Chapter Text
1 year later
“I look like a peacock,” Draco complained for the fiftieth time.
Theo looked over and smiled. He did look a little like a peacock. His suit was bright royal blue. It would have been ridiculous on most people, but the smarmy son of a bitch looked good in almost anything. Pansy was sitting on a chair looking a million dollars in a dress of exactly the same colour. If he didn’t look phenomenal himself, he would have been upset that his best friends were such annoyingly attractive people. Luckily, he looked practically transcendent.
Theo checked himself over once more in the mirror and smirked just for good measure.
“You look fine,” Pansy said, slightly exasperated as she stood and smoothed down her silky dress.
Both men stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
She glanced between the two of them and threw her hands in the air. “Both of you! You both look amazing!”
Draco smiled to himself, but Theo clasped his hand over his brilliant white tux.
“Pansy!” he exclaimed. “You don’t compliment another man in front of the Gride!”
Draco rolled his eyes. Theo had created the word Gride when he had decided that he would be the one walking down the aisle. Gride because he is both groom and bride and because it sounds better than Broom which is what he has been calling Ginny and Harry, his logic being, that they’ve both been married before, so he gets the better title.
Pansy rolled her eyes.
“You look so much better than Draco that he is practically a homeless bum,” she deadpanned.
Theo smiled and nodded, and Draco shot her a look. Theo pretended not to see as she mouthed, I had to say something, at Draco before standing and pouring herself a glass of champagne.
Draco drawled and leaned on the dresser, “Now, now. Pansy you want to be in top form for our trip down the aisle, don’t you?”
“Exactly,” she agreed as she poured even more into her glass.
Draco rolled his eyes again and turned back to Theo who returned to looking in the mirror. He was wearing a startlingly bright white suit and if he did say so himself, looked phenomenal. The makeup artist had highlighted the bottom corner of his eye and the bridge of his nose in white shadow. He looked almost angelic and couldn’t help but beam at his reflection.
“Are you ready?” Draco asked from where he was leaning.
Theo’s heart was pounding. He felt like there was a huge amount of nervous energy coiled up inside of him and he didn’t know whether to run or jump or everything in between. He knew he was driving Draco and Pansy crazy, but he didn’t know what else to do. It was still a whole fifteen minutes until he was due outside.
“I just want to go out there and do it NOW!” Theo snapped in frustration. He lifted his head to look at Draco. “It would be inappropriate to dry hump the brooms the moment I get there wouldn’t it?”
Pansy shrugged and leaned on the dresser next to Draco as she sipped her champagne. “As far as I’m concerned it’s your Wedding and you can strip naked and fuck them for all I care.” She gave him a wicked look. “It’s not like half the guests haven’t seen you starkers before.”
Draco cleared his throat and made a sour face. “I would like to object on my own behalf if not for anyone else. I’m not entirely keen on seeing Potter’s pasty white arse.” He paused and tilted his head. “Plus, my mother will be there and unless you like your private parts hexed, I would beg you to reconsider. I’m assuming you still want to use them later on this evening.”
Theo’s eyes narrowed. “She would do that, wouldn’t she? There’s a secret sadist hidden deep inside that sexy milf.”
Theo and Pansy laughed as Draco groaned. “I have told you so many times that I don’t want to hear your theories about my parent’s sex lives.”
Theo grinned up at him. “Don’t you have to indulge me?” He leaned into him and fluttered his eyelashes as he pouted. “It’s my wedding day.”
Draco sighed and ran his hand over his face. “If it will keep you occupied for the next fifteen minutes go ahead. Tell me everything you can think of and then we will never speak of this again.”
Theo grinned at Pansy as she smirked back at him as they started to rapid-fire all of their theories, Draco’s face growing progressively paler as they went.
Fifteen minutes later, after Draco had needed to have a sit-down, and Theo had needed to delicately dab the tears out of his eyes, it was time to go. As he stood outside the doors, he could hear the murmur of the crowd and tried not to let his restless energy push him forward before it was time. He just wanted to go. He just wanted them to be.
He had been of two minds about the wedding from the start. He had been sorely tempted to march Harry and Ginny up to the ministry and demand that it was done straight away the moment they had proposed. It was a permanent reminder of the now and a promise that it would always be this way and he needed it like he needed water. They helped him breathe.
He looked down and anxiously twirled the ring they had placed on his finger. He hadn’t in the end. He’d thrown himself into planning this elaborate affair where they had invited everyone they knew. He had spent months on the decorations and the food and the guest list. He’d thrown everything he had into it because when he looked deep in his soul, he wanted to share this. He wanted to show the world how happy he was and how happy these two people made him. He didn’t want to hide it away. He was sick of secrets.
The wizard he had hired to run the whole show poked his head around the door to check if he was ready, and before he knew it the doors had opened, the music was swelling, and there was so much light.
When his eyes had adjusted, he looked down the long line of people toward the archway. There Harry and Ginny stood and one on either side of where the celebrant stood. Harry wore a black suit and had tried to do something about his hair but was ultimately unsuccessful. He looked up at Theo with a look of such joy that it burnt through Theo like a wildfire leaving nothing untouched. Ginny was dressed in a black gown that looked practically sinful. The look that she gave him was heavy-lidded and seductive and left him feeling needy and wanton.
They both held out their hands and Theo stepped forward wondering how he had become so lucky to get here.
