You Are My Universe
First of all, I'd like to say that I had planned to take part in the Valentine's challenge in the Snarry CZ/SK group on Facebook. And under that challenge, someone wrote in a comment that they'd love a Draco/Neville pairing. I'll admit I'm not very good at writing Draco, but the idea wouldn't let me sleep and had to go down on paper. So even though I didn't complete the challenge and didn't write anything on the set themes... I hope I can make someone happy with this pairing too.
I declare that the whole world of Harry Potter is the sole property of J.K. Rowling and that this story was not written for profit.
Neville sat on a bar stool chatting with Harry. "So when are you getting married, Neville?" asked a cheerfully drunk Harry.
Neville stared into the glass he was clutching and looked straight ahead. "I don't know, Harry. I don't think it's for me. Luna and I broke up." He shrugged.
Harry, who had been leaning back against the bar, straightened up and asked him in surprise, "What do you mean?" Neville just glanced around a little to see if anyone was too close. "Look, in our last year I found out I'm gay." He went quiet and took a drink.
Harry looked at him uncomprehendingly. "But you were with Luna for four years!"
Neville took a breath and looked at Harry long sufferingly. "Ever had trouble admitting something?"
Harry shook his head. "Thanks for being honest, Neville, it's probably only fair that I tell you something too." He leaned towards Neville. "I got married, Neville."
Now it was Neville's turn to stare at Harry wide eyed. "I thought... Who to?" he finally frowned.
Harry lowered his voice. "I don't think it's a good idea to go into it here. Do you want to come round to ours for a drink?" He smiled.
Neville shook his head, knocked back the rest of his glass and got up. "Let's go!"
Draco was just having breakfast when an owl dropped a newspaper into his food. A huge headline glittered across the front page.
"Harry Potter Bound in Marriage!"
Draco spat out the tea he was sipping. His eyes went wide with surprise and he dove into the lengthy article. His eyes ran along the lines until they stopped at one name that surprised him very much. He stood up, furiously rolled the paper up in his hand and went to the bedroom. He flung the door open and ruthlessly pulled the curtains apart.
A groan came from the bed. "Draco?"
Draco walked right up to the bed, stared for a second at the tuft of dark brown hair peeking out from under the duvet and swung his arm to hit that part of the head with the newspaper. "Can you explain this to me?!" he growled and started pacing the room.
The young man quickly scrambled up to sit, rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his messy hair. "What the fuck is going on, Draco!" He unfolded the paper, frowned and started reading. When he got to the same place Draco had, he put a hand over his mouth and looked at him. "It's a lie!"
Draco looked at him for a while and wondered whether Neville could lie to him. He narrowed his eyes and stormed angrily out of the bedroom. Behind him he heard Neville calling him and the sounds of falling, as he was apparently trying to scramble out of bed quickly.
Draco went straight to the stand with his jacket, put it on and turned around. He stopped when he found Neville standing behind him, wrapped in the duvet, with his eyes wide. "Where are you going?"
Draco didn't answer. Instead he headed for the fireplace and scooped up some Floo powder. Neville followed him with a rustle and stared at him. "I'm going to have it out with Potter!" He dropped the Floo powder and said the address.
Neville stared into the empty fireplace, grabbed some Floo powder in horror and went after Draco.
Harry was just arguing with Severus, who absolutely didn't like his husband being discussed in the papers like this. "Discretion, Potter!" he growled at him, sitting on the sofa with a book in his lap.
Harry took a breath. "Snape, not Potter! And I've already told you Skeeter got it completely wrong!"
Severus sneered. "When you and Longbottom arrived, you were completely plastered! And Skeeter is a journalist. She twists whatever she can get her hands on, but this is all too believable!"
Harry pushed his glasses up his nose and growled, "I'm not lying! Maybe we were plastered, but I brought him here so I could tell him! I didn't let anything like that slip out in that damned bar!"
Severus picked up his book. "I don't care, Potter. I'm your husband, and you're going to go and sort this situation out somehow!"
Harry stared at him. "And how exactly? You forbade me to say it in public! In that article the Ministry confirmed to her that I'm married, and the only thing they refused to tell her was the name! Nobody's going to believe me if I say it's a lie, and besides, if I confirm it and only deny that my husband is Longbottom, they'll try to pry your name out of me! And it's Snape, damn it! Kindly remember that, we haven't been married just a week!"
Severus growled, "I don't care..." but didn't finish, because a green flame shot out of their fireplace all the way to the ceiling. Severus followed it with his eyes and growled inwardly when he noticed a black smudge on the ceiling. He looked back down and stared in surprise at Draco, who was shouting, "Sagitta virga!" whereupon a red flame shot from his wand towards Harry. In that red glow a huge arrow gleamed metallically. Harry stood staring at Draco while the arrow stuck into the wall beside his head.
