Title: I Will Not Forget
Author: Princesspepper
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, etc. etc.
Pairing: Harry/Draco
(A/N):Hides: I'm SO SORRY for how late this is! Anyway…
You seemed to like that last chapter better! Good, I'm glad I made you happy! Well, this is the last chapter of I Will Not Forget, and I'd like to thank all of my loyal reviewers! You get an extraspecial thanks. Now to respond to your reviews!
Mz Psycho: o.0 You sound slightly mentally unstable . Well, what do I expect? As you said, it was after two AM when you wrote that. Thank you for being so "diligent" as you put it!
sly-there-in: Well, she can't mess Harry up too much, considering this is the last chapter of this story! And I can say she definitely won't be present in the sequel to this. As to your question… I have before, but never really. Like, I never got nearly as bad as Harry did. I'm glad you liked the description I wrote—I worked extra hard on it! Thanks for the review!
x-Radcliffe-x: I'm so glad you liked what I did with the cutting part. I was debating weather or not to put that in for a while, and I finally decided to. I guess it was a good idea, no? Ah, well I pissed enough people off in the past by not explaining it… I'm flattered by everything you said, thank you!
clear venom: hey:points: I was wondering what happened to you! Glad to have you back!
Chaeli.meep.: XD You LIKE my evil twists! Interesting… :ponders: . Squirrelly Draco? Ahahaha, I'll just have to figure out what you mean by that. It sounds funny, though.
adina: ack, that got a strong reaction. I've never seen you so hyper/hysterical/whatever you wanna call it. Scary, man o.0. Glad you liked the Draco vs. Ron scene though!
CatJetRat: No, I didn't participate in the day of silence (I'm not even positive what day it was… --;;). I REALLY wanted to, but nobody in my school was doing it, and I wasn't about to not answer when a teacher asked me a question. Thanks for the reviews!
Daniels Dark Angel: Heh, yeah, well Seamus kinda resorted to desperate measures (not like Draco didn't --;;). The question about Samantha—you asked how she made Harry cut in the first place. Well, if you recall in Save Me From The Dark, it was mentioned that Samantha went out with Harry in fifth year, then dumped him right after they had sex (she was using him)! She's rather bitchy, no? As for your other question—I had first hand experience (from some people I know and me myself, however briefly).
silver emerald eyes: 0.0 If that's what you consider a short review, I'd like to see a long one! You know, that is a good point. Because I said the thing about the happy ending, everybody takes all the drama lightly! Oh well, too late to do anything now—I already planned out the ending, and this is the last chapter! What lyrics? I wanna see the lyrics! I like lyrics… :struggles not to sing the lyrics and type a crazy response again: Sorry, I just think you're funny. Yes, I do promise another sequel, I hope that makes you happy!
Gryffindorgrl86: :shakes her head: you shouldn't pull all-nighters. They are bad for your health. I got sick many times like that :pat pat:. Anyway, yes, it was funny that my PMSing came out in Draco and Harry. I didn't mean it, I swear! I'm glad everyone enjoyed the Draco/Ron scene! You can thank Dylan (my best friend) for that, she made me do it:points: Yes, Samantha is a bitch. I knew she would be when I invented her in the last story. Believe it or not, she's the only character in my story that I can't find it in myself to like. Seriously, ugh. Okay, well the reason that Draco didn't follow Harry into the bathroom was because: A) he is an imbecile. B) he was asleep. C) even if he were awake, he thought Harry had improved (which he had—he hadn't cut for a while). Well, I'm so glad that you liked this! Thank you for the long review (as always)!
Lane666: I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much! Yeah, I have a feeling if I didn't promise a happy ending, people would've given up on this story a long time ago because of all the sheer drama.
hpdmslashrocks: Yes, sorry about the wait… :hides: yup, you were right. Also writer's block, internet failure, obsession over music, and concerts! Heh, some of those things are fun (the first two are NOT). I totally squeed when I read your review (I was actually in world history class… most of my grade was absent coz we had a trip, but I didn't attend, so I got to play on laptops!) and I started giggling, so everyone in the room was staring at me. I made my friend next to me read your review, even though she hasn't read my story, lol. Yes, reviews excite me. Oh yes, you will get your happy ending! I hope it's as happy as you were hoping! HERE IT IS!
This chapter is dedicated to those mentioned above as well as: X, missinsane, Pure Blooded Slytherin, DemonRogue, honeyduked, Confused-Gal and wilkinson's girl! :hands out cookies to reviewers: (if your name isn't here, it's because I don't currently have access to my email or the website, so thank you to all of those I can't find too!)
