Hi everyone! Wow I completely hadn't realised how long it had been since I updated this pic until I jumped online this morning, sorry! Two little people makes a mother very busy as I'm sure you can imagine, but I've also been working on my original work a lot for the past little while so that's taken a lot of my time. I don't intend to abandon my fanfics though so on that note here's a new update. I hope you all enjoy it, well, those of you who aren't sick of waiting for it and have therefore given up, I hope there are still some of you out there. I have given you a chapter that is about 4 times the size of my usual chapters to make up for my absence and there's a lot of hooking up and adorableness within, so I hope that helps. I also need to add that in a bid to get this out to you quickly I only did a brief reread so there will probably be some errors and it may not be the best writing you've ever seen. If you notice anything obviously wrong do let me know and I'll correct it. Okay here we go, enjoy and please review if you're still out there reading so I know.

WARNING NAUGHTY SCENES AHEAD

The holiday

Harry dropped his bags on the floor of the house they'd rented for the holidays and sighed in relief. Finally they were here and from the looks of it the house was everything the real estate people had promised. The others entered the main room behind him and he turned to see them gazing around the house with happy smiles on their faces.

"It's beautiful, Harry, Draco, you guys did such a great job choosing this place," Pansy complimented.

In the end their group consisted of Harry, Draco, Severus, Blaise, Pansy, Theo, Hermione, Astoria and Ginny. Daphne had gone to France to spend Christmas with her betrothed and his family, Neville was with his grandmother and the rest of the group still had parents to go home to. It was a good bunch of people they had assembled and Harry knew it was going to be a great holiday.

"Okay, so apparently there are five bedrooms in this place," Harry told the group. I think most of them have multiple beds in them, but there's one or two that only have a solitary big one. We'll have to see which rooms have what before we decide where to sleep."

"Are they all upstairs?" Theo asked.

"Yes," Draco replied leading the group upstairs to scope out the accomodations. The rooms were spread out over the entire top level which was good, and they all had their own bathroom. There were two rooms with a queen size bed while the others had multiple double beds, something they were all pleased about. The group gave one of the rooms with the sole queen size bed to Severus, as was proper for a chaperone, and gave the other to Ginny and Astoria. Draco and Harry took one room together, Blaise and Theo took another and Hermione and Pansy took the last. They settled in and unpacked their stuff before deciding to go to sleep for a couple of hours. They'd left the school at 3 in the afternoon and arrived in Australia at 1 in the morning so they thought it best to get in a couple of hours and wake up fresh the next morning.

Thanks to end of semester exams they were all tired but Severus gave each of them a small dose of dreamless sleep potion to help them dose off as he didn't want to spend his holidays with, in his words, ' a house load of cranky, whiny, jetlagged children'. The potion helped them slip off to sleep quite quickly which Harry was thankful for as he hated lying in bed awake for hours. He closed the curtains around his bed and called out goodnight to Draco before taking his dose and lying down on the very comfortable nest of pillows he'd created. He was asleep moments later.

XX

Surprisingly enough Harry was one of the first up the following morning and he slipped quietly out of bed and headed out of the room, wanting to get a better look at the house and the scenery as he hadn't been able to see much the night before. He opened the door and was nearly blinded by the light streaming in through the glass doors that lined both sides and the back of the main room and the high windows that sat above them. When at last his eyes adjusted to the light level change he looked around and smiled at what he saw.

The house was all wooden, the top level wrapping around the edge of the bottom and housing all the bedrooms and bathrooms, while the downstairs main area was one big room with a kitchen, lounge area and dining area all sharing the same space. He headed down the stairs and toward the back sliding door that opened out onto a large balcony. He gasped as he stepped outside to a bright, clear, summer day and a perfect view of the ocean from the top of the cliff face where the house was situated. It was absolutely perfect and he was so happy to be there, he couldn't wait for the other to wake up and see it too.

He felt the presence of his love before he heard the man's approach and he'd barely had time to open his mouth to offer a greeting before a privacy shield snapped up around the balcony and two warm, strong arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling him back into a strong chest. He smiled contentedly and leant back into the potions master, breathing in his unmistakable scent and covering the man's cool hands with his own.

"Good morning," he greeted his love softly.

"Good morning, Harry," Severus greeted him back and Harry could hear the smile in his voice.

Harry sighed happily. "It's so nice to be on holidays," he exclaimed softly. "It's even nicer to be in your arms. Add the two together and the world's near perfect really."

Severus chuckled and Harry felt the potions master's arms tighten around him before he whispered, "Yes it is."

They stayed like that for several minutes enjoying the closeness before Severus whispered, "The others are awake" and withdrew his arms. He moved the privacy charm so it was wrapped around the entire outside of the house rather than just them and the back balcony, then got to work throwing up extra protection charms which had Harry quirking his eyebrow in amusement.

"I warded the house last night when we arrived and threw up some shielding charms that would last the night before I went to sleep. These are longer lasting charms, I wanted to be able to see the structure and surrounding area better before casting them," Severus explained.

Harry chuckled, "Always so suspicious and cautious," he said with an indulgent smile. The wards the man was putting up weren't your normal protective charms, they were the kind one usually placed up in preparation for a battle and were much stronger. In this instance they were definitely overkill, but if they made Severus happy who was he to argue? "Are you like this with your own house?" he asked curiously.

"If you and Draco were to be residing in it with me, yes I would be," the man answered seriously and even though Harry knew the others could be down any moment he pulled Severus into a heart stopping kiss. It lasted only a moment, but Harry knew he'd gotten his point across.

"I love you," he whispered as he pulled away and Severus was staring back at him in shock when Ginny's voice called out Harry's name. He turned just in time to catch the red-haired ball of energy as she leapt at him and hugged him breathless.

"I can't believe this place!" she squealed happily. "It's so beautiful, you and Draco did such a good job picking it out," she added as she pulled away.

"Thanks, we thought it looked nice," Harry replied, smiling brightly at the girl he thought of as a sister. She moved over to the bannister to look over the edge and Harry glanced at Severus to see the man's obsidian eyes watching him, surprise still evident inter depths

Knowing he couldn't speak to the man verbally he pressed against his mind gently and when Severus allowed him access he said, "I know I said it would be a while before I could say it verbally, I guess that while was up today. I love you Severus Snape, it's a fact and one I'm very proud of," He said, smiling softly. "Don't worry, I know you can't say it back yet, I just wanted to finally tell you properly." He pulled back from the other man's mind just as Hermione, Pansy and Astoria bounded out onto the balcony after Ginny and the girls all started chatting animatedly about the house and the view and the weather.

Harry gave Severus one more soft smile before turning to head back inside, feeling the older man's intense gaze follow him. The look that had been in Severus' eyes when he'd said those words a second time making him smile serenely. The older man may have been surprised by the words, but it was obvious to Harry, who was getting used to reading Severus' expressions, that the surprise had been a good one

XX

The beach seemed to be everybody's preferred place to spend the day and after eating breakfast, which was possible thanks to the realestate's house elf taking their shopping list and buying the food they requested the day before they arrived, they coaxed Hermione and Blaise away from their books and headed out to enjoy the sun.

They set up a shading charm above their towels along with a small table and chairs before the girls started badgering the guys to use sunscreening spells not wanting to ruin their trip with sunburn. Harry happily allowed Hermione cover him in as many protective spells as she felt necessary before returning the favour and ensuring his best friend was also completely covered. As he caste the spells he couldn't help but notice how lovely Hermione looked in the swimmers she'd chosen to wear that day. A quick glance around at the other girls showed that she wasn't the only one.

Hermione's was a warm pink one piece that had actually been designed to look like a short dress rather than swimmers, Ginny was running around in sapphire one piece that tied around the neck and had two bits of the fabric missing around her middle showing off her lovely skin. Astoria was wearing an emerald green one piece much like Ginny's only strapless and with a diamond cut out of the middle showing off her navel and Pansy was wearing a bikini in a deep purple that looked marvellous with her dark hair.

The guys had all gone for board shorts and shirts, something that wasn't completely necessary with the protection spells, but most of the guys there were quite modest when it came to their bodies. For Harry it was a precaution that meant he was covered in case the spells wore off early, and as weird as it would have sounded to other people he wanted to keep his body to himself until he could share it with Severus. They all wore different colours which made Harry grin, Draco was in green, Theo in blue, Blaise in a burnt orange that really suited him while Harry had chosen red, which surprisingly no one commented on as to its association with his house colour.

There was only one person he hadn't seen come down yet and as he turned toward the path that led up to the house they were staying in he caught sight of the potions master heading down to join them. He was wearing a pair of soft, beige linen pants and a white, button up, linen shirt with the top three buttons undone and no shoes. Harry dropped his wand in shock and he realised, by the sudden silence around him, that everyone had caught sight of the same thing he had. The man looked so different, so relaxed and casual and exceptionally hot! It took a lot of effort to tear his eyes away from the skin of the man's throat and chest, which he'd never seen exposed before and wanted very badly to touch, but he did so and hissed quietly at the others not to stare as he didn't want to scare Severus back into his robes.

They all tore their eyes away from the unusual sight and went back to what they were doing, not particularly keen on the idea of their DADA professor catching them staring. The man moved gracefully under the shading charm and greeted them politely before relaxing into one of the chairs and pulling out a book to read. The group finished their protection spells and before they could even talk about what they wanted to do first Ginny tapped Blaise on the back and called out, "Tag, you're it!" before running off up the beach. The rest of the group laughed and scattered and Blaise took off after them, a wide grin on his lovely, exotic face.

Harry watched them go with a grin before moving over to the table and chairs to place his wand down on the table. "You probably already know this, but you look exceptionally hot right now," he whispered as he leant in.

"Glad to see my evil plan is working as I had intended," Severus replied just as quietly and Harry pulled back with a grin before taking off when he spotted Theo running in his direction, having obviously been caught by Blaise.

XX

As the day progressed Harry started to notice things about his group of friends which surprised him and made him wonder if he'd noticed anything prior to the trip or whether these things were new developments. The first thing he noticed was how truly in love Ginny and Astoria were. They were constantly cuddling and kissing which he hadn't noticed them doing before the trip but wondered if that was only because they'd been at school and wanted to keep their relationship secret from everybody but their friends. It was lovely anyway and Harry couldn't wait until the day arrived where he was allowed to hug and kiss Severus without looking over his shoulder in fear of who might be watching.

It made him wonder whether Severus would allow Harry to kiss him in public or hold his hand or whether the man would want to keep such intimacies confined to their private time. This brought up thoughts of what would happen when school finished and whether he should talk to Severus now about what the man wanted to do the following year. They'd been together a few months now, perhaps it was time.

The second thing he noticed was the way Draco and Blaise looked at each other when the other wasn't looking. He was more than a little surprised to find longing and desire in those looks and decided he'd talk to Draco about it later before they went to bed. The final thing he noticed, and probably the most surprising of them all was the attention Pansy was paying to Hermione. He knew the pair had been growing close living in the same dorm as they now were, but he hadn't realised there was anything else there and he definitely hadn't expected anything to come from Pansy's end with the whole pure-blood/muggle-born issue between them. As much as they were friends he never imagined Pansy would relax her pure-blood beliefs enough to develop feelings for a muggle-born. Still, if she had then good for her, he just hoped Hermione would notice it, the girl was almost as dense as Ron when it came to knowing what others were feeling towards her.

