Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1. 

Bathilda Bagshot was standing before him. She was talking to Harry but there were no words coming out of her mouth. Harry shook his head in confusion. ‘Miss Bagshot? What is it? What are you saying?”

Clearly, she could understand Harry perfectly, but as she continued speaking, her features grew more and more distressed. Her eyes grew wide with fear and she clutched at her throat with one gnarled hand, while reaching for Harry with the other. 

Her mouth opened wide as if she was screaming, but no sound fell from her lips. Harry watched in horror as her mouth continued to open wider and wider until it was stretched impossibly wide. He heard himself scream as a large snake burst forth from her mouth and lunged towards him-

“Harry!” Someone was shaking him. 

He opened his eyes to see the blurry outline of Hermione standing above his bed. He quickly reached for his glasses and watched as she came into focus. He could see the concern clearly written across her face. “You were having a nightmare,” she explained needlessly. 

Harry took in his surroundings as he pulled himself into a sitting position on the old sleeper cot that was his bed. They were in the tent and he could see the pale, morning light filtering in through the canvas walls of the tent. His gaze landed back on Hermione and she took a seat beside him. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked pale. “Did I wake you?” Harry asked. 

Hermione shook her head. “I haven’t slept all night, actually,” seeing that Harry was about to protest she cut him off. “Someone needed to keep watch. It’s fine. I’m fine, really. I was more concerned about you, actually.” 

Harry leaned over and rested his head in his hands. “Going to Godric’s Hollow was a shit idea. We could have been killed and it was all for nothing. Bagshot is dead and she never had the sword.” 

Hermione placed a comforting hand on Harry’s back. “We knew it was a risk, but every time we leave this tent it’s a risk, honestly.” she took a deep breath. “And Harry, it wasn’t for nothing. You got to see your parent’s final resting place. I know that was especially important to you.”

It was easy to see the trip as a complete failure when Voldemort showed up, but Harry refused to let the Dark Lord sully the short time he spent at his parent’s graves. Despite the turn of events, Harry had always known a visit to Godric’s Hollow was long overdue and he would not let an attack by Voldemort ruin the one good thing that had happened last night. He nodded and turned to look at Hermione. “Thank you for being there with me- for being here with me. You could have left but...thank you.” 

Hermione’s eyes filled with tears and she pulled Harry into a tight embrace, surprised when he hugged her back just as fiercely. “Oh, I could never leave you, Harry.” Hermione said and she buried her face in the crook of his neck. “Don’t you know that by now?” 

When they broke apart, Hermione regarded the conflicted expression on Harry’s face and frowned. “What’s on your mind?” 

Harry sighed and his shoulders slumped. He avoided her gaze. “I just...Ron was right, you know? I don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t help but think that somehow I’m going to get us all killed.” he chanced a glance at Hermione. “Maybe you should have-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Harry.” Hermione said sternly, jumping to her feet and rounding on him. “I told you, I’m not going anywhere. We’re stronger together. And you would think after six years of friendship you would realize how utterly helpless you are without me.” Harry knew her last statement was a weak attempt at humor but couldn’t bring himself to even crack a smile. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He stared at his tattered trainers. 

“You could have been safe with your parents,” His voice was muffled but Hermione heard him clearly. 

She moved closer until she was right in front of him and rested on her knees before him. She carefully pulled his hands away from his face and held them in her own. “I miss my parents,” she admitted in a quiet voice. “But I don’t regret what I did. And I could never regret being wherever you are.” 

“So many people have gotten hurt- gotten killed- because of me.” Harry said softly. Almost unconsciously, he found himself rubbing small circles on the backs on her hands with his thumbs. “I don’t think I would ever forgive myself if something happened to you.”

Hermione gave him a sad smile and shook her head. “You give yourself too much credit, Harry. I have a target on my back simply because of my blood status. Even when you kill him, I think there will always be people who will hold that against me. But that doesn’t change anything; as long as this war is going on, I’ll always fight besides you.”

Harry felt his heart swell. Hermione had always had a way of making him feel safe and vulnerable. From her constant words of affirmation towards him, and the physical affection she always showed him, she was always there to ground him and help him make sense of things. Knowing that she trusted him so explicitly was both humbling and an honor. It terrified him but gave him new resolve to do whatever he could to be a person worth trusting. “And when the war is over? And we’re done fighting?” he asked. 

She gave him a brilliant smile. “I’ll still be there, of course.” she replied obviously. “I’ll be there in whatever way you’ll have me, still bossing you around and no doubt keeping you out of whatever trouble finds you.” 

Harry snorted and stood, pulling her to her feet as he rose. She went in for another hug and he held her tightly. “I’m sorry about Ron.” she said after a moment. They broke away and her brow was furrowed. 

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Harry said firmly. “Ron’s decision to leave was entirely his own. I only wish he didn’t put you in such an uncomfortable position. I know he was frustrated; we all were, but maybe it’s better this way. Hopefully, he’s with his family now and I’m sure he’s working with the Order. It’s better this way.”

“Do you think you could ever forgive him?” Hermione asked quietly.

Harry shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll have some tough conversations when this is all over. I don’t think I can avoid him forever. I’m still pissed at him though.” 

“Right,” Hermione smirked. “I suppose it’ll make Sunday dinners rather awkward when you’re dating his sister but not speaking with each other.” 

Harry stiffened and then nervously began rubbing the back of his neck. “Ginny and I are over.”

Hermione nodded. “Well I remember that you broke if off at Dumbledore’s funeral, but didn’t you always plan to get back together?” 

Harry felt his cheeks getting hot. It was one thing that Hermione had a habit of making him feel emotional but talking about his prior relationship with Ginny was not very high on his list of things to do. “I did like Ginny, but the more time we spent together, the more I realized that even though she was older, a part of her was still stuck on dating ‘The Boy-Who-Lived’.” Harry shook his head and tried to hide the slight look of disgust on his face. “I could never be just Harry with her. I felt like a prize that she just wanted to show off.” 

Hermione frowned. “That’s awful! I’ll admit I did doubt if she’d ever get over her ‘Harry-crazy’ phase...I hoped she did for your sake.” 

“That’s not really the worst of it, though.” Harry said. Hermione raised her eyebrow questioningly. “It was...physically hard to be around her.” 

Hermione gave him a dubious look. “I find that extremely hard to believe. You two weren’t as bad as Won-Won and Lavender but you were close.” 

Harry’s groaned and palmed his forehead. “Damn.” he started pacing. “No, the kissing was nice but mostly, it was a distraction. Oh god, you’re going to think I’m a total prick.” 

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Oh, just spit it out,” 

Harry sighed and stopped his pacing. “I never said anything; I didn’t want you to worry and I didn’t want to set Ron off- but my scar always hurt when I spent too much time with Ginny.” Hermione’s eyes went wide as saucers and Harry kept talking to prevent her from interrupting. “I think it’s because she was possessed by Tom. She told me that Dumbledore told her parents that she should see a healer after the whole thing with the diary, but they never took her. She said she felt fine when it was over but...I don’t know. Ever since then I noticed that my scar would hurt around her. I know she’s not a dark witch, but her magic just always felt...off to me.” 

“Oh, Harry that’s awful!” Hermione cried. “Why did you ever date her if you felt that way? Why didn’t you tell someone? She could still be possessed!” 

Harry ran his hands through his head, clearly frustrated. “She’s not possessed, but you’re right, I should have told someone. I was...embarrassed.”

“You were embarrassed?” Hermione exclaimed. 

“Only because, well...there was a part of me that really wanted to be with her. Like, really be with her.”

“Harry!” Hermione gasped, recoiling away from him. 

“No!” Harry cried. “Shit, that came out wrong. I mean, you know how there’s a bit of Tom’s magic in me? From when the curse backfired? I can speak to snakes because of him, and see in his mind? How Dumbledore always went on about this connection that I have with him?” Hermione nodded, still looking at him suspiciously. “Well, the bit of Tom’s magic in me must have sensed Tom’s leftover magic in her. I felt...called to her. But only because of my connection to Riddle. It was overwhelming...and when we finally started dating, I realized the effect she was having. I also found out that whenever we snogged, I didn’t feel as connected with him. Like the positive emotions from snogging sort of made my connection with him weaker.” 

“Merlin,” Hermione clutched her chest and shook her head. “That sounds like torture; when the person who's hurting you is also the only one who can relieve the pain.” 

Harry shrugged awkwardly. “Yeah well, after a while I was able to get myself in check and I decided that I had to end it. The end of year when we realized that we were leaving school seemed as good a time as any. I told her that I didn’t want to put her in any more danger by being my girlfriend.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Well you definitely should have phrased that better. Knowing Ginny, I’m sure she expects you all to get back together, right? After the danger’s passed?” 

“Probably,” Harry admitted sheepishly. “But that’s just another tough conversation I’ll have to have. We dated for a few months and then we broke up. It sounds bad, but I never promised her anything.” Hermione had to agree. It was an unfortunate situation, but couples broke up all the time. Ginny would be disappointed, but she would get over it. “Speaking of uncomfortable conversation, what about you and Ron?” 

Harry watched Hermione’s cheeks turn bright pink before she cleared her throat and gave a noncommittal shrug. “Well, I never promised him anything either.” She folded her arms across her chest, as if she were protecting herself. “Last year...I thought that things would be different between us. Over the summer, I noticed that he was treating me differently- nicer. He was sweet sometimes, you know?” Harry arched his eyebrow. He had never known their red-headed friend to be sweet towards the fairer sex, but he wasn’t going to tell Hermione that. “Anyway, I was so sure when we got back to Hogwarts and he had some space from his family that he would finally...I don’t know, tell me how he really felt? And then he went and started snogging Lavender Brown all over the bloody castle.” Hermione’s features darkened. “Needless to say, I acted petty and jealous and I suppose I owe Lavender a rather humbling apology. And then he had to go and leave us and accuse me of choosing you over him when he had never chosen me either.” Hermione shrugged. “So that’s the end of that.” 

“Hermione,” Harry said carefully, not wanting his next few words to upset her even more. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but why Ron? I mean, you all don’t exactly have a lot in common.”

Hermione looked taken aback. “We’ve plenty in common!”

“Like? Besides being friends with me.” 

“Well...we both want to defeat Riddle. We’re both Gryffindors, and we both, um...well….” Hermione trailed off, her eyes widening in horror. “Oh, bloody hell that’s barely anything!”

Harry barely resisted the urge to laugh. “Hermione, you’re the brightest witch of our age. Ron is...well, Ron is Ron. There’re a million blokes like him in the world. You need someone as remarkable as you are. No one else will do.” 

Hermione’s eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill over. “Harry,” she replied, visibly touched by his words. 

Harry’s cheeks grew pink. “I mean, you were the first girl I ever had a crush on, and I’m the bloody ‘Chosen One’.” he said, rolling his eyes at the despised moniker. 

“You did not have a crush on me, Harry.” Hermione replied disbelievingly. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know many blokes that openly talk about their crushes. I mean, you saw how I was with Cho, right? That was a complete shitstorm.” 

“When?” Hermione pressed. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Harry could feel himself growing embarrassed again. He was not about to tell his best friend that he had had a crush on her for the better part of three years. After they had used her time-turner to save Sirius and Buckbeak back in their third year, Harry had felt the beginnings of something stirring within him. He was not going to tell her how soon after, she had featured in many of his dreams, and when he woke up one morning to see another early riser, she had become the star of his very first fantasy. No. There was no way in hell he would ever tell her any of that. Besides, there was no way that brilliant Hermione would have ever felt the same way about him as he did her. So, he allowed himself to become comfortable with her friendship, with the hope that he would one day fall for another girl. He had wanted to ask her to the Yule Ball, but his nerves had him scrambling until the last minutes, only to discover that she was attending with Victor Krum. He pursued Cho initially because of their shared love of Quidditch but that proved to not go anywhere. And Ginny...well, he had already explained that. As far as Hermione Granger was concerned, she was special, but her friendship was worth way more than any potential fallout that could occur if they became a couple. Plus, even though Ron may have been quite thick on the matter, he knew that there were some harbored feelings there and the last thing he wanted to do was be the bloke who openly went after the girl his best mate fancied. 

Hermione gave him a curious look. “Well then, I guess I shouldn’t tell you that I also may have had similar feelings.”

Harry felt like he had just been hit by the Hogwarts Express. At his stunned expression, Hermione gave a soft laugh. “Oh, don’t be like that. Like you don’t know about all the girls who dream about the famous Harry Potter. You know, the Chosen One and Savior of the Wizarding World?” she teased. “You were my first friend, and you saved me from a mountain troll! How could I not fancy you?” Harry still gaped at her. Hermione had fancied him? He had a hard time forming words. Just as he was about to ask the important question- did she still fancy him? Hermione continued talking. “Of course, I’m not as athletic or...feisty as Ginny, and not some exotic beauty like Cho. And Merlin knows I hate Quidditch, so I guess I was always happy just being your friend.” She shrugged and moved away to settle on one of the bunks. “Like now’s the time for relationships anyway. Not in the middle of a bloody war.”

Harry stared after her, swallowing his previous question down. He nodded. “Yeah...couldn’t be a more terrible time to fall in love.” He noticed Hermione’s eyes getting heavy and he remembered that she hadn’t slept at all after they returned from Godric’s Hollow. He went to pull the blanket over her and gave her a small smile as she snuggled under the warm blanket gratefully. “Get some rest.” he told her. “I’ll take over watch.” she didn’t reply, but simply closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. 

Harry watched her a moment longer as her breathing evened out before leaving her side. Feeling his stomach rumble from neglect, he dug around in Hermione’s beaded bag for a light snack before settling on a stump outside the tent. He used his wand to cast a quick warming charm on himself to help fight off the morning chill and settled in to watch over their camp while his friend slept. 

As the day passed, Harry let his mind drift back towards his conversation with Hermione. It was strange, he thought, to have such a frank talk with her. Although when he thought about it, Hermione had always been easy for him to talk to. She had such a rational way of explaining things that it was both freeing and nerve-wrecking. It was hard for Harry to wrap his mind around his feelings for Hermione. On the one hand, she was the most intensely loyal person in his life. She continually had his back in a way that no one ever did. Even when they fought in third year over the Firebolt, her reasoning had been sound. Where he was always ready to leap without looking, Hermione was always there to do the research and help keep him from getting killed, or worse, expelled. 

Besides all of that, Ron wasn’t the only one to notice that Hermione was a girl. Even though he had staunchly placed himself in the friend-zone with Hermione, he wasn’t blind to all the physical changes she had gone through in the years that they had been friends. She wasn’t an athlete like Ginny or Cho, but from the many times she had embraced him, Harry could tell she kept a nice figure beneath her robes. Her hair, still wild and curly, was nowhere near as bushy and untamed as it had been in their younger years, and after Madam Pomfrey’s ministrations, she had a perfect smile. Not that Harry had ever hated her teeth before. 

