Moonlight on Malfoy Manor

Chapter 8 - together again; Imperio!; bleeding heart; Run!; Battle!; back to school; Happy Valentine's Day!

Draco looked around, his eyes wearily taking in the illuminated terrace of the Manor, while he tugged uselessly at the restraints that bound him to the table. 'Soon,' he told himself, 'soon this will be over.' Draco looked at the doorway leading into the dining hall and realized that there was very little he regretted about his life. As most lives went it had been perfect. He just wished he had been able to see Ginny one more time - one last time. As thought brought to life by the intensity of his wish to se her, Draco saw Ginny step onto the terrace. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Hermione, Harry and Ron follow her.

"Draco!" Ginny ran to him and worriedly looked for signs of life.

"Ginny?" Draco sputtered angrily, having found his voice. "What the hell do you think you are doing here?"

"Saving you," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Have you all lost your mind? Potter, how could you let her talk you into this? And Weasley, what kind of a brother are you, letting your sister run wild with her hare-brained schemes?"

"Shut up Malfoy, and be grateful," Ron growled as Hermione checked to see of his restraints were booby-trapped or not.

"Finite Incantatem," she said as Draco's binds fell away.

"C'mon guys, we have to move," Harry spoke urgently.

Draco wobbled slightly on his feet as Ginny put an arm around him for support. She looked pleadingly at Ron, who grimaced and then started to slip his arm around Draco.

"I'm fine," Draco said curtly to Ron and Ginny as the three of them started to follow Harry and Hermione out of the terrace.

"I don't believe you...ugh! What are those?" Draco asked as he saw the thestrals - their pupil-less eyes, white and staring out of dragonish heads, their bodies fleshless, black coats clinging to their skeletons of which every bone was visible, their vast, black, leathery wings flapping slowly, ready for flight.

"Thestrals," Hermione replied, "that's how we got here. They're going to fly us back to Hogwarts."

"About my leaving the Manor..." Draco began.

"How touching!" Voldemort's thin, high-pitched voice drawled out. The five of them whirled around to see the Dark Lord approach with ten other Death-Eaters in tow from the door leading out of the dining hall into the terrace. Quick as a flash, Harry put himself in front of Draco and the others, and raised his wand.

"Expelliarmus."

Harry and the others' wands flew out of their hands and were caught deftly by one of the Death-Eaters who lowered her hood to reveal herself - Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry fumed inwardly as he remembered the last time their paths had crossed. His heart contracted as the pain of losing Sirius resurfaced for an instant. Harry closed his eyes tightly and resolved never to lose another one of his friends to the Dark Lord again.

"Harry...Harry...Harry. What am I to do with you?" Voldemort asked as he stepped up to where Harry stood, his face flushed with anger, his scar burning hot. Harry watched as one of the Death-Eaters whom he recognized as Avery, grabbed Draco roughly and led him back to the table. Their wands having been taken from them, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny watched, as a struggling Draco was strapped to the table once again. While Bellatrix Lestrange watched the four captives, the other Death-Eaters got busy making the last minute preparations for the ceremony. As the clock in the hall chimed the half-hour, the Death-Eaters took their positions around the terrace, their backs towards the table.

Dolohov stood facing the north with Macnair to his right and Rookwood to his left. Harry watched disgustedly as Wormtail and Avery took their places facing west and east. Crabbe took his place, facing south, behind Bellatrix and her prisoners while Mulciber and Rodolphus stood on either side of him. The tenth Death-Eater, whom Harry heard Voldemort address as Carlisle, stood near Draco, guarding over a small table on which all their wands - the Death-Eaters' and Harry and the others' - were kept along with other nefarious looking instruments of torture.

Harry and the others watched as Voldemort walked up to where Draco lay. In his hand, he held a beautiful dark green conch shell. Harry heard Hermione gasp, and saw her eyes widen with horror as tentacles erupted from the hollow of the shell and waved about in the air.

"The essence of Hydrangea," Voldemort said. "It is the essence that feeds on all other essences. With it I shall achieve that which shall propel me to the heights of greatness." Voldemort's maniacal laughter rang through the Manor, as he turned and looked at Harry.

