Author's note: Thanks for the review for the last chapter. From now on, I will refer to the future Harry as Ryan. It's easier to separate both Harrys like this. Thanks also to everyone who kept coming back to read this story. I'd like it if you can leave a comment or feedback for me about this story. For the moment, let's get on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, etc. from the Harry Potter series. Anything that I quote from the books belongs solely to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 11

Severus had arrived in the infirmary early in the morning to see if there were any changes to Harry's condition. Upon finding Harry still asleep, Severus decided to leave and come back later to check on him, but as he was leaving, he saw Harry begun to wake up. After he was awake, Severus thought he saw a flicker of emotion that passed through Harry's eyes. But it disappears as soon as it appears so he put it down as a flicker of his imagination and continued to observe Harry further.

When Harry's friends arrived, he was watched the non-existing interaction between them before seeing a range of emotions flickered in Harry's eyes for awhile. Confident that he truly saw it this time, he was curious to know as to what could possible cause this. Knowing with absolute certainty that whatever is happening does not involve anything in the physical world, since Harry soon return to his blank stare at the walk in front.

With that, he entered Harry's mind for a second time within a 24 hour period. When he did, all he found in Harry's mind was darkness that stretch beyond the eyes can see. The very same darkness that had greeted him yesterday when he first ventured into Harry's mind.

This is most unusual. Usually there would be at least some sort of brain activity around unless that person is dead. But Potter is very well alive at this moment. There must be something going on in his mind for those emotions to pass through his eyes.

He continued to search through Harry's mind hoping to find the answer that he was looking. After awhile, he resigned to the fact that Harry's mind condition is the same as it was yesterday. Knowing he wouldn't be able to find his answer by staying any longer in Harry's mind, he pulled out only to realise that none of the other occupants had noticed the subtle change in Harry's conditions earlier.

Fools, the lot of them. They will never be able to find out what is wrong with Potter if they don't pay attention to any changes in his condition.

Glaring at them, he left the other occupants in the infirmary to ponder over the mystery that was Harry Potter.

Besides, he is not the only mystery I had at the moment.

Draco had sensed when Severus first entered Harry's mind. Not wanting to alarm Harry, he continued to keep Harry occupied whilst blocking Severus from Harry's mind as much as possible despite knowing the bond will protect them. He could sense Severus' inquisitiveness of Harry's condition when he found Harry's mind to be full of darkness.

I'm sorry, Uncle Severus. But this is a secret that you can't know of. There is much at stake at the moment, and the future would probably have changed much more from what it was. Something that we couldn't afford to happen.

'Aiden, when can I meet you again?' asked Harry curiously.

'Tonight.'

'No, I mean in person.'

'Harry,' Draco began slowly. 'I don't think it's such a good idea.'

'Why not? You came looking for me in the cave yesterday.'

'That's different.'

'How is it different?'

Draco sighed whilst thinking of how to phrase his answer so that Harry wouldn't take it the wrong way. He knew part of the problem was what happened in the cave, and what Ryan had told him. He is not as ignorant as to believe that Ryan didn't say anything to Harry.

Well, there is nothing I can do besides to soothe his fears that I will be here.

'Harry, what did Ryan say to you?'

Instantly, the fear and sadness that flow from Harry increased dramatically. Ryan's word repeated itself over and over again in his head. Feeling Harry's distress, Draco sent a hug mentally to Harry to reassure him of his support.

'Harry, no matter what will happen in the future. We will have to let it take its course, and not worry too much about it. We have to live our life as each day comes because the future is endless.'

'But… But….'

'I can only guess what Ryan had told you given what he had said to me. Believe me when I said it doesn't matter whatever the future may holds, there is nothing you or I can do to prevent it. If it is our fate, then we must accept it.'

'I don't want to lose you,' screamed Harry mentally in agony.

'You don't know that for certain. The future could already be changing as we speak.'

'Ryan said you will join Voldemort in the future. Is it true?'

Draco stayed silent. But it is enough for Harry as a confirmation for Ryan had told him.

'No,' pleaded Harry. 'Please don't, Aiden. You are the only one that I have got, I can't lose you as well.'

'Don't be silly. You have the Weasleys, Hermione, and many others that care and love you for who you are. You are no longer the boy that is living alone in the Dursleys that I met all those years ago. You have the support from some of the best friends and family that you could ever have in the world.'

'But they are not you.'

'Of course, I'm one of the kind,' joked Draco lightly. 'What kind of life will we be living if all we do is spend our time worrying about the future. Let's just take one day at a time for now and see what the future will hold for us.'

Ryan felt really guilty knowing the emotional pain that he had bought to both Draco and Harry with the news that he gave them. Even so, he couldn't allow himself to regret it because the price is simply too high.

If I were to regret any of this, I shouldn't have even attempted to return to the past in the first place.

Being back in his room in the Leaky Cauldron, he allowed himself some time to recompose himself after the events of the past day. Even so, the memories of the past continue to flood his mind, especially ones regarding Draco.

Flashbacks

"NO!! Let me go!!" Ryan struggled against the arms around his chest, holding him back.

