Harry groaned when he heard his alarm go off at six o'clock and he tried to bury his face into his pillow. The morning light peaked tentatively through the edges of the curtains he had pulled over his bedroom window and he wished the sun would just reverse and go back to sleep for a while – or forever. Normally Harry didn't mind waking up in the mornings because waking up meant going for his morning run. As an Auror he was required to be physically fit and once he started taking regular morning runs he found that it relaxed him and gave him the same sense of freedom he felt on a broom, although not quite as intense. Flying was still his favourite pastime.

But not this morning. Not today. Today nothing good could possibly happen because today was Friday February 14th, otherwise known as Valentines Day.

"I'm calling in sick today," he told himself and as soon as he'd said those words out loud he instantly felt better. He could stay in bed all day and not have to face anybody; he could lock the front door and ignore the fact that it was Valentines Day.

He padded downstairs, still in his pajamas and thick bed socks, to his lounge room fireplace so he could Floo Kingsley. It was only quarter past six but he knew Kingsley was up every morning at half five – God only knew why – so Harry felt comfortable making the early fire call.

"Oh, um," cough, cough "I'm really not feeling well this morning, Kingsley," Harry croaked trying to sound sick.

"An acute case of Valentines Day-itus, is it?" Kingsley laughed.

Cough, cough. "No! I'm actually sick!" Harry lied, but not very well.

"Harry, you have a mountain of paperwork to finish," Kingsley reminded him. "Can you really afford to take the day off if you don't need to?"

Harry groaned in frustration. Kingsley was right; he did have a mountain of paperwork to finish. Damn.

"How about a deal?" Kingsley offered. "If any field work comes up I'll send Jackson and Powell instead of you and Malfoy, that way you can spend the whole day locked in your office doing paperwork."

"Really?" Harry sighed, his eyes shining hopefully, not quite believing he could have such good luck today.

"I promise," Kingsley assured him.

Harry's heart skipped wildly. The whole day locked in his office with no one to disturb him; no field work, no visitors, no dealing with anyone or anything. It sounded too good to be true.

"Unless there's an emergency," Kingsley added.

Harry's elation vanished. Great.

Well, here's hoping there would be no emergencies today.

Harry's morning run was refreshing and, as he felt the hard path under his feet and listened to the rhythmic thump, thump of his shoes as they hit the concrete, he actually felt hopeful that today might not be the complete disaster he expected. Then he got home.

When he arrived back at his flat and saw what was waiting for him on his doorstep he almost turned around and just ran in the other direction. Sitting there smiling innocently up at him was a grey teddy bear about the size of Hermione and Ron's twelve month old daughter, Rose, he was holding a red love heart shaped cushion that had 'Be my Valentine' embroidered on the front. Next to the bear was a bunch of twelve long stemmed roses and a note.

Harry sighed. It had started.

Every year Harry had to endure Valentines Day and every year it only seemed to get worse. Valentines Day was hard enough to survive if you were single, having to watch all those couples go starry-eyed for each other and wonder when or even if that was ever going to be you, but Harry also had to try and avoid all the ridiculous gifts his ridiculous admirers sent him each year. He thought that receiving meaningless commercialized junk from people he had never met only just plunged the knife of loneliness deeper into his heart as he wondered why he never received a gift from the one person he actually wanted one from; his partner, Draco Malfoy. Don't get excited there folks, Draco wasn't Harry's life partner as one might hope – Harry certainly did – no, Draco was Harry's work partner which only served to complicate things even further and provide more reasons why they shouldn't get romantically involved.

Harry kicked himself yet again at the faint glimmer of hope he felt that Draco might've finally given him a gift for Valentines Day. He knew he wouldn't of course, Draco was seeing someone. At least Harry assumed he was seeing someone, he gave all the signs for it; he was never available on Saturdays and never liked to talk about what he did, he was always vague about his love life when Harry tentatively questioned him about it, and whenever Harry asked him about his weekend he always got this silly grin on his face like he was deliriously happy.

Yes, it was obvious; Draco was in love with someone else.

As Harry Flooed into the Ministry he lowered his face and fixed his eyes firmly on the floor as he walked – almost ran – to the comfort of his office and his lockable door.

"Good morning, Harry," Nancy the receptionist greeted him. "You've got a few nice gifts here waiting for you, got a few secret admirers this Valentines Day, do you?" she cooed to him, indicating at an enormous pile of colourful gifts that Harry knew was only going to get bigger as the day wore on. There were at least ten bunches of flowers, four teddy bears, eight boxes of chocolates, and twenty-five singing love letters waiting for him on the front desk.

"Er, yeah, I'll deal with those later," he grunted as he quickly made for the safety of his office.