***
Draco wondered if the reason why bridesmaids always walked behind the bride as they made their way down the aisle was so that they could see the kind of love they were walking into. A way for the people who loved them most to perceive what the future had in store for them. Those looks that spoke of a million future sunrises and even more nights full of feeling. The catch of their breath, and the slow drop of a lip. The physical manifestations of their awe.
If Draco had any doubt left in his heart it was all blown away in that moment.
Ginny and Harry had been a breath of fresh air for Theo. They complimented each other and gave Theo all the things he couldn’t find in himself. Harry brought with him an understanding of trauma and shared agony that Theo desperately needed. They would spend hours talking about their fucked-up childhoods and scars from the war, in a way that was emotionally cleansing for both of them.
Ginny on the other hand, shared Theo’s humour and his sense of fun. They would both create hair-brained schemes and plots that regularly caused chaos for their whole friend group, though Draco was sure Harry copped quite a bit on his own at home. They were always laughing and pulling Harry along with them to the next grand adventure.
Here as Draco walked at a stately pace behind Theo, who practically ran down the aisle, he couldn’t deny that this felt right. Somewhere deep inside himself he chipped off the last piece of his worry and set it to rest. He didn’t need it anymore and from the looks on Harry and Ginny’s faces he may never need it again.
He finally looked to the side where his witch stood by Harry. She was dressed resplendently in purple. A colour that brought out all the dusky pinks in her skin and complimented her colouring to perfection. Her hair was coiled up in an elegant style with deliberate curls escaping to fall down her face. He smiled softly to himself, questioning every day how he had been so lucky to get here.
Conversely on the other side next to Ginny, Ron was standing garbed in a purple suit of the same colour. He looked terrible. Draco couldn’t imagine a worse hue for Ron’s pale skin and bright red hair. He suspected that this was only partially because of the theme as both Theo and Ginny at parts of the whole processed have thought the idea to be quite funny. On paper, it was because Theo’s colour scheme was light, and theirs was dark, in reality it was because Theo and Ginny were shit-stirrers of the worst possible nature.
Theo reached the end of the aisle and placed his hands in Ginny and Harry’s, who closed ranks behind him as they pulled him in.
After a few more steps Draco was standing next to his witch, who was watching the happy throuple with a sweet, satisfied smile. When her eyes finally flicked up to meet his, they were wide and glistening. He felt the smile with his whole body, joy suffusing every part of him. She meant the world to him, and he loved to see her happy.
He reached out for her hand and pressed it firmly as though he could express everything, he was feeling through touch alone. She simply smiled in return and turned back to watch the ceremony. He on the other hand couldn’t tear his eyes away, captivated by the love shown clearly in her gaze.
The start of the year had been tense. It was clear that Hermione loved Harry like a brother and wouldn’t stand for any antagonism toward him. Draco had struggled to let it go. Their rivalry had existed for more than half of his life and taking into account how Theo had been after the war, it made it so much worse.
The tipping point had been the day Draco had received a Patronus from Theo. He’d been distraught; they’d had a fight and Theo’s decision had been to run. He had asked Draco not to try and find him because he just wanted to disappear. Hermione and Ginny were both out of the country and Draco was standing in his kitchen contemplating tracking him down when Harry had turned up at Draco’s house fifteen minutes later and begged him for help.
Draco pursed his lips and considered Theo’s request for one more moment before throwing on his robes and walking out the door with Potter. That road trip around the country searching for his friend had bonded them like nothing else. Draco saw firsthand Harry’s terror and fear and heard him sob himself to sleep at night when they came upon dead end, after dead end.
If Draco had told his twelve-year-old self that a road trip with Harry Potter was one of the most impactful events in his life he would have laughed in his face. That said, if he had told that smarmy stuck-up kid that Hermione Granger was the love of his life he probably would have choked. Whilst nothing had turned out like he would have expected he knew he wouldn’t want it any other way.
***
Hermione had never been to a polyamorous wedding before and whilst she had a vague idea what to expect the reality was something quite different. It was probably partially due to the fact that Theo and Ginny had a lot to do with the planning. From the moment Theo stepped through the doors to the epic guitar opening of “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” she had been kept on her toes. Now as she stood by the dance floor waiting for the three of them to have their first dance together as a married throuple Hermione still had no conception of what was about to happen.
The three of them stood in the centre of the room, Harry and Ginny standing on either side of Theo who gleamed in his bright white tuxedo. When the soft piano started up Harry closed in and swept Theo away. Ginny smiled brightly and with quick fingers and timing stole Theo back. It went back and forth with the two of them taking turns stealing Theo, laughing wildly until the music ended, and they closed in together to stand wrapped in each other's arms.
Hermione felt her eyes start to water for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day. She had never seen Harry so happy. When he had married Ginny there had been joy there but he was still so broken and hurt from the war that his smile barely made it to his eyes. Theo had healed them all in so many different ways.
Ginny looked so smug that Hermione thought she might explode. She stalked after her two husbands like the cat that got the cream stealing kisses and manhandling them in a frankly obscene manner whenever she could. At one point she made Harry jump so high that both she and Theo fell into hopeless peals of laughter.
When they finally broke off from each other and darted out into the crowd, to encourage people to dance Harry headed straight for her.
“May I?” He asked with a ridiculous little bow and a sly smile.
Hermione gave him her hand and grinned.
“I’ve followed you into worse situations.”
“True,” he agreed, pulling her into his arms.
He spun her out onto the dance floor with unexpected grace, and Hermoine couldn’t help but gasp.
