Lucky Balance

by melibelly

Nothing is going to plan. The Order is three days late to pick him up and Lucius Malfoy has somehow managed to get out of Azkaban. Remus always wants to talk, but Harry can't bring himself to even think of what happened in June. It was time to face facts: Harry's life belongs to the cause and his own feelings don't matter. Begins after Order of the Phoenix. Eventual Drarry.

45. A Second Chance

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am just borrowing the characters for some fun.

Warning: This story will contain swearing, scenes of torture and sexual innuendo. Slash.

Summary: Nothing is going to plan. The order is three days late to pick him up and Lucius Malfoy has somehow managed to get out of Azkaban. Remus always wants to talk, but Harry can't bring himself to even think of what happened in June. It was time to face facts: Harry's life belongs to the cause and his own feelings don't matter. Begins after Order of the Phoenix. Slash.

Chapter 45: A Second Chance

Someone was running their fingers through his hair. Harry leaned into the touch. It felt nice, soft. The fingertips cascaded down from his fringe to behind his ear. He breathed in deeply. The person smelt of crisp linen and musky sweat. They smelt like home. They were humming too. It was a deep vibrato in a sorrowful melody that made Harry ease in and out of consciousness. For the first time in a long time he felt comfort. Harry nuzzled into the hand, he wanted more from that hand. He wanted all the comfort in the world.

The voice paused in its humming, before continuing. The hand patted his hair. Harry settled even further into comfort. Except…

Was he sleeping on a floor? A stone floor?

Flashes flew through his mind. Falling. He and Draco had fallen off the broom. And Draco had landed at the most horrible angle, It looked like his leg had been broken. He hadn't been able to run. Harry crouched over Draco's prone figure doing his best to fight off their spells. Draco yelling for him to escape and Harry refusing to leave. And then... Darkness.

He sat up with a start and pushed away from the hand in favor of looking around their surroundings. They were in some kind of dungeon. The predictability of it all would have made him laugh if not for the seriousness of the situation. It looked like old medieval Dungeons from muggle cartoons. Hard thick stones blocked them in and a musky scent filled the air. There were no windows and the door looked like it was as heavy as three Hagrid sized men. The space was small and warm. Harry could lay down, but that was about it.

And in the middle of it all was Draco. His throat caught just looking at him. The blond's cheek had a nasty gash in it and his pants were ripped and bloodied where he had fallen. His clothes were dirty and his hair was more out of place than he had ever seen it. He looked horrible...except he was smiling at Harry. And it was the most beautiful smile Harry had ever seen.

Harry crouched down. "Let me see your leg, I need to heal it."

"You already did." Said Draco, slowly. "Don't you remember?"

Harry stared at the leg, and sure enough beyond the rip on the pants he saw no wound. The leg wasn't glowing at all. He shook his head as if clearing cobwebs. "No. Sorry. I can heal that cut though."

"No." Draco pulled away. "It's nothing major and you need to save your strength, who knows what's coming next. Healing my leg made you sleep for hours and exhausted you enough as it is."

"How long have we been down here?"

"Not sure. I kinda lost track of time. But it must be at least 5 hours or so." Said Draco looking down at his hands. "I think he's planning something big."

Harry followed his gaze. "Your hands are shaking."

Draco gave a pinched glare. "It's nothing."

"Crucio?" Harry pressed

He sighed. "Yes. Aunt Bella came down to try and get me to turn on you. She wasn't pleased with my response. But luckily she had orders not to kill me."

Harry turned and smacked the wall. It wasn't as satisfying as he had hoped; the wall hurt his hand more than he hurt it. "I'm gonna kill that bitch."

"While I appreciate the sentiment, I would rather we focus more on us getting out of here alive, than revenge."

Harry gave him a dark smile. "Why can't I have both?"

"If you haven't noticed we're not exactly in the best of positions?" Draco waved a lazy hard around the small prison.

"Ah, but when it looks completely hopeless is when I do my best work." Said Harry, sitting down across from him. He felt in his pocket. "They took our wands."

Draco nodded. "And the knife I keep in my pant leg. We better both hope that you do your best when things look hopeless."

Harry sighed and pulled his knees up. "Why were you even there? You should have flown in the other direction when you saw what was happening."