The group ate lunch under the shade charm and when the rest ran back out to the water Harry lingered behind, wanting a chance to talk to Severus. The man was sipping a glass of water and watching the group frolic about in the waves with a raised eyebrow and the barest hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Are you having a nice day?" Harry asked.

"I am thank you. Are you?" Severus asked in return.

"Yeah I am; it's nice to be able to think about something other than school, NEWTs, next year and war," Harry replied. "We could never have done this last year; it would have been far too dangerous even if we had all been friends back then." He looked over the group with a fond smile. "I like how things have changed," he said softly, chuckling as Draco playfully splashed water at Hermione. "How we're all friends now, how there's none of the animosity and stupid blood related nonsense between us anymore. It's so nice not to be arguing with Draco and the others, I really like them as people and I'm glad we've had a chance to get to know them this year," he admitted, turning his smile to the man beside him whose attention was now focused solely on him. "It's been so lovely getting to know you too, although I know very well I've barely scratched the surface. Everything about you is so perfect; I would have been devastated if I'd never had a chance to find that out. Thank you," he said sincerely.

He was pleased when a soft smile lit up the man's face and his lovely, obsidian eyes filled with warmth. "Thank you and you're welcome, although I am not the perfect one among us," he replied softly.

Harry smiled warmly at the older man, "Yes you are," he argued adoringly. "Even if you don't see it, I do."

They shared an adoring look before Ginny called out to Harry asking if he was coming to join them. "Coming," he called back and gave Severus a cheeky wink before heading out into the water where the rest of the group was playing with a large, brightly coloured beach ball Ginny had managed to procure from somewhere. Harry ran into the water and dove under as soon as it was deep enough coming up right next to Hermione who leapt away in fright before noticing that it was him and dunking him back under.

The rest of the day passed in a similar fashion and the group enjoyed dinner on the beach before watching the sunset and heading inside to wash up for the night. When everybody was in their pyjamas Harry turned on the muggle television that was on the lounge room wall and he and Hermione introduced their pure-blood friends to the wonders of the muggle world which included sci-fi, anime, a documentary about space and Top Gear. When at last they headed to bed Harry shot Severus a wink and motioned with his head for the older man to join him and Draco in their room.

They were sitting up on the blonde's bed talking when Severus came in and they immediately moved to make space between them for the man to sit. Severus took his spot and wrapped an arm around both of them in a soft hug before joining in their discussion about what Draco had seen on the TV that night. It was unfortunately only an hour before Harry and Draco felt themselves fading and Draco slipped off the bed to use the bathroom and give the pair a moment alone before Severus went to his own room to sleep.

Harry smiled sleepily at the older man who kissed him gently on the forehead before bringing their lips together for a soft, goodnight kiss. "Good night, Harry," Severus whispered, warm caring in his dark eyes.

"Good night, love," Harry replied, deciding that since he'd finally told the man he loved him calling him that wouldn't be so unusual.

Severus gave him a warm smile and hugged him tightly before heading out of the room and closing the door behind him. Harry slipped down in the bed, completely uncaring that it was Draco's, and closed his eyes. He was already slipping into unconsciousness when Draco came back into the room and chuckled quietly. "Are you going to move?" he asked amusedly.

"Nope, too tired," Harry mumbled in reply.

Draco chuckled again. "Oh well," he replied, pulling the blankets back and climbing in beside Harry. "As long as you're not a blanket hog I don't care," he said and settled down to sleep.

"Night," Harry mumbled.

"Night," Draco mumbled back and Harry let the darkness take him.

XX

The next few days passed quickly with a lot of time spent shopping and down at the beach. At last Christmas eve arrived and in the usual Christmas tradition the group bought a tree and decorated it as well as the house. When the decorating was complete half of the group decided to head down to the beach while the rest headed out to do some shopping. Draco was in the latter group having seen something he wanted to get for Blaise on a previous trip but not being able to do so as the other young man had been with him.

Draco smiled to himself as he wandered through the shopping centre with Pansy and Astoria.

Blaise; he was so unbelievably lovely and he didn't even realise it. Draco did though, as did pretty much everybody else who'd ever seen the young Slytherin, but no matter how many people, male or female, had sought after his affections, Blaise remained oblivious to his beauty and he'd never accepted an invitation to an event or outing from anybody except his friends. Draco didn't know whether that was because Blaise just had no interest in anybody who'd asked him out or if he'd been too caught up in his studies to want to date anyone, but he didn't care either way, he wanted to make Blaise his and he'd do whatever was necessary to bring that about.

He wanted to go about this the right way, the way he'd been taught as a child. In pure-blood circles when you wanted to be with someone you courted them, whether that person was male or female. How you courted them was entirely dependent on the person, but it always started with a gift, an expensive one. In Blaise' case Draco had already picked out his first courting gift as well as the ring he'd present to the other boy should he accept Draco's proposal. His jeweller had already finished the gift, Draco had picked it up not long before they'd left to go away and had it with him back at the house in case he found a good time and/or place to ask Blaise about it The ring wasn't quite finished yet, but he wouldn't need that immediately anyway and he wanted it to be perfect.

"So, have you decided when you're going to ask him?" Pansy's voice brought him out of his thoughts and he turned to smile at the girl.

"No, not quite yet," he replied. "I was going to wait until the end of the year but I'm not so sure now. I don't want anyone else to pursue him before I get a chance."

"He's never shown any interest in anyone, Draco," Pansy reminded him. "I doubt he's going to let anyone else pursue him."

"You never know, he might. It's our final year at school now and he might want to find someone before we leave. Besides, if he honestly had no interest in anyone he wouldn't have any interest in me and you keep telling me he does," Draco argued.

"Yeah but you're you," Pansy argued back as if that was supposed to explain everything.

He rolled his eyes at her and headed into the book store he'd spotted Blaise' present in during their last trip. He had loved Blaise forever and he really wanted to be with him. Pansy kept telling him Blaise had feelings for him and Draco hoped she was right or he was going to be severely crushed and he didn't know what he'd do. It was one of the reasons he'd wanted to put off asking Blaise until the end of the year, if the boy turned him down they wouldn't have to see each other every day. At the same time what he'd said to Pansy before was true, he didn't want anybody stealing Blaise out from under him before he could ask him. He found the book he wanted and took it up to the register to pay for it before heading out with Pansy and Astoria to the shop they wanted to visit.

He'd have to ask Blaise soon, he couldn't handle the thought of someone beating him to the boy he loved.

As they walked he turned to look at Pansy whose mind seemed to be elsewhere, a small smile gracing her lips. With a smirk of his own he decided to give the girl some payback for the amount of nagging she'd subjected him to over this situation with him and Blaise and asked, "So, have you decided when you're going to ask Hermione?"

Pansy's head whipped around to look at him so fast he was surprised she didn't break anything and a bright blush covered her lovely, tanned skin as she opened and closed her mouth several timed without any sound coming out.

Draco smirked at her discomfort and turned his attention back to where he was walking, content to let her answer him when she had recovered from her obvious bout of shock.

After several minutes of silence Pansy asked in a soft voice, "Would you hate me if I did?"

Draco stopped walking and turned to face the girl who was looking up at him with the most vulnerable expression he'd ever seen on her normally confident face. "No," he replied honestly. "Why would I?"

Pansy looked down at her shoes. "She's a … a …" she trailed off. "My parents would have slaughtered me for even thinking about it," she finished quietly.

"Well, they're dead," Draco replied matter-of-factly knowing Pansy had hated her parents and wasn't the least bit upset by their passing. "They can't pass judgement on who you love so why should it bother you what they'd think? If you care about her, do something about it. Don't sit around thinking and worrying about what other people are going to say or what they think is right. It's your life, Pansy, do what makes you happy," he told her seriously.

She looked up at him with a shy smile and he wrapped an arm around her, continuing in the direction they'd already been headed and hoping he'd given her something to think about. She deserved to be happy, whoever that happened to be with.

XX

Draco arrived back at the house with the girls who immediately disappeared into their respective rooms to change before joining the rest of the group on the beach. Draco headed toward his room to do the same, but on his way past Blaise and Theo's room he heard a noise and headed to the partially open door to see what it was.

He walked into the bedroom and shook his head as he found Blaise lying on his bed, reading a text book. Sighing in exasperation he moved over to the bed and plucked the book from the other man's hand before he had a chance to even realise Draco was there. Blaise made an annoyed sound and looked up with irritated eyes that changed immediately to a sheepish expression when his gaze met Draco's. Draco shook his head at him and shook the book in his hand.

"Is this having fun?" he asked. "You're on holidays, Blaise, you need to unwind a bit."

"I know I do, I just want to finish this chapter," Blaise argued feebly and Draco shook his head again.

"And then there will be another chapter and another and before you know it you'll have studied your entire holiday away," he said placing the book on the dresser and moving over to sit next to Blaise on the bed. "Come on, Blaise, even Hermione and Severus are relaxing and having a good time and they were the people I most expected to have to chase out of here. I know you're working hard toward the NEWTs but you've been studying all year and you'll be studying plenty more when we get back to school. You need to take some time out or you're going to burn yourself out and you'll be too tired and rundown to get good marks on the NEWTs anyway," Draco reminded him

Blaise sighed, "Yeah, I know," he conceded rolling onto his back, which brought his side up against Draco's leg, and rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hands. "I know I need to let go and relax a bit, I know it's good for me. I just … I can't stop thinking about how much time I wasted on all the Death Eater garbage when I could have been studying to do something I actually care about. I feel like I'm so far behind, even though I know plenty well that I'm not, I just keep thinking I have to catch up." He sighed unhappily and looked up at Draco sadly for a moment before continuing.

"Plus it stops me thinking about the war and my parents and … well … everything really. I know what I want to do with my future but I really don't know anything else about it. My arranged marriage was never finalised so I don't have someone planned out to marry, not that I wanted the girl my parents chose anyway I'm more than happy to be rid of that, but I don't know where I'm going to go to college or where I'm going to live, which country even. I'm worried about what the end of the year's going to bring, where I'm going to end up, if I'll still see you guys or if we'll end up in different places and just fall out of touch, I really don't want that. I just … I'm worried about everything, it's all unknown and I'm not used to that. I've always had someone else planning out my life for me and as much as I'm thrilled to be making my own decisions I just feel lost … it's really all down to me now, there's no guide anymore …" he trailed off and shrugged, looking away.

"I guess I'm scared and the studying takes my mind off it. I know I shouldn't be putting off thinking about it all, but every time I try it just becomes so overwhelming, then the fear creeps up on me and I just … can't," he finished softly.

Draco looked down at Blaise sadly. He didn't like seeing the other boy like this; maybe he should move his plans up a little and ask him now.

