Mirrorverse

Now you really didn't think that was the last chap did you? :grins: Nope, I wouldn't leave it just there! I know you want to know what happened to the others right? :chuckles: So here you go! This however IS the last chapter, for now anyway. I am currently going to go back to work on a few things including my Final Fantasy 7 fic (which I'm debating now if I should or shouldn't make a Crossover :sigh: If anyone round here enjoys RPGs can you email me at [email protected] and I can drop a few plot bunnies your way? Cheers!) I've started the FF7 one 3x now, 2x as a non c/o, once as a c/o and I'm not sure which way to go...or if I will write about FF Tactics instead after all. (I have a bunny with Ramza/Delita going for a while now but I do so adore Cloud/Zack or Cloud/Seph :sigh:) Anyway enjoy this last chap of Mirrorverse, and I believe I'm going to go back to Decade and When I'm Sixty-Four after this...we'll see! :)

~~Chapter Thirteen: When You Wish Upon A Star~~

'Draco? Time to get up!' a voice called out.

Draco grumbled and yawned, then stretched and opened his eyes, only to be forcibly met by bright daylight. 'For the love of the Gods, Harry, did you have to do that?' he muttered as he blinked back the sun.

Harry chuckled and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to Draco. 'Sorry, luv, but you do have to get up. Everyone will be here soon, I already got a Floo message they're at Diagon Alley.'

'They're at the Alley already?' Draco said quickly, then jumped out of bed in a rush. 'Where's my shirt? Have you seen my trousers? Where's my- '

'Dray!' Harry said laughing. 'Calm down! They're at the Alley yes, but they have some last minute things to take care of. They said it'll be at least an hour before they get here.'

Draco looked at Harry and scowled, then went back over and sat on the bed with a groan. 'Remind me not to jump out of bed like that eh?'

'Getting old are we, luv?' Harry said trying to hold back a smirk.

Draco shot Harry a glare then huffed. 'Very funny, Harry,' he muttered. 'I'm not old enough yet where I can't best you.'

'Oh? Depends on in what you're trying to best me at. Now if it's Quidditch- ' Harry began but was cut off.

'Oh that's right, how silly of me. Who could possible best Mr. I'm-the-all-perfect-Quidditch-star?' Draco said rolling his eyes. 'Honestly, Harry, if I'm old what are you? Ancient?' he teased.

Harry chuckled then got off the bed. 'Funny, Dray. I think you should go hop in the shower though, we've got the time.'

Draco watched as Harry began to putter round the bedroom, a small sigh escaping him. Sometimes he had trouble believing all that was round him was real, and not some dream that his mind had cooked up just to torture him. So much had happened that he felt years older, and in actually he was, though only he knew it. He and the three others had really lived fifteen years longer than anyone suspected they had, but when questioned back then as to what happened Draco had effectively lied through his teeth, for good reasons.

What had happened all those years ago was still fresh in his mind though even now, and he often woke up wondering which was the dream and which was the reality. Looking at the Harry before him though he could only pray that if he was dreaming, that he would never wake up again.

'Harry?' Draco said hesitantly.

Harry turned from the wardrobe where he was picking out his clothes and looked at his husband curiously. 'Yeah, Dray?'

'Are...are you...happy...with me?' Draco asked quietly, his eyes gazing down to his hands in his lap that he'd subconsciously been grasping.

'Now what brought this on, Draco?' Harry asked, putting aside what he was doing to walk over and sit down on the bed next to Draco again.

'Answer me...please, Harry. Are you happy with me? Do you...do you regret giving up being a Quidditch star or anything else...because of me?' Draco asked.

Harry couldn't help it and wrapped his arms round his lover, pulling him into his broad chest tightly. 'I don't know what brought this on today, Draco, but I will spend the rest of my life telling you how much I love you, and that I have no regrets what so ever about giving it all up as you put it,' he said softly and placed a gentle kiss on Draco's temple. 'Now what's this about?'

Draco sighed contentedly and leaned into Harry's body almost with an urgency. 'It's nothing. I'm just so happy with you that...sometimes I think this isn't real. That you're not real, that this house...this room...that everything is nothing more than a dream.'

'You're having those nightmares again, aren't you,' Harry said with soft accusation. 'I thought I told you to talk to Severus about getting more draughts.'

