Some things had definitely changed due to Draco's meddling with the past. He hadn't just started hanging out with Gryffindors, sat at their table, helped them with school work and stuff... No... The change had also had subtle consequences. Consequences of no doubt small scale but no less significant.

Umbridge was still being kept under control by Dumbledore because the DA had not yet been found out by her Inquisition. It had been the discovery of the DA that had caused Dumbledore to flee and Umbridge to reign control. She could still fire people like Trewlaney but that's where her limits lay. Trewlaney stayed in Hogwarts and Firenze the Centaur became their new divination's teacher, not that Draco knew much about him, considering that he'd never chosen the subject to begin with. Harry had mentioned it, though. Dumbledore remaining in Hogwarts meant that Hagrid would not be persuaded to leave the premises during their OWLs either and McGonagall would never get hurt in the attempt to protect him.

Another minor change had to do with the Slytherin Quidditch team. Since Draco had taken a step back from Quidditch, Slytherin was somehow less capable than what Draco had expected. They were pretty much being wiped out this year. Which only proved to Draco that his father's influence had been the only reason why Slytherin had such good chances last time around. They had been the only team who were allowed to practice under Umbridge's rule, a fact that was no longer in effect since Draco had resigned.

But the worst, most tragic change was one that Draco quite sincerely grieved. Since Umbridge's never became headmaster, this also prevented the the greatest and most epic resignation that had ever occurred in the history of Hogwarts. It was devastating. Draco felt berethed of this opportunity, and worse, he had caused the prevention!

The Weasley twins remained in Hogwarts.

No fireworks, no corridors that had been turned to swamps, no teachers who enjoyed watching Umbridge run from one classroom to another. Draco was beyond disappointed. Last time, he had belonged to the team that had to clean up the mess. This year, he could have relished in the destruction.

On the other hand, the twins eventually searched him out to help them with their business. Since Draco was pretty decent at potions, and had a devious side himself, he could help them develop some candy that really came in handy when you wanted to skip classes. It seemed that something had changed their mind about Draco. Otherwise they probably wouldn't have sought him out for help. According to Ronald, it was all Harry's fault. Apparently, 'Harry had lost his mind.' Draco had suggested therapy which had made Ronald laugh. In truth, Draco supposed it had to do with Hermione. She must have told them who had given her the recipe for the antidote to Umbridge's truth serum.

And in all this chaos, it was soon time for the OWLs.

Draco must admit, he felt much more prepared for defence against the Dark Arts exam than last time around. Not that he had felt lacking in the first place. It was just that Potter easily overshadowed even Hermione Granger in that field, and as a teacher, he rivalled even Snape. (What could he say, Snape was still Draco's favourite teacher.) While Draco remembered that Granger hadn't met Snape's expectations to be able to take DADA last time around (Draco promised himself to never tell her that), he wondered if Snape would even become their new DADA teacher in the first place. How much had Draco changed thus far? Had he, maybe, accidentally, prevented Umbridge from leaving her post?

While Draco thought so highly of Potter, he soon found both Granger and Harry insisting on studying potions with him. Which Granger claimed he were better at, which was a blatant lie and Potter... well... Draco thought Potter was suddenly very keen on spending more time with him. He decided not to dwell on it. It would do him no good to question the meaning behind Potter's actions. Either way, since both of them were so eager for his teachings, Ronald Weasley also joined them on their sessions and like that, they evened out the fields that they sucked at. Granger, for one, was exceptional at transfigurations and charms and Weasley had a surprising talent for history of magic, despite his claims to the contrary. Of course, Neville overshadowed them all at herbeology.

Between all these lessons, extra curricular and studying, Draco lost track of time. He was too busy focusing on school to notice anything or anyone else. Except, of course, the obvious changes that were so little and seemingly insignificant, but still made him feel incredibly wary of what was to come. He knew, this was just the beginning, the calm before the storm. Which was just another reason why the distractions relieved him.

An unexpected hurdle presented itself in his practical DADA exam.
Draco had managed the written part well enough. Being a therapist meant he came a lot into contact with muggle patients who had been hit by these spells. He knew the effects, both physically and mentally. He kept them in mind at all times. And that was without all the experiences with curses that haunted his dreams anyways. The practical, however-. There were a few silent spells he had to prove to have mastered, a few defence spells, a few offence spells. The offence spells still weighted heavy on his wrist but with Potter's teachings, he made it just fine. Then, of course, he had to identify some magical creatures and explain how to defeat them. And then...

"You're FUCKING with me."

Admittedly, that was not something you should say to the man who was grading you and held your entire future in his hands. In Draco's opinion, this was the ONLY valid reaction to the giant treasure chest that had been put in the middle of the room. A treasure chest that had been specifically put there for his exam. He didn't see one with any of the other students. Of all the examiners Draco had gotten, he HAD to have gotten the one with the fucking boggart.

"My my, Mr. Malfoy. Mind your language, please. The boggart is a creature you were all facing in your third year, according to my records. You dealt with it just fine, according to Professor Lupin's notes. There is no need to worry."

"This has GOT to be breaking some kind of school or mental health regulations. You want me to show my worst fears in front of the entire school?" There was a reason why Draco had taken a dislike to Remus Lupin back in the day and it had a lot less to do with Snape than people may accuse him of.

The examiner now looked a bit miffed. He gave Draco an impatient glare. "Mr. Malfoy. This is a safe environment. You have nothing to be afraid of." That sentence might as well have been quoted directly from Professor Toad-bridge.

Draco had already forgotten his examiner's actual name. "Nothing to fear? Except the very thing I am most afraid of? Not to be a Karen, but I would really like a word with your manager."

Irritation formed on the rather round face of the man who was perhaps two heads smaller than Draco himself. "I am not familiar with these proverbs, Mr. Malfoy. I must ask you to calm down. You have mastered everything else. I'm sure you can do this, too." He looked curious as he watched Draco's reaction closely.

There was giggling in the room, most likely by people who had finished their examination early and now used their precious extra time to bully him. But Draco did NOT feel okay. This was NOT what had happened in his first round. What had happened that he was suddenly supposed to face a boggart in his exam? He hadn't even covered that with Potter yet (mostly because Potter had distracted him)! He didn't even know what he would be seeing! And he was pretty damn sure it wasn't what he had seen the first time around. "If you know about my third year grades, you must be aware of my panic attacks? I'm sure you can make an exception." Draco was pleading now, he could feel the blood leaving his face at the mere idea what he could be seeing. It could be anything from Bellatrix or Nagini or Voldemort, to even Potter's death.

The examiner sighed patiently. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Malfoy. Such Muggle sicknesses don't work on wizards and I'm not fool enough to let you miss this part of the exam just because you find it a little bit scary. We have it from Professor Lupin's notes that your worst fear is disappointing your father. That is a challenge any wizard should be able to face. Unless you want to fail this class. Now, wand up." For Slazar's sake. Draco hated that the Slytherin boycott of Lupin's class at the time hadn't been received well by the teachers, even if Snape had seemed somewhat proud of his house. They had been forced to take Lupin's obstacle course anyways. It had sucked and Draco hadn't left his quarters for days.

Draco swallowed heavily and considered if maybe risking a Troll in DADA was worth being spared from this. Suddenly, he really wished Harry was here. Not for emotional support as much as to save him. If that meant to be taken on a very deadly suicidal adventure where they would meet the Dark Lord, fine. Then at least, everyone in here would be worried and not LAUGHING about him. And they really were laughing. Either that or Draco was having auditory hallucinations again. The laughter did sound suspiciously like Bellatrix. He hadn't had those in a while... Draco was trying to catch his breath as his hands began to sweat and his wand threatened to slip through his fingers. He stepped back for emotional distance, but that was all the preparation he was given, when the stupid treasure box was opened.

There were so many things he was terrified of.

He had expected Voldemort to come crawling from the Vanishing cabinet. That was, at least, his very first idea. Then he thought that Voldemort would be defeated one day and that gave him hope. And if there was hope, then Draco was not afraid of this as much as he ought to be. The thought puzzled him for a moment.

The formless boggart hovered above the treasure chest, locking eyes with Draco and no doubt trying to read his worst fears right from the surface of his soul. It looked as puzzled as Draco felt. Draco was sure it wouldn't end up being Voldemort. It couldn't be. Draco had very clear memories of what had happened, back when he had been serving him. And Voldemort hadn't outright tortured him back then. Just expected the impossible of him. The impossible, which he very well knew Draco couldn't do for him. Draco had survived that. He could survive it again. There had been people who had done worse to him than that.

So his thoughts went to Bellatrix calling him in her singsong voice. Invading his mind and crucioing him. But now, he could use occlumency. She was no longer a threat. He no longer needed her lessons, so she no longer had that power over him. He didn't have to be afraid of her anymore.

His thought travelled to Dumbledore falling from the Astronomy tower. Draco wondered for a moment what it would feel like to see that right here, in this room, with a dozen witnesses. How laughable would that be? Dumbledore was alive and Draco had no reason to kill him this time.

So Draco imagined Nagini hovering over Snape's poisoned body. The one he had later carried off school grounds. What could be worse than that? Or worse than Nagini eating a child?

