"So, daughters, huh?" He asked, stepping closer to the real Draco, a smirk visible on his lips.
"What are you talking about?" Asked Draco, looking at him suspiciously. "And what took so long?"
"I'm talking about your active imagination dreaming up a future for us in which we live in a big house and have two daughters," said Harry, his smile widening as Draco grew more uncomfortable with each passing word. "It took me a while to get to you because your subconscious wasn't letting me through. I got the older Draco's help to get through the younger one."
"Sounds complex," said Draco, motioning Harry to sit beside him. "Why don't you tell me all about it after we've woken up. You did find a way to wake me up, I trust?"
"Of course," said Harry, sitting down. "Wouldn't be here if I didn't."
He clenched his hands; his magic was back within him. After the dream Draco had used it to push him away, his magic had flown back into him. He told Draco of the plan, and closed his eyes to concentrate on pushing his magic to the real Draco this time.
"No, wait," said Draco, stopping him.
"Why?" Asked Harry, frowning at him.
"We know that this will wake me up, correct?" Asked Draco, eyes bright.
"We are somewhat certain, yes," said Harry, crossing his arms.
"So what's the rush?" Asked Draco, a playful smile appearing on his face.
"Other than waking up and relieving your parents?" Asked Harry, blinking at him.
"Oh, spoil the mood, why don't you?" Asked Draco, pouting sullenly.
"Draco, what could be more important than waking up?" Asked Harry reasonably.
"Sex," said Draco, looking at Harry seriously. "This is our chance to have sex without any real implications scaring us away. It's a dream, which means we'll get all of the fun and none of the discomfort. It also means we can keep going for as long as we want to without getting tired since we're asleep and don't even need to take bathroom or snack breaks. You teased me to the edge of insanity last time and then disappeared, and I'm not letting that happen again."
"I see that you've really thought it through," said Harry, raising his eyebrows.
"Nothing else to do here," said Draco, shrugging.
"So you've been here, day dreaming about fucking me?" Asked Harry, moving closer.
"Yes," said Draco, leaning down so Harry could move even closer. "Or you fucking me, I don't discriminate."
"Then let's make those dreams a reality, shall we?" Asked Harry, biting Draco's shoulder, as his shirt seemed to have disappeared.
"You'll still have to make them a reality when we actually wake up," said Draco, pulling weakly on Harry's hair.
Harry moved on to biting his lips to muffle the words.
"I'm surprised you're letting me be in charge," he whispered, licking a long stripe on the side of Draco's neck, who shivered in response. "You've always loved having that control over me."
"It's good to delegate some responsibility," said Draco, writhing under him as Harry's fingers found his nipples once more.
"No, I think you want me on top," murmured Harry into his ear. "I think you want me to do anything I want to you."
"I do," moaned Draco. "I do."
Harry opened his mouth to say all the dirty things that he would do to Draco, and then closed it again. The truth of the matter was that he hadn't gone further than a kiss with anyone before. With Draco, there had been teasing, but he'd only been confident in what he'd been doing because Draco had done the same thing to him before. Beyond that, he felt completely out of his depth.
Draco felt his hesitation and looked up into his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I've never done this before," admitted Harry, suddenly feeling shy, and biting his lower lip.
Draco pulled him down so that they were laying side by side. He turned sideways to face him and gave him a smile.
"It's alright. I won't push you into anything, even if this is just a dream," he reassured.
"It's not about that," said Harry, shaking his head. "I want to. I just, I just don't know what to do."
"You want me to take charge?" Asked Draco, his face lighting up.
Harry nodded silently, and Draco moved on top of him. He was giving up the control of his own free will this time, and that made all the difference. Draco was gentler than ever before, and in a matter of minutes they both forgot that this was a dream and not real. Harry shivered under every touch, which caressed his skin with such care as if he were immeasurably delicate and invaluable. He felt completely loved and absolutely cherished.
It was a positively warm day when Harry opened his eyes to the world; which was how he knew he'd been asleep for longer than he'd thought. The windows were left open and the flowery smell of spring filled the room. It was disconcerting to hear birds chirping and feel the sunlight dance on his skin after being in the black expanse with Draco for so long.
"I'd forgotten how loud everything was in the real world," mumbled Draco next to him.
Harry turned to look at him, who was waking up next to him. They were alone, and he was tempted to lean down and kiss him. At the sound of footsteps, they both turned to look at the door.
"Draco," gasped Narcissa, who was the first to step through the door. "You're awake."
"Mother," said Draco, his voice soft.
Harry shifted uncomfortably as Narcissa leaned over him to hug Draco.
"I knew you'd wake up," she murmured. "I knew it."
"It's been three weeks," said Snape dryly, following Narcissa into the room. "What took so long?"
Harry shrunk under the glare that was directed his way. "It's complicated."
"It doesn't matter, Severus," said Lucius as he entered the room, clapping Snape on the back. "They're back with us."
Harry looked up at Snape's solemn expression. He felt somewhat indebted to the man; he had been able to bring Draco back and restore their bond because Snape had donated some of his magic to him and taught him how to connect to Draco's subconscious to wake him up. But Snape was still acting the same as always, and so it was easy for Harry to slip back to how he always treated him instead of acting grateful.
After Narcissa finally let go of Draco, Harry moved to stand.
"Slowly, you've been sleeping for a long while," cautioned Lucius.
"Oh, let him get hurt," said Snape nonchalantly. "He's been making me monitor him for three weeks straight, wondering every day if both of them are now lost. He deserves what he gets now."
