fun fact: it's never stated in the harry potter books that draco got the dark mark. only in the movies is it stated

fuck the movies

if Remus and Sirius had raised harry potter he would have killed voldie boi with his pure wit and sass before the elder wand even came into play

also the fact that you guys literally gave me the sweetest responses on the last chapter and genuinely calmed me down (not an easy feat i rarely get mad but when i get angry i get ANGRY) has earned you a 21,308 word oneshot that took me an unnecessarily long time to write

this is the longest oneshot I've ever written to date

it also might be one of my favorites

October 31, 1981

A bearded man sets a small child on the doorstep of his relatives' home.

"Good luck, Harry Potter."

The three people in front of the house disappear.

After a moment, two more appear where they had been standing.

One picks up the baby, while the other Vanishes the basket and the note with shaking hands.

They disappear.

July 31, 1984

A now 4-year-old Harry Potter positively lights up when he unwraps the tiny broom in the package.

"Sirius, you didn't."

"James was a Seeker! He's got genetic talent!"

"James flew into a wall four seconds after he got his Nimbus."

"And then he became one of the best Seekers in Hogwarts! Honestly, Remus, let the kid have some fun."

Harry flies into the wall.

"Stop laughing, Remus."

July 31, 1991

"We still can't find him, Dumbledore. His relatives insist that they never received a child on their doorstep! We checked the whole house, although maybe it's for the best, they were very unpleasant people."

"Are you sure, Hagrid? Who would kidnap Harry Potter?"

"Everyone in the world who knew his name, Albus. Starting with Sirius Black."

"Minerva, please gather the Aurors. We need a search and rescue."

"Why didn't we check up on him before, Albus? If the Dursley family never received a child, the boy has been missing for almost ten years! That's ten years we never checked with them to see if Harry was alright!"

"Get the Aurors."

"Answer my question, Albus. Do you really care about Harry, or do you just need him for your grand scheme?"

"That's enough, Minerva."

"That is not enough! This boy is missing because of your decisions!"

"And what would you have done differently?"

"I would have taken him in instead of leaving him with those horrible people that Lily Potter cut off for a reason!"

"You would have raised the child?"

"His name is Harry, Albus, and you can be damn sure I would have."

September 1, 1991

"Perks, Sally-Anne."

A nervous-looking girl sits atop the stool.

"Gryffindor!"

"Rivers, Oliv-"

"Excuse me, Professor, but I believe you're missing one."

A sharp gasp rips from Minerva's throat when she sees Sirius Black and Remus Lupin standing at the doors to the Great Hall, a short boy with messy black hair and an all-too-knowing grin on his face between the two.

"I believe the last name Potter fits in between Perks and Rivers," Sirius continues.

This time the gasp rings throughout the room as more people turn to face the trio in the back of the room.

"Potter?" Minerva repeats softly. "You mean Harry Potter?"

"The very same," Remus agrees, placing a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder. The boy's grin turns up to him, and he gives him a quick smile in response.

"Remus," Minerva hisses, stepping down from her place to stare at them. "That boy has been missing for ten years, and you've been hiding him the whole time?"

"You think I want to go around having people stare at me?" Harry says sarcastically, his first words since arriving echoing around the silent room. "Nah. Living in the Muggle world until school was easier."

"You've been hiding a murderer," Albus announces loudly, eyes pinned on Sirius. "The murderer of Lily and James Potter."

Harry's reaction is not the shock and horror Albus wants. Instead, it's mild irritation. "Don't be fucking stupid."

"Harry!" Sirius whispers, although with the silence in the room, everyone hears him. "What did I tell you about that word?"

Harry grins back. "Not in front of Remus?"

Remus sputters and meets Sirius' eyes, glaring at him. Sirius coughs before turning back to the others.

"Peter Pettigrew killed Lily and James," he says firmly. "And cut off his finger to frame me."

"And why are we supposed to believe you?" Minerva responds, but she looks like she already does.

"Why in the hell would I bring Harry here, and come here myself, if I knew I killed someone?" Sirius answers. 

"To appear innocent!" Severus shouts, standing from the table. "You and Remus probably both killed L-Lily and James, and-"

"Severus, don't be fucking stupid," Sirius cuts off, before his eyes go wide and he looks at Harry. "And Harry, stop repeating the things I say."

Harry shrugs. "Severus, don't be fucking stupid," he adds helpfully. Despite his warning, Sirius bites back a grin. Remus does a better job of covering his expression, but his eyes are shining with mirth.

A loud laugh goes up from the crowd of kids waiting to be sorted, and a redheaded boy claps a hand over his mouth. "Sorry," he says quietly, his ears turning a similar shade to his hair.

"Call the Aurors!" Albus shouts. Nobody moves.

Harry whispers a question to Sirius, and the man whispers his response back. Harry turns to Albus. "Dumbledore, don't be fucking stupid."

Albus's eyes snap to Harry. "Harry, you don't understand. This is an adult matter, and-"

"Don't patronize me," Harry snaps back. Remus hides his grin at Harry's use of his own vocabulary. Albus's eyebrows shoot up. "I may be a child, but I know Sirius and Remus didn't kill my parents. Peter did. Why don't you just check Sirius's wand? Or put him under Veritaserum? Use those brain cells, I'm sure you've got a few left."

Albus sputters. Minerva fakes a cough to hide her smile behind her hand.

"Severus, I'm sure you've got some Veritaserum. Will you have a house-elf get some for us?" she asks.

Looking irritable, Severus does so, and in a matter of seconds he has a vial in hand and is storming over to Sirius to hand him the vial. "All three of you will drink it."

"Legally, you can't make me drink Veritaserum without my consent," Harry says cheerfully. "You see, I'm fucking eleven."

"Harry! Language!" Remus hisses.

"Sorry.' Harry pauses for a moment before speaking again. "Severus-"

"It's Professor Snape."

"Severus, in the most polite way I can possibly say this, you should know as a Potions teacher that you can't make a minor such as myself drink a potion like Veritaserum without their consent, something I'm sure you know and were willing to ignore anyway, and it is not only illegal to not give fully informed circumstances, but also quite rude." Harry smiles brilliantly while Sirius tries not to choke on the Veritaserum he drank and Remus drinks his half of the bottle.

Severus opens and closes his mouth several times before he finally snatches the vial from Sirius. "Sirius Black, did you kill Lily and James Potter?"

"No. Peter Pettigrew did," Sirius replies without hesitation. Severus rounds on Remus.

"Remus Lupin, did-"

"It's Black. Remus Black. Sirius and I are married."

Severus makes a small noise before continuing. "Did you kill-"

"Peter Pettigrew killed Lily and James Potter."

 "Dope. Now that we're all caught up and on great terms again, I'm gonna go sit on that stool, cuz I think it's my turn." Harry walks past Severus and hops onto the stool. A slightly stunned Minerva places the hat on his head.

The hat speaks aloud. "Hmm. Interesting. Intelligent mind. Lots of intellect and knowledge."

"I don't want Ravenclaw," Harry says with a grin.

"Incredibly loyal to those around him, hardworking, kin-"

"I don't want Hufflepuff either."

"Very brave, quite outspoken, too. Lots of nerve, chivalry-"

"Nope. Not Gryffindor either."

Albus makes a small noise of shock. Sirius and Remus both lean back against the wall, crossing their arms and giving matching smirks.

"Very cunning. Strong leader, quite determined-"

"Just say it already." Harry is smiling far too much. 

"Slytherin!"

September 12, 1991

"Put it down, Draco."

"No, I don't think I will. I think I'll leave it somewhere for him to find it. Maybe in a tree somewhere."

"Don't be fucking stupid, Draco."

"I'm never stupid, Potter."

"It's Harry. How many times do I have to tell you, it's Harry-"

"Shut up, Potter." Draco grins and kicks off his broom, red Remembrall in hand.

"Oh, Draco, it looks like you forgot something!" Harry shouts. Draco glances at the object in his hand.

"What? What would I have forgotten?" Draco sneers.

Harry kicks off his own broom, shooting into the sky. He does a loop around a stunned Draco before snatching the Remembrall right out of his hand.

"You forgot my father was James Potter, greatest Seeker in Hogwarts for seven years," he replies cheekily.

Draco glares. "You'll pay for that one, Potter." He shoots off after Harry. Harry, laughing, flies away.

While the other students watch from the ground, Harry flies straight toward a window on one of the towers at a nonstop speed. Draco flies after him angrily, but when he realizes Harry's going to crash, he swerves away.

Harry waves at a shocked Minerva in the window before pulling up at the last second to avoid smashing the window.

Draco lands on the ground, gaping as Harry slowly lands a moment after him with a brilliant grin. He holds the Remembrall out to Ron.

"Give this to Neville, will you?" he says sweetly. Ron gives him a grin and nods.

Minerva storms out of the castle. 

"Harry Potter!"

November 9, 1991

"Slytherin Seeker Harry Potter catches the Snitch in his mouth! Slytherin wins, 210-20!"

December 25, 1991

Draco holds out a perfectly wrapped box. "Shut up about it."

Harry grins. "I got you one too." He hands Draco his present. Draco tries to hide how excited he is. He fails.

Draco gets Harry a book about Quidditch players in Hogwarts history. A page is bookmarked, and when Harry turns to it, his dad's face smiles back at him.

Harry gets Draco a friendship bracelet. When Draco tilts his head, confused at the silver and green woven yarn, Harry shows him how to tie it around his wrist, and then shows him the one on Harry's own wrist, explaining what it is.

Draco knocks Harry over with his hug.

December 26, 1991

Harry goes to Dumbledore's office and demands he gives him his father's cloak.

Albus frowns as he does so.

June 4, 1992

Ron is knocked out by the chess set. Hermione is left behind with the Potions to get him.

Draco and Harry each take a sip of the tiny vial and jump through the flames. Draco is under Harry's Invisibility Cloak.

Quirrel disarms Harry.

Draco Petrifies Quirrel.

Harry takes the Stone.

They leave.

June 5, 1992

Harry gives Draco a Hershey bar for his birthday.

Draco had no idea his favorite candy would become a Muggle one.

June 25, 1992

For the seventh year in a row, Slytherin wins the House Cup.

Albus doesn't look happy when he announces this.

July 31, 1992

Harry has a party at the Black family house. 

Draco gives him a Hershey bar.

Harry gives Draco a hug.

September 1, 1992

Harry runs into the wall at the platform.

When Sirius finally stops laughing, he and Remus Apparate outside of Hogwarts grounds and walk Harry to the doors.

September 5, 1992

Harry hears hissing.

He responds with shut up.

It does.

November 7, 1992

The Bludger breaks Harry's arm. At least Slytherin wins again.

He threatens to curse Lockhart before the man can try to heal him.

The man makes the smart decision to take Harry to the Hospital Wing instead.

December 17, 1992

"Serpensortia!"

Harry tells it to back off.

Justin asks him what he thinks he's playing at.

"I told it to back off. It did. Calm down."

"Erm, Harry..."

"Yes, Draco?"

"You just spoke Parseltongue."

"What in the fuck is that?"

"LANGUAGE, MR. POTTER!"

"PARSLETONGUE, APPARENTLY!"

February 14, 1993

Harry mentions Tom Riddle's diary to Draco, thinking it's interesting.

Draco's face pales and he tells Harry something far more interesting.

Tom Riddle is Voldemort.

May 8, 1993

Hermione and Penelope Clearwater are Petrified.

Draco takes the paper out of Hermione's hand and has to sit down, shocked, before he reads to Ron and Harry what a basilisk is.

May 24, 1993

Harry remembers the Accio spell Remus taught him when he was ten.

The Ford Anglia saves him and Ron much faster.

Aragog is furious.

May 29, 1993

Ginny is taken.

When Lockhart refuses to help, Draco Stuns him.

Harry mentions what Aragog said about the girl in the bathroom.

Draco explains who Moaning Myrtle is as the trio run to the girl's bathroom.

When Tom Riddle approaches Harry and Ron, who are crouched next to Ginny, Draco's wand is pointed at the back of his head with a "Don't even try it. We know who you are."

Tom summons the basilisk.

Ron casts a Bombarda with Harry's nearby wand.

Pieces of basilisk fly everywhere.

Harry picks up one of the many fangs laying on the ground and stabs the diary. 

Hermione gets the fang as a souvenir. 

Draco high-fives Ron as they leave.

He also tries not to laugh at his father's face when Lucius sees the sock in Dobby's hand.

September 1, 1993

Harry has a normal year.

It helps that one of his father figures is his Defense teacher.

September 9, 1993

Draco's Boggart is his father.

Harry vows to himself to make Lucius Malfoy pay. No child's greatest fear should be their parent.

Harry's Boggart is Remus and Sirius dead.

Remus's is himself.

November 8, 1993

Harry notices Ron's rat is missing a toe.

When Ron grumbles about Hermione's blasted cat eating his rat, Harry just shrugs like he hadn't been the one to hold it out to Crookshanks.

Remus is in a significantly lighter mood than he usually is.

August 25, 1994

Amidst the screaming and the fire, Draco grabs Harry's hand and mouths we'll be okay.

A mark appears in the sky; a skull unhinges its jaw for a snake to slide out. 

Draco looks like he's going to cry.

Harry takes one look at Draco and starts running, hand in hand with the blonde.

He wonders if he'll ever be able to go to a Quidditch World Cup without being reminded of this.

He wonders if he'll live long enough to find out.

September 1, 1994

Draco and Harry are joking around.

Moody thinks they're serious, and before Harry can realize what's happening, Draco has been turned into a ferret.

Moody cackles maniacally. 

Nobody else is laughing.

Harry picks up Draco with one hand and Stupefies a still-laughing Moody with the other.

McGonagall yells at him for hurting a teacher, but she's far angrier with Moody for attacking a student.

Harry doesn't regret Stupefying Moody.

He had wanted to do worse.

September 4, 1994

Harry has a low opinion of Moody already, and today's lesson is not improving it.

"Can anyone tell me one of them. Yes, you! What's your name?"

"N-Neville?"

"Yes, tell me one, tell me one!"

"Um... The C- the Cruciatus Curse?"

"Excellent!" Moody spins around happily, pointing his wand at the spider. "It renders the victim unbearably tortured. It's the most painful curse, hence why it's unforgivable. Crucio!"

Neville looks like he's going to throw up. Hermione stands.

"Stop it! Stop it, can't you see it's upsetting him?!"

Moody jumps. "Right. Yes. And I suppose you'd like to tell me another?"

She shakes her head, looking like she's about to cry.

"The Killing Curse," Draco says loudly, causing Moody to look away from Hermione. 