:Ahem: So, this is the last chapter. How very sad! I noticed that at the end of my last story (Save Me From The Dark, obviously), a lot of people got lost before they could find the sequel (meaning this one)! So, if you don't have me on your author alert list and you are a member, please put me on it so you don't lose the story! When I update again after this chapter, just look at the description of the story and if it says "Sequel to 'I Will Not Forget'" (or "third story in the 'Save Me From the Dark' trilogy), then it's the story you're looking for! At this point in time, I'm pretty sure the next story is going to be called "Stuck With Me," so look for that on the updates list!
Just a note about this chapter: I know it seems like this story has dragged on forever, but in reality, only a few months have passed since the beginning (I'm talking about time in the story—it started in September and now it's roughly November). That being said, I don't know when Draco's birthday is (that sounded random, but believe me, it isn't), but I always thought of him as being born in December. I dunno why :shrug: I just did. I don't remember who it was, but one of the reviewers brought it to my attention that JKR said that in order for a kid to start at Hogwarts, they have to be eleven years old by September the first, so that would make Draco about six months older than Harry. You'll see why I'm mentioning this later.
GO READ MY ONESHOT, "PAINT IT BLACK!" (I just had to mention that). DO IT! OR ELSE! I WORKED ON IT FOR (literally) MONTHS!
Okay, and now for the happy ending you've allllllllllllllllllll been waiting for:drum roll: (I sound like a lame commercial --;;)
Draco and Brianna discuss their new discovery (the half-siblings thing) with each other and Professor Snape. The next day they have a field trip, and Draco and Harry have a mini-fight at the fault of Harry's ex, Samantha (with some help from Seamus). Samantha deliberately upsets Harry, leading him to accidentally cutting too deep…
(Chapter Seventeen: The End Of The Beginning)
Draco was lying asleep on his bed when a stinging feeling coming from his wrists awaked him. He sat up abruptly and looked at them, checking to see what made them hurt, but saw nothing but his pale smooth skin. After his sleep-hazed mind processed this, he eventually came to a plausible conclusion… 'Harry!'
When Draco burst through the bathroom door, he felt himself go faint again, like he did last time. Except, this was much worse.
Harry was on the floor with a puddle of blood surrounding him. It was much like the last time, except now Harry was quite unconscious. "God damnit!" Draco roared, "how long was I asleep!" The blood, to Draco's horror, was coming from two deep gashes; one in each wrist. The cuts were horribly close to the major veins, and this definitely could not be good.
He rushed over and cradled Harry's unconscious form. Draco let out a sigh of relief when he saw Harry's chest rising and falling. He wasn't dead.
Draco repeated the course of action he had done that other night, repairing the wound and cleaning the room of Harry's blood. However, this time Harry was unconscious, so he couldn't walk into the other room.
Draco thought for a moment before whispering shakily, "moblicorpus," which made Harry's body levitate. Draco guided him into the other room, lowering him onto the bed and sitting down next to him.
"Ennervate," he muttered, pointing his wand at Harry's face and waiting for something to happen. After a tense moment, Harry's eyelashes fluttered a bit before he opened his eyes completely. His gaze lingered on Draco's face, and he looked very disoriented.
"Wha—what happened to me?" Harry asked, propping himself up on a weak elbow.
"You happened to you!" Draco snarled, showing Harry the deep gash on his arm that was now healing from Draco's spell.
"Oh," Harry said weakly, leaning back onto the bed and closing his eyes.
"If that's all you can say, I suggest you don't talk at all," Draco whispered fiercely, walking over to the bed across the room that had been deserted for so long. Draco climbed beneath the cool, too-clean sheets and laid his head on the pillow glaring at Harry. Harry made a move to get into bed with him, but Draco made him stop. "No," he hissed, turning over so he could not see Harry's face.
With a sigh, Harry got into the other bed and shut off the light, falling into a restless sleep.
When Harry woke up the next morning, Draco was already up and about. It appeared as if he had already showered, and he was now cleaning things off the floor. Harry hadn't noticed, but the room had managed to get quite dirty.
When Draco glanced at the bed and saw Harry was awake, he looked away quickly and muttered, "Get dressed."
"Wha—why?" Harry stuttered, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Intervention." Draco said simply, still cleaning.
"Again?" Harry protested.
"The last one didn't seem to do much, did it?" Draco said shortly, still not looking Harry's way.
As soon as Harry was done dressing, he heard someone begin to knock on the door, startling him. Draco strode over, tugging at his shirt to make sure he looked presentable.