Severus stood, drew his wand and pointed it at Draco, ready to subdue him immediately, when another flash of green flames interrupted them and a naked Longbottom tumbled out. It flashed through Severus's head that this was the worst nightmare he had ever had. He turned his eyes back to Draco and raised an eyebrow when he noticed he had frozen and was staring at Longbottom. He glanced at Harry and found his jaw practically on the floor. In that moment he decided to end it. He lazily cast "Incarcerous" at Draco, strode right up to him and took his wand. Then he turned furiously to Longbottom. "What is the meaning of this?!"
Neville ignored him completely, and Harry too. He ran up to Draco and knelt down. "Draco, damn it! What are you doing here! I told you that rag was lying!" he yelled, not caring in the least that his duvet had burned up in the fireplace.
Severus looked at Harry, who straightened under his gaze and pushed his glasses up his nose, determined not to meet Severus's eyes directly. It was obvious he had no idea what to do. He took a breath and looked at the ceiling, making it clear it was up to Severus. Severus muttered something under his breath about incompetent Gryffindors and pulled Draco to his feet.
Draco thrashed furiously and then gasped when he saw the naked Neville and blurted out, "Can you cover yourself with something, damn it?!"
Severus had noticed long ago that Draco had a problem with self control. He sat him down, still tied up, on the sofa, pulled the arrow out of the wall with a wave and made it vanish. Meanwhile Harry went to the bedroom and lent Neville some clothes. He kept his eyes strictly on the safe area of Neville's face.
When they were finally all dressed and relatively calm, Severus crossed his legs and raised his and Harry's hands, on which rings shone. "So, Draco, I am the one bound in marriage to Mr Potter." Whereupon Harry spoke up beside him. "It's SNAPE, how many times do I have to say it!" Severus turned his head and flashed him a look.
Draco stared at them both, his eyes moving from one face to the other. "I see," he managed at last.
Neville looked at Severus. "Can I untie him now, Professor?" he asked haltingly.
Severus raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Even after killing a snake you're still afraid of me?" He burst out laughing and waved his hand in agreement.
Neville didn't hesitate and freed Draco, took his hand and turned his head towards him. "I've loved you since our seventh year, you idiot. Do you think I'd cheat on you?"
Harry took a breath and snuggled up to Severus. Severus didn't pull away, but he rolled his eyes at the Gryffindor's sentimentality.
Draco searched Neville's eyes. "I'm sorry..." he breathed at last and lowered his eyes.
Neville smiled and looked at the two opposite. "Well, that's that. So what are we going to do about it, Harry?!"
Harry, as if stung, started stammering again, and Severus stepped in. "We simply let everything out."
Harry froze and stared at him. "So you're not ashamed of me?"
Severus sighed. "I have never been ashamed! I just like my privacy. Starting an affair with you was one thing, getting married was another, and telling the whole world is a third thing and the worst one." He straightened up, and just then Draco spoke.
"You know, Potter, I quite understand Severus." He looked at the Potions Master. "Look at my story. I'm a former Death Eater. People still hate me. On top of that I'm gay. Nobody knows about that. And how would people act and what would they think of Neville if the truth about the two of us came out? Severus has it even worse. Spy or not, people see him even worse than they see me."
After his words silence fell over the living room, broken by Neville. "In that case I'll speak for myself and for Harry." He paused and then began. "We don't care what people around us think. We want to be with the ones we love and we want to be free. We don't want to hide just because you feel it will hurt us." He went on and took Draco's face in both hands. "Draco, by hiding all the time we're only giving them power over us." He searched his eyes.
Severus watched that disgustingly romantic moment and let a question slip out. "How did the two of you actually end up together?"
Neville pulled his hands back and leaned back. He knew this was best left to Draco.
Draco took a breath, looked at his godfather and sank into the sofa. "I've known I was gay for a long time. Now and then I liked someone at Hogwarts, but I never went out with anyone. You understand... Father would have killed me with his own hands if he had known."
Severus nodded to show he agreed, and Draco went on. "I first noticed him in fifth year. But of course I was the damned Malfoy my father wanted me to be. I watched Neville quite often. When he went from the common room to lunch, I secretly followed him to our shared lessons..."
Draco smiled to himself and then took a breath. "I thought he hadn't noticed me, and then, in seventh year, when the Carrows were there, I found Neville while they were both torturing him." He closed his eyes, as if he could see the scene in front of him again.
"I did nothing. But I couldn't get out of my mind how bravely he fought back." He took a breath. "From that moment I watched him even more. Still in secret. And if he had found out, I was ready to cast Obliviate on him. You know very well, Severus, what I did in sixth year, and so do you, Harry."
Severus nodded again to confirm his words, and Draco continued. "I thought I wouldn't stand a chance anyway. And then there was the Dark Lord. I had no way of escaping him."
He took a breath. "And then Neville found his courage. He found me on the Astronomy Tower in a fit of hopelessness and helped me."
Severus straightened up. "How did he help you?"
Draco looked at Neville. "He helped me grow up and, above all, open my eyes. Suddenly I had options." He smiled. "Suddenly nobody had power over me." He took a breath. "During seventh year we really grew close, and I didn't want anyone to hurt him. Neville was the main reason I acted the way you remember." He ended his confession.