His mind answered easily: Fiendfire. Being followed and hunted by a bunch of chimeras made of fire so hot it boiled the blood in your veins. So hot, it could destroy Horkruxes or kill your childhood friend. But the fact that it could destroy Voldemort- that was a good thing, wasn't it? Wasn't it good to know that Voldemort could be destroyed by something as simple as fire?

It was at this point that Draco realised the boggart hadn't manifested yet. It seemed confused as to what form to take. It was waiting for Draco and the examiner seemed to notice that too. "Mr. Malfoy. Now, if you please."

"Soon... give me... give me a moment." Draco had taken so many lives in this war. Not by killing them himself, but by letting them die. He could imagine the blood on his hands. He could imagine the Dark Mark and yes... that was all scary... but... That was not his worst fear.

Nothing could ever live up to that feeling that he'd had, when it was Potter in front of him, his face completely morphed into something unrecognisable. Well... for anyone but Draco. Because Draco knew those emerald eyes like no one else's. But Draco was not afraid of Potter being captured, or him dying. Because he knew what happened when Harry bloody Potter died. The motherfucker just necromanced himself back to life. That wasn't nearly as scary as it ought to be. It was hope inducing. It was a powerful reminder that the good side would prevail.

And then he could hear his mother's voice in his ear, as real as day, begging him to make a decision. To save their family. Draco went very still as that thought hit him.
It didn't matter what Draco would have done. Potter would have died either way.
Had Draco ratted him out, they would have called Voldemort, so he could have killed Harry right then and there. His parents would have gotten the glory. Draco would have been treated like a hero. Had he lied, they would have killed him for being a Slytherin traitor. They'd kill his parents too for raising him wrong. For making him weak and for choosing the good side. Not making a decision had saved Potter and turned the Dark Lord's wrath on them all.
And then, well... then Potter had sacrificed himself for all of them anyways. All that Draco had been able to provide back then was time... Not making a decision had always saved him and his family. Draco had always handed the responsibilities to someone else, so he could live a comfortable life.

Draco swallowed as the boggart twitched, as if finally getting a grip on Draco's worst fear.

And Draco was starting to get it, too. The thing Draco was most afraid of, the thing that terrified him every day and every night was that his decisions didn't matter.
He was afraid that they mattered too. And nothing was more terrifying than knowing that nothing good would come of it. To know the future was set in stone and he could do nothing to prevent it, could only make it worse. No matter how often he may turn back in time, no matter how many chances Draco would get, in the best case scenario it would end up the same, in the worst case, it could be so much worse and it would all be Draco's fault.

A single tear ran down his cheek as he started to see himself more clearly than ever before.

Draco's worst fear was that it would all end up the same, with him in his room, dreading the future, haunted by the past. He wouldn't be able to leave, he'd have no place to go besides. No place to belong and no people to be visited by, no one to hold on to. His past and his future would be the very same as it always had been and always would be. And Draco would accept that. And Draco would wish he was dead.

Disappointing his father? What Draco wouldn't give to be afraid of that again.

At the same time Draco realised this, the boggart morphed into a person and Draco ended up looking at himself. An older version of himself. One without a wand. One with that haunted look in his eyes and a Dark Mark on his arm. It was the Draco he used to see in the mirror, the very same sight that made him destroy his mirror. It was the Draco he was destined to become. Draco couldn't raise his hand against that person, knowing he deserved to suffer.

He could hear whispers behind him. His examiner was raising a brow as if this was a joke.

Draco felt awfully calm. He was still trembling and he felt himself shut down. This was his worst fear and he faced it every day. He could deal with this because he had long accepted it! His own mind had been torturing him with this image every single day. It was deserved. All the pain, all the self harm. It was like Draco was making sure the people of his past were avenged. The man before him looked so tired and worn out. Tired and powerless. His left arm exposed, his entire figure starved and worn out.... It was a bizarre feeling to have. To look at the worst version of yourself and know it was inevitable. To know that this was who you really were and that you could never escape it.

"Mr. Malfoy... the spell?"

Draco sank to his knees. His hand with the wand was shaking and he let it clatter to the ground. The weight of the wand alone broke him. The sight of himself like that drained him of any strength he'd ever gathered. He couldn't breathe.

"Mr. Malfoy... could you explain to me what's happening here? I can't give you any points, if you're not using a spell." He looked almost angry. But the confusion seemed to be winning out. Draco barely heard the question.

Draco could not be saved from his freeze. He remained unresponsive no matter how many times he was talked to. Draco's gray eyes were glued to himself.

He had to be physically removed from the Great Hall and was forced to spend a night in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey kept scolding him the whole way through and it was the most reassuring sound. For the life of him, Draco did not know what he had been thinking in that moment, consumed by the sight of himself in utter ruin.
Stuck. In time.

Draco had almost believed that the gossip about his strange boggart would be the only News that would shake the school that week.

As it turned out, Draco had been too arrogant or optimistic about the occlumency lessons. All the studying had Potter worn out and he'd had another nightmare in the middle of their history exam. Voldemort had been back in his head. And the first person Potter informed of it was Draco himself. Which would have been a surprise, if Harry hadn't shown that he was beginning to trust Draco maybe a touch too much.

Draco blanched as Potter told him the details about Sirius Black dying. And the worst part was... He didn't know how it would play out this time. Last time, Sirius had not died because Voldemort had killed him. Bellatrix had been the one, according to her bragging. Which was why Draco had no idea if Sirius was seriously dying or not. Harry didn't mention a woman around him, so how could he be sure? His exam had changed, how could he be sure that Sirius wasn't in grave danger? Could this be his fault? Or was this, a fake image of Sirius dying, the original reason why Potter and the DA had invaded the ministry? Draco had no way of knowing.

None the less, he had to think about this hard. They could still all die in their attempt to protect Sirius Black! Ironically, Draco himself was the one factor he could not calculate in right now. Of course his heroes survived last time. Would they too, while Draco was there? Or would Draco himself die? Or cause some of their deaths instead?

Thankfully, Draco was prepared, he still had an ace up his sleeve.

"Okay, Harry, stay calm."

"How am I supposed to stay calm? Draco- I have to save him! I need you to go and send a letter to Dumbledore and tell him -," because of course Dumbledore had once again chosen the worst timing ever to disappear. Potter was skittish and he looked as if he was about to start a war. Which probably wasn't far from the truth.

"No. Harry, stop." Draco put both hands on Potter's shoulders in the middle of the hallway. For one to ground him, for another to keep him from running into his death. "We don't know if he's really hurt. Voldemort could be putting those images in your head. This is a trap."

"It wasn't last time with Ron's father, was it?"

Draco shook his head and grabbed Potter by the wrist to drag him into an empty classroom. There, he made sure to close the door, so that no passing student or teacher could see what he was up to. Time to use his safe file.

"Kreacher!"

With a puff, the houseelf appeared out of nowhere. His grimacing face turned into a smile and he bowed to Draco as soon as he saw him. His neck was bare of the Horkrux. In truth, Draco had long given the original back to Kreacher and told him to hide it from people while Draco pretended to keep it in Hogwarts. While Harry was still linked to the Dark Lord, he didn't want to risk Voldemort noticing what Draco had planned. In fact, Draco had hidden another fake in his pocket and made sure to be seen with it once in a while, before he completely hid it away. It was better to let them all believe the Horkrux was fine. It was a subtle thing, but he needed to be careful about this connection.

"Kreacher. It is great to see you."

"It is always great to see the young Master Draco, too," the houseelf smiled politely.

Draco smiled. "I must ask you, Kreacher. How is Sirius doing?"

The houself never left his bowing position. "Master Sirius is spending a lot of time with that winged beast in the attic. He's been there all day. When can we expect to welcome you back home, Master Draco?"

"Soon," Draco deflated, feeling incredibly relieved. "Kreacher, Harry has been shown a vision of Sirius dying in the ministry. The Death Eaters are going to make their move on the prophecy. Inform Sirius, Remus and as many members of the Order as you can. Find Dumbledore. Can you do that?" Kreacher beamed and saluted, right before turning it into an eccentric bow and disappearing a moment later.

Then, Draco turned to Harry who couldn't look more flabbergasted if he tried. "You heard him. Sirius is fine. We should go and inform Severus and McGonagall." Draco turned to face Harry who's eyes were jumping all over Draco's own face. He didn't seem to find what he was searching for. And Draco was still holding his wrist in his own. Great. Right in front of the houseelf. Quickly, he let go of him.

"Sirius is fine?"

"You heard him," Draco agreed and wondered, if in another timeline, Kreacher might have lied to Potter about this very fact.

Potter, still shaken, suddenly caught himself. "Wait... you want them to go there despite - Draco, it's a trap!"

Draco was very well aware of that fact. He pushed Harry back against a wall and raised a finger at him. "You're not going to the ministry just to be a hero! If you don't show up, we can reverse that trap! You're not going to die tonight, do you hear me?!" He didn't know exactly what Harry was thinking, but he could imagine what went on in that stupid brain anyway. He would want to go anyways. Because Potter always headed head first into danger.

Potter's eyes went crosseyed, as they followed the accusing finger. He opened his mouth, then closed it and swallowed. "You know it's a trap. But you still want the Order to go there? Draco - I can't just let Sirius and ... and all of them go and face the Death Eaters on their own!"