As soon as the door was opened, Hermione stepped in. "Hey, Draco," she said embracing him. However, her eyes stayed on Harry, who was dejectedly staring at his feet. Ron stepped in a moment later and shook Draco's hand, also keeping his eyes on Harry.
Harry saw them looking at him and walked over to the couch, sitting down. They followed him and took seats on either side of him, Draco choosing to sit on a nearby chair.
"Hello, Harry, how are—"
"Lets cut the crap," Harry said sharply, interrupting her. "I know why you're here. Now what do you plan on saying to me?"
Hermione let out a small breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Good, I don't have to explain it then. But… before I say anything, can I see your arm?"
Harry submissively rolled up his sleeve and let her survey the scars on his skin. She poked at it a few times with her fingertips, finally smirking in a satisfied manner. "You did a great job healing him, Draco." Draco nodded silently.
"You know what? I WISH PEOPLE WOULD STOP TALKING ABOUT ME LIKE I'M NOT IN THE ROOM!" Harry exploded, his face turning very red very quickly. Hermione and Ron exchanged looks. "YOU SEE? RIGHT THERE! NOBODY INCLUDES ME IN ANYTHING! YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING BUT YOU'RE REALLY, REALLY NOT! YOU DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT ME; YOU'RE JUST OBSESSED WITH THE FUCKING BOY-WHO-LIVED LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE IS! EVERYONE LOOKS AT ME LIKE I'M A FUCKING MENTAL CASE, INCLUDING MY OWN FRIENDS, AND MY BOYFRIEND! YOU KNOW, I COULD BE DYING INSIDE. AS LONG AS YOU DON'T THINK I'M HURTING PHYSICALLY, YOU DON'T CARE! IF I WERE TO DIE TODAY, YOU WOULD LOOK AT MY CORPSE, SHRUG, AND SAY 'OH, CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT NOW!' NO, WORSE. I BET YOU WOULDN'T EVEN NOTICE! "
A shocked silence greeted him when Harry finished ranting. He slumped against the pillow and let himself steal a glance at Draco. To everyone's surprise, Draco's eyes had welled up with tears. He took one look at Harry, put on a sneer, and walked into the next room, slamming the door behind him.
"Harry," Hermione said quietly. "He was just trying to help." Harry just glared at her, crossing his arms over his chest. "No, stop it, Harry! I'm serious. Draco loves you, for God's sake! This isn't an easy thing to deal with. He's afraid you're going to do yourself some serious harm, and it's really, really upsetting him."
"How the hell do you know?" Harry spat. "How do you know he doesn't look at me like everyone else does? Like an object that he can play with?"
"Shouldn't you know that by now?" Hermione said quietly. "Haven't you known him for a very long time? Hasn't he given everything up so he can be with you?" Harry felt his own eyes start to fill with tears. "You almost took your life last night. What would have happened to him if you had? He's seen far more people die than anybody should have to, and it's really gotten to him. What do you think would happen if the person he loves most were to be added to that list of deaths?"
Harry didn't answer her, but he was starting to feel very guilty.
"Not only that, but are you forgetting that he, too, has a masochistic streak? You saved him from himself all those years ago. How do you think he feels when he sees his savior falling victim to the same disease he had been rescued from?"
Everything in Harry's life was falling apart in those moments. Draco, who had seemed so hardened and cold when it came to Harry, even when they were making love lately, was now looking like an abused animal. Hermione, who always dealt with facts and figures, was now looking sympathetic, and talking about things that Harry didn't think she knew existed. Ron, who had hated Draco from day one, was staring at the closed door Draco had shut himself behind with a concerned expression on his face. And Harry himself… well, he felt for the first time in his life that he didn't have to play hero for somebody else for once. He had to save himself.
Hermione smiled knowingly as she saw the dawning comprehension in Harry's eyes. "Just think about that, Harry." She said, getting up and leaving the room, Ron following quietly.
Now was the hard part: Harry would have to talk to Draco.
Harry softly walked across the room until he reached the shut door. He pressed his ear to it, and heard distinct sniffling sounds coming from behind it. When Harry opened the door, Draco looked up briefly, but he hung his head again almost immediately afterwards.
Harry felt a wave of sympathy rush to his head as he regarded Draco's broken expression. He walked over slowly, sitting next to him. Harry looked at him again, and this time, the need to hug the smaller boy took over him. He lunged forward (a little too quickly) and wrapped his arms around Draco.
At first, Draco didn't do anything to stop it. He just melted into Harry's touch. But after a moment, his thoughts seemed to take over his instincts, and he stiffened, pushing Harry away. Draco sat there for a moment, wiping his eyes and doing his best to remain calm.