"Good morning Harry!" Draco greeted him brightly. "Happy Valentines Day!"

"Um, yeah, whatever," Harry grumbled. "Morning."

He hated seeing Draco so happy, especially today, because he knew it was just the result of someone else – somebody else loving Draco and making him smile that beautiful smile when it should have been Harry.

"Not a fan of Valentines Day, eh Harry?" Draco teased him.

Harry glared in response. "When have I ever been a fan of Valentines Day?"

"Maybe you're just not getting the right gifts from the right person," Draco winked.

"And you are?" Harry said, before he could stop himself, he really didn't want to know the answer to that question.

"Absolutely," Draco smiled.

Great.

"I've got heaps of paperwork to get through today so I better get going," Harry muttered by way of excusing himself from Draco's company.

"Sure, I've left my copy of the Lewis case on your desk for you to go over and add to," Draco told him.

"Okay," Harry nodded and then he was off.

He audibly sighed as he entered the sanctuary of his office and glanced around to find it pleasantly Valentines Day-free. There were no gifts, no hearts, no balloons; it was exactly as he had left it the day before.

He settled himself into his chair and started sorting through what he had to do that day, organising it all into manageable piles. He had only been alone for twenty minutes when Nancy tapped on his door.

"I thought maybe you'd like to set some of these up around the room, brighten the place up a bit," she announced holding at least four bunches of flowers in her arms.

Harry gritted his teeth and tried not to scream his frustrations at her, it wasn't her fault; she was only new to the Department, she didn't know not to bother Harry with all these inane gifts on Valentines Day.

"No, just take them away please," he grumbled. "I'm really busy today."

"Oh, well, it's just that my front desk is getting rather full," she admitted, biting her bottom lip.

Harry sighed. "Well then, um, just put them somewhere else… in the lunch room or something," he suggested.

Nancy nodded and quickly left him alone.

As soon as the door had been pulled shut, Harry searched through his desk for a spare piece of parchment. He didn't want to see or speak to anyone today, not even if the V-word wasn't mentioned. He found a large piece of parchment and rolled it flat on his desk before writing out in big capital letters: 'DO NOT DISTURB UNLESS THE BUILDING IS ON FIRE OR SOMEONE IS DEAD!' He hung this note on the front of his office door and locked it up tight.

There, he thought, satisfied with himself. That ought to do the trick.

Harry worked quietly, pleasantly undisturbed, for at least two hours before he heard the 'ping' of an instant message on his laptop. The Ministry had come to accept how undeniably useful computers were to the muggle world and had adapted them to fit wizards and witches; Harry was in full support of this development and was one of the first to buy a laptop. Glad to have a break from the monotonous task of putting together the incident report for when Watson got hit by a Sores and Boils hex at last weeks raid, he slid over to check who wanted to chat with him.

It was Draco.

FireBreather: Bit grumpy today Potter?

Harry rolled his eyes. Draco had been his partner since they both got accepted into Auror training right after the war. He had been partnered with Draco to 'keep an eye on him' and while they had both rebelled against the match at first, eventually they grew to be close friends. Draco had been the first man Harry had feelings for and he'd also been the first one Harry had confessed his homosexuality to; apparently it was a trait they shared. Draco knew very well that Harry despised Valentines Day as they went over it year after year – Draco was a hopeless romantic and Harry was a cynical old fart.

GoldenBoy: No, what makes you say that?

Harry wondered if his sarcasm translated in his message.

FireBreather: The sign on your door.

GoldenBoy: Well you're my partner, it doesn't apply to you.

FireBreather: So if I want to bring in all the flowers, chocolates, balloons, singing cards and heart-holding teddy bears that are addressed to you and currently clogging up the lunchroom, you'd be fine with that?

Harry laughed despite himself. This was so Draco, he still loved to get a rise from Harry any way he could, just these days he tended to be a bit less cruel.

GoldenBoy: Don't you dare!

FireBreather: Where am I supposed to eat lunch then?

GoldenBoy: At your desk where you eat lunch every day.

FireBreather: Where am I supposed to prepare my lunch?

GoldenBoy: You buy your lunch from the lunch lady, no preparation required.

Harry loved to watch Draco shamelessly flirting with Mabel the lunch cart lady, he would complement her casually and she would blush during the entire exchange, right to the roots of her grey-white hair wrapped up into a bun underneath her hair net. Harry asked him about it once and he passed it off as some superficial, meaningless act in order to get what he wanted – the best sandwiches on the cart, which she gladly saved for him – but Harry could see it in his face that he loved to make her laugh and feel young again.