Draco muttered and leaned his cheek against Harry's bare chest. 'I don't want sleeping draughts, Harry,' he said in a pained voice.

'Then what do you want, Draco?' Harry asked curiously.

Draco looked up then into his lover's swirling green eyes, his mind reeling with ghosted memories. 'You...' he whispered. 'Just you. Show me you love me still, Harry...please...I need to know you do...'

Harry didn't need to be asked twice. Responding to Draco's urgent tone of voice he brought Draco to him roughly, his green eyes shining with desire. 'I do love you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, more than you can ever possibly know,' he said in a husky voice, then he leaned in and captured his husband's lips in a kiss that told Draco exactly how much he did love him, and how much he needed him in his life.

****

'Hello? Oi, anyone here?' a boy's voice called out from the doorway. 'That's funny, where are they? I know we Flooed them from the Alley to tell them we were on our way.'

'I'll go look for 'em!' a girl said and bounded up the stairs. About five minutes later however she came back down the stairs, a dazed look in her eyes.

'Rya? You find 'em?' the boy asked curiously.

Ryanna nodded. 'I found 'em,' she said in a clipped voice, then walked into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of pumpkin juice.

'Well? Where are they? What are they doing that's taking so long?' the boy demanded whilst pouring himself a glass of juice of well.

'Let's just say you don't want know, David,' the girl, Ryanna, said in a strange voice.

David looked at his twin sister and then it hit him what was going on. 'You walked in on them or something?' he asked whilst trying to hold back a grin.

Ryanna growled at her brother. 'Let's drop it, all right?'

'Ha! You did!' David said laughing now.

'She did what?' a voice said from the doorway. 'David, go help your Uncle with the bags. Rya? What is it?'

'She went to look for- ' David began but his sister cut him off.

'David James Potter, just shut up!' Ryanna said huffily.

'David, bags. Now,' the man said eyeing the boy warily.

'Oh all right,' the boy muttered. Downing his juice in one gulp he then stuck his tongue out as his sister and headed back to the salon.

'Now what's wrong, Ryanna?' the man said quietly.

'It's nothing really, Uncle Remus,' she said with a weak smile.

'You're here!' a voice cried out now ending the conversation, and moments later the young girl was swept up into a huge hug.

'Daddy don't do that!' Ryanna said paling slightly and struggling out of the man's grasp.

Harry put his daughter down and looked at her oddly, wondering what was going on. 'Rya? What's wrong?' he asked in concern.

'N-nothing. I think I'll go help David with the bags,' Ryanna said and before anyone could say anything she fled out of the kitchen, a blush on her face.

'Hmm, what was that all about?' Harry asked staring at the swinging door of the kitchen. Turning to Remus he said, 'You know anything?'

Remus shrugged then came over and gave Harry a quick hug. 'Not a clue. Though I think I have a suspicion,' he said with a grin now as he eyed something on Harry's neck.

'Huh? What is it?' Harry asked puzzled.

Remus laughed and tapped Harry's neck. 'Next time we tell you we're on our way, Harry, try to finish up in time eh?'

Harry paled then blushed as understanding finally dawned on him. 'Oh...er...we ahh...were just umm...finishing...when umm...' he stammered.

Remus chuckled and shook his head. 'You two forgot what silencing spells were eh?'

'Remus!' Harry muttered, his blush at an all time high. 'I reckon she must have heard us,' he groaned.

'Ah give her a bit, Harry, I'm sure she'll get over it. Anyways, where is Draco?' Remus asked.

'In the shower. He got a late start,' Harry said, then a frown came across his face. 'Which reminds me I want to talk to Severus later.'

'Oh? On what?' a new voice asked now causing Harry to turn towards the kitchen door.

'Severus!' Harry said with a smile. 'Survived the Alley I see.'.

Severus muttered and threw Harry a glare. 'No thanks to your children and their boundless energy,' Severus said with a sniff, then broke into a grin. 'They do know how to keep one young though, give them that.'

Harry chuckled and nodded. 'Tell me about it. Just when I think I am getting old they remind me just how young I can be,' he said.

'They're good kids, though I don't know where they get it from,' Severus said airily. 'Certainly not their fathers.'

'Bah, you're just lucky I'm in a good mood this afternoon, Severus Snape, or I'd show you just how 'good' I can be,' Harry teased. 'On that note, I really do want to talk to you.'