Harry and Draco exchanged a look.
"That was my fault," said Draco, pausing. "The delay."
"Care to elaborate?" Asked Snape, narrowing his eyes.
Harry frowned and looked down at his feet. Draco cleared his throat. How did one admit to having sex for weeks on in a dream because it just felt that good?
"Not particularly," replied Draco.
"Well, let's go for some fresh air, shall we?" Asked Narcissa, effectively changing the subject.
Harry was in the bathroom when he realized that his scar was gone. He'd been staring at himself, trying to justify getting so carried away in Draco's dream that they'd spent three weeks there, when he noticed the sudden absence. It must have disappeared after Voldemort's death. All at once, he recalled that he'd killed a man. It had simply slipped his mind. For the past weeks, as he'd struggled with bringing Draco back, lost in his subconscious, he'd completely forgotten about the fact that he was a killer now.
He staggered out of the bathroom.
"What's wrong?" Asked Draco the moment he saw the wretched expression on Harry's face.
"H-he's," stammered Harry. "He's dead- because of me."
Draco hushed him, jumping forward to hold him in his arms.
"I killed him," moaned Harry, shaking uncontrollably, struggling against the comfort that Draco was trying to offer.
"Hey, it's alright," said Draco, using a soothing voice. "You were trying to do the right thing."
"No, I wasn't!" Said Harry, breaking down completely. "I was trying to avenge my parents."
"He was a bad man," reasoned Draco. "You're still the same Harry. The fact that that happened doesn't change anything."
"I'll always wonder if I'll be capable of doing it again. I killed once, so why not again? I feel the darkness in me, I've acknowledged its existence, I've given it so much power," sobbed Harry.
Draco didn't reply, only held Harry closer, and closed his eyes, breathing in. Harry felt a warmth flow through him, and the strange sensation was enough to make him pause in his self-condemning speech.
"What are you doing?" He asked, somewhat more composed than before.
"Our bond has fully settled now," said Draco. Harry could feel his smile against his cheek. "Now that we've consummated the bond. This means that we can enjoy the benefits of a full fledged bond. One of the things we can do now is communicate with our emotions. What you're feeling is the emotion that I'm currently feeling, which is complete trust with you being filled with light and incapable of any other actions that contradict it."
Harry hummed and stayed there, letting the emotion run through him over and over.
"We shouldn't have indulged so much in the dream," he said, feeling a blush creeping up his neck. "Your parents and Snape were worried."
"Yes, but wasn't it worth it?" Said Draco, grinning. "I mean, I enjoyed myself."
"No, I did too," said Harry quickly. "But three weeks, Draco."
"Think of it as a honeymoon before the honeymoon," said Draco, shrugging. "I'm not saying that our happiness was more important than their worry, but I honestly didn't think it had been such a long time as three weeks. Did you?"
"No," said Harry. "But then again, I was too busy being thoroughly fucked to keep track of the time."
"If you're being vulgar, is it safe to assume you're feeling better?" Asked Draco with a smirk.
"I guess," said Harry with a sigh. "I feel like I need to pay for what I've done. I took a man's life, Draco."
"And he took many other lives," argued Draco.
"That doesn't justify anything," said Harry, shaking his head.
"Look, I'm sure you'll spend the rest of your life regretting it and trying to make up for what you've done, right?" Said Draco. After a nod from Harry, he continued, "So stop worrying about it. Just be content with that resolution."
"Fine," muttered Harry. "But if a meteor crashes the manor, I'll know I deserved it and that it was my fault."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine. Now let's go to the garden to meet up with them or Mother will freak out again."
Harry smiled when his eyes fell on the white oak tree. With their bond restored, he could once again see its familiar form.
"You've seen too much darkness from magic," Draco told him. "Now it's time to show you some good."
Harry looked at him quizzically as he went to stand in front of the white tree but a few feet to its right.
"You can't be meaning to do the bonding growth?" Asked Narcissa, stepping forward. "Your bond has not been consummated yet."
"Actually, it has," said Draco, controlling his expression.
"When?" Asked Narcissa, confused, but with a scoff from Snape, some understanding flooded into her eyes. "Three weeks, Draco!"
"Indeed," said Snape, a small smirk on his lips.
Harry felt himself redden. Must they speak of their sex life so openly? As Draco motioned him forward, he went to stand behind him.
"We'll be doing our first ritual together," said Draco, smiling fondly. "It's called the bonding growth. We'll use the strength of our bond to achieve this. If you remember how my Father was the anchor to Mother in the ritual we used before to unlock your magic, you'll know where to stand and what to do. Just concentrate on pushing your magic to me, and keep the connection open."
"Okay," said Harry, feeling a rush of excitement and wariness at the same time, and did as instructed.
As his magic flowed into Draco, musical words left Draco's lips. Harry watched in amazement as the words shaped in different colours, going into the ground in front of them. The change was instantaneous. One minute, there was nothing there, and the next, a small tree was starting to form in front of his eyes. He watched in wonder as it grew taller until it was bigger than even the ancient looking white oak tree.
After the ritual came to a close, they all stood for a few more minutes, looking at the large tree in wonder.
"White pine," murmured Draco. "It symbolizes serenity."
"You have a strong bond," said Lucius, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Do you remember the time I told you that you'd understand what I mean about it not all being in the wiccan's control?"
"I do," said Harry, lowering his head in acknowledgement, holding Draco's hand, and feeling like the most serene person in the entire world.