“When did you learn how to dance?”
Harry blushed and inclined his head to where Theo was gliding around the floor with Pansy. They did it with effortless ease as though they were flying. As she watched, Theo pulled Pansy into a complicated move where she spun one way and then flipped in the opposite direction. She sailed out of it with a daring expression and smug smile.
“Of course, Theo taught you.” She rolled her eyes. “It sometimes annoys me how cultured they are. Like I could probably ask Draco to compose me a sonata around the theme of” – She waved one hand in the air – “let's say Petrichor, but he has no idea how to fix the self-cleaning charms in the bathroom.”
Harry laughed and pushed her into a turn. “Theo is very useful in a number of very specific ways.”
Hermione groaned, “I hear enough about your sex life from Ginny. Please don’t start.”
Harry shrugged, “Well I suppose you already know.”
“That was one time! And I didn’t know who he was!”
“So, are you actually admitting that you’re living with Draco yet?”
“We’re not living together. I have my own apartment.”
“That you haven’t been to in several weeks,” snorted Harry.
Suddenly Draco was at their side, arm outstretched. “May I cut in?” Harry looked at him and then began to move away when Draco put a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “You misunderstand. I believe it’s customary to dance with the broom?”
Harry gave Draco a suspicious look before letting the tall blonde lead him onto the floor. Hermione gave a little surprised huff as they glided away hearing snippets of their conversation.
“Potter! Exnay on the Ovingmay!”
Before she could move a step, Theo swept over and pulled her into his arms.
“Granger,” he grinned, “I’m getting rather suspicious of your boyfriend's intentions toward my husband. They have been disturbingly chummy.”
Hermione let him pull her around the dance floor as she watched Draco and Harry dance. It was like watching a battle. Whilst in the middle of what looked like a heated argument, they were both too proud to let the other lead properly. The result was a very jerky dance that involved a lot of grasping.
“You have an interesting definition of chummy,” Hermione mused.
Theo flicked a look over at his friend, “Don’t be deceived. Fighting is like flirting for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if we caught them fucking in the bathroom soon.”
Hermione shot him a glare. “Theo, are you getting hot over the idea of my boyfriend fucking your husband.”
Theo bit his lip, “Oh god, yes. You have to remember I had a crush on that man for years. I would watch him fuck anything. Especially my husband.”
“Theo,” She chided.
He grinned at her and spun her around again.
When she finally got her feet back underneath her, she asked, “What do you think they’re arguing about?”
Theo shrugged with a bored look on his face. “What were you talking about before Draco butted in?”
“Well Harry was just asking if I was living with Draco,” she explained, “which I said was ridiculous considering I still have my own apartment.”
Theo barked out a laugh. Hermione frowned. “What’s so funny?”
“Nope,” Theo replied, “No way am I walking into that one. I like spanking as much as the next man, but I have a feeling Draco would make it bad if I talked about that with you.”
Hermione briefly wondered what it would be like to have Draco spank her. She imagined it was the kind of play he would enjoy. Even a year on, he was a creative and attentive lover. They both loved Domination and shared it equally in their sexual activities, taking turns to control the flow. She certainly hadn’t expected their shared love of degradation. Maybe impact play could be their next big thing.
“It’s not polite for a lady to drool on the Gride,” Theo interrupted her thoughts, “Did you want to borrow my paddle?”
She let her gaze wonder back to his face. He was grinning and wiggling his eyebrows like a fool. She rolled her eyes and let her arm fall from his shoulder as the music swelled to a close. Draco and Harry hurried over, still bickering, when Theo moved to his husband's side.
“I’m very sorry, my dear,” Theo apologised.
“What?” Harry frowned.
“I’m lending my paddle to Hermione, so we’ll need to improvise.” He leaned in to nibble on Harry’s ear as Harry went bright red.
“What?” he spluttered, “I never agreed or even – “
“Ssshhhhhh,” Murmured Theo as he placed a finger on Harry’s lips, “Let's go break the news to our wife.”
Theo pulled Harry away as Harry glared back at Hermione who shrugged with an awkward smile. When she turned back to look at Draco his eyebrows had almost reached his hairline.
“We’re borrowing Theo’s paddle?” He asked, his mouth twitching upward.
Hermione rolled her eyes. “It’s a long story.”
His mouth moved up into the grin he’d been fighting. “I can’t wait to hear it.”
***
Ginny stumbled as they reached their destination. She was normally an excellent traveller, but she was still feeling a little worse for wear after the wedding the day before. Her stomach lurched threateningly, and Theo placed a hand on each of her shoulders to steady her. She glared at him. Years of alcoholism had given him a cast iron stomach and he was just as bright and bubbly as normal. The bastard.
He patted her lightly on the arse and then moved forward to go into the pale building ahead of them. Ginny turned to look around at the pale white sands and the turquoise waters. Theo had assured her that this stretch of coastland was the most magical place he had ever been to and that the hotel they would be checking into was even more so.
Harry brushed by her shoulder as he joined her in enjoying the sights.
“He wasn’t kidding about the view,” Harry mused.
“Mmm,” Ginny hummed in ascent.
After a moment Theo slammed into them from behind, his arms draped over their shoulders.
“I’ve got the portkey,” He exclaimed, jostling as he jumped from foot to foot.
Ginny groaned, “Not another portkey.”
He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I promise it will be worth it.”
“It better be,” She grumbled.