"Wait here a minute," he said softly and slid off the bed before heading into his room to retrieve the gift and return with it. Blaise was looking at him curiously when he returned and shut the door behind him. He moved back to the bed and perched himself next to Blaise as he had been before holding out the small, elegantly wrapped box. "Something other than studying to take your mind off your worries for a while," Draco told the other Slytherin who was still looking at him curiously.

Blaise took the present with a puzzled look, his gaze moving from Draco to the present and back again a couple of times before he untied the ribbon and ripped open the paper to reveal the small, rectangular, velvet box with the name of the Malfoy family's preferred jeweller imprinted on the top in elegant letters. Blaise' eyes flew up to his with a look of alarmed surprise but Draco just nodded to the gift willing him to open it. Blaise slowly lifted the lid and gasped when he saw the bracelet resting in the bed of soft, green silk. It was warm, rose gold, a colour that complimented Blaise' beautiful olive skin. It had a rectangular plate at the top with a thick chain attached to either end and did up with a firm clasp at the bottom. The plate was taken up, almost entirely with a large piece of ruby, leaving only the thinnest edges around the outside where the gold was still visible. It was, in Draco's opinion, one of the most beautiful things his family jeweller had ever designed and created for him and as far as he was concerned that was what Blaise deserved.

Blaise' fingers shook slightly as he reached out to take the bracelet from the box and brought it closer to his face to study. "Draco I…it's amazing I … I honestly don't know what to say," Blaise whispered breathlessly still studying the piece of jewellery.

When no further words were forthcoming and Draco figured he'd probably shocked Blaise into silence he decided to press on with what he wanted to say. "I wanted this gift to be special, the most beautiful thing I could have created for you, because it's not a Christmas gift, this is something far more important," he told the other boy who froze upon hearing his words. Draco was beginning to worry that Blaise had stopped breathing and was about to reach out and shake him when the other boy's head slowly tilted up and he looked at Draco with wide eyes.

"D…Draco … does th..this mean what I think it does?" Blaise stuttered out his question in a way Draco found so adorable it wasn't funny. He thought about acting coy and asking Blaise what he thought it meant, but decided instead to just get the words out there.

"If you think it means I want to court you then yes, that's exactly what it means," Draco replied seriously, trying to decide whether to be amused or worried when Blaise's jaw dropped open in shock. "You wanted a distraction from worrying so here it is, something else entirely to think about," he said. "I was going to wait until the end of the year to ask, but I didn't want anyone swooping in and beating me to it. I can see that this has come as a shock to you so I'll just tell you that I do not expect an answer right away, I understand how important it is having time to think about things, Merlin knows I never got much time to think about things growing up and I understand how awful it is to feel rushed. I don't want you to rush, I want you to take your time and really think about it, okay, you can come and give me your answer whenever you're ready. Whatever answer you choose I want you to keep the bracelet and wear it as a token of my affection, even if you ultimately decide that that affection should only remain within the realm of friendship. I designed it and had it made for you, it is to be worn by nobody else and when you do make your decision look on the bottom, regardless of your choice there will be a message there from me so you'll always know I care about you." He gave the shocked boy a soft smile before turning and walking toward the door.

"Why?" The question stopped him before he could turn the handle.

"Why what?" he asked without turning around.

"Why me?" Blaise asked. "You're Draco bloody Malfoy, every girl and half the boys in the school are dying to even touch you, there are girls who faint when you walk down the corridor, you have more money and power that pretty much anyone alive, I mean you're practically royalty and you look … well like that" he said the word as if the meaning of that should have been obvious. "You're desired by everyone and you could have anyone you want, so why me? I know I'm a pure-blood, I come from a good family, I'm a Slytherin, I have money and all of that, but I know, despite what people think, that you're not going to choose someone for any of that, so why me?" Blaise asked again.

Draco thought about the question for a moment before coming up with the best possible way to answer it and without turning around he said, "One day, when I was about 6, I asked my father why he married my mother. He looked at me very seriously for a long time and then he said 'Draco, there are many things in life we don't have control over, but one of the things everybody should get to choose for themselves is whom they wish to spend their life with. Some parents betroth their children to someone they think will suit them, but that usually leads to people being miserable and bitter for the rest of their lives and that's no way to live. I knew this growing up, your grandfather made sure of it, and when I grew up he let me choose for myself who I would spend my life with. There were plenty of options available to me, but the decision to marry your mother was easy because of one simple truth; I love her. We met when we were children and we grew up together. As a young child I liked her a great deal, as I grew up I came to adore her and as soon as I was old enough to understand what it meant I loved her. I have loved her every day since and I will love her forever. She is my perfect match. There will never be anyone like her, not for me and when you get older I hope you will be lucky enough to find someone who you love just as much. If you do, you marry that person, it doesn't matter who they are or where they come from, if you truly love them with all your heart they are the one you're truly meant to be with'."

He paused then and turned around to look at Blaise who looked back at him utterly dumbfounded. "I have known you since I was a child, I liked you a great deal then, as I grew up I came to adore you and as soon as I was old enough to know what it meant I loved you. I have loved you every day since and I will love you forever. You are my perfect match and there will never be another like you, not for me. I want to marry you, Blaise, you're my perfect person, the one I want to spend every day of my life with, and yes, as you mentioned before you are pure-blooded and all of those things, but I honestly wouldn't care if you were a werewolf or half bloody centaur, I'd still want you because you're you, not for any other reason. I love you, that's why," he finished studying the other boy to make sure he wasn't hyperventilating or anything of the sort.

"The only question that remains is how much do you like me, and as I said, take your time and tell me the truth, because even if you'll never love me back you'll always be my best friend," he said finally before turning back to open the door.

"Okay," Blaise agreed softly and Draco nodded taking it as an agreement to get back to him when he'd chosen. He turned the handle of the door but stopped when Blaise spoke again. "Draco, yes," he said and it was Draco's turn to freeze.

He took several moments to calm his breathing before he asked, "Are you sure? You don't have to answer straight away."

"Yes, I'm sure," Blaise replied and Draco heard the other boy approach him cautiously. He inhaled sharply when Blaise's hands suddenly touched his back but didn't move, worried that he'd frighten the other boy if he did. He gasped in surprise when the other Slytherin's arms slipped tentatively around his waist and then Blaise was cuddling his back. Draco released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and smiled warmly, blinking back the tears that threatened his eyes.

"Thank you," he said softly reaching down to lay his hands over Blaise's.

"Did you honestly think I'd ever say no?" the Italian wizard asked.

"I honestly didn't know," Draco replied.

"Only a mad person would refuse you, Draco, and thankfully, despite my upbringing, I'm quite sane," Blaise replied softly.

Draco smiled and pulled Blaise's hands away just enough to turn around and face him. He drew the only very slightly shorter wizard into his arms and held him close, enjoying the way Blaise's arms immediately encircled his waist and held him back. There was something he needed to ask the other boy and as much as he didn't want to he knew it was necessary.

"Blaise?"

"Draco?"

"I need to ask you something."

"Okay."

"You agreeing to this; is it because you actually have feeling for me too or is it because you're just frightened of losing me after school's over? You won't, I'm not going to let you get away regardless of how you answer, so if that's why you're doing this you don't have to, I-"

Blaise's covered Draco's lips with his own, effectively cutting off what Draco was saying as well as answering his question. The kiss was soft and gentle and affectionate and Draco smiled against the darker boy's lips as he kissed him back. When Blaise retreated he fixed Draco with a look and said, "You're not known for your lack of insight, Draco Malfoy; don't ruin the curve now."

Draco smiled back and reached out to run his fingers gently over Blaise's gorgeous face, his smile widening as Blaise leant into the touch. "I love you," he said softly pressing his fingers against Blaise's lips when it looked like the boy was going to respond. "Don't say anything until you're ready, okay, I'm not in a hurry to hear it."

Blaise grabbed Draco's hand softly, kissing it before pulling it away from his mouth. "I love you, too, I have for a long time now; I just didn't think anything would come of it," he replied.

Draco smiled again, feeling elated by the sound of those words leaving the gorgeous boy's lips. He pulled Blaise into another kiss, this time running his tongue over the young man's bottom lip in a silent request for entry which, to his joy, was immediately granted. The kiss was still rather light, Draco not wanting to push Blaise, who as far as he was aware had no real experience with relationships. He brought the kiss to a natural conclusion and smiled warmly at the blush that had bloomed under Blaise's lovely skin. "You're just too perfect, love," he told the other Slytherin who closed his eyes and snuggled into Draco's neck.

They held each other for a long time before Draco's eyes were drawn to the glass sliding door at the end of Blaise's room and the bright sunlight filtering in to the room. As much as he'd love to spend the next several hours holed up in the room, kissing and cuddling with Blaise, he knew he should get the boy out to enjoy the weather.

"Hey, get changed and we'll go down and join the others, you should enjoy the sun and the water while we're here," he coaxed. Blaise sighed and Draco could feel his reluctance as he pulled away which made him smile.

"All right, but before we go." He moved over to the bed and picked up the box with his bracelet still resting on the bed of velvet. Draco followed behind him and as Blaise pulled the bracelet from the box Draco took it from him and undid the clasp. He slipped it over the other boy's left wrist and clipped it up before settling it so it was sitting right and taking a moment to admire the way it looked on his love's wrist.

"It looks perfect," he complimented grinning up at the other Slytherin.

"It is perfect," Blaise replied his eyes never leaving Draco's face. "It'll be a constant reminder of who gave it to me." Blaise's hand reached out and gently touched Draco's cheek feeling the skin there before slipping back into his platinum blonde hair. "Merlin you're beautiful," he said softly and Draco felt himself blush for possibly the first time in his life. "You don't need to court me, I'm yours, just tell me when you want to get married and I'll be there," he breathed.

Draco's breath caught in his throat and before he could even think about what he was doing he'd pulled Blaise to him and kissed him, much deeper than he had before. Blaise's free hand wrapped around him and Draco held him tighter, pulling the other wizard's lovely body closer to his own. Those words completed him, filled him with love and warmth. Blaise was his now, all his, and nobody would ever take the boy away from him.

"Blaise are you coming down … whoa!"

Pansy's voice interrupted their moment and they both turned to see the girl standing just inside the doorway looking at them apologetically, a bright blush on her lovely face.

"Sorry," she apologised meekly. "I'll just … see you downstairs," she said before disappearing from the room.

Draco sighed, "Maybe one day she'll learn to knock."

"Pansy?" Blaise asked disbelievingly.

Draco chuckled, "Yeah, you're right," he agreed. He gave Blaise an adoring smile and in a sudden moment of insight pulled the Malfoy ring his father had given him for his 13th birthday off his finger and reached for Blaise' left hand. "Yours isn't finished being made yet," he explained. "Until it is, I want the world to know you belong to me." He slipped the ring onto Blaise' ring finger pleased that it fit without any resizing necessary.

Blaise looked down at it and blushed brightly which made Draco smile.

