Their wedding was small, as far as weddings went.

They got married outdoors, even though it was November, but even still, it felt like a bit of a crush at times fitting all twenty one (now that Ron and Hermione had had two children) Weasleys into the reception tent, along with Andromeda, Teddy, Neville and Hannah, Luna, Dean and Seamus, Hagrid, Minerva, Narcissa, and Draco's friends from France, who Harry was excited to finally get to meet in person.

And, of course, Thibaud and Saphronia, who had to make nice for the day as they perched themselves protectively on top of the arch Harry and Draco did their vows under.

Luna was still living in the Amazon, but had started coming back to the UK for book signings ever since her and Neville's book had finally been published, so they were thrilled that she had been able to make it.

"What a lovely ceremony!" Georgienne said afterward, giving Draco three kisses on each cheek, and holding her hand out for Harry to shake. "And it's so nice to finally meet you after all I've heard!"

"Likewise," Harry said. "I've heard so much about all of you, but with the distance... Maybe some day we can visit France?"

"Ooh, that would be lovely!" Georgienne said enthusiastically.

"Yes, you know you are always welcome, Draco," Madame Jaubert added.

Draco smiled. "Thank you."

"Are you not doing a honeymoon?" Perlah asked.

"Ah, later." Draco waved his hand dismissively. "We don't have time right now, but probably next summer."

"We still have teaching to do," Harry said, "but we just didn't want to wait any longer."

"How romantic!" Hervé said, holding a hand to his heart. "Look at how our little vampire has grown!"

Draco laughed. "I'm glad you guys could make it."

"Well of course⁠-"

"We're not going to miss your wedding⁠."

"What kind of friends do you think we are?!"

"Alright, alright." Draco held his hands up.

His flowing wedding robes slid down his arms, and he abruptly put his arms back down by his sides.

"Oh, mon cher, don't worry about this at your wedding," Georgienne said, putting a hand on his arm and looking sympathetic.

Draco took a lurching step back, looking a bit cornered, and Harry grabbed his hand for support.

"Silly boy!" Madame Jaubert said, much less kindly, and rapped her fan against his shoulder. "Did you think we did not know? Do you think I did not know who I was taking on as a pupil? Do you think I go into things half-cocked and unplanned?"

"...Non, madame," Draco hesitantly said.

"Then what are you hiding for? Do you think I'm so frail I'll faint at the sight?"

Draco's face seemed to be fighting between shame and relief. "Non, madame," he repeated.

"...T'inquiètes, she didn't tell us," Hervé tried to assure. "But it was a little hard not to wonder, and it wasn't very hard to find answers. You are a little..."

"Notorious?" Perlah offered.

"Yes."

Draco gave an incredulous laugh. "I don't honestly know whether to laugh or cry."

Georgienne gave him another kind smile. "Well, we thought it best not to bring up anything painful, and I don't know how you may have been before, but I think you're wonderful now, so it doesn't really matter, does it?"

"I...suppose not," Draco managed, but he sounded a little choked.

He cleared his throat.

"Thank you," he told them all.

"Of course!"

"What's not to like?"

"You're our mignon petit vampire!"

He smiled.

"We've taken up enough of your time now," Madame Jaubert said, leaning in to give him a pat on the cheek. "Greet your other guests now, don't be rude."

"I could never," Draco said solemnly.

Later, during the reception, Draco looked around and smiled, before leaning close to Harry and saying lowly, "You're collecting pure-blood names like silver spoons. Potter, Weasley, Black, and now Malfoy, all rolled into one. Just who do I need to look out for you adopting yourself out to next?"

Harry laughed. "Just you," he'd said, with a sweet peck on the lips. "I'm sure that'll be the last of it."

"Isn't that what they all say," Draco demurred teasingly.

And when they arrived back at Hogwarts that evening, they couldn't stop smiling at each other for the life of them, and both of their ring fingers newly displayed two shining rings.

~*~

Harry and Draco had been prepared to be immediately bombarded with questions about their marriage, but, much to their surprise and amusement, it took a few days for the rings to be noticed.

Apparently Teddy had kept his mouth shut about where he had disappeared off to last Saturday. Harry guessed he found watching people try to piece it together just as entertaining as they and Neville did.

It finally happened in the middle of one of Draco's classes.

He was doing a lesson with his second year Ravenclaws on identifying the differences between similar herbs. As he stirred the cauldron with his right hand, he gestured to the herbs with his left.

The light flashed off of something on his left hand for a moment, and one of the students gasped loudly.

"Is something wrong?" Draco asked concernedly.

"No- It's just⁠- Your rings!"

The other students immediately began to whisper excitedly to each other as all eyes went to his left hand, but Draco just did his best to look as if he hadn't the faintest clue what a ring even was.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about, but I'm sure that, whatever it is, Potions is more important right now." He didn't raise his voice, but the students knew when to listen, and quickly became quiet.

He continued on with his lesson.

Of course, by dinnertime the Great Hall was buzzing with chatter.

Students from all of the tables would occasionally crane their necks toward the staff table in hopes of catching the glint of metal on Harry and Draco's hands, but ultimately there wasn't much to look at, and little information to be had. Teddy, of course, was swamped with questions, but he played stupid with the best of them, and everyone left more frustrated than they'd come.

As the weeks went by, the students became increasingly bothered.

At this point they were all certain that Draco and Harry were married, no matter how much Hagrid and Neville and Teddy pretended they didn't have a clue, but the fact that they couldn't get confirmation just made them itch.