Harry couldn’t help but make comparisons between Cho, Ginny, and Hermione, although he supposed it was hardly fair to include Cho. Even during their brief dalliance during his fifth year, it was clear that she was not over Cedric. When he thought about it, Harry couldn’t blame her. Even years later, he still felt guilty for Cedric’s death and even if Cho didn’t hold him personally responsibly, it was horribly crass for Harry to pursue the girl while she was still obviously grieving. Ginny on the other hand, was nice enough but Harry feared that even if they did manage to get back together, it was unlikely that Ginny would outgrow her fan-girl phase before long. Every time she talked of the ‘Boy-Who-Lived’ it only served to remind Harry of who didn’t live that night. 

Harry didn’t pretend to have much knowledge about relationships, but if general compatibility was a big factor in friendships, it would be equally important in romantic relationships. Loyalty and trust being even more important than that. Knowing this, Harry bitterly thought that Ron must be kidding himself if he ever thought he had a chance with Hermione. Ron was their closest friend, but he was fair-weather more often than not. And both he and Ginny were plagued by that famous ‘Weasley Temper’.

Suddenly, Harry felt incredibly nervous to confront Ginny whenever that time came. 

From inside, he heard Hermione beginning to stir and he was pulled from his thoughts. The sun was getting low in the sky and they had agreed that they should move on from this spot sooner rather than later. Thinking of what he could scavenge for them for dinner, Harry stood to his feet and reentered the tent. 

After rousing Hermione and a quick dinner of canned beans from the depths of Hermione’s beaded bag, they made quick work of packing up the tent and bringing down their wards. When everything was secured, Harry pulled the invisibility cloak around them as Hermione grabbed a hold of his arm. With a reassuring grin, Harry turned on the spot and the two vanished. 

~Into the Woods~ 

The ground was cold and hard beneath him, and Draco Malfoy winced as he rolled over to pull himself to his feet. Beneath the chill, his face still stung from where Alecto Carrow’s conjured whip slashed his cheek. 

A few feet away, Neville Longbottom wasn’t fairing much better. Still feeling the aftershocks of the Cruciatus curse, all he could do was lay helpless on the ground as his body succumbed to random spasms. Besides him, Luna Lovegood carefully cradled his head in her lap. 

“Where are we?” Luna asked without looking up. “This isn’t the Forbidden Forest, is it?” They were in a small clearing and tall trees surrounded them from all sides. It was close to dusk and as the sun was setting above them. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground and clinging to the bare branches of the trees. 

“Not the Forbidden Forest, no.” Draco answered quietly. “It wouldn’t be wise for us to camp so close to the castle. I didn’t make the portkey; I’m not not sure where we are.” 

Luna turned her gaze to the setting sun and sighed heavily. “It reminds me of the Abernathy Forest.  My father and I visited when I was younger. We were hoping to find a colony of Scottish Thundercats.” Neville whimpered and she turned her attention back to him. 

“Did you ever find them?” Draco asked after a moment. He’d never taken Care of Magical Creatures seriously so he couldn’t remember when Hagrid had ever talked about Scottish Thundercats.

Luna shook her head sadly. 

Despite the cold, Draco sat back on the ground and drew his knees to his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly about himself, as if he would fall apart if he let go. He glanced up at the setting sun. Only an hour ago he had been at Hogwarts. 

“I take it you had no issues getting here? We don’t have many students here over break and Alecto and Amycus are getting...antsy.” 

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his godfather, the current headmaster of Hogwarts. “They don’t concern me.” He frowned at the stiff chairs in front of the headmaster’s desk before taking a seat. “Why did you call me here?”

Snape stood with his back to him and gazed out of the office window at the darkening grounds. “I’m afraid that your time at Hogwarts has come to an end, Draco.” 

Draco glanced down at his forearm where he knew the dark mark was hidden by the sleeves of his black jumper. 

“Your mother approached me in confidence and told me of the Dark Lord’s plans for you. Although we rid the castle of its former headmaster, the Dark Lord is not so easily forgiving of you. In his eyes, you have failed.” Snape took a moment to carefully remove a piece of lint from his robes. “The Carrows have also expressed concern over your lack of...enthusiasm when it comes to seeking out the more meddlesome of our students. The Dark Lord questions your commitment.”

 Draco felt his jaw clench and he averted his eyes so that Snape wouldn’t attempt to see into his mind. Not that that would stop the Legilimens master. When it was announced that Snape would be returning to Hogwarts as the headmaster, and that the Carrows would also be joining the staff, it was made abundantly clear to Draco that he was meant to assist the Carrows as they fulfilled their lord’s wishes of purifying the school. Most of the muggleborns didn’t bother returning, and the few who did were quickly rounded up by the ministry’s Muggleborn Registration Commission. From the students that remained, they were told to either get in line willinging, or suffer the consequences. Not surprisingly, all the Slytherins willingly turned a blind eye to the other students’ plight. It wasn’t long before students started realizing that crossing the Carrows didn’t merely mean serving a detention with Filch. By the end of October, there were upwards of thirty students who seemed to have vanished from the castle. It wasn’t lost on the staff that these students were notorious members of Potter’s ‘Dumbledore’s Army’. They were blood-traitors and enemies of the Dark Lord, according to the Carrows. 

The castle wards told Snape that they had not left the castle, but try as they might, none of the staff could locate the missing students. It was clear to Draco that they were using the Room of Requirement again, where he himself had sought sanctuary last year, but whenever he was questioned about their possible whereabouts, he had shielded his mind and feigned ignorance. There had also been more than one instance where he himself had turned a blind eye to Longbottom stealthily leading a group of students up to the seventh-floor corridor. They had not seen him, and he hadn’t called attention to himself. 

“He’s going to kill me,” Draco stated quietly. 

Snape turned to face him, his cloak billowing out behind him. “Yes, he is. Within the week, he will call you to his side. He will give you one final task; to find and deliver Potter to him within a fortnight.” 

Draco’s eyes went wide, and he sat forward in his seat. “But no one’s seen Potter since that Weasley wedding. There’s no way-” Suddenly understanding Snape’s words, he sat back against the chair. “I see. What’s the purpose though? Why not just kill me outright? Instead of sending me on some doomed-to-fail mission?” 

Snape took a seat at his desk. “I don’t pretend to be an expert on the Dark Lord, but presumably, there is always the slight chance that you might catch up to Potter. Possibly.” 

Draco scoffed and stood to his feet. “Mother always said my days would be numbered if I followed in my father’s footsteps. I can’t say I’m not sorry that she’s correct. Will you look after her? Merlin knows father is useless.” 

“Sit down, Draco.” Snape instructed. “It’s time that you face reality and grow up. Many of us have made our respective beds and must now lie in them, but you, it’s not too late for you if you choose to pull your head out of your ass for once.”

Draco regarded his godfather carefully. Contrary to what the rest of the school thought, he had been on the receiving end of Snape’s rebuke more than once. Throughout his younger years of schooling, every time there was an altercation between him and Potter, Snape was always there to berate him for not keeping a cool head. According to Snape, he always spoke before he thought, and it usually landed him in trouble. Last year, when he had been given the awful task of killing Albus Dumbledore, it seemed he hardly got a moment’s peace between the collective pressure of his parents and the Dark Lord, as well as Snape hovering around every corner. He knew his godfather meant well, but his actions did not endear him to Draco. Even this year, Snape had cornered him more than once about his action- or lack thereof. He had warned Draco many times that he was not the only one watching him. Suffice to say, Draco was never good at heeding his godfather’s advice. He took a seat. 

“I’ve looked into your mind, Draco. I know how much this torments you.” Draco didn’t respond and Snape watched as he stared stubbornly at a spot on the floor. “There are some who believe that a person can be too set in their ways that they can’t be saved, but from what I’ve seen in your mind, that’s all you want.” 

“I’ve burned a lot of bridges.” Draco replied stonily. “And this,” he presented his forearm to Snape, “won’t exactly endear me to anyone.” 

“There’s a way to remove it.” Snape said simply. “That’s half the battle there. The rest, the remorse and amends you must make, will take the most work.” 

Draco’s head snapped up to Snape and he was speechless. “You’ve found a way…and why haven’t you used it?” 

Snape ignored him. “You’re my godchild, an honor despite your less than impressive demeanor at times. You’ve always been a lazy student, and quite arrogant as well, with your resting on the laurels of Lucius. Your father and your mother will likely perish at the hands of the Dark Lord and then it will be up to you, the last Malfoy, to make a name for yourself. All those years your father fed you his pureblood supremacy ideals on a silver platter and yet here I am, the best potion’s master this country has seen in years and I’m the son of a muggle. For the past six years I’ve watched a muggleborn wipe the floor with you lot in nearly every class.” Draco had the decency to look ashamed. “So, tell me, godson, you think purebloods are so superior, and yet you willingly kiss the feet of a halfblood.” 

For the second time, Draco was caught off guard. “A halfblood? The Dark Lord is-?”

“Tom Marvolo Riddle.” Snape sneered. “Born to a squib and a muggle out of love potions,” he spat. “And yet somehow, the oh so powerful and knowledgeable purebloods of our society bow to his every whim! They kill for him in the name of blood! And soon as they disappoint him, he cuts them down. Funny how their blood doesn’t matter so much to him. He’s killed more purebloods than any muggleborn or halfblood combined.” 

“And what’s your excuse?” Draco asked hotly. “You’ve taken his mark just as we did.” 

Snape stared at him for a long moment before turning his attention to the sleeping portrait of Albus Dumbledore. “As I said, many of us have made our beds.” he turned back to Draco. “Your decision?”

Draco felt his heart sinking as he thought over his godfather’s words. “The Dark Lord is going to kill me.” 

“Yes.” 

“I’ve burned all my bridges and I’ve no real friends.” Snape raised a single eyebrow. “I’ve been a fool; an arrogant, bigoted fool.” 

“And still, all is not lost.” Snape replied. He stood to his feet and walked over to the portrait of Dumbledore. He tapped the frame twice with his wand and it opened, revealing a hidden cavity in the wall. From behind the portrait, he pulled a small vial and a large, ruby encrusted sword. 

“Is that-”

“The Sword of Gryffindor, yes.” Snape replied. “And this is a vial of phoenix tears mixed with freely given unicorn blood. This, Draco, is how you will remove your dark mark.” Draco went to roll up the sleeve of his jumper, but Snape stopped him. “Not here, no. I have it on good authority that Longbottom and Lovegood and their gang of merry men will attempt to steal the sword. Albus bequeathed the sword to Potter in his will but Albus left me different instructions.” From his robes he pulled a small moleskine pouch. Draco watched curiously as Snape tucked the vial away in the pouch followed by the sword. It must have had an undetectable extension charm on it because its small shape did not betray the contents. “Before you’re able to rid yourself of your mark, you must get the sword to Potter.”

“Again, with seeking out bloody Potter.” Draco protested. “If no one else has been able to find him-”

 “This is what remorse looks like, Draco.” Snape said quietly. “It’s work. If you can’t get the sword to him, find someone who can.” he pulled a grey handkerchief from his inner pocket and handed it to Draco. “You can activate to leave the school. I suggest you don’t.... tarry.” 

Draco said nothing for a moment before finally giving Snape a stiff nod. Snape pressed the pouch into his hands. “This is where your journey begins, Draco.”

With those final words, Draco had taken his leave of Snape and was contemplating whether going back to the dungeons was worth it. As he turned the corner, he stumbled upon Longbottom and Lovegood held under wand point by the Carrow twins. He heard Alecto's taunting and cackling and a moment later, the corridor was filled with Neville’s cries as Amycus hit him with the Cruciatus curse. Draco saw Luna draw her wand, only to be disarmed by Alecto. Without thinking, Draco shot a stunner at Amycus’ back. As he crumpled to the ground, Neville slumped against Luna and Alecto turned around, shock coloring her face as she saw Draco with his wand out. With a shriek, she whipped her wand and Draco felt something slash against his face. Draco sent a volley of curses that she blocked effortlessly, her face twisting into a snarl as she called him all manners of traitors and promised him death. 

With her attention solely on Draco, she didn’t notice the girl use Neville’s wand to silently stun her in the back. She fell to the ground as gracelessly as her brother did. 

Luna regarded him curiously for a moment, before using Neville’s wand to summon her own. “Thank you for your help.”

Draco felt his mouth move but no sound came out. He had just attacked death eaters...if he weren’t already on the Dark Lord’s shit list then that would definitely land him at the top. 

“Would you mind terribly?” Luna huffed as she struggled slightly under Neville’s weight. “I can imagine that the noise will attract some attention and we have places to be.”

Sure enough, they began to hear the sound of several footsteps running towards them. Draco quickly moved to share the weight of Neville. While he was no longer the pudgy Gryffindor from their youth, he was still much stockier than Draco and the blonde boy was slightly embarrassed to find himself also struggling under the weight of Neville and the slightly bulky backpack he wore.

As quickly as they could manage, Luna began leading them away from whoever had been sent to investigate. “Neville isn’t really coherent at the moment, but I imagine that he’s just as grateful as I am for your intervention,” she said to Draco with a calm voice. “We just need to get to the seventh floor and then we’ll be out of your hair.” 

“I have the Sword of Gryffindor,” Draco blurted out. 

Luna’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline and she stumbled a bit. “Well that makes this easier. I suppose you’re not interested in sharing that with us, are you?” 

Draco huffed and thought back on Snape’s warning to not waste time. He guided them into a hidden alcove in the corridor and pulled the handkerchief from his pocket. “Grab on, will you?” 

Luna gave him a searching look before carefully taking a hold of the handkerchief. She squeezed Neville impossibly tight as Draco tapped it with his wand, causing an unpleasant jerk somewhere beyond her navel before the trio disappeared. 

What felt like moments later, they landed in an uncomfortable heap in the middle of a forest clearing. Wasting no time in disentangling himself, Draco watched as Luna carefully removed Neville’s backpack and maneuvered his head to rest on top of the bag. As he busied himself with checking their surroundings, Luna began pulling items out of her backpack. From the size of the items, he assumed that she also had an undetectable extension charm on her bag. She removed a kettle, several teacups, blankets, and pillows. 

“A portkey out of Hogwarts...Only the headmaster can make one of those.” Luna stated, giving Draco a curious look. “Why did you help us?” There was no hint of accusation or suspicion in her voice which set Draco on edge. 