"Get changed and we'll go down to the water," Draco said pulling away and giving Blaise a chance to admire the ring on his finger and what it meant. "I'll meet you out in the hallway," he said, slipping out of the door and heading for his and Harry's room to change. He felt light and elated, like he was walking on clouds and he was positive he'd never been happier in his life. He just wished his parents were still around for him to write and tell them about it.

They were both ready rather quickly and Draco took Blaise' hand in his as they walked down to the beach. They arrived to find the group all out swimming except for Harry and Severus who were under the shade charm talking quietly. A cheer erupted from the group in the water when they came into view and Draco grinned while Blaise blushed heavily and hid his face in Draco's shoulder.

"Finally, it's about time you two got together!" Theo called out.

"Yeah, Theo, so when are you going to ask Longbottom out, hey?" Draco called back causing the boy to blush rather heavily and disappear under the water for a moment. Draco grinned as he and Blaise put their towels down and they were heading into the water when Theo resurfaced, having obviously recovered from his embarrassment and called out.

"So now it's just you two we need to sort out!"

Draco was confused until he followed Theo's line of sight and realised he was talking about Harry and Severus. The pair looked back at the boy wide eyed and Draco started thinking about what he could say to redirect the conversation before Theo really put his foot in it.

"Come on; don't look so surprised, we all know!" Theo called out and Draco looked back at the group to see that he was right, not a single one of them looked surprised. He turned to Blaise and realised he didn't either.

"It's your business of course," Pansy called out most likely not wanting Theo to get into trouble for pushing their head of house, who of course could be downright scary. "But it's got to be hard pretending and none of us mind if you want to enjoy the rest of your holiday together. We've got enough privacy charms up that no one's going to see us so no one else will ever know and we're not going to say anything are we?" she asked the group who all shook their heads.

Draco turned back to Harry and Severus who had just turned to look at each other with matching questioning glances.

"You know I'd like to," Draco heard Harry say softly. "And with how restricted we're being it's not like we'll be breaking the rules we've set ourselves. No one's going to say anything to anyone so I don't see why not. Of course it's up to you."

Severus studied the Gryffindor for a moment before holding out his hand to Harry who linked his fingers through it and held it gently in his own. Cat calls and wolf whistles erupted from the group in the water and Severus glared at them while Harry blushed a little and looked down.

"You know you could come and join us too, the water's lovely," Ginny called out.

Draco saw Harry looking at Severus, obviously expecting the man to turn her down as they all were. He was as surprised as Harry when the man stood up and pulled the green eyed Gryffindor to his feet. Harry blushed even brighter but gave Severus the brightest, most beautiful smile Draco had ever seen and walked with the older man down to the water. Draco and Blaise walked down with them and Draco smiled when Harry and Severus exchanged a look before diving into the water side by side. He looked over at Blaise who gave him a soft smile and kissed the boy's hand gently before pulling him out into the water to join the rest of the group. He was happy, really happy and even though he missed his parents he knew that had they been alive he never would have been doing this, experiencing this, and he wouldn't give it up.

He and Blaise dove into the water and swam out to join the others who were throwing Ginny's ball around with happy smiles and laughter. Severus had transfigured his long, grey linen pants into a board short material and his long sleeved, black linen shirt into a sunshirt like the others were wearing to protect him from the sun. Draco laughed as he saw his godfather participate in the game and knock the ball back to Hermione with a peaceful smile on his face. This was nice; this was the way their holiday should be. Severus might be their professor but they were all adults now, had things gone the way they should have, all of them, except Ginny and Astoria, would have graduated the year before and this wouldn't have been so unusual anyway. He hadn't expected Severus to go along with it, but he was really glad he did and he swam over to the other man to give him a tight hug, pleased when Severus returned it.

"I love you," Draco told him quietly.

"I love you, my child," Severus replied just as quietly.

Draco pulled back and gave him a smile just in time to hit the ball that was heading in their direction.

Yes, this was nice.

XX

Harry smiled as he snuggled up to Severus' side on the couch, watching the lights change colour on the Christmas tree they'd all set up in the lounge room. He was happy, really happy and he knew Severus was too. Theo's comment had shocked them both but he had to thank the other boy for saying it, if he hadn't Harry and Severus would have still been pretending they weren't together. And the Slytherin had been right, it was hard when they were away like this and all Harry wanted was to enjoy the holiday with the man he loved.

Harry loved Christmas, he had since the very first one he'd spent at Hogwarts. Before it he'd never been allowed to take part in Christmas, the Dursley's hadn't allowed him to help them put the tree up or anything and it had hurt, a lot. When he'd seen the tree in the Gryffindor common room at Hogwarts and realised he'd be able to help decorate it he'd thrown his all into doing so and he'd spent every spare second of December every Christmas since sitting in front of the tree watching the beautiful coloured lights change. This Christmas was by far the best he'd ever had and their tree was by far the most beautiful he'd ever seen because he'd decorated it with friends and family.

He sighed contentedly when Severus' arm tightened around him pulling him even closer to the man's warm body. It had been such a lovely day, he'd never thought Severus would agree to hold his hand and cuddle him in public and he'd really never thought Severus would have come swimming with him and join in the group's games, but he had and Harry had a feeling he enjoyed the afternoon a great deal.

A hand slipped through Harry's hair and Severus leant down to whisper in his ear, "Are you happy?"

Harry looked up at the older man and smiled. "I am, happier than I've ever been," he admitted. "Are you?"

"I am, and I do believe my sentiments in this matter match your own," Severus replied and Harry smiled as the man kissed his forehead gently. "Thank you," he whispered in that smooth, velvet voice Harry loved so much.

"No, thank you," Harry replied as he had that night so many months ago.

"Awww, now you two are just plain adorable," Pansy's voice interrupted their moment and they both turned to glare at the girl who was looking at them from her spot on the floor where she was playing a board game with Ginny, Astoria, Hermione and Theo.

"Be careful, Miss Parkinson, I can make the remainder of your year very unpleasant," Severus warned, but even Harry could tell it wasn't meant to be a real threat.

Pansy grinned and returned to the game she was playing.

The room was silent for another few minutes, save for the Christmas carols that Hermione had playing through her I-pod and speakers she'd brought for the trip. Then the clock started to strike midnight and Ginny cheered, "Present time!"

The others laughed at her and she moved over to the Christmas tree to begin pulling out presents. "I'm going to do ours first, this one is for Draco from Astoria and I," she announced, handing a beautifully wrapped gift to the blonde Slytherin. Everybody watched as he opened the gift that turned out to be a beautiful, butter soft, black, leather jacket. Draco looked at the garment in awe before moving over to give the girls a hug.

"Thank you both, it's beautiful," he breathed.

Astoria and Ginny's main area of interest was fashion design and as the presents went around they all discovered the girls had designed a gift specific to each of them and had them expertly made. The guys all received jackets, although each was unique from the colour, to the design, to the stitching. Pansy and Hermione both received a beautiful dress made of fine silk and Severus, as surprised as he was to receive a gift from them at all, was given a long, black cloak made of fine, high quality wool with a violet lining on the inside and sleeves that buttoned up to the wrists but could be undone to hang from the elbow if Severus needed his hands free to brew.

"The dungeons are always cold and we thought you'd appreciate something warm to wear during the winter, whether you're at school or not, it can function in either environment," Astoria explained as the man studied the gift.

"It is lovely, thank you both," Severus said sincerely. Harry knew he was surprised and in awe of the gift and he knew the potions master would have worn it even if it didn't work in with his pre-existing wardrobe.

Hermione did her presents next followed by Harry, then Blaise and Theo, Draco, Pansy and finally Severus. Severus had given them all very expensive and difficult to acquire books that suited their area of interest along with a handwritten list of courses that might suit their interests and notes on what to study for the remainder of their years in order to pass their NEWTs. Blaise and Theo, not knowing what to really give people, had chipped in together and given them all high quality, leather bound journals, including Severus, each with a different design on the front to suit the person. Draco had given them all a piece of jewellery imbued with protective spells and charms to keep them safe. Pansy had given everyone a photo album and like Blaise and Theo had each one made specifically to suit the person receiving it.

Hermione and Harry had chosen different gifts for everyone and were pleased that everyone liked what they gave them. When at last the major gift giving was over they toasted Christmas together and headed up to bed. Harry and Draco retrieved their private gifts for each other and Severus and headed in to Severus' room to have a little time with the potions master away from the others. They moved out to sit on the balcony overlooking the water and Severus headed inside to retrieve the private gifts he had for them both before joining them.

Harry and Draco gave Severus his first and he opened it with care, gently pulling the finely crafted watch out of the paper and gazing at it in silent awe. In the end they'd had it made from fine platinum with an intricate pattern of a snake engraved on the outer face and an emerald in the centre. It had a strong, platinum chain, the roman numerals on the face were set with obsidian and the mechanism was visible in the middle of the face which they'd both thought looked really cool. The watch flipped up from the bottom and the inside of the lid had a moving photo of Harry and Draco smiling and playing around set within it. Lastly the back was engraved with love from both of them in beautiful calligraphic script and they'd spelled both it and the photo only to appear if Severus himself was holding the watch in case it was ever found out of his possession.

"This it … it's perfect. It is the most beautiful gift I've ever received and I will treasure it always. Thank you both," Severus breathed, obviously overwhelmed thought he tried to hide it.

"Do you really like it?" Draco asked. "We wanted to come up with a design that suited you but jewellery is always a hard thing to buy for others."

"It's perfect, Draco," Severus replied with a warm smile. "But honestly I would have loved it regardless because it was from you, both of you, there's nothing in the world that matters more to me than the two of you," he told them and Harry smiled along with Draco, warmed by the man's words. Harry and Draco exchanged their gifts to each other then and when Harry opened the small box Draco had given him he couldn't help but gasp. Inside was a bracelet, almost an exact replica of the one he'd given Draco, only in yellow gold with a red jewel.

"Draco," he breathed and heard Draco's sharp intake of breath as he opened his own. They exchanged a surprised look for several seconds before breaking out into laughter. When Severus asked what they were laughing at the pair held up their bracelets and Severus smirked at them.

"It seems you two are more similar than you've ever realised," he stated as they helped each other put their new jewellery on and admired how they looked on their wrists.

Finally Severus gave them his gifts and they both gasped at what they found. They were rings, platinum from the look of it, with a thick band and a flat, square top inset with polished black diamond surrounding a small coloured stone that shone in the centre, Harry's was malachite, Draco's was moonstone.

"These are communication rings," Severus explained. "They are designed to be worn on your right pointer and are connected together by old magic. Should you ever be in danger or need to speak to each other, or myself, you need only press the stone in the centre, think about who it is you need to contact and think what you want them to hear. The communication will all take place telepathically so no one else will be privy to the conversation."

"They're amazing," Harry gasped slipping his onto his finger and studying it closely. On the bottom of the band he noticed a symbol and just as he was about to ask about it Draco did.

"It is the ancient rune of thought and memory," Severus replied. "It is to remind you that you are always in my thoughts."

