Harry woke with his head feeling heavy. Draco was not with him, but he felt his husband's presence downstairs with the chatter of Weasley voices. As he sat up, he found the extra beds that had been transfigured for the Weasleys. There were none missing. 

He got to his feet, relieved that he wasn't unsteady. He followed the voices downstairs, and when he approached the living room, Draco was already waiting in the doorway. He opened his arms for an embrace, and Harry folded into them. 

"How are you feeling?" Draco asked softly.

"Head's heavy. An ache here and there. You?"

"Ache here and there." Draco replied. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry." Harry's heart wrenched.

"I thought you died." Draco whispered, and when Harry couldn't make himself say anything, Draco continued. "You did, didn't you?"

Harry nodded into his shoulder.

"Damn it, Harry." Draco hissed, holding Harry tighter.

"Draco?" Narcissa Malfoy spoke, and they drew away from each other. She looked between them, confusion in her brows. 

"Mother." Draco said, and gently pulled Harry into the room. 

"Harry!" Sirius beamed, but Ron beat him to Harry.

"Scared the hell out of us, mate." Ron said as he wrapped Harry into a crushing hug. 

"Sorry."

"Stop hogging him-" Sirius grumbled, and Ron let go of Harry so that Sirius could replace him. 

"You're okay?" 

"I am. Remus too." Sirius said, and pulled away just enough so that Harry could see the other occupants in the room. They smiled back at him. All the Weasleys were there, save for Percy- they probably still had amends to make. 

Molly walked over, and gave him a half-hug, the best she could do without forcing Sirius aside. "It's late afternoon, but would you like some breakfast?" She asked gently. "We've all been taking it easy."

Harry wasn't sure he was ready to eat something. "A drink?" 

"We've got hot cocoa, hot apple cider, coffee, and water of course." 

"Hot cocoa, please."

Molly gave him a smile before heading to the kitchen. Draco and Ron returned to their game of wizard's chess, and Harry settled down with Sirius to watch. Molly returned with the cocoa and then rejoined Arthur and Bill's conversation. Behind Harry on the couch was Hermione and Remus, shoulder to shoulder and each holding a book, quietly comparing and theorizing. The twins, Charlie, and Ginny were designing a prototype toy dragon. Narcissa watched from the doorway, looking as disconnected as Harry felt. 

"You did it." Sirius whispered, his arm around Harry's shoulders. "We did it."

It was so surreal. Voldemort was dead, and here they were. 

Harry heard the front door open and close, and the approach of Moody's steps. Narcissa tucked herself into the corner of the room, and Moody walked in. He flung a few newspapers at them, and plopped down into the nearest vacant seat. Sirius grabbed the nearest one and they both read the headline, Hermione and Remus peering over their shoulders. 

VOLDEMORT DEAD AT LAST. Filled the top header, then it was followed by a picture that managed to capture Voldemort's corpse on one side, and on the other, Draco and Sirius with an unconscious Harry. Below the image, there was another bold headline. HARRY POTTER KIDNAPPED BY SIRIUS BLACK AND DRACO MALFOY.

Sirius burst into laughter. Harry looked over to see Draco looking rather unimpressed. 

"Siri." Remus said. "It's not funny." Sirius just pointed at the second headline, still laughing. Remus sighed heavily. 

"Well, that's certainly one way to interpret you three vanishing, I suppose." Charlie said.

"The Ministry is running around like headless chickens." Moody grumbled. "Shacklebolt is doing his best to get things in order."

Harry ignored the body of the article, instead looking for the list of casualties. Nine. Nine casualties on their side. Harry slacked. Hermione gently took the newspaper from his hands. Only nine. And none of them Hogwarts students. 

They did it. They had really done it. 

The front door announced the arrival of another guest, and McGonagall peered into the living room. Harry managed a small smile. 

"Hi Minnie." Sirius greeted, through his waning laughter. 

"Hello everyone." Her gaze shifted to Harry. "You're alright?"

Harry nodded. 