"That's a bit rich, coming from you." Drawled Draco, smirking.

Harry reached out a leg and kicked Draco's foot. "Seriously what were you doing at the Dursleys?"

"You wouldn't read my letter." Draco's adams apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"So? what? You were coming to watch me read it?" Said Harry, thinking of his own letter that he had been working on for Draco. It was probably gone, along with all his other possessions and the entirety of number four. Death Eaters didn't tend to leave much behind.

Draco's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward until he was on all fours. He crawled a step or two, and settled, straddling Harry's leg. "I came to see you to do this."

The kiss caught Harry off guard. It was urgent, and soft, and dizzying. Draco's hands came up and cupped his face. His fingers ran through his hair. The knee between his legs slid forward and pushed into him. Draco's lips were punishing and loving. They pressed down hard and massaged him in an ancient rhythm that was familiar, but had never felt so amazing. The lips begged him for more. Begged him to come back. And they promised not to stop until Harry agreed to their demands.

There were no Death Eaters waiting to kill them. There was no moldy dungeon. There was only Draco. Harry's hands grabbed at his waist. They ripped at Draco's shirt. He leaned up as far as he could and then groaned at the contact between his legs. Draco was all around him, but he needed more. He was like a drowning man clutching onto a raft.

Abruptly Draco pulled back. He was panting and his lips were puffy and red. "I love you. And you're my boyfriend."

It took a moment for Harry's mind to catch up with Draco's words. "You broke up with me."

"Because I was being an idiot." Draco ran his fingers down Harry's chest and it made him shiver. "I was trying out being a self sacrificing Gryffindor, and I have decided I don't like it. I'm going back to being a selfish Slytherin who takes what they want, and I want you."

Harry took Draco's hands in his to still them. His heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest. "I'm still dangerous for you. And for your family. If anything this situation proves it."

"I. Don't. Care." Draco said in a harsh whisper that reverberated in the air. "I never cared about that. I was worried that I was dangerous for you, but I think I was wrong. I could never hurt you."

Harry blinked up at him. "You mean Pansy was right? You were worried about the necromancer thing?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't say it like I'm daft. Most necromancers go dark. It's a fact."

"Most?" Said Harry with a knowing grin.

"Well after the tongue lashing of my life from Pansy, I decided to try and research the Potter Necromancer that you said had a boring life. Took me a while to find it, but the Malfoy library has detailed histories of all the pureblood families." Said Draco as he moved around and sat down next to Harry. It felt cold where he had been sitting. "It turns out you were right. She did lead a boring life, and she was a necromancer."

Harry nodded. "That's what the Hareditum said."

"And, well, just to be sure," He licked his lips and paused. "I summoned her."

"You spoke to her." Said Harry numbly.

"Yeah. She gave me some tips. She was pretty helpful actually." Said Draco. "I'm starting to get the hang of the powers. And she helped me find a way to block out the voices."

"Voices?"

"I could hear whispers from the other side. It was worse near some people than others." Said Draco. "But now I can control that."

"It was worse near me wasn't it?" Whispered Harry.

Draco exhaled loudly. "Yeah."

Harry stared at the other wall, unseeing. The dead were closer to him. They were trying to reach him through Draco. Should he be relieved at the idea of speaking to his parents? Sirius? Because he just felt terrified by it. More ghosts come to haunt him. They haunted him enough in his dreams and in his conscience.

There was a tug on his hand. "Harry, I want you back."

He turned to look at Draco, the side of his face smushed up against the stones. "Maybe you didn't break up with me because of it, but you weren't wrong. Being with me is dangerous, and I don't want to put you in danger."

Draco laughed. "It's a little late for that."

Harry just stared back at him. "I don't want you to be another ghost trying to talk to me from the beyond."

"I love you." Draco stood up. "I love you." He walked towards the door of the cell. "I LOVE HARRY POTTER!"

Harry jumped up. What was Draco doing? If the Death Eaters heard, then he was setting himself up for torture. "Stop! If someone hears-"

"Did you get that Travers?" Yelled Draco through the bars.

"Umm...yes." Said a distant, faceless voice.

Harry yelped. "How long has he been there?!"

"Report it to your master." Shouted Draco. "Tell him I love Harry Potter and my boyfriend is going to kick his ass!"