"Yes. Avada Kedavra!" he shouts, pointing his wand at the spider. There is a flash of green light that makes Harry's stomach drop, and the spider is dead.

"One more, one more. Who knows the final one?"

"The Imperius Curse, sir," Ron says quietly.

"Yes, yes! Why don't we test it? I had planned on you all getting the other two before the Avada, so I've only got one spider. Who would like to volunteer? Anyone?"

Harry stands.

"Excellent, excellent! Come here, come here. Imperio!"

A warm feeling of comfort washes over Harry. He feels entranced. He wants to do whatever he's asked.

"Why don't you hop onto that table?" Moody asks.

The feeling snaps away at the sound of Moody's voice. Harry scowls when he remembers the man's treatment of Draco. "Why don't you get fucked?"

Moody's mouth falls open. Draco tries to hide his laugh.

Harry goes back to his seat.

October 29, 1994

Draco's eyes are glued on Viktor Krum when the Durmstrang students enter.

On a completely unrelated note, Harry has a sudden urge to punch Viktor Krum.

October 31, 1994

"From Durmstrang, Viktor Krum!"

Draco smiles, looking enchanted. Harry bends his fork with how hard he's gripping it.

"From Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour!"

"From Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory!"

Draco relaxes and turns to Harry. "Thank fucking Merlin. I was so afraid you'd somehow get yourself thrown in there."

"Aw, you were afraid for me?" Harry singsong. 

"Shut up," Draco grumbles, cheeks turning pink. His right hand comes to mess with the silver and green bracelet on his left wrist like he does every time he's nervous.

"Harry Potter."

Harry looks up from Draco, smile falling. All eyes are on him. "Sorry. I wasn't listening. Do you need something?"

Dumbledore stares at him. "Harry Potter." He holds up the charred paper in his hand.

"You're trying to tell me my name is in there? Is this a sick joke?"

"Harry can't put his name in the Goblet!" Draco shouts. "He's fucking fourteen!"

"Just ignore it!" Hermione calls from the Gryffindor table. "He can't compete!"

"And he obviously doesn't want to!" Ron adds, giving Harry a worried look.

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore repeats. "Come up here, you're the fourth champion."

"No." Harry leans further back in his seat as though it will protect him. Out of instinct, he reaches for Draco's hand. The boy takes it immediately. "I'm not doing it."

"It's magically binding, Harry. You have to."

"If I don't?"

"You die."

Draco stands, letting go of Harry's hand. "He'll die anyway!" he screams, voice breaking. "I've heard of these tournaments, people older than Harry have died! He's fourteen!"

Dumbledore raises his voice over Draco. "Harry Pot-"

"Stop it!" Hermione shouts, standing as well. "He can't compete, there has to be another way!"

"There is no other way!" Dumbledore finally roars back, his normally calm expression furious.

"Don't you shout at her!" Ron yells. He stands. "Don't you dare shout at her for trying to stand up for him!"

Dumbledore clenches his jaw. "Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" he asks Harry.

(calmly)

"No." Harry's whole body is tense. "Please don't make me do it."

"You must." Dumbledore is firm. "The tournament is magically binding. When one's name comes out of it, one must participate."

Harry closes his eyes. His hands are shaking.

He joins the other champions.

November 13, 1994

Harry refuses the interview with Rita.

He doesn't want to be a Triwizard Champion, and he refuses to act like one.

November 23, 1994

Harry tells Cedric about the dragons.

The boy grins. "Wicked."

Harry doesn't understand the other boy's enthusiasm.

They could die.

November 24, 1994

Draco storms into the library at 2 a.m.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"We need to practice Summoning charms!" Hermione exclaims. "He has to get it perfect!"

"He needs sleep! He didn't come back to the Slytherin dorms, I thought something had happened to him!" Draco grabs Harry's arm and pulls him out of the chair. "He learned Summoning charms at age ten!"

"I tried to tell her that," Harry mumbles, half asleep.

"Look at him! Do you want him to face a dragon like that?"

"Well, no, but-"

"I'm taking him. Learning isn't always a priority, Hermione. His well-being comes before anything, and if he passes out in the middle of the task, Summoning charms will mean nothing."

Hermione looks like she's going to cry. Draco's expression softens. "Look, I'm sorry. But he needs his sleep. You do too. Goodnight, Hermione."

Harry ties with Viktor for first.

Draco hugs him tightly the second he sees him.

December 10, 1994

McGonagall announces the Yule Ball.

Harry watches Draco's eyes widen with excitement.

Harry's heart sinks when said eyes catch on Viktor.

December 16, 1994

Harry approaches Viktor.

"Hello. Can we talk for a moment?"

Viktor nods, smiling, and separates from his friends so they can have some privacy. They sit down on one of the benches.

"Do you like guys?" Harry blurts out.

Viktor blinks. "Erm, Harry, you do know Champions can't go with each other, right?"

"No, I know. I'm asking for a different reason."

"Ah. Well, I suppose I'm... what's the word? I can't remember the word. Boys and girls."

"Bisexual?"

"Yes! That. I'm bisexual."

"Excellent. I have another question..."

December 17, 1994

Viktor approaches Harry and Draco, who are sitting together by the fountain. Harry grins, backing up where he's sitting. Draco frowns at him, confused.

"Draco," Viktor says in an impossibly soft voice. "Would you like to attend the ball with me?"

Draco's mouth falls open, eyes shining. They catch on a still-grinning Harry for a moment before turning to Viktor.

"Fuck. Yes, I mean. Yes. Yeah. Yes."

Viktor smiles, taking Draco's hand and kissing the back of it.

Harry's heart clenches, but he keeps his smile on as Viktor walks away.

Draco laughs loudly, repeatedly hitting Harry on the arm. "You did not put him up to that!"

"Suggested it. He agreed. Wanted to, really. He thinks you're quite... what was it?" Harry pretends to think, before grinning again. "Ah, yes. Fucking gorgeous, I believe he said?"

Draco turns red. Harry laughs.

December 18, 1994

Harry and Draco watch Ron as he walks toward Fleur with a determined look on his face.

Faster than Harry can blink, Draco darts out, grabbing Ron's arm and dragging him towards Harry. "Did you see the match the other day?" he says casually, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him along.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ron asks, trying to pull away.

"Saving your ass. She's going with Davies," Draco mutters.

Ron blushes. "Oh." 

As they pass Hermione in the corridor, Draco lets go of Ron's arm and shoves him toward her. "Hey! Hermione! Ron's gotta ask you something!"

Ron turns bright red. 

Draco's laughter rings throughout the hall.

December 25, 1994

Parvati's nails dig into Harry's arm as she excitedly waves at the people around her.

Their dance is awkward and boring. Harry sits down the first chance he gets.

Ron and Hermione sit down on either side of him, breathless and laughing from dancing.

"Wanna come with us?" Ron asks with a smile. "We're having fun!"

"No thanks," Harry replies quietly, giving the boy a grateful smile. "Don't feel like dancing."

Parvati is across the room talking to a Durmstrang boy. Ron and Hermione leave to dance more.

Harry goes to get drinks, and can't help noticing Viktor and Draco a few feet away, laughing and talking. Viktor's hand is on Draco's shoulder.

Harry wants to burn it off.

Zacharias Smith notices it too, and breaks away from dancing with Hannah Abbott to approach the pair. She follows after him, confused.

"What are you, fucking queer?" he laughs. Several people around him turn to stare at him. Most people don't notice, still dancing to the loud music.

Draco turns, shocked. Viktor frowns. 

"And if I am?" the latter replies coldly.

"Zach, come on," Hannah says, tugging on his hand. He doesn't care. His attention is hell-bent on the boys in front of him.

"Are you really?" he asks, eyes bright. "Oh, this is too good! Malfoy and Krum are fucking gay for each other!"

"Is there a problem you have?" Viktor asks irritably. Draco looks terrified. Zacharias seems to zone in on that.

"Malfoy, wait until Skeeter hears that you're a fucking faggot! Wait until your father hears that you're a faggot!" Zacharias shouts with near-manic glee. Hannah drops his hand and takes a step back.

"Zach..." she murmurs warningly, eyes locked over his right shoulder. Zacharias ignores her, preoccupied with the horrified look on Draco's face.

"I can't wait to tell her! She'll be so pleased to hear such interesting news!" Zacharias raises his voice even louder. "Malfoy is a-"

Harry, who had approached him while he wasn't aware, grabs his shoulder to spin him around and punches him in the face.

Zacharias drops to the ground and Draco shoots forward to stop Harry from doing anything else, only to be stopped by Viktor's strong arm crossing his chest and pulling him back. Hannah just takes another step back.

Harry points his wand at Zacharias.

"Do you have anything else to say?" he asks, voice colder than he's pretty sure he has ever heard come from himself. 

"Eep," Zacharias responds.

"Harry," Hannah says warningly. "McGonagall is coming."

"I don't give a fuck." Harry's hand is shaking slightly as Zacharias stares at the wand pointed directly at his head. "Do you think you're funny, Smith? Do you think threatening people is a fun time? Draco's life is none of your goddamn business, and you have no right holding it above him."

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall shouts. 

"And furthermore, if I see you threatening another student ever again, you'll get much worse than a punch in the face." Harry shoves his wand back in his pocket and takes a step back, fuming. 

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing?"

Harry doesn't take his eyes off of Zacharias. "He was threatening Draco. So I punched him."

"He deserved it," Hannah adds quietly. "He was saying some awful things."

McGonagall looks between Hannah and Harry before finally looking at Draco, who is still silent and in Viktor's arms.

"Very well," she replies quietly. "He will be dealt with in the morning. Mr. Smith, get up. All of you stay out of trouble for the rest of the night. I want this to be an enjoyable experience for everyone."

With that, she leaves.

Zacharias stands and faces Draco, opening his mouth. Hannah pushes him away.

"Let it go, Zach. Leave them alone."

His mouth snaps shut and he storms away. Hannah gives Draco and Viktor an apologetic look and walks off in the other direction.

Viktor finally lets go of Draco, who still hasn't said anything.

Harry walks away.

He sits at a table alone for about twenty minutes before Draco drops down next to him.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did." Harry can't bring himself to face the blonde.  "Why aren't you with Viktor?"

Draco shrugs. "I thought I liked him. Turns out I just thought he was hot."

Harry laughs softly, and the two fall into silence.

"Wanna go for a walk?" Draco asks suddenly.

Harry stands immediately. "God, please."

Draco is the one to laugh now, and the pair leave the ballroom.

They walk around in the gardens in silence for a while before Draco takes Harry's hand and tugs him down onto one of the benches surrounded by flowers.

Harry can faintly hear the music from inside. It keeps the silence from being awkward.

Draco is still holding his hand, and Harry flushes when he realizes that.

"Thank you," Draco says quietly. 

"For what?"

"For being you."

Harry can't bite back his smile. After a long moment, Draco's head rests on his shoulder.

They stay like that for hours.

February 23, 1995

"Have you seen Draco?"

"No, that's strange. Maybe he's in the library?"

"No, I checked. I checked everywhere he usually is. I can't find him."

"It's 8. He wouldn't be asleep, would he?"

"No, I checked there too."

"Have you seen Cho?" Harry hears Cedric ask. He and Hermione turn to see the boy talking to some Ravenclaw girls, who shake their heads.

Harry frowns. "Strange."

"Strange indeed."

 February 24, 1995

Harry stands at the water, waiting for the sound to go off, Gillyweed in hand. He checks the crowd one more time, and his heart sinks when he sees Draco hasn't come to see him in his second task.

He smiles weakly at Ron and Hermione, and jumps in the water when the sound goes off, shoving the Gillyweed in his mouth.

He soon realizes the reason Draco's not in the crowd to see him is because the boy is tied to a post at the bottom of the lake.

Panicking, Harry shoots a spell at the ropes surrounding the boy's wrists. He watches Cedric swim over and cut Cho free. He turns to Harry and taps his wrist as if to say time, and Harry nods before Cedric swims away with Cho.

Harry reaches for Draco, but jumps away when he sees a shark.

A moment later, he realizes it's Krum with a shark head, and the boy tears the ropes of a Durmstrang boy whose name Harry doesn't know away before grabbing him and swimming off.

Harry is left with Draco and a young blonde girl. He waits a few minutes for Fleur, and, deciding the girl isn't coming, cuts the ropes on the blonde girl's ropes as well.

"Only yours!" A creature screeches, coming out of nowhere. Four others join her.

"Get fucked," Harry says, only it only comes out as bubbles, and he Stupefies the first one. The others screech and disappear. Harry grabs Draco and the girl and swims to the surface.

The next few minutes are a blur of towels and people cheering and Fleur kissing Harry's cheeks and hugging the girl- who turns out to be her sister- and people telling Harry he went over time.

"In first place, Cedric Diggory, winning 47 points! This gives him a total of 85 points!"

Cedric grins as his friends cheer.

"In second place, Viktor Krum, winning 40 points to give himself a total of 80 points!"

Viktor laughs and hugs the boy from the lake tightly.

"In third place, Fleur Delacour, winning 25 points to give herself a total of 62 points!"

"That can't be right," Ron mutters. "You were late, but she couldn't even complete the task!"

"And after much deliberation between the judges, we have decided that Mr. Potter may have been past time, but he had also taken two people instead of one. Therefore, Harry Potter has won 45 points, giving him a total of 85 points and tying him with Cedric Diggory for first!"

Harry grins. Ron laughs loudly, and Hermione hugs Harry.

"I think someone wants to talk to you," she murmurs in his ear before grabbing Ron's arm and dragging him away.

Harry turns to face Draco. The boy's curly blonde hair is wet and messy and makes him look far too cute for his own good. He holds his towel tightly around his still-shaking body.

"Here," Harry says gently, taking his own towel off and draping it around Draco's shoulders. Draco gives him a grateful smile.

"So... I'm your most precious person?"

"Guess so. Don't see why, you're a pain in the arse." Harry grins as Draco's mouth falls open indignantly and he shoves Harry.

"If I were a Triwizard Champion, you would have been stuck in the lake too," Draco admits, and Harry grins brightly, because he's Draco's most precious person too.

June 24, 1995

"Take this," Draco says suddenly, holding Harry's Invisibility Cloak out. He looks terrified.

"Why?"

"I can't-" Draco squeezes his eyes shut. "I can't tell you that. Seriously. Please. Just shrink it in your pocket, bring it with you. If there's a graveyard anywhere, use it immediately."

"Draco, what are you talking about?"

Draco looks like he's going to cry. "I genuinely can't tell you. I'm under a spell to not be able to."

"Who put you under it?" Harry is immediately angry.