'So you said, about what?' Severus asked as he sat down at the kitchen table.

'Draco,' Harry said, a small frown on his face now. 'He's...I'm worried about him lately.'

'The dreams have come back?' Remus said sharply as he sat down at the table next to Severus.

Harry sighed and sat down himself now. 'He won't say of course, but I'm sure they have. If today was any indication of it, they're even worse than before,' he frowned.

'Oh? So that's why you weren't at door to greet us, I'd wondered,' Severus said with a slight knowing nod.

'Worse, Rya overheard us,' Harry grumbled. 'We lost track of time I reckon, didn't realize we'd timed it so close.'

'Just give her a couple hours to readjust, she'll get over it. She's a big girl now,' Remus said with a grin.

'What prompted the event in the first place though, Harry?' Severus asked curiously.

'Draco did, that's the problem,' Harry said quietly and glanced at the kitchen door. 'I don't know but he's becoming...just...not himself lately, worse than even his usual panicky self. He wakes up in the middle of the night, gets out of bed and just sits there either writing in his journal or staring out the window into the sky. Even this morning, our lovemaking felt like it was more of a lifeline to him than out of need. Like he thinks I'm going to suddenly disappear on him,' Harry said puzzled.

'What else?' Remus asked.

Harry shrugged and his body slumped forwards as a sigh escaped him. 'He asked me this morning, and it's not the first time either mind you...if I regret giving up becoming a famous Quidditch seeker to live a quiet life here in at the house with just him and the kids. He really thinks I do, I know he does. He thinks he's not good enough for me or something. I feel like I'm losing him, Remus. Something's wrong and he won't tell me, but I'm convinced it has to do with what happened back then,' he said in a low whisper.

Remus and Severus both nodded at that in understanding. 'I'll brew up some more sleeping draughts for him.'

Harry shook his head dejectedly. 'He won't take it, Severus. He says he is taking them for the most part, but last week I caught him pouring a phial of it down the sink, then later on he told me he took it. He's never lied to me like this before, I'm really getting worried. If it does have something to do with back then...what can I do?' he pleaded.

'There isn't much you can do, Harry, just be there for him. Keep reminding him how much you do need him and love him. How much he means to the kids, and to all of us,' Remus said.

'I wish Sirius was still here,' Harry said dully. 'He always knew what to do in situations like this. I miss him so much.'

'We miss him too, Harry. That reminds me, will Peter be here today?' Remus asked.

Harry shook his head. 'No, he said he was going to spend some time alone this holiday. It's too soon I think for him.'

'It's been a year, I'd think that's long enough,' Severus said warily. 'He needs to get himself together.'

'Some people can't just 'get themselves together', Sev,' Remus said in rebuke. 'Just because you're a blasted rock with your emotions doesn't mean everyone else is. Sirius's death is something that Peter may never get over.'

'I still think he should at least make the attempt to be with family for the holidays,' Severus muttered. 'It does him no good to sit there all alone and brood in that big house of his.'

'I agree with Severus,' Harry said with a nod. 'If I could, I'd just Floo over there and make him come here, but I know he'd only resent it. We'll give him till Easter, if he doesn't make an attempt by then, we'll make him do something.'

'Forget about Peter right now, Harry, he'll come round eventually. What are you to do about Draco is what I want to know,' Severus said.

Harry sighed and shook his head. 'I don't know, Severus, but I'll have to do something. If Christmas with the family can't break him of these doles, not much else can. I just wish he'd talk to me dammit, I hate being shut out like this,' he muttered.

'You really want to know what it is, Harry?' a hesitant voice asked, causing those at the table to look up in surprise.

'Draco, we didn't hear you come in,' Remus said with a smile. 'Good to see you, you're looking well.'

'Cheers for the attempt, Remus, but I know I look like shite. If not I certainly feel like it,' Draco said quietly as he sat down at the table next to his husband. 'I saw the kids, they're out back starting on a snow fort. What's with Rya though? She looked at me as if I had two heads or something.'

Harry chuckled. 'Appropriate wording, luv. It seems we didn't ahh...finish in time after all,' he said with a slight grimace.

Draco looked at Harry oddly a moment, then groaned and nodded in understanding. 'Just goes to show we're a bit rusty on using silencing spells like when they were little eh?' he said with a weak chuckle.