"Heart's blood, Harry. It is the essence of all magical life. And you shall draw it for me."

"Never," Harry hissed.

"Lord Voldemort does not like being disobeyed. Must I remind you of the fate that was your foolish parents' before you yield to my command?"

"You can't make me do anything," Harry spat back, his eyes darkening with rage.

"Can't I? We'll see about that. Imperio!"

Hermione, Ginny and Ron watched in horror as Harry's eyes took on a faraway look and he walked to where Draco lay.

"Harry, NO!" Ginny screamed as he picked up the shell and stood over Draco.

"Quiet girl!" Voldemort boomed.

Ginny looked at the Dark Lord with anger and loathing, "You vile despicable thing. No wonder your father didn't want you," she spat out, desperate to distract him.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed dangerously, "A temper and a tongue. Never a good combination. Carlisle, STOP!" Carlisle, standing near Draco's head with a knife in his hand, stopped and looked up.

"Let the girl do it," Voldemort commanded. "Imperio!" he then cried out for the second time. Ron and Hermione watched in horror as Ginny walked up to Carlisle and took the knife from his outstretched hand.

"Ginny, NO!" they screamed in unison. "Harry, fight it. You can't let him win."

Over the distant clamour of voices in his head, Harry heard the clock strike midnight. And then he heard Voldemort's voice, echoing in some distant chamber of his empty mind, over and above the other voices, 'Now Harry... place the shell over his heart.'

Harry took the shell and placed it over Draco's heart. Draco screamed in agony, as the tentacles of the shell bore through his chest and entered his heart, sucking the lifeblood out of him, unable to move because of the body bind.

'Good, Harry. Just a while longer...hold it in place,' Harry heard Voldemort in his mind.

'Why though?' Harry heard himself ask.

'Why not?' Another voice had awoken in the back of his head. 'This is Malfoy after all, you can't be telling me that the world will be a bad place without him in it.'

"Harry, you stupid prat! Do something right for once in your worthless life," Draco breathed as the sweat rolled down his face.

'You should talk,' the voice replied.

"Ginny, NO!" Harry heard Hermione scream from a far off place, as he watched Ginny place the tip of the knife at the base of Draco's eye and draw blood.

"Stop her, Harry. She will not be able to live with herself after this," Draco gasped through the pain.

'Like you care, you arrogant, selfish, pompous twit.'

'But he does,' Harry heard himself say to the voice, 'and so does she.'

'But this is Malfoy,' the voice protested. 'Have you forgotten the things he's done to you?'

'And this is Voldemort! Have you forgotten the things he did to my parents? To Sirius?' Harry spat back, as with one fluid movement he jerked the shell off Draco's chest and threw it at Bellatrix Lestrange, pushing Ginny out of the way. The shell caught Bellatrix at her throat - howling in pain, she fell to the ground. Quick as a flash, Ron ran into Crabbe and pushed him to the floor, while Hermione summoned their wands to herself using Bellatrix's wand. Even as Avery turned to see what was happening, Harry ran into him and knocked him out, years of defending himself against Dudley keeping him in good stead. As he stood up, he heard a loud scream. He turned around to see Carlisle go down in a heap, blood pouring out of his throat from the wound Ginny had inflicted.

"Finite Incantatem," Hermione screamed, her wand pointing at Draco, who rolled off the table in a pool of his own blood. As Harry and Ginny raced to help him, Harry heard Ron and Hermione yell "Stupefy" and "Furnunculus" at the same time as an enraged Voldemort screamed out in fury, "Avada Kedavara."

There was a flash of green light as Hermione ducked and the spell hit Rodolphus. Hermione's spell hit Dolohov and Macnair, who tripped over each other and fell to the ground, while Mulciber howled in pain as angry blisters erupted all over his face.

Blood pouring out of the wounds in his chest, Draco got up, helped by Harry and Ginny. They ran as fast as they could, with Draco between them, inside the Manor, followed by the remaining Death-Eaters and Voldemort's screams, "I WANT THEM ALIVE!"