"I can't- I can't tell you that." Draco looks frustrated and upset. "I'm sorry, I know things, and there are things I want so badly to tell you, but I can't, I can't, I'm so sorry Harry." 

Harry freezes when Draco starts crying.

Draco has never cried in front of Harry before.

"There are- there are warnings I want to give you, and things I want to beg you not to do, but-" He's breathing fast, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I can't, I physically can't, and it makes me want to scream."

"Okay, okay." Harry pulls Draco into a hug. "I'll bring the Cloak. We can talk more after the task, okay? It starts in a bit."

Draco starts crying harder. 

Harry holds the blonde out in front of him. "Is it about the task?"

Immediately Draco's head shakes, as if on its own, and that seems to upset him more. "I can't- I can't."

"That's a yes." Draco's crying lessens a bit, eyes wide. "Okay. Fuck. Alright. I'll be careful, I swear."

"Harry, I lo-" Draco squeezes his eyes shut and hugs Harry tightly. "You're my best friend in the world."

"And you're mine."

Harry soon finds out what it was that Draco couldn't tell him.

"On three," he says. Cedric nods, smiling a bit. "One, two, three!"

They both grab the cup, and Harry immediately realizes something is wrong.

When they land, they're in a graveyard.

Harry immediately reaches in his pocket and expands the Cloak to its normal size. It won't get bigger. He swears under his breath, before holding it out to Cedric.

"This is an Invisibility Cloak. Keep it on. No matter what. If something happens to me, grab the cup."

"Harry, what-"

"Do it." Harry straightens, looking around.

And then everything goes to hell.

Five minutes later, Harry knows Cedric is still there because he can see the cup still discarded on the ground.

His scar hurts like a motherfucker and makes it far too difficult to focus.

"Release him, Lucius. We shall do this as proper wizards."

Harry wants to cry. He wants to go home. He wants to murder Lucius Malfoy for putting Draco under the curse, because now he's sure the other man had, as he's the one who had given Voldemort his new body.

Instead, he falls to the ground and his wand is thrown to him.

"You have been taught how to duel? We bow to each other, Harry. Come, the niceties must be observed," Voldemort mocks. "You should be shown manners. Bow to death, Harry."

Harry glares at the monster before him. "Fuck you."

"Manners, manners. Imperio!" Voldemort smiles horribly as the curse hits Harry square in the chest. "Bow to me, Harry."

Instead, Harry flips him the middle finger and raises his wand to curse him. Voldemort's face screws up in anger.

"You dare disobey my command? Crucio!"

Harry screams as pure pain runs through his body, unrelenting, unending, constant.

And then it fades slightly.

"Crucio!"

Harry is going to pass out, he's sure of it.

"Crucio!"

And then the beautiful, beautiful angel that is Cedric Diggory shouts "Impedimenta!", ripping off the Cloak and running forward to grab Harry by the arm before yelling "Accio Triwizard Cup!"

The last thing Harry hears before they disappear is Voldemort's high, horrible screaming.

They land outside of the maze, Cedric sprawled on top of Harry, the cup tossed to the side.

"Don't touch the cup!" Cedric shouts at the people who rush forward amidst the cheering. The halt, terrified and confused, as Cedric pulls away from Harry and crouches above him.

Harry isn't sure he's breathing.

"Harry, come on, you'll be okay," Cedric whispers desperately.

Harry hears a scream, and Draco jumps over the railing, looking like an absolute angel in the air before he lands and sprints over to Harry, Hermione and Ron just behind him.

"Harry!" he screams, skidding to his knees with the speed he falls. "Please be okay, oh God, Harry!"

The cheering is fading to make way for shouts and screams of horror.

"Don't touch the cup!" Cedric yells again as Dumbledore reaches it. "Voldemort is alive! The cup is a Portkey, the cup is a Portkey!" 

Dumbledore snatches his hands back, and more screaming is going through the audience.

"Harry, Harry, Harry," Draco chants, running his fingers over Harry's face. "God, please, please be okay."

Harry is suddenly aware of the fact that he's cut up and bleeding from the maze and Lucius' knife, the fact that he's unable to respond due to the pain he's still in, and the fact that Cedric is too busy screaming at people to get the fuck away from the cup to tell them Harry's in shock, not dying.

"Harry!" Moody shoves Draco to the side. "What did you see? Is Voldemort back?"

"Fuck right off!" Draco pushes Moody onto the ground, resuming his place next to Harry. "Why is that your priority, he could be dying, you fucking lunatic!"

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione begs, crying. "Please, God."

Ron isn't speaking. His horrified eyes are just darting over Harry, hands hovering above him and shaking like he wants to help and doesn't know how.

Harry wants to tell them he'll live, but the pain in every fiber of his body is preventing him from doing so.

"Move aside, all of you!" McGonagall crouches next to him, Madame Pomfrey right behind her. "Poppy, will he be alright?"

Madame Pomfrey casts several diagnostic spells before nodding. "Yes, yes, he's okay. In shock and still recovering from multiple usages of the Cruciatus-"

"Get away from the cup!" Cedric can be heard screaming.

"-but he'll be alright. I'll take him to the Hospital Wing, and-"

"-never mind the Hospital Wing if he'll be alright," Moody says harshly. "I'll take him to my office."

"What use could you have from him at your office?" McGonagall responds coldly. "He's going to the Hospital Wing, Alastor."

"I'm gonna take him to my office and-"

"He's going to the Hospital Wing!" Hermione screams at him. "He's not going to your office so you can question him about Voldemort, you raving lunatic!"

Cedric comes back, dropping down next to Harry and giving him a weak smile.

"We survived," he whispered.

Harry doesn't feel like it.

Cedric laughs a little incredulously. "We survived," he repeats.

"-the details are fresh in his mind, Minerva! If we wait until later, we could miss the names of some of the Death Eaters that were there!"

The five people crowding around Harry all freeze and slowly stare at Moody.

"I never said Death Eaters were there," Cedric said quietly. "I only said Voldemort."

"Well- um- one can assume-"

Draco yanks his wand out and points it at Moody. Several shouts go up from the audience.

"Winky!" McGonagall shouts. With a crack, a small house-elf appears next to her.

"Yes, Miss McGonagall?"

"Bring me some Veritaserum."

June 26, 1995

When Harry returns to the Great Hall, Draco flies out of his seat and almost knocks him over with his hug.

"Pomfrey wouldn't let us visit you!" he gasps. Harry jumps when Hermione and Ron join the hug. "Wouldn't let us in, we didn't know when we would see you again!"

They pull away, breathless and alight with joy, and Ron is pushed to the side as Cedric launches himself at Harry, hugging him.

"Fuck, you saved my life, almost at the expense of your own," he whispers. "Thank you, Harry."

"You saved mine too. And-" Harry catches Draco's eye. The blonde boy shakes his head frantically. "-you're welcome."

September 2, 1995

The Ministry is still trying to convince everyone that Voldemort isn't back.

Luckily for Harry, his and Cedric's word means more, seeing as they were fucking there.

Dolores Umbridge disagrees.

"But I was there!" Harry shouts, standing from his desk. "He tried to kill me!"

"I will not tolerate lying in my classroom!"

"He almost wasn't breathing when they came back!" Draco yells, slamming his quill down and standing up. "He got the Cruciatus Curse three fucking times, Madame Pomfrey confirmed it-"

"Language, Mr. Malfoy!"

"You can't even deny it!" Hermione adds. "You can't deny it because the evidence is right there!"

"Detention, all three of you!"

The class falls silent.

"No."

Umbridge stares at Harry. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not coming to your fucking detention. Fuck you." Harry knocks the textbook on the ground and grabs his bag.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving!" he shouts. "If you're going to give us textbooks designed for children and pretend our lives aren't in danger, then I'll start my own damn class for Defense, and I refuse to come to yours!"

"Starting your own class is against school rules, Mr. Potter-"

"I've never obeyed a school rule in my life, and I won't start now."

"Mr. Potter-!"

Harry flips her off on the way out.

He can hear Draco's laughter, even after the door slams shut.

September 19, 1995

Theodore Nott, a Slytherin boy who bears a striking resemblance to Harry (minus the brown eyes and lack of scar) leaves the Ravenclaw table, where he had been talking to Padma Patil, and slams a paper down in front of Harry. Harry jumps.

"What the fuck, Theo?"

"It's a sign-up sheet," Theo says, eyes bright. "Of every person who wants to join your Defense class."

"I was just being an asshole," Harry breathes, reading the names on the paper. "There have to be more than fifty names here!"

"Sixty-six," Theo corrects with a grin. "And the Slytherin table hasn't even gotten a chance to sign it yet."

"Gimme that," Blaise says, snatching it out of Harry's hand. He scribbles his name underneath it. Pansy takes it from him.

By the time Harry gets it back, eighty-three names are on the paper.

October 9, 1995

"Disarming spells are incredibly important. In a real battle, the best way to ensure your opponent can't attack you is to take away their weapon. Try it."

"Expelliarmus!"

"Very good, Parvati! Cedric, you too. Pansy, raise your arm a bit. Very good."

October 13, 1995

"Wands ready. When I say go, fire. Ready? Go!"

"Stupefy!"

"Very good, Hermione! Ron, get up. Stop being dramatic."

November 11, 1995

"Alright, very good everyone. Now, before we leave for break, I want to see at least a trace of a Patronus from each of you. Don't give me those looks, we've been practicing them for two weeks now."

"Expecto Patronum!"

"Otter, Hermione, very good. Ron, Terrier, great. Draco, that's a slightly terrifying peacock. Are they always that big? Yikes. Bunny, Luna, cute! That horse is huge, Ginny. Fred, George, you two even have the same fucking Patronus? Magpie, magpie. You two suck. Find some originality."

"Fuck off, Harry!"

"It's creepy when you talk at the same time. Ernie, boar, nice. Seamus, that's a beautiful fox. Cedric, don't worry, you'll get there. Non-corporeal is still a Patronus. Cho, swans are much scarier in real life, Jesus."

January 11, 1996

Harry thinks Snape is a terrible Occulemency teacher.

Draco disagrees.

Harry tells Draco to shut up.

April 2, 1996

The fireworks Fred and George set off in the room sparkle beautifully in Draco's eyes.

June 20, 1996

"I'm sorry, Professor. I must not tell lies."

Umbridge's screams are the only ones that don't haunt Harry's nightmares.

12 Death Eaters with years of training are no match for 83 spiteful teenagers with 6 months of spell casting practice and their Slytherin leader.

The Death Eaters are Petrified and Harry's group is having a fun time seeing how many different ways they can stack them when the Aurors finally arrive.

11 Death Eaters are arrested and taken to Azkaban.

Harry doesn't hear until later that Bellatrix Lestrange killed her guard and escaped.

September 2, 1996

The Half-Blood Prince is written on the book.

Draco mentions that the handwriting looks like Snape's.

Harry laughs. "Snape thinks he's a prince?"

September 3, 1996

Snape insists the book isn't his.

Harry sarcastically agrees.

Harry gets detention.

December 19, 1996

Draco rolls his eyes and throws away the chocolates Romilda Vane had given Harry.

"She's half in love with you, there's definitely something wrong with them."

March 8, 1997

McLaggen hurls a Bludger at Harry.

Harry definitely feels his skull crack.

As he falls to the ground, he wonders if this is the dumb way he'll finally die, but there's a scream of "Levicorpus!" that sounds like Hermione, and a scream of "McLaggen, you son of a bitch!" that sounds like Ron.

And then there's just a scream, and Harry decides that one sounds a lot like Draco.

March 9, 1997

Harry wakes up to see a bruised Draco in the bed next to him.

"What the fuck?" he hisses, sitting up. His head spins and he has to freeze for a moment before the urge to vomit fades.

"At least you're awake," an amused voice says. Harry turns to face Hermione. "Ron left to get food for us. Honestly, how do you keep getting in these situations?"

"What happened to Draco?" Harry demands.

Hermione doesn't look worried. In fact, she smirks. "Once he was sure you weren't going to die he stormed across the field and punched McLaggen in the face. McLaggen decided to punch back."

"Is he okay?" Harry whispers, worried gaze focused on Draco.

Hermione laughs. "Hell hath no fury like an angry Draco, Harry. He beat the shit out of McLaggen. It was incredible. The guy's like twice Draco's size, but Draco was furious."

Harry grins. "That's my best friend."

"Don't you forget it," Draco mumbles, eyes still closed. A small smile makes a cut on his lip bleed. He holds up his left hand so Harry can see the bracelet looped around it. "You're stuck with me, connasse."

June 28, 1997

"I'll be safe," Harry promises. He hands Ron the bottle of Felix Felicis. "Get the D.A. and patrol the school."

Hermione and Ron look worried.

They should be.

Harry can't find Draco to tell him he's going on a trip. 

He doesn't get to say goodbye to the blonde before he and Dumbledore leave to find the Horcrux.

It doesn't matter. Harry sees him soon.

The blonde is above him, pointing his wand at Dumbledore. His hand is shaking.

"Don't you see? I have to kill you." His voice is shaking more than his hand.

"Draco, did you take the Mark?" Dumbledore sounds so irritatingly kind, so understanding. Harry struggles against the Petrificus.

"No," Draco replies firmly. "No, I didn't, and I won't. Not unless I have to, I won't."

"What did he promise you?"

Draco tightens his grip on the wand. "He told me he would spare every student at Hogwarts if I murdered you."

"He lied."

"He made an Unbreakable Vow. To show me how serious he was. He swore to me that if I killed you, he would spare the lives of every person at Hogwarts."

"You're doing this to try and save Harry, aren't you? To save his life. Draco, you can't. He's the one Voldemort wants dead the most."

"I'm not doing it for Harry!" Draco screams. "Not every motive I have is selfish, you bastard! I'm doing this for the three hundred students in this school! For the three hundred lives I could save! Because you're going to fucking die in a month anyway because you're an idiot and put a stupid ring on!"

"How do you know about Marvolo Gaunt's ring?"

"Harry Potter is my best friend. He shares things with his friends, even though I know you want him to keep all of these awful things to himself, which, by the way, is not healthy, you asshole."

"Where are the other Death Eaters?"

"I wouldn't even take his mark, what makes you think he would trust me to break Death Eaters into your school? No, someone he trusts much more is breaking them in."

"And who would that be?"

"Ooh!" Bellatrix Lestrange squeals as she kicks the door open. "Finally! I'm so glad you waited for us, Drakie-poo! This will be so much fun!"

Snape follows after her, giving Dumbledore a dark look. "You know it has to be done, Albus."

"Oh, I know. I just don't want the boy to do it."

Snape nods once. Several more Death Eaters walk through the open door.

One of the Death Eaters fires the Dark Mark into the sky with a laugh. Another turns to Draco.