He lifted up a giant key. It was swathed in fabric at the bottom where he clutched it in a tight grasp. “It has a time delay on it of one minute from the first point of contact, so we have to be quick. The elves will bring our luggage.”
Harry nodded and reached out to grasp the key. Ginny rolled her eyes but followed his lead letting her hand grasp underneath his. Theo let the fabric fall to the floor.
He puffed out a breath. “A minute is actually quite long, isn’t it?”
Harry laughed, “You just have no patience.”
“Maybe we can – “ his sentence was cut off as the portkey activated.
The next moment her vision was flooded with blue. They were in a large bedroom with crisp white decor’ in the Mediterranean style. What was most astonishing was the giant translucent spaces that would normally be windows but appeared instead to house some sort of bubble charm. She stepped forward and pressed her fingers against the surface. It was smooth and slippery and when she applied pressure her hand passed straight through into the ocean.
The water was cool but not freezing. A fact that she found somewhat surprising considering they were several feet under the surface. Brightly coloured fish swam by just out of reach of her fingertips. Coral of all shapes and sizes filled the area so that it looked like a vibrant undersea garden which she supposed was probably the whole point.
“Theo,” she whispered in awe, “It’s beautiful.”
She looked back and caught his grin. “I told you.”
She rolled her eyes again and pulled her arm back through so that she could prop it on her hip. “Ok Mr Potter-Nott what now?”
He leaned back against the bed and smirked, “I have a couple of ideas.”
Before either of them could say anything, else Harry exclaimed, “Let’s explore! This place is amazing!”
Theo and Ginny both looked at him with fondness. Ginny was used to Harry’s holiday excitement. He had so little opportunity to go anywhere when he was a kid that when he did finally get to go on holidays, he was so full of excitement that he had at least an hour of pure frenetic energy. He darted out of the room with a giant grin plastered on his face.
Ginny laughed and pulled Theo back up as they raced after him.
They explored every inch of their suite which came with a bathroom that housed an enormous spa bath, a small kitchenette, a dining room, and a lounge room. All were fitted with the same bubble windows that they could pass through to get directly outside. The only room that they hadn’t explored was also the only room that had a door. Every single other space in the suite was connected with open archways except this one.
The three of them stood outside it exchanging looks.
“What do you think it is?” Harry asked his voice still eager.
Ginny frowned. “A cupboard?”
“Oh,” Harry said softly, his face falling.
Theo scoffed, “It’s not a cupboard.” He reached past them and opened the door to stride through.
Harry and Ginny filed in soon after, and Ginny felt her mouth drop open. It was a large pool surrounded on all sides by views into the ocean. The waters lapped against the sides as they walked in, gawking at the spectacle.
“You knew about this?” Ginny accused.
Theo shrugged. “It was in the brochure.”
Harry walked forward heeling off his shoes as he went until he reached the water's edge and could dip his toes in.
“It’s perfect.” He enthused, grinning at them.
He started pulling off his clothes one by one until he could slide into the water, as naked as the day he was born. He let out a sigh of pleasure so deep that it warmed something inside her. He pushed back and floated his arms high above his head. Ginny shucked off her own clothes and followed him in, letting the water lap up her thighs and she stepped down.
She looked back at Theo and smiled seductively, “Are you coming? The water’s warm.”
He grinned and then gathered all their clothes, taking them to the room just beyond the door before coming back wearing nothing. He closed the door behind him and a cast bubble charm around each of their heads before taking a bag of something from a cupboard and locking his wand within it.
“What are you doing?”
Theo smiled mysteriously and went to three crystals embedded in the wall. The bottom one was glowing with a faint green light. He pressed a palm to the middle gem and suddenly underneath her bubbles started rising and the water level began to rise. Theo walked forward as the waves began to lap at his feet.
“Theo!” Ginny exclaimed in alarm, “You need your wand!”
He simply fished something out of the bag, and placed it in his mouth, diving into the water to join Harry.
“Theo!” She cried out again surging forward as the water continued to rise.
A dark shape swam in circles around her before he popped up by her side. His face was paler than normal but jutting out from his neck were soft fluttering gills. He offered her a handful of soggy green plant material.
“Gillyweed,” Harry remarked swimming up next to them.
He reached out and took a handful of the green plant matter and stuffed it into his mouth. Ginny looked between the two of them with wide eyes. Harry’s skin shifted and mottled like Polyjuice potion before settling into the same delicate gills. He gestured for her to take some with his now webbed hands.
She looked at it reluctantly as the water level rose higher and higher. Theo shoved it at her again with a frown, so she leant forward and ate it off his palm. He grinned mischievously at her but before she could say a word the change started to flutter through her body. Her feet and hands tingled as the flesh grew out from her limbs and her neck tickled as it separated into gills. The water flowed over them, and she sensed the oxygen rushing through her.
Theo grinned and dived forward, pushing her under the water with the strength of his kicks. Before she could do another thing, his mouth was on hers, popping the bubble charm around her head with the force of the impact. Their bodies slipped over each other as his hands found purchase on her hips and he ground against her.
She gasped causing bubbles to float up toward the ceiling as he leant his head forward and sucked on her skin. Harry swam down to latch onto Theo’s back making him arch away from Ginny. Harry grinned at her and reached for her hand as they sandwiched their husband between them.
The water had reached the roof and Ginny watched as the final bubbles disappeared above with a ripple. Theo had moved down to attach onto her nipples as his hands crawled down her body to slide into her slit. He was rutting into her thigh and she could see Harry above him peppering kisses along his shoulder blades.