Harry put his hand over Draco's mouth. The blond's eyes danced with mischief. "Shut up. What are you doing?!"

Harry pulled back with a sharp inhale of breath. "Did you just lick my hand?!"

"I'm getting rid of your reasons not to date me." Said Draco. "There. They already know we're dating. I'm already in danger and nothing is going to change that. Even if you break up with me right now, there's a nice big target on my back. So, you may as well give in."

"You've gone mad." He tried to hide his smile.

Draco pushed him against the wall and kissed him again. It was quick and bruising, and made Harry's toes curl. He pushed himself into every inch of Harry's body and played his lips like a violin.

Draco pulled back far too quickly."I love you. And I'll do whatever I damn well please to prove it to you."

Harry put his head on Draco's chest. He could hear his heartbeat. "I love you too."

"I missed you." Draco's fingers were back in his hair. "And I became a terrible bitch without you."

Harry chuckled. "That would explain why Pansy wanted me to talk to you so badly."

"You've won her over." Said Draco, "She was pretty pissed when I told her I had broken up with you. You must have done something to impress her."

Harry leaned back and looked at Draco with wide eyes. Frantically he began feeling his pocket. Yes, it was there. The Death Eaters hadn't thought to take away a stray gallon. He held up the coin and put his fingers to his lips. After a moment of concentration he crafted his message. Captured. Tell Snape. With Draco.

Draco watched with curiosity and gasped when the words appeared. "Brilliant."

The coin got warm in his hand and Harry looked down to see new words. It must be Hermione, to his knowledge no one else could write on the coins besides him and her.

Where are you?

Harry looked at Draco, who shook his head. No idea. Dungeon. Wands gone.

We'll find you. Hold tight.

Draco smirked. "There's not much to do in here for entertainment, but I'm sure we can think of something."

"You are too much." Harry Groaned.

"I missed you. Travers, look away now you pervert."

Harry's laugh was cut off by another kiss.

HPHPHP

"Incarcerus"

Harry's arms snapped to the side and thick bands of ropes pushed into his skin. The ropes pushed his legs together, and he fell forward. Knees hit unforgiving rock. Beside him Draco toppled sideways with a grunt. The worst part about this spell was the gag. Harry instinctively tried to spit it out, but it wouldn't move. He made eye contact with Draco. He willed his eyes to convey everything he hadn't been able to say.

"Merlin I'm glad to get off babysitting duty." Said Travers, letting his crooked teeth show when he smiled.

The other Death Eater leaned down and spit in Draco's face. He grinned when Draco struggled more. "I love watching a traitor get what's coming to 'im."

Travers flicked his wand and Harry felt his body float into the air. He was twisted and facing the ground. From his peripheral vision he saw Draco also being lifted up. They started to walk down the hall. Travers was being particularly rough and seemed to enjoy bumping him around. Harry glared at the stone floor and hoped that Hermione had found them. She had never let him down before, and now would be a bad time to start.

"If I had to listen to one more snogging session I was going to Avada them myself, Dark Lords orders be damned." Said Travers.

"The traitor is fucking wonder boy?" There was a dark laugh. "He must be a good lay to turn him against the Dark Lord. These teenagers live in their pants."

Travers snorted. "Malfoy was yelling about loving him."

Harry heard Draco groan, and he tried frantically to get lose. The bonds felt tighter than ever. He moaned around the gag.

"That's enough, Dolohov." Said Travers, turning to look at something Harry couldn't see. "The Dark Lord asked for them to be alive."

"He didn't say I couldn't rough 'im up a bit." Dolohov sounded like he was having fun. "Beside's he's just the traitor, I'm sure the Dark Lord wouldn't care."

They stopped moving. "Do you want to test that out? If you keep hitting his head like that you'll kill him."

Harry closed his eyes. Please, stop. Please.

There was a groan. "Fine fine. You're no fun."

Harry exhaled the breath he had been holding. He couldn't let Draco die before they even reached Voldemort. If they just held on a bit longer someone would come. Maybe.