'I reckon we'll need to be much more careful in the future on that issue,' Harry said with a grin, then his grin faded as he looked at his husband in worry. 'What's going on with you, Dray? Please...won't you talk to us?'

Draco paled a moment as if he was about to be ill, then sighed deeply, looking from Harry to Remus then to Severus. 'What makes you all think there's anything wrong with me?' he said.

'Because you git, we're not blind nor daft. Now fess up, Draco. What is going on with you as of late? The last few weeks you've been growing more and more distant, and when you're not being distant all you want to do is make love. Not that I mind that err...part of things,' Harry said blushing slightly, 'but I want to know why when we do you're acting as if it's the last time you'll ever see me again.'

Draco started at those words a moment, wondering how to refute them when he looked into the pleading eyes of his husband. 'Oh, Harry,' he semi-whispered. 'I'm so sorry. I wish I could tell you what's wrong, why I feel this way...but I don't think...you probably wouldn't believe me,' he said sadly.

'Try us, Draco. We're your friends aren't we?' Severus asked with a soft smile.

'That's the point, Severus, you never were supposed to be our friends. In fact...you're both supposed to be twenty some years older than Harry and me. Remus was our DADA professor and you were our Potion's professor at Hogwarts,' Draco said wearily.

Severus, Remus and Harry stared at Draco as if he'd just dropped a bomb in the kitchen. 'Draco...what are you saying? Severus and Remus have always been our friends, we went to school with them remember? Even though Remus and Severus were Slytherin's we still managed to all stay friends. And Sev and Remus at Hogwarts...as professors? Where did you get that? Is this the nightmares you've been having?' Harry asked puzzled.

'No, Harry, it's not the nightmares, it's the truth. They way things really were....should have been anyway, isn't what it is now,' Draco said.

'Draco, is this what's been bothering you? Are the nightmares beginning to make your memories skewed even when you're awake now?' Severus asked in concern.

'No, Severus, that's not it,' Draco muttered. 'Listen to me...not one of you remembers those fifteen days where we were supposedly captured all those years ago, do you.'

'We were made to forget those fifteen days, Draco, you know that. I don't know who to thank for that, even if it was Voldemort himself that did the Obliviate Charms on us, but I for one am grateful to whoever it was,' Remus said with a shiver. 'Being found in the Forbidden Forest in comas with blood all over us wasn't how I would have wanted to remember things, I'm sure of that.'

'You three don't remember those fifteen days, but I do, Remus, because it wasn't fifteen days but fifteen years, very long years at that,' Draco said huffily, then got up to pace the kitchen. 'I lied to all of you, even Albus. I knew the truth, but when I realised that not one of you three remembered what really happened, I couldn't tell anyone anything. No one wouldn't have believed me anyway, seeing as how much things had changed on our return as well.'

'What do you mean by changed? What changed?' Harry asked.

'You,' Draco said softly as he looked at his husband. 'All three of you. When we woke up back at Hogwarts after Hagrid found us in the Forest, and I saw that Remus and Severus were still kids again, that you and I were teens again as well, I knew something was very wrong. When I learned that none of you remembered what had happened, or where we'd been, and Albus and everyone else didn't seem at all phased by Remus and Severus being young, I had to lie and pretend to go along with everything. But the truth is that went we left, Severus's and Remus weren't kids.'

'Left? Left to go where, Dray? We were captured, that's what Albus told us, though I never remembered that myself either, just waking up after we were found. I assume though it's because our memories were erased of what happened, even the part about being kidnapped. Thankfully Voldemort disappeared right after we escaped, I wish I knew what really happened, but I'm glad he's gone for good,' Harry said.

'That's the only thing I wasn't sure about actually in the whole thing, but I have my theories now what may have happened to him,' Draco said thoughtfully.

'Draco, what is it that changed so drastically? What is it that you lied to us about?' Severus asked. 'Tell us the truth.'

Draco looked at his friend and made up his mind. Sitting back down at the table, grateful that his children would be occupied by the snow fort for quite some time, he began to weave his tale. He told them everything, the way life had been up till they'd found the Book of the Cursed all those years ago, what happened in the Mirrorworld, and what should have happened when they got back. It had surprised Draco that Severus and Remus were still in their younger forms when they got back, he hadn't expected that in his calculations, nor was he prepared for a world that seemed to have changed so drastically. It had taken him a few days, but Draco had managed to piece together what changes had clearly been made.