He used his wand to cast a warming charm on himself before speaking. “The Dark Lord is going to kill me. And my godfather- Headmaster Snape- gave me a lot to consider concerning my previous ideals and behaviors.”

“Do you seek to walk a better path?” Luna asked as she busied herself with spreading the blankets out. She levitated Neville so that he rested comfortably on one of the softer blankets. 

“I-I don’t know what it means to walk a better path.” Draco admitted quietly. Snape’s words still rang in the back of his head and he felt confused. It felt like only yesterday when he would have gladly tortured other students alongside the Carrows. Only a year ago he was planning the death of the headmaster. He subconsciously rubbed his forearm. Snape had given him a way out, but he wasn’t sure if he was brave enough to take it. 

Suddenly, he felt his wand being ripped from his hand. He quickly jumped to his feet to find Luna already on hers, and her wand held before her as she gripped Draco’s wand in her other hand tightly. Her eyes had a steely glint to them as she eyed him evenly.

“I don’t wish to hurt you, Draco, but I will if you presume to present a threat to myself or my friends.” 

Draco cursed himself for being caught off guard so easily. In his ear he could hear his father sneering at him about how useless he was. “I don’t want to hurt you! I saved you back at Hogwarts.” 

“And yet, you’re suffering from an infestation of wrackspurts that speaks to the incredible confusion you feel.” she stated easily, her wand never wavering. 

“I- what?” He was fairly certain that Hagrid had never covered wrackspurts in his lessons. It still didn’t stop him from looking wildly about his head.

“Wrackspurts never lie,” Luna replied solemnly. 

Draco felt his shoulders slump helplessly. Of course, this wouldn’t be easy. “I don’t know what wrackspurts are. And yes, I am confused! Everything I thought was true turned out to be a fucking lie!” he threw himself on the ground and buried his head in his hands. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” 

“I’m sorry you’re confused, Draco.” Luna said quietly, and despite the fact that she held him at wandpoint and he was helpless, Draco believed that she really was sorry. “However, we’re in the middle of a war, and we can’t afford to have confused parties.” 

This is where your journey begins, Draco.

Slowly, so as not to be seen as a threat, Draco reached a hand into his robes and retrieved the moleskine pouch from Snape. He tossed it at Luna’s feet. At her skeptical look, he replied, “The Sword of Gryffindor. I told you I had it.” 

Carefully, Luna picked the bag up and without letting go of either wand, she quickly opened the bag and slipped her hand inside. Feeling the hilt of the sword, she pulled it out the bag just enough to see the rubies glittering in the hilt. She replaced it and after some more digging, she produced the small vial containing the phoenix tears and unicorn blood. “Unicorn blood?” 

“Freely given and mixed with phoenix tears.” Draco supplied. “Snape told me there’s a way to remove the dark mark from my arm. He didn’t quite give me instructions but that has something to do with it.” After an uneasy moment of silence, he spoke again. “He said he knew that you lot were going to try and steal the sword for Potter. Well, there you go.” 

At that moment, Neville began stirring. He slowly sat up, shaking his head as if to clear away the grogginess he felt. Upon looking around and seeing Luna holding Draco at wand point, he scrambled to his feet- albeit unsteadily- and brandished his wand as well. “What the bloody hell is happening? Why is Malfoy here?” 

“Draco stopped the Carrows from attacking us, and then he used a portkey to help up escape and now he’s presented us with the Sword of Gryffindor and a cure to rid himself of the dark mark. And you’re suffering from exposure to the torture curse.” Luna explained in a calm voice. 

She passed the pouch to Neville and he gaped at her. Quickly composing himself, he stuck his hand in the bag and pulled the sword out. He gazed in awe at the sword. “Bloody hell.” he turned his attention to Draco and jabbed the sword at him. “What are you playing at, Malfoy?” 

“Draco is going to remove his dark mark and seek a better path.” Luna explained before Draco could speak. He eyed the sword in Neville’s hand warily. 

“Luna, I’m not one to make mention of how your head is in the clouds, but this is Malfoy we’re talking about.” Neville explained, voice full of contempt. “I don’t trust him, and you shouldn’t either.” 

“I stopped the Carrows from torturing you!” Draco snapped, getting to his feet. Wand or not he would not roll over for the witless Longbottom.

“Yeah after years of doing it yourself,” Neville spat back. “And so what he stopped the Carrows? I bet he’d curse his own mother in her back! No sense of loyalty at all. Or let me guess, you’re turning over a new leaf? Getting tired of kissing You-Know-Who’s boots?” 

Draco balled his fist. “I will never again kiss that filthy half-blood’s anything! And don’t you ever speak of my mother again!”

Neville scoffed and shook his head with disgust. “Always about blood purity shit with you lot, isn’t it? No one’s ever good enough.” 

Draco scowled at Neville’s words but relaxed his stance. His brow furrowed as if he were deep in thought. “Can you imagine what it must be like to have everything you’ve ever believed in thrown back in your face? Everything I was taught, everything I thought to be true laid out as nothing more than…”

“Utter and complete dragonshit?” Luna supplied helpfully. 

Draco gave a dry laugh. “Quite. Did you not grow up believing the words your parents told you? Did you not take on their views as your own?” 

“Well my parents aren’t around to share any words of wisdom. Bellatrix LeStrange saw to that.” Neville said between clenched teeth. “She’s your aunt, right?”

Luna placed a small hang on Neville’s arm and Draco’s face flushed bright red. “We can’t help who we share blood with, Neville.” 

“Please don’t defend him, Luna.” Neville said quietly, refusing to make eye contact with her. “You don’t understand.” 

“I understand more than you think,” Luna countered, her voice taking on a slight edge. “It’s hard to forgive, but one less person fighting for You-Know-Who is a win for us. He helped us when he could have turned his back, and he saved us the task of stealing the Sword. You’ve trusted my instincts so far this year, Neville, please trust me now.” 

Neville gave Luna a deep, searching look before finally giving a stiff nod. “I’ll continue to trust your instincts, Luna, wild as they are.” he said with a small grin. He turned back to Draco, his grin disappearing. “I... thank you for intervening when the Carrows attacked us. You’re a right piece of shit but we have bigger issues, so I won’t dwell on it.” 

Draco relaxed his stance and gave him a stiff nod. 

“I think now is a good time for Draco to make a vow that he won’t betray us.” Luna announced. She offered Draco his wand and ignored the bewildered expression on his face. 

“A v-vow?” Draco stammered. “An unbreakable vow?” 

“Yes.” Luna stated matter-of-factly. She took a confident stride forward and presented him his wand. “You can’t go back to You-Know-Who, and when we finally manage to contact Harry, he’ll be more willing to trust you if he knows you’ve made a vow not to double cross any of us.” 

Draco looked between Luna and Neville. He wondered when they had become such a force. He had never had a high opinion of Neville and the stories he’d heard about Loony Lovegood didn’t seem to match the girl who stood before him, staring him down. And yet, these were the two responsible for smuggling the targeted half-bloods and muggleborns out of Hogwarts while under the regime of the Carrows. Apparently, these two were leaders of a school-wide revolution that was hellbent on fighting the Dark Lord’s forces whenever they could. Draco thought back to the beginning of term and remembered how the Carrows had made an example of Neville when he demanded that they stop using the torture curse on first years. When they were through with him, he had been left bloodied and bruised in the entrance hall for all to see, and they had forbidden Madam Pomfrey from healing him. But the next day, he could be seen limping around the castle, head still held high and a defiant glint in his eye. And although he had never engaged her directly, stories of older students attempting to harass Luna and falling to her quick wandwork had spread even through the Slytherin dungeons. No, these were no longer mere students. Somehow, throughout the course of the Dark Lord’s blood war, they had evolved into warriors.

He carefully took his wand and gripped it tightly. “I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, swear on my life and on my magic that I will not betray Harry Potter or his cause. I will do everything I can to help defeat the Dark Lord and his followers. I will freely offer my wand and my knowledge if it will help keep those who are innocent safe.” 

 Neville released a deep breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “So mote it be.”

 “So mote it be.” Draco repeated. The tip of his wand lit up brightly for a brief moment before dimming. Luna gave him a brilliant smile and Draco felt his face grow warm.

 “Thank you, Draco.” She settled on one of the blankets and indicated that Draco should take the blanket opposite her. “Neville, will you start a fire, please? It’s getting dark out.”

 “So, I’m assuming you all have been in contact with Potter?” Draco asked as he watched the growing fire. There was no firewood and the magical flames hovered an inch above the ground.

 “Well, no one’s actually seen Harry since the wedding at the Burrow.” Neville explained as he pulled his backpack towards him and began rifling through it. From the bulk of it, Draco assumed that unlike Luna, his did not contain an undetectable extension charm on it. It suddenly dawned on him how utterly unprepared he was to be on the run. All of his belongings were back in his dorm.

 “There’s a secret broadcast on the WWN that we can use to send a message to Harry.” Neville continued. Luna proceeded to hand him a portable radio from her endless bag and Draco watched as he used his wand to tap out a series of words against it. “It may take a while to reach them but-“ 

At that moment, Neville was interrupted by the soft crack of someone apparating nearby. In the blink of an eye, they were all on their feet, wands at the ready.

“Who’s there?!” he called out while at the same time another voice demanded the same thing.

A few yards away, there was a slight shimmering in the air as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger appeared from under an invisibility cloak.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2.

“Neville?” Harry stared at his former roommate in disbelief. In all of their time randomly apparating while on their hunt, they had been fortunate enough to avoid appearing in front of people. The last thing Harry or Hermione expected was to land right in their old friend’s camp.

"What side of the room did you sleep on in Gryffindor tower?" Neville asked suspiciously. He had no reason to believe that he was speaking with an imposter but after a whole year of being fooled by Barty Crouch Jr., he knew better than to make assumptions.

Harry regarded him quizzically before answering. "On the right, closest to the window and furthest from Dean."

Neville nodded and lowered his wand before rushing to hug his friends. "Had to check. Security reasons."

"Don't you put wards up?" Hermione questioned as Luna lowered her wand and offered her a smile.

“I guess it didn’t occur to us.” Neville replied sheepishly. He glanced around confused. “Where’s Ron? Ginny said the three of you were together.”  

Harry and Hermione shared an uncomfortable look, the red-head’s departure still fresh.

"Well this makes things easier," at the familiar drawl, Harry and Hermione whipped around to finally take notice of Draco.

"Perfect." Harry said tightly, eyes narrowing. "You think I'm an impostor but you're in company with a death eater."

Neville raised his hands apologetically. "I know what this looks like, Harry, but things have changed-“

"Nothing’s changed, Neville!" Harry raised his voice. Hermione tried to put a hand on his arm but he shook her off. "He has the dark mark! Do you know what you have to do to get the dark mark?"

“Do you know what you have to do to get the dark mark?” Draco countered. “Or are we just making assumptions, Potter?”

 “Stupefy!” Before anyone could intervene, Draco crumpled to the ground.

“Harry Potter!” Luna exclaimed, rounding on him, whipping out her wand. 

“Don’t even think about it, Luna!” Hermione growled, leveling her own wand at the smaller girl. 

“What the hell, you guys?!” Neville exclaimed, pushing himself between the three. “We are not fighting each other!”

“Stay out of this, Neville.” Harry ground out. “I don’t know why Malfoy’s here and to be frank, I don’t care to hear any of his excuses, either.” 

“Even if he has the Sword of Gryffindor?” Neville asked pointedly. 

Harry stopped short and Hermione’s eyes went wide. “What are you talking about? What do you mean he has the Sword of Gryffindor?” Hermione asked suspiciously. 

“If he has the sword I’m sure it’s only because he stole it,” Harry spat out, glaring at Draco’s unconscious form. 

Neville actually rolled his eyes. “Merlin, mate. I know these past few months have been rough on you but you used to be reasonable.”

“Harry,” Luna spoke softly. “We fought together, we’ve always had your back. Please trust us and let us explain.” 

Harry and Hermione shared a look, almost like they were communicating without speaking. After a tense moment, Harry finally gave a stiff nod. 

Luna smiled wide and Neville relaxed his stance. “Ennervate!” Draco began stirring and his eyes slowly opened. He cast a wary glance at Neville and Luna before pulling himself to his feet. 

“Got it out of your system, Potter?” He asked hotly as he dusted his pants off. 

“It’s the least of what you deserve,” Hermione replied scathingly. 

“Let’s have tea!” Luna exclaimed suddenly, clapping her hands together excitedly. Four pairs of eyes turned to her in disbelief. “Daddy always said that disagreements were best settled over tea. While the tea steeps Hermione, you can set those wards you mentioned earlier.” 

Without waiting for an answer, Luna settled on the ground next to the magical fire and resumed setting up her tea service from earlier. 

“Just what did you have in mind when you apparated us here?” Hermione said in a low voice to Harry. While Neville and Draco had opted to take a seat close to the fire, he had followed Hermione as she performed the routine spells over their campsite. 

“How was I supposed to know we would run into Neville, Luna, and their new best friend.” Harry’s brow furrowed and Hermione knew he was deep in thought. “It doesn’t make sense. I know they don’t have a reason to lie to me, but I don’t see how they can trust Malfoy.” 

“I don’t like this,” Hermione hissed. “They could be confunded or worse, under the Imperius curse. This could all be a trap.” 

Harry glanced over at the unlikely trio. “It’s odd, but I don’t think they’re under any spells. But who knows what Malfoy’s game is.”

“We need to be ready to get out of here quickly if things go bad.” Hermione said as she mumbled the last of the protection spells. “We’ll hear their side of the story, grab the sword if they have it, and then go.” 

Harry nodded. “Agreed. After Godric’s Hollow...I won’t let us get fooled by a trap again.” 

Hermione gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand comfortingly. “I don’t blame you for Godric’s Hollow and you should stop blaming yourself.” 

Harry looked down at their joined hands and slowly rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “You’re the most important person to me right now, Hermione. I just want to keep you safe.” 

Hermione felt her heart flutter at his words and was again reminded of their previous conversation following Godric’s Hollow. If only he knew that he was the most important person to her as well. “We’ll keep each other safe. I promise.” 

“Tea’s nearly done!” Luna called, slightly startling the two. Reluctantly, Hermione released his hand and they went to join the group by the fire. 

The five of them sat around the fire, with Harry and Hermione across from Neville and Luna and Draco just on the outside of the makeshift circle but closer to Neville. Luna handed them each a porcelain tea cup. In the firelight, they could make out various creatures painted on the cups. “The cups belonged to my mother,” Luna explained. “Please take care with them.” 

Draco cradled his cup carefully. “What kind of tea? Doesn’t smell like anything I recognize.” 