Harry was warmed by the Severus' words and he could see Draco was too. They both moved over and wrapped their arms around him in a tight hug which he returned. They both thanked him and after having a few minutes to enjoy the evening together Draco bid them both goodnight and headed inside leaving Harry and Severus alone. Severus waved his wand at the chair he was sitting on, transfiguring it into a chaise. As soon as it was done he reclined back and held out his arms to Harry who didn't hesitate to join him, settling himself against Severus' chest and slipping his arms around the older wizard's waist.

"Thank you for my gifts, I truly love them, Harry," Severus whispered softly.

Harry smiled. "I'm glad, I wanted to get you things you'd use but I wanted them to remind you of me too. Draco told me you had a pocket watch his parents gave you years ago but it was destroyed in the war. We were mulling over what to get you and we decided to design one together; it was actually a lot of fun." Harry explained with a smile. "Thank you too, for my presents; they were so lovely and thoughtful. And thank you for today, you don't know how much it meant to me to be able to spend time with you like we did today; it made Christmas eve so much more special to spend it with you as well as the others. I know it mustn't have been the most comfortable experience for you though."

"I actually rather enjoyed it," Severus confessed softly. "I never did those sorts of things when I was young, I didn't have a group of people around me to have fun with as you do; death eaters aren't really into what most people would consider fun. My actions today were juvenile and childish, but honestly, I didn't behave like a child when I was one, I was never given the chance, nor did I get the chance to really be a teenager. Since this spell has returned me to my youth, with the idea being for me to live my life over again and be happy, I wish to partake in the things I never got a chance to do the last time around. My mind might be 40 but my body is only 20, only two years older than you, why should I not indulge in youthful joys as you and the others do. And I will confess being able to hold you like I am without having to worry about someone judging me for it was one of the most wonderful things I've ever experienced."

Harry smiled at the man's quietly spoken words. "I'm glad, I enjoyed it a great deal too," he replied, snuggling closer to the older wizard. They lay there in silence for a long time, simply enjoying the evening. Harry didn't realise he was falling asleep until the darkness claimed him and pulled him under into the most restful and contented sleep he'd ever had.

XX

Draco moved through the house to his bedroom door only to pause as his hand touched the handle. Somehow he doubted Harry would be returning to their room tonight and if that was the case it meant Draco could maybe have the chance to spend the night with Blaise. Plenty of naughty thoughts flew into his head but he pushed them aside, he wanted to spend the night holding Blaise, nothing more. Unless of course the other Slytherin wanted to do something more in which case Draco would happily comply, but he doubted the other wizard would be ready for that yet.

He moved from his door to Blaise and Theo's and opened it silently to see if his love was asleep. He smiled when he saw Blaise was still up and reading one of his trusty text books. He looked over as the door opened and smiled as he noticed who was there.

"Hey," he greeted quietly.

"Hey," Draco greeted back returning the smile. "Is Theo asleep?" he asked.

"Not yet," Theo called from the next bed and the boy's head poked through the closed drapes. "Did you need something? Say for me to maybe trade rooms with you?" The dark haired Slytherin asked suggestively.

Draco thought about it; that actually would be a better idea. If anything did happen between him and Blaise there was no way they could be interrupted even if Harry did return to their room for some reason.

"Could you?" Draco asked politely while Blaise blushed heavily.

"No worries," Theo replied amicably. "I figure Harry's as likely to be returning to his bed as you are so I'll have the room to myself," he said as he climbed out of the bed and headed for the door. "Which one's yours?" he asked.

"The one closest to the door," Draco replied with a smile.

"Cool, night night," Theo said slipping out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Draco really loved his friend right at that moment.

He turned back to Blaise to see the other boy watching him with wide, nervous eyes, a bright blush colouring his gorgeous cheeks.

"You don't mind do you?" Draco asked, wondering if he should have asked that first. "I can sleep in Theo's bed if you'd prefer?"

"No," Blaise replied with a shake of his head, moving to one side of the bed to make room for Draco and placing his now closed textbook on the bedside table. He pulled the blanket back and Draco moved over to that side of the bed, climbing in beside his fiancé and settling himself down on the pillow as Blaise slid down to lie beside him. The light of the bedside lamp glinted off the Malfoy ring and bracelet on Blaise's left hand as he pulled the blanket over them and turned to look at Draco nervously.

Draco gave him a warm, reassuring smile and reached out to take the other boy's hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it gently, enjoying how the blush darkened on the other boy's beautiful olive skin.

"You don't have to be nervous, love," he said softly. "I'm not going to push you to do anything you don't want to do. I just wanted to hold you tonight, is that okay with you?" he asked.

Blaise studied their joined hands for a moment before whispering, "I want you to touch me," so quietly Draco only heard him because the room was so quiet and he was so close to the other boy.

His eyes widened in surprise at the boy's admission. "Are you sure, sweetheart?" he asked. "I don't want to rush you, I'm okay with waiting."

Blaise shook his head. "No, I want this, I want you, Draco, I have for so long, please," he asked bringing Draco's hand to rest on his chest where Draco could feel his heart beating quickly behind his ribs.

Draco wanted to, Merlin knew how much and they were engaged now, if this was what his fiancé wanted he would give it to him. With his eyes never leaving Blaise' he used the hand that was now resting on the boy's chest to push him gently onto his back before moving the top of his body to cover the other Slytherin's. Blaise looked up at him with wide, nervous eyes, his breathing quick and shallow as his hands slid up Draco's sides to rest on his back and pull him closer.

Draco closed the gap between them, his gaze holding Blaise' until their lips touched. He started out the kiss slowly and delicately allowing Blaise to relax into it before bringing his tongue out to slowly lick along the other boy's bottom lip in a request for entry. Blaise was immediately compliant and Draco slipped his tongue delicately into the other boy's mouth keeping the kiss soft and gentle until Blaise' shaking hands began to gently stroke his back through the fabric of his green silk pyjama top. He deepened the kiss then moving his mouth more forcefully against Blaise' which drew a quiet moan from the boy and had him kissing Draco back passionately.

Draco leant on his left hand and used his right to slip down Blaise' body gently caressing every muscle he encountered on the way, which had Blaise arching his body into Draco's hand, until he reached the bottom of the red t-shirt Blaise liked to wear to bed. He slipped his hand under the hem before gliding it back up the path it had previously taken, only this time under the fabric. Blaise' skin was soft under his hands and Draco pulled back from the kiss, wanting to see what his explorations were revealing of his fiancé's gorgeous body.

Blaise was breathing heavily, his lust filled, deep brown eyes wide and still filled with nerves as he watched Draco slide down his body enough to pull the rest of the fabric of Blaise' shirt up and bring the article over the other Slytherin's head. Blaise sat up enough to help Draco pull it off before lying back down as Draco discarded it over the side of the bed. Draco sat back then and allowed his eyes to wander leisurely up Blaise' stomach to his chest before finally coming to rest on his eyes which now looked to be filled with self-consciousness.

Draco smiled warmly at him and brought his hands down to touch the boy's beautiful stomach before sliding them up along his chest, tweaking his nipples as he passed. He brought them up to Blaise' neck and into his hair before leaning down and whispering in his ear, "You're even more beautiful than I imagined you'd be." And enjoying the boy's relieved exhale as it rushed past his ear.

He pressed his lips to the side of Blaise' face before slipping down to the boy's ear and down further to pepper his neck with kisses, darting his tongue out to taste Blaise' soft, clean skin. He was almost at Blaise' chest, loving the way Blaise' uneven breathing sounded, when the other boy's hands slipped between their bodies and began to shakily undo the buttons of Draco's shirt. Draco let him get the top two undone before he sat up and pulled the shirt over his head, dropping it on the floor next to Blaise'. He grinned down at Blaise whose eyes took in every inch of his fine, seeker built chest and abs with an expression of desperate desire.

"Draco," he whispered reverently reaching out to gently touch Draco's heated skin, sending jolts of pleasure through Draco's body and making him almost purr in pleasure as he leant down to give the other boy better access.

"My Blaise," he growled possessively claiming the other boy's lips again in heavy, passionate kiss that had the other boy moaning loudly and reaching up to pull Draco's body against his own. Draco moaned loudly, elated by the other boy's desire to have him close. They kissed desperately, their hands sliding over each other's skin, wanting to touch every inch they could reach. Finally Draco moved his hand down to the top of Blaise' boxers and the other boy's breath hitched as Draco's hand slipped under the waist band. Draco pulled back from the kiss to watch his lover's eyes for any sign of fear as he reached Blaise' throbbing erection and traced his fingers gently over it.

Blaise closed his eyes and arched his body up into Draco's hand giving him all the answer he needed about whether the other boy was ready for him to touch there. He pulled his hand back and slipped down Blaise' body, grabbing the boxers and pulling them down to reveal the rest of the other Slytherins' body to him. He reached out to gently stroke the boy but Blaise' hand stopped him.

"Wait, I want to see you properly first," Blaise breathed and Draco was only too happy to comply slipping his sleeping pants from his body and discarding them on the floor with everything else. Blaise just looked at him, taking in every inch of his skin with lust blown eyes and shaky breaths. At last his gaze flew to Draco's and Draco gasped at the desire and love he could see in those dark orbs, strong emotions that he never thought he'd see in the other Slytherin's normally guarded eyes.

"Blaise," he breathed the other boy's name and the other boy reached out his hands to Draco who took them tightly in his own and allowed Blaise to pull him back down so his body was lying over the other boy's.

Blaise kissed him passionately and Draco responded with lust filled desperation. Their hands slid over each other's bodies before moving in synch down to grab the other's erection. They began to pump in unison and their moans and growls of pleasure echoed through the room around them as their bodies moved against each other in time to each stroke. They broke apart for air as the coiling in Draco's abdomen made him unable to take in a full breath leaving him to press his face against Blaise' and breathe as deeply as his pleasure filled body would allow. The pleasure was reaching its peak inside Draco and he took a deep breath before calling out to his fiancé's name, "Blaise, my love."

"Oh Merlin, Draco," Blaise called back and Draco felt himself the pleasure explode through his body heightened all the more by hearing the boy he loved so much say his name in his lust filled, Italian accent. He felt his essence explode from within him as Blaise' covered his hand and they both gasped and shuddered through their simultaneous orgasms, riding the waves of pleasure together until their bodies calmed once more.

Draco rolled sideways pulling Blaise with him slightly so they were curled up on their sides together and held the other boy close as both panted for breath as their bodies recovered. When at last Draco felt like he could speak he kissed his lover softly and whispered, "I love you."

Blaise' warm, chocolate brown eyes opened to look at him with so much love and caring it made Draco want to cry. "I love you too, so much," he replied, returning Draco's kiss. After a few moments he pulled back, reaching over into the bedside draw and pulling out his wand to clean them both off. As soon as it was done he put it back and snuggled up to Draco, burying his face in Draco's neck and intertwining their legs.

Draco smiled happily and held his lover tightly as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

XX

Hermione finished brushing her teeth and placed her toothbrush back in her toiletry bag before heading out of the bathroom and flicking the light off behind her. She re-entered the bedroom she was sharing with Pansy to find the girl sitting up in her bed, studying her hands nervously. She had to admit she was worried about her, Pansy had seemed kind of nervous and preoccupied the last couple of days and that wasn't like the dark haired Slytherin.