In this changed world Voldemort had never been defeated the first time by Harry. In fact up till they had returned to this world Voldemort had been very active in the Wizarding World, destroying and killing whenever and whoever he felt like. Draco had found out that Harry's parents hadn't died when he was a year old, although they did battle with Voldemort at Godric's Hollow when Harry was a child. However Harry was never at Godric's Hollow that day, having been sent into hiding with Peter, who in this world had never been a traitor but happily married to Sirius. Harry had grown up with his Godfather and Peter as his guardians, whilst James and Lily worked tirelessly to find ways to destroy Voldemort.

As for Remus and Severus, they were never at Hogwarts in the days of Lily, James, Sirius and Peter. In this changed world they were Harry and Draco's age, and Harry and Draco had met the two of them (and Remus and Severus in this world apparently had grown up together) on the Hogwarts Express as first-years, and the four became good friends. Though Remus and Severus were sorted into Slytherin and Harry and Draco to Gryffindor, they remained firm friends.

In this world there had been 'Marauders', but without the 'Moony' part, since 'Moony' never existed in those days, and the 'Marauder's Map' never existed in this world until later on when Harry, Draco, Remus and Severus came up with the idea. In the changed world it had been Severus who had told Harry and Draco in secret what Remus was when Harry began suspecting things about him and his 'disappearances' once a month. As a surprise Harry, Draco and Severus in secret began working on the Animagus Potion. With Severus's skill in potion making it only took them a year to do the complex spell and potion, and by the beginning of third-year they were secretly joining Remus on his monthly excursions.

Harry's parents had survived in this world, in fact they didn't pass on until only a few years back, and it wasn't by Voldemort either. They were sadly the victims of a simple boating accident somewhere in Italy whilst they were taking a holiday to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Their yacht collided during the night with a ship that had come out of nowhere, and they were blown up when the yacht's petrol tank was hit.

As for Voldemort, Draco's suspicion was that when he used the book to open a rift between the worlds, somehow they got returned but Voldemort got sucked into another world. Which is why he seemed to just vanish off the face of the earth when the four of them had apparently returned from being 'kidnapped'. No one ever heard from Voldemort again, and the celebrations had lasted back then for weeks on end.

When Draco had woken up in the infirmary at Hogwarts all those years ago just after Voldemort's disappearance, he was told that they had been gone just over a fortnight, apparently kidnapped by Death Eaters during a Hogsmeade weekend. From what Draco gathered they were held as hostages and tortured because Voldemort was trying to get Remus, Harry and Severus's parents to join him and they had refused him.

In this world Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater yet not one either. The only reason Draco had been captured back then with the others was because he was openly Harry's boyfriend, something Voldemort didn't approve of. As for Lucius, it turned out that he was a spy for the Order of the Light, doing the same job that Severus had been doing before they'd left. Draco was told in secret by his father that it was himself that saved their lives after the kidnapping, getting them out of Riddle Manor before Voldemort could kill them.

Draco had also found out that it was on Lucius's advice all those years ago that made James and Lily send young Harry to Peter for safe-keeping for a while whilst James, Lily went into hiding for a time, leaving Sirius to track down the traitor. Turns out a close school mate of theirs named Mark Bode had turned to Voldemort and was spying on them. It was he who had told his new master where Lily and James were hiding, though luckily Lucius had found out in time and they were able to prepare themselves.

A small battle ensued at Godric's Hollow night of October 31st, but Lily and James managed to escape before anything terrible happened. Mark Bode was pronounced guilty and sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss for his betrayal. James and Lily ended up leaving the country for a bit, Harry with them, and when they returned it was in secret. Only a few people, that being Sirius, Peter and Albus, knew where they were and what names they were using, which is how they'd stayed alive and worked undercover until Voldemort's disappearance.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were still alive and living abroad, Remus's parents were still happily settled in a small cottage in Wales, the same cottage Remus had grown up in. Severus's parents also were in Wales, the Snape's and Lupin's in this world were neighbours, hence why Remus and Severus were already best friends when Harry and Draco had met them on the train.