Luna gave him a wry smile before picking up the kettle and pouring tea into Hermione’s cup. “This is a brew made from wild, Amazonian mushrooms. Daddy acquired them while he was deep in the jungles of Brazil one year. He was actually searching for the Amazonian cucuy but in the middle of his quest, he fell ill with a nasty bout of consumption.” she continued pouring each of their tea and if she noticed the skeptical look Hermione shared with Harry, she didn’t comment on it. “He was able to seek healing in a magical village nearby, and as payment, he promised to help them during the upcoming harvest season. When he decided to come home, they sent him with a variety of magical plants and herbs not native to Britain. He was very pleased.” 

Neville took a tentative sniff of his tea and blanched. “Luna, this is quite...strong.” 

Luna nodded in agreement. “Many people choose to eat mushrooms, but I’ve found that letting them steep and enjoying them as tea makes for a more enjoyable experience. A warning, this particular mushroom is known for its abilities to stimulate the dormant Dabberblimps in your brain, but it does help to put the mind at ease. ” 

Neville and Harry eyed her wearily.

“So the Sword of Gryffindor?” Hermione questioned, turning her attention to Draco. “They say you have it. Why? And how did you get it?” 

“I got it from Headmaster Snape.” Draco replied, not making eye contact. “He told me to find a way to get it to you all. And he knew that they were going to be going after it anyways.” he nodded towards Neville and Luna. 

Before Harry could ask, Neville replied, “We heard from Ginny that Dumbledore left you the sword in his will but the minister was playing coy about it. Figured that if it was important enough for Dumbledore to specifically entrust it to you, then we should help try and make sure you got it.” 

Harry was oddly touched. “Thanks. As it happens, we do need it.” 

Neville indicated towards the small pouch that rested besides his and Luna’s backpacks. “It’s in the bag. And we both checked so he’s not lying.” 

“And you’re missing the most important part,” Luna interjected. “As we were going to go for the sword, we were attacked by the Carrows. Draco intervened and helped us escape from Hogwarts. Without him, we’d be locked away in a dungeon somewhere most likely being tortured.” 

“What?” Harry and Hermione exclaimed at the same time, eyeing Draco as if he had a second head. 

“Forgive us for our shock,” Hermione said tersely. “He was only responsible for cursing Katie Bell, poisoning Ron, and nearly killing Dumbledore.” 

“Not to mention being an all-around git for the better part of six years.” Harry added. 

“For fuck’s sake!” Draco cried. “Yes, I was the evil, big, bad Malfoy who bullied all the muggleborns and picked fights with poor Potter. And yes, I do have the dark mark and I did try and kill our former headmaster.” 

“Not helping your case,” Neville leaned over and nudged him. 

Draco shrugged him off. “I grew up believing everything my father told me. And then the Dark Lord returned and has all but moved into my family’s home and he threatened my mother. Told me all the things he would let the others do to her if my father didn’t fall in line. He told me exactly how he would torture and kill her if I failed. The headmaster was dying anyway; I would have been doing him a favor.” 

“That’s no excuse,” Harry said, shaking his head, his jaw clenched almost painfully. “Using your mother-” 

“Yeah, well your mother’s dead,” Draco waved his hand dismissively. “It’s tragic, but you don’t honestly know what you would do if someone were threatening her life. But if it were someone else you cared about? Granger? Weasley?” he added disgustedly. 

“I wouldn’t just bow down to some murderer!” Harry argued. “I would fight!” 

Draco shrugged and took a sip of his tea. “Sorry that we’re not all so brave like you, Potter. But I don’t apologize for not being willing to bet on whether or not I could have survived a killing curse. Must be nice to feel invincible.” 

Harry downed the rest of his tea and set the cup down, remembering Luna’s warning to take care with it. His head felt heavy. Draco’s words seemed to vibrate all around inside of his skull. 

“Luna?” Neville’s voice sounded like it was coming from the end of a tunnel. “I feel like I’m floating. Is that normal?” 

“Oh. That means it’s working.” Her voice sounded even more light and airy than usual. 

“I’ve never done drugs before.” Hermione murmured. “I don’t like this. This was a bad idea.”

“Drugs?” Luna sounded confused. “No, no, Hermione. This is tea, Hermione.” 

Harry shook his head, trying in vain to shake off the effects of the tea. He focused on Draco, who had given up on sitting and was laying flat on his back, hands resting comfortably behind his head. His last words echoed in Harry’s mind. 

He was dying anyway, I would have been doing him a favor.” 

“Malfoy,” Harry made himself speak as clearly as possible. “You said he was dying anyway? Dumbledore was dying?” 

“You remember his hand?” How did he sound so...unaffected? “Got hit by a curse. Snape said it was going to kill him and they couldn’t find an antidote. Not even Madam Pomfrey.” 

Harry felt like a train had hit him straight in the chest. Dumbledore had been dying anyway? Why hadn’t he bothered to tell Harry? What other secrets had he been hiding? 

“Hermione?” he glanced around. To his surprise, Hermione had settled with her head resting in his lap. When had she gotten there? 

Across the fire, Neville was lying similar to Draco and Luna was fluffing up a pillow for herself. She smiled at him. “Don’t worry, Harry. This was just a mild dose. We’ll all be just fine.” 

“Just fine,” Harry repeated slowly. ”Just fine.” 

He stared down at Hermione. She looked so peaceful and her breathing was even. She was really pretty, he mused to himself, though he wasn’t sure if he said that aloud or not. 

His eyes felt heavy and before he could try and fight it, he was dozing off as well. 

~Into the Woods~

They were standing in the middle of a circular room filled with doors that was reminiscent of their time in the Department of Mysteries.

“Not this again,” Neville groaned. “Luna, I’m really not in the mood for us to be attacked by killer brains again.”

“There were a dozen doors at the Department of Mysteries,” Hermione said. “Only five here. And it’s not nearly as...depressing.” Unlike the DOM, the room here was bright and airy, although there were no windows that they could visibly see. The walls were white, and the plush, carpeted floor was a pleasant olive green. She turned to Luna. “What exactly is expected of us? How do we...wake up?”  

“Every experience is different, but this one looks pretty straightforward.” Luna explained. “Five of us, five doors.” 

“So, we just go through each door and that’s it?” Draco asked. He turned to Hermione. “How strong are the wards you put up? We’re essentially helpless if someone unsavory were to happen across us.” 

“Her wards will hold,” Harry replied before Hermione could. She shot him a grateful smile. “But we shouldn’t linger. Let’s just get this over with, and then Luna you’re not allowed to brew us tea again.” 

Neville gave a dry laugh. “Well, let’s get to it.” he squared his shoulders and turned towards the door closest to him. Without ceremony, he turned the knob and pulled the door open. From what they could see, the space beyond the door was just as brightly lit as the current chamber. No one admitted it, but there was some solace in the fact that they weren’t walking into total darkness.  Luna filed in behind Neville, followed by Draco, and finally by Harry and Hermione. She gave his hand a quick squeeze before entering. 

The room was smaller than the circular room and lacked any other doors or windows. As soon as the door closed behind Harry with a soft click, the walls containing them faded around them, revealing a stuffy parlor room. The paisley furniture was arranged neatly around a lit fireplace, and in the dim light, they could make out several wizarding paintings on the walls.

Harry approached the fireplace and attempted to pick up one of the many trinkets that adorned the mantle. When his hand slipped right through the object, he turned to the rest of the group. “It feels like a pensieve memory. We can observe but we can’t interact with anything.”

“Yes, but whose memory is this?” Draco asked as he gazed appraisingly at the portraits on the wall.

Before anyone could answer, the sound of hushed voices approaching them could be heard from the hall. They all turned quickly and Harry heard Neville inhale sharply as a man who could only be Neville’s father entered the room followed closely by a young woman with short, dark hair, a round face, and clutching a baby to her chest.

“Mum,” Neville said weakly. “Dad.”

“We can’t stay here, Frank.” Alice Longbottom was pleading with her husband. “He’s already gotten to Lily and James and they were under a Fidelus!”

Frank Longbottom paced before the fireplace. “Mother will never leave, this is the seat of our ancestral power. We can raise the war wards and disconnect the floo-“

“It won’t be enough!” Alice’s eyes were wide with fear. “You heard what Albus said. You-Know-Who believes in this prophecy and if James and Lily are already dead then what hope do we have? If he wants us, he’ll find us.”

Frank placed a comforting hand on his wife’s cheek, and she leaned into his touch. Harry turned to see Neville watching the scene with tears running freely down his face. Luna reached for his hand and he allowed her to take it. “I’ll always protect you,” Frank said quietly. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you or Neville.”

“And I’ll protect you, too.” Alice replied, tears threatening to spill over. “I won’t let him hurt my baby.”

Their tender moment was interrupted by a tiny house elf popping into the room. “Master Frank, Master Frank! There be bad men at the gate! They be breaking down the wards!”

Without hesitating, Frank grabbed a handful of floo powder and tossed it into the fireplace. “Get out of here!” he demanded.

“They’ve blocked the floo!” Alice shook her head and Harry’s heart sank. Instead of the fireplace erupting in brilliant green flames, it remained dimly lit. “Mimi!” another house elf appeared. “Take Neville and ward the nursery.”

“I be keeping little master Neville safe,” Mimi said fiercely as she took Neville in her tiny arms. “No bad wizards allowed to get to little master Neville.” Without another word, she popped away.

“Mum is in the ward room trying to hold them back but it may be too late.” Frank pulled his wand and Alice removed her cloak. “Darling, I do believe we’ll have quite the fight on our hands.”

There was a loud explosion that rocked the entire room and Harry’s blood ran cold when he heard the tell-tale cackling of Bellatrix LeStrange.

Thankfully at that moment, the scene shifted and faded from view. Neville choked back a sob and sat back on his hunches. No one moved, and for a long time, no one said a word. Hermione wiped at the tears falling down her face and Luna looked sorrowful.

“I’m so sorry.” Draco murmured quietly.

Neville didn’t acknowledge him, and a moment later, the room shifted again, and they found themselves in the same parlor. It was daytime, and sunlight trickled in from the large bay window. Neville, who looked younger than he was now, sat on one couch and his grandmother sat opposite him. A house elf, Mimi, served them tea.

“You followed Harry Potter to the Ministry of Magic.” Augusta Longbottom said over her teacup. “You broke into the Department of Mysteries.”

Neville remained silent.

“You could have been killed, Neville.”

“I saw her,” Neville spoke stiffly. “Bellatrix LeStrange. She was with the other Death Eaters that attacked us. She taunted me.”

His grandmother took a moment to set her teacup down on the table and smoothed out her robes across her lap. “There are not many people who have walked away after meeting Bellatrix LeStrange in battle.”

Neville snorted. “It was hardly a battle.”

Augusta regarded him carefully as she picked up her tea and took another sip. “The reason why she went after your parents is because there was a prophecy. I don’t know the full contents, but essentially, it was prophesied that a child born at the end of July to parents who had defied Voldemort three times would be the only one able to defeat him.”

Neville’s eyes went wide, and he sat up straighter. “Gran, you don’t believe in divination.”

“You are correct.” Augusta agreed. “I think it’s a waste of magic, personally. However, as you’ve seen with your own eyes, there’s an entire room in the Ministry of Magic dedicated to protecting these prophecies that seers make. Clearly, enough people take stock in divination.”

“And You-Know-Who’s followers wanted to make sure that their leader wouldn’t be defeated?”

Augusta nodded. “Yes. The prophecy could have applied to either yourself or Harry Potter. As you know, Voldemort himself went after the Potters and was destroyed. Shortly after, your parents wanted to go into hiding as well but before they could, they were attacked by his most vicious followers and tortured.”

“But he was already dead!” Neville protested. “What was the point?”

“Information.” Augusta replied. “After attacking the Potters and being destroyed, Voldemort left his followers in complete disarray. I’m assuming they went after Frank and Alice to get information on where their fallen master was in hopes of being able to restore him to power. Of course, Frank and Alice wouldn’t know. And they suffered.” Neville rested his elbows on his knees and placed his head in his hands. “I often wonder, if James and Lily got the better deal.”

Neville looked up sharply and Harry refrained from protesting, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. “Gran, that’s awful.”

“Is it?” Augusta picked up her tea again but didn’t drink. “Every year we visit your parents and they’re a shell of themselves. Trapped in their own minds…I don’t pretend to have hope that they will recover. But James and Lily, I believe at the very least that they’re at peace.”

“You-Know-Who thought that it was Harry, that’s why he went after them personally.” Neville stated; his face a mask of horror. “He could have come here! He would have killed them…”

“And you’d be the Boy-Who-Lived.” Augusta finished. “And I imagine that the weight of the world would rest on your shoulders just as it does for young Harry. I pity that Frank and Alice won’t know peace for some time, but I don’t envy Harry Potter. Voldemort has returned and will do everything he can to destroy him.”

“But the prophecy says-“

“All that does is ensure that Voldemort will stop at nothing.”

Besides him, Harry heard Hermione inhale sharply. He turned to see Luna, Neville and Draco regarding him carefully. Before anyone could say anything, the scene faded around them and they found themselves back in the circular room. Four doors remained.

Neville, still looking a bit shocked after seeing the moments leading up to his parents’ final stand, let out a deep sigh.

“Well, this is going to be most unpleasant.” Draco sighed. Harry was surprised to find himself in total agreement. 

~Into the Woods~

Harry wasn’t sure how long it had been since they had succumbed to the effects of the tea. Luna helpfully explained that time wasn’t the same when they were unconscious like this and all that did was make Harry wish even more for the whole experience to come to and end.

After seeing the Longbottoms, Luna had bravely led them through the second door. To their sorrow, they had to bear witness as Luna relived watching her mother die at the hand of one of her own spells gone wrong. The result was that Luna was raised by her out-of-touch father who struggled to connect with Luna at times because of the grief he felt for his own wife.

It was truly awful, Harry thought. While he knew that he had been present when Voldemort had cut down his own mother, his fifteen-month-old mind didn’t recall the incident as vividly as Luna did. It was even more heartbreaking when Luna shared with them that the spell her mother had been crafting was an advanced shield charm. Pandora Lovegood had felt the tide shifting in during the first blood war and her only desire was to protect her family should the Death Eaters come calling. Luna had kept all of her mother’s research and notes but was no closer to making the spell work than her mother was.

Hermione’s door had been next. After what Neville and Luna’s doors had revealed, she was understandably anxious about what her experience would be like. Having known her for so long, Harry was curious to gain a deeper understanding of his best friend. 

He knew that Hermione had had a rough start at Hogwarts. He appreciated her love of knowledge, and her savvy research skills had gotten them out of more than one sticky situation. However, he also knew that she could be quite heavy-handed with her beliefs, especially when it came to studying and following the rules. So, he wasn’t surprised to revisit those earlier years of Hogwarts where she had been teased ruthlessly because of her eagerness in class.