"I can't do this anymore, Potter," he said, his voice choked with emotion that he was trying so hard to hold back. "Being in love with you is like being on a fucking roller coaster ride. One without seat belts. One that I know has a broken track somewhere near the end. A broken track that will send me flying half way across the country. And no matter how loud I scream, or how calm I pretend to be… I still know the car I'm in will crash and burn at the end."
Harry didn't notice, but somewhere in the middle of Draco's speech, he had begun to cry. "And I know I just have to ride with it. I have to experience the ups and downs, and just enjoy the ride while it lasts. But I can't grow too attached, because the ride will end, and I'll be left all alone.
"I feel like you'll never be a permanent fixture in my life," Draco continued, "everything with you is always changing. And I always did my best to keep it from changing. I wanted to be with you so badly, yet it kept ending for different reasons, some of which were incredibly stupid. I've given so much up for you, did you know that? Of course you wouldn't know that, I haven't told you. Well, why don't I enlighten you? I killed my own father for you, Potter."
Harry stared. His mind seemed to be numb. "Wh—what? Y—you said he was in Azkaban!"
"I lied," Draco said dryly. "I killed him. Last year, in fact. Sure, I hated the man's guts. He abused me when I was younger. But still… I killed my own father. For you."
Thoughts were flooding Harry's mind at an overwhelming pace. Draco had killed Lucius… well, that explained why that evil guidance counselor was after him. Harry put his thoughts on hold as he heard Draco begin to speak again. "Not only that, but I broke up with my first steady boyfriend for you. Blaise and I had been together for a while—we started seeing each other about six months after you and I were through. Not to mention he and I had been friends since we were five years old, and all that ended because I chose you over him. And now… now, you keep trying to end your life. And I keep trying to save you. But it'll only be a matter of time before you do something irreversible. Or I come too late. And I could never, ever forgive myself for that. I've been through too much. We've been through too much."
Harry once again found himself incapable of speaking. "I can only bend so much before I break, Harry. So, let me tell you something. Either you promise me you will shape up and that you'll work very, very hard to change the way this is going, and make sure I don't end up alone, or… or I walk out of this room, out of this school, and out of your life. Forever."
This seemed to wake Harry up. He had been staring at his hands the whole time Draco was talking, but now he looked up. He looked up, and he saw the immense pain reflected behind Draco's eyes. And he knew he could never, ever do anything to hurt him again.
Harry leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Draco's torso, gently easing Draco onto his back. Harry leaned forward and kissed him on the lips with as much passion he could show through just a fairly innocent physical act.
Harry felt all the tension built up in Draco's body ease away slowly as he melted into the kiss. When Harry broke away, he rested his head on Draco's chest.
"I'm so, so, so, so sorry," Harry whispered. "I really had no idea."
Draco ran his fingers through Harry's hair. "Harry?"
"Hm?"
"I know I haven't said this in a while, but… I love you."
Sometimes you have to go through utter hell before you realize who's there for you when it all boils down to it. So, Harry and Draco would probably consider this whole mess a good thing later in their life, because it was at this point in time that they stopped all of their petty squabbles and began to appreciate on another more.
This new stage in their relationship was noticed by many—even Professor Snape. In fact, said Professor asked Harry to stay after class so they could talk once, about a week later.
Draco was going to stay with Harry, but much to their confusion, Snape asked him to leave and wait outside for Harry. Once the door was closed and Snape made sure Draco wasn't listening in ("aw, come on!" he protested when Snape caught him with his ear pressed against the door), he instructed Harry to sit down, he himself doing the same.
Snape just sat there and surveyed Harry for several moments without saying anything. This made Harry quite nervous, so he began squirming under the scrutiny of Snape's gaze. "What is it, Professor?" Harry eventually asked, getting tired of waiting for Snape to say something.
"Draco's been a lot happier lately," he stated, his eyes not leaving Harry's.
"Yes…?"
"Yes. I don't know what you're doing differently, Potter, but I suggest you keep it up. I don't think I've ever seen him smile so much."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Harry said, sighing with relief.
"It's kind of unnerving," Snape muttered.
Harry snorted, relaxing in his seat a little. "Yeah, I guess you could say we've gotten over a rough spot in our relationship."
Upon hearing the word "relationship," Snape visibly flinched, paling slightly. "I did not ask you to go into detail, Mr. Potter."
"Sorry," Harry muttered quickly. "Anyway, was there any reason you wanted to talk to me?"
"Of course. Why would I see you more than is absolutely necessary?" Snape said, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly out of amusement.
"Go on, then."
"Very well. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but Draco's birthday is coming up next month."