FireBreather: Okay, well I'm just saying that your admirers are clogging up the communal lunch area that everyone uses… that is, all the Aurors use that area and its being slowly consumed by all your gifts.

GoldenBoy: Okay Malfoy I get it. Just burn it all.

FireBreather: Burn it?

GoldenBoy: Yes.

FireBreather: You don't even want to see if you got something from someone you like?

What the hell was his problem today!?

Harry knew Draco would keep teasing him about Valentines Day if he let it go on and he really needed to get back to the incident report so he decided to end to conversation the only way he knew how with Draco; firmly.

GoldenBoy: JUST BURN IT! I HATE ALL THAT VALENTINES DAY SHIT!

FireBreather: Okay fine, no need to yell.

Harry lost himself in his paperwork once more and was actually getting quite a lot done. He was feeling rather good about the progress he was making, especially since most of what he had let back up on him was work he'd been putting off for weeks. He had worked solidly for another two hours or so and it was stretching well into lunchtime, but he wasn't hungry, he was too concerned with facing the outside world on Valentines Day to be hungry; he decided to work through his lunch break.

He was searching through his desk drawers looking for some kind of snack when he heard his computer 'ping' again with another instant message.

FireBreather: So no valentines day plans then?

It was Draco again, still at him about Valentines Day. There was only so much he would put up with from Draco about this subject, the fact he fancied him only made it worse since Harry knew his love would be spending this 'special day' with another.

GoldenBoy: Why does everyone insist on buying into this commercialized bullshit?

FireBreather: Come on Harry, it's the Valentines Day weekend and you are most definitely not short of admirers, surely you don't want to spend the whole weekend alone.

Actually, Harry was planning on spending this weekend with the bottle of Firewhiskey he'd bought yesterday. That wasn't alone, right? Draco wouldn't approve in any case so he decided to change the subject and perhaps probe a little into who Draco was dating these days.

GoldenBoy: What are you doing this weekend then? Any plans?

FireBreather: A little something yes.

GoldenBoy: So you're busy tomorrow then?

Saturday. Draco was always busy on Saturdays and it killed Harry that he didn't know what his partner was up to. He wished that if Draco was seeing someone that he'd just come out and say it! He hated wondering if Draco was or wasn't single, but he didn't want him to even be slightly suspicious that Harry was harbouring romantic feelings for him; it could ruin their working relationship.

FireBreather: Yes. Why are you asking to spend Valentines Day weekend with me?

Damn. It didn't sound like that, did it?

GoldenBoy: No.

FireBreather: Are you coming out of your office today?

GoldenBoy: No.

FireBreather: Not even to eat?

GoldenBoy: Not even then.

FireBreather: What about when you go home?

What? Why was Draco so interested in him leaving his office? If he wanted to see him why didn't he just come in here?

GoldenBoy: Well yes, then I will, obviously… how else will I leave the building?

FireBreather: When do you think you might do that?

GoldenBoy: At the end of the day Draco! Jesus! What is it with you today?

FireBreather: Just asking.

Harry sighed. Draco was acting awfully strange today.

Draco was actually incredibly funny and Harry often found himself in stitches of laughter when his partner was in a good mood and the jokes just rolled right off his tongue, one after another, but this was different; this was an odd, suspicious kind of funny. Regardless, he was enjoying the attention from Draco and he didn't want to end the conversation just yet, besides, he hadn't gotten Draco to say anything about his Valentines Day plans yet.

GoldenBoy: So are you spending Valentines Day weekend with anyone special?

FireBreather: Yes actually I am.

Ouch. That hurt to hear.

GoldenBoy: Oh right. Well, that'll be nice.

FireBreather: Yeah it will. I'm very excited actually.

Harry cringed thinking Draco was just twisting the knife further into his heart. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand only to admire the beautiful blonde from afar. He didn't want to hear any more in case he actually cried so he didn't reply, instead just letting the conversation end.

In what seemed to be becoming some kind of routine for today, Harry got in, yet again, another few hours of paperwork – not as productive this time as his mind was plagued with thoughts of Draco in love with another – before the blonde messaged him again.

Honestly, why didn't he just come into his office? He was just across the hall and Harry had already told him his sign didn't apply to him.

FireBreather: Do you need to go to the bathroom?

Draco was definitely acting strangely today.

GoldenBoy: What?

FireBreather: The toilet. Don't you need to use it? You haven't been out of your office all day.

Odd, but a fair observation, Harry supposed. He did need to go, but he purposely hadn't drunk much that day so he wouldn't need to leave, he was scared to venture out in case he got ambushed with novelty-love-consumerist-crap.

GoldenBoy: I can wait.

FireBreather: Seriously, it's not good for your body if you hold too long.

GoldenBoy: What?