She nodded, and then turned to Remus. "I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a rush. I've been appointed Headmistress. Remus, would you be willing to take up the Defense post, effective immediately?"

"Oh." Remus said, eyes going wide. He glanced to Sirius, who grinned back. "I would be happy to." 

"Excellent." McGonagall said. "Now I just need to find  potions and transfiguration replacements."

"Horace Slughorn and Beryl Winterbourne." Harry said. 

"Thank you, Harry." She gave a quick goodbye, and then was on her way.

"Thank Merlin." Ginny said. 

"What?" Bill asked. 

"Not only does that mean we won't have Umbitch anymore-"

"Ginevra." Molly said. 

"Mum, you would be calling her worse if you knew everything she did." Ginny said. 

"She's right, Mum, I swear. That woman is the worst." Ron insisted. 

"There's a reason we wrecked her classroom like we did." Fred said. 

"So that was you!" Ron exclaimed. 

"Well, it wasn't just us-" George said.

"-The students of Hogwarts were truly united." Fred said. 

"You aren't gonna snitch on us, right?" George asked.

"Snitch on what?" Hermione asked, with faux innocence. 

"Ronniekins, I know who my favorite Prefect is, and-"

"-Sorry to say, it isn't you." 

"Oi!" Ron protested, and Hermione giggled. 

"Your turn." Draco said. 

Ron turned back to the board. Harry saw a smirk on the corner of his lips, and he knew what Ron was about to say. He moved his piece, and then looked at Draco. "Checkmate." 

Draco sharply looked down to the board, and after a few seconds, sighed. Ron chuckled. 

"Next time, don't get distracted." Ron said. 

Draco gave a nod, before looking to Harry. He gave a pointed glance to Narcissa, who was trying not to give Moody any reason to speak to her. Draco nodded and got to his feet, Harry setting down his empty mug and following him. 

"Mother." Draco said, softly, and with a small tilt of his head, gestured for her to follow them. She did without question. Draco led them into the room they had cleaned up for his transformation. A transfigured bed was pressed against the wall. 

"Are you going to explain now?" Narcissa asked. 

"I've been thinking about it for hours, and I don't know where to start." Draco said. 

"I'm an Aevumiter." Harry began. "Because of it, I travelled back in time. Somehow, Draco and I became closer."

"Draco said you have a magical connection? What kind?" Narcissa asked, wary. 

"Er," Harry looked to Draco. "I think you'd explain that best."

Draco gave a slight nod. "Aevumiters have powerful magic, and have a unique way of interacting with it. They need an anchor to reality, to keep them from going mad, especially with their long lifespans. I am that anchor for Harry. Technically, we're called Bonded."

"What does that mean for you?" Narcissa asked.

"It means I stay with Harry until we die." Draco said. Narcissa had a slight frown to her brow. "It also means that Harry and I are legally eighteen until we reach our nineteenth birthdays."

"But you aren't eighteen."

"Because of the bond, I've been given some of the memories that my alternate future self had. Mentally, we are eighteen, and so is our magic." Draco said. 

"I see." Narcissa said, softly. She turned to Harry, yet she seemed at a loss for words. 

"I'll take care of him. You don't have to worry about that." Harry said, and when Draco's fingers brushed against his, he intertwined them. 

The movement caught her gaze, and her brows softened in surprise. "Oh."

"We're also... Legally married." Draco said. 

"Draco Malfoy." Narcissa said sharply. 

"Potter, actually." Draco said. 

Narcissa sighed. "I..." She took a moment, before she looked to Harry again. "May I speak with my son?" 

Harry looked to Draco. At his lover's assurance, Harry nodded. "I'll be downstairs. It's good to see you again, Narcissa." 

Harry returned to the living room in time to spot something going awry with the toy dragon's charms. Harry did his best to explain what he was seeing, and then the Weasleys began their fiddling again. Moody had left as well. Harry started nibbling on some of the breakfast food while he waited for Draco and Narcissa to finish talking. Eventually Molly and Arthur joined him to talk about their knitting machine. 