The entire situation felt surreal. They were all bathed in blue light and their hair floated about their heads like halos. Their bodies almost glowed in the blue. Outside the strange barriers, the fish swam just out of reach, ignoring the entwined humans within their midst. Above her, Theo groaned, the sound warping as it travelled through the water.
She was suddenly struck with the need to run.
With a swift movement she twisted out of Theo’s hands and let go of Harry. Bracing against the floor she pushed upward with a powerful movement. When she was about three feet away she turned so that she was looking behind her as she swum. Both her husbands realised she had escaped at the same time and turned blazing eyes on her.
She let out a giggle that turned into a shriek as they let go of each other and started after her. She flipped back around and started to swim as fast as she could, heading for the ocean. When she pushed through the membrane it felt like hands passing over her body until she was suddenly on the other side pressing on into the ocean.
Her heart was thundering like crazy. She felt exposed and excited as she pushed her legs to swim as fast as she could. Her extended feet with the thin webbed membrane pushed her easily forward through the water. She turned to follow the structure around, not willing to push into unknown depths.
A quick look over her shoulder showed Harry in hot pursuit. This wasn’t entirely unexpected. Harry was still seeker fit from his long hours as an Auror. She didn’t know who was better at this point but she refused to let him win without a fight. She could feel his hands graze her toes and wasn’t looking where she was going when Theo slammed into her from the other side.
She looked at him in shock as he smirked.
“Got you,” his voice filtered through in distorted waves.
“How!?” she exclaimed.
He leant down and bit her ear as Harry nestled himself in behind her. “I guessed. Naughty girl.” He looked up at Harry and grinned like a loon. “I think our girl wants to be punished.”
“Fuck yes.” Harry agreed.
She could feel Harry’s fingers kneading her arse cheeks before he grasped her hips and rubbed his erection against her butt. They pushed her down to the sandy ocean floor, Theo lying underneath her as Harry continued to massage the globes of her behind. Theo fisted his hand in her hair and guided her down to his cock.
She obediently opened her mouth and let him guide himself inside her mouth. It was a strange feeling, not needing to breathe. She relaxed her muscles and let him slide inside her as deep as she could take. He seized underneath her, bucking upward and groaning, the sound echoing through the water.
Meanwhile, Harry was pushing his tongue slowly into her hole. She pushed back against him as he pressed his fingers inside her. She moaned around Theo’s cock causing him to buck up against her again. His hand was clenching and unclenching in her hair as the other grasped at the sand underneath him.
Harry had begun extending his fingers outward in order to spread her. The stretch was strong but not unpleasant. She knew that there would be more to come when Harry pushed in. She started to feel hot even though the cool waters were rippling all around her. Every movement down over Theo made the water buffet against them. She had to clamp her legs shut over Theo’s to keep grounded. She had no idea how Harry was managing to gently and persistently finger her, which he proved by spreading them as far as he could.
Theo was starting to get unmanageable underneath her, so she pulled off and looked up at him. He had his head tilted back and his eyes rolled upward into his head, his mouth open in supplication. After a moment his head snapped forward. He let go of her hair, instead moving it under her arm so that he could yank her upward.
He slammed his lips into hers, pressing his tongue into her mouth. He groaned into her with a broken sound. He had one hand anchored on her hip to keep her in place as his other wandered over her skin. After a moment she felt Harry again whose touch had disappeared when Theo yanked her forward. He pressed a knee between her legs, spreading her out and guiding her downward onto Theo’s cock. They both groaned as she lowered down onto him.
Harry was pressed against her back, and she could feel his chest shudder with his laughter. His lips fluttered over her skin as he mumbled a charm and liquid pooled in her hole. The next moment he was pushing inside, and the world went white.
When her eyes fluttered back open, she was still caught within the blue. Both boys were holding her and pushing insider her slowly and languidly. She leant backward and rested her head on Harry’s shoulder so that she could look up to the surface. It was hypnotic the way it moved and flashed in the low light. She didn’t know how much more she could take.
She felt like she was burning. The cold water a chilling relief over her red-hot skin. Theo underneath her was barely hanging on. His eyes were squeezed shut and his mouth was opening and closing over what was probably a stream of curses. Harry took that moment to begin pistoning them both.
“Fuck!” Theo’s curse made its way to her ears as he clamped down his hands over her hips and jerked up into her. Harry however was not done. She was sometimes awed by the raw physicality of her first husband. He held them both and set a pace that would have set a lesser woman screaming. As it was she was pushed over the edge into her own orgasm within a minute, Harry following along soon after.
She collapsed forward lying her head against Theo’s shoulder, with Harry a warm steady weight behind her. Her gills pushed in and out resolutely as she tried to desperately pull in more air. Now that they were no longer moving, they were pushed to and fro by the current in soothing waves.
After a moment Harry pulled them all up, heaving both herself and Theo up over his shoulders. He swam forward and felt more than saw him step through the barrier into their stark white bedroom. He deposited them both on the bed and pressed a kiss to their foreheads before stepping back out and away into the blue.
Theo turned to her bonelessly. “Where is he going?”
It was strange to hear his normal voice again after getting used to the distorted water version.
Ginny huffed out a laugh. “He’s probably being all responsible. Like emptying the pool room and fetching your wand.”
Theo smiled, “What would we do without him?”
