Danger Zone

Prologue

June 21, 2000

He had never done this before. He likened it to the danger of the Final Battle. Curses and screams flying through the air, blood dripping into his eyes, and uncertainty pounding in his veins. Harry didn't know what would happen next, and it terrified him.

"Are you ready?" Ron asked quietly, watching Harry from the doorway. He had been against this from the beginning, but if it was what Harry wanted…well, they had all suffered enough, hadn't they?

"Yeah," Harry breathed, exhaling loudly in front of the mirror. He took in his dark navy dress robes, outlined in a pale blue…or gray, rather. Harry still couldn't decide which, and he'd been doing nothing but stand in front of the mirror for the past hour, trying not to scream in his nervousness.

Now for the first time, as Ron gently took him by the elbow and lead him to where Remus was waiting for him, he felt a type of calm wash over him. He had spent his entire life waiting for something to happen, and when he had walked into that bar, it had. And now, as he made his way to where Remus was officiating, he smiled at all of his friends and…guests, to put it nicely. He still hadn't met all of his fiancé's acquaintances yet, and they were proving to be a rather odd bunch.

Reaching the end of the aisle, Harry took a moment to appreciate the awe inspiring beauty around him. Faeries and floating candles danced in the cool night air, and the towers and spires of Hogwarts castles glowed in the short distance from the affair taking place by the lake. The soft summer grass was tickling Harry's toes, but it felt good to have the solid earth beneath him.

Taking one last breath, he reached out to grasp his fiancé's long pale fingers, warm and soft in a way that his Quidditch and work callused hands could never be. Just shy of his twentieth birthday, Harry could not remember being more happy and content than he was now. He only wished Sirius and Dumbledore were alive to see him in his happiness. Their deaths were only the beginning in the war against Voldemort, but they held the most significance for Harry.

Hermione, radiant in her shimmering sky blue robes, handed Remus a long white silk ribbon, which he then began to wrap around Harry's wrist. Pulling himself back to the present, Harry allowed the magic of the evening to surround him. Under the night of the full moon during the summer solstice, Harry had agreed to bond his life to another's, marking himself as a taken and loved man.

He stared at his fiancé a little while longer, loving the connection he felt when their eyes met, how the emotion and magic seemed to crackle in the air between them. It had taken them so long to get to this point, and somehow Harry could not imagine what would have happened to him if this relationship had not circled to what it was now.

All of a sudden, the grip on Harry's hand turned painful, and Harry felt the body next to his go rigid.

"Draco?" Harry whispered softly. "Draco, what's wrong?"

But the blonde could not hear him. A soft gasp escaped from Draco's lips, and his eyes widened horribly, before he fell to his knees, almost breaking Remus' incantations.

"Remus, don't stop!" Harry cried, dropping to his knees beside his fiancé. Remus nodded and continued speaking, though his amber eyes were full of concern for the young man at his feet.

"Draco, please tell me what's wrong," Harry whispered, brushing the hair back from Draco's face as he pulled him into his lap, still trying to make sure that their hands were tightly clasped for the ritual still taking place around them.

"Oh, god," was Harry's only response when he felt an unexpected liquid seep into his lap. Softly brushing his hand in between Draco's back and his lap, he pulled his hand away only to stare in terror at his blood smeared hand. Draco was breathing harshly against him, mumbling something under his breath that Harry couldn't understand.

Only now did Harry realize that others were crowded about him and Draco. Hermione had pulled out her wand and was muttering healing spells as fast as she could, and Ron was urging Harry to let go of Draco so that they could examine the wound that was causing so much blood. But Harry could only shake his head and hold Draco tightly to him, all the while pleading with Remus to not stop the ceremony.

"Hermione," he called out, meeting her eyes, "he's….he's…"

"I know Harry, I'll take care of it. I know," she replied in between spells.

"No! Hermione, you don't understand!" Harry cried. "He's--"

"I'm sorry Harry, but this is for your own good," was all he registered, before his eyes met Hermione's, and everything went black.