****************************************

They pelted out of the terrace and into a cavernous room, with a massive wooden table. Ron and Hermione headed for the nearest door that was almost directly ahead.

"Wait!" Harry called. They looked back to see Harry and Ginny helping Draco over to a woven tapestry nest to the wooden sideboard. Ron and Hermione followed them behind the tapestry and found themselves in a narrow stone passageway wit no windows or torches.

"Hidden passage?" Harry asked.

"Staff corridor," Draco panted in reply.

They heard the Death-Eaters running past the tapestry and the bang of the heavy wooden door. With Draco guiding them they soon emerged in a wider corridor adorned with tapestries and torches every few feet. They were moving far too slowly for Harry's comfort, but it was easy to see that Draco was doing his best. The blood flowed from the wound in his chest and dripped onto the stone floor. This was another thing that worried Harry; they were leaving a blood trail. Draco seemed to have thought of this too. He made them stop outside the next door they crossed.

"Guest bedroom. Ginny, run in and get me a bed sheet or a couple of towels. Anything to staunch the blood."

Ginny ran in. too distraught to notice how beautiful the room was. She looked from the canopied four-poster bed to the gleaming rosewood dressing table. By the light of the flickering fire, she saw what she needed - folded neatly on a stand next to basin and jug were two fluffy white towels with 'MM' embroidered on them in blue. She ran to the towels, her feet making no noise on the soft blue carpet. When she emerged in the corridor, Draco was slumped against a wall breathing raggedly. Harry and Ron, with wands ready, were glancing nervously up and down the corridor. Hermione was staring at Draco with a white, worried face.

"Here," Ginny whispered as she thrust the towels at Hermione. With the help of some useful spells Mrs. Weasley had taught her, Hermione ripped one towel into strips and melded the ends together to from a rough strip of bandage. Ginny, meanwhile, muttered some mild healing spells she had learnt from Madam Pomfrey and watched as the smaller wounds healed themselves. Together Ginny and Hermione bandaged the wound over Draco's heart, as he winced and bit his lip from the pain. The towel turned red from the blood his heart was pumping out. Hermione doubted very much that he would survive such blood-loss, but she said nothing.

They began moving again, Draco guiding them through labyrinthine corridors and passageways, before he stopped in front of a blank stone wall and tapped it with his bloodied hand. A gleaming wooden door replaced the stone. They headed in - it was not a large room, but it was lined with books and had cushions scattered about on the carpeted floor. Over in the corner was a window that reached almost to the floor. Draco immediately made his way to a pile of cushions next to the window and sank down on it gratefully. He scrambled around feebly with one hand beneath the cushions and lay back when is hand finally found what he was looking for. It glittered through his fingers d was barely visible, but Ginny still recognized her orb.

"We should keep moving. We need to get back to Hogwarts," Harry's voice was urgent.

"We're safe here. Only someone with Malfoy blood can find this room," Draco replied with his eyes closed. "But you're right. You need to get back to the castle. I can tell you the quickest way to get out onto the grounds."

"Tell us? You can show us. Come on," Harry laid a hand on Draco's shoulder.

"No, Potter," Draco, said gently, as he turned to look at Harry. "I can't leave the Manor."

"Malfoy! This is no time to get nostalgic. I know this is your home and all that..." began Ron.

"No Weasley, you don't know," Draco's voice was calm as he took a deep breath and continued, "I am bound to the Manor on pain of death." Silence greeted this remark.

"You mean..." Ginny's voice quivered.

"I mean if I set one foot outside the Manor grounds I will die." There was a heavy pause. Draco smiled and opened his eyes slowly. "So you see, you have to leave me here. But you have thwarted the Dark Lord's plan. Your mission was a success. Congratulations, Harry."

Harry looked up, ready to defend himself, but Draco was being sincere. His silver eyes met Harry's green ones calmly.

"There has to be a way to break the bind," Harry said softly.

"There is," Draco replied. "The Dark Lord has to die." With that he closed his eyes and sank back into the cushions, his face pale and tired.

