A/N: After this chapter there are two more and then the epilogue. Enjoy this chapter :)

Harry's POV

I looked down at myself, lying in a hospital bed while healers and mediwitches rushed about, trying in vain to save my life. I frowned. I didn't think I was dreaming. I honestly thought that I was truly dying this time. I vaguely remember seeing Draco before I passed out. He had told me he loved me and I was so grateful that I got to see him one last time. I just wished we had more time. It appeared that we did not.

"Harry," someone said next to me. I turned to look and saw Dumbledore standing next to me, looking down at me gravely.

"This is it, isn't it?" I asked him.

"I don't know, my dear boy. Do you want it to be?" he asked.

"I want more time with Draco. I want to have the future we imagined. That's why I did all this. We wouldn't have been able to had I not done this all," I replied gesturing to my body.

"Do you know that for sure? Do you know that sacrificing yourself would have made it possible for you and Draco to be together again?" he questioned.

I frowned. "Well, it doesn't really make a difference now. I already did it and I'm already knocking at death's door. It's possible that we could have gotten past it and been together, but there would have always been this underlying worry that Avery would get to me. It seemed to me that it was the only chance I'd have to make it right," I explained.

Dumbledore nodded. "Do you truly want the future you and Draco imagined for one another?"

"More than anything," I responded confidently.

He sighed. "I hope that you can have that. You both deserve it and you both belong together. You are soul mates after all," he stated.

I touched my chest and felt something there that I hadn't felt before. It felt like something was gripping my soul, anchoring it to this world and not the next. It was surprisingly painful.

"Dumbledore, my chest hurts," I said in a strained voice.

"It appears that Draco is holding on to you with his entire life force. He doesn't want you to leave either. He wants your future as well," Dumbledore replied.

I cringed at the pain and rubbed at my chest. "Why does it hurt so much?"

Dumbledore twirled his beard thoughtfully. "I imagine that his life force is battling against the strength of the potion. Tugging you between them. I hope that Draco is strong enough. I must go, my dear boy. I hope I don't see you soon," he said sadly before he disappeared.

I knew he meant that in a positive way and not in the way it sounded. He didn't want me to die either. I clutched at my chest, the pain becoming excruciating. I closed my eyes and cried out, willing the pain to go. I felt my head spinning and I watched myself convulsing on the table. The pain increased tenfold and I felt myself losing the strength to fight against it. I closed my eyes once more and they didn't open again.

XXXX

Draco's POV

I hadn't sat down since we had gotten to the hospital. I couldn't. I paced over every part of the room. My parents had been going between sitting and insisting that I sit or eat or have some tea or some other thing they wanted me to do.

Ron and Hermione had paced with me several times. The little string that belonged to Harry's soul was still there and I was metaphorically gripping it as tightly as possible. I was begging Merlin, Dumbledore, Severus, and Harry's parents, anyone I could think of to keep Harry here. We needed more time. I had to make up for being so stupid.

After a couple of hours, two healers came out of the room that Harry had been taken into looking utterly exhausted. I stopped pacing and looked at them, trying to read their expressions. They just looked exhausted.

"How is he?" Hermione asked as she rushed over to the healer. The healers looked at each other and then looked back at us. I sank into the nearest chair, knowing that they were about to deliver bad news. I felt my bottom lip tremble and I placed my head in my hands, feeling the tears coming on.

"He's hanging in there. We've given him the antidote and it's working through his system. The next twenty-four hours will be crucial. We hope that he'll pull through, but there is still a chance that he won't," one of the healers explained.

"Can we see him?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"He'll be set up in a room in about five minutes. I'll have a mediwitch come get you when he's ready," the other healer said.

I started to cry in relief. He may not be out of the woods yet, but he was at least in the right place. His chances were better than before we had gotten here. I sensed my mother sitting down next to me and felt her put her arm around my shoulders. I let out a sob and turned into her shoulder. She wrapped both arms around me and muttered soothing words to me. If I kept this up, they'd have to find me a bed next to Lockhart in the Janus Thickey Ward. I took several deep breaths and finally felt myself calm and my tears lessen.

I sat back, wiping at my eyes, and nose. "I'm sorry. This is very un-Malfoy like," I said quietly.

I heard my father snort. "We've been more un-Malfoy like than we ever have been the past few weeks. I'm thinking that acting like a Malfoy isn't the way to be anymore. The person that you love deeply is barely hanging on. I think you have the right to react in any way that you like. There is no dignity necessary amongst friends and family," he said to me.

I laughed quietly. "That is quite true," I replied.

I looked past Hermione and Ron and saw a mediwitch coming towards us. "Mister Potter is ready for you," she said kindly when she arrived.

We all stood and followed her. She gestured towards a door and walked away. "You should go in first, Draco," Hermione offered.

I shook my head. "No, you guys are his best mates. You go in first. I'm not quite ready to go in yet anyway," I said quietly.

They both nodded and went into the room, shutting the door behind them. "That was big of you," my mother commented.

