Harry! Draco cried internally, seeing the wolf finally emerge from the tunnel of what was most likely death. Oh, thank you. Driving towards him, Draco saw the way Harry was headed and froze. Of course. Voldemort. It's always Voldemort. But instead of backing away, Draco just changed course, heading towards the evil of the wizarding world who had enslaved his father for decades.

Draco. Harry sighed happily, but soon had his attention turned elsewhere. He had a small band of Gryffindors fighting for him, and appreciatively barked at Ron and Hermione somewhere in the pack, but it was still very hard going. He figured that because no one knew he was Harry Potter, killing the random black wolf was not a problem for most of the gathering there. At least he looked evil, so only a few were targeting him.

Voldemort soon appeared before him, regarding the battle with angry annoyance. Harry's features blanked easily, blocking the pain that was now reaching nausea-inducing heights. He continued on nonetheless, hardly noticing as his protective circle dropped off one after another. Only Voldemort existed for him—a habit formed when Harry was just a baby.

But all of a sudden it wasn't just Voldemort anymore, because just as Voldemort flicked his fingers to disapparate, the familiar black snake entered his view. And evidently Voldemort's too, for the casual snap of fingers was replaced by a sinister smirk rivaling Draco at his best. Voldemort shifted slightly, and a bite mark flaring red and blue was exposed to the surrounding crowd. Harry's eyes widened as Voldemort suddenly pointed a desiccated hand at the snake watching Harry instead of the death awaiting it. It's not supposed to be like this. IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS!

And all of a sudden Harry wasn't standing watching the horrible death before Draco, he was next to him, shoving the snake into his fur and fleeing for his life. But he could not flee now—he was physically blocked, rings upon rings upon rings of the enemies stopped in battle, sneering deliciously at the black flash and stepping closer and closer and closer. Only the edges were fighting now, and Harry soon realized that besides Draco gripping unmercifully, he was all alone. All alone to fight what he had been told to fight from birth. The creature who had killed so many, the creature so many depended on him to kill. It made him sick for a moment, and then Draco was whispering in his ear, distracting and filling him with a strength they both possessed.

"I can make you human, if you want."

And that was what Harry got. Everything they had gone through, all the sacrifices they had made, the devotion caused of one freak incident of following one's instincts, that's what it all came down to. I can make you human, if you want. Harry had already been made human. He'd been made human long ago, when Draco had first offered his hand and offered the first stirrings of strong emotion, guilt with a touch of fear and awe and disgust, he had ever felt in his young life. And now, with Draco's instinctual desire to choose Harry as his partner, he had been made more than human, for no human could feel what he felt for the person on top of him.

"Don't," Harry said. "You wouldn't be able to escape." And the You already have hung between them, understood and accepted.

"Of course." Draco replied, and suddenly everything was right with the world and that gave Harry the strength to face Voldemort without a wand, without Dumbledore, but with the support that was Draco and emotional and the unexpected physical advantage.

Lucius, what is the matter with you? were the first words out of Voldemort's mouth, and Draco and Harry almost grinned at the irony of the statement. Both one mind, both same ideas, combined and strong together. And Lucius, the key that united them.

I am here. Harry interrupted.

You? Voldemort stated disdainfully. You? You are Lucius's vessel.

Irony again, Harry thought. Can't you feel the burning, Voldemort?

Lord, Voldemort corrected, but his eyes narrowed. Potter.

About time. Harry agreed. I will fight you.

You will fight me? I am most amused. But Voldemort's heart wasn't in it, and Harry tensed, knowing the moment was passing. Voldemort was puzzling Draco's presence out, and if Harry didn't react now one of them was going to get hurt. He took a step forward, again calculating the leap. But it was too late.

Ah. Ddrraccccooo… Voldemort purred, and it sent goosebumps down both of their spines. How nice of you to join us. And to think, I killed your father! How foolish of me. Yet you are the gem, I believe. Fooling me takes a certain skill. Voldemorts features suddenly hardened. Kill Potter, Draco. Or you will suffer. Join me, and be rewarded—you still have your mother to think of.

Draco stilled. He'd forgotten. His mother, of a lifetime ago, kind and gentle, soothing words… but then the image was replaced, of a doll of a figure, porcelain and just as hard. Following his father faithfully wherever he went. Executing people for another's pleasure. That hard hand pressing deep into his side. He felt Harry listening for him, listening for the vibrations they communicated by, and sent a slight squeeze down at the body underneath him. A muscle twitched in Harry's side, and then relaxed the merest centimeter.

It was enough. So you're loyal then, Voldemort commented, seemingly unconcerned. Good then, I suppose. Bad, but good. Because that means Potter's loyal to you, and Potter can never have enough people to be loyal to. Accio!

The sole non-stolen wand was flicked and Harry felt the hair on his back rise with a sharp tug. Voldemort was pulling his fur off? What in the world? ANITETECOMMUNI! he screamed in his mind, the first spell that occurred to him.

"RAHHH!" Voldemort screeched, backing away and clutching at his head. "POTTER!"

"Good," Draco said above him. "More power. Take mine."

