WINTER SOLSTICE, 1998

Snow was falling. Intricate patterns of ice floated weightlessly down from the bright white sky, blanketing the hills and fields surrounding The Burrow in a thick coat like pure white icing sugar. In the large garden of the Burrow a large gazebo had been erected, where Draco and Harry sat waiting patiently with other guests and family members for the ceremony to begin.

"She's late," Draco muttered to Harry. "You don't think she's done a runner?"

"No," said Harry admonishingly, then added. "But if she has I don't think they can return the cake."

"You two behave," whispered Andromeda. She sat behind them cradling Teddy in her arms.

"We're only kidding," smiled Harry, then stood and turned with everyone else as the music began to play. Ginny came into sight and everyone gasped. Harry's heart swelled — she really was beautiful in her long white gown with ivy intricately weaved through her long red hair. She walked slowly up the aisle holding tightly onto her father's arm, her head bowed in a shy smile. Harry's eyes followed her as she approached the altar where Neville stood waiting for her, his chest puffed up proudly as his bride-to-be slowly made her way towards him. Luna stood to one side of the altar (Ginny's Maid of Honour) in a long white gown and no shoes, even in this weather, which made Harry chuckle. George, acting as best man, patted Neville reassuringly on the shoulder, smiling broadly.

Molly sat at the front, dabbing tears from her eyes, whereas Neville's grandmother wept inconsolable tears of joy. The only person who was crying harder than Mrs. Longbottom was Hagrid. He stood at the back of the room, blowing his nose into a table-cloth sized handkerchief so loudly that a few sniggers rippled throughout the expectant crowd. Harry smiled broadly as they reached the altar, Arthur kissed Ginny's cheek and placed her hand into Neville's before taking his seat next to Molly. Neville and Ginny turned to each other, both excited and nervous as the Minister began the ceremony.

"I must admit, she really looks resplendent," muttered Draco,watching the ceremony with a small smile. "Though I think I'd suit the floral gown better."

Harry sniggered and Andromeda slapped them both on the backs of their heads, "Cut it out you two!" she hissed.

"Sorry," whispered Draco apologetically. He turned back to Harry with a smirk and mouthed "You know I'm right" and winked. It really was a beautiful ceremony, and when the Minister announced that Neville could kiss his wife, he gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before Ginny wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close for a deeper kiss, to which everyone whistled and applauded loudly.

As they followed the guests out of the gazebo towards the large tent to watch the first dance, Ron came running up between them and slapped them both on the shoulders, "So…Ginny's got hitched, Hermione and I are engaged — when are you two going to take the plunge?"

"Why? I hope you're not expecting an invitation?" drawled Draco, raising an eyebrow.

Ron looked aghast, "I'm expecting to be Best Man! Don't kid me mate, I better be invited. I did save your life, after all."

"As you kindly remind me every time we meet," huffed Draco.

Ron smirked, "You poisoned me—"

"By accident," Draco corrected him stiffly.

"Still, you poisoned me," he shrugged, smiling. "Then you got poisoned and I saved you. So, you owe me a life debt. And that's how I'd like to be repaid — Best Man at my best mate's wedding. Otherwise you must forfeit your life!"

"Believe me, I'm strongly considering the latter," muttered Draco but Ron just laughed and slapped him harder on the back.

"Shouldn't you really be asking me if you want to be my Best Man?" asked Harry, smirking. "You're assuming that I wouldn't have anyone else in mind."

"You're assuming that we'll ever get married," Draco pointed out, drawing a sly glance at Hermione who grinned broadly but said nothing.

"Fine, leave me hanging in suspense," sighed Ron, then said to Draco more seriously. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Alone."

Draco frowned, "Oh right."

Ron motioned for Draco to follow him into a quieter part of the tent while Hermione and Harry wandered away chatting animatedly to one another.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, better than alright, actually," said Ron. "I spoke to the Head of the British and Irish Quidditch League HQ. Seems that a position's opened up in their division."

