Chapter Text
If Harry thought that he had had enough of portraits over the previous years, let alone months, then he had been sorely mistaken. In many ways, they were actually rather useful and valuable to him. Only God knows where the hell they would be if Harry hadn’t had Basil to speak to, to lead him in the right direction.
He had given Basil his many thanks, since the realisations and truth of Harry’s relationship with Draco had come to light to them both. He had laughed when he found that Basil was actually rather confused at the expression of gratitude, wondering what he had done in the first place for them.
What he had said, though, as Harry was making his way down the corridor after bidding him goodbye, was a healthy and happy “ I told you so! ” that had Harry confused at first, until he remembered, and went on his way with a smile larger than life spread on his face.
“But you, Harry…” Basil had said to him. “You and Draco could be remarkable.”
The man had been right. They felt remarkable.
And when Harry sat down with Draco, asking if they could tell people about them both, he accepted it when the answer was not yet , please, not yet. He knew that Draco’s worries did not lie with Harry, but in others, and he wasn’t going to argue against his anxieties. He told him he’d wait.
But they’d told Hermione and Ron together. The four sat down in their room, and they’d had questions, worries themselves, but that had been anticipated, and appreciated.
“So you don’t want any solution to being soulmates anymore?” Hermione had asked them. “Good. Because honestly, it’s been murder to try and find anything else on it at all. And… I really don’t think that there is any solution.”
Fate , that was what she’d called it. She’d spoken to Basil as well, it seemed.
Harry’s appreciation for portraits stretched far past Basil though, he realised, stopping alone in the middle of the corridor when he saw a familiar face smiling down at him.
“Sir,” he said quietly, voice shaking a little bit.
“Good to see you, Harry. I fancied a walk.”
Harry smiled up at him. “I haven’t seen you at all in the Headmistress’ office, sir.”
Dumbledore smiled back at him, nodding his head. “Well, I have been fancying many walks, recently. How are you?”
“I am… brilliant. Thank you.”
“Ah, good… And how is Draco?”
Harry’s eyes narrowed, though the playful smile remained stuck on his face, unable to wipe it away. “Has Professor McGonagall been gossiping again?”
“Professor McGonagall, a gossip? No, that was always my strong suit.” He chuckled.
“Then… It’s true, then? That Headteachers just have the ability to know everything?”
“Not quite. A lot, but not quite everything. No, Harry, I think you’ll find that your experiences aren’t as niche as you may believe.”
Harry’s mouth dropped a little, his lips parting and his brows furrowing before he spoke again, slowly. “You… You had a soulmate too?”
“Not technically. I’m afraid that that’s something special that you and young Draco have been chosen for, it seems. However, your experiences in falling for a young blond boy with… unfortunate predispositions and interests? Now that, some may find more relatable.” The previous Headmaster’s eyes twinkled thoughtfully. “Never that sure who, in particular, though…”
“Sir, are y—”
“Everyone has a love story, Harry. I must confess, I do not know why. I hope yours brings a lot more joy than my own.”
Harry looked down, solemnly, thinking. He and Dumbledore must not have been all that different, after all. “Grindelwald,” Harry spoke quietly. “You loved him, didn’t you?”
“Only the loving ask about others who have loved,” he said cryptically, making the cogs in Harry’s brain work again. “He makes you happy. He has fled the thoughts which Grindelwald could not.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Nothing for you to be sorry for, my boy. Be gleeful! Be happy, for you have nothing to be sad for now.”
Harry smiled. “Yeah. Thank you, sir.”
“Harry!” A voice called from down the corridor, turning his head. “What are you doing? I have something to… show you. Back at the room. You said you’d be right back after dinner. I thought something had happened.”
Harry smiled, holding out his arm and wrapping it around the man’s waist as he approached him and the portrait, who had suddenly become very quiet. He accepted the imminent kiss, fingers curling on his cheeks, Harry’s own fingers nestled in his shirt at the small of his back.
“Sorry,” Harry apologised, giving him one last peck on his lips before continuing. “I was on my way back. I got held up.”
Draco frowned. “By what?”
Harry turned back to the portrait, ready to say that he was having a quick little catch up with his former superior, only to find that the man had done nothing less than disappear. In his place was a photograph of two young boys gazing at each other before turning and directing their smiles towards the camera instead. One of the boys had messy auburn hair that was slightly longer than Harry’s, face cheeky and hopeful. The other had lighter hair, only a little bit longer than the other’s, dirty blond, face wicked yet oddly alluring. They both looked happy. Harry wondered how long that got to last for.
He couldn’t help but mourn for a moment, for not only Dumbledore but his lost relationship and love, whom he had yearned for even when he knew it was wrong. He admired it.
He was also just a tad bit distracted, because Merlin, they’d both been really attractive when they were younger. He wondered if it was weird of him to think that, considering one had half brought Harry up and the other was one of the evilest Wizards of all time. And they were both dead.
“Who is that?” Draco asked, matching Harry in peering down at the photo now as well. “They’re quite fit.”
Harry laughed, glad to know that he wasn’t alone in his thinking that. “You’re fitter.”
“I know.” Draco nodded. “Do you reckon they went to school here?”
Harry hummed. “The one on the left did.”
“See? They are the reason that there should be more gay wizard porn.”
Harry snorted at that, covering his mouth for a second. “You know, I was going to tell you who it is, but now I don’t think it’s a very good idea.”
“What?” Draco huffed. “Come on, who is it?”
He smirked. “What do you say?”
Draco rolled his eyes in response. “ Please, can you tell me who it is?”
Harry leant forward, brushing their lips together again as he whispered. “That’s not what I meant.”
Draco thread his hands through Harry’s hair with a smile, familiar red running through his cheeks. “I love you. Please tell me who they are.”
“I love you too. Oh, you just said that you wanted to see porn of Dumbledore and Grindelwald.”
Draco’s face dropped. “What? No! Oh, disgusting!” He shook his head frantically.
“You’re the one who said it!” Harry laughed at his reaction.
“I didn’t - I didn’t know, oh my god.” He dropped his face into his hands. “Forgive me, Headmaster, if you can hear me.”
“I think he’d probably be just as amused as I am,” Harry said, his laughter dying down but his grin still evident. “That was so – that was so funny.”
“Shut up. I don’t think I want to show you what I had in mind, anymore!”
“Oh, come on.” Harry pouted. “Go on. Tell me what it is.”
“Hm.” Draco raised an eyebrow, pulling Harry’s face closer to his once again. He bit down on his lip before continuing, seeming as if his aim was to tease Harry as far as he could. “Well, I was thinking something to do with vampires,” he whispered to him, and pulled down the collar of his shirt. It revealed almost a dozen love-bites that Harry couldn’t help but have left, something that he’d decided he loved over the last couple of months since they’d decided to get together. Officially.
Harry took in a deep breath, shaking his head before settling a deep kiss at the base of the skin on his throat. He brought his hands down over Draco’s body, underneath his thighs, lifting him up against his body. “Fuck. I love you.”
Draco smiled as he got lifted into the air, holding on a little tighter with one arm around Harry’s neck and the other pressed over Harry’s heart on his chest. “I love you too,” he said to him softly.
They kissed for a while, taking advantage of the quiet corridor and lack of presence around them, until Draco broke the silence again, murmuring, “By the way, I think you’ll find that the real surprise is going to be laid out on our bed. Garter belt, stockings, and a cute little hat to match the outfit.”
And Harry dropped him on his ass.