"Harry, you are fifteen years old! Let the adults handle this for once!"

"What are you even saying about a prophecy? You know something? Draco, what is going on? You're... You just told Kreacher 'it's time'. Does that mean you KNEW this would happen? How? Did Dumbledore tell you? Why didn't you tell me-"

"YOUR MIND, Potter! You are still connected to HIM."

That was clearly the wrong thing to say. Potter fumed. "So I can't make my own decisions anymore? I learned occlumency! I can drive him out when it's important!"

Draco huffed in frustration. "You've just proven that you can't! You fell asleep and gave him full access to your mind!" In fact, the very idea of that made Draco incredibly wary. It made him unsure about Potter and his own teachings and right now, it was elevating his nerves. Especially after the constant reminders around him of what his greatest fear was. Draco had been unable to look into a mirror in two days. He'd diverted any questions about it and done his best to avoid whomever he could.

"I can't close my mind when I'm asleep! I'm literally UNCONSCIOUS!" Potter's voice grew louder, making Draco raise his own to match his.

"Then don't fucking SLEEP!" Draco yelled and immediately noticed what he just said. He backed away from Harry. Hands falling to his sides.

Potter stared at him and opened his mouth again after the suspense settled. "Wait... is that why you don't sleep? Did someone-"

Draco covered his face. "Potter, stop. You need to promise me that you will stay here in Hogwarts! You have to SWEAR to me that you won't go and risk your life like that! This is not the time to play with destiny."

Harry now put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "If I'm meant to fight the Death Eaters, as you keep telling me, then I HAVE to go. Voldemort knows my weaknesses. He knows how much I care about Sirius, otherwise he wouldn't have send me that vision. Which means that if I don't go, but Sirius does, as you just made sure he will, he will be killed. They will target him. I bet all the Death Eaters know my weaknesses." And yet, he remained entirely calm when he said that. His eyes, however, were full of insanity.

Draco hated that that was a logical argument. That Potter was citing him. It was sound and actually sensible. "Harry, I mean it. You HAVE to stay here. If you go and pick up that prophecy, then it's free game! The -"

"Draco, if you know what they are after, you need to tell me what it is. Answer me. If Voldemort is already after it, then I can't possibly give him more information than he already has."

Draco paused and looked Potter deep in the eyes. That argument was unfortunately, also kind of reasonable, so Draco went with the truth. "In your dreams you keep seeing the corridor that leads to the department of mysteries. There they keep dozens of artefacts that normal wizards are not supposed to know about. In one of them they hide dozens upon dozens of prophecies. One of them is about you and Voldemort. It's supposed to say who of the two of you will win this war. Or how to win it. That's what he's after! The prophecies can only be picked up by someone whom they are about. Which means only you and Voldemort himself can pick it up. That's why he needs you. So he doesn't have to invade the ministry himself. So I'm begging you, DON'T GO! Don't play into his hands!" Draco had spoken fast and sternly.

Potter remained in his position, watching him. There was something darkening his smile for reasons that Draco couldn't quite perceive. "Then wouldn't it be better to get there first?"

Draco exhaled a deep breath. "Not without a plan! Not on THEIR terms. Are you even listening? Harry, you have to WIN this war. You can't give him any weapons!" Seriously? A second ago, Potter had accused him of leading Sirius and the other's into the very obvious trap and now he wanted to activate it?!

"I appreciate that you care about me so much, Draco... but I'm going." He paused. He looked awfully closed off. As if Draco's explanation was the opposite of what he had wanted to hear. He appeared to be thinking too, which was never a good sign with Potter. When he turned to Draco again, he looked pissed. "Tell me, Draco, did you tell Kreacher to LIE to me?"

Draco blinked, completely taken aback by the turn of events. "What?"

"Kreacher has to say anything you order him to say. Have you told him to lie to me? Did you tell him to tell me that Sirius is alright?"

The question felt like a punch in his face. "Excuse me? I've been telling Kreacher to protect you!"

"Protecting can mean that he lied! Kreacher hates Sirius. To protect me on your order, he would easily sacrifice Sirius for it!" Suddenly Harry was angry. If due to exhaustion or not, Draco couldn't believe this. "Draco, if there is any chance that Sirius is out there, dying -"

"He's not!" Draco said quickly, desperately.

"You kept that with the Prophecy from me! Even though Voldemort already knows about it! Me knowing wouldn't have changed that!"

How on earth had that idiot come to THAT conclusion? "It's far more complicated than that and you know it."

"You keep lying to your parents to keep them from making mistakes with Voldemort! Instead of warning them and making them change sides or join the order! You know it would put them in danger. You KNOW Voldemort would kill them as soon as he found out. You'd do anything to protect them, including lying to them, including them serving a lunatic if that means they survive! And you'd do the same to make sure the HERO wins this war."

Right... Potter hated to be called a hero... Draco noticed with a start that THAT was what bothered Potter. Because Draco kept calling him that, kept putting him on a pedestal. Draco's arms fell to his side, as Harry walked out of the room. Wait... was Harry thinking that Draco was trying to instrumentalise him? Draco wasn't Dumbledore, god damn it! This simply wasn't his fight! Not yet!

Potter turned to him one more time, and he looked really conflicted. "I tell you everything, Draco, and you keep everything from me! I didn't even know what your boggart was, until everyone was talking about it. Admit it, Draco. You're afraid of yourself. Because you'd sacrifice anyone, as long as it benefits you."

With that, Harry left. Draco remained in the empty classroom, having half a mind to go and hex Potter into staying. Petrifying him perhaps or shocking him. Hurting him enough so he would have to go to the medical wing and not wake up until tomorrow. Except, that was precisely what Potter just accused him of. Draco sank down against the wall, a hand on his heart to feel it beating louder than it had any right to. Because Potter's words hit him were it hurt. Potter wasn't wrong. Draco would do anything to protect the people he cared about, including them succumbing to Voldemort to ensure their survival. He would even let Voldemort live if that meant that Potter survived. Harry was right. And he knew Draco better than Draco would like to admit. That's probably why he came to that conclusion. But the circumstances didn't leave him many options.

How had it come to THIS? Since when had Potter been so angry with him? Had he done something wrong? Had he made a mistake? Draco had it all planned out. He had informed Kreacher early on about his plans. Just so that when push came to shove, Draco would have a reliable source of information. A trustworthy ally. He had made sure that Dumbledore would remain the headmaster of Hogwarts, so Umbridge had less power, and the DA would remain save in Hogwarts under Dumbledore's protection. And yet, it all ended up the same as in the past. Because of course it always ended up the same. And all because Potter was a teenager with teenage hormones and emotions and a grave dependency on his godfather who was destined to die tonight.

THAT was out of Draco's control. He couldn't stop that from happening. They were talking about Bellatrix here. Draco would sooner die himself than hope to be helpful in a fight! He looked up, resignation drawing up in his mind. "And I'd wish I was dead," he muttered to himself, reminding himself of the consequences if he stayed out of this fight. If he let Potter die again.

Draco gritted his teeth. He felt hurt, he recognised that, but this was not the time to dwell on it. So Draco got up on his wobbly feet and decided to follow Potter. He had to focus. This was not about Potter and his feelings. This was about everyone's future. Draco would sacrifice whatever he had left to sacrifice to ensure they would all survive. That Potter would survive. Because Potter's survival meant everything.

"He WHAT?"

It had taken Draco half an hour to find Hermione Granger. She was hanging out with Ronald Weasley, not too far off from Neville and Luna. Harry was nowhere to be seen. Even though Draco had been sure he would turn to them next. Draco stared at their gathering. "He didn't come for you?"

Hermione shook her head. "Oh NO! Harry's OBSESSED with the idea that he has to do everything on his own! Especially when it comes to You Know Who! We have to follow him!"

Draco grabbed his forehead. Right. Potter had a hero complex. He would NEVER drag his friends into his adventures. They always just followed him into danger. Or had he somehow gotten between the golden trio and messed up their dynamic? What had he done? This was getting worse and worse. "Okay. Okay. We gotta HURRY." He was panicking and he knew it.

"We don't even know how to get to the ministry, Draco!"

"I'll apparate us there," he said quickly. "I can take two at a time. We just need to get somewhat outside of the grounds of -"

"You're fifteen! You can't apparate!" complained Ronald.

Draco stared at him. And was suddenly reminded that these were all fifteen year old KIDS. Draco opened his mouth, then closed it. Somehow, it was easier to see with Harry, because of how much more mature Draco remembered him to be...

But Granger? She had always been prime minister material. And Ronald always stayed a grown up child. Neville had matured far earlier than last time around and Luna... Fuck it, Luna was an enigma.

"You know what? We should all stay here and let the adults handle it. Let's just not... follow Harry into certain death. Is that a plan? I think that's a great plan." Besides, Potter had one spare life anyway. Well... DRACO would still follow. But the rest of them? They needed to remain here and stay protected and safe!

"Are you kidding me? NO. We're definitely going after him. What is the DA for if not for this?" AAAnd that was Neville and his stupidly heroic ways. Once again, Draco had to realise that there was nothing he could do against foolish determination.

He was overruled. Draco shoved his panic aside. He didn't have the time. He could panic after. He could scold them after. If they lived that was. Draco began to sweat.