She looked up at the ceiling, “Probably the same thing we did without you. Lead ok lives but always felt like something was missing.”
Theo scrunched up his nose. “Well that certainly killed the mood.”
She turned over and took his face in his hands. “I’m serious Theo. I love you. We’re so lost without you.”
He took in a shuddering breath. “I love you too.”
At that moment Harry stepped back through the membrane holding Theo’s wand in one hand.
“Turns out the pool room takes a long time to drain so I just left it to it.” He used Theo’s wand to cast drying charms over them all before settling into the bed beside them.
He stretched his arms out above his head and quipped, “Well that was invigorating. Naptime?”
Ginny laughed and snuggled into her husband who had moved both his arms down so that they could snuggle into him. Theo followed her lead and after a short moment, all she could hear were their soft breaths. She stared out at the ocean.
This place was beautiful and perfect and private. She would make it a point to map out every part of it so that she could engrave it on her soul. She never wanted to forget how she felt here and now. Maybe if they’re lucky enough they can buy a place like this and make it all their own. Somewhere just for them.
She let her eyes drift shut, soothed by the sound of the sea and her husband’s sighs.
***
1 Year and 1 Month Later
“Are we living together?”
The words had left Hermione’s lips before she had really thought about it. She was simply sitting in his lounge room reading a book, when she began to notice all the signs of her newfound domesticity about her. Her shoes were collected neatly in the shoe rack by the floo. Her favourite cup was sitting on the drying rack waiting to be put into its spot in the cupboard. The blanket wrapped around her legs was her grandmother's and several of her favourite books were sitting on the bookshelf in the corner.
She frowned. She couldn’t remember exactly when she had brought these things over. She knew she must have done it as it’s not like Draco would have, but she just couldn’t remember. Either it had been done a very long time ago, or with such casual care that it hadn’t seemed important. Both options seemed equally disturbing.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Draco murmured turning the page of the Daily Prophet, “You have your own flat.”
“I haven’t been there since the wedding.” Hermione frowned as she looked around her noticing a snow globe that used to sit on her own mantel on top of the floo. “We were so tired when we got back that we just dumped everything and went to bed.”
He looked up at her and smirked. “I remember. You were just so keen to use the paddle that Theo had bequeathed us with.”
She gave him a withering look and he cracked up laughing. She wasn’t even sure where the thing was anymore. She had just been so keen to get rid of it that she had just flung it in the wardrobe without another look. Given how many extension charms Draco had cast on that space itself, she wouldn’t be hugely surprised if it had turned up in Narnia to adorn the white witch’s torture room.
All Hermione cared about was that it was far away. She had no idea what that paddle had been through, and she didn’t want to know. As far as she was concerned, she already knew far more about her favourite throuple’s sex life than she ever desired. Not only did she get all the details from Ginny, but Theo was also more than willing to share.
“I thought we agreed not to talk about the paddle ever again!” She exclaimed throwing a pillow at him.
He caught it and tucked it behind his back as he licked a finger provocatively, turning another page of his newspaper.
She huffed out a sigh as she realised the pillow, she had just thrown at him was also hers. A small square one that she had made in the 5th grade. She had been so proud of herself.
“Draco,” She tried again with more urgency in her voice, “I’m serious. I think I have unintentionally moved into your flat without realising it.”
“Did you? That doesn’t sound like something you’d do,” He stated in a bored tone without looking up from the paper.
“I know.” She bit her lip. “So, you don’t mind?”
He slammed the paper down. Now she had his attention. “What exactly are you asking me here?”
“Well,” she continued, “You don’t seem to mind that all my stuff is all over your apartment. It seems a little pointless to keep holding onto my apartment if I’m no longer even going there.”
Her brain was going a million miles an hour. It was pointless to keep her own flat. She couldn’t for the life of her think of any reason why she would. It was nice enough yes, but she was just as comfortable here, as there, and she quite enjoyed the walk from Draco’s apartment to Diagon Ally.
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not making yourself very clear Hermione. None of that was a question.”
“I – I think I want to live here.” She stammered her heart pounding in her chest.
He folded the newspaper and put it down on the coffee table before turning to face her again. “Still not a question.”
When she met his gaze, she found that he was looking at her intently. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton wool. There was nothing stopping her from wanting this except for herself. All her insecurities started bubbling up to the surface. The countless men who had taken advantage her for her name and her accomplishments. Draco had done none of those things. All he cared about was not being a secret.
He didn’t need her name or her status. He was happy running his relatively successful potions shop from behind the scenes. He rarely dealt with customers, leaving that business to Mafalda and he avoided the political side of the magical world like the plague. He had never given her any indication that he wanted her for anything other than herself.
She took a deep breath. “Could I? I mean, would you mind if I moved in here officially?”
He grinned widely, his eyes twinkling. Before she knew what was happening, he had shot across the room and pulled her up into his arms. He lowered his mouth to hers in a punishing kiss. When he pulled away, she was left breathless.
“That wasn’t an answer,” she breathed.
“Of course, I want you to live here,” He confessed breathlessly, “I’m so in love with you I want to be around you as much as I can. I love that sometimes when I wake up in the morning, you’re curled so tightly around me that I almost suffocate in your hair. I love that we can spontaneously decide to get ice cream at 2am in the morning because either one of us had a bad dream. I love the fact that this place is full of you, from the adorably hand-made furnishings to your eclectic collection of books. So, no Hermione I don’t mind.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling her cheeks burn.