FireBreather: If you hold your wee in too long it's not good for you. I'm not sure how, it just isn't.

Harry rolled his eyes. Perhaps he should come out just to check Draco's temperature, the man was obviously unwell.

GoldenBoy: I'm sure I'll live Malfoy.

FireBreather: But you might get sick. You better go to the toilet.

GoldenBoy: I'm fine.

FireBreather: I've been twice already today.

Harry laughed loudly at how ridiculous Draco was being, he was obviously just in a silly, playful mood. He could imagine Draco just waiting to tease Harry about the ever amounting trinkets he was receiving today; clearly he had something ludicrous planned.

GoldenBoy: Congratulations.

FireBreather: Harry!

GoldenBoy: What!?

FireBreather: Grrr. Nothing.

Harry chuckled at his computer screen. Oh, this was fantastic! Now Draco was getting frustrated.

GoldenBoy: What?

FireBreather: Nothing.

Harry sighed as he glanced at his watch, only a few minutes left until he was officially allowed to knock off work and he wasn't sure if he was glad or not. He had managed to avoid the chaos that was Valentines Day, but he knew it would be outside waiting for him once he decided to emerge. In addition to this day of love bringing him a ridiculous amount of useless and annoying pieces of junk, he also had to face the harsh reality that he was alone and that he couldn't have the one person he wanted because he was with someone else. He felt his heart breaking slightly at the notion of having to move on from someone he had loved for nearly five years, but if he kept holding on to the idea of loving Draco he would never fall for someone else.

How, then, was he supposed to emotionally detach from someone he worked so closely with and saw every day?

It was as though Draco knew Harry was thinking about him, thinking about how to forget him and to make sure that didn't happen he messaged him again, announcing his presence with a sharp 'ping'.

FireBreather: So nearly the end of the day…

Harry sighed, for now resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be forgetting Draco – at least not for today – and he allowed himself to bask in the attention the blonde showed him, even if it wasn't exactly the kind of attention he wanted.

GoldenBoy: Yes, thank god!

FireBreather: When do you reckon you'll finish up?

GoldenBoy: Dunno. Why?

Harry was hoping to put in another half hour or so alone in his office before he ventured out, at least that way perhaps everyone else would have gone home and he could assess the Valentines Day damage privately and incinerate the whole lot of it.

FireBreather: Just wondering.

GoldenBoy: Ok.

FireBreather: So when will you finish?

Okay, clearly Draco was still in his weird mood and it was starting to not be funny anymore.

GoldenBoy: I'm not sure! What's up with you today? You don't normally bug me this much!

FireBreather: It's Valentines Day.

GoldenBoy: So? It's the worst day of the year!

FireBreather: Worse than your birthday?

GoldenBoy: Yes!

FireBreather: Even though you'll be 25 next birthday? That's a quarter of a century Harry, that's pretty old.

GoldenBoy: You're older than me Draco! You'll be 25 before I will!

FireBreather: Yes but you look it, I don't.

GoldenBoy: Shut up.

FireBreather: So are you coming out of hibernation soon?

By now Harry was so sick of Draco's incessant nagging about when he was going to emerge he decided to just give in. He wasn't blind to the fact that he was playing right into Draco's hands, this was exactly what he wanted, to piss Harry off so much that he would just do what he wanted to shut him up. It wasn't a tactic Draco used on Harry often since most of the time Harry was happy to give Draco anything he asked for, but it wasn't the first time it had been employed.

GoldenBoy: Oh for fucks sake! Fine! I'm packing up and going home just to get away from YOU!

FireBreather: Haha! Okay.

Harry huffed as he logged out, shutting down his laptop and beginning to pack up all his things. He was annoyed that Draco was rushing him into leaving on time and facing the Valentines Day madness he was subjected to annually, but he still experienced that familiar thrill he often felt when Draco wanted to see him or spend time with him outside of work. He still felt that flicker of hope in his heart like a small flame that Draco had something planned for him this Valentines Day. That flame of hope was the only thing that had him stepping out of his office to meet a smiling Draco in the corridor.

Normally Draco's smiles turned Harry's insides to mush, but this time – this particular smile – turned his insides to stone as he realized that whatever Draco had planned was not good in any way. Draco was standing – no, leaning up against the wall opposite Harry's office looking casually sexy, as usual, like he wasn't even trying with his hair all perfectly ruffled and his robes immaculate. The warning sign was Draco's smile, it was genuine, full of life and laughter, but it was mischievous as well, the smile Draco wore when he had set up a prank for Harry that was just about to unfold. Draco had no idea that Harry knew the various smiles he wore or what most of them meant, but Harry was glad for that, it was a little weird considering they were friends not life long lovers.