Draco blinked at Ron then his eyes widened, "You mean for me?"

"Yes, I mean you!" Ron laughed. "Are you interested?"

"I…yes, of course I am," said Draco. "How did you do it?"

"Ah, you see the Weasley name counts for something at the Ministry!" drawled Ron mimicking Draco, then grinned. "Plus I said you'd be perfect for the job. You're a Quidditch nut, you'll fit right in."

"I don't know what to say," said Draco weakly.

"Thank you would be a start," smirked Ron.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Let's not get too carried away. Christ, now I owe you even more. This is unseemly."

"Don't worry about it, mate," Ron shrugged. "Although, I will be expecting some decent tickets for the next Quidditch World Cup."

"That sounds doable," said Draco. He made a mental note to get every Weasley the best tickets possible — preferably ones for the Minister's box.

"Excellent," said Ron. "Come on, we better go. Ginny'll kill me if I miss the first dance."

Ron and Draco wound their way through the crowd until they found Harry and Hermione near the centre of the dancefloor. Hermione beckoned them forward mouthing, "Hurry up, you two!"

The music began to play and everyone applauded as Neville and Ginny took to the centre of the room and began to dance. After a few moments Arthur and Molly joined them, followed closely by George and Angelina, Bill and Fleur, then Ron and Hermione. Soon many others followed suit while Harry and Draco watched. Harry grabbed Draco's hand and said, "Will you dance with me?"

"Really?" asked Draco, surprised. "I thought you didn't like to dance."

"I don't really," said Harry pulling Draco onto the dancefloor. "But I like to dance with you."

"Oh, you are so sentimental," he smirked, but he held Harry close and Harry rested his head on Draco's shoulder as they slow danced together. The last few months had flown by, although much had happened. Harry's apprenticeship with Ollivander was going well and they had managed to open the shop up in time for the new Hogwarts students to purchase their first wands. Draco had officially moved in with Harry, although as Andromeda pointed out he was practically living there anyway. They still visited Andromeda and Teddy regularly and they always made sure that they brought biscuits with them, even though Draco tended to eat them all. Although some scars take a long time to fully heal, Luna and Harry had begun to tentatively repair their friendship, much to Draco's relief (he had, against his will, grown quite fond of Luna and her kookiness). Draco's mother was still somewhat resistant to his and Harry's relationship, although Draco suspected that had more to do with in her mind nobody would ever be good enough for her son rather than Harry in particular. She had at least accepted that Draco and Harry intended to be together for the long run and had made more effort to get to know Harry, even going so far as inviting him to visit her in France in the Spring. In all, things seemed to be going quite well for Harry and Draco.

The music faded and everyone began to applaud again. The next song was much more upbeat, but Draco and Harry had had enough of dancing and wandered off of the dancefloor towards Luna, who was swaying slowly to the music by the side of the tent. Her eyes widened as they approached, "Hello, boys."

"Hi Luna," said Draco and Harry in unison.

"Enjoying the wedding?" asked Harry.

Luna nodded slowly, "Oh yes, I like this song very much."

Draco surveyed the dancefloor and saw a young man with reddish-hair and freckles watching Luna closely, "Looks like someone's keen to dance with you." Luna followed Draco's eyeline and caught the man's eye, who quickly averted his gaze and turned beetroot red. Draco smirked more broadly, "He's a shy one."

"I like them shy," smiled Luna.

"Are you going to ask him to dance?" asked Harry.

"Maybe," she said, then fixed her eyes on Draco. "I had a dream about you last night. You had white light shooting out of the tips of your fingers and toes. Even your hair was illuminated."

"Interesting," said Draco, raising his eyebrows in interest. "What do you think it means?"

"I think it's time to try again, Draco," she said cryptically. "You have a happy memory that's strong enough now."

Without another word, she twirled across the dancefloor towards the redheaded man, who stood transfixed as she danced towards him before she grabbed him by the hand. She mouthed something to him and he nodded, his face breaking out into a wide smile before he joined her on the dancefloor.