He planted a peck on her cheek. “Just don’t feel the need to get the binders out. We’re fine. You are fine. We don’t need to plan the rest of our lives. Just live in the moment.”
“Ok,” she agreed, as he pulled her into another searing kiss.
***
1 year and 8 months later
Draco was feeling very annoyed.
Everything that could go wrong today had gone wrong. Mafalda had botched up an order that meant he had spent the entire day cutting up flobber worms. He hated it but he was a consummate professional and not even the pus of an invertebrate can keep him from fulfilling an order, even if it made him smell like puke afterward. It meant that he missed his evening walk home as there was no way he was braving the streets like this.
He left the floo and went straight to the shower letting the water wash away all the slime. He emerged feeling fresh and a lot calmer than he had been. It was amazing what a good long shower could do to improve a mood. He had almost made it to the stairs leading up to his bedroom when he turned and locked eyes with Theo who had been lounging around the kitchenette.
He suddenly regretted his decision to use the downstairs bathroom. It had seemed logical at the time. It was the closest to the floo and he really hadn’t wanted to track slime through the apartment. It didn’t however have any of his clothes which was why he was now in his corridor stark naked.
Theo’s mouth and the coffee cup he was holding dropped. Whereas a normal person would curse and cover their eyes all the while muttering profound apologies about the situation Theo blatantly stared. He did raise one hand to cover his mouth, but his eyes continued to rover over Draco’s naked body.
“Fuck Draco,” he cursed softly, “I think I just came.”
Draco snorted in disdain and took the stairs to his bedroom. When he came back down some fifteen minutes later wearing a very classy-looking dress shirt and pair of slacks, Theo had vanished the broken coffee cup. He looked up at Draco and visibly adjusted himself on the barstool he was inhabiting.
Draco ignored his theatrics. “To what do I owe the pleasure,Theo?”
“That’s it?” Theo demanded theatrically, “Now that perfect moment is over, you just want me gone?”
Draco gave him a withering look.
Theo sighed stirring the tea he held in front of him. “Fine. Hermione sent me in case she missed you. I’ll have to thank her for the warmup show.”
Draco motioned with his hands. “And she sent you why?”
“Hmmmm?” Theo stopped stirring and looked up. “Right, she wants you to meet her near the bridge.”
Draco nodded. They often bumped into each other there on the way home and she loved to stand and look over the water. He walked around gathering up his pouch and putting on his shoes as Theo watched him wearing a bemused expression.
When he was ready, he turned back to Theo. “Are you quite all right?”
Theo popped a handful of peanuts into his mouth and gave Draco a thumbs up. “Yep.”
Draco rolled his eyes and apparated to the alleyway near the bridge. He poked his head out to make sure none of the muggles were investigating the sound and walked confidently out into the street. The bridge wasn’t far, but he took his time. He had come to love this section of the city. It was beautiful and the breeze from the river always meant it was cool. They had spent countless hours simply walking and talking and taking in the sights.
She was standing by the edge, leaning her elbows on the railing, her hair flying everywhere. He couldn’t help the smile that cross his face. She was wearing a long dress covered in flowers with tall leather boots and was staring at the water with a pensive look on her face as though her thoughts were a million miles away.
He jogged the remaining feet to sweep her up into his arms. She let out of shriek of surprise as he spun her around in a circle grasping frantically at his shoulders.
“Draco!”
He laughed as he popped her back down and pecked her on her nose which had gone bright red in the wind.
“So, where are we going?”
She grinned at him as she slipped her hand into his. “It’s a surprise.”
The looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Ok then, keep your secrets.”
She scoffed, “Did you just make a Lord of the Rings reference? You lot have been a menace since Harry and I showed you those movies.”
He drew himself up pompously and said in a solemn voice, “May it be a light to you in dark places when all other lights go out.”
She rolled her eyes again and pulled him along. She set a brisk pace and they made their way quickly through the crowds rushing home through the slowly diming dusk. When they reached the end of the bridge, she pulled him left along the boardwalk. He smiled as he saw the aquarium ahead. It would always hold a special place in his heart. The date when she started to show him all the pieces of herself that she never let anyone else see. He made a point to pass by when he could.
She pulled him up the steps and he stopped. “We’re going to the aquarium?”
She smiled with a crazy glint in her eye. “Yep.”
He followed along as she pulled him inside. The foyer was empty, with only an older lady hanging around the ticket box. When she noticed them, she smiled and came forward to hand Hermione some keys.
“Have a good time,” the lady said as she exited the building.
Draco frowned at Hermione. “What is going on?”
“Come on!” She said. Her eyes were bright, and she was wearing a huge grin.
She let go of his hand and dashed off down the blue corridor.
“Hermione!”
He ran after her as she darted around tanks and couches and pools bathed in blue light. Their feet sounded incredibly loud in the empty space and even when she managed to get a bit of distance between them, he could hear her feet as they receded. He checked his internal map and grinned. He had her.
He darted in the opposite direction and waited for her to come out of the other end of the underwater passage. When she finally stepped out looking breathlessly behind her, he caught her in his arms and threw her over his shoulder.
“Draco!”
She struggled as he carried her back through the passage until he came to his favourite spot and dumped her on the couch.
“Now,” He said sternly, “I believe you owe me an explanation, or would you like me to start making you talk.”
She looked around at where they were and smiled up at him. “You brought me here?”
“Well,” He murmured leaning over her, “I didn’t get my wish last time.”