That's how a bunch of literal children marched into the forbidden forest to find the Thestrals, because apparently, Luna Lovegood currently had the only braincell of the group and knew that these creatures were perfect for transportation. Apparating took a lout out of a person and they had decided that Draco would need to conserve his energy. Draco felt stiff and incredibly uncomfortable. He was about to get these kids killed. These HEROES. He was leading them to their certain death. Draco wondered what transportation Potter was choosing. At least... that's what he wondered, until he looked in the sky and saw a hippogryph flying by. Hagrid was known to have a few. And who was Draco if he couldn't identify a tiny speck in the sky as Harry Potter on a Hippogriff? "Shit."

"You don't have to come with us, Draco," said Neville, completely misinterpreting Draco's panic. They had used the Galleons to invite even more members of the DA to join. Draco didn't ask what they had written on the damn things, but he was pretty damn sure they hadn't written 'suicide mission' on the invitation.

Now there were Ginny Weasley and a few other Gryffindor's with them, too. Along with the twin Weasley's, who definitely shouldn't have joined, according to history, since they would have already left Hogwarts by that point. Draco could have melted into the ground. He was risking MORE lives than he initially feared, than what were initially risked. This was getting out of hand.

"I don't have a choice, Neville." With that, Draco walked towards a Thestral and mounted it.

"Wait- you can SEE them?," asked Granger and sounded awfully awed. Wait... hadn't they been there during his panic attack on the first day of school... oh yeah, they had left before Draco had explained the reason behind the attack. How nice of Neville and Potter to keep that to themselves.

"Who did you see?," (die) asked Ronald, like the question wasn't invasive as fuck. They've had the lesson with Hagrid and the Thestrals several weeks ago. Draco had remained quiet the entire time, not really wanting to explain himself. Right now, his mind was so confused and woozy that he had kind of forgotten about the whole thing.

"Dumbledore," Draco answered mindlessly to name the FIRST person he'd seen die and helped Ginny Weasley up behind himself. The most gruesome death would have been Burbage, he thought. Ginny protested little for a Weasley who had to share seats with a Malfoy but Draco wasn't going to question it. In the meantime, Neville helped Hermione and Ronald on another Thestral. The twins obviously shared. They were helped by Luna, who then helped the other two Gryffindors, before taking her own Thestral.

Neville sent Draco a look while Ronald just huffed. "No need to be sarcastic, Malfoy."

"You really don't have to come, Draco," said Granger. "If you're scared -"

"Of course I'm scared. You're all insane if you're not absolutely terrified," Draco hissed back, wondering why they were singling HIM out to leave. Him, the only ADULT! The one RESPONSIBLE for this! Draco may be a coward but- No, period, actually, He was simply a coward.

"Says the guy who's afraid of himself," snorted one of the Weasley twins and Draco answered that with a well aimed glare.

"I'm not afraid OF myself. I'm scared FOR myself. There is a difference."

"So like... you're afraid of dying?" Ronald now seemed amused, as well as curious.

Seriously, was no one here at least a tiny bit worried? Like... at least a tiny amount? "I'm afraid of what will become of me, asshat," Draco said and winced at his own insult. He couldn't help it. His panic manifested in slight aggression and it was very hard to keep that down at the moment.

"Yeah, right." Ronald rolled his eyes, while trying to find a grip on the Thestral.

Neville interrupted him. "You weren't there, Ron. The boggart had the Dark Mark on his arm."

'Details.' Draco grimaced. That shut the other's up for some reason. Draco would have thanked Neville if they weren't just making fun of his worst fear. "Let's go already, before Harry get's himself killed!," Draco said and finally, the Thestrals raised to the sky. Following quickly after Potter. Who most likely had no idea where the ministry was. Which begged the question why Draco had even done this in the first place. Why had he not let Potter get lost on his way to the ministry? The worst he would have gotten into was another hearing for being seen in public by some muggles. It was too late, though. Now they were all in on it.

Harry must have seen them then, because suddenly he was flying between them with the Hippogriff.

"The HELL? Guys, you weren't supposed to come with- DRACO?" Potter looked like was about to fall from his Hippogriff.

Draco glared at him. 'Who did you think told them?,' he thought, feeling somewhat offended by Potter's shock.

"Turn back, all of you!" Harry shouted at them. "I'm going to do this on my own."

Draco growled in his direction. "If you think I'll just let you get yourself killed over a FUCKING illusion, then you need to get your head checked, because like HELL I will!"

"Oh what? Because of a prophecy that makes me the chosen one? Because you somehow have this wild idea that I can win this war, but I'm not allowed to actually FIGHT in it?"

"There are better ways to win a war! Dumbledore has a plan. You just need to be patient-"

"A plan which he trusts you with. The son of a Death Eater! But not me? You're just as much of a liability to this whole operation as I am!" Potter yelled back, finally sounding pissed.

Draco was fuming now, while everyone else just kept on watching. Potter had a point but still. "You can't fight a war if you're DEAD."

"Aw, you wound me, Draco! I thought you had faith in me!"

Draco bit back another comment. Technically... he was right. Draco HAD faith in Potter. Faith that death would spit the idiot right back out! "If you die tonight, Potter-"

"So, we're back on last names now, MALFOY?"

"Guys, can you calm down!," Granger interrupted them. "If we fight each other, we have no chance to fight the Death Eaters tonight. So get your act together."

"Yes, Malfoy. Get your act together."

"I meant both of you, Harry! And stop calling him Malfoy. We've long moved past that."

"Malfoy hasn't," Harry was pouting now.

Draco exhaled, too scared to get on Granger's bad side. 'The jar, Draco. The JAR.' "Alright, Hermione is right, HARRY," Draco accentuated his name. "If we're doing this, we can't afford to fight each other." After that they were pretty much silent on their way to the ministry. And Draco couldn't believe he was even here. And he was fuming. Not that riding a Thestral wasn't suicidal enough, they were also breaking INTO the ministry!

What's even worse... it wasn't even hard!

Somehow, that pissed Draco off even more. There was NO ONE TRYING TO STOP THEM. For goodness sake, Potter showed them the way through a telephone box and ANNOUNCED their mission to the automatic voice inside. They were all squishing together into the stupid box and Draco found himself stuck between one of the Weasley twins and Harry, who was standing with the back to the wall. Neville was the one who collected the pins and handed them over to each of them.

Draco tried not to look at Harry, their little fight still putting tension between them. Potter did the same thing. He looked away and even crossed his arms to get some distance between himself and Draco's shoulder blade.

Draco regained his ability to breathe once they were down in the atrium. They moved past a giant statue that was supposed to show friendship between magical creatures, but looked like a mockery instead. Draco ignored it. It was still better than the throne made out of Muggles that two sorcerers had sat on during Voldemort's regime.

From now on, Potter was the one who lead their team down into the mystery department. And look and behold, no one was fucking STOPPING them, AGAIN. What kind of safety measures did this place have if a bunch of children could just WALK in? WITH ANNOUNCEMENT! Draco was beginning to get a headache. Or was this Voldemort's doing? It was likely Voldemort's doing. As he had said, this was a trap.

Anyhow, that's how it started. They went into the mystery department. You know... the one that was supposed to be top secret even to ministry employees and meant to be their most protected one? Yeah. That one. With wide open doos. They ended up in a strange oval room where walls span and span and didn't let you recognise what door you came in from. The Weasley twins immediately started painting the doors with some of their candies. Which they always carried around. They made some kind of joke that Draco couldn't quite find the humour to laugh at.

Eventually, Draco stepped up. "I think there is enough of us here for us to separate. If any of you see a room full of prophecy things, call the rest of us," Draco finally decided. Though his objective was another. He needed to get distance between himself and Potter so he could get rid of the thing before anyone else put their life in danger.

"And how do we do that? How do we keep in contact?," asked Harry and randomly let Draco take command. That was strange and new and weirdly off putting.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Seriously, you all have those fucking Galleons. Just use those! We can make groups of two if that makes you feel safer."

"It would," Harry decided aggressively. "I'll go with Ginny."

Draco nodded, raising to the challenge. "I'll take Neville."

"Don't we like... have a say in this?" Ginny sounded confused. "What if I want to go with Neville?"

"You heard him," Harry snapped, clearly displeased with Draco's decision. "It would be faster this way. Fred, George, we could need those candies, so we can mark our doors. You don't happen to have different colours, so we know who went through which door?"

The twins looked at each other once, then grinned. "Of course. They are supposed to colour your face in all the colours of the rainbow. It's our pride merch." "But they also work for vandalism," said the other.

Draco was startled for a moment how the Weasley twins had even heard about pride, since it wasn't really a sorcerer thing, and why that mattered to them. Then he assumed that that might just be a strange coincidence.

And so Draco was given a green bean while Potter took a red one. Since they were groups of two's now, they all separated... well and Draco took Luna, too. They were an uneven number and he didn't want to let her out of his sight. Then they all chose their own doors and disappeared behind them.

...