Harry continued to look at Draco, the white bandage with a heavy spot of red in the middle. That had been his doing - his fault. Harry knew that if they left Draco there, like that, he would not survive, even if they were to return with help. Draco did not want to survive. Harry did not know how he knew that, he just did. Something he had seen in those calm silver eyes - serenity and acceptance. But Harry was not about to give up that easily. If Draco wanted to entertain suicidal tendencies, he would have to wait for a time when Harry was not around.

"Then let's find Voldemort and get this over with," he said, his voice low and fierce.

Three pairs of eyes looked up in varying degrees of shock. Draco opened his eyes slowly and met Harry's fierce gaze. He looked...amused.

"I was so hoping you would say that," he drawled.

Harry had expected everything from cutting sarcasm to blatant shock, but not amusement. He wondered if the blood-loss was making Draco delirious.

"In order to imbibe new powers the Dark Lord will have to weaken himself. He must remain in this weakened state until his new powers are fully established. By the end of the Conjunction he would have been near indestructible. By dawn his natural powers will regain their original strength, but tonight, tonight he is weak," Draco explained. His eyes took on a strong intensity and glittered like steel, as he looked straight into forest green eyes. Harry felt unable to look away, he wasn't even sure he wanted to.

"It is your destiny to kill the Dark Lord, Potter. Tonight your chances of success are stronger. Stronger than they have ever been before. Stronger than they will be ever again." Silver eyes fluttered and Draco sank back again, exhausted. Harry blinked and became aware of Ron looking at him strangely. Hermione was looking worriedly at Draco and Ginny went to kneel beside him, gently stroking the hair off his sweaty forehead.

"Maybe I should try to fix this too," she said, looking at the ever-growing spot on his chest.

"No, don't. We don't know what magical poisons, that vile thing had," Hermione cautioned.

"How do you know that? About You-Know-Who being weak?" Ron asked in a rather subdued voice.

Draco looked at Ron, "Seer. I am supposed to guide you to the right path towards achieving your goal. But it is your job to choose the goal and the path I offer. If Potter had not decided to kill the Dark Lord, my knowledge of his weakened state would have been pointless. He chose his goal, and I offered him a path. Besides Weasley, the idea of bleeding to death is not something I'd fancy if I have a choice."

"But how do we know Harry won't get killed instead? Even though he's weak, You-Know-Who is still the most powerful dark wizard there is."

Draco took a deep breath and opened his eyes. The others watched as his eyes glazed over till there was no discernible pupil. Only white. He did not blink and his body was rigid; only shallow breathing told of life. A few minutes later he closed his eyes ad his body relaxed.

"What are you?" Ron whispered in awe.

Draco opened his eyes and looked at Ron, "I'm complicated," he said and smiled. Ron found himself smiling back and this amazed him even more. Draco looked at Harry who stood in front of him, body tense, clutching his wand.

"This is your night, Harry Potter," he said. Harry did not need to ask if Draco was sure, he could confidence in every line of his face.

"The Dark Lord is in my father's study. He is waiting for his Death-Eaters to deliver us to him."

"Hang on. Harry can't take on all those Death-Eaters as well as You-Know-Who," Ron protested.

"Well than, we'll just have to distract the Death-Eaters and let Potter get on with the important stuff," Draco replied firmly.

"We?" Ron asked as Hermione and Ginny shot Draco doubtful looks.

"I'm not dead yet, Wesley," Draco retorted vehemently. He continued somewhat calmly, "The question is how is Harry going to get to the study without being mauled by prowling Death-Eaters?"

"That's easy," Harry said as he felt around in the pocket of his robe. Then a blank look crossed his face, which was quickly replaced by panic as he desperately searched his other pockets. He raised a white face to the others, "I've lost my cloak," he said in a small voice.

"Oh no!" Hermione, Ron and Ginny gasped.

"When did you see it last?" Draco asked, as everyone seemed incapable of speech.

Harry thought for a moment, "I am sure it was in my pocket when we got off the thestrals."

"Then it's probably still somewhere about. We'll find it later," Ron said reassuringly, patting Harry's shoulder. Hermione and Ginny also smiled encouragingly, "We'll help you look for it later."