"What have you done?" Harry asked cautiously as he took slow steps towards Draco and assessed his immediate surroundings.

"Happy Valentines Day, Harry," Draco said as his grin got wider.

Harry just frowned wondering what was going on and then it happened.

Draco raised his wand and gave it a flick as he muttered a spell which released all of Harry's gifts from the Hovering charm Draco had set them into above Harry's office door. Harry stood immobile as hundreds and hundreds of roses fell all around him, at least fifty boxes of chocolates thumped to the floor and nearly thirty soft 'I Wuv You' teddy bears rained down on him more painfully than one might expect. An explosion of noise assaulted his ears as nearly a hundred singing love letters opened simultaneously releasing their song and each tried to sing louder than the other to be heard so the volume of their songs just increased as they sang. Harry clamped his hands firmly over his ears, as did all other Ministry workers in the vicinity, until the auditory torture was over.

Once the room fell into silence Harry went ballistic and he blasted the mess of lovable gifts surrounding him to pieces with ten frantic Reducto spells. Many of the roses exploded in a shower of petals, a few of the teddy bears were gutted and their fluffy insides hung fatally from their chests, bite-sized chocolates flew dangerously in all directions, the balloons popped with loud protests and the singing cards were ripped to shreds.

Harry stood in the centre of this chaos with his wand gripped tightly in his hand. He was breathing heavily and his face was set into a firm scowl with an angry red hue creeping up towards the roots of his hair and disappearing down into his robe neck line.

"I can't believe you!" Harry screamed at Draco who was standing well clear of the mess and splitting his sides from unrestrained laughter. Harry had never seen him laugh so much and it hurt to think Draco got so much pleasure from his anger and discomfort. "You bugged me all day for this?! You know how much I hate all this stuff! You know I hate Valentines Day and THIS is what you do to me?! I thought we were friends!" he yelled at Draco as curious workers looked on.

Draco had stopped laughing at his point and Harry hoped he was starting to feel guilty for what he'd done; he didn't. Draco frowned and pursed his lips in frustration. "We are friends, Harry! That's why I did it!" he shouted back at Harry with no remorse. "It doesn't help anyone you hiding away in your office while the rest of us have to deal with your problems!" he bit out indicating to all the gifts on the floor; some in tact, some destroyed beyond repair.

"You're such a sourpuss about Valentines Day because you have to deal with hundreds of people who want to show you how much they adore you!" he continued. "Get yourself a little perspective, Harry! You changed the lives of every wizard and witch in England, of every muggle in England and probably even further! Accept it and let them recognize the sacrifices you made for them and thank you for it!"

Harry just stood there gaping at Draco as he was lectured about what a child he was being about a day that was supposed to be about love. Harry suddenly felt very small. What had he done? Not only had he destroyed hundreds of gifts he'd received from people who had probably put a lot of thought into them and paid a lot of galleons for them by the looks of some of them, but he'd disappointed his friend, his partner, his love. He felt the guilt and shame wash over him and he wasn't sure what to do or say, he was frozen there standing amid his disgrace.

He could hear all the other Ministry workers muttering and whispering around him as they watched him fall from the high pedestal they placed him on and realize he was still only human.

"What am I supposed to do with all this?" Harry whispered solemnly to himself.

"I'll take it," Draco offered.

Harry hadn't realized his partner had moved over to him. He looked up into Draco's swirling grey eyes and felt warm tears spill down his cheeks. Draco stepped into him and held him tightly; Harry felt his knees buckle, but he was held firmly upright.

"You'll take it?" he asked dumbly, once he'd steadied himself.

"Yeah well, do you see my office overflowing with love?" Draco joked in an attempt to lighten the mood and Harry chuckled through his tears feeling instantly better that Draco had forgiven his indiscretion.

"Come on, help me repair what we can of this stuff," Draco suggested.

Harry nodded pathetically, still feeling stupid and selfish for behaving the way he did, but glad to move on. It was the way Draco seemed to do everything since the war; if you stuff up, just pick yourself up, learn your lesson and move forward. Draco had a strict, 'no looking back' policy that Harry thought was sometimes wise and sometimes not-so-wise; in this case, he knew it was probably the best way.

Once everything was either repaired or in the bin, Harry looked over it all again. It really was a huge collection of Valentines Day nonsense, enough to fill an entire shop probably.

"What are you going to do with all of this?" Harry asked Draco, raising his eyebrows.

"Later," Draco breathed as his fingers brushed tenderly through the fringe Harry always kept long to cover his scar; Harry shivered in delight and his flame of hope came back a little stronger. Their spectators had long given up watching and had gone home, none of them came over to help them clear the mess, but Harry didn't mind, he liked it being just him and Draco. "First you need to come with me. I need to fix your perspective on Valentines Day," Draco continued with a soft smile Harry had never seen before.