The first room they walked into was one that was full of clocks. A ticking sound, many ticking sounds, overlapping and out of synch bothered their eyes, and made them wary. It was probably a room for time travel experiments. Draco knew without looking around much that this place might actually give him answers to how he ended up in the past. But the truth was that he didn't care. He had long stopped caring about why he was back in the past. Maybe he had never cared to begin with. He didn't want to waste time on going back to the future. Especially not when he didn't know for sure what had changed. He was going to live this life and he was definitely going to make the best of it. He motioned Neville and Luna that this room was probably not it and went back to the round room. He wisely left the door open and opened another.

'Bingo'. Look and behold, Draco was a genius. Or just extremely lucky. Neville and Luna followed him into a room full of rows and rows of glowing little orbs that seemed to whisper to them. It was a similar feeling to entering a library, where the books seemed to constantly speak to you, until you would open the book and know how to understand them. Or maybe Draco was just too used to hearing voices in his head.

"Shouldn't we call Harry?," asked Neville nervously, while Luna floated after them.

"Not yet. We should destroy the Prophecy first." Draco was honestly relieved their group had gotten here first. It sent his heart racing. He could really use this win.

"What?" Neville blinked. "I thought we were here to get it? You said we would protect it!"

"Destroying it is better than letting it fall into Voldemort's hands," Draco argued. "So come on. Before Potter realises what we're doing."

Neville grabbed him by the shoulder but Draco shook him off and walked ahead. "You do realise that you're making him your enemy like this, right? You were getting along so great. What happened?"

"You'll have to ask Harry. I'm not a mind reader."

"You LITERALLY looked into his head, Draco."

"That's not the same," Draco marched faster. The shelved were ordered alphabetically. They needed to get to aisle P. Or would it be V, for Voldemort? In that case, it could be T for Tom, or R for Riddle. There was aisle L, then M... Draco stopped. Neville bumped into him.

"Draco?," Neville asked.

There was something like a hissing sound, growing louder down that aisle. Draco turned his head, staring into darkness. All those other whispers suddenly deafened around him. "Do you hear that?" Was someone there? This was a trap, after all. Perhaps, Death Eaters were hiding in that aisle?

"Hear what?"

Draco made subconscious steps down the aisle. Aisle M. Something was saying his name... something was.... Draco's eyes widened. No. That couldn't be true. He instinctively walked deeper into the aisle. Mn, Mm, Ml .....
Until he finally reached line Ma. Malfoy. There was a Prophecy just a couple lines over his head. "You've got to be kidding me." This day kept getting worse.

"Draco, what is there? Have you found it?" Neville came to a stop behind him while Luna was catching up in slow almost floating strides.

Draco was speechless. "There... there is a prophecy about me." 'About ME?' It still sounded ridiculous. Draco put away his wand and began to climb the shelf until he could reach the prophecy. Once he got it, he jumped to the ground and faced Neville and Luna with the prophecy in hand.

"About you?" Neville stepped closer and looked at it. "How... how does it work? What does it say?"

"Why don't you just activate it?," asked Luna and of course, the woman just needed to touch the bloody orb, before a ghost like creature raised its head above it for Draco to see. Luna really was an enigma. They could open an entire study room in here about her. Then Draco recognised the figure.

"Sarah?," he muttered in shocked surprise.

Sarah looked younger than he remembered. The grey dust that her figure was made of now hid her usually brown hair and Draco didn't remember her ever being this young, nor her eyes looking this dazed. Also, she was supposed to be a muggle! What on earth-

"You know her?" Neville asked, lowering himself to see better.

"She was my secretary." Draco explained in a whisper, when she suddenly began to speak.

"When the clock of time hits twelve.
the time of the ferret is ny."

'What?,' Draco thought. "Oh, I get it. I'm the ferret. Very funny," Draco muttered, never ever forgetting when Barty Crouch jun., dressed as Mad-Eye Moody, had turned him into a furry little creature and hunted him over the school grounds.

"Sssh," Neville shushed him.

"The stag's death will be the ferret's life.
The one's his fall, the other's rise.
Their souls intertwined,
yet corrupted
by a shard.

The shard that poisons the one
strengthens the other.
In this lifetime and the after,
they find salvation in their sacrifice.

The stag will return in threes,
while the ferret suffers,
and forever,
the clock runs twice."

Draco watched as the figure disappeared back into the orb. One moment passed, then another as he tried to make sense of the prophecy.

That girl was SHIT at poetry.

Luna hummed to herself. "And they were soulmates."

"You know what? Fuck this." Draco decided and put the prophecy back on the shelf. Better leave it here than have Voldemort mistake it for the real one... unless? No. If Voldemort somehow pieced this prophecy together, he'd put Draco on his radar and might get to Potter in a different way. Better not risk it. "Who came up with the stupid idea to make prophecies this fucking vague?"

"I think it's pretty clear, actually. You're the ferret, Harry is the stag. Voldemort's Horkrux is the thing between you. And you will protect each other. Also you're both gay and belong together." Neville high-fived Luna.

"They are pining very badly," Luna decided wisely and continued humming in that innocent way of hers.

Draco sighed and covered his face. "Alright, guys, let's stop with this... soul mate thing. We have a prophecy to destroy."

"Yeah yeah." Neville was laughing. "You're blushing though. How Cute." He paused, suddenly noticing Draco's glare. Something in his gaze shifted to recognition. "Wait... you SERIOUSLY like Harry? I thought you were just making fun of him?"

Draco didn't want to know what Neville thought. "Shut up." In what world was Draco living that Neville Longbottom called him cute, anyway?

Neville seemed genuinely shocked. "Oh come on. You're not even denying it!"

"No comment," Draco said as he always did when asked uncomfortable questions by the press. You know... after the war. When only Potter had vouched for him and everyone else still believed he belonged in Azkaban. Draco included.

"Draco. You can tell me. I won't tell him if you don't want me to!" Neville huffed.

"Neville, seriously. Shut up." Draco didn't want to hear this. It didn't even matter. Especially not right now. Draco moved past him and down the aisles again. When he returned to the Mn section, he turned left to find the P line. His own prophecy hadn't said anything Draco didn't already know. And that was incredibly disappointing and unnerving.

"I think you should tell him," Neville said. "Who knows, maybe he'll like you back?" There was something mischievous in his voice that Draco pointedly ignored. "Chances are -"

"He's not the Harry I know," Draco answered quietly without looking at Neville. There was no point in denying it. He's stopped denying it the day Harry had married Ginny Weasley. "He's not the Harry who cut me open with an experimental spell after stalking me all throughout sixth year. He's not the one who defeated Voldemort with my wand. Or the one who saved me from the fiendfire. He's not the one I bullied through our fifth year as the head of the Inquisition. He's not the Harry I was meant to rat out to the Dark Lord and didn't. I don't have the same history with this Harry that I have with the one from 8 years in the future. This one doesn't even know half of it. He's just a kid." Admittedly, Draco had bad taste in men.

Neville stopped at aisle O. "I guess... not." He bit his lip. "But he's the Harry you've been teaching and supporting all year. He's the one you've been trying to help and protect since you turned back in time. He's the one you spend nearly all your time with. He's the one who managed to get you to eat. He's the one who managed to make you laugh and the one who could put you to sleep. He's the one who carried you to the hospital wing, when you poisoned yourself. He's the one who let you look inside his head. He's the one who insisted that the rest of us give you a chance."

Draco sighed. Neville was fifteen. He saw all this through a rosy lens with a happy ending in tangible sight. He'd learn soon enough what kind of person Draco truly was. And why he couldn't impose himself on the chosen one. What Harry felt didn't matter. He didn't have all the facts and right now, Draco couldn't give them to him.

"He trusts you, Draco. Yes, he's angry right now but deep down, he knows he can trust you. Because he knows you better than anyone else does. And he brings out the best in you. I can tell. You're different around him."

Draco sighed. "You wouldn't understand." Potter was happy in the future. With someone else. Without ever having made the mistake of falling for Draco. Why would he, when Draco had broken his nose. Had taken the Dark Mark and joined the Dark Lord?

"So... what do you do, IF he likes you?" Neville finally asked. "If he ever confesses, would you just... reject him?"

"I'd advise him to make better choices," Draco responded. "Can we now please focus on Potter's fucking prophecy and not his ill advised feelings!?" Draco turned around in direction of aisle P and wondered how exactly he could destroy it. He could seriously need the distraction right now. But surely there was some kind of protection spell on these prophecies.

"Hold on-," Neville suddenly said, as if realising something. "Hold the fuck on. You KNOW about his feelings!"

Draco clenched his fists. "I do not."

"You do!" Neville sounded accusing now, and in utter disbelief. "You KNOW and you're ignoring it!"

Draco twirled around, suddenly pissed and overwhelmed by all these emotions that threatened to overcome him. He couldn't allow that. He'd sworn to himself years ago that he couldn't allow those feelings to grow again. "He does NOT, Neville! I can't allow myself to think that he does, and I could NEVER accept his feelings if I did!"

Neville stared at him, stunned. "Why not?"

"Because it's INSANE, Neville. It simply CANNOT happen, so it's not real and that's the end of this discussion!"

Draco turned around, back to Neville, when the 15 year old suddenly spoke up again. "At least reject him, then. If you truly believe that- You know as well as I that it's not fair to mess with him the way you do."

Draco laughed. He honestly to god laughed. These stupid fucking children. They had no idea. "Me? The god forsaken Death Eater, REJECTING the bloody chosen one? Do you even hear yourself?!" Draco closed his eyes.