A look of surprise crossed Harry's face. "Come to think of it, he's never mentioned his birthday to me…" he muttered, trying to recall any talk of birthdays.
"Oh, I doubt he has; he's excessively stubborn with such things. He doesn't tell people when it's his birthday, and then he gets really put out when nobody does anything for him. It's quite stupid, really."
"That's Draco for you," Harry said, smirking.
"Yes, well, I'm hoping you'll be the one to change that tradition of depression on his birthday. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," Harry said, ideas flooding his mind.
The next month was difficult for Harry. There was a definite drawback about having a mental connection with your lover—it was very hard to keep things secret from them. Harry had to purposefully push certain thoughts to the back of his mind when Draco would get suspicious, because that would ruin the surprise, and that'd be no fun, would it?
On the Saturday before the party would take place, Harry took Draco out for a day in the Diagon Alley. It may sound spontaneous, but he really did have a reason—give him time. Anyway, they had quite a good time, but Draco was getting suspicious when Harry ordered something very random and asked him if he would be able to pick it up for him the following Saturday.
"Please!" Harry begged, "I really need this order of bat wings! I'll fail Potions without it!"
"But we don't need bat wings for Potions!" Draco cried in exasperation.
"Um… I'm doing an extra credit report so Snape won't fail me!" Harry explained.
"Sure you are. Fine, I'll get it. I don't know what you're up to, but I'll go along with it to humor you." Draco was in a considerably worse mood for the rest of the night, and Harry knew exactly why.
It was because the following Saturday was his actual birthday, and he'd have to go out on an errand. Harry snickered to himself at the deviousness of his plan, although Draco knew he was up to something. 'Oh well,' Harry thought, 'Hopefully he'll choose the right time to go dumb blond on me.'
Saturday, December 18th dawned in quite a cheerful manner—the crystals from the newly-fallen snow reflected the bright sunlight shining from between the white clouds. Harry, however, was nervous, and Draco was extremely pissed. Oh, what fun.
Harry was the first to wake up that morning, and he immediately began pacing the room obsessively. The moment he saw movement coming from the bed, he jumped a foot in the air.
"G—Good morning…" he muttered, trying to look nonchalant.
Draco slung his feet over one side of the bed and eyed Harry suspiciously. "Is that all you have to say to me this fine morning, Mr. Potter?"
Harry smirked inwardly; he knew today was Draco's birthday, but he was deliberately trying to trick him into thinking he forgot. 'Oldest trick in the book, and he's falling for it,' Harry sniggered to himself.
"Yeah, that's all I have to say. Why, should I be saying something else?" Harry asked in a mock-curious voice.
"No…" Draco replied sullenly, getting out of bed and dragging his feet all the way to the bathroom.
Harry smirked once the door was closed. Everything was going according to plan.
Two hours later, Draco was stomping through the streets of Diagon Alley, trying to find the shop that Harry had ordered his godforsaken bat wings at. 'Harry isn't failing Potions! This is complete bullshit,' Draco thought to himself furiously. 'What kind of damn boyfriend sends their beloved on a freaking errand on his birthday! Is that the thanks I get for sticking by him!' Draco went on thinking thoughts that resembled that of a girl on PMS for several minutes, until he found the shop and was too distracted to bitch anymore. Hah, yeah right. Draco's always bitching about one thing or another.
'At least it's warm in here,' he fumed, stepping into the Apothecary, 'I bet my fucking nose is red. I look so stupid when my nose turns red…'
Draco was still grumbling when he went up to the counter. "May I help you?" an upbeat-looking witch asked him, batting her eyelashes.
"Sure," Draco muttered distractedly, "my boyfriend was here last week… he ordered some bloody bat wings. I'm here to pick them up because he must think I have nothing else better to do…"
The witch giggled and promised Draco she'd be right back, retreating into the back of the store. Meanwhile, Draco stood there in a slouching position grumbling and shooting death glares at anybody who so much as looked in his direction.
Five minutes passed and Draco began to tap his foot impatiently while crossing his arms in a grumpy manner. 'What in bloody hell is taking her so long? I'm going to waste my birthday waiting for an order of fucking bat wings that Harry doesn't even need…'
Another ten minutes passed, and Draco was on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum when the girl emerged, looking quite sheepish, and holding… nothing. Draco began gritting his teeth out of sheer fury, letting the girl get a good idea of what his death look was like.
"Um… I'm… I'm sorry sir, but it doesn't look like the order has come in just yet…" she stuttered, trying not to look Draco in the eye. If looks could kill…
"What? Whaaaaaaaaat did you say?" Draco whispered in his most deadly voice.