She shivered but pushed him up and got to her feet. She stood in front of him, wringing her hands together. He stepped forward to place his hands on her elbows and pull her to him.
“What’s got you so jittery?” He whispered pressing kisses into her neck.
Hermione stepped back and seemed to steel herself. “Draco…” She looked up and met his eyes as she spoke, “You have been so kind and gentle with me, and you haven’t really pushed me at all, and I know that you have been deliberately letting me set the pace with everything we do.”
He laughed softly. “Hermione you know I don’t care about that. I’m happy just to be with you.”
Her eyes softened and she looked up at him plaintively. “I know that. I know you are happy to just keep the status quo, but I’m not.”
He felt a stab of fear penetrate his heart. What did that mean? No. She couldn’t be breaking up with him. He scanned back through the last few days. She had seemed happy. He had been deliriously so. Well, barring Theo having an orgasm in his corridor, but she didn’t even know about that yet.
“What do mean you’re not happy?” His voice sounded small even to himself.
“No!” She exclaimed, “You idiot! I love you! I’m happy! I – I’m…”
Her voice trailed off before she took a deep breath to steady herself. “I’m asking you to marry me.”
It took far too long for his brain to process her words. He stood there and stared in silence, the soft sound of the bubbling water filling his ears like a roar. As he watched, she fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a dark green box.
She held it up to him and slowly opened it to reveal a polish stainless steel ring with a stripe of something green running along the centre in a line.
“Hermione,” He choked out, his throat feeling like sandpaper, “I – Yes. Of course, it’s yes.”
All the tension immediately drained out of her and she visibly slumped. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked up at him.
“Really? You will? We’re getting married?”
“Of course, I want to fucking marry you,” He growled as he took her face in his hands, “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything as much as this. Is this real? Are you sure?”
The smile she gave him lit up her entire face and she nodded repeatedly. “Yes! I’m sure. I want you! All of you!”
She picked the ring out and slid it on his finger. He took in a shuddering breath and attacked her. He pressed her down into the couch and lay on top of her, their legs sticking out over the edge. He was so hard It was painful, his length pressing hard against his slacks.
“Fuck,” he cursed softly bucking against her.
She was soft and warm and receptive in his arms. She made little mewling sounds as he began to kiss down her neck. With frantic hands, he made quick work of the buttons on her dress pulling it off her shoulders until she could feel the velvet soft touch of her skin against his fingers. She was so warm. Her pulse fluttered under his lips as he sucked her skin into his mouth.
He fully intended to put the promise he had made the last time they were here to practice. He wanted her writhing underneath him. He wanted to hear how his name echoed off the walls when she screamed. He made quick work to rid her of the rest of her clothing until she lay naked before him bathed in blue light.
As he knelt on the floor, he thanked his lucky stars that this was his future. Spreading her legs, he pressed a kiss to each thigh before running his tongue up her slit.
“I can never get enough of how you taste,” He muttered into her skin biting her thigh softly.
She moaned, the sound bouncing around them and melding into the lapping water.
“I can’t believe I get to have you forever.”
He pressed his tongue long and hard against her clit as he inserted a finger inside her. She bucked up into him and he pressed a hand down over her stomach to hold her in place. His heart rate was pounding, and he could feel the madness building between his eyes. She would be his. His forever.
He inserted another finger and curled them inside her as he sucked her clit into his mouth.
“Draco!”
His name echoed around them egging him on. He pulled her legs up over his shoulder so he could bury himself in her. He could feel her warm thighs against his ears, her moans vibrating through her body. She was so wet that it was starting to drip down his chin.
He couldn’t take it anymore.
He pushed her up and back so that he could crawl above her. He quickly tore off his clothes and descended back down so that she was back in his arms. He fisted his cock and ran it past her hole and over her slit, teasing her with the feel of him.
“Draco,” She pleaded, “I want you now. Please!”
“Hermione,” He warned, “My head. I feel foggy and I…”
“I can take it,” she assured him quickly, “I love you. All of you.”
He nodded and buried himself inside her with one quick stroke. She cried out in ecstasy and bucked up against him. He fisted her hair in his hand and wrapped the other around her shoulder, then let go. He pummelled into her with a ferocity that shocked even himself. All he could think of was that she was here, and she was with him, and she was his.
They came together their voices a synchronised harmony. The jolt of pleasure that he felt rocketed through him and left him shaking. His body was jerking out of his control, and he let stream after stream fill her, as her body clenched and pulsed around him.
They collapsed spent against the cold leather, panting.
“That was intense,” Hermione breathed.
He nodded and turned to face her running his thumb over her cheek.
“Mine,” He stated.
She grinned, “Yours.”
He sat up a little and looked around. “Did you realise there were camera’s in here?” he asked, amusement colouring his tone.
She gave him an evil look. “Of course.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t bother you?”
She sat up and crossed her arms over her breasts. “Not when I’ve charmed the tapes to copy into ones I have at home.”
He smirked and pulled her close to him again, “Of really? Wanted to commemorate the night, did you?”
She giggled, “Well I didn’t expect you to do that.”
“I did warn you last time.”
“That you did.” She agreed.
He bit her ear lobe. “You’re not worried about the muggle copies?”
“They are all charmed to wipe at approximately 4am.” She confirmed.
His eyebrows rose sky high. “4am?” He started to pepper kisses over her face. “That’s a lot of tape to fill up.”
“That sounds like a challenge.”