As the scenes shifted, he was surprised at the instances where Hermione would overhear other girls whispering scathing remarks about on an almost daily basis. The Ravenclaws were jealous of her intellect and hated that she got higher marks than all of them. The Slytherins muttered ‘mudblood’ at her and got progressively bolder as they got older. And apparently Harry had never noticed, but Hermione had on several occasions, the jealous and spiteful glares that girls would throw her way whenever Harry would bypass them to join her in the common room or during meals. People speculated that she was after his gold or using her smarts to potion him into spending time with her. Because why else would the famous Boy-Who-Lived be friends with an insufferable know-it-all?

Hermione was talented. And while she didn’t believe she was the prettiest witch in the castle, she had a measure of confidence in herself and her abilities that people had slowly been wearing down year after year. It was heartbreaking for Harry to see, and he felt himself growing angrier on her behalf. He watched her as she watched, stony faced and resolute, as the scenes faded around her and they reappeared in the room with doors.

As he was about to speak, Draco quickly yanked open the next door and marched through, murmuring, “Let’s get this over with.”

Draco’s by far been the most difficult to watch.

They all knew that Lucius Malfoy was an awful man, but their opinion of him sank even lower in the wake of discovering just how brutal the man was to his own flesh and blood. Potions and spells hid the evidence of the physical abuse he put his wife and son through, but it was the verbal abuse that left the deepest marks. He placed a great weight on Draco’s shoulders growing up, and his twisted, pure-blooded doctrine was at the core of almost every interaction. As Draco got older, it only got worse.

When Voldemort returned, Lucius was the first to offer his gold and his home to the Dark Lord’s cause. He allowed his wife to be used as Voldemort saw fit and on more than one occasion, when it was Lucius who displeased Voldemort, it was Narcissa who paid the price. The last scene they saw was of Lucius bringing his son to a forest clearing where a family of three muggles huddled together surrounded by cackling Death Eaters. His hand was shaking as he turned his wand on the man, who was as large as Harry’s uncle Vernon but helpless against a wand.

None of them could watch as the bright, green, light erupted from the tip of Draco’s wand, ending the man’s life.

When they returned to the circular room, only Harry’s door remained. It was deathly silent as they took a moment to process the brutal scene they had just witnessed. As much as Harry wanted to hate Draco, he couldn’t help but feel pity for the young man. Harry didn’t have parents, but he knew what it was like to feel the sting of a loved one’s betrayal. Parents were supposed to love their children unconditionally, not abuse them. Harry’s parents had died for him, Lucius Malfoy had all but sold his son into a life where he would forever be chained to the whims of a madman. It was sickening, as it was all Harry could do to choke down the bile that threatened to come up when he watched Draco receive the dark mark.

Standing before the final door, Harry felt a sense of foreboding. What secrets would this experience reveal of him? What from his life would he be forced to relive?

Besides him, Hermione placed her small hand in his and gave him a gentle smile. Her presence was calming, and in that moment, he knew that no matter what lay beyond the door, as long as Hermione was there beside him, he would be okay.

He wasn’t surprised to find himself back at Number Four Privet Drive, the five of them cramped in the small entrance hall. Afternoon light flooded the hall, and the house was quiet.

Neville glanced around and cautiously began to climb the stairs, stopping when he saw Harry slowly approaching a crawl space that was hidden along the staircase.

The cupboard under the stairs was much smaller than Harry remembered, and through the small slits on the door, he could hear the muffled sounds of a child crying. Behind him, he heard the others approach.

“Is that-“ Luna began.

Harry gave a stiff nod. “This was my room. My Hogwarts letter was addressed to Harry Potter, Number 4 Privet Drive. The cupboard under the stairs.”

“Those dreadful relatives of yours,” Hermione ground out. “If it weren’t illegal, I’d happily give them a piece of my mind.” Harry felt a surge of gratefulness towards her.

“It’s so quiet here,” Neville said. “Did they leave you here alone?”

“Yes.” Harry replied truthfully. “I was lonely, but I grew to prefer the solitude to their presence.”

They listened to his sobs through the door for a few moments more before the scene shifted again. This time, they were on the Hogwarts Express. Although they knew that that dementors couldn’t physically harm them in this state, it was still a shock to see the hooded demons descend upon the train. They watched in horror as the dementor went to attack Harry and while the first time, Hermione and Ron had sworn that they didn’t hear anyone screaming, in this state, they could all clearly hear the cries of Lily Potter as she pleaded for Voldemort to spare her only son.

Hermione had gripped his hand so tightly that he temporarily lost feeling in it.

Next, they found themselves watching the rebirth of Lord Voldemort and the duel in the graveyard that followed. Harry watched as Voldemort effortlessly wielded his wand as he rained curse upon curse on his fourteen-year-old self. Observing the battle from the outside allowed Harry to really see how skilled Voldemort really was. His moves were deadly and calculated, and this was after he had been without a body for so long. Harry knew from his fight in the Ministry that Voldemort had only gotten stronger since then. He felt hopeless and insignificant; how could he be the one prophesied to be Voldemort’s equal? Seeing the two of them fight, it was clear even to Harry that they were clearly unmatched.

When the scene shifted, they all bore witness to Dumbledore sharing the contents of the prophecy to Harry at the end of his fifth year. Draco gave him an appreciative look when he saw how Harry destroyed the headmaster’s office during his tantrum. From that point, it seemed like they were dragged through every single significant event- and even the not-so-significant ones- in Harry’s life. Everything from his fledgling relationship with Ginny to the fight with Ron in the tent and finally ending with his most recent run-in with Voldemort at Godric’s Hollow. Finally, when it was all over, they all shared a collective sigh of relief as the circular room faded into darkness. 

~Into the Woods~

Back in the forest clearing, they all took a moment to shake off the grogginess as they came too. Hermione couldn’t help the blush that spread across her cheeks when she realized that she had fallen asleep with her head in Harry’s lap. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to mind. And she was even more pleased to see that her wards had remained intact and undisturbed.

Harry helped to her feet and Neville took a moment to stand and stretch. Luna waved her wand and the teacups and kettles began to clean themselves up. A few feet away, Draco sat with his shoulders hunched as he stared at the dark mark on his skin. “It stings,” he glanced up to see four pairs of eyes on him. “He probably knows about me attacking the Carrows by now. These are some wards, Granger. He can’t force me to apparate to him.”

“Shit.” Neville gave them a worried look. “What are we going to do?”

Hermione chewed her lip as she began pacing. Harry recognized the look of concentration on her face and allowed her space to think. If anyone could come up with a solution, it would be her. “Snape gave you the sword,” she said to Draco finally. He nodded. “And Phoenix tears and unicorn blood?” Draco nodded again.

She went to pick up the moleskine pouch and pulled out the Sword of Gryffindor and the small vial of Phoenix tears and unicorn blood. She studied them in her hands for a moment before handing the vial to Luna, who took it without question. She gripped the hilt of the sword tighter and turned to Harry and Neville.

“Right, you two hold him down.” She pointed the sword at Draco who scrambled to his feet and pulled his wand. Quick as ever, Neville and Harry had their wands on him next.

“What are you on about, Granger?” Draco demanded. “Don’t point that thing at me!”

“The dark mark connects you to him. It’s not quite the same as a horcrux, but I’m willing to bet the magic is very similar.” She explained. “Right now, this sword is the only thing strong enough to destroy a piece of his soul, which means it must be strong enough to destroy that.” She pointed at his dark mark. “The sword is coated in basilisk venom which is why Snape gave you the phoenix tears and unicorn blood.”

“You’re not cutting my fucking arm off.” Draco stated firmly. “We’ll find another way.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and lowered the sword. “I’m not cutting your bloody arm off.”

“Says the girl with the giant sword.” Neville said in an undertone and Draco shot him a venomous glare.

 “I took a vow not to fight against Potter but I swear to god, Granger, if you come near with that thing-“

No one noticed Luna pull her wand for the second time that night, Draco Malfoy found himself stunned. Neville, Harry, and Hermione whipped around to face her; shock apparent on their faces. She tucked her wand away neatly. “We’re wasting time. His mark is getting darker if you hadn’t noticed.”

True to word, the mark stood out even darker in stark comparison on Draco’s pale skin.

“Right,” Hermione said sheepishly as she approached his unconscious form. “You two should still hold him down. I’m sure this will hurt, and I don’t know if Luna’s spell will hold him. Luna, please be ready with the antidote.”

Neville and Harry knelt at Draco’s side and each grabbed a tight hold of his arms. Harry looked up and gave Hermione an encouraging nod. He could tell she was terrified, but she quickly schooled her face into a mask of determination. She raised the tip of the sword above Draco’s arm and without preamble, she stabbed it right through the skull of the dark mark.

As assumed, Luna’s stunner was not enough to keep the pain from shocking Draco awake. He screamed in agony and fought against Neville and Harry's hold on him. Hermione yanked the sword out of his arm and fell back as a sickly, black substance began oozing from the wound on his arm. Luna quickly uncorked the vial and Harry gripped Draco’s arm as tightly as possibly to hold the flailing limb still. Luna carefully poured the mixture into the wound and they watched as the tar-like substance dried up and the torn skin began to stitch itself back together. A moment later, Draco went completely limp.

Neville touched two fingers to the side of his neck. “Well, he’s still alive.”

Hermione let out a sigh of relief and the sword slipped from her hands and fell to the ground. “That was brutal.”

Luna pulled Draco’s head into her lap and stared down at the pale boy. “It’s good he can rest now.”

Harry got to his feet and pulled Hermione into a hug. She fell into his embrace easily. When they broke apart, Harry summoned her beaded bag and pulled the tent out. “We should all get some rest. It’s been a rather taxing experience.”

“A tent; that’s brilliant, mate.” Neville said appreciatively as Harry set it up. “And I was sure we had thought of everything.”

Harry levitated Draco onto Ron’s abandoned cot and joined Hermione and Luna at the table across the room. Neville pulled what seemed like an endless supply of food from Luna’s endless bag and Harry and Hermione’s stomachs grumbled at the sight.

“House elves,” Neville supplied helpfully. “They’ve been sneaking food to us for weeks. They’ve been a real help in making sure we were all taken care of at the castle.”

Harry was expecting Hermione to make a comment about S.P.E.W. but surprisingly she kept her remarks to herself.

While they knew there were more conversations to be had, the day had taken a toll on them and they were all simply content to eat a light dinner of sandwiches and save the conversation for the morning. Hermione took some time to reinforce the wards before retiring to bed, and Luna offered to take the first watch. Neville used a charm to expand the small couch before settling himself in and Harry claimed the last cot for himself.

They were all asleep in minutes as Luna quietly put away the food.

The next morning, Harry awoke and stumbled over to the kitchen to find Draco and Neville sitting at the table drinking, of all things, tea.

Neville raised his cup in greeting. “Cheers, Harry. Pull up a chair.”

After excusing himself to the tiny washroom and taking a moment to relieve himself and freshen up, he joined them. At some point, Luna had taken over the cot that Draco had been in previously, and she and Hermione still slept.

Harry took a seat and Draco used a single finger to nudge a plate of toast towards him. Harry accepted it with a nod and for a while, the only sounds to be heard were Luna’s gentle snores from across the room and the munching of toast.

“How’s your arm?” Harry asked Draco after a while.

Draco pulled the sleeve of his jumper back to reveal his arm. It was completely bare, save for a single, thin white scar where the dark mark used to reside. “Better. I woke up a few times during the night due to the pain, but it’s all healed now.”

“Good.” Harry replied. They sat in silence once more. While he wasn’t technically a death eater anymore, Harry still had mixed feelings about Draco. On the one hand, he was grateful that he had stepped in to help Neville and Luna, and their journey into their collective subconscious had done a lot to explain Draco’s attitude and behavior, but there was still a part of Harry that found it hard to reconcile the Draco before him and the Draco from his previous years at Hogwarts. He didn’t want to be petty and hang onto schoolboy grudges, but he couldn’t see himself pretending as if the past didn’t happen.

“So,” Neville spoke first, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “About Ron…that was pretty brutal.”

“Good riddance,” Draco snorted as he took a sip of tea.

Harry glared at him. “You’ve no room to talk, Malfoy.”

Draco held his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, I walked out on an evil dark lord. He walked out on his best mate who’s the sworn savior of the wizarding world. I’d take a wager that I’m the lesser of two evils here.”

“We all saw your fight,” Neville said carefully. “He said some pretty terrible things. I know mates fight and all, but there are some lines you don’t cross.”

Harry thought back to the way that Ron had so casually thrown out how Harry had no family. Those words had cut the deepest. No one understood the price of war more than Harry did. Wanting to defeat Voldemort had less to do with getting revenge for his own parents and more to do with not wanting anyone to ever experience the losses that he had. He was rightfully pissed at Ron, and although the was loath to admit it to Draco or Neville, he knew that his relationship with the youngest male Weasley would never be the same again.

“He was a prat,” Harry said after a moment. “But it’s not something I’m willing to discuss with either of you at the moment.”

Draco didn’t reply and took another sip of his tea. Neville nodded his understanding.

Harry summoned Hermione’s beaded bag and dug around inside of it until he felt the cool chain of Slytherin’s locket. After Ron had left, it was by mutual agreement that they had decided to take a break from wearing it. The effects of the locket were too much of a risk. “Let’s go outside,” he stood to his feet and made to exit the tent. “Neville, bring the sword, please.”

When they were a safe distance away from the tent, Harry carefully set the locket down on the ground. “You all remember the memories the headmaster showed me; this is one of his horcruxes.”

“It feels like him.” Draco said as he absently rubbed his forearm. “Where’d you get it?”

“Surprisingly, Umbridge had it.” Harry replied with a dry laugh. “She’s so twisted already she probably didn’t even notice the effects of his magic on her. We used Polyjuice to break into the ministry and we were able to grab it off of her. While we were escaping through the floo, Yaxley got a hold of us so we couldn’t go back to our hideout. That’s when we started using the tent and camping out.”

“So how do you get rid of it?” Neville asked, eyeing the locket curiously.

Harry stared intently at the emerald encrusted snake on the locket. “We never were able to open it, but it seems so clear now.” He glanced up at Draco and Neville. “I’m going to use parseltongue to open it, then Neville you have to stab it with the sword, like Hermione did to Draco’s arm. I’m certain it will put up a fight, though. When I destroyed the diary in the Chamber of Secrets the part of Riddle’s soul tried to fight me off.”

Neville regarded Harry for a moment before resolutely stabbing the sword in the ground and backing away, shaking his head. “Nope. I’d call myself brave, but even I know my limits.”