Harry closed his eyes briefly, trusting Draco to watch for him. Seeking Draco's power, he found it all through a thin straw in the back of his mind. Sucking from that straw, drawing it wider and wider until the straw was a tunnel, Harry pulled Draco's unresisting power from him—and added to his own, the magic pooling dizzyingly in his stomach. "On three," he heard faintly. "One, two, THREE!"

And the magic was thundering out of him, all aimed at the Dark Lord. ANITETECOMMUNI! Harry screeched, knowing that with their combined power it was possible, just, to overcome. Focus on the love, a voice in his mind reminded him, and Harry did. He focused like he had when he'd pulled Quirrel's flesh from his face, except a lot harder and a lot longer. He focused on Draco.

But suddenly the silence of concentration was broken, and everything went into the fast motion as Voldemort's wand was pointing at him and Draco was flying and the snake was up in the air, green light surrounding him, burning and screaming and it was taking longer than a second and things were happening and Harry had no idea what was going on. Focus on the love, the voice said again, and Harry did, despite the fact that the one he loved was floating above him in a cloud the color of his eyes—and the last one who'd held the color of his eyes had died for him. But perhaps that was it; perhaps Lily and James could do something, perhaps the love would combine, or do something with Draco's spell...

Harry never knew exactly how it happened, but in later years he figured it was a combination of everything. Either way, Lily's sacrifice had activated and was protecting Draco, and Draco's sacrifice was activating and protecting Harry, and Harry's sacrifice was a spell and was aimed at Voldemort, and suddenly everything went dark and something black and twisted was being pulled out of him and Harry screamed. He screamed and screamed and Draco was screaming and everyone was screaming and the world was screaming, and the word Horcruxes! flitted through his mind and he knew they were destroyed.

When Harry opened his eyes again Voldemort was gone. Ash floated where his feet had been, the army around him was decimated into dust, the naked people in the hallway were peering around cautiously and he was lying completely nude with Draco on top of him, both alive. His scar was pumping what felt like liquid happiness through him, and Harry finally understood what it was—the pain, the burning was gone. Years and years of burning had built up a tolerance, and through that tolerance even when it burned he had felt nothing, but now it finally felt just like normal skin and it was so, so wonderful. Harry laughed in delight, feeling the marred but soft skin beneath his fingertips, knowing its controller was gone forever.

"Harry," Draco whispered, and Harry turned his head slightly to see the face, to see the face that had represented so many years of hardship for him. But the face wasn't just Malfoy's face anymore, it was a snake's face, Draco's face, and those grey eyes were shining at him in a way they had never done before. Harry grinned, a sweet, carefree smile, and put his lips on Draco's. It was simply amazing, one amazing upon another amazing upon another amazing and his whole life was composed of one simple amazing, of joy and life and Draco.

"He's gone," Harry murmured, when their lips had separated. "He's gone, Draco, he's gone!"

Tears were coursing down Draco's cheeks, tears of happiness or sadness Harry didn't know, but he was with the person he loved and he was just happy that Draco was there with him. He widened the already stationed smile and plunged into Draco's mouth again in glorious contentment of the world. Draco responded back, and if anything in Harry's life hadn't been perfect, it was then.

"I love you," Draco murmured, and Harry knew then that everything was as close to perfect as it could get in Draco's world too.

"I know you do." Harry responded, and then they stood up, helping each other along the way. "I love you too."

And Draco knew.

…

Years later, Ron and Hermione took a trip to see the famous' couples house, down along a dirt road filled with ruts and turns with no one in the vicinity for miles. They looked at each other, shook their heads, but smiled and walked on. You couldn't apparate on Potter-Malfoy grounds—it was all manual transportation. Muggle cars didn't even work—the only way you could visit was to walk several miles. It kept out all but the closest friends, and of course the boarding school students that stayed with the two.

"Harry!" the couple heard, when they were close enough to see the screen door and the lighted house behind it. "Your friends have finally arrived!"

"Yours too," Harry bellowed back. "We've gone over this, Draco. OUR friends."

"Yes, yes, very well, our friends. Where's Natasha?"

"Out in the backyard somewhere. She'll come home eventually, you know that."

"But I like showing her to those two. They're funny."

"Indeed. Now stop gloating that you have a student that's shaped as a snake and go let them in."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other again, then back at the door. Draco opened it.

"At your service, Harry's-our-friends," he announced. Behind him, a black wolf appeared before swiftly returning to human form. Harry smiled at them and nonchalantly elbowed Draco, who glared. Smirking at the two of them, who were eyeing the animaguses carefully, he grinned a smile that was all for Harry. Opening the door wider, Draco made a grand gesture with his hand before flicking his tongue out and grandly announcing,

"The House of the Animagus is at yours."

…

A/N—Ha ha! Done! MUHGAHAHAIHAHH! DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE—okay, I think I've proven my point. I'm done. Anyway, that was very exciting. Hauntful is in fact so very thrilled she is done with this thing that she is going to give you all a very special treat—You're going to get five chappies published at once. Written at different times, of course, and I usually separate them by a few days to get feedback—but Hauntful's excited so you get rewarded for it. Comments are always welcome—grammar as well as plot, though of course the latter is the best! Thanks for reading! hauntful yay

PS- Oh, and Draco got control of the Animagus spell when his father died. That's the power he could feel building within him. Any other questions? I'd love to clarify!