"Can't do it, Malfoy?" he mocks.

I want to kill you I want to kill you get away from him right now-

When Draco doesn't respond, the man laughs, sharp teeth catching the light, and he lunges forward towards Dumbledore, only to be slammed with a jinx from another Death Eater.

"What the hell, Yaxley!" he growls.

"Fenrir, let the boy do the job the Dark Lord wanted him to do," Yaxley coaxes. "Malfoy. Do it. Kill him, kill him now."

Snape shoves Draco aside. The blonde falls to the ground.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"No!" Draco screams.

The second the green light hits Dumbledore, the Body-Bind on Harry gives. He shoots up the stairs as the Death Eaters cheer and run down the other stairs into Hogwarts.

Snape grabs Draco and starts to pull him along, but Harry hits him with a Petrificus before he can, yanking Snape's wand away as the door behind the last Death Eater shuts. He grabs Draco, falling to the ground and cupping his face, searching his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"I didn't- I couldn't-" Draco chokes out. "The vow means nothing. He can kill them all."

"You didn't kill a man, Draco," Harry whispers, hugging Draco tightly to him before standing abruptly and pointing his wand at Snape. "This motherfucker did."

Snape's eyes dart around. Harry undoes the charm around Snape's mouth.

"Potter, Albus and I had a deal a long time ago for me to kill him before the curse of the ring did. You must understand, I'm a double agent for him-"

"Alright."

"Pardon?"

"Makes sense. And you saved Draco from being a murderer."

"Potter, there's something you should know." Snape waits a moment before speaking again. "I am the Half-Blood Prince."

"Dude. I know."

"Excuse me?"

"I literally confronted you about it three days into this year. I know. Draco knows. Hermione and Ron know. I don't give a fuck. What I do give a fuck about, however-" Harry undoes the Body-Bind. "-is the Death Eaters taking over the castle."

He hears a bang and sees Hagrid's hut catch fire. Clenching his jaw, he looks back at Snape.

"Go. Tell Voldemort you killed him. I won't say a thing to anyone other than my best friends to even hint that you might be a double agent. Tell him I captured Draco and disappeared."

Snape stares at him for a moment. "Do you know what you're doing, Potter?"

"Not in the slightest. I make it up as I go along." Harry grins a bit, although it's dampened by the events around him. "I do know that I'm not coming back next year. I'm going to destroy the Horcruxes, Severus. I'm going to kill Voldemort, no matter what it takes."

"Neither can live while the other survives, Potter. If you kill him-"

"If I die, I die. All that matters is he does too. Make sure it happens."

Snape looks at him for another long moment. "And here I thought every gene other than your eyes was all your father."

He sighs and shakes his head a bit, smiling more than Harry's ever seen the man do so.

"You're just like your mother."

May 31, 1997

"I'm coming with you."

Harry stares at Hermione. "You could be killed-"

"I said I'm coming with you, Harry James Potter."

"Me too," Ron agrees. "We stick together."

Harry can't help but glance at Draco. The blonde raises an eyebrow.

"Obviously I'm coming. You think I want to be murdered by Voldemort?"

Harry smiles.

Voldemort doesn't stand a chance.

July 31, 1997

"'To Harry James Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.'" Scrimgeour looks up. "I notice that your birthday cake is in the shape of a Snitch. Why is that?"

"Oh, it can't be a reference to the fact that Harry's a great Seeker," Hermione says sarcastically. "That's way too obvious. There must be a secret message from Dumbledore hidden in the icing!"

Scrimgeour frowns at her, handing the Snitch to Harry. Harry takes it and raises his eyebrow when Scrimgeour seems to be waiting for something.

"Can I help you?" he says, annoyed. Scrimgeour clears his throat and reads the next article.

"'To Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it.'" Scrimgeour frowns at Ron as he hands him the small lighter. "That is a valuable object. It may even be unique. Certainly, it is of Dumbledore's own design. Why would he have left you an item so rare? Dumbledore must have taught thousands of students, yet the only ones he remembered in his will are you three. Why is that? To what use did he think you would put to the Deluminator, Mr. Weasley?"

Ron shrugs. "Put out lights, I s'pose. What else could I do with it?"

Draco hides his laughter behind his hand. Ron shoots him a grin.

Scrimgeour huffs. "The next article. 'To Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in the hope that she will find it entertaining and instructive.' Why do you think Dumbledore left you that book, Miss Granger?"

Hermione looks at him like he's the dumbest motherfucker she's ever seen. "I like books."

"But why that particular book?... Did you ever discuss codes, or any means of passing secret messages with Dumbledore?" Scrimgeour persists.

"I like books," Hermione repeats flatly. 

"She likes books," Draco adds helpfully.

"Books," Ron agrees, flicking open the Deluminator and laughing when the lights go out. He turns the lights back on, a grin still present on his face. A very similar one is on Draco's.

Scrimgeour glares at them all. "Finally, 'To Draco Lucius Malfoy, I leave the sword of Godric Gryffindor, in the hopes that it will provide strength in times of need, and remind him that true bravery is within us all.'"

"Where's the sword?" Draco asks, looking around. 

"According to reliable historical sources, the sword may present itself to any worthy. That does not make it the exclusive property of Mr. Malfoy, whatever Dumbledore may have decided. Why do you think-?"

"Dumbledore wanted to give me the sword? Maybe he thought it would look nice on my wall," Draco muses.

Harry laughs shortly, trying to stop when Scrimgeour gives him a nasty look. Hermione is pressing her lips together to hide her own laughter.

"Why do you think-" Scrimgeour sighs out heavily. "-Dumbledore would give you the sword? You're a Slytherin, after all, and presenting you with the sword of your rival house hardly seems like a gift."

"Ah, but you're missing one thing," Draco replies with a grin. He meets Harry's eye.

"And what is that?"

"He likes pointy things," Ron, Hermione, and Harry all chime in at once.

Scrimgeour looks quite ready to kill. "There must be some reasoning behind your gifts-"

"Nah," Harry says. "When does Draco get his pointy sword?"

"Never. It is not Mr. Malfoy's property, and-"

"Accio sword of Godric Gryffindor."

Scrimgeour gapes at Draco. Draco grins back. "You might want to move."

After about thirty seconds, the window smashes and a sword clatters to the ground in front of Draco. He picks it up with a smile.

"Pointy."

"Mr. Malfoy, you cannot-"

"Time's up!" Molly shouts from the doorway. "Now let Harry celebrate his birthday! Out! Out!"

August 1, 1997

They only get to enjoy the wedding for a few hours before the last scraps of their freedom are torn away.

August 22, 1997

Draco's voice shakes when he reads Hermione's name off of the list of Muggleborns wanted for questioning.

September 2, 1997

Harry, disguised as Albert Runcorn, and Draco, underneath the Invisibility Cloak, are left alone in the lift after Ron had been taken away to stop the rain in Yaxley's office and Hermione had been summoned by Umbridge to help with the interrogation.

"I'm scared," Draco whispers. 

"We'll be okay." Harry sounds more sure than he felt.

"You left your bracelet on."

"How could I not? It's my good luck charm."

Draco laughs softly. "Be safe."

"You too."

Apparently both of them heeded each other's advice, because they meet up soon after in Umbridge's courtroom.

"Nasty hag," Draco whispers. Harry coughs to hide his laughter. Umbridge's head swivels to face him.

"Problem, Runcorn?" she asks in her annoying voice.

"Not one," he responds easily. She nods, satisfied, and calls forward Mary Cattermole.

Harry instantly recognizes the name, and realizes she must be Reginald Cattermole's (who Ron is pretending to be) wife.

Harry's eyes lock on the necklace hanging from Umbridge's throat.

"Get it," he whispers. He hears the soft shuffling as Draco leaves his side.

After a minute, Umbridge shrieks as her head is yanked back, and Harry Stuns her. Draco yanks the cloak off and rips the necklace from her throat. Hermione, still disguised as Mafalda Hopkirk, replaces it with a copy so she won't suspect when she awakes, and proceeds to Stun Yaxley as well. Draco removes Mary Cattermole's restraints with a Revulsion Jinx.

"We have to go," he says hurriedly, shrinking the cloak and shoving it in his pocket. "We have to go now."

"Right." Harry swings open the door to the other room, where about thirty Muggleborns stand. "You lot. You need to escape the country, while all of this is happening. We're gonna get you out."

This is met with chatter, but Harry shakes his head. "No. Shush. Come along, keep quiet, don't answer anything anyone says. Just follow us."

They obey, following after the group as Harry rushes them upstairs, where the exits are being sealed.

"Hold on," Harry says. "This lot needs to leave before you seal the exits."

The Ministry employee frowns. "We've been told to seal all exits and not let anyone-"

"Are you contradicting me? Would you like me to have your family tree examined like I had Dirk Cresswell's?"

The man pales. "No need, no need. Come on through."

The group starts rushing into the exits. Harry breathes out a sigh. Things are working better than planned.

"Harry!" Ron shouts as a warning.

"Stop them!" Yaxley roars, coming out of nowhere. "Seal the exits!"

The last of the Muggleborns rush out, terrified, and Harry turns to face Yaxley. "Sorry, mate. Looks like you lost this one."

He reaches out to grab Draco's hand, and Hermione grabs Ron's, and the two pairs start to Apparate. The last thing Harry sees before they do so is Yaxley reaching out to grab Hermione's arm.

Draco and Harry end up on the first floor, and Hermione, Ron, and Yaxley appear at the top of the stairs. Hermione screams and kicks Yaxley down them. Draco proceeds to Stun him.

"Get your shit," he says quickly. "Get it fast, we have to go, they know where Grimmauld Place is now, we've got to fucking go."

September 3, 1997

The locket glints off of Draco's neck as he picks his nails.

"I left my favorite socks at Grimmauld Place," Ron sighs. "Damn."

"Who cares?" Draco bites back. 

"Draco!" Hermione shouts. "Don't be rude, he was just saying!"

"Shut it, Mudblood."

Hermione stills, eyes growing wide. "Excuse me?"

"Draco, what the fuck?" Harry blurts out, staring at the blonde.

"'Draco, what the fuck?'" Draco mocks.

Hermione pauses for a moment. "Draco. Draco, give me the locket. Now."

"Since when do you tell me what to do?"

"Since now, Draco. Give her the fucking locket." Harry is chilled by this new Draco.

Irritably, Draco yanks the locket over his head and holds it out to Hermione, who takes it slowly. After a pause, he freezes.

"Oh my god," he says. "Oh my god, Hermione, I'm so sorry, I don't know where that came from."

"This." Hermione holds her hand up, the chain dangling from her middle finger. "It's a Horcrux, it's Dark Magic, and it's affecting us as such."

"What do we do? We can't leave it laying around! What if someone steals it? What if we have to leave quickly? It's too risky!" Ron cries.

"Hermione," Draco says. "Hermione, how do you destroy one?"

"Fiendfyre, basilisk venom, venom from an extinct animal that I can't remember anymore, and in rare cases of living Horcruxes, the Killing Curse," Hermione recites.

"Fuck. We should have stabbed the basilisk with the sword. It's goblin-made, woulda absorbed it and we could have stabbed the diary," Draco sighs.

"Sorry," Ron says unapologetically. "I wanted the thing dead, Bombarda was the first thing to come to mind."

"We could take turns wearing it," Harry suggests. "Try six-hour shifts, 24 hours divided by 4 people. It could work, it took a while before it affected Draco."

It's the best plan they have.

December 24, 1997

The four of them stare at the headstones for quite a while.

"We should go," Draco says quietly. "This is one of the main places You-Know-Who will suspect you are."

"You-Know-Who? Since when do you not say Vol-"

Draco slams his hand over Harry's mouth. "Don't be fucking stupid. There are very few people who say his name, and you're one of them. There's probably some sort of tracking charm or something on it, I heard Snatchers talking about it when it was my turn to get food."

"Why didn't you say that before?"

"I forgot!" Draco shrugs helplessly before freezing and staring over Harry's shoulder. "Harry."

The other three people turn to see an old woman staring at them. She raises one hand and beckons to them.

Harry takes a step forward and Ron grabs his hand, pulling him back. "Don't."

"She's a little old lady!" Harry protests, but he doesn't try to remove his hand from Ron's.

"That's Bathilda Bagshot," Hermione murmurs. "The author of A History of Magic."

"Do you need something?" Ron asks loudly.

The woman stares at them with huge eyes. "Draco?"

"You know him?" Harry asks, letting go of Ron's hand and stepping forward. "How do you know him?"

"I thought you took him from us. I thought he was loyal," she replies, walking closer to him.

"Harry," Hermione whispers. "How does she know Parsletongue?"

"Parsletongue?" Harry asks before freezing and stepping back, lowering his voice to the barest of whispers. "She knows, Draco. She knows you, she thinks I kidnapped you."

"No, no, no, no," Draco whispers under his breath frantically. "My only chance to survive was him thinking I'm still a Death Eater."

Hermione is the quickest thinker of them. "Draco, run forward like you're running away from us," she hisses.

Draco waits for a beat before screaming and running forward. "Help me!" he shouts, and Hermione casts an Incarcerous, yanking him back toward them by his now bound hands. With the distraction of it all, Ron takes Draco's wand and shoves it in his own back pocket.

Bathilda straightens. "You've taken a Death Eater, Potter. The Dark Lord doesn't take kindly to such things."

"I need some leverage, don't I? He'll talk eventually. We'll find out his plans, and we'll destroy him."

"Death Eaters would rather die than talk."

"Then he'll die."

"Unfortunately, I can't let that happen. Master is rather fond of this one."

So am I, as it happens. Instead of saying that, Harry casts a Stupefy and grabs Ron's arm to shove him back. "Ron, Apparate us!"

The last thing Harry sees before they disappear is Bathilda's body ripping apart to reveal a large snake.

December 25, 1997

Draco leaves in the early hours of the morning with Harry's Invisibility Cloak.

Harry spends the whole hour Draco is gone praying that the blonde is okay.

Ron wonders aloud if Draco has gone back to You-Know-Who.

Hermione, well into her fifth hour of wearing the Horcrux, hits him on the back of the head.

When Draco comes back, she almost strangles him.

"You son of a bitch, why couldn't you tell us where you went!" she screams. "We were worried sick, you piece of shit!"

Draco smiles indulgently and takes the necklace off of her. "Better?"

Her jaw sets. "I'm still mad at you."

"You won't be in a minute. I brought Christmas presents!" Draco cheers, holding up a bag Harry hadn't noticed until now.

"Christmas presents? You can't be serious, you risked your life for-"

"Shut up, Hermione," Draco sighs. "And let me finish talking."