"You have to leave. There's nothing you can do here. You will only die if you stay here any longer," said Aiden calmly.

"Then I'll rather die than to run like a coward. Let me go!!" Ryan screamed before promptly stomp his foot on Aiden's causing his friend to yelp in surprise that he would resort to such juvenile technique.

Ryan then run at the direction that he last saw them took his friends but was stopped by Aiden again before he got too far. This time he is ready for him, and punches him square at his jaw before taking all of his anger and frustration out on him not even realising that Aiden is not retaliating.

- Flash -

"You lied to me!" Ryan snarled at Aiden, before turning to the other person in the room, "You could have contacted me somehow to tell me but you choose to listen to him!"

"There isn't any other way. If I had attempted any form of contact, I would have been discovered," said the person.

"What sort of excuse is that? There are always other ways that will allow you to tell me that you are safe."

"Not in this case," said Aiden calmly.

"That's where you are wrong. There will always be choices that you can make regardless of the situation."

- Flash -

Two figures standing at the centre of the devastation before one of them started to fall to the ground. Ryan rushed forward to catch Aiden, and before settling him gently on the ground checking for injuries.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." But he could hear Aiden having some difficulty breathing.He felt his hand being soaked with liquid, and drew his hand back. Seeing so much blood on his hands in such a short period of time where his hands were on Draco's chest, he knows that blood is flowing out of Aiden's body at dangerous levels.

"Stay awake, please." He pleaded. "I'm not good at casting any healing spells so we'll have to wait till Madam Pomfrey gets here. She'll be able to help you. Before you know it, you will be as good as new."

Ignoring Ryan's cries of protest, Aiden push himself up and look at him directly in his eyes.

"Harry, you did it. It's all over now."

"I know," said Ryan. "Now, lie back down, and save your strength."

"I'd want some peace and quiet after all this," said Aiden quietly.

"I'd love some too."

Smiling ever so slightly, he continued, "You will be able to have the life you had always wanted. Free from all this."

Ryan just stayed silent. Aiden stared into Ryan's eyes seeing weariness, happiness and acceptance of what had just happened, before breaking into a small smile, though Ryan wouldn't be able to see it because his hood is still pulled up.

"Close your eyes."

"Aiden, you need to lay back to slow the bleeding from your wounds."

"Please. Just this once, close your eyes."

Ryan sighed impatiently before going as he was told. Aiden looked at him and smiles sadly while tears start to flow freely from the corner of his eyes. The people that had gathered around them were looking at these two figures.

"Harry, you above everyone else deserves to be happy after all that you have been through. I have no doubt that you will find it now with Voldemort's death, and being able to live your life as you had always wanted it to be. Regardless of what will happen, I know you will pull through because that's just who you are, being able to pull through in the toughest of time."

Aiden then rests his head on his shoulder. Above all else, I'm glad to have met you.

With that, Aiden loses his fight to stay conscious.

End Flashback

He hasn't thought of that last day since he decided to come back to the past. Pushing that painful memory to the back of his head, not wanting to relive the pain of Aiden's death.

You have always been there to protect me to the best of your ability whilst sacrificing yourself greatly. Never had you ever complain about it, nor wish for me to know. Though, I had managed to find out more about it during the war, I will never be able to support you or appreciate your efforts or even just knowing the whole truth. I had wished that I know your story because maybe then things could be much different than what it is. So, this time, I'll try my best to make sure that it will be different.

"Did Ryan say what time he will be coming back?" asked Lucius.

"No," said Narcissa before asking. "What are we going to do?"

"There is nothing much we can do. If the future is as how Ryan had told us, there is nothing we could do to change it for the outcome to remain the same."

"But at the cost of Draco's life?" cried Narcissa devastatingly

Lucius sighed.

"How can you be so calm about this, Lucius?" asked Narcissa. "Even if, Draco is destined to die in order for the light to be victorious, I don't think I can ever accept it."

"Darling, you knew that this was one of the possibility right from the start when we first heard the prophesy."

"Even so, it was only a possibility then. Now, with the news that Ryan brought, it is a fact and a future that we are supposes to be fighting for. A future where we had to sacrifice our son for this cause."

Lucius quickly pulled Narcissa into a hug, before pressing a light kiss onto her forehead. Narcissa broke into sobs at the gentle gesture of comfort that Lucius had offered. Lucius continue to whisper comforting words into Narcissa ear, though knowing that it is not enough.

This is my fault. If I didn't join the Death Eaters, my family wouldn't have to suffer like this now. Because of my mistakes, my wife and son will have to pay for my sins.

Draco stayed outside the door of the study not wanting to interrupt his parents. He was on his way to the study to look for them. When he heard his parents talking about the news that Ryan had bought, he couldn't bring himself to interrupt them, knowing they need this time to discuss it among them. So, he stayed outside waiting for them to finish. Now, hearing his mother's cries, Draco is overwhelmed by guilt at having been the cause of his parents' sadness and pain.

"What prophesy?" whispered Ryan curiously.

Draco jumped, forgetting for the moment that Ryan was there with him. The reason why he went looking for his parents in the first place. He carefully erased all emotions from his face before turning to look at Ryan.