"While this show of solidarity is extremely touching, we do have rather more important matters at hand.

"So, then how do I get to the study?" Harry asked.

They all listened intently as Draco explained the layout of the ground floor of the Manor. He cautioned them all to avoid going up any stairs, most of them were magical and tended to move around a lot. It was quickly decided that they would head towards the study together. Draco, Ginny, Ron and Hermione would distract any Death-Eaters they met and leave Harry free to finish off the job at hand.

Harry glanced nervously at Draco, "I've never killed anyone before," he confessed. "I really don't know how to perform the killing curse."

Draco was surprised at Harry's temerity. The 'Great Harry Potter' - scared? Now he really had seen it all. He gave Harry what he hoped was a reassuring smile, "When the time comes, you'll know what to do," he said simply.

"How can you be so sure?" Harry asked with a tinge of desperation in his voice.

"Hello? Seer, remember?" Draco hauled himself to his feet with Harry's help. "Once more into the breach, my friends," he quoted with gusto.

The others rose and drew their wands. Harry looked around at them all as he took a deep breath and searched his mind trying to find something suitably witty and encouraging to say. The others all looked at him expectantly.

"Let's go," was all he could think of.

****************************************

He was running down the labyrinthine corridors of Malfoy Manor - running as if his life depended on it. It was night, all the torches had been extinguished - moonlight slanted in through the windows making patches of light and shadow. His body ached, a dull throbbing pain that began in his chest and laced through his entire being. Still he ran, his feet pounding to a litany - Ginny, Potter, Weasley, Granger, Ginny, Potter...

Draco had lost them - lost them all somewhere in the Manor. He ran, swerving around corners and crashing through doors, panic rising and pressing in his mind. What if he never found them? What if he wandered around endlessly until he couldn't move anymore? Till the blood drained out of his body through the hole in his chest? No. He would not think about that now. He would find them. He had to! And so he ran on.

Length after length of endless corridors stretched out in front of him, room after room flew past him as he ran, searching frantically.

'Draco,' a voice called out to him from the end of the corridor. 'Come Draco'. He heard the soft voice again, felt it like a caress on his tired mind and body as it called out to him. It was her voice. Draco had longed so much to hear it that could hardly believe his ears. He ran down to the end of the corridor and stopped outside a paneled wooden door. He pushed open the door and stepped into the room, immediately raising a hand to shield himself from the brilliant white light that swathed the room. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Draco lowered his hand and looked around him, taking in the book lined walls of the large room, the comfortable chintz sofas and lace curtains, large picture windows opening out onto a moonlit garden, the scent of jasmine and rose mixed with wet grass wafting through them. Draco's wandering eyes finally came to rest on the slim figure of the golden haired woman standing in front of the fireplace.! His breath caught in his throat as the woman raised her head and sparkling blue eyes smiled into his grey ones.

"Mother," Draco whispered, as he stood rooted to the spot.

"Draco," Narcissa smiled. "I've been waiting for you for so long," she said as she opened her arms to him. Draco walked towards her, willing her to be real. He reached out a hand to touch her but drew back as hid hand went through her. He looked into her eyes, questions whirling in his mind. As he regarded her intently, Draco felt the events of the past couple of days catch up with him and he fell on the sofa in n exhausted heap.

"I am sorry, Draco," Narcissa said gently.

'Sorry,' Draco wondered. "Sorry for what?"

"For everything," Narcissa replied.

"Mother I - " Draco began but Narcissa raised a hand and stopped him.

"Later Draco. Now you need to rest."

"But Mother, Ginny, Harry..."

"They'll be fine, dear. Rest for now."

Draco felt his eyelids grow heavy and drop as he fell asleep on the sofa. He thought he heard voices in his sleep, some familiar and some unfamiliar.

"...for a week now."

"He might never wake..."

"But the wound...healed...miraculous..."

"Doesn't alter the fact...one week..."

Draco's eyes fluttered open and he found himself in a room full of people in white robes.

"Mother," he called out.