Her mouth snaps shut. Ron puts his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"To start, I should probably mention, Hermione, I broke into your old house to get these."

"You broke into-"

"Hush. You won't be so mad in a moment. Besides, with your parents living in Australia with modified memories and you living on the run, I can't say it was my worst decision. Alright. I grabbed lots of non-perishable food, and some perishable that we should eat soon."

"Fuck, I think I'm in love with you," Ron sighs happily, cradling the box of cereal to his chest. Draco cracks a smile.

"I also grabbed quite a few of your books from home, as well as several boxes of pads and tampons for you," Draco adds, tossing said boxes to Hermione, who looks significantly less displeased. 

"You're a god. Summoned ones never work as well."

"I also grabbed paper and pens for drawing-" Harry snatches them from Draco's hands. "And, finally, the best part."

All three of them lean forward excitedly.

Draco grins and pulls a basilisk fang out of the bag.

"Where the fuck did you get that?!" Ron shouts.

"Hermione took one as a souvenir second year. It was on her desk." Draco grins. "You said basilisk venom kills Horcruxes, right?"

Hermione knocks Draco over with a hug. "Fuck, Draco, you're a genius!"

Draco laughs from his spot under Hermione on the ground. "I try my best. You're hurting me."

"Fuck you." Hermione sits up and brushes herself off. "We can destroy it now, we don't have to wear it all the time."

Draco sits up with a grin. "Well, do it then!"

"You should," Ron says. "You brought the fang, you deserve to get to kill the thing."

Hermione and Harry nod in agreement. Draco gives them a weak smile, taking the locket and frowning.

"I think it has to be open. It would make sense, all lockets open to reveal something inside, it should too." However, when he tries to pry the locket open, the metal doesn't give. He sighs irritably.

Harry leans forward to see the tiny snake engraved on the locker and gets an idea.

"Open."

The locket obeys, springing open to reveal two eyes staring right at Draco. Draco grabs the basilisk fang and raises it above his own head, ready to stab it. Before he can, however, an apparition jumps out of the locket and the four of them spring back, surprised. 

Narcissa Malfoy looks down at her son in disappointment. 

"Draco, darling, how could you abandon your family? How could you leave me? He'll kill me now, you must know, when he learns of your betrayal, he will kill me!"

Draco lets out a small, sobbing gasp, scrambling away from the apparition.

"DISAPPOINTMENT!" Lucius Malfoy's voice roars from Narcissa's throat. "A STAIN ON THE GREAT MALFOY NAME! PATHETIC, WEAK, USELESS-"

"Kill it!" Hermione screams, and only then does Harry realize this is the locket's defense mechanism to avoid being killed.

Draco can't take his eyes off of his mother. He's gripping the fang even tighter, his hand shaking, breathing fast.

"You've killed us all, Draco!" Narcissa shouts. "Your betrayal will give you nothing! You've killed me, you've killed everyone in your school, you've killed Harry!"

"Shut up!" Draco screams. "Shut up, shut up!"

"He hates you, Draco, you know it's true, he will discard you as soon as he is able! You are a pawn, you are disposable, you are at his mercy, he pities you, you are-"

"Kill it!" Harry yells. "Kill it, Draco, it's a lie!"

With a choked sob, Draco stands, striding forward, eyes on the locket instead of his mother standing above it.

"A WEAK, USELESS PAWN CONTRIBUTING NOTH-"

Draco stabs the locket.

December 28, 1997

"They took my Luna because of what I've been writing. They took my Luna and I don't know where she is, what they've done to her. But they might give her back to me if I- If I..." Xenophilius looks slightly crazed. "I must save Luna. I cannot lose Luna. You must not leave."

"Sorry, mate," Ron says lightly, backing away slowly. "We've kinda got to."

"No, no, I need my Luna back. If I hand you over, they might-"

"We'll get her back," Draco says firmly. Xenophilius stops and stares at him. Hermione, Harry, and Ron give him similar looks.

"Pardon?" Xenophilius replies faintly.

"If she's been kidnapped, I know where she is. We'll get her back."

"You know where my Luna is? Where is she?"

"I can't tell you, sir, because you'll look for her yourself and it's far too dangerous."

"You're mere children!" Xenophilius exclaims. "It's far more dangerous for you!"

Harry laughs softly. "Everything's been dangerous for us since we were eleven. We're used to it."

"You shouldn't have to be," Xenophilius whispers sadly.

"No, we shouldn't." Ron straightens. "But we are, and you're not. So we're gonna get Luna, and we're going to stop You-Know-Who."

"We have to knock you out," Hermione whispers. "Or they won't believe that we were here, and they'll torture you."

Xenophilius nods once, closing his eyes. "Very well. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you," Harry replies. Draco punches Xenophilius in the face. Harry Stuns him to make sure he's out. Ron throws his wand across the room.

Hermione blasts a hole in the wall to mark that they were there, and they Apparate away.

March 14, 1998

"You can't go on your own."

"It's my house!"

"How are we supposed to get you back?" Harry shouts back.

"How are you supposed to pretend that you showed up out of the blue and suddenly Luna's free?" Ron adds.

Hermione groans. "We've been having this argument for weeks, Draco. It's three against one."

"Every Death Eater under You-Know-Who's control is in my house! You'll be killed the second you appear!"

"So will you, if you try that shit!"

March 15, 1998

"Draco. Hermione and I are leaving tomorrow. You're staying with Ron to continue the impression that we've kidnapped you."

"Bullshit I am!"

"Mate. I will Petrify you."

"Don't fucking try it, Ron. I'm coming with you. Or I'll Apparate straight to the Manor myself."

"Draco-" 

"I'm serious."

"Incarcerous!"

"Petrificus!"

"Expelliarmus!"

A wandless, Petrified, bound Draco glares at them from his new spot on the ground.

"Sorry, Draco," Harry says, shoving Draco's wand into his pocket. "I had to."

Draco glares more. "I can't feel my legs."

"That would be my Leg-Locker," Hermione says apologetically. "I'm not taking it off."

"C'mon, mate. I'll put you in a nice chair," Ron says cheerfully, dragging Draco towards one of the chairs in the tent.

March 16, 1998

"Please don't do it, Harry, I'm begging you, don't-"

"Draco, you suggested we save Luna."

"I meant all of us!"

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

"No, I'm not."

"Harry, we need to go."

"He's going to kill you!" Draco screams desperately.

"I'm not afraid of him!" Harry shouts louder.

"You should be! God, Harry, he killed your parents, he's almost killed you three times! One of these times he's going to get it right!"

"Not if I can help it!"

"You're fucking insane! You know having four people instead of two could help you!"

"Or it could screw us over!"

"You don't process how much danger you're in until you're in it, Harry! Think this through!"

"Harry, let's go-"

"I have thought it through! And I've decided I don't give a shit if Voldemort kills me if it means everyone else gets to live!"

"Harry, Harry, fuck," Hermione hisses.

"What, Hermione?"

"There they are!" a voice shouts.

"Snatchers," Draco breathes. "Harry, you said his name."

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck," Harry groans. "Fuck, I'm sorry-"

Hermione hits him in the face with a Stinging Hex. "Don't you dare tell them your name." She whirls around. "Effodisset!"

Draco goes limp and unconscious in his bonds. Harry takes Draco's wand out of his own pocket and shoves it into his sock.

Harry hears a shout of "Stupefy!" at the same time Hermione shouts another spell, and everything goes black.

"Lucius, he won't awake," Harry hears as his eyes open slowly. "I've tried everything. Rennervate!"

Harry realizes he, Hermione, and Ron are bound and sitting on the floor. Draco is crumpled on the floor several feet away. His bonds are gone, and Narcissa Malfoy is pointing her wand at him. "Rennervate!"

She whirls around, livid. "What did you do to my son?"

"Oh, Narcissa," Hermione says in a cool, mocking tone. "We couldn't let him tell our secrets, could we?"

Narcissa looks furious. "What did you do to him?"

"He won't awake until I want him to," Hermione responds simply. "Very special spell. Dark magic."

Lucius glares. "We'll torture it out of you, then."

"Oh, Lucius, if there's one thing I've learned from your filthy Death Eater of a son, it's that torture can't make a person do anything."

"Pardon?" Lucius asks. Bellatrix peers over his shoulder. 

Hermione leans forward against her bonds. "No matter how fucking much we tortured him, he never told us a damn thing. How well did you condition him to do that?"

Bellatrix laughs gleefully. "That's the Malfoy boy we know!" she cheers. "Tell me. How many times did you Crucio him?"

"I don't use Crucio," Hermione responds, smirking. "Too boring. I've found... other, traceless curses, that are far more fun."

"You bitch," Narcissa hisses. "How dare you-"

"Ah ah, Narcissa," Hermione croons. "Watch yourself."

"Or what?"

"Or Theo will murder you," she says sweetly.

"So that's who you are," Bellatrix murmurs. "You do look like the Nott boy. Although I thought his eyes were less hazel, more brown. Hm."

"Nonsense!" Lucius cries. "That must be Potter! Nott would never let his child be friends with Gryffindors!"

"When have I ever listened to my father?" Harry asks, and realizes quickly that even his voice has changed. Hermione, you're a goddamn genius.

Bellatrix sneers at him. "A Slytherin, betraying his own."

Harry shrugs. "What can I say? There are added benefits to being on the right side."

"Like what? Being murdered?" Bellatrix asks, raising her wand. Lucius stops her.

"Bellatrix, we can't be entirely sure it's the Nott boy. If it is Potter, the Dark Lord will be most displeased at you for spoiling his plans."

"Everyone says I look like Potter," Harry grumbles. "I hate being me."

"Where is Potter?" Narcissa asks Ron.

He just raises one eyebrow, not responding. She slaps him.

"Where is Potter?!"

Ron only smiles. Narcissa repeats the question to Hermione.

"Why would I tell you?" Hermione bites. "You'll just kill him."

Narcissa glares, turning to Harry. "Where is Potter?"

"I don't kiss and tell," Harry responds, enjoying the shade of red Lucius' face turns.

"Your father will be furious to hear his Pureblood son is..." Lucius can't even say the word.

Harry shrugs, grinning.

"Send them to the dungeons!" Bellatrix barks at Fenrir and Yaxley. "Except the girl. I want to have some... one on one time." Her eyes gleam dangerously.

Which is how Harry and Ron end up in a dark room, looking at Luna, Dean, Griphook, and Ollivander.

"Well, this is fun," Harry says cheerfully.

"Theo? What are you doing with Ron?" Dean asks.

"Fuck, I do still look like Theo, don't I?" Harry says, turning to Ron. "I need to undo that, so the real Theo doesn't get in trouble for what I did."

"Right," Ron replies dryly. "And we'll just do that with the wand that the Snatchers definitely didn't take from me."

"Harry?" Luna asks. "Is that you?"

"Indeed. Hermione's upstairs. So is Draco, but she put him under some sort of stasis spell so he can't be woken up until she wants him to. In the meantime-" Harry reaches into his sock and pulls Draco's wand out. "How about we get the fuck out of here?"

Two minutes later, the door to the dungeons explodes.

"What the-?" Lucius sputters, moving away from his still-unconscious son. "Potter?"

"I knew it!" Bellatrix shrieks happily. She yanks her sleeve up and slams her palm onto her Dark Mark without hesitation.

Harry disarms Yaxley, throwing his wand to Luna. "Accio Hermione Granger's wand!" he shouts, yanking Hermione away from Bellatrix and dodging Narcissa's hex. He hands the wand to Hermione, muttering "Shell Cottage" into her ear before darting across the room amidst screaming and curses.

"Accio Luna Lovegood's wand!" he hears Luna shout, before calling for Dean, Harry and Ollivander's as well. Harry Summons Ron's wand, pulling the redheaded boy with him as Hermione grabs Dean's arm and says something before grabbing Griphook and Apparating away. Dean grabs Luna and Ollivander, and they all disappear with a crack. 

"No!" Bellatrix screams. She rounds on Harry, who has lifted Draco's limp form and is holding him against himself like a human shield.

"You think I won't kill my nephew to get to you?" Bellatrix says, grinning. Narcissa turns, shocked, to face her sister.

Harry grins. "Oh, I know you will. Luckily for me, you won't get the chance." He shoves Draco into Ron and grabs the redhead's hand, twisting on the spot.

He watches a silver blade fly through the air and registers a stabbing pain before they disappear.

"Harry!" he hears. "Fuck. Finite. Draco, wake up."

"What in the fuck?" Draco's voice grumbles. "Dude. Hearing everyone and not being able to open my eyes is insan- Harry?!"

"I'm bleeding," Harry says a bit deliriously, a grin on his face. "Ouch."

"No, no, fuck, after everything, not now, fuck," Ron says. His worried face is swimming in front of Harry's vision.

"I've got Bill!" Luna's voice cries.

"Hey, hey, Harry, you'll be alright, I've got Dittany somewhere. Fleur! Help!"

March 17, 1998

Harry is healed.

He should feel happier about it, but Voldemort has the Elder Wand.

It puts a damper on his spirit.

May 1, 1998

Bellatrix Lestrange, Dragomir Despard, and Draco Malfoy appear to walk into Gringotts.

In fact, only one of those is true.

Harry stands behind his friends underneath the Cloak, Griphook clinging to his shoulders as he listens to them speak to a goblin at the desk.

"Ms. Lestrange wishes to access her vault," the Imperiused Travers says, sliding a key across the desk."

"Can Ms. Lestrange provide identification?" the goblin asks.

Hermione's eyes flash dangerously. "Are you questioning that I am who I say I am? My wand should be sufficient proof of my identity, although I must confess that I've gotten a new one recently."

"Imperio," Harry whispers, and if the three in front of him hear him, they give no indication.

"Very well, Ms. Lestrange. I will lead you and your... companions to your vault." The goblin, Bogrod turns to look at another goblin. "Get the Clankers!"

It would have gone better if they hadn't gone under the waterfall.

Harry's eyes widen in horror as he recognizes Hermione and Ron in front of him, and he swears softly. Bogrod turns, the Imperius on him washed away.

"What on Earth-?"

"Imperio!"

Draco pouts as the cart continues moving. "My hair is wet."

"Suck it up, blondie," Ron mutters, grinning. The cart stops, and the group of six hops out of the cart.

"I would like the sword before we enter," Griphook says firmly. "To prove you mean your word."

"Sure." Harry shrugs, taking the sword out of Hermione's enchanted bag and holding it out. "We have no use for it, other than bargaining with you."

"Very well." The sword disappears, and Harry notices the goblins banging golden objects together, making a loud noise that has a huge dragon looking very upset. 

Bogrod opens the door for them.