"I—I told you, I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do… there was a problem with the shipping, they should be here in about three hours; I checked with the manager. And I owled the company we're getting them from…"
Draco was about to go all out and throw a full tantrum, but then he realized that that would be unfair to the girl. It wasn't her fault, after all (a rare moment of reason)."Thank. You." He said, putting on a very painful-looking smile, but it didn't mask the sheer fury in his eyes. "I'll. Be. Back. In. Three. Hours. Then."
"Very good, sir," the girl said, smiling out of relief (she could sense the anger and was afraid he was going to blow something up).
Draco walked out of the shop, still muttering darkly to himself. 'What am I going to do with myself for three hours!' he fumed, stomping down the street. 'I'm not going back to school… at this point I'd probably kill Harry if I saw him…'
So Draco decided to treat himself to some robes shopping. If nobody else were to give him a birthday present, the least he could do is get himself one…
Meanwhile, Harry was sniggering at the sheer genius of his evil plan. He'd intercepted the bat wings before they could get to the shop so there would be a delay and he'd have more time to prepare Draco's… present.
The room was currently in complete discord. There were bags of various things littering the room, and the (temporarily installed) doorbell didn't stop ringing. Harry was getting quite frazzled—he never had to throw a party before, especially not by himself. The last time, Draco had done most of the planning. Not only was he on his own, but he had to hide the entire thing from Draco in addition to all that!
He was currently waving his wand at some streamers, nervously trying to attach them to the walls of the room while keeping an eye on the clock. He knew that Draco would be home soon, so they had to hurry up and get ready.
Harry surveyed the guests in the room. Everyone that he invited from their school was there: Seamus, Brianna, and several other people (but not Samantha). Ron and Hermione had arrived, and he had even gotten Blaise Zabini to agree to come. As it turned out, he got over the less-than-perfect end to his and Draco's relationship and was ready to bury the hatchet. Several members of the order were there as well (although they couldn't stay too long, which Harry was thankful for. He didn't want his pseudo-godfather—that would be Remus—to be around while he was getting piss-drunk), including Remus, Tonks, and—surprisingly—Snape. All the kids from the school sent him wary looks as he passed by; it was very odd to see their teacher at a party (not to mention extremely creepy).
Only a few random people were missing, but Harry was getting nervous regardless. What if they arrived the same time Draco did? But Harry was relieved of his worries about ten minutes later, when the last of the guests arrived. Ron and Hermione helped Harry finish decorating while everybody else got themselves organized by putting their presents on the designated table and so on.
When eight o'clock rolled around, Harry felt his hands going all clammy. It was time.
The room was abuzz with noise, but when Harry cried out to get their attention, they quieted rapidly. "Listen up everyone!" Harry said forcefully, "Draco's going to be here any minute. I'm going to put a cloaking charm over the population of the room, and it'll be lifted when he turns on the light. So everybody stay quiet, okay? Are you ready?"
Harry got several nods, so he performed the charm as everyone fell silent and backed up against the back wall (so Draco wouldn't trod on them when he walked in).
The minutes ticked by and Harry got progressively more nervous. What if something held Draco back, and the people in the room got restless, and they began making noise just as he walked in? What if he forgot about one of the guests, one that hadn't arrived yet? And what if said guest arrived the moment Draco did? There were so many things that could possibly go wrong.
But Harry's thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he heard the sound of a doorknob turning. "That must be him!" he whispered excitedly to the silent room. "Remember, when he opens the light, yell 'Happy Birthday!'" he got some silent nods (that he obviously couldn't see) and watched the door with bated breath.
Draco walked into the room and immediately started talking. "Harry! I got your bloody bat wings…" Harry felt Hermione start to tremble with laughter from beside him, but he quickly elbowed her to make her stop.
Draco seemed to finally realize that there seemed to be nobody there. "Bloody hell, where is he?" he muttered, taking a few steps into the room and peering around curiously. "And why are the lights off…?"
Draco moved over to the wall on which the light switch was located. The suspense in Harry's chest mounted as he reached over to flick on the light…
Draco nearly had a heart attack as he saw around thirty people seemingly materialize out of thin air. "Wha—" is all he had time to stutter before he was being attacked by about fifteen of the thirty people with hugs.
"AAGHH!" He yelled, staggering backwards. Harry laughed and slung his arms around Draco's neck, kissing him briefly on the lips. To Draco's astonishment, everyone in the room 'aww'ed, and he even saw Hermione giggle (but that was perfectly normal).