Unfortunately and also fortunately for the end of this conversation, Draco had spent far too much with his own prophecy because he could hear footsteps behind them as Harry and the other's were approaching. Harry looked out of breath for some reason, as he finally reached Draco, Neville and Luna. "Oh good," he heaved. "None of you were coming back- I... we thought - You're alright."

'Had he RUN here?' Draco sighed and couldn't help but relax to see them all in one piece. Of course this killed his entire plan but Draco was too emotionally exhausted to mind right now. They were okay. He should take that as a win.

"You were supposed to call us!" Granger suddenly fumed at Draco and whacked him on the head.

"Sorry." Draco ducked under the onslaught. "We wanted to find the shelf before calling you." He lied effortlessly but he could see Harry frown at him again. Ah yes, the Potter lie detector was in action.

However, he only huffed and pretended not to have noticed. He likely didn't want to have another fight in front of Granger. But he knew. Because of course Harry knew that Draco had his own plan for the prophecy that were against his own instructions. Instead, he marched past Draco who now knew that he had failed his mission. Why had he gotten side tracked again? Geez. And so they reached the P section together and Harry found his stupid prophecy.

It was an orb almost bigger than Draco's own had been. Potter looked distractedly at it, forgetting that he should definitely NOT take it, not even hearing Draco when he warned him, but likely not caring anyway. As soon as he put it down with him, as if having waited in the shadows, a bunch of hooded Death Eaters emerged. Which begged the question of how much Draco's father had observed since they'd entered the room. It didn't seem like they had heard much because Lucius Malfoy said in a very calm voice: "Well done, Potter. Now hand it over and no one will get hurt."

Potter almost let the prophecy fall, that's how surprised he was. The other DA members protectively surrounded him. Draco stepped to Harry's right, glaring at his own father with a threatening glint in his eyes.

"Draco?" If that mask had ever had any purpose, it was definitely gone now.

"Hello father. Nice weather out, don't you think?" Draco responded dryly.

Lucius Malfoy pulled off his mask, revealing shock and concern. There was a hint of anger there as well. "DRACO! Come over here! What are you doing here? Fraternising with Potter?"

"Fraternising?" Draco mouthed in Potter's direction, who looked just as confused as Draco felt. "Fraternising?," he repeated directed the same question at his father. "Don't you understand the concept of friends? I mean, they are insane, sure, suicidal perhaps. But friends none the less."

Lucius Malfoy tilted his head. "Draco, give me the prophecy. You have no idea what happens to us, if we don't get it." That, on the other hand, Draco would label 'pathetic'. Also 'wrong'. Draco knew better than anyone in this room what would happen once his father failed, including Lucius himself.

"Stop this nonsense, Lucius. Draco, come here, now." Bellatrix wasn't even wearing a mask. She was too proud to hide her loyalties. She raised her wand at Draco, a motion which Draco then mirrored.

"Run! I'll take care of them." Draco said without looking at Harry and raised his wand.

Harry huffed. "Don't be ridiculous. You can't keep all of them at bay!" He stepped closer to him. "And you call US suicidal!"

Draco grimaced. "I AM suicidal, Harry."

Potter muttered something under his breath and pulled the ball of garbled nonsense closer to his chest, while his right arm directed his wand in the same direction as Draco's. "We're not leaving you behind. You're a member of Dumbledore's army, too, remember?!" Harry made a motion at the others and suddenly yelled. "NOW!"

Then, everything happened very fast. Everyone safe Draco were directing their wands at the shelves and shouting the reductor curse. Draco hadn't gotten the memo. In giant waves, glass splittered and rained onto their heads as the prophecies burst from the might of their magic. Shelves dipped and fell victim to gravity.

'Yes, Draco. Sure. A room full of valuable glass orbs MUST mean there was a protection charm on them. Since when did the ministry care about insurance? Silly you.'

Draco, instead of joining in, decided to shield them from the twelve Death Eaters with a protego spell, instead of destroying even more property. It put maybe one or two meters between them, but it was more than nothing. While everyone scattered, Draco had to make a quick decision whom to follow. In the end, it wasn't much of a decision, really. Draco ran after Potter.

Whatever was going to happen, he had to stick with the bloody chosen one. Protect him, make sure he lived! Around them, not only were the Prophecies shattered, their hushed whispers filled their ears, dozens of them now remaining unheard forever. Draco bit his lip as he realised that it was just the two of them vs a couple of Death Eaters now.

They found themselves in the room with the many clocks. Draco and Harry had arrived here without Ron and Hermione. Which were rather odd circumstances. Weasley and Granger never left Harry alone. Which meant, now Draco was meant to protect him in their stead. 'Great.' That may have been the plan, but Merlin damn it, Draco was NOT prepared.

Draco raised his wand against the Death Eater whom Draco realised was his own father. It must have been his decision to follow Draco, to make sure his son didn't get killed. 'Wow, I really still have faith in him,' Draco thought with a bizarre sense of fond humour. Then again, he knew his father. The man may be an idiot and trusted the wrong people, but he cared about his family. He always had, even in the end. Especially, he supposed, in the end.
Lucius Malfoy was many things. Heartless had never been one of them. In fact, he had spoiled Draco all his life. During the war, finding Draco on the battlefield had been his top priority. Draco would always honour him for that decision.

At his side stood Dolohow. Draco could tell, he had sat next to them in the manor, while Voldemort fed his stupid snake. He'd recognise the shaky hands anywhere. "Petrificus Totalus!", Draco yelled at Dolohow first, then a stupifying spell at his father.

"Draco, how dare you!" Lucius had the audacity to look surprised, even as he parried the attack with ease.

"It's for the best, father!" Draco yelled another spell, until the exchange proved to be too quick for that. Draco didn't need to announce his spells. He had practiced hours upon hours in that cold manor to use spells quietly. Until his wand had vanished, and he needed to relearn spells with his mother's borrowed wand instead. But it had given him some safety to do it anyways. Of course, training with Potter in the DA had also improved his spell work. But his silent spells were still something he took pride in. It was the only good thing that had come of that time.

"Draco, don't you see what will happen if we defy him? Can't you see?"

"I know!" Draco yelled with frustration, actually managing to hit his father and throw him back against a wall. His back cracked loud enough for Draco to hear. At the same time, Draco used the moment to put a stop to the spell exchange between Potter and Dolohow and hit the Death Eater in the back. Dolohow was knocked out and fell to the ground, petrified. Lucius took that time to get back on his feet. He once again raised a hand against Draco, but Draco unarmed him with a wave of his wand. Lucius' wand clacked against the ground and rolled to the side. Draco kicked the wand further away. He was awfully aware that that was the wand that Voldemort had used to replace his when it couldn't win against Potter's. Because of their strange connection. The same wand would break because the connection had never been between the wands. It was funny, how Lucius Malfoy's wand could never defeat Potter but it was Draco's that killed Voldemort. Quite poetic, really.
Draco raised his voice. "You're a fool if you think that you can evade his wrath forever. You WILL make mistakes eventually. You always have. You will fail today, father. One day, you will be glad that you did." Draco said in the end, and petrified him, too.

Then he grabbed a surprised Harry by the sleeve and dragged him out the room. Leaving his father behind, hopefully to be found by ministers and put in Askaban, far, far away from Voldemort.

Let's see. They were nearly on a 1 on 1 ratio now, the DA members against Death Eaters. How many DA members were they? 9? 9 vs 12? Two had just been knocked out, so his math should be accurate enough.

"Draco, are you okay?" Harry asked and he sounded out of breath. "That was your father."

"I'm aware," Draco said coldly and pulled Harry out of the room and into the next one. This one was a room like an auditorium. In the middle of the room stood a podium of some kind. And behind it a strange curtain that felt way too compelling to be safe. It gave Draco an immediate flight response which he fought barely. In this room were Neville and Ron, fighting against Bellatrix and another two Death Eaters.

"Expilliarmus!," Harry yelled and drew attention to them. Draco ducked away, as several spells were sent their way, and dragged Harry down with him. Harry must have been surprised by his action, because both his wand and the prophecy fell from his hands. The prophecy was too far gone as it rolled towards Bellatrix, but Draco called the wand back with "accio". He handed it back to Harry. Harry blinked at him, then directed the same spell at the prophecy.

"Why do I have the feeling that that won't work?" Draco muttered and ended up being right.

The fight went on. More spells flew over their heads and one singed Draco's hair. Unfortunately, the prophecy still ended up at Bellatrix's feet. She shrieked from joy, as she picked it up, ducked a stray spell in the meantime, and yelled at the other's to retreat. And that was the moment that the doors flew open and the order of the Phoenix entered.

It had been about time! God damn it.

And then, Draco saw Sirius Black march in. Sirius at the door, Bellatrix in the middle of the room with the prophecy. Suddenly, Draco knew exactly what was going to happen.
On Draco's left crouched Harry Potter who had no idea. Draco met Harry's eyes. They lit up, seeing his godfather coming to help him. All in one piece and alright.

He had no idea what he was about to lose.