"Everything you touch will burn and multiply, but the copies are worthless- and if you continue to handle the treasure, you will eventually be crushed to death by the weight of expanding gold," Griphook hisses.

"Okay, don't touch anything!" Harry says. "Just look around! Remember, the cup's small and gold, it's got a badger engraved on it, two handles..."

The group looks quickly, as they can hear shouting approaching.

"There!" Draco shouts, pointing up. At the very top of a shelf is the golden cup.

"Levicorpus!" Hermione cries, and Ron floats up toward the cup, upside-down.

"Got it!" he shouts, pulling it back, but he immediately screams and drops it when it starts multiplying. Hermione lowers Ron quickly and Draco catches the real up out of the air, shouting "Get the fang!"

Harry grabs the fang out of Hermione's bag, and Draco stabs the Horcrux. With a horrible scream, it explodes.

"Go, go, go!" Draco shouts, shoving Hermione toward the door and grabbing Griphook, lifting him out of the burning, multiplying treasure.

They burst through the doors to see goblins running after them. Draco sets Griphook down, shoving the fang in Hermione's bag.

Harry spends about one second thinking through his plan before grabbing Draco's hand and sprinting right toward the dragon.

"Harry, what the fuck are you thinking!?" Draco screams. In his peripheral vision, Harry can see Ron and Hermione chasing them.

"Jump!" Harry shouts in response, and there's one glorious, free moment where they're in the air, and then they land on the back of the dragon. Harry casts a Revulsion Jinx at the chains and they snap immediately. The dragon's wings spread and it breathes fire at the goblins, who are throwing daggers to stop it.

"Defodio!" Hermione screams, pointing her wand at the wall. It cracks, and a hole rips through the wall. Draco, Harry, and Ron all shout the hex as well until the wall breaks away. The dragon staggers out into the light and jumps, flying into the air.

*

"HARRY!" is the first thing Harry hears as he, Draco, Neville, Hermione, and Ron clamber into the room, quickly followed by "It's Potter, it's POTTER!"

Blaise shoves past several people and pulls Draco into a hug. "Thank fucking God you're alright, we thought you were dead!" he exclaims.

"Where are we?" Hermione asks, looking around at the decor in the room representing the four houses.

"The Room of Requirement," Seamus replies. "We've been hiding out for about two weeks, Snape and the Carrows can't get in. When we're hungry, we just go to Aberforth."

"The Carrows?" Draco says, horrified. "Those batshit siblings? The fuck are they doing here?"

"It's awful," Ginny breathes. "They cast the Cruciatus on anyone who does something wrong. We started fighting back a while ago, but they just Crucioed us too."

Neville nods. "I used the Galleons Hermione bewitched fifth year to call the D.A. here. More should be here-"

The portrait swings open and the Weasley twins jump through.

"Hell yeah!" one cheers, while the other tugs Ron into a tight hug. "Time to cause some motherfuckin' havoc! We knew all along you were alive, Harry, you wouldn't die on us without sayin' goodbye!"

Harry laughs. "Good to see you too."

"What now, Harry?" Cedric asks. 

Harry looks out the window at the dark sky. "Voldemort is coming. Now, we fight."

Luna informs him of the diadem.

Harry Crucios Amycus Carrow for spitting in McGonagall's face.

Snape escapes McGonagall in a cloud of black smoke.

The defense spells are raised.

The Order arrives.

And, as every student in Hogwarts gathers in the Great Hall, Voldemort speaks.

"I know that you are preparing to fight."

Several students clap their hands over their ears, trying to drown out the low hiss of Voldemort's voice in their heads.

Harry is used to it.

"Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood. Give me Harry Potter, and they shall not be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."

There is a silence in the Great Hall.

Pansy Parkinson stands. 

"Fuck you!" she screams into the empty silence of the Great Hall, into the remnants of Voldemort's voice in their heads, into the plea. 

Cheers meet her statement.

McGonagall stands. "All students of age may fight if they so choose. Those who are not, or who wish to not fight, may follow Mr. Filch to safety."

And so it begins.

The castle shakes as Harry and his friends speak to the Grey Lady.

Screams break out as they run to the Room of Requirement.

Harry tries not to think about what's happening anywhere else, instead opting to focus on their search for the diadem.

And when his eyes finally fall upon the cursed thing, he barely has time to grab it when he's met with a cold voice.

"What are you doing, Potter?"

Harry turns to face Crabbe and Goyle.

"Uh, leaving, I suppose," he says cheerfully, but the looks on their faces tell him he's wrong.

"I don't think so," Goyle bites out. "The Dark Lord will reward us for bringing you to him."

"He won't have the chance," Draco says from behind them, and he Disarms Goyle.

"You lying traitor!" Crabbe shouts.

Draco shrugs. "Such is the life of Harry Potter's best friend." He shoots a Stunning spell at Crabbe, which the other boy narrowly misses.

Crabbe narrows his eyes. "Burn, you filthy traitor," he growls, and fire erupts from his wand.

"Fiendfyre!" Draco screams, and Harry can only see fire for a moment before Draco appears out of nowhere like a firelit angel, grabbing his hand and running.

Fiendfyre, basilisk venom, venom from an extinct animal that I can't remember anymore, and in rare cases of living Horcruxes, the Killing Curse.

Fiendfyre.

Fiendfyre.

Harry throws the diadem behind him and winces at the shriek it gives as it burns.

He sees Hermione and Ron running alongside them, also hand in hand.

As they turn a corner, the flames chase them as though they are alive, sentient, intent upon killing them. Now the fire mutates, forming a gigantic pack of fiery beasts; flaming serpents, chimeras, and dragons rise and fall and rise again, and the detritus of centuries on which they are feeding is thrown up in the air into their fanged mouths, tossed high on clawed feet, before being consumed by the inferno.

Harry hears a scream and barely has time to turn and see Crabbe fall from a tower of books before flaming serpent snaps at him and he ducks, yanking Draco along.

He can only assume Goyle is already dead.

"There!" Hermione shouts over the screaming fire, and Harry sees the door.

They burst through it just as a fiery dragon swoops low to attack them, and as they tumble onto the floor, the doors slam shut and disappear. A muffled howl rings out from behind the door.

May 2, 1998

They run throughout the Death Eaters and students fighting, casting hexes when they can. They're joined by Percy and Fred, who are each dueling a different Death Eater.

One of their hoods slips, revealing the Imperiused Minister of Magic Pius Thicknesse. Percy hits him with a sea urchin jinx.

"I'll consider that your resignation!" he calls to the unconscious man, grinning.

Fred's opponent collapses under three separate Stunning spells, and the redhead freezes, spinning around. 

"You're joking, Perce! You're actually joking!" His eyes are alight. "I don't think I've heard you joke since you were-"

A green spell hits him right in the chest, and Fred Weasley flies backward.

As another green spell flies right past where he would have been standing.

"Ow," Fred grumbles, sitting up. 

"Sorry!" Draco shouts. "Propulsion Jinx. You were too far away to shove out of the way in time."

Hermione spins and casts a hex at the Death Eater who tried to kill Fred, and their group continues fighting.

Huge spiders start crawling through the walls, and Harry hexes one before turning to Draco. "Cover me!" he shouts, closing his eyes.

"What the fuck, Harry," Draco grumbles, shoving Harry behind him and casting hex after hex.

The Shrieking Shack. "The Shrieking Shack!" Harry shouts, and Draco, Hermione, and Ron chase after him.

They run through the halls, past students fighting Death Eaters, past Peeves dropping Snargeluff pods, past Neville carrying Venomous Tentacula, past the shattered Slytherin hourglass, past Professor Trelawney nailing Fenrir Greyback in the head with a crystal ball before he can attack Lavender Brown, past the huge spiders breaking in, past the giants, past the Dementors, and into the Whomping Willow entrance.

They crouch, terrified, and peer over crates to see Voldemort, Nagini (who is in a protective bubble), and Snape.

"The castle's resistance is crumbling," Snape says.

"There is no need for you to return, Severus."

"I can bring Potter to you, my lord, I can bring him here-"

"The Elder Wand has disappointed me, Severus."

"My lord?"

"It only performs my usual magic. It has not revealed to me any legendary or extraordinary powers as people claim."

"My lord, I will bring you Harry Potter, and-"

"The boy will come to me, Severus. He would hate watching his friends die for him when handing himself over is the only way to stop it. My instructions are clear: capture the boy alive. They can kill as many of his friends as they please, but I want him alive."

"My lord, it would be much easier for me to simply bring the boy to you-"

"I have refused you thrice, Severus. Why do you insist?" Voldemort replies angrily, before his voice returns to its normal silky state.  "When I used my own wand, and when I used Lucius' wand, both failed me. I sought the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny. I took it from the grave of Albus Dumbledore."

"I can find him! I can bring him to you-"

"-I had wondered why the Elder Wand refused to be what it ought to be, and I believe I now have the answer. You have been a valuable and faithful servant, and I regret what I have to do. The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot truly be mine."

"My lord-" Snape protests, eyes wide, but Voldemort remorselessly waves his wand, and the bubble encasing Nagini envelops Snape as well.

Nagini bites him.

Voldemort and Nagini leave without a second glance.

Harry stumbles out from behind the crates, almost tripping over them in his haste to drop next to Snape.

"No, no, no," Draco whispers behind him, voice wavering.

Snape grabs the front of Harry's robes and pulls him close.

"Take it," he whispers hoarsely, and as he says it, silvery-blue wisps, neither gas nor liquid, gush from his mouth, ears, and eyes. Hermione conjures a crystal flask out of thin air, and Harry lifts the silvery substance into the flask with his wand. When the flask is full, Snape's grip on Harry's robes slackens. He stares into Harry's eyes for a long moment, green and black staring at one another before something in the black vanishes and the hand holding Harry's robes falls to the floor.

The voice in their heads returns.

"You have one hour. My soldiers shall join me where they know me to be. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured. And now, Harry Potter, I speak to you. You have one hour, Harry Potter. One hour to give yourself to me, and I shall remove myself from Hogwarts. One hour to sacrifice yourself for those around you. One hour to save those you love the most."

The five of them return to the Great Hall in silence.

There are too many dead people in the room.

Harry holds up the vial so Hermione can see it, unable to speak. He points up. She nods. He leaves.

To escape into someone else's head would be a blessed relief. Nothing that even Snape had left him could be worse than his own thoughts.

And so he reaches Dumbledore's office and plunges into the Pensieve.

He sees it all; he sees his mother and Perunia and his father and Sirius and Remus and Dumbledore, and pieces fall together faster than he can comprehend them, and when it is over, he stumbles back with tears falling down his face.

Finally, the truth. Standing in the office where he had once thought he was learning the secrets of victory, Harry understands at last that he was never supposed to survive. His job is to walk calmly into Death's welcoming arms. Along the way, he is to dispose of Voldemorts's remaining links to life, so that when at last he flings himself across Voldemort's path and does not raise a wand to defend himself, the end will be clean, and the job that ought to have been done in Godric's Hollow would be finished: Neither would live, neither could survive.

He goes downstairs numbly.

Harry realizes as he descends the stairs that Dumbledore had overestimated him and that Nagini, the last Horcrux, remains to bind Voldemort to the Earth even after Harry will be killed. He knows that someone will have to carry out killing the snake after Harry is killed. 

Not wanting to waste time with goodbyes, Harry puts on the Invisibility Cloak as he walks through the Great Hall.

Neville and Oliver are carrying a blood-soaked body, and it takes Harry only one sickening moment to recognize him as Colin Creevey. 

No one else will die for me.

Harry took one glance back at the entrance of the Great Hall, where people were kneeling beside the dead and comforting another.

Hermione and Ron are leaning into each other, staring at the bodies surrounding them in horror and shock. They lean into each other for support, and Harry feels comforted knowing they will have one another when he is dead.

Draco stands in the middle of the room, looking lost. Harry feels a pit in his stomach, and is overcome with the urge to rip off the cloak and run into the boy's arms; to tell him he loves him and he should have told him sooner.

But it would only make his death more painful, and so Harry leaves the Great Hall.

When he reaches the edge of the forest, he feels the chill of a swarm of Dementors. He has no strength left for a Patronus. He feels like he cannot go on, but he knows that he must, the game is over, the Snitch has been caught. 

The Snitch.

He pulls the Snitch out of his pocket, understanding slamming into him harder than he had slammed into that wall second year.

Harry presses the golden metal to his lips and whispers "I am about to die". The metal shell breaks open, and Harry lights it with his wand. He sees a black stone with a jagged crack running down the center sitting in the two halves of the Snitch.

The Resurrection Stone.

Harry turns it three times over in his hand.

The first people he sees are his parents, and he's struck with how much he doesn't want to waste his parents' lives; they gave them for him, and he is walking into death.

Then he sees Remus, and it hits him like a punch in the gut.

"You're dead?" he whispers, voice broken.

Remus smiles sadly. "And now you. Teddy will have one parent and no siblings."

"Sirius will protect him," Harry answers firmly. "I know he will."

Remus nods. 

"You're so brave, my angel," Lily whispers, her eyes sad. 

"Will you stay with me?" Harry asks, voice cracking with pain.

"Until the very end," James promises.

They set off, and the Dementor's chill does not overcome him; his companions act like Patronuses. Harry continues deeper in the forest to find Voldemort. He hears a thud and a whisper, and Yaxley and Dolohov emerge from behind a nearby tree, with Yaxley saying he heard something and suggests that Harry is under his Invisibility Cloak. Deciding it must have been an animal, the two decide Harry's time to come is over and that they will return to the other Death Eaters to await orders.

Harry follows them, knowing that they will lead him to Voldemort, and his mother and his father smile in encouragement. In mere minutes, Harry sees Yaxley and Dolohov step into the clearing that once belonged to Aragog .

A fire burns in the middle of the clearing, and there is a crowd of Death Eaters around it. Two giants sit on the outskirts of the group. Harry notices Lucius Malfoy looking defeated and terrified, while Narcissa has sunken eyes full of apprehension. Voldemort looks up at Dolohov and Yaxley, and they inform him that there is no sign of Harry

"A shame," Voldemort sighs. "I expected him to come. It appears I was mistaken."

"You weren't." Harry lets the stone slip through his fingers. His companions vanish. He takes off the cloak, letting it drop to the ground before him.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort breathes. "The Boy Who Lived... to die. Any last words?"

Harry thinks of all of the things he could say, the things he could scream, the deals he could make, the encouragement he could give to a terrified-looking Narcissa.

Instead, he speaks two simple words.

"Get fucked."

Voldemort laughs, high and cold. "A fighter to the end, just like your parents. And you meet the same fate. Avada Kedavra!"