Travers and Dolohov seemed to be done talking to each other. They walked in silence. Harry tried to test the ropes tying him up, but they didn't budge. He moved to see Draco again, to no result. They were moving upwards. Harry noticed that there were torches lit on the walls to light their way, Which was curious considering that there were muggle light fixtures on the walls. Maybe too many Death Eaters didn't know how to use a simple light switch, so they had resorted to wizarding methods. The place looked old and run down. The walls had graffiti on them and it smelt of mold. Harry could hear talking in the distance. It was the sound of many voices coming together in a crescendo. Clearly, Voldemort had called in everyone to see the demise of Harry Potter.

There was a creak and the talking got louder before stopping all together. Harry could see feet all around him. His heart rate sped up. This was it.

Without any warning he was dropped in the center of the room. He heard a thump as Draco's body hit the floor next to him. He wiggled until he could see his boyfriend. Draco's hair was matted from blood. Dolohov had been harsh. Harry could see an aura of turquoise shifting around his head.

Footsteps. Coming closer. And then he was pushed over so that he was looking up toward his captor. Voldemort stared down at him. There was a deep black aura that permeated the air around his whole body. His handsome face smirked. It was the smirk of victory.

"Well well well. We meet again." Said Voldemort. "Don't worry, this will be the last time."

There was an appreciative chuckle around the room.

"What nothing to say about that?" Voldemort cupped his ear.

Harry glared back with everything he had.

Voldemort's smile widened. "We seem to have hit a nerve."

The dark wizard walked around him and came to stand in front of Draco. Harry felt a burst of pride at the determination in Draco's eyes. He didn't look scared at all.

"What a disappointment you are." Voldemort leaned down and stroked Draco's face. "I had such plans for you, and you have proven to be an utter failure. Such a shame that you have wasted yourself, and now I have to kill you."

Draco turned his head away from the touch. His eyes searched for Harry.

"My Lord." Said Travers tentatively. "I have some information that may be interesting to you. It appears that Potter and the traitor are in some kind of relationship."

Voldemort's eyebrows almost touched his hairline. "Interesting indeed. I was going to kill the Malfoy boy right away, but now I think he will remain useful for us until the end. Ungag, Potter."

The fabric in his mouth was roughly pulled away and Harry took in his first easy breath. "Too weak to face me when I'm not tied up?"

Voldmort smiled at him, turned and then swiftly kicked Draco in the stomach. Draco groaned and rolled into himself as much as he could with the restraints.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "You bastard."

"Speak to me disrespectfully again and I'll Crucio him." Said Voldemort looking pleased.

"You don't care about blood purity at all." Said Harry, chuckling. "He's one of you. In fact, he's the heir to one of the families in the sacred 28. His blood is more pure than yours! If you actually cared about anything you say you do, you wouldn't dream of hurting him. But all you really care about is your power."

The Dark Lord pulled out his wand and casually motioned towards Draco. "Crucio."

Draco jerked on the ground. Harry could see the veins on his neck pop out. His back bent at an unnatural curve. His screams were muffled by the gag.

"All you have to do to get it to stop is say. 'Please stop, my Lord." Voldermort pushed a bit of lint off his robes.

Harry was counting. Draco had been under the curse for 15 seconds. At 30 he would have the shakes. At 1 minute he would start to have long lasting effects.

"Please stop." He paused. Voldemort cupped his ear, waiting. "My Lord."

The spell stopped and the Death Eaters around them laughed.

"It seems like Potter can be trained." Said Voldemort. "As long as I have Malfoy here to punish. Perhaps we should keep him as a pet?"

The laughter roared in Harry's ears and made his face go red. He focused in on Draco. Was he okay? They made eye contact, and Draco gave a shaky nod.

"Well then, let's continue with our evening shall we?" Voldemort walked towards a large throne chair and sat down gracefully. He flicked his wand and Draco's form was suddenly floating upright. With a mutter, Draco started to move towards the throne, until he was levitating right next to Voldemort. The Dark Lord pushed his wand into Draco's cheek. "Untie, Potter. He will do this willingly, because if he does not I will torture his precious love."

The ropes around Harry went slack. He looked at Draco. Now he looked scared. Still determined, but bloody terrified. Draco gave a tiny shake of his head. He didn't want Harry to play the game.