"Oh really," Harry teased, smiling back, but trying not to get too excited or let his imagination run too wild. "How do you intend to do that?"

"Just trust me," Draco requested offering Harry his hand to grasp. "Come on."

Harry wordlessly accepted Draco's hand and the blonde led him down to the Ministry lobby to the fireplaces where most of the workers had already Flooed home. Harry could feel his face heat up as a few wizards still present stared at Harry and Draco holding hands, but he wouldn't have let go of Draco for all the galleons at Gringotts.

"Lakeview Cottage," Draco said letting Harry know where they were going as he poured a handful of Floo powder into Harry's hand while still gripping the other one tightly. Draco had this intense look on his face like he was taking Harry somewhere important.

Harry nodded and watched Draco take his own powder and step into the fireplace, announcing his destination as 'Lakeview Cottage'. Harry followed.

As he stepped out of the fireplace Harry found himself in an old kitchen with a stone floor and a heavy wooden table in the centre obviously used for preparing food. There was a scratched steel sink underneath a window that displayed a green leafy garden framed with white lace curtains. Not at all as grand as he knew Draco liked, but he thought it was lovely. Draco wasn't visible until Harry stepped further into the house where he found him pacing in the adjoining sitting room.

"What's going on?" Harry asked carefully, as nervous and excited butterflies fluttered around in his stomach.

Draco looked up at him and smiled, but Harry could tell he was worried and even more nervous than him. Once again he grasped Harry's hand and led him back into the kitchen and out through the back door into the leafy garden he spied through the window.

"I wanted to do something different this year," Draco told him as he walked Harry down a narrow path underneath the most beautiful trees, it was cold but Harry was warm under his thick coat. "All my gestures just seemed to get lost amongst everyone else's, even when I tried to separate them."

"Draco, I have no idea what you're talking about," Harry huffed still confused. He was excited about their closeness and the fact that Draco seemed to have some sort of Valentines Day surprise, but the blonde was still seeing someone else – wasn't he?

Before Draco had the chance to elaborate they had reached their destination as they both stepped between two closely growing trees and on to the edge of a paddock where they had an unobstructed view of the horizon. Harry glanced over to where Draco was looking to see a large blanket laid out with several cushions, a large picnic basket and a bottle of wine with two glasses on top of it; his mouth fell open in shock and his heart swelled.

"What's this?" he sighed still holding tightly to Draco's hand.

"I had to be a bit less subtle and think outside the box," Draco told him bashfully. "You never seemed to receive any of my other gifts over the years."

"You're other gifts?" he asked dumbly, he was in shock at what Draco seemed to be telling him.

"It's difficult to surprise you on Valentines Day, Harry, when you won't accept anything from anybody," Draco smiled. "I even sent my gifts to your flat this morning instead of work; I left them on your doorstep when you went for your run."

Harry's jaw dropped. He remembered the bear and the roses on his doorstep that morning, he'd stepped over them – didn't even touch them – they were from Draco? "That was you?" he murmured.

Draco just smiled. "Yes, but its okay, I knew you hadn't read my note as soon as I saw you come into work."

"I'm so sorry, Draco! I'm so, so sorry! I'm such an arse, I can't believe it!" Harry said berating himself for ignoring Draco's gifts.

Draco kissed him into silence and Harry almost fell over from the shock of it. Draco's lips had captured his so quickly he was practically still talking into Draco's mouth, once his brain caught on to what was happening he was so shocked he forgot to kiss back and soon the kiss was over.

"Perhaps I read the signs wrong," Draco sighed sadly. "If I did, I'm really sorry and I hope this doesn't make things weird at wor-" But Draco never got to finish as his mouth was suddenly occupied with Harry's.

Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and pulled him close as he pressed his lips firmly but softly on to Draco's; his head was spinning at the idea that he and Draco were finally sharing their first kiss – or second, as it were. Draco tasted divine as Harry licked along his lips wanting to deepen their kiss. Draco obliged and the two were able to properly taste each other for the first time, neither could believe this was happening, and neither one could have been happier. Draco moaned into their kiss and pulled Harry closer still with both hands either side of his waist making Harry shiver with delight.

"Mmm," Draco moaned again before pulling away from Harry's mouth, although he didn't let go of his waist. "We'd better stop or we won't get to the picnic."

Stuff the picnic, Harry thought, just wanting to keep on kissing Draco, but he knew his love had organised this for him and he just couldn't say no. Harry nodded is assent and they both walked over to the blanket carefully placed under the shade of a large tree so Harry could investigate the contents of the basket.