Harry finds himself lying face-down in a strange room. Not knowing the nature of this place, or its physical laws, he realizes he's naked. As soon as he becomes aware of this, clothes appear to him. 

Harry is concerned at a strange whimpering noise he can hear. Looking more closely at his surroundings, Harry sees a great domed glass roof glittering high above him, and he thinks perhaps he's in a palace. Turning slowly on the spot, his surroundings invent themselves before his eyes; a wide-open space.

Harry recoils as he spots the thing making the noises. It has the form of a small, naked child curled on the ground, with raw and rough skin, flayed looking and shuddering under a seat where it has been left unwanted, struggling for breath. Harry is afraid of it, feeling both pity and revulsion. 

"He cannot help it."

Harry turns to see Dumbledore striding toward him.

"I'm dead."

"If you so choose."

Harry frowns.

Fiendfyre, basilisk venom, venom from an extinct animal that I can't remember anymore, and in rare cases of living Horcruxes, the Killing Curse.

"I was a Horcrux," he realizes.

Dumbledore freezes. "Are you joking?"

"Pardon?"

"I had a whole speech! A whole explanation of how you became the way you are, why you're linked to Voldemort, how-"

"He tried to kill me. The part of his soul that latched itself to me when I was a baby, he killed that instead. In the rare case of a living Horcrux, a Killing Curse can destroy it." He looks up. "I'm not dead."

"No, but-"

"I want to wake up now."

Harry does.

He finds himself lying face down on the hard ground again, with the smell of the forest in his nostrils and the hinge of his glasses, which were knocked sideways when he fell, cutting into his temple. He is aching, and the place where the Avada hit him feels like the bruise of a painful punch, but he feigns death by remaining exactly where he had fallen, with his left arm bent out at an awkward angle and his mouth open. 

He expects to hear cheers of triumph and jubilation at his death, but instead he hears hurried footsteps, whispers, and solicitous murmurs filling the air.

He then hears Bellatrix's voice, speaking as if to a lover as she addresses Voldemort. Harry, not daring to open his eyes, allows his other senses to explore his situation, and he finds that his wand is stowed beneath his robes and, due to a slight cushioning effect around his stomach, he knows that the Invisibility Cloak is also there. 

Bellatrix addresses Voldemort again, but he cuts her off. Harry hears more footsteps, and several people back away from the same spot. Opening his eyes a millimeter, Harry sees that Voldemort seems to be getting to his feet with various Death Eaters hurrying away from him, with only Bellatrix remaining kneeled beside him.

Harry closes his eyes and considers what he had seen. The Death Eaters had been huddled around Voldemort, who seemed to have fallen to the ground; perhaps Voldemort had also collapsed when he hit Harry with the Killing Curse. 

Both of them had fallen briefly unconscious and both of them had now returned. 

Voldemort declines Bellatrix's offer of assistance coldly.

"Is he dead?" he asks. His question is met with silence.

There is a bang and a small shriek, and Voldemort orders someone to examine Harry and tell him whether or not he's dead.

Harry feels soft hands touch his face before creeping below his shirt. His heart beats traitourously, revealing his life to the person above him.

He doesn't expect Narcissa's voice, in a barely audible whisper, to say "Is Draco alive? Is he in the castle?"

"Yes," Harry breathes. Narcissa stands.

"He is dead!"

Now the Death Eaters shout, yelling in triumph and stamping their feet, and Harry sees bursts of red and silver light shoot into the air in celebration through his eyelids. Still feigning death on the ground, Harry understands that Narcissa no longer cares whether Voldemort wins, and so she lied to the Dark Lord knowing that the only way she will be permitted to enter Hogwarts and find her son is as part of the conquering army. 

"You see?" screeches Voldemort over the tumult. "Harry Potter is dead by my hand, and no man alive can threaten me now! Watch! Crucio!"

Harry had been expecting it: knows his body will not be allowed to remain unsullied upon the Forest floor, it must be subjected to humiliation to prove Voldemort's victory. He is lifted into the air, and it takes all his determination to remain limp, yet the pain he expected doesn't come.

When he falls to the ground for the last time, the clearing is still echoing with jeers and shrieks of laughter.

Voldemort then announces that they will go to the castle to display to the defenders of Hogwarts what has become of Harry. The monster decides that Hagrid should carry Harry's body, as he will be nice and visible in Hagrid's arms, and Harry feels his glasses slammed onto his face with deliberate force when Voldemort orders that he wear them to be recognizable. 

The enormous hands that lift Harry up are exceedingly gentle, and Harry can feel Hagrid's arms trembling with the force of his sobs; great tears splash down upon him as Hagrid cradles Harry in his arms, but Harry does not dare to tell Hagrid that all is not, yet, lost. 

They march to Hogwarts.

"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort cries triumphantly. "He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as well every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."

Harry hears a scream that sounds like McGonagall, and it hurts, god, it hurts, because he never thought her capable of such a noise. The mocking laughter of another woman nearby is heard, and he knows it's Bellatrix glorying in McGonagall's despair. Harry squints again for a single second and sees the open doorway filling with people as the survivors of the battle come out onto the front steps to face the Death Eaters and see the truth of Harry's death for themselves.

Harry sees Voldemort standing a little in front of him, stroking Nagini's head with a single white finger. 

He then hears Ron, Hermione and Neville's shouts of horror, even worse than McGonagall's, but Harry forces himself to remain lying silent. 

Draco is standing in shock, mouth open, eyes horrified. He looks... broken.

Harry's friends' cries act as a trigger, and the rest of the survivors begin screaming and yelling abuse at the Death Eaters until Voldemort cries for silence and with a bang and flash of bright light, silence is forced upon them all.

Voldemort orders Harry to be lowered down and set at his feet, and he proclaims to the survivors that Harry Potter was nothing but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him. 

"Fuck you!" Ron shouts, breaking the Silencing Charm. "Harry was always better than you!"

The defenders of Hogwarts shout and scream once more until another bang extinguishes their voices once more.

"Harry Potter was killed when trying to sneak out of the castle grounds-" Voldemort repeats, but he's interrupted by a scuffle and a shout, then a bang, a flash of light, and a grunt of pain. 

Opening his eyes slightly, Harry sees that someone has broken free of the crowd and charged at Voldemort, but hit the ground, disarmed, and Voldemort laughs as he throws the challenger's wand aside.

"Who is this? Who is it that wants to show what happens to people who continue to fight when the battle is lost?" Voldemort asks.

"Neville Longbottom, my lord!" Bellatrix exclaims gleefully. "He's been giving the Carrows lots of trouble this year, the son of Alice and Frank Longbottom!"

"I must say, Nevile, I am impressed by your bravery. You would be a valuable Death Eater."

"Get fucked!" Neville shouts, stepping back one step. "Dumbledore's Army!"

There is an answering cheer from the crowd.

"Very well," Voldemort responds in a dangerous, silky voice. "If that is your choice, you shall die." He raises his voice to acknowledge the crowd. "Is there anyone here who would like to live, and to join my ranks? I am merciful, you see! I provide you with a second chance!"

"Draco," Lucius says to the answering silence. "Come."

"Ah, the Malfoy boy! Kidnapped by Potter and his friends, were you? You shall be rewarded for your loyalty. Come, my child."

Harry watches Draco move almost robotically. He steps down from his place, ignoring the anguished looks from Hermione and Ron, approaching his parents slowly.

"Father," he says slowly. 

"Yes, my son?" Lucius' eyes shine with pride.

"Fuck you." Draco punches Lucius in the face. The man falls down. Narcissa cries out.

"Fighting the Muggle way, Draco?" Voldemort says coolly. "How... unconventional."

"My lord," Draco breathes, stepping closer to Voldemort, and only then does Harry see the basilisk fang his pale fingers curl around. "May I speak my mind?"

"Of course! Someone with as much loyalty as you deserves a reward."

"Well then. With as much respect and honor as I can manage-"Draco drops to his knees before Voldemort. "Get fucked."

Several things happen at once.

The first one Harry registers is Draco swinging his left arm and stabbing the fang directly into Nagini's head before spinning away in a movie Harry has only seen in old karate movies and bolting back to Ron and Hermione, who pull him toward them for safety.

The next is Voldemort's scream.

Then the uproar from the distant boundary of the school as what sounds like hundreds of people come swarming over the out-of-sight walls and pelt toward the castle with loud war cries. 

Then, coming around the side of the castle, he sees Grawp furiously yell "HAGGER!", and Voldemort's giants roar in return, running at Grawp like bull elephants, making the ground tremble beneath them. Grawp, showing no fear, despite actually being a young giant himself, flings himself at the oncoming giants and begins to pummel and floor them. 

Finally comes then the sound of hooves and the twangs of bows as the centaurs, ending their neutrality, join the fray. Arrows begin falling amongst the Death Eaters, who break ranks with shouts of surprise. Harry sees great winged creatures soaring around the heads of Voldemort's giants, and Thestrals and Buckbeak scratching at their eyes while Grawp punches and pummels them. Both defenders of Hogwarts and Death Eaters are flooding into the castle, and Harry decides at that moment to launch himself from Hagrid's arms.

He darts through the crowd, yanking the Cloak around himself as people flood into the Great Hall and the sounds of battle once more ring out.

He sees Voldemort in the center of the battle, striking and smiting all within reach. Harry can't get a clear shot of him, but he fights his way closer, still invisible, and the Great Hall becomes more and more crowded as everyone who can walk forces their way inside. Harry watches as the Death Eaters, outnumbered by the defenders and allies of Hogwarts, are taken down one by one.

Yaxley is slammed into the floor, and Fred and George high-five over him.

Dolohov falls at Flitwick's hand.

Hermione Stuns Macnair.

Ron and Neville bring down Fenrir.

Aberforth hits Rookwood with a spell Harry doesn't recognize.

Arthur and Percy bring down Pius.

Narcissa and Lucius run throughout the battle, not bothering to fight, instead screaming for their son. They freeze when they see him.

He's pointing his wand right at them.

He Stuns them both without apology.

Harry watches almost every Death Eater fall at the hands of those around him, until only Bellatrix and Voldemort remain.

Voldemort duels Kingsley, Slughorn, and McGonagall. Bellatrix duels Hermione, Ginny, and Luna.

Harry's attention is diverted as Bellatrix fires a Killing Curse that shoots so close to Ginny that she misses death by an inch, and he changes course, running after Bellatrix rather than Voldemort. 

Before he gets more than few steps, however, he is knocked sideways by an enraged Molly Weasley, who throws off her cloak to free her arms, running at Bellatrix, furious at the Death Eater's attempted murder of her daughter.

Bellatrix roars with laughter at the sight of her new challenger, and Molly orders the girls to step aside. With a swipe of her wand, she begins to duel. Harry watches as Molly's wand slashes and twirls, and Bellatrix Lestrange's smile falters and becomes a snarl. 

Jets of light fly from both wands, the floor around their feet becoming hot and cracked, both witches fighting to kill. As a few students run forward, trying to come to her aid, Molly shouts for them to get back and leave Bellatrix to her. 

Hundreds of people now line the walls, watching the two fights: Voldemort and his three opponents, Bellatrix and Molly, while Harry stands, invisible, torn between both, wanting to attack and yet to protect, unable to be sure that he won't hit the innocent.

As Bellatrix, as mad as her master, taunts Molly about how painfully she'll kill Ginny even as Molly's curses come within inches of her, Molly screams that Bellatrix will never touch her children. 

Bellatrix laughs, loud and exhilarated, and Harry suddenly knows what's going to happen before it does. 

Molly's well-aimed curse soars beneath Bellatrix's outstretched arm and hits her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart. Bellatrix's gloating smile freezes, her eyes seem to bulge; for a split second, she knows what had happened, and then she topples, the watching crowd roars, and Voldemort screams.

Harry feels as though he turns in slow motion. He sees McGonagall, Kingsley, and Slughorn blasted backward, flailing and writhing through the air as Voldemort's fury at the fall of his last, best lieutenant explodes with the force of a bomb. 

Voldemort raises his wand and directs it at Molly Weasley, but Harry roars and a Shield Charm expands in the middle of the Hall, and Voldemort stares around for the source as Harry pulls off the Invisibility Cloak at last. 

Shouts of surprise and relief go around the Great Hall, and Draco's scream of "Harry!" rises above them all.

 "I don't want anyone else to try to help. It's got to be like this. It's got to be me," Harry says, sure the people around him are listening.

Voldemort laughs. "Potter doesn't mean that. That isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?"

"Nobody. There are no more. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good."

"And you think it will be me?" Voldemort laughs. "Foolish. You think you can survive, the boy who survived by accident, because Dumbledore pulled some strings?"

"Accident, Tom? Was it an accident when my mother died to save me? When I told you to go fuck yourself, and you killed me, and I came back?"

"ACCIDENTS!" Voldemort roars. He still does not strike. The hundreds watching them are frozen as though Petrified. "Accidents and chance. You sniveled behind the skirts of greater men and women and permitted for me to kill them to save yourself!"

"You won't be killing anyone else tonight," Harry replies as they stare into each other's eyes, green into red. "You won't be able to kill any of them ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people-"

"But you did not!"

"-I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?"

Voldemort glares.

"I know a lot of important things you don't, Riddle. Want to hear some before you make another big mistake?"

Voldemort doesn't speak, and Harry knows he has him temporarily at bay, mesmerized, held back by a possibility that Harry might indeed know a final secret.

"Is it love?" Voldemort jeers. "Dumbledore's favorite solution that he claimed conquered death, but love did not stop me from killing your mother, or Dumbledore falling from the top of the Astronomy Tower. And nobody seemed to love you enough to run forward and take my curse."

"Take my curse sounds a bit inappropriate."

There's a snort from the crowd that sounds like Ron.

 Voldemort sneers. "If nobody sacrifices themselves for you, who will stop you from dying when I strike? If it isn't love that will save you, you must believe you possess magic I do not, or a weapon more powerful than my own."

"I have both."

Shock flits across the snakelike face, but Voldemort laughs. "I know more magic than you. I am Lord Voldemort. I have performed magic Dumbledore himself has never even dreamed of."

"Good for you. I'm still gonna kick your ass, and you still haven't asked the right question yet."

"And what would that question be?"

Harry grins. "Before I answer that, you deserve a little background information. Dumbledore didn't die because of you. He chose his manner of death months before he died, he arranged it all with a man you thought to be your servant."

"A childish dream!" Voldemort mocks, red eyes never wavering from Harry's.

"Snape was never yours, Tom. He was Dumbledore's from the moment you chose to hunt down my mother. You never realized it because of the one thing you can never understand. Have you ever seen Snape cast a Patronus?"