Even though they did find out about Remus being a werewolf quickly, they hadn't a clue about Severus being a vampire until seventh-year when Severus finally admitted it to them what he was. Harry and Draco, after they were returned from their fifteen day disappearance, caught Severus feeding off of Remus one night in the infirmary. Draco of course already knew about Severus being a vampire and Remus being his blood servant, but acted surprised since he had figured out by then he wasn't supposed to have known the truth.

After leaving Hogwarts Remus and Severus, who hadn't much money with their families being somewhat poor, decided to move to Egypt where they still lived today. They had managed to acquire themselves jobs with the Egyptian Ministry of Magic. Remus was involved finding and restoring magical artefacts from the ancient days, and Severus was on staff as a Potion's consultant. Severus had been awarded his Potion Master title by the Egyptian Ministry for his excellent skills which at least brought in a bit more income. They had a small two bedroom flat in Cairo where they were very happy.

They also had a daughter named Misha a few years after moving to Egypt, she was already in her late teens and was now going to a Muggle University in Cairo. Harry and Draco had waited a bit longer though to have their children, the twins had just turned eleven this year and had just started Hogwarts. Both were Gryffindors like their parents, but they were as far apart as twins could get. David was usually shy and reserved whilst Ryanna was outgoing, outspoken and aggressive at times.

As for Harry and Draco, they had settled into Godric's Hollow after spending a few years travelling, which is where they still were today. Draco still couldn't believe it was all real, and every now and then he had to question how he was the only one who remembered that none of this should have been real. Over time he did get some of the memories of this new, changed world, but they didn't over shadow the old ones from both worlds.

In his dreams, or nightmares rather, he still was in the Mirrorworld, and sometimes he was back in the world that had been before they'd left for the Mirrorworld, when they had so much to fear and lose. It still amazed him that in this changed world everyone had known about Harry and Draco's relationship together, and had never had a problem with it. In fact Lucius had been the most supportive about their relationship, and Lily and James had been thrilled that their son had made such a good match.

As Draco's mind thought on all of that whilst telling the other three the truth, he could see the surprise, horror and shock in their eyes and on their faces. He regretted now telling them about the Mirrorworld and what had been before that, what he had known as truth. He told them why he had the nightmares, and why he thought that he'd wake up one day to find Harry was the same evil Harry from before. He saw the look of pain on his lover's face at that, but Harry let him continue his speech without a word or a touch. Harry seemed to know somehow that Draco would lose it if he did, and Draco was grateful for the lack of contact during the storytelling.

'And that's it. That's what happened. At least...that's what I remember happening,' Draco said finishing up his tale now and looking at everyone hesitantly.

'I...I don't know...what to say...what to think,' Harry said quietly, pain, confusion and other things thick in his voice.

Draco smiled softly at his lover, then reached over and took Harry's hand into his own, squeezing it gently. 'There's nothing to think any longer, Harry,' he said quietly. 'I don't know why fifteen years only ended up as fifteen days, I don't know why the book returned us all as kids again. Or why it changed so much here when we did return...but I am glad it did.'

'Yet...you still feel Harry's going to leave you, Draco. That all of this isn't real,' Severus said thinking on things logically as usual.

Draco nodded at Severus. 'Yeah, I do. I know it's twenty years now since we got back here, but sometimes I think...' he trailed off at that, unable to say more.

'We're not going to leave you, Draco,' Remus said softly. 'Not now, not ever. Whatever reasons the book did what it did, for twenty years now we've been friends, we're all together, and we're all happy. If anything was going to change that, wouldn't it have by now?'

'That's just it, Remus, I don't know,' Draco said in a pain-filled voice. 'It took fifteen years the last time before things changed, before I could find the book and send us to what I thought was 'home'. What if this really is nothing more than a dream? What if tomorrow I wake up and we're all back where we were? What if the book sends us somewhere else this time and it turns out even worse?'

'Draco...oh, Draco,' Harry said comfortingly and pulled his husband into his arms, holding him tightly. 'I swear to you that nothing is going to happen. I'm here...this is the reality, that I can promise you.'

'Can you? Can you really and truly promise me that, Harry?' Draco pleaded. 'You can't really, can you. You can't be 100% sure of that.'

'Draco, listen to me. You're right, I can't be sure that tomorrow will come and I won't be this horribly evil person, no one can be sure. That's life, that's the joys and the pains of life, that's the unexpected part of having the next sunrise. Somehow though I have a feeling that this book isn't going to end things now, that it isn't going to send us away again, that we're safe now,' Harry said softly.