“Some Gryffindor.” Draco snorted.

“Well you’re more than welcome to do it,” Neville said crossly, gesturing his hand towards the sword in an invitation.

Draco crossed his arms. “It’s the Sword of Gryffindor, if you recall. I can hold it, but I doubt that I’ll be able to wield it.”

Harry rolled his eyes at Draco’s explanation, but he couldn’t prove that he was wrong either. He went to pull the sword from the ground and held it before Neville. “Neville, it’ll be over before you know it. As long as you don’t linger, as soon as it opens just stab it.”

Neville heaved a great sigh and took the sword from Harry. “Let’s get this over with.”

He and Harry approached the locket and Neville tightened his grip on the hilt. Draco pulled his wand and stood at the ready.

“Ready?” Harry looked at them both and Neville gave a tight nod, his gaze zeroing in on the locket. “Right. On my count; one, two, open.” His last word came out as a strangled hiss and he quickly backed away, leaving Neville plenty of room to stab the horcrux.

The locket clicked open, revealing a gleaming pair of red eyes. They locked in on the sword in Neville’s hands and the locket emitted an awful hissing sound that seemed to envelope the entire clearing.

“Neville Longbottom,” the locket hissed. “The supposed other boy-who-lived….I’ve seen your heart, and it is mine.”

“Neville, stab it!” Harry cried, but it was obviously that Neville was frozen in fear.

“Your father was brave, but you are weak.” The locket continued to hiss. “You cower in fear; your magic is weak! There’s no way you ever could have been mistaken to defeat me!”

“Damn it, Neville!” Draco yelled. “Stab it right now!”

Neville’s hands trembled but he raised the sword over the locket.

“Even now you hesitate,” the locket taunted. “You’re no match for me! I will-“

Thankfully, they never found out what exactly the locket would do because at that moment, Neville finally slammed the sword into the open face of the locket. There was a great backlash of magic as the locket exploded and Harry, Neville, Draco were all thrown several feet back.

Harry sat up, slightly dazed, and heard the frantic cries of Hermione and Luna running towards them. “What happened?!” she demanded as she went to help Harry to his feet.

“We destroyed a bloody horcrux,” Draco replied, slightly out of breath, as he got to his feet.

“We?” Neville mumbled sarcastically, a grin on his face.

“Yeah, ‘we’,” Draco tossed back. “Because you were so brave about it.”

“I’m not ashamed.” Neville admitted. “As I said, I know my limits.”

“Well done, Neville.” Luna said with a smile.

“Where’s the sword?” Hermione asked as she carefully picked up the fragments of the destroyed locket.

“Uh oh.” Neville groaned looking around.

“Shit.” Harry mumbled. He and Neville looked around, but the Sword of Gryffindor was nowhere to be found.

“What is it?” Luna asked worriedly. “Where’d it go?”

Harry’s shoulders sagged and he flung himself on the ground. “The sword is the only weapon we have against horcruxes. Unfortunately, it has an annoying habit of disappearing. It will reappear but who knows when.”

“Pretty useless for a sword if you can’t count on it to be around to protect you.” Draco sighed. “Damn Gryffindors.”

“Shut it, you.” Harry said without much heat.

Hermione waved her wand and her expression grew worried. “We should pack up soon and move on. After getting rid of Malfoy’s dark mark and destroying the horcrux, there’s been too much magic done here. It’s seeping through the wards and is bound to attract attention to anyone who’s looking.”

They all agreed and in record time, bags were packed, the tent collapsed, and they stood together in the middle of the clearing, wands held at the ready as Hermione carefully took down her wards to erase all traces of their presence.

“We usually wear my invisibility cloak when we apparate but there’s no way we’d all fit,” Harry stated.

“Disillusion charms?” Luna suggested.

“Well, it’s not as effective but it’s the next best option.” Hermione agreed. They all applied the charm to themselves and Hermione grabbed Harry’s hand in her left and Neville’s in her right, who then grabbed Luna and Draco. “I can’t side-along all of you, but since you all know to apparate, you should just be able to follow along with me. Keep a hold of me so you don’t splinch yourselves.”

A moment later, they found themselves in the familiar unpleasantness of apparation, dutifully following Hermione’s lead until they all landed in another forest clearing.

The same forest clearing that was currently occupied by a group of rough-looking dark wizards.

“Get down!” Harry yelled as a volley of spells headed towards them.

The five of them scattered into the trees, and began throwing their own spells towards their attackers.

“They’re disillusioned!” one of the men yelled to his comrades.

“No worries,” another growled. “I can smell them.”

A werewolf, Harry thought. It was late morning, but he couldn’t remember the last time that there was a full moon. While he knew that most werewolves like Remus Lupin dutifully took wolfsbane potion to control the wolf within him, he had heard rumors of other werewolves who had no such qualms and embraced their inner animal with an almost bloodthirsty mindset. He remembered the way that Fenrir Greyback was able to brutally maim Bill Weasley when there wasn’t even a full moon out. They were disillusioned, but one lucky hit could easily cancel the charm and when a disillusioned person was in motion, it was dangerously easy to be spotted.

He heard one of the girls scream and swore. He couldn’t help them if he couldn’t see them. He canceled the charm on himself and threw himself out into the open, firing spell after spell at two of the attackers. Seeing him, they shared a shocked look and immediately advanced on him. With their attention turned to Harry, they made themselves a target and in quick succession, they were on the receiving end of two stunners. Hermione canceled her disillusion charm and rushed towards him.

“It’s Luna!” she exclaimed. “She got hit with something, but I didn’t have time to see what it was.”

“How many are there?” Harry asked as Hermione led him to where she had left Luna. She was slumped against a tree and her shoulder was bleeding heavily.

The sounds of spellfire were getting closer and through the trees, Harry could see that Neville and Draco were also no longer disillusioned and were battling four men.

“Seven, I believe.” Hermione answered as she summoned the essence of dittany out of her beaded bag.

Harry glanced back towards the two that Hermione had stunned and the four that were fighting Draco and Neville. “Shit,” he muttered, getting to his feet. “Where’s the last one?”

“Potter,” a voice spat from behind him. Harry whipped around and his blood went cold. It turned out that the very werewolf that had been camping with this lot was none other than Fenrir Greyback. His hair was mangy and wild, and his eyes were feral. “I was hoping to be the one to deliver you to the Dark Lord. And to find you in the company of such pretty girls is an especially sweet treat.” He licked his lips and bared his teeth menacingly.

Not bothering to reply, Harry threw a volley of curses at him that he deflected easily. It didn’t matter to Harry that he could block his spells, but he was hoping to lead the werewolf away from Hermione and Luna.

Greyback threw bone-breakers, blood-boilers, and torture curses his way and Harry managed to avoid each one. He was able to lead Greyback further away from Hermione and Luna and closer to Neville and Draco. They had managed to take down two of their opponents, but the two that remained were not as concerned with handing them over to the Dark Lord alive. They wanted Harry; everyone else was simply collateral damage.

“We’ve got Potter!” Greyback called victoriously when he was within hearing range of the other two attackers. “Call him now!”

One of the death eaters quickly pulled the sleeve of his robes back to reveal the dark mark.

“NO!” Draco yelled. Before any of them could react, they watched as he gave a mighty yell and transformed into an Antipodean Opaleye.

In the heat of the battle, everyone froze, and Harry had a flashback to his fourth year when he had stood face to face with a dragon.

The fact that Draco Malfoy was an animagus was impressive enough. Not many wizards ventured into that particular branch of magic successfully.

The fact that Draco Malfoy’s animagus was a goddamn dragon was another matter entirely.

Draco the dragon reared back and without warning, let loose a volley of flames. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 3.

Still shell-shocked over the fact that he was uncomfortably close with a dangerous, magical creature, Harry barely managed to dodge the flames from the beast’s- Draco’s- mouth.

He threw himself out of the way, landing hard on the ground. A moment later, Neville was there pulling him to his feet. “Bloody hell, right?” he exclaimed as they stared at the dragon in awe. “Who’d have thought Malfoy would be a dragon?”

Fenrir Greyback and the two remaining death eaters had lost all interest in Harry and Neville, and instead turned their efforts towards attempting to subdue the dragon. Clearly these wizards hadn’t paid much attention in Care of Magical Creatures, or they would have realized that a dragon’s hide was spell-resistant to all but the most powerful of wizards. Even a killing curse wouldn’t put down a dragon unless there were multiple wizards casting at once.

Draco exhaled another slew of flames and Harry winced as the last two remaining death eaters went down.

Greyback raised his wand, “Avada-“ Before he could complete the curse, Draco turned and whipped his tail, and the werewolf went crashing into a tree with a sickening crunch. His body crumpled unnaturally at the base and they knew that Fenrir Greyback was no more.

“Oh shit.” Neville gaped.

“Harry!”

Harry and Neville turned to see Hermione stumbling through the trees and supporting Luna. Neville rushed to help them as Harry kept a wary eye on Draco. He hadn’t transformed back and was shifting back and forth on his legs almost nervously. Every now and then, a puff of smoke would escape his snout.

Finally taking notice of the dragon, Hermione stopped short and her face drained of all color. “A dragon?” She looked between Harry and Neville, shock and confusion coloring her features. “Wha…how?”

Draco continued to shift on his legs and let out a low growl before finally folding his wings in, settling on his hunches and extending his body forward until his head rested on the ground before them, presumably to show them that he wasn’t a threat. Up close, they could see that the color of his eyes was a blend of blue, green, and grey and the scales on his body were pearly white and slightly iridescent.  

“An Antipodean Opaleye,” Luna mumbled weakly, staring at the dragon in awe. The dittany had helped close the wound on her shoulder, but not before she had suffered a fair bit of blood loss. She swayed on her feet and Neville wrapped an arm around her to hold her steady. “They’re native to New Zealand, and considered to be the most beautiful of all dragons.”

Draco let out a huff and Harry could have sworn that he rolled his eyes.

Hermione looked around nervously. “What happened to the other death eaters?”

“Dead.” Harry replied. He pointed to the crumpled mess on the other side of the clearing. “That one there is Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf. The other ones are pretty much unidentifiable at the moment.”

Hermione winced as she took notice of the charred remains.

“Well, we shouldn’t linger.” Neville stated. “If we’re all good, we can try apparating again? Hopefully, we won’t run into trouble twice in one day.”

Harry had to agree. “Right,” he turned to Draco. “If you turn back now, we can go.”

Draco huffed again and Harry almost thought that he looked…embarrassed?

A moment later, when it was apparent that Draco was not transforming back into himself, Harry couldn’t help scoffing. “You’re kidding,” he turned to Neville, Hermione, and Luna. “He can’t turn back.”

“I didn’t know you could speak to dragons as well, Harry.” Luna mused. “That’s a very useful skill.”

Harry shook his head. “I can’t-“

Suddenly, Draco’s head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. In the forest behind them, one of the death eaters that Hermione had stunned had apparently come to and had stumbled upon them. Four wands were on him in a second, but they were the least of his worries. Upon seeing the large dragon, the man had frozen in fear and fumbled with his wand before Neville quickly stunned him and cast a quick Incarcerous at him.

“We need to get out of here,” Hermione pressed.

Draco unfolded his wings from his body and lowered himself back to the ground, a clear invitation that they should get on.

Hermione’s mouth fell open. “I didn’t- I’m not...there’s no way I’m riding on the back of a bloody dragon!”

“I know you’re afraid of heights,” Harry said gently in a voice only she could hear. “But it’s better than blindly apparating again.”

She watched as Neville helped Luna up before settling behind her. She turned back to Harry, and he could see the fear in her eyes. “Just hang on to me, ok?”

She nodded quickly before scrambling up top as well. It was an awkward fit with the four of them clinging to the back of the dragon, but once they had all settled, Draco gave another huff and shot off into the sky.

~Into the Woods~

“He said he saw Potter? He confirmed that it was Harry Potter?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’re still waiting on Drewmore to bring the Veritaserum down, but he’s been pretty forthcoming so far.” Steve Melling reported gruffly.

“Not sure if I believe that bit about the dragon, but maybe he took a bad hit or something.”  Added Nymphadora Tonks as she fell in line behind the older wizard.

“I’d rather wait for him to be dosed up before I take his word on anything.” Amelia Bones, followed closely by two wizards in dark robes, made their way through the maze of tunnels in the underground bunker that housed the exiled ministry workers along with the fractured Order of the Phoenix. When Voldemort had made his play for the Ministry of Magic, most of the workers that opposed him had managed to escape and go into hiding before they could be placed under the Imperius or outright killed. Higher ranked officials such as Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Thewlis Montgomery, a half-blood who had replaced Barty Crouch Sr. as the head of the department of International Magical Cooperation, had been targeted by Voldemort personally. Fortunately, they had gone to ground before he could catch up to them. The self-proclaimed ministry-in-exiled was comprised of a dozen or so ex-aurors, sympathetic wizengamot members, and about two dozen ministry workers from various departments. They all reported to Amelia Bones, who in a clever bit of magic that left them all impressed, had managed to create a complete, working replica of the magical interface located in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. The interface was essentially a giant, interactive map that alerted the ministry to all bouts of accidental magic in Britain, as well as reported unusually large quantities of magic performed in non-magical areas.

Using this interface, they were able to send teams of aurors out to assess any potentially dangerous situations before the ministry workers under Voldemort’s control were able to. So far, they had successfully smuggled several muggleborn children and their families out of Britain before the ministry could capture them, and they had been able to thwart at least four death eater attacks.

It was a temporary solution, but no one could say for sure when the war with Voldemort would end. All they knew was that Voldemort and his death eaters were not particularly inclined to take prisoners, so each mission where Amelia sent her aurors on and they came back alive was considered a win. Amelia knew that Voldemort was actively seeking them out, but she was confident that her wards would stand, and their hideout would remain safe. Besides, they were also under a Fidelus placed by Amelia herself, and she alone was the secret-keeper. No one would get into that she didn’t specially grant access to.

They continued down the corridor until they reached a metal door flanked by two more aurors. Another wizard, Sid Drewmore, also waited off to the side. “I have the truth serum,” he said by way of greeting.

Amelia nodded in approval and after tapping her wand on the door, walked right through it, followed closely by Tonks, Melling, and Drewmore.

The room was brightly lit and contained only one table and three chairs. In one of the chairs sat a wizard with short, blonde hair, shifty eyes, and what was possibly a nervous tick. He jumped at the appearance of Amelia, and Mellings snorted. “Get a grip. Oh wait…” he let out a wicked grin and the wizard let out a strangled cry and fell out of his chair as he scrambled away from the auror.