Draco had compiled a range of different cheeses, dips, biscuits, chocolates and fresh fruits to create a delicious spread for Harry to choose from. Harry looked over the foods with hungry eyes as the needs of his stomach overtook the demands of his groin and he roughly picked through the delicate spread tasting each piece gratefully.

"This is delicious, Draco," Harry complimented his partner with a mouth full of Spicy Capsicum dip and biscuits.

Draco hadn't eaten much himself; he had just delighted in watching Harry knowing he had skipped lunch that day. "I'm glad you like it," he smiled.

"Are you going to have some?" Harry asked, his mouth now full of Gouda.

"I've had a little," Draco reminded him. "You didn't eat lunch, this is all for you."

"No, you should have some," Harry insisted. "Here try this, its fantastic."

He scooped up a dollop of a spicy Mediterranean dip with a biscuit and innocently tried to pass it to Draco who smiled and seductively opened his mouth before leaning forward as his eyes fluttered closed. Harry blushed and carefully placed the biscuit on Draco's tongue only to have his fingers sensuously sucked as he tried to remove them.

"Mmm," Draco sighed dramatically. "You're right, that was fantastic," he teased, making Harry blush even more.

"Oh, wow, look that that," Harry gushed as he noticed the sun beginning to set.

The colours streaked pink and orange across the sky in such a way that it looked too beautiful to be real, like someone had painted it on. The colours reflected lightly off Draco's face as he took in the scene making him glow peacefully in the moment and Harry thought he had never looked so beautiful.

Draco must have felt Harry watching him because he turned to meet his gaze and smiled. "Champagne?" he asked.

Harry thought the moment was too perfect to tarnish it with unnecessary words and so he gave a silent nod instead. Draco prepared the champagne and handed Harry a glass before settling in behind him so that Harry could snuggle into his chest while the watched the sun sink into the horizon.

"So, now how do you feel about Valentine's Day?" Draco asked quietly after a while.

Harry laughed lightly. "I'm starting to see the appeal," he joked.

"Harry, will you meet me at the Manor tomorrow morning?" Draco asked sounding slightly nervous.

"Saturday," Harry murmured to himself as he was suddenly assaulted by his original idea that Draco was seeing someone else. Draco was always busy on Saturdays and he was annoyingly tight lipped about what he got up to, but always on cloud nine afterwards; Harry thought it was natural to assume that Draco was in love. "You're always busy on Saturdays," he observed, feeling stupid but not knowing what else to say. They hadn't exactly talked about any of this, what did a few kisses and a romantic picnic mean these days anyway?

"Yes, do you think you might want to come with me this time?" Draco asked him again.

"Where to?" Harry asked nervously, not sure what he would be agreeing to if he said yes.

"Can it be a surprise?" Draco questioned tentatively, but smiled hopefully.

"I hate surprises," Harry cringed.

"Please," Draco implored.

Harry groaned as he took in Draco's wide eyed pleading look and knew he couldn't refuse. He doubted he could ever refuse his handsome blonde love. "Okay," Harry sighed as he gave in.

"Thanks," Draco smiled, knowing he'd won and he rewarded Harry with a sweet kiss on his cheek.

Harry anxiously tried to smooth down the front of his robes. He hadn't realized how ridiculously difficult it was to try and choose an outfit when he had no idea where he was going, especially when he knew, with Draco, he could be taken anywhere. He hoped he looked okay. He was just about to press his index finger down on the Manor doorbell when he was surprised by the large door opening in his face.

"Were you ever going to ring the bell?" Draco teased with a wide grin on his face. "Or were you simply planning on standing there until I found your skeleton one day?"

"I was just about to!" Harry protested looking flustered at being caught lingering.

Draco just smiled. "Good morning," he said, pecking Harry sweetly on the mouth.

"Good morning."

"Come in," Draco requested as he stepped aside to let Harry pass. "We better just head off I think, you can come and say hello to Mother this afternoon, I think she's planning some ridiculous afternoon tea for you."

"Oh," Harry said, startled at the gesture. He had only seen Draco's mother a few times since working with the blonde and his father was currently serving a life sentence in Azkaban. "Well, sure," he agreed apprehensively.

"You don't have to," Draco assured him, although he looked a bit disappointed at the idea. "She knows about – I just thought since we're – Um, never mind, let's just head off shall we?"

Harry thought it must have only just occurred to Draco that they hadn't really discussed anything about last night or what their relationship was now. Harry had been up most of the night thinking about it and now he felt like he could finally relax; it seemed Draco wanted what Harry wanted – a serious relationship. Draco wanted Harry to dine with his mother, to meet her and develop a relationship with her, it was a big step and although they'd been friends for years, their first date wasn't even 24 hours old yet. Still, Harry couldn't have been more pleased. He would marry Draco today if that was what the blonde wanted.