"I'm not sure," said Draco.

"Don't lie to me," whispered Ryan angrily.

Not wanting to make a scene outside his parents' study where his parents could easily come out and find them there, Draco indicated for Ryan to follow him quietly, knowing full well that his parents need some time to themselves to compose themselves before seeing the two of them again.

Once they reached Draco's room, Ryan immediately rounded on Draco for an explanation.

"What was the prophesy that your parents were talking about?" repeated Ryan angrily.

"How long will you be staying here, in the past?" asked Draco evasively.

"Don't change the subject," said Ryan irately.

Draco sighed. "Sometimes, you are just too stubborn for your own good."

"It's a good thing too since everyone decided to keep me in the dark most of the time."

"But sometimes, circumstances are beyond our control."

"That is not a good enough reason," said Ryan huffily. "Now, stop changing the subject and tell me about this prophesy. For some reason, I don't think that this is the same prophesy that I already knew of."

"Can you tell me about the prophesy that you already knew?"

"Why?" asked Ryan suspiciously.

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Just curious."

Ryan is suspicious of Draco nonchalant response that is doesn't want to let him know about the contents of this prophesy without finding out about the second prophesy. "Only if you tell me what's in the other prophesy."

Draco contemplates the offer presented to him. They are still missing the details from the first prophesy that this offer is too good to pass up.

Who knows when Harry will find out about this prophesy? We will need the details soon given the current situation. But I can't tell Ryan about the second prophesy.

Ryan stared at Draco blank expression, realising that he doesn't really know Draco well enough to be able to understand him.

We've been friends for so many years and yet I can't read him at all. He is my best friend, and yet he's like a stranger to me. This is not how it was suppose to be.

"Do you know what I just realised?" asked Ryan sadly. Draco looks at Ryan curiously before shaking his head. "I don't really know who you are. Who Draco is? Who Aiden really is? It's really unsettling considering that we knew each other for so many years."

"The one that you knew was the future me."

"I know you as well. You are my past as well as my future. I should be able to tell what's going on in your head but yet here I am standing here in your room, trying to understand you and read your emotions like a stranger."

Draco doesn't know how to react to that statement but felt the need to comfort Ryan, move unconsciously towards him, pulling him into an embrace.

Ryan tensed for a moment before relaxing into Draco's embrace, soaking in the familiar warm that the shorter boy is offering.

"I'd die for you, do you know that?" whispered Draco suddenly into Ryan's ear.

Ryan pulled away from the embrace, and look at Draco angrily. "Don't say that."

"Why not? Because I really did?"

"You are a right bastard, do you know that?"

"I'm a Malfoy. Shouldn't you know that by now?"

"You are also Aiden."

"I never denied that I am Aiden, but you must also remember that I am Draco Malfoy as well. The Aiden you knew is true, and yet the Draco Malfoy you knew is also true. They seem like two different people but in reality they are one of the same. "

"Don't you think I know that? I have spent hours trying to understand how these two vastly different people are one of the same, but yet I can't find the right answer. Hermione had said that you are only pretending to be my friend to pass on any information to Voldemort, and it sounds like the only logical conclusion."

"Believe what you will," said Draco indignantly. "It doesn't matter to me."

"But it is to me. I know that you wouldn't betray me to Voldemort. Yes, you might be Draco Malfoy but you are also Aiden. I trust Aiden with my life, and indirectly I trust you, Draco, with my life as well."

"Ryan…."

"Please tell me the truth," pleaded Ryan unable to take being kept in the dark any longer.

"Aren't you happy that the war is finally over? That Voldemort is finally dead, and you can live the rest of your life peacefully?"

"Of course, I am."

"Then don't go chasing after the past, or what had happened. Live the life that you are meant to live, chase after your dreams, get married, have kids, and a family of your own. Don't you want to do all of that?"

"But…"

"Don't let my death stop you from doing all these things and more. Let the past stay in the past, Ryan."

"I can't," said Ryan painfully. "Not until I get some answers. I know that there is more to this than I know of, and I want to know what is it that you have not been telling me. Without it, I don't think I can close that chapter of my life."

"Tell me about the prophesy on your life."

"How do you know that it is about me? I never said anything about it being about me, and I know that my younger self had no idea about this prophesy until later in the future."

"You shouldn't be surprise about this by now," said Draco lightly.

Ryan kept on mumbling about how Aiden is always one step ahead in terms of gathering and retrieving information. Draco just grinned at that.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"

If Draco was surprised when Ryan suddenly started repeating the first prophesy, he didn't show it.

"The other prophesy talks about my fate and path in this war," said Draco calmly, feeling that it is only right to let Ryan know a vague interpretation of the second prophesy.

"I told you the exact wording of the prophesy, the least you could do is to tell me the whole prophesy."

"I'm afraid that is all that I can tell you. If it was up to my parents, they wouldn't even say a word about it considering my future self didn't tell you about it."

"Does it say that you have to be a Death Eater?"

Draco just stayed silent at that question leaving the both of them to ponder over the information that had just been revealed.

Thanks for reading. More reviews please.