“What the hell did you do to him?” Amelia asked, and Tonks heaved a deep sigh.

Mellings grunted and shrugged. “He kept saying how his dark mark was going off, so I got rid of the problem.”

“You’re batshit, you are!” the death eater cried, pointing a shaking finger at Mellings.

Amelia’s eyes widened as she took in his left arm- or lack thereof- and then she turned to Mellings with a look of disbelief. “You cut off his arm.”

“No dark mark, no problem.” Mellings reasoned.

Amelia stared at him for a long moment before turning to Drewmore. “Give him the serum.”

Drewmore made quick work of stunning the man and guiding the truth serum down his throat. A moment later, he revived him and allowed Mellings to haul him up back into his seat. Amelia took the seat opposite the death eater while Tonks, Drewmore, and Mellings stood behind her.

“State your full name.” Amelia demanded.

“Thorfinn Rowle,” he replied in automatically.

“Share the events that transpired before you were taken into custody by my aurors.”

“We were in the forest, myself, and Dolohov, Avery, Jugson, Goyle, McNair, and Greyback. We were doing some recon work when we heard someone apparate into our camp. They were disillusioned, but Greyback could smell him. He’s a werewolf, you know? So, we all get to fighting and then me and Avery are chasing two birds through the trees. I hit one of them but then I saw Potter and I kind of freaked out. One of the birds got the drop on us and I went down. Stunned, I guess.”

“Why did you ‘freak out’ when you saw Potter?” Amelia asked.

“Well…the Dark Lord made it clear that only he was to deal with Potter. When he disappeared after that Weasley wedding, we ain’t seen or heard from him since. No one expected him to just show up.”

Amelia nodded slowly. “I see.” She glanced at Tonks. “Tell me about this dragon you claim to have saw? Dragons are a class XXXX dangerous creature and the only dragon in Britain at the moment is protected by Gringotts.”

Rowle nodded earnestly. “It was a real dragon, I swear. After the spell wore off, I came too. I tried to wake Avery but when he went down, I guess he hit his head on a rock or something. His head was all bloody and he wasn’t responding to nothing so I left him. I heard some more fighting and screaming, so I went through the trees and there was Potter with some other folks, and a great, big white dragon just sitting there in the woods all casual-like.”

If Amelia was surprised, her face didn’t show it. Tonks, on the other hand, stared at Rowle in complete disbelief. “Are we sure this batch was brewed correctly?” she leaned in and whispered to Drewmore.

“I tried to get the drop on them but the dragon saw me and got all huffy and I...well, I froze up again. Nearly dropped my wand and pissed my pants.”

“I can assure you that you didn’t nearly piss anything.” Mellings sneered as he scrunched up his nose.

Rowle’s face turned bright red from embarrassment. “Yeah well, I saw Greyback all broken up by the tree, and no one else was around so I supposed the dragon ate them. I didn’t want to be next. The last thing I remember was them stunning me again.”

Amelia nodded thoughtfully. He couldn’t lie due to the veritaserum, so although his story was wild, it was to be believed. The interface had gone berserk when it registered a dangerous creature in a predominately muggle area, but by the time they had put a team together to go investigate, the dragon was gone and all that was left at the site was the charred remains of two death eaters, the mangled body of Fenrir Greyback, two bloodied corpses, a stunned death eater and another a little ways away whose cause of death was apparently blunt force trauma. They had quickly gathered all the bodies and wiped the site of any magical traces and reported back to headquarters.

A few dead death eaters, and a live one that they could question was a boon as far as Amelia was concerned. She knew that Dumbledore valued the passive approach, but as the days under Voldemort grew longer, the shorter her patience was when it came to dealing with those who sought to oppress them. “What do you know about Voldemort’s plans?”

“He’s got the Carrows and Snape up at Hogwarts to keep an eye on the kids.”

Amelia, Tonks, Mellings, and Drewmore waited for him to continue speaking. Rowle stared back at them.

“That’s it?” Tonks questioned. “That’s all you’ve got? We knew that already.”

Rowle’s face grew slightly pink. “There was an accident when we invaded Hogwarts. My aim was a bit off and I accidently killed Gibbon. The Dark Lord hasn’t invited me back into his inner circle yet so I’m not privy to much information.”

Mellings let out a loud laugh. “You’re an idiot.”

Rowle didn’t bother replying, and Amelia cleared her throat. “Tell us about the break-in at the ministry a while back. Why were you lot messing about the Department of Mysteries?”

“Well, I wasn’t there per se,” Rowle stated obviously. “But from what Avery let on, they were trying to get their hands on a prophecy.”

Drewmore and Mellings shared a look. After the break-in, the already secretive level nine workers had gotten even more paranoid. When Voldemort had made his play for the ministry, the only department that remained out of his reach were the elusive Unspeakables and the Department of Mysteries. Before the bodies of the fallen department heads had even cooled, the Unspeakables had the entire ninth level locked down tightly. No one could enter and as far as anyone knew, no one had left. Amelia had tried to reach out to them when they went into exile, but they remained ex-communicado.

“A prophecy?” she repeated skeptically. “What did he want with a prophecy?”

Rowle shifted in his seat nervously, and they could tell he was reluctant to share any more information. However, he was no match for the truth serum. “There were rumors about a prophecy that was made about the Potter kid and the Dark Lord. He lured Potter to the ministry so that he could get the prophecy and then Malfoy and the others were supposed to steal it from Potter and then present it to the Dark Lord. But there was the fight and then Dumbledore’s lot showed up…they all agreed it was a shit-show.”

Amelia narrowed her eyes at the man. “Do you know the contents of the prophecy? Any of it?”

Rowle shook his head. “ The only ones who know are Snape and Pettigrew. Snape won’t say a word, and the only thing Pettigrew let slip was that the prophecy is the reason that the Dark Lord went after Potter.”

Ignoring the shocked gasps from behind her, Amelia concluded the interrogation. They left him in the room alone and Amelia and Tonks bid Drewmore and Mellings goodbye and headed towards her office.

“So, what do we do with the information that Rowle gave us?” Tonks asked as she settled into one of the chairs in front of Amelia’s desk.

“Well, we’ve got six dead death eaters, including Greyback, even though he wasn’t marked. And we have a witness saying that Potter is alive and I’m assuming well.” Amelia pulled out a sheaf of parchment and a self-inking quill and began writing. “The people need a morale boost and I’m going to give them one, as well as a great, big ‘Fuck You’ to Voldemort. Rowle is an imbecile, but he just provided a wealth of information. We’ll keep him full of truth serum and pump every bit of information out of that bastard.” She handed the paper to Tonks and the young auror’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline as she read it over. “Give that to Jordan and tell him to announce over Potterwatch, as well as have it printed and distributed in the Alley and Hogsmeade. Ask him if he’s got room on the show for a guest speaker. I have a message I’d like to deliver personally. Then, go find Remus and spend some time with your baby.”

“You’re not going to mention seeing Harry?”

Amelia shook her head. “I don’t pretend to understand Dumbledore’s fascination with the boy and honestly, if he’s gone off on some rogue mission and captured a dragon then that’s the least of my worries at the moment. There’s no way we’ll win this war by staying strictly defensive, but I’m also not going to just sit by and let Potter do all the work.”

“But he’s the-“

“If you say ‘Boy-Who-Lived’ or ‘Chosen One’ I will hex you.” Amelia cut her off sternly and Tonks clamped her mouth shut. “No one knows what happened that night when James and Lily Potter died, but everyone was so happy to be rid of Voldemort that they didn’t stop and think that they were really giving all the credit of his defeat to a damn toddler. I’m not saying Harry Potter isn’t a remarkable young man, but he’s just a seventeen-year-old kid and I think it’s incredibly foolish to place the fate of Britain in his hands alone. We’re in exile now, but when this is all over, we need our citizens to rally around their government, not some teenager.”

“Dumbledore always said-“

“Dumbledore was a great wizard, but he’s dead.” Amelia said without a hint of remorse. “He was rumored to be the only wizard that Voldemort feared and yet under his rule, under his eye, Voldemort not only rose to power, but managed to terrify an entire generation of witches and wizards so much that they can’t even say his name. He managed to defeat Grindelwald in his prime, and yet barely raised a finger to Voldemort. Instead, he allowed the citizens of m   agical Britain to hail a schoolboy as their hero.” She scowled. “Fucking ridiculous.” Tonks remained silent as she pondered Amelia’s words. “Deliver this message, please, and then go be with your family.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Tonks said weakly as she stumbled out of the office, only tripping over her feet once.

~Into the Woods~

It had taken over thirty minutes for Draco to transform back.

They had flown for what felt like hours before Draco had deposited them at the mouth of a cave buried on a grassy hillside. Harry, Hermione, and Neville slid off of his back easily, while Luna had opted to stay with Draco. He seemed to huff in annoyance at first, but when he saw that she was not moving, he retreated down the hillside and into a crop of trees with the small blonde on his back.

While they waited, Hermione erected the tent, which barely fit inside the small cave physically, but due to the enchantments on it, provided much more comfort than the floor of the cave would. Neville made them lunch and they sat around the wooden table quietly eating their sandwiches and drinking tea.

When Luna and Draco finally entered the tent, Harry, Neville, and Hermione couldn’t hold their questions and all began speaking at once, quickly overwhelming him.

Draco held his hands up and Harry noticed that he was trembling slightly and was paler than usual. “Please, one at a time.”

“You’re an animagus!” Hermione exclaimed. “How? When did you learn?”

Luna guided Draco to the table and pushed a sandwich towards him before tucking into her own. He gave her a grateful nod. “I’m technically still learning.” Draco replied after he had taken a bite. “That’s why it took so long for me to change back.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Harry demanded. “That’s a pretty big thing to keep to yourself! And you could have hurt one of us while you were in that state!”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Well, Potter, between you stunning me, and then going on a mental trip, and then getting stabbed, and destroying a horcrux, and then fighting off death eaters, I’ve been a little preoccupied.”

“So, we’re just supposed to accept you and yet you have all of these secrets?” Harry asked frustratedly. “What else are you hiding? How do we know that we can even trust you?”

“Trust me?” Draco repeated, jumping to his feet. “I’m the one who made a bloody vow on my magic not to fight against you! I’m the only one in this tent who literally cannot turn a wand against you, and you ask how you can trust me?”

Harry bristled at Draco’s words, but as much as he hated what he was saying, Harry knew it was true. Neville had told him about Draco’s vow and while he was glad that the blonde ponce wouldn’t try and kill him in his sleep, it didn’t make Harry like him any better as a person.

“I think we can all agree that we have a lot to learn about each other,” Neville stated calmly. He stepped between Harry and Draco and held his hands out peacefully. “All grudges aside, the fact is that at this moment, we’re all on the same side. Today was a wakeup call; we need to be able to have each other’s backs when we get caught off guard again. We can’t do that unless we trust each other. And while we learn to do that, can we all agree that at the very least, we should show each other a modicum of respect?” He eyed Harry. “Right?”

Harry scowled at the implication, but he had to agree with Neville. They would only be doing Voldemort a favor if they couldn’t learn to get along. He took a deep, calming breath and regarded Draco carefully before speaking. “I lose my temper sometimes. I’m sorry.”

“And thank you,” Hermione chimed in. “For getting us here safely.” She offered Draco a timid smile.

“You’re welcome,” Draco replied a moment later, albeit a bit stiffly. He took his seat at the table again. “As you know, the summer before our sixth year, the Dark Lord required that I kill the headmaster. In an outright duel against the man I would lose, so I had to think of more covert ways to accomplish my goal. I remembered our fourth year when a certain Rita Skeeter was constantly buzzing around.” Hermione made a noise of disgust and Draco smirked. “I’m not impressed with her by any means, but her form allows her to essentially get in anywhere without being detected. Had I known the process to become an animagus was so extensive, I would have started earlier. I saw that I wouldn’t complete the process before the end of the year which is why I had to resort to my…other tactics.”

Harry grimaced when he remembered the gruesome sight of Katie Bell under the effects of the cursed necklace, and Ron foaming at the mouth as Harry searched desperately for a bezoar.

“Anyway,” Draco continued. “When I was finally able to identify what my animagus form would be, I decided not to follow through with completing the process.”

Hermione was confused. “Why wouldn’t you want to complete it? Becoming an animagus is very exceptional magic!”

Neville nodded in agreement. “You’re not wrong, Hermione. But his form is completely impractical. Not to mention that it probably takes up a huge amount of power since it’s a magical creature. You probably won’t be able to transform again for a while.”

“Will you show us?” Hermione blurted out. “How to become animagus, I mean. I’ve always found the skill to be rather impressive and I would love to see what animal I could turn into. What books did you study from? Did you ever speak with Professor McGonagall about this? At what part during the process do you learn what your form will be?” She fired off questions one after the other and Draco looked slightly taken aback. Luna gave Hermione a knowing smile and the older girl backed down sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“That was actually my first time changing,” Draco responded nervously. They all stared at him in awe and Draco felt his face flush. “That’s why it took so long for me to change back. I don’t really have it under control yet. I actually wasn’t planning on changing at all, but I saw that he was about to use his dark mark to summon Voldemort and I guess I panicked.”

“It was like an extreme burst of accidental magic,” Neville reasoned. “Well, at any rate, it was good that you did change when you did.”

An awkward silence settled over them and they all shifted uncomfortably as they recounted the events that had occurred previously. Finally, it was Harry who broke the silence, addressing the room. “Neville’s right…I mean we drank Luna’s tea, and we got a glimpse of certain things, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about each other. But, just from the past few day alone- you all getting the sword and helping destroy the horcrux- I…thank you.” Harry felt incredibly vulnerable and found himself staring down at the scar on the back of his hands. I must not tell lies. He took a shaky deep breath. “The truth is, I have no idea what I’m doing. The wizarding world doesn’t know about the prophecy, but because I survived that night, they think of me as some hero.” He made a sound of disgust.  “Only, they don’t know if they hate me or love me. Ron was supposed to be my best mate and yet when things got tough, he just…left. I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to be…Harry.”

“Oh, Harry,” Hermione reached for his hand and he gave her a sad smile.

“It’s no fun being normal,” Luna chimed in. “You’re an extraordinary wizard, Harry Potter.” As Harry was about to protest, Luna continued speaking. “and Hermione is the Brightest Witch of Her Age, and Neville is very powerful, and Draco,” she turned to the wayward Malfoy who looked surprised at being addressed. “You’re the wild card that everyone wants in their deck.”

“A dark horse,” Neville nodded appreciatively. “Nice.”

Luna looked around the room and smiled widely. “I feel hopeful.” She stated simply.