Harry pushed himself to standing. It was the first time he got a good look at the room; They seemed to be standing in some kind of old ballroom. It was clear that at one time it had been grand. The ceiling was high and decorated with beautiful filigree and a chandelier. The walls also had intricate carvings on the wooden beams. Voldemort was sitting at the front of the room behind a wall of windows that looked out into the beautiful countryside. The Death Eaters were positioned in a circle around the room. Harry took note of Bellatrix and Pettigrew standing at Voldemort's right. There was enough space in the middle of the hall to hold all of Gryffindor house. And in the center of it all was a huge caldron. It stood so tall that it reached Harry's shoulders. Smoke rose from it, and heat came off it in waves.

"I see you have noticed my potion." Voldemort said as if Harry had noticed that he had put in new countertops. "I thought that I shouldn't let your death go to waste after all we have been through. Luckily, there is a handy potion that will give me access to all your magic after you die.I've heard the process can be quite painful. but , As you said Potter, I enjoy power."

Harry stared at the vat of bubbling liquid and felt sick. He couldn't let Voldmort control his magic. It was too twisted. His magic was his soul, and he wouldn't let him take it. He needed to stall until the others got here. If they got here.

Harry cleared his throat. "How-how does it work?"

"Finally you ask a useful question. It is painful, but simple." Said Voldemort. "I will require your beating heart, copious amounts of blood and your last breath. You also have a potion of your own to drink. I've heard it does lovely things."

Bellatrix's cackle broke the silence of the room.

"Pettigrew. Give him the knife. I'll think you'll find you recognize it."

Harry glared as the small hunched man came forward. He looked less pathetic than he remembered him; A shower and new robes did a lot. But he still looked weak. The way he held himself and the way his eyes shifted back and forth was the demeanor of a weak man. Harry took the knife from him and debated throwing it right back at him. Petrigrew turned his eyes away at Harry's disgusted gaze.

"I made sure to get the knife from my resurrection for the good memories. Even I can be prone to sentimentality." Said Voldemort, as the rat rejoined the circle. "Now slit your wrists. Over the cauldron of course."

Harry gulped. He ran his finger over the handle of the knife. It was smooth and lumpy. The blade itself looked a little rusty.

There was a groan and he looked up to see that Voldmort had cast a slashing curse at Draco. "For every 10 seconds you make me wait I will give him another cut."

He cast the curse again and blood started to drip down Draco's arm. The turquoise fog around Draco got darker.

Steeling himself Harry held the knife. He took a deep breath, began to lower it towards his wrist and-

The knife flew out of his hand and clattered to the ground.

"I didn't-" Harry turned just in time to see figures in dark burgundy robes flying towards the window. An Ethereal figure with long blond hair pointed her wand, and the window smashed into a million shards. Glass rained down on the Death Eaters. There were shrieks of surprise and a rush to cover their heads. Even Voldemort shielded himself.

In that moment of surprise a veritable army came in through the gaping hole the window left. Remus, Narcissa, Lucius and Snape were leading the charge. To Harry's shock he could see Pansy, Blaise, Tracy and several others from the safe house behind them. Members of the DA and Order of the Pheonix made up the rest of the party. Harry gapped at Neville, who appeared to have a left arm that had turned into a sword of stone. Ron, Charlie and Lucius positioned themselves next to him, and Harry realised that together they controlled all 4 of the elements. Wind began to whip around the room in a violent spiral that stung Harry's cheeks.

Fred Weasley waved at Harry and then disappeared. There was an expulsion on the other side of the room, that made everyone jump. Then Fred reappeared next to his brother. The expulsion seemed to have made a hole in the wall and Harry marveled at their genius when Deveraux and his werewolves started to pour into the room from the other side. Clearly they had taken some time to plan things out.

The Death Eaters were starting to gather themselves, and curses began to fly. Harry charged towards Draco. He took 2 steps and his lovers body sailed through the air and smashed into him. Harry went tumbling down. He heard yelling and footsteps rushing towards him. Voldemort was enchanting something.

Harry touched Draco looking for reassurance. He needed to know he was okay. He rolled Draco off of him. Harry cupped his face and pulled back the gag. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Get out of here before he finishes his spell." Draco's eyes looked unfocused.

Harry began pulling at the ropes binding Draco's hands. "I'm not leaving you."

"Harry, He's-"

"Levicorpus."