I shrugged. "In the frame of time, I've been in Harry's life for like a minute, those two have been in his life for millennia," I responded.

My parents nodded in agreement and sat down on some chairs outside the door. I looked at them both in gratitude. They looked tired and very much their age. They probably wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep until tomorrow, but instead they were here. I knelt down next to them. "You don't have to stay. It's been a long night. I'll be okay if you want to go home," I told them.

They both smiled at me, but shook their heads. "We are where we need to be right now. We haven't always been there the way we needed to be for you, Draco. We are staying right here," my father told me honestly.

"Thank you," I said, feeling new tears come to my eyes.

Hermione and Ron came out about ten minutes later. They were both worse for wear and their eyes were puffy and red. I was positive that I looked the same. They looked at me sadly and shook their heads. I felt my stomach turn at their expressions. I stepped towards the door and took a deep breath. This was it.

I opened the door and stepped in. I saw Harry lying in a bed, with multiple potion lines hooked into him. His eyes were closed and his face was bruised and swollen. His arms were scraped up with some bandages on cuts that I imagine were much worse. I noticed a bit of white bandage near the middle of his chest. I stepped closer and reached out to pull the blanket down some and saw some bruising and that he had the bandage wrapped around his ribs.

This made me feel very angry. They couldn't have just given him the potion; they had to crucio and torture him too. When I saw them again, I would curse them to the moon and back. They would pay for what they've done to him, no matter the outcome.

I sat down next to Harry and took his hand into mine. I kissed it gently and ran my thumb across the back. "I'm so sorry, Harry, for everything. This wouldn't have happened had I not just stayed with you and realized that my life is so fulfilling with you in it. You've always challenged me and being in a relationship with you is just another challenge that we experience. I wish I hadn't been so stupid. I should have stuck it out and not been such a prat. I know that you put yourself where you are to get me back, but you didn't need to do that. I would have figured it out eventually. I would have come back to you on my knees, begging for you to forgive me for being an idiot. I've told you this before, but I can't imagine my life without you in it. Actually, that's not true. I did imagine it and I hated it. Please pull through, love. Give me a chance to prove to you how much I love you and how sorry I am for the things I said when I was angry. Please, Harry. I can't do life without you," I implored.

I set my head atop our joined hands and continued begging for anyone who could encourage him to survive and pull through. I played the picture of us getting married, chasing our kids through the garden, and swinging on a porch swing through my mind over and over. I would not let go of that dream. Harry and I would have that.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, someone is shaking me to wake up. I sat up, wiping at my mouth with my free hand and looking around. I looked at Harry, but he was still unconscious. I turned and saw my mother and father looking at me in concern.

"It's time to leave. Visiting hours are over," my mother said in a soothing tone.

I shook my head. "I'm not leaving. What if something happens to him during the night? What if he wakes up and he's all alone? I'm not leaving him," I repeated.

"Mister Malfoy, he's improved since you've been in here. I think the healers would be willing to make an exception and allow you to stay," the mediwitch from earlier said.

I looked over at her in surprise. "He's improved?" I looked back at Harry. He didn't look any different to me. Was she just using that as an excuse?

She nodded and brought Harry's chart to me. "Look. Before you came in, we took his vitals to make sure that he wasn't having complications from us moving him. They were quite high, but that is to be expected since he is dealing with a lot right now. We took his vitals a few minutes ago and his blood pressure has lowered some and his heart rate has slowed down to a more reasonable pace. You being here is soothing him. I think that is enough to allow you to stay," she explained.

"Then I'm staying," I told her.

"We'll come back first thing in the morning," my mother told me as she came over to the side I was on. She looked at Harry worriedly and reached down and squeezed his hand gently. She kissed the top of my head and went towards the door. My father stepped over to me and looked at Harry in the same way as my mother had. He looked down at me and I could see the concern in his eyes for me as well.

"I'm going to get your grandfather's ring from the vault. I think that you will need it soon," he said. He gave me a small smile and squeezed my shoulder before he turned to join my mother.

I stared after them with wide eyes. My grandfather's ring was a treasured heirloom. My father had once told me that it would be mine when I proved myself worthy of it. It seemed that the ring was going to hold another purpose. It seemed that my father wished for me to use it to propose to Harry. He was telling me without directly telling me that he supported our relationship and that the ring was meant to be for Harry.

I watched them leave and then I turned back to Harry. He was breathing quickly like he was having a hard time breathing. The mediwitch came over and checked his vitals. She smiled, looking pleased. I would think that quick breathing was not a good sign.

"Is he alright?" I demanded.

"Yes. His quick breathing means that his body is pushing out the potion faster than it was before. The antidote is working more efficiently. We'll check in on him in the morning," she explained. She smiled kindly at me and left.

I looked up at Harry and brought his hand to my lips again. I began my mantra again, just staring at him, willing him to keep fighting. The part of him that was attached to my soul seemed to be holding on a bit easier, but I continued to hold onto it with everything I had. I wasn't going to let it go. I wasn't going to let him go.