Voldemort does not respond. 

"His Patronus was a doe, the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time they were children. Tell me, Tom, did Snape not ask you to spare Lily Potter?"

Voldemort sneered. "Snape only desired her. When she was gone, he agreed that there were women of purer blood, worthier of him."

"Of course he told you that, but in reality, he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment my mother was threatened, he had worked against you ever since, and Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him."

Voldemort had followed every word with rapt attention, but now lets out a cackle of mad laughter. "None of this matters! It doesn't matter is Severus is mine or Dumbledore's, because I am the one standing, and they are dead!"

"And that's where you're wrong," Harry replies easily. "Because here comes the part you've been waiting for; the question you should have asked."

Voldemort's eyes narrow into slits.

"The question, Tom, is who is the true master of the Elder Wand?"

"I killed Severus, and he killed Dumbledore! The wand is mine!" Voldemort cackles gleefully.

"And that would be true if Snape had ever been the master of the Elder Wand. He never was."

"You are-"

"Don't interrupt me!" Harry frowns. "It's rude."

Voldemort's mouth falls open in genuine shock. Soft laughter that sounds like Seamus comes from behind Harry. 

"Snape didn't defeat Dumbledore, because their death was planned between them. Dumbledore had intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master, and that if all had gone as planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because it had never been won from him."

"This means Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand, because I stole it from its last master's tomb, removed it against its last master's wishes, the wand's power is mine!"

"You don't understand, Tom. Possessing it isn't enough, using and holding it doesn't make it yours, like many things in life."

"Excuse me?"

"The Elder Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realizing exactly what he had done, or that he had attained the allegiance of the world's most dangerous wand."

Voldemort's chest rises and falls rapidly, and Harry can feel the curse coming, building inside the wand Voldemort has in his hand.

"The master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy."

He hears Draco gasp softly from somewhere behind him.

"No matter. I will attend to him after you."

"Tom, if you had taken third grade English, you would have realized I just said was, not is. I'm still talking. Stop interrupting me."

"You dare-"

"Shut up. Let me finish."

Soft laughter rings through the Great Hall. Voldemort looks infuriated.

"Because when Draco came with me and Hermione and Ron, we had to maintain the illusion that we had kidnapped him in case he was captured by Death Eaters. So, when we planned to go to the Malfoy Manor and he begged us to let him come, three things happened."

Voldemort's angry eyes flick behind Harry to Draco, before coming back.

"Ron hit him with an Incarcerous. Hermione bound his legs. And I... I Disarmed him."

Voldemort's eyes are widening now.

"You see, I didn't think it through at the time, didn't realize what my actions meant for me. But, now you know the answer to the question you should have asked. The answer, Tom, is me. I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

Gasps go throughout the crowd around them. Voldemort glares.

"IMPOSSIBLE!"

"It all comes down to this, Tom. Whether or not the Elder Wand knows its last master was Disarmed, because if it does..."

A red-gold glow bursts suddenly across the enchanted sky above as the sun appears over the sill of the nearest window, and the light hits both of their faces at the same time; nature itself indicating the time had come.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort screams at the same time Harry shouts "Expelliarmus!"

There is a bang like a cannon blast, and golden flames erupt between them at the dead center, marking the point where the spells collide. Voldemort's green jet of light meets Harry's spell and the Elder Wand wrenches itself from Voldemort's hand, spinning across the ceiling toward the master it refuses to kill. Harry catches the wand in his free hand as Voldemort falls backward, arms splayed and the slit pupils of scarlet eyes rolling upward. Voldemort hits the ground, his body feeble and shrunken, his snakelike face vacant and unknowing. Voldemort is dead by his own rebounding curse, and Harry looks down at his enemy's shell with the two wands in his hand.

The stunned silence of the Great Hall lasts all of four seconds before the cheers begin.

May 3, 1998

Harry stands in the makeshift hospital that the Great Hall has become, the three Deathly Hallows in his hands.

"What will you do with them?" Draco asks quietly.

"Well, the Elder Wand is wood," Harry says simply. He throws it on the floor and points his own wand at it. "Incendio."

Ron squeaks softly as the wand catches fire, and within seconds is a pile of ash.

"That's one," Harry says casually, and starts walking. His three best friends chase after him, asking him what he's doing.

Harry reaches the Great Lake and throws the Stone as far as he can.

"That's two."

He shrinks the Cloak and shoves it in his pocket. 

"That's three. Taken care of, for my lifetime at least." He shrugs and grins a bit. "Let's go."

August 6, 1998

"They're joking," Draco says, standing on Harry's doorstep.

Harry blinks. "Erm, hello to you too? You weren't supposed to come over until Friday?"

Draco holds the paper up for Harry to read.

"They want us to come back to retake our seventh year!"

August 12, 1998

Harry, 

You're going to fucking Hogwarts with Ron and me. I've already owled Draco."

Love, Hermione.

August 13, 1998

Hermione,

Not a fucking chance

Love, Harry 

September 1, 1998

Harry is on the train to Hogwarts.

He's still bitter, but the smiles on his best friends' faces is worth it.

October 13, 1998

"You know what my first thought was, when I saw you in Hagrid's arms?"

"Hm?" Harry glances up from his Charms paper, eyes falling on the gorgeous blonde in front of him before darting back to his homework.

"How mad I was at myself for never giving myself a chance to tell you I love you."

Harrys homework falls to the floor, and his head snaps up to see Draco.

Draco blushes. "I do, you know. Love you. Have for a really long time."

"When I thought I was going to die," Harry whispers. "When I was walking through the Great Hall under my Cloak, you looked so lost. It took everything to stop myself from hugging you and telling you I had been in love with you forever."

Draco lets out a small, relieved gasp. "Why didn't you?"

"I figured it would only hurt more when I was gone."

Draco laughs softly, eyes catching Harry's. "Well, fuck."

October 15, 1998

Harry kisses Draco for the first time, with only the moonlight to witness them.

December 20, 1998

"I fucking knew it! I knew you dumbasses would get together!"

"Sirius, you're embarrassing me."

"It's my job."

"Hiya, Teddy!" Draco exclaims, diverting the conversation to the tiny nine-month-old giggling and waving his hands at Draco. He scoops the child up, crooning.

Sirius meets Harry's eyes and mouths He's perfect. 

Harry hits him.

May 2, 2000

Harry proposes.

Draco says yes.

It's easier now to remember May 2 as the day Harry proposed instead of the war.

September 1, 2017

Autumn seems to arrive suddenly this year. The morning of the first of September is crisp as an apple, and as the little family bobs across the rumbling road toward the great sooty station, the fumes of car exhausts and the breath of pedestrians sparkle like cobwebs in the cold air. 

Two large cages tattle on top of the laden trolleys the parents are pushing; the owls inside them hoot indignantly, and the redheaded girl trails fearfully behind her brothers, clutching her father's arm.

"It won't be long, and you'll be going too," Harry tells her.

"Two years," Lily sniffs. "I want to go now!"

The commuters stare curiously at the owls as the family weaves its way toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Scorpius' voice drifting back to Harry over the surrounding clamor; his sons have resumed the argument they had started in the car.

"I won't! I won't be a Slytherin!"

"James, give it a rest!" says Draco.

"I only said he might be," James replies, grinning at his younger brother. "There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slytherin."

Draco rolls his eyes. "Truly, James, if he is, you really will be the odd one out. Three Slytherins and a Gryffindor. The black sheep of the family, you are," he sighs dramatically. "We'll have to disown you, it's the only way."

James' laughter rings throughout King's Cross, and even Scorpius cracks a smile.

The five Potters approach the barrier. With a slightly cocky look over his shoulder at his younger brother, James takes the trolley from Harry and breaks into a run. A moment later, he has vanished.

"You'll write to me, won't you?" Scorpius asks his parents immediately, capitalizing on the momentary absence of his brother.

"Every day, if you want us to," says Draco.

"Not every day," Scorpius replies quickly, "James says most people only get letters from home about once a month."

"We wrote to James three times a week last year," Draco sighs. "Overdramatic bitch."

Harry hits him before turning to Scorpius. "And you don't want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts. He likes a laugh, your brother."

Side by side, they push the second trolley forward, gathering speed. As they reach the barrier, Scorpius winces, but no collision comes. Instead, the family emerges onto platform nine and three-quarters, which is obscured by thick white steam that pours from the scarlet Hogwarts Express. Indistinct figures are swarming through the mist, into which James has already disappeared.

"Where are they?" asked Scorpius anxiously, peering at the hazy forms they pass as they make their way down the platform.

"We'll find them," Draco reassures.

But the vapor is dense, and it is difficult to make out anybody's faces. Detached from their owners, voices sound unnaturally loud, Harry thinks he hears Percy discoursing loudly on broomstick regulations, and is quite glad of the excuse not to stop and say hello.

"I think that's them, Scorp," Draco comments suddenly.

A group of four people emerges from the mist, standing alongside the very last carriage. Their faces only come into focus when Harry, Draco, Lily, and Scorpius have drawn right up to them.

"Hi," Scorpius sighs, sounding immensely relieved.

Rose, who is already wearing her brand-new Hogwarts robes, beams at him.

"Parked all right then?" Ron asks Harry. "I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to Confund the examiner."

"No, I didn't," Hermione protests. "I had complete faith in you."

"As a matter of fact, I did Confund him," Ron whispers to Harry and Draco as they lift Scorpius's trunk and owl onto the rain. "I only forgot to look in the wing mirror, and let's face it, I can use a Supersensory Charm for that."

Draco snorts. "Ever the genius, Weasley."

"That's Granger-Weasley, watch yourself or Hermione'll sock you," Ron replies with a grin.

Back on the platform, they find Lily and Hugo, Rose's younger brother, having an animated discussion about which House they will be sorted into when they finally went to Hogwarts.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you," Ron says. "But no pressure."

"Ron!"

Lily and Hugo laugh, but Scorpius and Rose look solemn.

"He doesn't mean it," Hermione and Harry say in unison, but Ron is no longer paying attention. Catching Harry's eye, he nods covertly to a point some fifty yards away. The steam has thinned for a moment, and three people stand in sharp relief against the shifting mist.

"Look who it is."

Harry feels Draco tense next to him when he sees Blaise and Astoria standing next to their child. After a long argument with Astoria about why he couldn't marry her, Draco and she had never been on good terms, a fact that only rubbed salt in the wound when Blaise wasn't allowed to invite Harry or Draco to their wedding. 

Blaise catches sight of the group, giving them a small wave and smile before turning back to his family.

"So that's little Angelo," Ron says under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake," Hermione sighs, half-stern, half-amused. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry," Ron relents, but he grins and adds "Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

Harry notices Scorpius leaning forward to watch Angelo in interest before he turns as James shouts "Hey!"

James has divested himself of his trunk, owl, and trolley, and is evidently bursting with news.

"Teddy's back there," he says breathlessly, pointing back over his shoulder into the billowing clouds of steam. "Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!"

He gazes up at the adults, evidently disappointed by the lack of reaction. "Our Teddy! Teddy Black! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-"

"You interrupted them?" Draco asks incredulously. "You really are Sirius' child-"

"-and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!" James adds as though worried he has not made himself clear.

"Oh, it would be lovely if they got married!" Lily whispers ecstatically. "Teddy would really be part of the family then!"

"He already comes round for dinner about four times a week," Harry comments. "Why don't we just invite him to live with us and have done with it?"

"Yeah!" James agrees enthusiastically. "I don't mind sharing a room with Scorp- Teddy could have my room!"

"No," Draco and Harry say at the same time, in the same tone. Harry continues. "You and Scorpius will share a room only when I want the house demolished."

He checks his watch. "It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."

"Don't forget to give Neville our love!" Draco teases James as he hugs his son.

"Shut up, dad!" James grins, hugging Harry and kicking Scorpius in the shin. "See you, Scorp. Watch out of the thestrals."

"I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!"

James just laughs and darts away. He turns to wave once before joining his friends.

"Thestrals are nothing to worry about," Harry reassures Scorpius. "They're gentle things, nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won't be going to school in the carriages, you'll go in the boats."

Draco kisses Scorpius's forehead. "We'll see you at Christmas, love."

Harry hugs him. "Don't forget Hagrid's invited you to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves. Don't duel anyone until you've learned how. And don't let James wind you up."

"What if I'm in Slytherin?"

The whisper is for Harry alone, and Harry knows that only the moment of departure could have forced Scorpius to reveal how great and sincere that fear is. 

Harry crouches down so that Scorpius's face is slightly above his own. Despite having his father's signature blonde hair, Scorpius is the only one of Harry's children to have green eyes. Both of his other ones have his black hair and Draco's grey eyes.

"Scorpius Narcissus Potter," Harry says quietly, so that nobody but Draco can hear, and he is tactful enough to be pretending to wave at Rose, who is now on the train. "You are named for three things. Scorpius is one of the brightest constellations in the sky. Narcissa Malfoy was a Slytherin, and she saved my life. And I was a Slytherin, and I'm a badass motherfucker. Am I not a badass motherfucker?"

Scorpius's expression cracks a bit and he laughs weakly. "But just say-"

"-then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student. But it doesn't matter to us, Scorp. If it matters to you, you can choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

"Really?"

"It did for me," Harry replies. 

He had never told any of his children that before, and he sees the wonder in Scorpius's face when he says it.

"It tried to put me in every house but Slytherin, and I wouldn't let it. And for the record, your other dad was a Slytherin too, and he's also a badass motherfucker."

Scorpius laughs again and Draco finally stops pretending to wave at Rose, turning to grin at his husband. But now the doors are slamming all along the scarlet train, and amidst the blurred outlines of parents swarming forward for final kisses and last-minute reminders, Scorpius jumps into the carriage and Draco closes the door behind him. Students are hanging from the windows nearest them. A great number of faces, both on the train and off, seem to be turned toward Harry.

"Why are they all staring?" Scorpius demands as he and Rose crane around to look at the other students.

"Don't let it worry you," Ron says. "It's me, I'm extremely famous."

Scorpius, Rose, Hugo, and Lily laugh. The train begins to move, and Harry walks alongside it, watching his son's thin face, already ablaze with excitement. Harry keeps smiling and waving, even though it's like a little bereavement, watching his son glide away from him.

The last trace of steam evaporates in the autumn air. The train rounds a corner. Harry's hand is still raised in farewell.

"He'll be alright," murmurs Draco, winding an arm around Harry's waist and kissing a spot on his neck.

As Harry looks at him, he lowers his hand absentmindedly and twists the silver and green bracelet on his wrist. Draco's own still remains on his wrist.

"I know he will."

The scar has not pained Harry for nineteen years.

All is well.