Draco led Harry into the study where there was a roaring fire waiting for them. Again Draco handed Harry a handful of Floo powder and told him their destination; 'St. Mungo's Paediatric Ward'.

"Draco, what are we doing here?" Harry asked in open amazement, gazing at the pristine, sterile white room where they stood before the front desk.

Draco said nothing, he just smiled.

"Hey Draco!" A tall blonde mediwitch, not much older than he, greeted Draco with a huge smile. "You're early! … and you brought a friend?" she said raising her eyebrows questioningly.

"Hey Luci!" he greeted her in return. "Yeah, this is my-" Draco stopped mid-sentence and glanced at Harry awkwardly as his cheeks glowed with a rosy blush.

Harry smiled, glad to have the upper hand for once amid all these surprises. "I'm his boyfriend, Harry Potter," he said holding his hand out for Luci to shake.

"Oh, you know, I think I've heard your name somewhere before," she teased with a wink.

Harry laughed. "That's possible yes," he joked. He liked this girl already; she was extremely friendly and very down-to-Earth.

"I got your delivery last night, Draco," Luci said after shaking Harry's hand. "That's quite a Valentines Day package."

Harry couldn't hide the surprise on his face. Draco sent a Valentines Day package?

"Yes, well, they're Harry's actually," Draco confessed. "He gets quite a lot, as you can imagine, and I thought maybe they'd be better appreciated here."

Harry stared at Draco in awe as he realized what Draco had done. All those flowers, those toys and chocolates, he had sent them here to sick children in the hospital.

"They certainly will be," Luci nodded with an appreciative smile. "I know a few children who will love those teddy bears and I've already put the roses on many of the window sills so the kids can see them when they wake up. There's a few of them that won't be able to have the chocolates but none that will be attending your reading session so feel free to sugar hype them up for me as you read!" she laughed.

"What reading session?" Harry asked feeling out of the loop.

"Oh yes, didn't he tell you?" Luci smiled, looking surprised, she glanced over to Draco as if questioning him. Draco nodded indicating that she could continue and tell Harry what he was doing here and so she did. "Draco comes in every Saturday morning and spends a few hours reading to the kids. They love him! He almost always brings a treat for them."

Luci paused and smiled broadly at Harry. "This one is an extra special treat," she said.

"Yes," Draco agreed. "I've been meaning to bring this treat for a while," he said winking at Harry. "But it was a bit more complicated than I'd like."

"I don't understand," Harry said feeling like he was on the outside of an inside joke.

"You, Dummy!" Draco teased him. "Who do you think they love hearing about the most? I have to argue with them to tell them a story that doesn't involve you!"

Harry blushed fiercely.

"They're going to flip when they get to see you in the flesh," Draco gushed.

"Come on," Luci said. "Let's get everyone set up; they're all eager to see you again. Scott has some good news to share with you, Draco."

"Does he?" Draco grinned and he continued chatting with Luci as they made their way to the play room where Draco would read to the children.

Harry had a wonderful time with the children, the best time he could remember having for years and suddenly it was clear why Draco was so deliriously happy after spending time here. He thought it might be sad to see all these sick kids, but their bubbly and optimistic personalities wouldn't let you be sad, even the ones that were fighting terminal illnesses. They were just so happy to meet Harry, even the kids who didn't really understand who he was, just the fact that he was new and that others were excited about him was enough.

They were all eager to share their own stories and tell Harry about their families, pets and all the things they loved which were so simple that Harry had forgotten he had once loved these things too; colours, rain, sunshine, dessert, puddles, insects, just being outdoors, running, jumping and playing.

He also loved watching Draco with the children. Harry had no idea how long Draco had been coming here to see them, but these kids absolutely adored him. Draco was bombarded with a collection of various drawings, paintings and different arts and crafts that the kids had all made for him; most had 'For Draco' written on them somewhere in a wonky, occasionally unreadable handwriting. They crowded around him and they all screamed for his attention and he made sure he spent time with each one.

Draco looked fantastic. He glowed with pride and love for these kids and Harry thought he had never looked more beautiful. Harry knew he would think this about Draco nearly every day, but he didn't mind, Draco would always be more beautiful than he could ever believe possible.

Harry hadn't realized he'd forgotten, but, as he fully embraced the moment and took in his boyfriend, these children and the energy he felt being with them, he remembered that this is what he had been fighting for when he defeated Voldemort. This is what all his admirers were thanking him for. And this is why, from now on, he will always love Valentines Day.

End