"I am right here, Draco." Draco opened his eyes and saw his mother once again sitting next to him. He looked around for the other people, but the room was empty.

"I saw people here, Mother. What happened?"

"Ignore them, Draco. Just concentrate on getting back your strength."

Draco began to feel drowsy again, but struggled to keep sleep at bay, desperate to not lose any more time with his mother. Narcissa smiled down at her son.

"I will always be here, Draco. Always. No matter what," she said. "What your father did..."

"He...he tried to save me," Draco blurted out. Even as Narcissa looked at him steadily, Draco knew in his heart that that was true. The boy Lucius and Voldemort had been discussing, the boy Lucius had tried to save and finally lost his life for, was he - Draco Malfoy.

Narcissa smiled gently, her eyes bright with love for the so she had borne and loved with all her being, "Believe your heart Draco. It will never betray you. And forgive your father. Whatever he did to you was always for you. Good or bad, Lucius' actions were always motivated by his intense desire to do the best by you.

Draco looked at Narcissa, knowing in his heart that every word she said was true. As exhaustion seemed to bear down on him and seek to conquer him once more, Draco heard Narcissa say, "You have been through so much Draco. Don't give up now. You have to carry on, you must not give in now - now that you are so close to victory."

"But I am so tired, Mother," Draco said. "Of everything. I want to be free - free of power, desire, anger, rage, feeling, emotion, and life, most of all life. I want to be free of it all."

"And love? What of love Draco? Do you want to be free of love as well?" Narcissa asked as she smiled into Draco's eyes. Draco closed his eyes and the image of his mother was replaced by one of Ginny as he had last seen her - worried brown eyes boring into his own as she had willed him to live. 'What for?' - he had asked and seen the look of despair that had clouded over those dark brown eyes.

"Live, Draco. Live. For her...for me," Narcissa whispered as Draco fell asleep, her words echoing through the dark recesses of his mind.

Draco stirred in his sleep as he felt the warm touch of a hand on his forehead. He groggily opened his eyes, instinctively raising a hand to shield his eyes from the brightness of the room. Slowly as he looked around he saw a figure sitting beside him, dressed in black. He tried to see who it was, but could not focus and gave up trying. He looked for Harry, his mother but did not see them anywhere. He closed his eyes and recalled her face as he had seen her - golden hair gleaming in the dancing light of the fireplace, blue eyes sparkling with undisguised love. Draco smiled at the image. As his mind took further back in time, he remembered disconnected images - he saw Ron as he had helped him down the corridor; Harry, as he had held the shell over his heart; Ginny, as she had bandaged his wounds; Hermione, as they had fought the Death-Eaters. He did not remember much of the final battle, but his bruised and battered heart said that Harry had killed Voldemort. D! raco smiled - at last he had done something worthwhile with his life, he had helped Harry Potter save the world.

Not for a moment did Draco doubt the notion that he was dead. He was glad that life had given him one chance to redeem himself and that he had grabbed it with both hands. He was happier still that his last view of life had been Ginny's face as he had lain with his head in her lap. He opened his eyes and surveyed his tartan surroundings, the white sheet covered beds separated from each other by white curtained cubicles and the small of antiseptic.

"Hell is a hospital," he rasped out, appropriately disgusted with the idea. The black clad figure started at the sound of his voice.

"How kind of you to join us, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco knew that voice. But it couldn't be -

"Professor Snape!" Draco croaked. "When did you die?" he asked in disbelief.

"No Draco, I am not dead and neither are you," Snape's voice was gentle as smiled down at his favourite student. Draco knitted his brows, looking doubtful. Snape knew that look - that was the look Draco got when he was just about to argue a point.

"I thought I heard voices." Draco turned his head to see who had spoken. His eyes met the twinkling blue ones of Professor Dumbledore. "How are you feeling Draco? You had us scared there for a while."

"I was about to inform you Headmaster."

"It's quite alright, Severus. I would appreciate it though if you'd be so kind as to step out and inform Harry and his friends that Draco is awake."

"Certainly, Headmaster."

"Harry and the others are here?" Draco asked.