Draco's mind zeroed in on that one single detail. Of the one information on the future that he had left of this entire event. There are many ways to save a person. Sometimes it is saving them from dying. Other times it is saving them from grief. And Draco couldn't exactly say he was doing this to keep his estranged cousin alive. Draco didn't think, he pushed Harry out of the way again and sprinted down towards the Podium. He used shield upon shield to keep the attacks from him. The adrenaline spiked in his blood, as he pushed himself between Bellatrix and Sirius. In a fair fight, he would never dream of besting her. But he could certainly level the playing field if he helped Sirius out.

"Hand over the prophecy, dear AUNT." Draco spat out the relation like the venom it tasted of.

"Ah, the little traitor, Draco. How nice it is to see you. Where is your father? Defeated already? You're much like him, you know? You are weak. Too weak to serve. You are -"

"CRUCIO!"

The satisfaction he felt when using this spell had never been this strong. How dare she talk to him about his worth! It was easy to mean it when your target was practically asking for it. When she was here, threatening the people you had sworn to protect. Bellatrix gasped, as her entire body cringed to the ground, as Draco raised his wand against her again. "CRUCIO!", he yelled once more.

The use of this spell was enough to get him to Azkaban. Get him a cell right beside her, and he could already imagine it. The cold. The fear. But he had gone down this road a long time ago. Had used the spell before. Had been forced to. Now he could use it for the right reasons. It would be worth it, if Bellatrix was too weak to kill Sirius.

"Hahaha," she got up from her cowering position. "Is that all? You have to really mean it, Draco! You have to really WANT to hurt me!"

Draco looked her dead in the eye. 'Sectum sempra!' he thought, not wanting to give the Death Eaters another weapon. He would remember that spell till the end of his days. He knew what it felt like when you were cut open in all the places that would kill you. How difficult it was to survive it. Unfortunately, the moment he thought it, someone pushed him out the way and he hit another Death Eater instead. The Death Eater cried out in pain, as blood splattered from his wounds and he could no longer move. He fell to the floor, bleeding out.

At the same moment, a door behind him opened. Hermione Granger, who just came through a that door, now stood over him. Had this man stood only an inch too far on the left, had she come in a second sooner, he could have hit her. She covered her mouth, before turning around and stunning another Death Eater who had followed after her. She didn't have time to dwell on the dying man.

Draco, however, couldn't help gut blanch. Too shocked by the fact that he had almost hit her. And then, suddenly, Sirius Black stood beside him again. "Taking all the fun, I see, Draco." He didn't sound too happy, suddenly more serious than Draco had ever seen him. How could he, when Draco had just used an unforgivable cursed and pretty much killed someone.

Draco blanched even further. He felt sick. The strain of his actions wore him down already but he didn't want Sirius to fight Bellatrix. He couldn't have that. Not when there were so many Death Eaters still around. The worst part was, he didn't know WHEN the killing curse would come. Or if it was a killing curse at all that would kill Sirius. All he knew that it would be Bellatrix, which meant he NEEDED to immobilise her.

"PROTEGO!" Draco yelled between Sirius and Bellatrix. The spell was strong enough to have Bellatrix stumble backwards over the prophecy. And look and behold, it fell out of her hands and hit the stone beneath her... And burst. Silver dust came from the prophecy. But it was right next to her. Draco's eyes widened. She would hear it. "SILENCIO!" he yelled as an afterthought and his spell hit the prophecy and muted it.

"No! NO! DRACO MALFOY!" Bellatrix screamed and in her fury, directed her wand at Draco.

"Stupor!" Sirius shouted back. Suddenly him and Bellatrix were dancing in a battle of spells. Sirius' face was twisted in agony. Draco was breathing hard. He looked around, in hopes of finding anything to separate them. His eyes fell on Harry and then Remus, whom he hadn't even noticed until now. Potter looked terrified. Draco needed to do SOMETHING. So he pushed Sirius aside and shielded himself against Bellatrix. He knew he couldn't defeat her. But if he gave her the time to escape, then Sirius wouldn't die today. Sirius COULDN'T die today! If he could accomplish ANYTHING today, then it was this! He wouldn't let Potter lose him.

His guess was right. She used the time she gathered because of the protego shield and waved the other Death Eaters to retreat.

Draco thought this was the end. He really thought it was over now, but then Sirius jumped after her. And of bloody course, Harry was just as driven by his impulses, and followed. Draco huffed a deep breath. 'These IDIOTS!'

Most of the Death Eaters were now restricted but the members of the order looked at Draco like he had gone insane. The members of the DA didn't look much better. Draco had no time to dwell on the why. He didn't have the brain capacity to process their reaction. Instead, he had to protect Harry and Sirius. So he skidded out of the room, desperately catching for air. Only Remus Lupin followed him. Someone was yelling at him to stop, but the blood rushing through Draco's ears told him to kill if need be.

He caught up to them in the entrance hall. The place where the magical creature statue watched over the ministry. And he came in at the worst possible timing, because Voldemort himself had appeared in the middle of the room. Draco came to a halt as soon as he saw him, his heart coming to a freezing halt.

That man would never be mistaken for anyone but himself. You could have only heard stories of him and still recognise his sickly complexion and the snake like nose, the red eyes and madness in them. Voldemort formed from a shadow and painted the entire room cold and green. So much for 'the Dark Lord wasn't stupid enough to appear in the middle of the ministry'. Draco's mind constricted. They couldn't defeat VOLDEMORT! 'Shit shit shit SHIT!!' He had heard that Voldemort had come here last time around, but to actually see him- Draco was not prepared.

Even though Harry was currently proving that he could resist a mind invasion by Voldemort, caught in his grip and screaming and kicking for his release, it didn't change the fact that Sirius and Bellatrix were fighting in another corner of the room. Draco didn't know what to do. Whom to protect. His wand switched from Voldemort to Bellatrix, and Remus seemed to have fallen under the same conflict. Panic numbed Draco's brain as he tried desperately to do something, anything smart.

"Go. Help Sirius. Don't let him die," Draco decided out loud and watched with almost surprise how Lupin decided to trust his judgement.

So, Draco would face Voldemort. Great. He was a genius.

Voldemort turned to him, his thin lips twitching into an amused smile. "Ah. Draco Malfoy. The traitor. How nice of you to join us." He directed his wand at Draco, but Draco deflected the curse with a wave of his own. That he managed it was as much a surprise as it had been a reflex.

Draco said this with a tremor in his voice. "Let him go."

"Ah. Young love. How pathetic. But you know that I've been watching you, Draco. Through him," Voldemort directed his finger at Harry's head. "You've gotten quite attached to him. And he to you. Isn't that great? You've contaminated him."

Draco's mind closed off without him doing much for it. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't save Harry. Not against Voldemort. He couldn't protect Sirius from Bellatrix either. Draco weighted his options. What if Voldemort killed Harry? Harry still had no idea what a Horkrux was! He wouldn't know how to survive the killing curse, right? And Draco defeating Voldemort? Absolutely no chance. Even if he managed to hit him with a deadly curse, Potter's Horkrux was still in tact, and Draco didn't think that Voldemort would need a very long time to recover. Plus, there were still at least two more out there! He needed to THINK!

It was pointless. All Draco knew, at that moment, was that he would do anything for Potter. Even if it meant dying for him. Even if it meant worse. And suddenly he saw but one option.

So he knelt before him. It was risky, suicidal, certain death actually. But he needed to try. "My lord."

"Draco! What are you doing!," yelled Harry, fighting as he got up and stumbled over his feet..

Voldemort grinned and let go off Potter. Potter fell to the ground, scrumbled himself up and ran in Draco's direction. "Aww. Look at him. He's surrendering. Are you that willing to die, Draco?"

Draco met his eyes. He was about to say something when Voldemort already raised his wand at him and yelled "Avada Kedavra."

Draco's eyes widened. Too late. Too stupid of a plan. He was going to die.

Time was slowing down as the green wave of magic came his way. So... this was his end. He had miscalculated. He had been too arrogant. He should have known. He closed his eyes, willing to accept his fate.

But the spell never hit him.

When Draco opened his eyes to see what was happening, he saw Harry Potter's silhouette right in front of him, rim-lighted by the green light of the death curse. One moment later, Potter's body violently hit the floor and rolled right into Draco's feet.

Draco couldn't process what he was seeing. No. This wasn't real. he was imagining this. His heart stopped beating. Draco's life was ending right here and then, but not the way he had imagined. Not in a way he could handle.

At the same time, Voldemort was thrown through the room and hit his head against the next wall. Draco dared to look up as he saw the man hit the wall with his head.

Draco was staring at the scene, breathing hard, then directed his gaze back at Harry. He wanted to panic.
He had failed, he had failed, he had FAILED!
Potter was DEAD!
Draco wanted to scream, to yell, to do something. He felt like his insides were ripping each other apart. This couldn't be the end. Potter couldn't be dead! Draco's hands were shaking and it was as if Harry was bleeding all over Draco's hands. It took him a moment to understand that the blood was an illusion.