Neville looked at everyone. "I'm all for coming out with it. I don't care what others will think."
Harry stood up. "I see it the same way!" Severus's hand pulled him back down onto the sofa. "Draco will write the story and we'll have it published in The Quibbler." The rest of the company agreed.
Draco was slowly getting ready to leave when he stopped. "How in Merlin's name did the two of you get together?"
Harry turned red, but decided to tell them the truth. He took a breath and began. "I've loved Severus since the moment he shared his memories with me. I had a very short time before I walked out to face Voldemort, but it seems it was enough for me to get clear about my feelings. In that moment I was convinced Severus was dead. I didn't want to go on living. I felt I had no reason to. In the end it all turned around and it came out that Severus had survived. When they let him out of St Mungo's, I took him into my care and, well..." He exhaled and watched Severus get up. His eyes followed him out of the room and he waited. He knew what he had gone to do.
When Severus came back, Draco and Neville gasped in surprise in unison. "What's this?" Neville asked, and Draco stood up and gazed reverently at the yawning little boy in Severus's arms. "Who's the mother?"
Severus smiled. "Harry."
Neville gasped. "Wow. That's insane!"
Harry shook his head and went to take his son. "It just happened. I don't know how and I don't even want to think about it."
Draco burst out laughing. "Okay, he looks about two?" He raised an eyebrow.
Severus nodded. "Yes, he's exactly a year and a half."
Draco took a breath. "Fine, so the two of you are basically together the same way Neville and I are."
Neville smiled. "Shall we go, Draco?"
Draco raised his hand. "One more question." He smiled. "Are you going to come out with this secret too?"
Harry nodded in agreement at the same moment Severus firmly refused. "No."
They looked at each other and Harry stared into his eyes, whereupon Severus turned his eyes to the ceiling. "Fine, yes. Write that in too." They said goodbye with smiles.
When they got home, Draco went to freshen up and in the meantime Neville ordered the house elves to prepare an excellent candlelit dinner.
He poured them both a glass of amber liquid and settled into an armchair close to the fire. He waited for Draco to come back.
When he came, he kissed Neville on the lips and sat down next to him. For a while they both stared into the fire, until Draco spoke. "Will you marry me?"
Neville tore his eyes from the fire and looked at Draco. "Yes," he said simply.
Draco smiled, got up and helped Neville to his feet. He went to the desk and opened a drawer. He took out a box and came back to Neville. He looked at Neville from under his lashes and took out a simple ring. He took his hand and said with a smile, "Do we want a big wedding, or shall we bind ourselves to each other here and now?" He asked a simple question. Neville smiled. "Let's do it now." He pulled him into a kiss.
Then Draco knelt down, pulling Neville with him, raised his wand and said, "Aeternum."
Golden light shone around them, and Draco went on. "I, Draco Malfoy, love you, Neville Longbottom, with all my being, and I take you as my husband. My home becomes yours, and my life too." The first red ribbon wound itself around their joined hands.
Neville followed. "I, Neville Longbottom, love you, Draco Malfoy, with all my being, and I take you as my husband. My home becomes yours, and my life too." The second ribbon rippled and wrapped around their wrists. "What is joined may it never come undone," they said in unison.
Everything burst into golden haze as Draco pressed his lips to Neville's. When they pulled apart after a while, Neville watched identical rings shine on their hands.
Draco pulled him into a hug. "Do you know you're the best thing that ever happened to me?" He brushed a strand of hair off Neville's forehead.
"I'm sorry I acted like an idiot and didn't trust you. I was wound up at the thought of someone else touching you." He snapped his fingers and soft notes of classical music drifted from the library.
Neville wrapped his arms around his neck and laid his head on his shoulder. Draco swayed with him to the rhythm and kissed his forehead.
A little later they stopped. Neville pressed his whole body against him, and Draco fell hungrily on his lips.
With a smile Neville told him, "I imagined Valentine's Day a bit differently..."
Draco nodded and slowly unbuttoned Neville's odd borrowed brown jumper. "Me too, but it's not too late to save it..." He slid his hands under his T-shirt. "I want you..." he murmured into his ear and leaned him against the table, while he deftly undid the buttons on his trousers... Neville felt as if Draco's hands were everywhere and moaned with pleasure.
Three hours later the house elves cleared away the dinner they had prepared, and a quiet voice sounded into the darkness of the night room. "Good night, and happy Valentine's Day..."
THE END
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Mimosa Confiante
By day, I work somewhere between marketing, copy and campaigns; by night, I usually end up somewhere between fanfiction, cosplay and yet another “what if” that refuses to leave me alone. I write mainly in the Harry Potter and Mo Dao Zu Shi fandoms, most often Snarry, Snamione, HarryLu and WangXian. My healthcare background means that anatomy, medicine and far too much research occasionally find their way into my stories. Cosplay is another way for me to play with the characters I love, whether I stay close to canon or turn them into my own fanfiction and AU versions. In Diary of a Slytherin Girl with ADHD, I write openly about life with a brain that usually has far too many tabs open at once.
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