"Are you all right, Pan?" she asked, placing her toiletry bag next to her bed and moving back to sit on the end of Pansy's.

The Slytherin looked up at her for a moment before sighing and looking back down at her hands, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Hermione replied, her curiosity increasing.

"You read a lot, you pretty much seem to know everything, I was just wondering if at any time during said reading you learnt anything about pure-blood courting rituals?" Pansy asked, still studying her hands.

Hermione was surprised by the question but she answered none the less. "Yes, I've read a bit. When a witch or wizard wishes to show interest in another they ask permission to officially court them. If that person accepts the couple spend time together, getting to know each other and finding out if they would be compatible in a marriage. If all goes well, after a year the witch or wizard who asks for the other's hand proposes marriage and the other party gets to choose whether they accept or not. If they accept the couple marry, if they decline the courting is over and the couple separate. I think that's all I read, have I got it right?" Hermione asked, always keen to learn something new.

Pansy nodded, "Yeah, you seem to have most of it down," she replied. For a moment the room was silent, then, just as Hermione was about to ask Pansy what was troubling her, the other girl reached over into the drawer of her bedside table and pulled something out. She held it in her hands for a moment before standing up from the bed and moving closer to Hermione. "The only thing you didn't mention is that the person wishing to court the other asks that person with the presentation of a gift," Pansy said and Hermione couldn't understand what the other girl was doing until she sat down beside Hermione, took her hand and placed what she was holding in it.

Hermione's heart raced as she looked down at the small, rectangular, velvet box she was now holding in her hand. It couldn't mean what she thought it did, could it? She looked up at the other brunette who was still looking at her nervously, "Open it," she whispered.

Hermione's hands shook as she turned her attention back to the box and gently lifted the lid to find a gorgeous, platinum bracelet in the design of a vine with two flowers at the top, one inlaid with blue sapphire the other black, their necks intertwined in the middle and the flowers themselves sitting just above and below where the two vines met. It was absolutely beautiful and Hermione couldn't stop herself from reaching out to gently touch one of the blue petals.

"I had my family jeweller make this for you before we came away and I was hoping I'd find a good time to ask you before we went back to school," Pansy said quietly, reaching into the box to pull out the bracelet. "I offer this gift to you, Hermione Granger, with the request that you will grant me permission to officially court you." She slipped the bracelet onto Hermione's left wrist where it immediately tightened itself to fit her snugly. "Should you choose to accept me or not this gift is one that I hope you will keep and wear as a token of my affection and caring for you."

Hermione finally looked up at Pansy to see the Slytherin watching her nervously. For the first time in her life Hermione felt like her brain wasn't working and she had no idea what to say. Pansy was her friend and she cared for her a great deal, but she never thought the other girl would feel this way for her. Pansy was a pureblood and Hermione was a muggleborn, the thought had never even entered her mind "Pansy I-"

Pansy's hand came up to her lips and stopped Hermione before she could say anything. "I know you probably didn't expect this, I'm sure it's come as a huge shock for you. We come from different worlds, different upbringings, different values and we probably don't have a whole lot in common, but I really like you, Hermione. I care about you a lot and while I don't know if you feel anything like that for me all I'm asking for is the chance to get to know you better, spend more time with you. We've had an odd past there's no questioning that and before this year we'd barely spoken two words to each other, but this is what a courting period is for, to work out if we're compatible. You're everything I want in a partner; you're smart, you're strong, you speak your mind, you're kind and caring and I know you're not a pure-blood, I really don't care about that, I just want to be with you. I will never treat you with anything but the respect you deserve, I will support you always and should you agree to marry me I will love you and cherish you forever, I promise."

Hermione couldn't speak, words just wouldn't come to her. She hadn't really thought of anyone in that way since she'd broken up with Ron, but now that she was being asked the question what did she want? She wanted a woman she knew that much, but she hadn't really thought about the rest. Pansy was a woman, an incredibly gorgeous one at that. She was intelligent and kind and strong and Hermione had always liked these thing about her. She cared a great deal for the girl and liked her a lot, but could she see herself living out her life with her? She'd have to think about that.

She reached out and took Pansy's hands gently in hers," Pansy, I really like you, you've been a wonderful friend to be these last few months and I really enjoy spending time with you." She cringed at how she sounded especially when she saw disappointment fill the other girl's eyes. "I'm not saying no," she rushed on, not wanting to upset her friend. "I'm just asking for a little time to think about it. Obviously you already have so you know what you want which is great; I just need a little time to work it out. I'm sorry that I can't give you an answer right away, but like you said this surprised me and I need a little time to process, I hope that's okay?" she asked, hoping the Slytherin wasn't upset.

Pansy surprised her by smiling softly and leaning forward to press the gentlest kiss Hermione had ever received on her forehead. "Take all the time you need, sweetheart," Pansy whispered and Hermione felt herself tremble as the girl's lovely, soft voice washed over her. She wasn't used to hearing her speak like that. If she agreed would Pansy talk like that to her all the time? The idea thrilled her and made her heart race. Pansy moved off the bed and grabbed her toiletry bag, heading into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Hermione watched her go before taking a shaky breath and moving slowly to her own bed. She slipped under the blankets and adjusted herself on the pillows until she was comfortable before looking at the bracelet that sparkled beautifully on her wrist. It really was amazing and the fact that she'd chosen sapphire, Hermione's birth stone, showed Pansy had a level of understanding about her Ron had never possessed. She sighed quietly, not sure what to do. On one hand they were so young and she hadn't expected anything like this to happen until she was a good deal older. At the same time she had been with Ron and intending to marry him the year before when she was younger, she'd had her mind set on it even if she thought it wouldn't happen for a few years yet.

Knowing she needed to sleep on it she snuggled down in the bed, closing her eyes and imagining what her life would be like if she spent it with Pansy. It both pleased and frightened her that she could picture it quite clearly. The two of them living in a beautiful house, maybe on a little bit of property, with a dog and possibly some horses. She pictured them both coming home from work, Pansy after a day in court, Hermione after a day at the hospital, both of them exhausted but happy to see each other. She imagined them eating dinner together and discussing their days before heading up to their room to shower and … She let the vision end there not wanting to be thinking about … those things when Pansy came back into the room. She couldn't help herself from wondering though, would Pansy be a good lover? Would she be gentle or rough? Would her touch be like the voice that washed over Hermione earlier, soft and caressing?

She felt her body reacting to the thoughts and did her best to put them out of her mind before she became too wound up. It frightened her a little to realise she'd really like to find out, that she'd like to feel Pansy's hands on her body, the other girl's lips against her own; that she'd like to touch Pansy's lovely black hair and taste her skin. Oh Merlin, had she been falling for the girl all this time and just not noticed?

She pushed those thoughts aside as Pansy returned from the bathroom and made her way over to her bed. "Good night, Hermione," she said with a soft smile before she climbed into her bed and flicked off the light. Hermione sighed internally; she hadn't missed the sadness the girl hid behind that smile. She wished she could say the words that would make Pansy happy but she couldn't, not yet. She needed to think about this more before she answered, even if right now her body wanted her to stop thinking and agree to the Pansy's proposition so she could kiss the other girl's lovely lips.

She was in for a long night.

XX

The feeling of lips softly kissing his neck and a hand lightly stroking his stomach was what Harry awoke to the following morning and he gasped quietly as arousal coursed through his body, hot and strong. He didn't need to open his eyes to know who was touching him, kissing him, the scent of Severus was all around him only serving to increase the arousal he was feeling. Those lips moved to the junction between his neck and shoulder and he moaned quietly as shivers of pleasure coursed through his body.

"Severus," he gasped the other man's name, amazed that his love was doing this when he'd been so adamant that they didn't. He couldn't find it in himself to care however, as he felt more amazing than he ever had in his life.

Severus' response was to pull Harry closer and Harry gasped again as he felt Severus' chest press more tightly against his back. Severus' lips kissed that spot again, this time scraping his teeth lightly over it which had Harry moaning even louder and reaching down to grab Severus' arm which was still stroking his stomach, just so he had something to hold on to.

The assault against his neck continued and Harry was powerless to do anything but lie there and writhe in the pleasure he could feel coursing through every nerve ending in his body. His erection throbbed almost painfully and he could feel Severus' pressing against his backside, producing an overwhelming urge within Harry to impale himself on it, to bury the other man as deep inside himself as he could even though he'd never done anything of the kind before. It brought another rush of desire through his body and down to his erection that throbbed all the harder.

The pleasure was too much, he couldn't stand it anymore, he needed Severus to touch him, to claim him, he couldn't take the waiting anymore.

He somehow found the strength to roll his body over and he met Severus' lust filled eyes for only a moment before he pulled the other man to him and kissed him with all the lust he was feeling. He wrapped a leg around Severus' waist, groaning loudly as their erections rubbed together drawing an answering gasp from Severus whose arm wrapped around his back and pulled him closer.

Severus pulled back from the kiss and whispered breathlessly, "Harry, we shouldn't-"

"I don't care!" Harry hissed, pulling Severus back into the kiss and bucking his hips against the older man's once more.

Severus growled loudly and before Harry knew what was happening the Slytherin had rolled them over so he was settled over Harry and was kissing him with abandon, bringing Harry's other leg up to wrap around his waist and grinding their hips together roughly.

Harry let out a loud groan that was swallowed by Severus' mouth and rose his hips up to meet his love's, wanting so badly to come with Severus above him rather than just with the thought of him as he had been for the past several months. He didn't care if they never did anything like this again before he graduated, he just wanted it now; a Christmas present and something amazing to remember the trip by. He felt the coiling in his stomach reach breaking point and he broke the kiss to throw his head back and groan the older wizard's name as pleasure crashed over him like a wave of ecstasy. As he shuddered through his orgasm he heard his name tumble softly from Severus's lips, heightening Harry's pleasure as his love also reached his peak and followed Harry over the edge.

Severus lay over him for several moments as they both came down from the cloud of euphoria they were floating on and returning to reality. Severus was the first to recover and leant up on his arms to take his weight off Harry before reaching out to gently stroke Harry's face.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly.

Harry smiled softly at the Slytherin and reached up to brush the silky, black hair back over Severus ear. "I'm perfect," he replied quietly stroking Severus' back through the fabric of his shirt with the other hand. "I love you," he whispered, pulling Severus down to kiss him before the older wizard had to struggle with an answer. They kissed slowly, lovingly for several moments before Severus pulled away and pressed his forehead against Harry's.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Why?" Harry asked confused.

"I was only meaning to wake you, but when you responded like that … I should have had better control over my actions," Severus explained contritely. "I'm sorry."

Harry smiled and shook his head. "Don't be sorry, I'm not," he replied, carding his hand through Severus' hair. "I wanted it. I want you, you know that," he reminded the older wizard. "We have rules which we've abided by because we have to, I don't want you to get into trouble, but for once I just wanted to ignore them, to do what I wanted to instead of what I should and I loved every second of it," Harry whispered. He closed his eyes and nuzzled his face against Severus'. "I know I have several months left of school and we'll go back to observing our rules now, I'm perfectly fine with that and I won't break them again. I just wanted this today, I'm sorry if you didn't."