His heart was pulsating in his ears. His mind ran a mile a minute. Harry was dead. Harry was dead. He couldn't be dead! He had to have survived as he had in the future. As unlikely as it was, there was still hope. There had to be hope. Draco knelt down and put a hand against Harry's neck. He was warm against Draco's sweating hands. Harry had had no idea how to survive it! No time to prepare himself! He couldn't have survived, and yet-

What if... Then, his life ended a second time that day, as he could feel Harry's pulse steadily hammering against his fingers. He was alive! Draco almost sobbed from the relief he felt. He wanted to heave him back up, punch him, yell at him, anything, really. But Draco didn't.

For once, his mind cooperated.
If Harry was alive... then that meant the Horkrux was destroyed! Which meant if Harry got up now, Voldemort would kill him, and this time it might stick. And it would increase the chance that Voldemort would figure out that Harry had been a Horkrux. Then he'd guard them, then he might make more. Draco's head was spinning from all the ways this could possibly end.
Draco checked Harry's breathing again. He hadn't imagined it. The boy opened his eyes. He looked confused. Emerald eyes boring into Draco's soul. "Malfoy-?" Draco covered Harry's mouth with his sweaty hand, hoping his gaze would tell him how urgent this was. He leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Stay dead!" He didn't dare say anything else.

Gathering what little emotional strength Draco had left, he got up and kicked Harry's body over, so Potter's open eyes wouldn't be visible from Voldemort's point of view. Potter couldn't NOT blink for a long period of time, so it was better to make it easier for him to hide. Harry didn't move. Good. Good. He understood.

Draco schooled his expression into an unimpressed frown. What he was about to do was going to be his certain death. But Draco had done what he could. Potter's Horkrux was dead. Now, all that was left to do was the only thing Draco was good for. Give him time.

On the other side of the hallway, Voldemort scrambled to his feet. The Dark Lord looked incredibly confused. That's when Draco found his voice, steady and cold as he gazed down on Potter. "Fucking finally," he said in a voice he didn't recognise.

"HARRY!" Sirius yelled from afar and Draco could see how Bellatrix had been tied to the ground by both Remus and Sirius combined spells. Another good news. "HARRY!" Sirius yelled again and was about to run to him, but Draco put a shield between them. The last thing Draco needed right now was Sirius and Lupin interfering. They needed to know, not just believe but know that Harry was dead. And they needed to know that Draco had betrayed them.

"Stay where you are, blood traitor. He's dead." Draco's voice came out even colder than intended and he could see Sirius stare at him with something akin to realisation. And then rage. Good. Be mad. Be angry!

Draco was a traitor. He was not pretending, Draco was truly a monster. He had planned Potter's death, this had all been part of his plan. If Draco didn't believe it, then Voldemort would know, so Draco believed it. Potter was dead and it was the outcome he had desired.

Draco did what he never thought he would do. Not now. Not ever. He walked over to Voldemort, picked up the man's wand and crouched down to him. He waited until Voldemort looked at him, then Draco handed him the wand like a priced object, a treasure that someone as weak as Draco was unworthy of. He forced himself to smile. "My lord. I understand your wish to kill me. I would have done the same. But, please hear me out. You said it yourself, you looked into Potter's head, so I'm sure you've also looked into mine. I am from the future." He confessed, conveying as much loyalty as he could. "I have come back to make sure you will defeat Potter. I apologise for not making myself known before. I had to invade Potter's closest friend circle without being suspected. I had to know how much they knew and what they planned before I could dare show my face to you. Please forgive me for my deception."
Draco reached out a hand that was surprisingly calm as Voldemort grabbed it and got to his feet. Draco knew there was no way any sane person would believe this lie. Then again, Voldemort wasn't exactly what he'd call 'sane'.

"What are you saying? Harry Potter would never defeat me!" He looked confused, but latched on to Draco's explanation as if seriously considering it.

"Not anymore." Draco agreed and pointed at the corpse and forced a dirty grin that physically hurt him. "In the future, he knew a way to defeat you. I figured it would be safest if he were to die before it could come to that. This wasn't entirely how I had planned it, but I can't say it doesn't amuse me that the chosen one would actually die for me." Draco twitched a smile, laughing manically, evilly. He reminded himself of his aunt.

Voldemort stared at him with repulsion and when he noticed what he had been doing, he slapped Draco's hand away. "Am I to believe that?"

Draco bowed. "My lord, you always instructed us to not kill Potter ourselves. I didn't want to deprive you of the pleasure. I just needed to lead him right to you. When you looked into my head, you must have seen how I was honoured to bear your mark. How I managed to kill Dumbledore. How you even trusted me with guarding your precious Nagini at the manor." Draco was digging for scraps, but heck, right now his mistake really played into his favour. He could only hope that Voldemort's lacking sense for empathy would now disguise Draco's pains at the memories. "I let him see a glimpse of the future, made him believe they were my nightmares... I knew you would see, I knew you would understand my message." He spoke with conviction. Let Voldemort believe that Draco had full faith in him and never once doubted his wisdom.

Voldemort's eyes were small, but the distrust somewhat faded. "Then you can surely explain to me what just happened!"

"My lord, I have no explanation for it. But the same thing happened when Potter-," Draco hesitated. "- managed to kill you in the future. Only that the curse reflected back on him. I believe it might have to do with the fact that you share his blood." Draco had no idea where his brain was taking those details from but he was glad that it was for once working for and not against him. "It was devastating. No one could have foreseen it. Barely anyone believed it. But I saw it with my own eyes."

Voldemort turned his head, searching for Bellatrix. And a moment later, both Sirius and Remus were thrown aside by Voldemort's magic and Bellatrix was freed. Draco sent her a cold but appreciating glance. It was easy to smile at Remus and Sirius, seeing as they were both alive. Voldemort hadn't killed them yet. He still had time.

"Bellatrix informed me that you defeated your father. That you attacked both of them." Voldemort's mistrust was back.

Draco nodded. "It was necessary to keep my family in the dark. It doesn't matter anymore, for my mission was successful. My father has failed you too many times in the past and Bellatrix ...," Draco paused and glared at her. "-likes to steal the glory. You don't need the prophecy any longer, my Lord. I am the answer to all of your questions."

Draco looked at Voldemort and hoped to convey desperate loyalty. To convey the insane need to be useful to him. He had watched Bellatrix for long enough to know how that looked like. He hoped to appeal to Voldemort's pride. He remembered how cowering had granted some Death Eaters mercy. By mercy he meant to be tortured instead of immediately killed for failure. And then, of course, used as tools again. That's what Voldemort was after. Willing tools. Desperate, loyal fools with Stockholm Syndrome. So that's what Draco had to be.

Voldemort laughed. He had an ugly, cackling laugh. He directed his wand at Potter's corpse and Draco's heart nearly stopped.

"If that is true, then how about we put him to the test? Crucio!," the Dark Lord yelled and the body was thrown through the room. Draco had to bite his tongue to not scream or even cringe. Potter hit the ground, unmoving, as if still dead. Draco didn't know how that was possible, but god he hoped that Harry was really just a good actor. This lack of reaction must have confirmed Draco's explanation, because now Voldemort laughed and cackled, while Sirius and Remus were screaming bloody murder. Draco's heart, however, was beating right out of his chest. Voldemort repeated the spell about four more times before Potter's glasses were thrown across the room and scattered against the stone floor. Draco had to fight the urge to grab it and repair it for Potter. Had to fight himself from making sure that Potter was actually alive and that Draco had not imagined it. Oh god, what if he had imagined it?

"Ah. Your family has always been striving to be in my favour. You can join us, Draco. Swear your loyalty to me. Regain your mark! Once you've told me everything, you shall be rewarded." Draco doubted that Voldemort fully believed him.

"My loyalty has always been yours," Draco lied and bowed to him. "The years without you have been pure agony. I am grateful to be given this chance. To be rid of Potter is reward in itself. You cannot believe how much I had to endure because of him. His weak heart." Draco spat on the ground. "I even had to take muggle studies to deceive him. Can you believe it? Me? A Malfoy? Taking muggle studies?" Maybe, if this was all over, Draco would take up role play therapy. Voldemort's grin widened, his believe in Draco growing the tiniest bit.

Suddenly, a thundering sound echoed in the entrance hall. "That would be Dumbledore," Draco announced. He would never forget the fight that had been rumoured about in his fifth year, between Voldemort and Dumbledore in the entrance hall of the ministry of magic. And he was right. It was Dumbledore himself stepping through the hallway. His first reaction, the moment he spotted him, was to check up on Harry. He ran fast for such an old man. Draco could only hope that Dumbledore would keep his mouth shut. Would just... not say a word. Draco had a plan. Maybe. Perhaps. Eventually. He just needed time. Dumbledore knew Draco was searching for Horkruxes, he MUST trust Draco.

Voldemort stepped forward and grinned at Dumbledore as he once again laughed. "See that, Dumbledore? Your greatest Champion has died! Killed by the very thing you claim conquers all! You didn't even see the traitor in your midst, did you? He brought him right to me."

Draco felt himself sweating. He was so dead. Draco imagined they would fight. He really did. Perhaps he would have to prove that he was able to kill Dumbledore. But then opened a few of the chimneys that were entrances for the workers of the ministry, and Draco understood that his explanation had been stalling the fight. The workers all stopped in the entrance hall, fingers pointing at Voldemort and in extension, Draco and Bellatrix. That was the moment that Voldemort grabbed them both.

A second later, they were apparated out of the ministry. And Draco finally returned to the manor.