When they returned to the living room, Draco had a thoughtful look and Narcissa looked much more at ease. Narcissa hesitantly began to talk with Sirius and Remus, while Draco took a seat beside Harry. He ate a link before he spoke. 

"I think we have to go back to Hogwarts." Draco said. 

Harry blinked. "Why?"

"We don't have our credentials." 

"Oh." Harry said. "We don't. I hadn't thought this far."

"When have you ever?"

"Just because you're right doesn't mean you need to say it." 

"Will you be alright at Hogwarts?" Molly asked. "The both of you?"

"I should be fine." Harry said. He turned to Draco. "Will you?" 

"I'm not sure about my control on the full moon, but we know how to handle that." Draco said. 

"Alright. I'll write a letter to McGonagall tonight. Let her know we'll be returning." Harry said. 

"I need to write Blaise." Draco said. 

"Yeah... Make sure he knows you didn't kidnap me." Harry said. 

Draco gave Harry an unimpressed look. Harry grinned. 

~~~

Harry and Draco apparated to King's Cross Station with glamours in place. Once on Platform 9 3/4, they boarded as quick as they could, hoping nobody would notice new faces that were a little too tall to be first years. Then it was a hurry to grab a compartment. Harry stretched out with his senses, sensing which compartments were occupied, and was able to find one quickly. 

Once in the compartment, Harry set a lock on the door. They removed their glamours and got settled in. Draco sat sideways on one of the benches, and Harry made himself comfortable as the little spoon. Draco draped one arm around Harry, and used the other to turn the pages of the book he was reading while Harry held it for him. 

Harry wasn't in a mood for reading, but he appreciated the art when it came by. He waited for his friends' magic to pass by their compartment so he could let them in. Ron and Hermione knew the plan. It wasn't long before he felt their approach. Two others were with them, but Harry couldn't quite make out who it was yet. 

Harry made the door slide open when Hermione stepped in front of it. She looked in. "Well, that was precise." She grinned, and strolled in. 

Ron followed her in, and entering behind him was Blaise and Pansy. Blaise stopped in the middle of the compartment, and grinned at Harry and Draco, a gleam in his eyes. Pansy hadn't noticed them yet, as her priority was closing the door. When she turned around and saw them, her jaw went slack. 

"How was your Christmas, Blaise?" Harry asked. 

"Oh, It was pretty good. Had a great time with Mum and Maman." Blaise said. "The snow was perfect this year." 

"Still haven't beaten her in the race yet, have you?" Draco asked.

"No. Next year, though. Next year's the one." Blaise said, casually grabbing Draco and Harry's ankles and picking them up so he could sit down, dropping them onto his lap after. 

"That's what you said last year, and the year before." Draco replied, closing the book and setting it aside. 

"Well, one of these times it'll be true." Blaise grinned. "How was your Christmas, then?" 

"I got a Weasley sweater." Draco said, and lifted up the arm he'd draped over Harry. "And this nice bit of jewelry." 

Blaise's grin had widened at the mention of the sweater, but his face drastically morphed when he spotted the white gold. "Draco!" He whispered, eyes wide. 

"Because of Harry's inheritance, we're both legal adults." Draco said. "Considering we were already magically bound together for life, we figured adding in one more legal connection wasn't a stretch."

Blaise gaped, and covered his mouth with a hand. 

"What the fuck?" Pansy whispered.

Harry laughed, not expecting her to say a muggle curse. Hermione reached over, and took Pansy's hand, gently pulling her over and patting the open seat for her. Pansy sat down. 

"I thought you two hated each other." Pansy said. 

"I thought so too." Ron grumbled. 

"Time is a strange thing." Draco said. 

The train set off. Blaise and Ron got talking about Quidditch. Hermione sat sideways, leaning against Ron's shoulder while she talked with Pansy. Draco and Harry remained as they were, pitching in to conversations as they felt. 

Here, in this compartment, Harry felt a piece of his Eighth year return to him.