!

Special thanks go to Adah Eyes, Blaithin-mae and TheElementalMaster for their corrections and suggestions, their kind words and answers to my questions. I'm very lucky that you were willing to help me with my writing and this story!

I think I've said my share, so now it's your turn!