"They've been here ever since you were brought here from Hogwarts, Draco. The extent of your injuries was such that even Madam Pomfrey felt it best that you be brought to St. Mungo's. Harry and the others threatened to follow you here on broomsticks if they weren't allowed to accompany you. And considering that they've broken every school rule ever made, I thought it best to allow them," Dumbledore smiled at Draco. "That was a very brave thing you did, Draco. It takes more than just courage to stand up against evil like Voldemort - it takes a goodness of heart which only few people possess."

As Draco wondered ashamedly why he had never appreciated Dumbledore's wisdom and goodness, the door to the room opened and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny burst in and ran towards him.

"Draco!" Ginny squealed as she reached down and hugged him, effectively knocking the breath out of his sore chest.

"Oof! Ginny careful," he warned.

"Sorry."

"Now that you've all made sure that Mr. Malfoy is awake and well, perhaps you should come back at a later time when he is better rested," Professor Dumbledore said.

"He's been 'resting' for two weeks!" Ron complained as Snape ushered them out of the room.

"Rest now Draco. We shall talk later," Dumbledore, said as he left the room.

Later that night as Draco watched the darkening night sky outside his window, he noticed the door to the hospital room open and the close of it's own accord.

"Potter?" Draco asked into nothingness.

"Yeah," Harry replied as he took off his invisibility cloak and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just came to see how you were doing," he replied awkwardly, fingering the shimmering material of his invisibility cloak. "Found my cloak out in the shrubbery where we had left the thestrals."

"Oh! That's nice. What about the Dark Lord?"

"He's dead."

"Are you sure this time? 'Cause I don't want to wake up thirteen years down the line and find that he's living on the back of my neighbour's head," Draco said dryly.

"Oh, I'm sure," Harry said grimly.

"Tell me what happened."

"How much do you remember?"

"I'm not sure...I remember Pettigrew hitting you on the back of the head."

"That was all too real," Harry said with a wince and rubbed the back of his head.

"And I think Ginny and Hermione came blasting through the door and hexed all the furniture."

Harry smiled, "Yes, that happened too."

"After that I remember my moth...that must have been a dream. Tell me what happened after Ginny and Hermione came in."

"Well like you said they hexed all the furniture and untied Ron and me. One of the armchairs attacked Pettigrew, while Ginny found our wands and Hermione attacked the other guy. Voldemort was having major problems with the desk before he sort of blasted it to smithereens, sending wood flying everywhere."

"That desk was an antique!" Draco said hotly.

"Yes, well, after that Voldemort went straight for me. I don't really know what the other's were doing."

"Trying to drag me out of the room," Draco supplied.

"Ah yes! Ginny did say something rude about stubborn Malfoy men." Draco made a face and Harry quickly continued. "Well, anyway, Voldemort and I both cast the killing curse at the same time and our wands connected again."

"Your wands what?"

"Well, both our wands share the same core, so they refuse to battle each other."

"Wands with attitude," Draco drawled.

"So," Harry continued after glaring at Draco, "they connect through a beam of light and the spell get caught in the middle as...as...as a bead of light."

"Like Trelawney's crystal balls?" Draco asked amused.

"Will you shut up?! It's hard enough to explain as it is."

"So sorry to interrupt the narrative flow. Pray continue."

"Last time when this happened, which was also the first time, my...parents were there to help me. Because my wand forced his to regurgitate previous spells, sort of like Priori Incantatum. So the last people Voldemort killed came out of his wand in this ghostly form. But I think he learned to control his wand this time because that didn't happen and he was pushing the spell towards me and I didn't think I would be able to hold it off. Then as far as I remember something warm hit me in the back and started pushing me...not physically, mentally, you know. Like it was helping me push that bead of light towards Voldemort. I don't know what it was, but Ginny said that you did it...they all did, actually. Said you had refused to leave the room and when our wands connected you raised your wand hand and this light shot out towards me."

"Transference of power," Draco said in a dazed voice.