'But you still can't promise me that, Harry,' Draco said with a sob as he clung to Harry's body.

'He can't, but perhaps I can,' a new voice said now, one that made all four in the room turn round in surprise.

'Albus!' Severus said scowling at the older man. 'Don't sneak up on people like that,' he muttered accusingly.

Albus walked further into the room and chuckled. 'I do apologize, but I was enthralled by the tale you were telling, Draco. I suspected something was different back then, now I know why that was.'

'What do you mean you suspected something?' Draco demanded.

'You're eyes, Draco, told me far more than you think they did,' Albus said quietly. 'I knew you were lying to me, as well as the holder of some very terrible secrets. I hoped when the time was right you would tell me what it was that had you so scared, but you never did confide in me. However, I've managed to piece together a few things over the years that helped my quest of the truth.'

'What?' Draco asked in astonishment. 'Why did you even want to know?'

'I'm a curious man, young Draco, and in my old age and retirement I've little else to do at times but to figure out things from the past that always bothered me,' Albus said with a twinkling blue-eyed grin.

'You're incorrigible, Albus Dumbledore, you know that?' Remus said shaking his head.

'I'm bored, there's a difference,' Albus said with a wave of his hand. 'Now, I believe you were discussing a book when I arrived, yes?'

'The Book of the Cursed,' Draco said nodding his head. 'Why?'

'Ah yes, a very intriguing book, though I wasn't aware of how conniving it could be sometimes. It always seems to do things it's own way though,' Albus said sitting down at the kitchen table himself now.

'What do you mean by 'it's own way'?' Severus questioned.

'Are you saying that the book is sentient, Albus?' Remus asked in surprise.

'I am,' Albus said with a nod of his head. 'It's very much so actually.'

'Books aren't sentient, Albus, that's impossible,' Harry argued.

'This one is, Harry,' Albus said firmly. 'Perhaps it cannot talk for itself, but through it's pages it has quite a bit to say. It's been known to alter the course of many things, though this is the first I've heard of it altering different worlds. Something I shall have to look into.'

'Why would it do something like this though? For what purpose?' Draco asked puzzled.

'Do you know why the book was created, Draco?' Albus asked now.

Draco shook his head. 'No, I'd heard of it, and was told if I ever came across it never to touch it, but that was all.'

'Let me then tell you a bit more about it then. The book was created so long ago no one even remembers, but it's message was passed down within it's pages. For a normal person to read the book it means little, they cannot decipher it. Half-breed cursed bloods can touch it and read it, it's only when they read from it out loud that things happen. Pure cursed bloods however cannot even touch the book, someone must do it for them, otherwise the effects are instantaneous,' Albus said.

'I'm confused, what effects? And what's the difference between being a half-breed and a pure-breed cursed blood?' Harry asked.

'A half-breed is someone who was not born with the cursed blood within them, they were in effect 'created' later on, like Remus and Severus were as children. Pure cursed bloods of course are like Draco, born directly from within the blood-line. When a cursed blood touches or reads from the book, the book will absorb that person's memories, and then sends them to a place where it thinks they belong. The book doesn't care if the rest of the world it sends the person to is messed up, it only cares that the person or persons reading or touching it becomes satisfied,' Albus said. 'However, if someone who isn't a cursed blood were to get trapped by it, the effects would be devastating. It would reverse any happiness and cause only hate and sorrow for the person; destroying who they are in the process.'

'Oh, I think I'm beginning to understand. It's sort of like a living Mirror of Erised?' Harry asked.

Albus nodded. 'The Mirror allows you see your happiness, your heart's desire. The book actually gives it to you, only it's for cursed bloods only. The book was designed for curse bloods knowing that they would never truly be able to find happiness being what they were, so the book was made to give it to them. However it became so abused and misused that the book was banned from society, and hidden away.'

'Obviously not that well hidden,' Severus said dryly. 'If we supposedly found it.'

Albus chuckled. 'True, but that may have been because someone was using it's counterpart on the other end, in this Mirrorworld, unknowing of it's true properties. I can't say for sure, but when the book sent you to the other world, I'm sure it had no idea that things would turn out as they did. I assume it was because of Harry though that things progressed in such a horrible manner, sorry to say that but that is what I would surmise.'