His body was violently pulled back up by his right ankle. He gasped as Voldemort moved him to levitate him over the boiling potion below. Smoke stung his eyes and the smell of fermented fish hit him.

Why was nobody stopping this? Harry looked around the room and realised that they were under some kind of dome of magic, not unlike the wards Hogwarts had created. It looked like no one could get past the wall of Death Eaters and protective barrier. Harry began to slowly spin in place and from his vantage point he could see almost everything going on in the room.

Over by the window, Neville and Narcissa were dueling with Bellatrix. Neville was making pieces of stone fly off of his sword and attach themselves to her feet. It made the mad witch stumble and freeze for a moment, unable to move her feet. Narcissa leapt forward to curse her. Bellatrix blocked the spell just in time, and broke free of her bonds. She cast a slashing hex at Narcissa, and the blond faltered. Red stained her robes. Bellatrix gave a satisfied smirk, waved her hand over the wound and seemed to draw blood out. Little bits of red liquid danced in her palm like rain drops on a window. With a flick of her hand the blood materialized into a long whip. She face Neville. Whip in her left hand and wand in her right.

Blood magic. Thought Harry. That must be her ingenium.

Neville narrowed his eyes and squared off his stance. The duel looked like a dance from how far away Harry was. Each one waving their weapon and casting quick spells. They moved quickly and anticipated each other's moves. Neville swung and cast with a grace Harry hadn't known he had. Bellatrix attacked with viciousness. Harry willed Narcissa to move, but she lay in a heap on the ground, still bleeding.

And then Bellatrix parried out of Nevilles grasp and bent down towards her sister. She seemed to push the blood back into her through the open wound. Narcissa's head moved back in a sharp movement that wasn't natural. Her face contorted in a grimace of pain, but her body seemed to be moving without her permission. With a start, Harry realised that that was exactly what was happening. Bellarix was controlling Narcissa's blood to make her move.

Neville stared at the prone form of Narcissa that was now blocking him from his prey. Harry couldn't hear the words that Neville yelled at Bellatrix, but he felt the intention behind those words. It was pure rage. White hot revenge.

Neville sent a spell towards her, and Harry could see the beauty of the move before it happened. Pure distraction. As Bellatrix laughed and used her sister to block the curse, Neville threw a piece of rock that grabbed her hands. Her wand hand immobilized, he easily dodged around Narcissa and, forgetting magic altogether, smashed her violently upside the head with a fist of stone.

Bellatrix fell to the ground.

Narcissa seemed to gasp and shudder in place.

Harry's body, which had been spinning slowly came back around to face Voldemort. Harry met him with a smirk. Bellatrix was dead. If everything else went sideways at least he had that.

"What do you think you're doing?" Said Harry, feeling renewed. "Do you really think you can finish the potion while they fight, Tom? You think that once your Death Eaters are taken that they'll just watch as you do this?"

Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry. His movements were frantic, erratic. The face that had been so calm and collected, was now crazed. " Once I have your power I will be strong enough to destroy them all! Even Dumbledore will bow to me!"

He jerked his wand and Harry hissed as a slashing curse cut down his arm. On instinct, Harry held his arm upwards to make the blood flow more slowly.

"Hang your arm down!" Shrieked Voledmort.

"No." Said Harry

Voldemort's wand pushed into Draco's chest. "Do it or I'll Crucio him."

Harry glanced at Draco, still tied up. Draco had a real chance of making it out of here alive. If he kept Voldemort's attention on him long enough, surely the others would break through whatever barrier he had created in time to save his boyfriend.

Harry dropped his arm.

"That's it." Voldemort relaxed his hold on Draco. "You'll do everything I say or I'll make lover boy wish he had never been born."

Voldemort flicked his wand and cast more slashing hexes. "Bleed faster, damn you."

Harry started to feel light headed. Perhaps Voldemort should have cut his jugular if he wanted him to bleed faster, but he wasn't about to offer the guy tips. Harry was spinning again. He watched the mayhem around him with detachment. There was yelling and blood and the flash of spells that went off. Somewhere in that mess was everyone he cared about. He had been the chosen one, and he had lost. Not only that, but Voldemort would get his powers to become even stronger.