"What do you think she meant by that?" asked Harry curiously while he watched Luna and the man spinning in circles across the dancefloor.

Draco took Harry's hand and said, "I think I have an idea. Come on, let's grab our cloaks."

They stepped from the warmth of the tent out into the cool night air, pulling their cloaks more tightly around their shoulders and necks. They walked in silence to the bottom of the garden, the noise of the festivities growing more and more distant until the only sound was their feet crunching under the thick snow. They came to a stop at the large pond which had frozen over and Draco looked around to make sure they were alone.

Snow fell silently all around them, gentle and lush, cold to the touch, glittering like crystals in the blue light of the moon. Snowflakes dusted Draco's pale eyelashes and his cheeks flushed pink from a combination of chill and excitement. He clutched tightly onto the snitch in his coat pocket and, using his free hand, he pulled out his wand.

"I haven't tried this in a while," said Draco, his pale breath misting in the cold air. "But I think today might be the day."

Harry watched closely as Draco closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, focussing on a happy memory — but which one? There were so many to choose from now. Images flashed through Draco's mind, first of himself and Harry flying through the air together laughing, then of of them lying in the poppy field stargazing, and another of them lying tangled up in bed together, then the first time Harry told Draco that he loved him.

Suddenly, a crystal clear image formed in his mind. An image of himself and what he intended to do later that evening. Himself and Harry lying in bed after they had made love, and he turned to Harry and handed him the same snitch that Harry had gifted to him, the one that he now clutched tightly in his pocket — a symbol of new beginnings — and asked him to press his lips to it. When he did it would open and Harry's eyes would light up when he saw that there was an engagement ring inside. Although this hadn't yet happened, the thought made Draco happy because he knew in his heart that Harry would say yes, and the feeling of love and happiness swelled up inside of him and it spread out towards the tips of his fingers and toes and even the ends of his hair, just like in Luna's dream. It was like a shining bright light of love filling him up entirely and made him whole. Draco smiled as he raised his wand above his head and cried, "Expecto Patronum!"

Light burst from the end of Draco's wand like a neutron star sparking into existence, so bright that Harry had to shield his eyes. The creature soared into the air spreading its large wings, gliding gracefully until it touched its large hooves weightlessly on the frozen ice of the pond. It galloped in a circle eyeing Draco and Harry carefully before it approached them both and inclined its large head in greeting to Draco. He reached out to touch it, the reflection of its body illuminated his face in an eerily beautiful light. He was surprised at how warm and welcoming it felt. He turned to Harry and smiled.

"Well," exclaimed Harry, his eyebrows raised in surprise. Draco frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding worried.

Harry shook his head, "Nothing's wrong. I was expecting something else, that's all."

Draco looked up at the creature and nodded, "Yes I always thought it'd be a dragon. Still, this is suitably regal, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh yes," smiled Harry, pulling out his own wand. "Would you like to see mine?"

"Certainly," drawled Draco. "Although it won't be as magnificent as mine."

Harry smirked and said, "Expecto Patronum" And the air was again filled with magnificent white light. Harry frowned as something unfamiliar burst forth from his wand, leaping into the air before circling back, stretching out its large, bat-like wings.

"Oh," Draco said quietly. "I wasn't expecting that."

Harry held out a hand to the new Patronus before him, and it licked his hand with a tongue made of light. Although it had changed, there was something comfortingly familiar about the creature. Harry looked at Draco and smiled, "Me neither."

The two Thestrals greeted each other by nuzzling their heads against one another, then they stretched their great wings and took off together, flying in the snow. Harry took Draco's hand in his own and gave it a light squeeze, watching their Patronus play together in comfortable silence.

For the first time in a long time, Harry felt hopeful for the future. For the first time in his life he had a future. And it wasn't pre-determined. The future was not written. It was his — and it was Draco's — to write together.

THE END - Or at least for Harry and Draco, it's just the beginning :)