Harry sighed and held onto Draco as tightly as he could. 'I'm so sorry, Dray...I wish...'

'Harry...Harry it's not your fault. You didn't know back then what the book was, and I was too afraid to tell you what I was. Before I could even tell you about the book it was too late and you'd tripped into me,' Draco said with a sigh. 'It no longer matters though, what happened is over and done with.'

'But you still feel as if it could happen again, Draco,' Remus said quietly.

'I dare say that will not be a problem any longer,' Albus said quietly.

Draco turned to Albus, a questioning look in his eyes. 'What makes you think that though? How can you be sure, Albus?'

'Oh, child, I do wish you had confided all this to me sooner, and I would have been able to spare you years of torment,' Albus said sadly.

'Albus?' Severus asked. 'What do you mean?'

'If I had known the book is what was behind your angsts, Draco, I would have told you years ago about this. That particular book was found by Lucius, in the very cell that you were held hostage in all those years ago. I was surprised to say the least when Lucius came to me with it, wrapped of course as he knew what it was and not to touch it. He told me he had no clue how it got there, or why it was there, he'd found it though when he rescued you from the cell. He brought the book straight away to me, puzzled why you'd had it. The moment the book entered my hands however an owl was at my window telling me that Voldemort was gone, vanished into thin air. But that's not all,' Albus said.

'What...what else?' Draco asked, a strange glint in his grey eyes.

Albus turned to Draco and looked at him oddly for a moment. 'By the time I finished reading the letter I'd been sent, Voldemort wasn't the only thing that had vanished, Draco. The book was gone as well. I'd put it on my desk when I received the letter, got up to open the window and for a few moments forgot about the book. When I returned to my desk it was gone, as was Voldemort.'

'Do you think it's related, them both disappearing I mean?' Harry asked curiously.

'I have no doubts of it, Harry,' Albus said with a nod. 'I think the book is what erased or rather altered your memories, sent Voldemort away, and then decided it was time for it to go somewhere else, where it might be needed by someone else.'

'I had the same theory, slightly anyway,' Draco nodded. 'I suspected the book drew Voldemort into a different place, though Merlin knows where, but wherever it is at least he was no longer here so I didn't care. I also thought that perhaps the reason I remembered and none of the others was because I was the one who had the clearest memories in the other world.'

'On that it's highly possible, Draco,' Albus said with a nod. 'Wherever the book is now I don't think it will bother with you again however.'

'You don't think Voldemort can come back though do you, Albus? Or figure out the book if he is still alive out there somewhere?' Remus asked.

Albus shook his head. 'I dare say the book wouldn't let itself fall into the hands of such a man, Remus. No, I'm sure that wherever he is, he's there for good. The book is sentient enough not to let it get caught by the likes of Tom Riddle.'

Draco chuckled at that remark. 'It seems no matter what world Riddle's in, he never gets a break. In the Mirrorworld he also looked for that book for years, but it eluded him at every turn. Lucius found it for me in the Mirrorworld like I said, oddly enough. It seems that the book likes we Malfoy's,' he grinned.

'It's not the only one,' Harry said with a chuckle and kissed his husband's cheek. 'Are you satisfied now that this isn't a dream, Dray? That we're here to stay?'

Draco turned to look at Harry a moment. The amount of worry and concern in his husband's eyes couldn't dampen the amount of love in them, and Draco couldn't help but love how Harry still made him feel after all these years. 'Yes, Harry, I am now. I think from now on the nightmares will stop, that it's time to forget the past, and move on with the present. The future is looking much better suddenly, and I don't care what happens next, as long as I have you,' he said softly.

Harry smiled. 'I think that from now on everything's going to be just right,' he said. 'I love you, Draco, always and forever.'

Draco sighed happily. 'I love you too, Harry, I always did, and always will. To the future then?'

'To the future!' everyone in the room agreed.

Somewhere in a small corner of the Hogwarts library, deep inside the restricted section on a dusty shelf, a book glowed for a moment then slowly began to fade away. The book was satisfied that once again things were where they should be, and it was again time to move on to another place, another time, wherever it would next be needed. It wouldn't be coming back to this world, for the changes it had made all those years ago would now be complete. Granted it hadn't expected the silver haired boy to take all these years to find his true happiness, but the book had been patient and it knew now it had been well worth the wait.