The party made this particular birthday one of the best Draco could remember. There were just a few unnerving things that happened, that Draco really couldn't explain. For example, there were several people at the party that Draco didn't remember ever seeing in his life—but Harry seemed to know them. He wondered why they would be here at his birthday party… Draco dismissed this until another strange occurrence came up. His Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher from third year, Professor Lupin, walked up to him at one point and started what only could be described as a staring match. He got really close to Draco's face, matched his stance, and stared straight into his eyes, seemingly scrutinizing him. Draco stared right back, not blinking even once. He felt like he was being tested or something. When Lupin finally broke the gaze, he gave Draco an approving nod and walked away, giving Harry a similar nod when he looked at the Professor questioningly.
A few hours later, once they all had successfully gotten drunk, and all the guests had left, Harry and Draco collapsed on the bed after shutting and locking the door.
Rolling over, Draco turned to face Harry while still lying down. "Thank you for the party," he said, kissing Harry.
"No problem," Harry said, looking pleased that Draco appreciated his effort. "And that's not all you're getting for your birthday."
"Oh?" Draco said, beginning to undress.
"Yup. We're going out for dinner tomorrow night."
Draco looked at Harry, only to discover that he looked very nervous for reasons that Draco could not fathom. Everybody was acting so strangely…
"That's really nice…" he said, not letting Harry miss the edge of suspicion in his voice.
The following night, Harry got dressed in proper dining attire very shakily, and was constantly putting his hand in the same pocket over and over again, as if he were making sure it were still there.
"What are you doing? Draco finally asked, exasperated, as he was fixing his hair in the mirror. Harry jumped at the sudden loudness of his voice. "See! Again! You've been twitching for the past hour!"
"Wh—what are you talking about?"
"Honestly, Potter, you know I can tell when you're lying."
Harry grumbled to himself, and then muttered something about having to use the bathroom to Draco.
While he was waiting for Harry to return, Draco slumped up against the back of the sofa and crossed his arms irritably. He was awfully mad at Harry for being so… secretive. Draco didn't like to be left out of things, especially when Harry was involved. What if Harry was having a problem that he wasn't telling Draco about? What if Draco had been pissing Harry off, and Harry was afraid to let him know? Instead of getting paranoid, Draco just got angrier.
"Are you ready to go?" Harry said suddenly. Now it was Draco's turn to jump, turning around and staring at Harry impatiently.
"I've only been ready for the past bloody hour."
"Why are you so cross?" Harry muttered, "I'm the one… never mind."
"What?" Draco said excitedly. They were getting close to a breakthrough!
"N—nothing…" Harry muttered. When Draco kept staring at him, he sighed and said, "I'm the one taking you out to dinner. Happy?"
"Arrgh, that's not what you were going to say!"
"Trust me, it is." Harry said, plainly getting irked by Draco's antics.
"Whatever you say, O Golden Boy," Draco muttered, following Harry out the door of their room.
Once they had apparated to the restaurant (and had been lead to the private room Harry had reserved), Draco was still glaring. "Draco, be nice," he said pleadingly, "You're making me nervous!"
"I'm making you nervous?" Draco snapped, "You're the one acting like you've got some big bad secret!"
"I don't have a bloody 'big bad secret.'" Harry mocked, yet still pulled Draco's chair out politely so he could sit.
"Fine, I'll be nice," Draco said, smoothing a napkin over his lap. Putting a placid smile on his face, he began staring in Harry's direction while Harry inspected the menu.
"Do you realize how unsettling that is?" Harry mumbled, not looking up from the menu.
"Prat," Draco muttered, but took Harry's hand over the table nonetheless.
Harry smiled, finally looking up. Leaning over the table, but minding not to knock over any glasses, he gently kissed Draco.
At the sound of a throat clearing, the two briskly broke apart to see their waiter standing by the table. Noticing he had their attention, he smiled calmly and began the usual waiter speech. "Hello, good evening, I will be your server this evening…"
As the meal progressed, Harry became (visibly) more and more nervous. By the time dessert came around, the spoon he was using to eat his cheesecake was missing his mouth as he tried to shove it in.
"You know, Harry," Draco said suddenly, "I don't recall getting a present from you yesterday…" he finished thoughtfully.
Harry choked on the food that managed to make its way into his mouth. Draco smirked at the display, watching in amusement as Harry's face turned red from embarrassment. He quickly wiped his mouth on a napkin, and cleared his throat purposefully. "Erm… about that. I… er… here."
Harry had reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small box wrapped in deep purple paper. Draco took it eagerly, not registering the extreme look of nervousness on Harry's face.
Once the paper was off, it revealed a black velvet box with a hinge. Draco took a moment to inspect the box before slowly opening it.