They all marinated on her words the tension in the tent seemed to melt away. Draco abandoned his seat and crossed the room and stood before Harry. He held his hand out and for a moment, they were eleven years old again standing in the entrance hall of the aged castle. But the reality was, they were no longer boys. They were young men each carrying what felt like the burden of the entire world on their shoulders. They were too old to hold onto the grudges of boyhood, and yet too young to be on the frontlines of a war started before they were born.

Without hesitation, Harry reached out and clasped his former rival's hand tightly in his own.

~Into the Woods~

 “It’s weird having so many people around,” Harry looked up from his defense textbook as Hermione joined him at the mouth of the cave. She offered him a steaming cup of tea that he accepted gratefully. “When Ron left, I got used to the silence.”

“It’s a good thing no one snores like he did,” Harry chuckled, and Hermione had to agree. “But despite the extra noise, I find myself actually agreeing with Luna.”

“Oh?”

Harry nodded. “I also feel hopeful.” He sipped his tea and looked out over the darkening valley below them. “How long do you think all this will last? Being on the run and hunting horcruxes? Running into death eaters in the woods?”

She contemplated his words for a few moments before speaking. “It’s hard to say, honestly.” She chewed her lips and picked up Harry’s abandoned defense book, turning it over in her hands absently. “It feels like we’re constantly taking two or even three steps forward, only to fall back by four. Locating the locket but losing our safe house. Visiting your parent’s graves but then getting attacked by the snake. Destroying the horcrux but then losing our only tool to the destroy the rest of them. Seems to be the theme of things.”

“Running into friends from school but then getting drugged and reliving our worst experiences.” Harry joked, but Hermione failed to see the humor.

She rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I don’t know what Luna was thinking. That was an awful experience and I’m loathe to repeat it.”

Harry turned to face her and have Hermione a curious look. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about all those things people were saying about you?”

Hermione blushed heavily and averted her eyes. “Oh. I don’t know. I guess I just didn’t see a reason to bother you with all of that. You usually had enough on your plate to worry about. It was just harmless gossip, really.”

Harry frowned at her. “Gossip is hardly harmless.” He plucked at one of her curls and twirled it around his finger. “I would have stood up for you.”

Hermione looked up at him and leaned more into his touch. “I know you would have. You and your ‘saving people thing’.” she teased.

Harry chuckled and wrapped his arm around her. Hermione sighed contently and snuggled more into his side until she was able to comfortably rest her head on his shoulder.

The journey ahead was fill with unknowns but in that moment, Harry felt unbelievably at rest. Hermione had always been a safe place for him, and he felt an odd, fluttering sensation in his chest at having her so close to him. It was not at all unpleasant.

They sat in a comfortable silence for some time, content to watch the sun set together while they were each lost in their own thoughts.

“Hey,” They jumped apart and turned to see Draco in the mouth of the tent. He didn’t speak but jerked his head towards the entrance of the tent to indicate that they should join the others. Only slightly annoyed that they had been interrupted, Harry stood to his feet and held a hand out to help Hermione stand. She dusted off her clothes and followed suit.

Inside the tent, Neville, Luna, and Draco stood huddling around the Wizarding Wireless on the wooden table, an uncharacteristically worried expression on Luna’s face.

“-and we’re coming to you live from Potterwatch this evening with a special update from Madam Amelia Bones who will be joining us momentarily.” Lee Jordan’s voice filtered through the wireless and Harry and Hermione rushed to join the others around the table.

“It’s not unusual for them to have guest speakers, but this is the first time they had someone so high up in the ministry.” Neville explained. “Well, from before the ministry was taken over. And they always use codenames.”

“The dark lord targeted several higher up officials when he was plotting to overthrow the ministry,” Draco said. “He sent other death eaters out on raids to instill fear and force people to get in line, but he went after Bones personally. Good to know she was able to give him the slip.”

“I wonder what she’s going to say,” Hermione said thoughtfully.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long. Lee spoke again. “As you all know, Madam Bones served as the Director of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. Currently, the position is held by Corban Yaxley who’s a suspected death eater. Madam Bones?”

Amelia Bones cleared her throat before speaking. “Thank you, River. Before I read my prepared statement, I would like to state that our operators have managed to gain access to the complete network and this broadcast is currently running across every wizarding wireless station in Europe.”

Everyone in the tent froze. “The entire network?” Harry repeated.

“But they’ll be able to trace that, I’m sure!” Hermione gasped.

“I’d like to first start off by saying that you all, the citizens of magical Britain, have been in the dark for far too long. At this moment, the dark wizard known as Lord Voldemort has been able to successfully corrupt the Ministry of Magic and has placed known death eaters and dark wizards on the staff at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your government and your child’s school are currently under the rule of a man hell-bent on destroying all of us. Currently, myself and other former-ministry officials have been able to set up a ‘ministry-in-exile’ and we are working diligently to protect the citizen of Britain as best as we can. However, we are but a single group. What we need right now is for you, citizens, to rise with us and to fight against this darkness that threatens to take a hold of us all. The time for turning a blind eye is long past. The time for sitting around and waiting for someone to save you is long past. If you want to see results, then now is the time for you to raise your wands and tear down those who seek to wipe us out.”

“Susan’s aunt is pretty bad-ass.” Neville said with a low whistle. “Gran always said that people were foolish to sit back and allow these things to happen.”

“And now, I speak directly to you, Lord Voldemort.” Amelia’s voice grew steely. They all collectively held their breath. “You have searched high and low for my operation, even now, my operatives are reporting that you’re attempting to trace this broadcast. Make no mistake, you will not find us until we want to be found, and by then, you’ll regret ever coming after any of us. You sent your death eaters out to wreak havoc, and they are now dead. Dolohov, Avery, Jugson, Goyle, McNair, and that pet of yours, Fenrir Greyback are all dead.”

“They must have been the ones with Greyback in the forest earlier!” Hermione exclaimed. “How in the world did they land in the custody of Amelia Bones?”

“Could she be tracking the death eaters somehow?” Harry asked. “Maybe the last one we stunned got captured?”

“Shh!” Luna shushed them and pointed at the wireless.

“Your fear tactics may work on some, but make no mistake, Lord Voldemort, if you continue on the path that you’re on, then the only thing you will be rewarded with is pain and suffering. Be it by my hand, or another. My predecessors stood by idly as you sowed the seeds of your darkness, but I will do no such thing. I know all your little secrets and I’m going to bury you. We’ll find the snake pit you’re hiding in, and we will cut down every single one of your sympathizers until you have no one left to hide behind. Harry Potter should be the least of your worries. When I get through with you, you’ll regret ever waging war against anyone, let alone the Noble and Most Ancient House of Bones.”

The wireless hummed with static as Amelia ended her speech. It was a full minute before Lee Jordan spoke. “Well, you heard it from the mouth of our very own fearless leader, Madam Amelia Bones. The ministry-in-exile is working tirelessly to bring justice to those we’ve lost, and to destroy You-Know-Who and his cause. We urge you to take heart, stay safe, and remain strong. This is River with Potterwatch.”

The broadcast ended and Neville tapped his wand against it to turn it off.

“She’s either very brave, or very stupid.” Draco stated in a low voice, shaking his head sadly.

Harry greatly admired Madam Bones, but even he had to agree with Draco’s assessment. He just couldn’t shake the fact that usually, whenever Voldemort had his sights set on someone, it didn’t take very long before he caught up to them. His own parents were proof of that. Amelia Bones was safe for now, but he wondered how long that would last.

Harry felt the beginnings of a headache coming on and knew that his fragile mental shields would not be enough to hold back the flood of emotions he was certain that Voldemort would be feeling. Sure enough, he let out a great cry of pain as his scar began burning white-hot. The dark lord was beyond angry- he was filled with an uncontainable rage that meant certain death for everyone who dared to cross him.

Harry clutched his scar and stumbled, and Hermione instinctively grabbed onto him and led him to one of the sleeper cots. “Harry, you have to fight him!” she cried. “Don’t let him in!”

Harry collapsed on the cot, already covered in a thin layer of sweat. “Hermione-“ he reached for her and she clasped his hands tightly in her own as the others looked on fearfully. “I can’t- I can’t…” he began convulsing slightly before he stilled, his shallow breaths the only indicator that he wasn’t gone completely.

“Damn it!” Hermione cried angrily. “She’s painted a target on everyone! If he doesn’t go after Bones and her operation, he’ll go for the students at Hogwarts for sure.”

“We had a contingency plan in place in case something like this happened.” Luna responded quickly. “Everyone heard that broadcast, so the members of the D.A. that remained know what to do. They’ll make sure everyone gets to the Room of Requirement safely.”

“How long can they expect to hole up in there?” Draco questioned. “It’s a temporary solution at best. Anyone who knows about the room, then all they have to do is ask for the room that’s hiding the students, right?”

Neville gave him an unimpressed look. “Give us more credit than that. There’s a specific phrase we use for the room and I highly doubt that any dark lord would guess correctly.”

“What’s the phrase?” Hermione asked.

“’We need a room where the son-of-a-wanker dark lord or his minions can’t find us.’” Luna replied with a slick grin. “I’d like to see any of his followers guess that line.

~Into the Woods~

 It was dawn when Harry finally came too. Hermione had sat by his bedside and watched helplessly as he had tossed and turned all night, tormented by visions from the dark lord.

Harry opened his eyes to find a bushy-haired blob obscuring his vision. He quickly pulled on his glasses and Hermione came into focus. There were dark circles under her eyes and before he could speak, she was launching herself into his arms and hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and held her just as tightly. “I’m alright, Hermione.” He murmured.

“I was so worried!” she whispered into his chest. “It was almost like the battle at the ministry…I was so afraid he would try and possess you again.”

“I’m sorry…”

“You really need to work on your occlumency, Harry.” Hermione chided. “I know it’s hard for you to experience…but it’s seeing you when he’s threatening to take over…it’s unbearable. I felt so helpless.”

Harry’s heart sank at her words. Having Voldemort inside of his mind was definitely awful, but he hadn’t considered how frightened witnessing something like that would be to someone else. He hated upsetting Hermione, and he vowed that he would double-down on his occlumency studying so that he could prevent another fit from happened. He nodded, rubbing soothing circles in her back. “I’m sorry for upsetting you. I’m going to get better at it, I promise.”

“Did you…did you see anything?” Hermione asked nervously. “Anything that gave away his plans?”

Harry heaved a great sigh as he filtered through all the vile images he had seen through the eyes of Voldemort. “Yeah, I did.” He slowly separated himself from Hermione, instantly missing the warmth of her embrace. “I need to freshen up but then I need to speak with Malfoy.” He looked around the room and saw Neville and Luna camped out in the other two sleeper cots.

“He’s keeping watch,” Hermione pointed towards the mouth of the tent.

Harry nodded and stood to his feet, gently guiding Hermione back down to the bed when she stood as well. As she began to protest, Harry cupped her face tenderly. “You need to rest, Hermione. I really appreciate you not leaving me alone last night, but you have to sleep, too.”

She gave him a weak smile before settling back down on the bed. Harry pulled the blanket over her and was reminded of the morning after they returned from Godric’s Hallow. Somehow, during his worst nights, Hermione was always there to watch over him. In no time, her eyes had fluttered closed and Harry excused himself to the washroom. He was careful to not make too much noise and wake Neville, Luna, and Hermione and quietly made his way out of the tent.

Draco was sitting with his back against the cave wall at the mouth of the cave reading. He looked up when Harry approached and set his book to the side when Harry took a seat opposite him.

“You look a lot better than yesterday,” Draco commented.

“And I only feel half as bad as I look,” Harry replied.

“Does that happen often?” Draco asked, tapping his forehead. “I don’t remember you falling out all over the castle.”

Harry shook his head. “Fortunately, not. Only when he’s feeling particularly strong about something. Amelia Bones really got under his skin last night.”

Draco gave a dry laugh. “Got a huge pair, that one does.”

Harry gave a slight chuckle and looked out over the dew-covered field below them. “Last night, he killed nearly ten of his followers. I saw it through his eyes; it was like I was there.”

“Wow. Anyone I know?” Draco asked ruefully.

Harry snorted but didn’t answer. Draco didn’t expect him too.

“There is one thing that kept worrying him,” Harry said. “When Amelia said on the broadcast that she knew all of his secrets, he immediately thought of the horcruxes. Largely, he’s arrogant enough to believe that no one would ever figure out his secret to immortality, but there’s a very small part of him that has doubts.”

“You saw the horcruxes?” Draco questioned, sitting up a little straighter. “Do you know where they are?”

Harry nodded solemnly and gave Draco a defeated look. “Well, he already knew the diary had been destroyed. However, he still thinks the locket is safe in a cave, and he doesn’t know that Dumbledore destroyed the ring at the Gaunt shack. The snake- as we suspected- is a confirmed horcrux.”

“He never lets that bloody thing out of his sight,” Draco scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Our best chance of getting at it is when we’re fighting him.”

“I thought as much,” Harry agreed. “There’s also one at Hogwarts.”

Draco waved a hand dismissively. “Easy. If we can sneak in, then I’m certain the headmaster will help us.”

Harry shook his head. “It’s in the Room of Requirement. A great, big storage room with decades worth of junk. I only recognized it because I hid Snape’s potion book in there during sixth year.”

“Large storage room?” Draco leaned forward interestedly. “The Room of Hidden Things…that’s where I repaired the vanishing cabinet.” He gave Harry a knowing look.

“It’s too risky. They know the vanishing cabinet leads to Hogwarts, who’s to say they won’t try and use it again if he were to attack the school?”

Draco gave a smug little grin. “Snape…confiscated the vanishing cabinet from Borgin and Burkes. He keeps it at his private home, which is under a Fidelus. Voldemort can’t get to it, but neither can we.”

Harry swore.

“Besides,” Draco continued. “The Room of Requirement is off limits as of now. You can’t open another room while it’s in use, and since the students have camped out there-“

“Voldemort can’t get to the horcrux to move it!” Harry exclaimed.  

“But neither can we.” Draco repeated.

Harry’s brief, good mood deflated. “So, even if we manage to get into the castle, we have no way to get to the actual horcrux.”

“A minor setback,” Draco conceded. “But I’m sure we can think of something. Neville and Luna have inside people. If they can find a way to contact them, then maybe we can work something out.”

“Right,” Harry nodded thoughtfully. “Unfortunately, as tricky as that one and the snake will be, they’re not nearly as difficult as the last one.”

Draco raised an eyebrow curiously.

Harry sighed heavily. “He entrusted it with your aunt.”

“I’m guessing it’s not the nice aunt who ran off with a muggle?”

Harry shook his head. “Nope. The crazy one who’s more likely to kill said muggle.”

Draco’s shoulders slumped. “Well, shit.”