"Yeah, that's what Ginny called it too." Harry waited, but Draco said no more. Instead he stared down at the bedclothes that covered his left hand. "Anyway," Harry continued," between the two of us we pushed the spell towards Voldemort and there was a big flash of green light. When I opened my eyes, Voldemort was dead and you looked like you were too. We managed to get you to the one working fireplace. Ginny flooed you to Hogwarts and told Dumbledore what had happened. Pretty soon the place was crawling with Aurors and Ministry officials. Dumbledore burnt Voldemort's body as several of the portraits said some nasty things about the Malfoy who turned against his own kind. The end," Harry finished with a sigh of relief.

Draco looked at Harry with a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Potter, you are a rotten storyteller," he drawled.

"Whatever Malfoy," Harry returned, irritated. "Just hurry up and get better. I need your help to vanquish evil."

"WHAT?! There's more? I am going on extended vacation. I've had enough of dark magic for one lifetime, thank you very much!"

"It's not dark magic," Harry said laughing. "It's the Potions NEWTS."

"We have to take NEWTS?" Draco almost screamed. "I most strenuously object. My father just died, I had my heart punctured by a glorified sea shell and I helped the Boy-Wonder defeat the darkest wizard in history. I WILL NOT TAKE NEWTS!" Draco finished forcefully.

"Well, with a sob story like that, you'll probably get out of it also. But Snape's going to eat me alive."

"Well, that's your problem, Potter."

"Since you were so nice as to help me kill Voldemort, I thought you'd be sweet enough to help in Potions as well," Harry said as Draco pretended to choke.

"Ask Granger."

"She's coaching Ron. Please Draco," Harry whined.

"No!"

"Git!"

"Prat!"

"Ferret-face!"

"Scar-head!"

****************************************

Draco walked down the gaily-decorated corridors of Hogwarts to the Great Hall for breakfast. It had been a week since he had woken up in the hospital to find Professor Snape at his bedside. Later on he had been told that he had been unconscious for a week and that the mediwizards had feared for his life. Draco had been discharged from St. Mungo's three days ago. Not wanting to go home, he asked to be brought back to Hogwarts and Dumbledore had readily agreed.

During his recuperation at St. Mungo's Dumbledore had told the school all that had transpired at the Manor, consequently turning Harry and Draco into heroes. Voldemort's death had been celebrated by the whole world, except by those who had been his supporters. But even they had started coming over to the good side, now that their protector was dead.

Now that he was back in school, Draco found it hard to digest the hero's welcome he received, the friendly pats on the back as he walked down the school corridors. Not that hero-worship was something he was unfamiliar with - he had had more than enough from the Slytherins. But this was different. The whole school looked up to him, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, Slytherins - "opportunistic little humbugs," Draco muttered - and even the Gryffindors. In all the years that he had taken the Slytherins' admiration and respect as his due, Draco realized that he had never earned it. Not like this he hadn't. And it felt humbling.

He wondered how Harry dealt with it - the respect, the wonder, the adoration, and the admiration. He would have to ask Harry. And that was another thing. Had anyone told him two weeks ago that he would be friends with Harry Potter, Draco would have stared in disbelief. But things had changed. While he and Harry still did not like each other much, they had graduated to tolerating each other and having civilized conversations with each other, with a lot of help from Hermione and Ginny.

'Ginny.' The smile on his face widened and then disappeared as he was grabbed by someone and pulled under a staircase.

"Ginny!" he exclaimed, surprise written all over his face. "What are you doing?"

"Kidnapping you," she smiled wickedly as she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Draco returned the embrace with a smile.

"And why, may I ask, am I being kidnapped?"

"For your money, obviously," Ginny replied.

"You wound me, Miss Weasley. Am I nothing more to you than a few galleons?" Draco asked in mock sorrow.

"We could negotiate," Ginny said as she stood on tiptoe and kissed his chin.

"Now that sound interesting," Draco replied as he pulled her closer.

Ginny gave him a smoldering look. "I plan to make it very interesting," she said as she captured his lips with his own and kissed him hungrily.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" she said when they broke apart a few moments later.

Draco smiled into her eyes, "Do you think we should tell everyone about us?" he asked.

Ginny smiled and looked up, "I think we just did. The staircase moved."

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