"I did," Severus replied. "I always want you, Harry, and if you're all right with what happened I am too. We will, as you've already said, have to go back to how things were before, but I'd like to live in this moment with you a little while longer if you'll allow me."

Harry smiled and leant up to kiss his love once more. "I'll stay here with you as long as you like, Severus," he replied softly, kissing the black haired wizard once more. "I love you so much."

XX

It was around lunch time before anyone other than Hermione and Theo ventured from their rooms. Ginny and Harry were the first to exit and Hermione immediately grabbed them both and dragged them down to the beach to talk.

"I need help," she said as soon as they were a comfortably seated under the shade charm.

"Okay," Harry and Ginny replied together.

"Pansy asked to court me last night," Hermione explained and watched as both their eyes widened in shock.

"Oh wow, really?" Ginny asked surprised.

"Yeah really. I don't know what to do," Hermione explained, still feeling torn.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Hermione repeated.

"Well what are you thinking, tell us?" Ginny asked.

"I'm thinking Pansy's really nice and sweet, she's kind and strong and she'd make a good partner," Hermione explained.

"But?" Harry prompted, obviously knowing it was coming.

"I don't know how we'd go in a relationship and I feel like I'm too young to be doing this," Hermione explained.

"So you're young, what does that matter?" Ginny asked.

"I have so much left to do, so many things to experience. What if I rush into this now and regret it later?" Hermione asked.

"Ok, first of all you're not rushing into anything," Ginny began. "A courting period is designed to give you time to get to know your potential partner."

"A year, that's nothing," Hermione disputed. "How are you supposed to get to know someone well in a year?" she asked.

"You try really hard," Harry replied. "And if that's your biggest concern then just ask for a longer courting period. I mean it's not like Pansy's parents are around to enforce it, it's just you and her you have to please. If it gets to the end of a year and you don't feel ready for engagement just ask her for more time," Harry suggested.

"I suppose," Hermione replied, thinking that Harry's words made sense.

"And as for the whole having so much still to experience, who says you can't still experience those things with Pansy? You're being courted not imprisoned, she's not taking your freedom away she's just asking for a little of your time. She's young too you know, who says she doesn't have her own long list of stuff she wants to do and that she doesn't want to do it with you," Ginny said gently. "You're overthinking this, Hermione, yes it's something you need to give serious thought to but for once in your life just step back out of your brain for a minute and let your heart tell you what it wants; stop putting up roadblocks before you even give it a chance. You've already said you like Pansy, can you imagine spending your life with her?" Ginny asked.

Hermione looked into her friend's blue eyes and nodded, "Yeah, I actually can."

"Then I think you have your answer, Hermione," Harry said quietly. "Nothing's stopping you from walking away at the end of the courting period if things aren't working. She's pretty much asked you to date her, just more formally that you're probably used to," he explained.

She studied him for a moment, thinking over his words. "When did you get so wise?" she asked.

"Well, I am dating a professor," Harry replied jokingly prompting Ginny to hit his arm.

"Ow, what was that for?" he asked, rubbing his arm.

"For not telling me and making me find out for myself," Ginny replied, glaring at him.

"Gin I'm sorry, but I can't risk anyone finding out who'll leak it to the papers or the other professors. I know you won't, but the more people who know the more likely it is someone will slip up and accidentally say something when they shouldn't and I can't risk that. Severus would be in so much trouble if anyone found out, please understand?" he asked pleadingly.

Ginny grinned at him, "Severus hey? You two done anything more than snuggle?" she asked suggestively causing Harry to pull a disgusted face at her.

"I am so not answering that, Ginny, you're practically my sister!" he refused vehemently. "Would you like it if I asked those sorts of questions about you and Astoria?"

"Every night since we've been here and this morning," Ginny replied with an evil grin and both Harry and Hermione covered their ears and groaned.

"I so didn't need to know that, Ginny!" Hermione moaned at the girl who was laughing hysterically beside them.

"Merlin you two I was only kidding," Ginny chided still laughing. Harry and Hermione drew their hands away from their ears and Ginny's grin turned evil again. "It was actually twice this morning," she corrected.

"Okay, that's it, I'm not listening anymore!" Harry announced, covering his ears again and humming a song to himself.

Ginny was all but rolling in the sand laughing at the boy's antics and Hermione couldn't help but smile at the pair. She missed Ron's friendship, there was no denying that, but she was glad to have Ginny and Harry here for her to talk to. She truly loved them both a great deal.

When Ginny's laughter calmed down Hermione asked. "Are you courting Astoria then, or vice versa?"

"No, you can't officially court someone until you're 18," Ginny explained. "Honestly though I don't think we'll bother with courting, we've done enough of that already. I think we'll just get engaged," the redhead replied.

"And you don't feel like it's too early for you to do that?" Hermione asked.

"No not at all," Ginny replied. "I love Astoria, I know I want to spend my life with her and that's all there is to it. I'm not saying we're going to get married straight away but I would, anytime she wanted me to," she finished with a fond smile.

"I want to marry Severus as soon as we're allowed," Harry said from the other side of Hermione, drawing her attention. "We've only been together for a little while, and in a lot of ways we're not really together because we can't be, but if he asked me tomorrow to elope with him I would," Harry confessed quietly, a small blush coming to his face. "I love him. We might not seem like the most likely couple and I'm sure there will be people who question it when the news finally gets out but I don't care. I might be young but I know what I want and nothing's going to change that." He reached forward to take her hands gently. "If this is what you want, Hermione, go for it, it might not work out but you won't know until you try and what can trying really hurt?" he asked.

Hermione sighed, "Yeah, you're right," she agreed quietly, studying their joined hands.

"Of course I'm right, I'm me," Harry replied prompting Hermione to slap his arm with a playful glare.

XX

Pansy stood at the balcony railing overlooking the beach, watching Hermione, Ginny and Harry talk and laugh. She wondered what they were talking about and was almost positive it would be her question to Hermione the night before. She wondered what kind of advice they were giving her and whether or not it would affect the other girl's decision. She was pretty sure it would, they were Hermione's best friends, so she could only hope they were urging the brunette to give her a chance. If Hermione turned her down Pansy was pretty sure she'd cry and she didn't like crying, she didn't do it all that much, it just showed weakness.

"Hey, what are thinking about out here all on your own?" Astoria asked, stepping out on the balcony to join her.

"Life," Pansy replied with a sigh.

"Sounds deep," Astoria commented, moving to stand beside her and following her line of sight. "Ah, Hermione, I see."

Pansy looked over at her in surprise. "Am I that obvious?" she asked.

Astoria shook her head, "No, I was just guessing," she replied quietly, her attention not leaving the group on the beach. After a few moments she sighed quietly and leant on the railing, resting her chin on her hand as her gaze took on an adoring and content expression. "I love, Ginny so much," she said quietly.

Pansy couldn't help but smile at the girl despite how morbid she'd been feeling before Astoria joined her. Anyone could see she was truly happy and despite feeling jealous of the other girl for what she had Pansy was happy for her. Astoria had actually loved her parents and losing them in the war had been incredibly hard for her. To see her so happy because of Ginny was a wonderful thing.

"I'm glad you're so happy," Pansy told her softly turning back to watch Hermione again.

"You and me both," Astoria agreed softly. For a few moments she was silent, then she turned from her watching of Ginny to look at Pansy. "I think you'll be happy too, you know," she told her, a look of determination in her eyes. "Hermione's a smart woman, she knows a good thing when she sees it and you're definitely a good thing, Pansy. Just give it time, I'm sure it'll work out."

Pansy smiled and gave the younger girl a soft, one armed hug. "Thanks, Tori," she said sincerely.

"Good luck, Pansy," Astoria replied, hugging Pansy back before heading inside.

Pansy watched Hermione for another few minutes before turning and heading inside for a shower. She ran quickly through the task of cleaning herself, all the while trying not to think about what she'd do if Hermione turned her down. She climbed out of the shower and was about to spell herself dry when she spotted her as yet unused towel, still hanging up on the towel rack. She'd never admit it to any of the other pureblood she knew, but while drying spells were efficient and all, nothing really compared to being wrapped up in a warm, fluffy towel.

She headed out into the bedroom as soon as she was wrapped up, mentally cursing herself for forgetting to bring clothes into the bathroom with her. She opened the bathroom door and froze in shock as she came face to face with a very surprised Hermione who was sitting on her bed. She hadn't heard the other girl come in.

"Oh, hi," Hermione greeted her awkwardly.

"Hi," Pansy greeted back just as awkwardly. She was just deciding whether to retreat back into the bathroom or run quickly to her bag and get her clothes, when it suddenly occurred to her how silly she was being. This was the woman she wanted to court, what was the point hiding from her? "Sorry I didn't hear you come in," she said simply, making her way over to get her clothes without any urgency, acutely aware of Hermione's gaze following her every move. She grabbed her clothes and turned to head back into the bathroom, only to pause at the door and look back at the Gryffindor. "Were you looking for me?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," Hermione replied, seeming to snap out of a daze which had Pansy fighting not to grin.

Knowing she was being terribly evil, but not really caring because, hello, Slytherin, she moved back over to the bed and sat down beside the other girl, "What's up?"

"N … nothing," Hermione stammered in response, making an obvious effort to keep her gaze trained on Pansy's face. "I just wanted to say … um … that I accept," the Gryffindor finally managed to get out and this time Pansy couldn't hide her smile.

"Really?" she asked, her heart soaring higher than a hypogriff.

"Yeah, really," Hermione confirmed with a warm smile. "Honestly I wanted to last night, I was just overthinking everything which is unfortunately an annoying part of my personality. I'm sorry that I made you wait."

Pansy reached out to take her hand, smiling reassuringly. "Don't be sorry, I wanted you to be sure." she leant forward and placed a gentle kiss on her now girlfriend's lips. "Thank you."

"Thank you for asking," Hermione replied, gazing happily into Pansy's eyes. "I will warn you though, I can't honestly promise I'll be ready for marriage after only a year,"

"It's okay, I understand. We're both still young and there's nothing that says the rules of courting are absolute. You're giving me a chance, that's all I wanted," Pansy replied, kissing Hermione once more.

They smiled at each other for a moment before a breeze blew in from the sliding door, reminding Pansy that she was still in just a towel.

"I should really go back into the bathroom and get changed," she said.

"Oh really, why not right here?" Hermione asked with mock disappointment.

Pansy knew her girlfriend was only teasing, but she'd never been ashamed of her body and was more than happy to show Hermione exactly what she'd just agreed to get. With a wicked grin she stood up from the bed and whipped the towel off, enjoying the way the Gryffindor's eyes widened in shock before filling with lust.

"You know I was only joking," Hermione said, even as her gaze roved hungrily over Pansy's body.