It was getting to the seventh years in particular.

They were the class that had started Hogwarts as students the same year Harry and Draco had started as teachers ⁠- they had witnessed this whole damned thing from the beginning, and they wanted a conclusion.

~*~

On Valentine's Day, Draco and Harry decided to go down to The Three Broomsticks for an evening drink. It was a Tuesday, but that didn't mean they couldn't spare a few hours for the sake of a holiday every now and again. They probably couldn't stay out too long, though, if they wanted to get their marking done.

Just when Draco was about to suggest they leave, Harry got up to use the restroom.

Well, Draco could go ahead and get ready to go anyway.

He pushed his empty glass forward and stood to put on his coat.

The barman didn't look up from the glass he was cleaning. "Were you needing a refill, Mr Potter?"

"No, that will be all, thank you."

The barman looked up, confused at the light, drawling voice so very unlike Harry's, and Draco very conspicuously used his left hand to push Harry's glass forward as well. Oh well, it was almost empty anyway.

"I meant⁠- I was asking⁠-" his eyes tracked Draco's hand with the gleaming rings prominently displayed "-the...other one?" he attempted.

Draco smiled thinly. "He'll be back in a minute. We're done."

Madam Rosmerta came around the bar beside the barman. "Don't mind him, he's still new around here. You and Harry have a nice night." She gave him a slightly fake smile.

She still seemed rather nervous around him, which he really couldn't blame her for, but she was always polite. Honestly, it was more than enough that he was still let in The Three Broomsticks at all after having put her under the Imperius Curse.

Harry left the bathroom and made his way back to the front. "You ready to go, then?" he asked Draco, grabbing his coat.

"Yeah."

They left, neither of them noticing the frantic reporter and her even more frantic Quick Quotes Quill as she gathered her things and followed behind them.

They certainly noticed the bright flashbulb and her excited, "Mr Potter, Mr Potter!" very soon after they made it through the door, however, and they turned to see her dropping her camera to let it hang around her neck.

"Mr Potter, just a quick comment please!" she begged.

Harry held up a hand to ward her off. "You should all know by now, I don't talk to reporters."

She was too busy gasping in shock at the gleam on his finger and raising her camera again to be at all put out by his words.

"Oh, it's true!" she said delightedly, as another flashbulb went off.

Harry immediately turned and walked away, and Draco wasted no time in following.

"How did you manage to keep this quiet for so long?" she called after them. "Or is this new?"

When they didn't reply, she called again, louder, "Well, thanks anyway. You probably just gave me my big break!"

"So," Harry muttered lowly. "Anything you want to tell me?"

Draco snorted. "Oh you are so not pinning this on me. Somebody was bound to see our rings and put two and two together at some point."

Harry sighed. "Yeah."

He was quiet for a moment, and then he gave Draco a wicked grin. "Want to give her something to really report on?"

They had already made it a lot longer hiding from the public than they had anticipated, which was both lucky and hilarious, so he supposed it was bound to end at some point. Apparently the students must really like feeling as if they were in on a conspiracy that the wider world was blissfully unaware of, and as such, kept their mouths helpfully sealed shut except around each other.

Draco laughed. "Sure, why not. Go big or go home, right?"

Harry grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers, and leaned up on his toes slightly to give him a kiss.

The flashbulb reflected off the February snow around them, and they broke away, laughing.

"Now there's some news," Harry said, and dropped Draco's hand in favour of linking their arms, pulling him in close as they walked back toward the castle.

"News indeed," Draco agreed.

~*~

The next morning, they decided to read the Daily Prophet in the privacy of their own room before venturing down to breakfast. They didn't want any surprises dumped on them in public, and they didn't want their reactions to be a spectator sport. Enough about them already was.

Harry had to say, while the version of him in the first picture seemed more keen on scowling and waving off the camera than showing off his ring, the versions of him and Draco in the second picture looked rather sweet and loved up. He watched photo-him throw an arm over Draco's shoulders, and then turn to stick his tongue out at the camera, before pressing a kiss to Draco's cheek. Photo-Draco laughed and gave him bunny ears for the camera.

Oh yes, he would definitely be cutting out and keeping this one.

When they finally decided to go down to the Great Hall, they were grabbed by a seventh year Gryffindor boy who immediately leapt to his feet and bolted over.

"Bloody finally!" he said, hugging them both.

"Er, Lloyd?"

Lloyd stepped back and beamed at them. "Let it be known that I waited seven sodding years for this. My time was up! I was afraid it wouldn't happen before I left!" Lloyd dramatically pretended to feel faint. "I don't know what I would've done!"

"Thank you for the dramatics, Mister Morrison," Minerva stated wryly from the staff table. "You may go back to your table now. I'm sure the professors would like to eat."

~*~

The End-of-Term Feast this year almost felt like their first year's all over again.

Not the horribly embarrassing gift and misunderstanding, of course, but the intensity of saying goodbye to it all. This year was the last they'd be seeing of any of the students who had been with them during their first year of teaching, and it was a little bittersweet.

They talked and reminisced about their years teaching at Hogwarts so far, and at some point during pudding, they got to talking about the beginnings of their relationship.

"Why did you kiss me that first time?" Harry asked. "I never figured out why. I was just talking about a long day, and then you just...went for it out of nowhere."

"I honestly still don't know what came over me ⁠- usually I think before I act, and..⁠. I don't know. You were just being so sweet, and I just...did it."

Harry smiled and gently gripped his chin.

And he kissed him.