A small crack was heard as the hinge opened, revealing the contents of the box to Draco. Harry continued to sweat as he watched the shocked, wide-eyed look on Draco's face.
The box contained a white-gold ring with a small (but not too small) diamond set in the middle, right into the gold.
Harry's mouth went dry as he tried to gauge Draco's reaction to the gift. Just as Harry was about to say something, Draco finally seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in. "Um… is this what I think it is?" he said, closing the box.
Harry gulped audibly. "If that's alright… then, yes."
"You mean you're—?"
"Yes." Harry said, cutting Draco off quickly.
"In that case…" Draco said slowly, re-opening the box and carefully removing the ring, as if it were made of glass and would break if handled too roughly. "I accept."
Slipping the ring onto his own finger, Draco looked up and met Harry's eyes before lunging forward to kiss his lips fully.
When they broke apart, Harry's smile was so wide that it lit up his eyes.
(END)
(A/N): Voila! The long-awaited end! I hope it was as happy as you were hoping, I think it's just so cute! Hopefully it's not too corny. It's hard to end something with a friggin proposal without making it corny, so please go easy on me. I'm sorry if it was unclear, but it's WAY too cliché and corny to have one of them say (all dramatic, like) "WILL YOU MARRY ME!"
NOW FOR MY RAMBLE! A lot has happened to me in the time that I haven't updated. I had Spring Break, during which I went upstate and attended a concert (Green Day and My Chemical Romance… IT KICKED ASS) in Atlantic City, New Jersey (I live in New York City, so it was kinda far away…), went back to school, did several projects, stayed up until midnight doing homework almost every night, got a girlfriend (yes, I'm bi), got dumped by said girlfriend two weeks later (I'm a loser ;;), went shopping for my brother's birthday (he's 13:throws confetti at him: ) and saw two movies (one was for the ONE DATE me and my ex went on, the other was for my brother's birthday). Yow, that was a major run-on sentence. So yeah, you get the picture. Being dumped is NOT fun. Ack. I'm okay now, and the two of us are still good friends. And I still have a chance. The reason she dumped me is because she's not all the way over her ex yet (who is also one of my friends), and she felt bad that she couldn't "love me back" in the relationship. So I still have a chance. Maybe she'll get over her soon… eh. Ah, I'm okay. Yes, you get to read about the soap opera that is my life. A lot of my friends like to hear about my relationship problems, just because they like the whole dramatic element of it. MY LIFE IS NOT PRIME-TIME DRAMA! Okay, done with my ramble/rant now.
Right, the sequel. It's definite—it's to be named "Stuck With Me." I do yet have a teaser available, and I'm not about to make you wait any longer so I can write one, so I'll just give you a basic summary.
COMING SOON! Title: Stuck With Me. It's four years after the end of "I Will Not Forget," and Harry and Draco are now married (group "awww"), and are working as aurors (group "yay!"). When their boss starts acting suspicious, they begin to think that he may be intent on re-assigning them. It turns out they're right—they have to work at a Wizarding pre-school (yes, there is a good, plotty reason)! Will Draco's short temper be able to handle it? Will the couple still consider children as an option after this disastrous encounter? Pretty much just a humor fic with added plot for spice. It might develop into something bigger if ya like it enough, and give me suggestions! And don't worry; even if they do decide to have kids, there won't be any mpreg. I know it squicks some people, so I'll avoid that general area.
So, does it sound interesting? I dunno if it will be ;;. I'm scared. I have no self-esteem, so I think everything I write sucks. Right, enough of my moping.
I'd like to take a moment to say that my mom ROCKS right now. My computer is still DEAD, and she's letting me use her pretty laptop so I can update (well, not just update. She's letting me use her laptop because I'm going through withdrawl symptoms from not being online for so long)! So, I dunno when my computer'll be fixed. Hopefully by next week, but ya never know. My point is, this might keep me from updating for a while (but not as long as last time, don't worry!)
Ahem. I'd like to thank EVERY SINGLE person who reviewed this story. It meant a whole lot to me to have as many reviews as I did (not to mention it inflated my head ). BUT LISTEN:point: I know some of you have been closet readers! That means that you've been reading my story, but you haven't reviewed! The LEAST you could do is review the last chapter, after I worked so hard to make you happy! PLEASE? I now have 363 reviews :wipes tear of happiness: but I want at least 393! It would be awesome if you could get me to 400:puppy dog eyes: BAH:cranky face: The more you review, the faster the sequel goes up! Thank you for being such good, loyal readers! Until next time,
XOXO Princesspepper OXOX