"Oh, I know," Pansy replied, doing a slow turn to give Hermione a full view of her attributes before leaning over and plucking her first item of clothing from the bed beside the Gryffindor. She dressed slowly, enjoying the way Hermione's hands twitched at her side as she obviously fought to keep them from reaching out and touching Pansy's skin. By the time Pansy had her clothes on Hermione looked ready to immediately undress her again and Pansy loved how that made her feel.

"I hope you enjoyed the show," she said with a grin before moving to head back into the bathroom and fix her hair for the day.

"You are such a tease," Hermione said from behind her.

"Hey, I didn't say you couldn't help me," Pansy replied with a naughty grin over her shoulder. "Besides, isn't getting to undress your lover, much like unwrapping a present, half the fun of the experience?" she asked.

"You're lucky I have morals, Pansy Parkinson, or you'd be back out of those clothes again already," Hermione warned playfully.

"Promises, promises," Pansy teased, moving over to the bathroom sink with a grin and wondering just how strong Hermione's morals were and how long they'd last.

XX

When Pansy and Hermione emerged from their room, hands intertwined, the reactions were near comical. When they'd both been congratulated by everybody in the room the group decided to head out for lunch and were going to apparate to the pub when Harry and Hermione suggested wandering into the muggle town for something. The Slytherins of the group looked more than a little nervous about the idea but agreed to try something new and after a little tweaking of their clothes, particularly Severus who looked damn hot in a pair of black trousers and a violet, button up shirt, not that anybody but Harry was game to tell him that, they followed Harry and Hermione into town. They ended up having lunch at an Italian restaurant in the local shopping centre, which was really good, before Hermione and Harry coaxed the group into a trip to the cinema to see the Mummy.

It was an amazing afternoon and even Severus seemed to enjoy himself. They bought fish and chips to enjoy down on the beach before heading home for the night and spending some quiet time reading, playing games or watching TV before retiring for the night. Harry once more spent the night with Severus and Draco with Blaise. Pansy convinced Hermione to join her in her bed, something that didn't take as much coaxing as she'd thought it would much to her happiness. The house was quiet and happy and settled, its occupants sleeping soundly, until something tripped one of the outer wards Severus had set up around the property pulling him from his sleep. Immediately awake and alert, a skill perfected from years of being at the Dark Lord's beck and call, Severus gently pulled his arms out from around Harry and grabbed the cloak Ginny and Astoria had made for him. He pulled it on over his pyjamas and snatched up his wand before slipping silently from the room.

He moved silently through the house and cast a notice-me-not charm on himself before slipping out the front door. He heard the hushed voices immediately upon exiting the house and knowing whoever it was hadn't breached his inner wards yet and therefore couldn't see him he moved closer to the source, wanting to hear what they were saying.

"Are you sure they're supposed to be around here? I can't see a house anywhere," one of the voices asked.

"Of course I'm sure, the real estate agent said this was where he sent them so unless he was lying, and I don't see any reason he would, the house has to be here somewhere," another voice replied.

"Are you sure this is really necessary? I mean are we really even sure Potter's in danger?" the first voice asked.

"He's in a house with a bunch of Slytherins and Snape, of course he's in danger," he second voice replied.

"Dumbledore didn't seem too concerned about letting them go."

"That old coot's a fool! He's trusted Snape from the beginning and the man's a death eater! No, his opinion isn't valid."

"But he-"

"What in the name of Merlin are you two doing here?" Another voice hissed angrily and it took a second before one of the originals answered.

"We're here to check on Potter."

"No you are not, get back to the ministry now!" the new voice hissed.

"But, Sir-"

"But nothing! I specifically told you that you were not to follow those children here, how dare you disobey my direct orders!"

"The boy's not safe, that death eater's here with him."

"That death eater as you call him has been protecting Harry since he was born and he's more than capable of doing so. Right now Harry's as safe as he could possibly be and I will not hear anything more from you on this subject, am I understood?!"

"Yes, Sir," the voices replied in tandem.

"Good! Now get out of here, both of you and don't let me catch either of you here again."

"Honestly, Sir, I don't even think they're here, I mean there's no sign of a house anywhere and I've cast every ward breaking spell I know of. I should have been able to see the house even if it's warded."

"You have never met Professor Snape have you, Peters?"

"No, Sir."

"He's an immensely powerful wizard and a genius when it comes to inventing spells, there aren't many wizards I know who could break through a ward cast by him. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if he were standing somewhere nearby listening to this entire conversation with a grin on his face."

Whoever had just arrived obviously knew him somewhat; he was grinning at the man's inability to breach his wards.

"Now off, both of you."

Severus heard two pops of apparition before a voice Severus now recognised as Kingsley's called out, "Nice warding, Severus," and another pop sounded indicating that he'd left. The wards stopped buzzing then and Severus cast a quick refreshing charm on them, grin still firmly in place. He turned to head back inside, only to stop in surprise when he saw Harry leaning against the door frame watching him with a grin of his own.

"You enjoy being superior to others don't you?" he asked, amusement obvious in his voice.

"I should think that would be obvious," Severus replied, moving toward the door once more.

Harry chuckled and moved back to allow Severus entrance to the house, following him in and closing the door behind them.

"Does that make me a bad person?" Severus asked, turning back to study Harry, grin still in place.

"No," the young man replied, moving forward to slip his arms around Severus' neck. "I actually find it quite adorable."

Severus slipped his arms around Harry's waist and cocked an eyebrow at him incredulously. "Adorable?"

Harry shrugged. "I kind of find everything you do adorable or sexy, depending on what it is," he admitted.

"Should I ask which are which?" Severus asked.

"Not if you don't want to break your rules," Harry replied.

"And if I do?" Severus asked, enjoying the flash of desire he saw in Harry's eyes.

"Oh, Severus do not tempt me. They're your rules not mine and I am more than willing to break them without a second thought," Harry replied, pressing his entire body up against Severus' with a seductive smile.

Severus bit back a groan and tightened his grip on the younger man all but crushing their bodies together. "You have no idea of the things I'm going to do to you when the school year ends," he whispered bringing his lips within inches of Harry's. "We are going to go away somewhere, just you and I, and you will not be leaving that room for a week," he promised.

He smiled as he heard Harry take in a shaky breath before the young man closed the gap between them and kissed him soundly.

"You are a terrible tease, but I love you all the same," Harry whispered and pulled away, taking one of Severus' hands and pulling him toward the stairs. "Come on, bed is calling."

Severus chuckled and followed his young love up to his room.

XX

The rest of the holidays went by far too quickly and before they knew it the group were packing up to head back to Hogwarts for their final semester. They took one last lingering look around the place and Harry made them all come in together for a group photo before they grabbed the portkey and allowed themselves to be zapped back to Hogwarts.

Theo made his way down to the Slytherin dorm ahead of the others, ignoring the giggling of his friends behind him, hoping that's where Neville was at the moment. He'd missed the Gryffindor boy so much while they'd been apart and he realised Draco was right, he had to say something, he couldn't go this long without seeing the other boy again. When he didn't find Neville in the common room he headed down to Harry and Neville's room hoping he'd find him in there. When his search once more turned up nothing he trudged out of the room and up the stairs to his dorm wondering where the Gryffindor had gotten to. The others passed him in the hallway on their way down to their own rooms. They all gave him sympathetic smiles as they passed, assuring him that he'd find the other boy soon.

He stomped up the stairs to the dorm and threw open the door only to stop short when he found Neville sitting on his bed waiting for him. The boy looked up, a surprised look filling his lovely, soft eyes, before he seemed to realise who he was looking at and a smile lit up his face.

"Theo, how was your holiday?" he greeted brightly, standing up from the bed as Theo rushed forward and pulled him into a tight embrace. He was pleased when Neville hugged him back just as tightly.

"I missed you," he told the quiet boy. "I wish you'd been with us, Nev, it would have been so good to have you there too."

"I missed you too, Theo," Neville replied. "I wish I'd gone too, even if staying with professor Snape probably would have scared the life out of me." Theo chuckled at that. "I missed you guys a lot and I really didn't enjoy Christmas with my whole, extended family. It was utterly miserable and all I kept hearing about was how I would never amount to anything and when was I going to start acting like a man and how did I ever expect anyone to want to marry me and continue the Longbottom line when I was such a failure at everything. It was awful. I honestly nearly ran away so many times and probably would have if I'd known how to get to where you were."

"That's awful, Nev. You should have owled me, we could have found a way to get you there," Theo chastised, not liking how miserable Neville now sounded.

"You'd already sorted everything out, I didn't want to cause a problem for anyone," Neville argued. "Besides, after enduring all of that I didn't want to run away, I wanted to stay and stand my ground and I did."

Theo pulled back and looked at the Gryffindor. "You did, and you should be proud of that, but you shouldn't have to stay in a place where you're treated like that all the time, Nev. It's not fair, you deserve better than that."

Neville looked down. "They all think that and they always have, that's never going to change," he said sadly.

"They don't matter," Theo told him quietly. "They obviously don't know you, you shouldn't care what they think."

"They're my family, Theo," Neville argued feebly.

"They're your relatives, Neville, that doesn't make them family. Family are people who love you and accept you as you are," Theo argued back gently.

"People like that don't exist," Neville replied sadly. "They're right really, who'd ever want to be with me?"

Well this was it, the opportune moment had presented itself and Theo knew he had to take it. He took a hold of Neville's biceps and pushed him back slightly so he could look into the boy's eyes properly. "Neville, look at me," he ordered gently. Neville looked up at him nervously and Theo fixed him with a stern look. "First of all people like that do exist, you're surrounded by them every day, or do you think the group of friends you've been hanging out with all year don't like you for yourself?" he asked.

"I guess," the Gryffindor replied softly, looking down again.

"And as for the whole who'd ever want to be with you." Theo used his hand to tilt Neville's face up again and held it still as he leant forward and closed the gap between them, pressing his lips softly to the surprised Gryffindor's. Neville froze and Theo stayed where he was for a moment, letting Neville really compute what was happening before he pulled back just enough to separate their lips and whispered, "I would."

Neville stared at him in shock for several moments and Theo was starting to worry that he'd made the wrong move when the other boy seemed to break out of his trance pulling Theo in close to him again and kissing him back. When they parted this time Theo grinned at the quiet boy who was still looking as shocked as he had after the first time, only now he was also blushing. "Wow," he exclaimed softly.

Theo raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that 'wow I liked that let's do it a lot more often' or 'wow that was a huge mistake?'" he asked.

"The first one," Neville replied simply.

"Oh good," Theo said, leaning forward to kiss the other boy again, this time with more energy.

X

So how was that? Did we enjoy seeing some of our couples getting together? And the few little naughty scenes between a few of them? I actually really enjoyed writing this part of the story so I hope you enjoyed it too. Of course please let me know as I love feedback. I also wanted to add that I hadn't originally intended for all the characters to end up in same sex relationships, I mention this because I was asked one day if I just liked making everyone gay and was told how unrealistic this was. It's fan fiction people, it can be as unrealistic as I like. But in actual fact I didn't intend to do that with this story, it just turned out this way as I wrote it, so blame the story, it made me do it. Anyway, I like it this way so that's what really matters, I hope you all do too.

Hope to see you soon

Kayla