Harry heard a yell above the rest that caught his attention and he turned to find it. Remus was fighting alongside Snape. The two of them had joined forces to attack Peter Pettigrew. Remus had cast some sort of spell to keep Pettigrew human and unable to move, while Snape delivered the final blow. Emerald green flashed before Harry's eyes, and the rat crumpled to the ground.

Good, Thought Harry. Take out as many of them as you can. I can't get Voldemort, but maybe we can leave him with no supporters. He couldn't muster any sadness for the death of Pettigrew, only smug satisfaction.

Harry searched for more familiar faces in the crowd. He saw a shock of red hair and zoned in. Ron was fighting with Hermione, and, to Harry's surprise, Pansy. They were cornered by Greyback and his werewolves. Ron was blowing fire at them, but it didn't seem to deter them much. Werewolf skin was a powerful thing. The Death Eaters were moving in closer, and the three students could hardly move any more, which seemed to be making it even more difficult to cast defensive spells. Just when Harry was about to turn away, because he didn't want to see his friends die, a thick vine wrapped around their waists and lifted them high above their opponents. The vine carried them over and deposited them on the other side of the werewolves, where there was space to move.

Not one to question a good thing, Hermione immediately took down one of the stunned Werewolves. Pansy and Ron soon joined into the fray, this time with the upper hand.

Harry followed the vine along the wall and smiled when he got to the end. Narcisssa was back to her old tricks. It looked like the death of Bellatrix has given her back her powers.

He could see others in the Throng. Molly and Arthur Weasley working with Lucius to duel Dolohov and Travers. Fred Weasley moved in and out of the crowd creating mayhem. George and Bill Weasley were fighting alongside Blaise and Tracy. Devereaux was holding his own against Greyback. A glint of white hair made Harry turn to see a figure in long purple robes walking across the battlefield. Even Dumbledore had come. The headmaster was sending spells at the dome of magic surrounding them, but to no avail. Even Dumbledore couldn't get to them. An endless sea of friends and allies- all here to save him.

Except he was beginning to feel more tired. More dizzy. Voldemort was sending more slashing hexes his way. And Harry knew then that he wasn't making it out alive. They couldn't break the barrier in time. He was defenseless, injured and everything was becoming sluggish. His head felt heavy from being upside down so long. His arm tingled and his fingers were losing feeling.

He craned his neck to see Draco. That was his one regret. He wanted Draco to live. But at least he had had the chance to tell him how he felt. At least he had been able to kiss him senseless one last time. Maybe the others would get to Draco in time. Voldemort did seem focused on Harry. Maybe by the time he finished with the potion Draco would be able to escape. And with the Malfoy fortune, Draco could live out the rest of his days in Europe far far from the war. It was a nice fantasy.

Harry made eye contact with Draco. He tried to take in that beautiful face. The eyes that pierced his soul. The lips that made his heart race. The hair that gave away Draco's mischievous side. Every bit of him was perfect.

"I love you." He mouthed to Draco. Before smiling and closing his eyes. That was the last image he wanted to see.

"Harry!" Draco was yelling for him.

Harry's eyes flew open. He had never seen Draco look so mad before.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Screamed Draco before pushing away his ropes and tackling Voldemort. He pulled at The Dark Lords hand. He kicked Voldemort. When it looked like Voldemort was about to break free, Draco bent down and bit his wand hand. The Dark Lord gasped and dropped his wand. The blond dove forward and came up victorious.

Draco had Voldemort's wand.

Harry stared at him uncomprehendingly. How had Draco escaped? Had Harry loosened his ropes more than he thought? But it didn't matter because with a flick of the wand Harry was lying on the ground. He breathed in fresh air and his head rushed at the sudden shift. The dizziness made his stomach protest, but he sucked in more air to calm it.

"You think you can beat me with my own wand, Traitor?" Screamed Voldemort.

Draco positioned himself in front of Harry and pointed the wand at their enemy. Harry could see the hand shaking ever so slightly. "Fuck off."

Harry gulped. Voldemort had wandless magic. He had seen him use it in the Department of Mysteries. Even without a wand the man was dangerous. Did Draco know that? Could Draco even command Voldemort's wand? Sure he had done one spell, but he remembered all too well Neville's inability to use his father's wand in first year.

The Dark Lord laughed. "I will enjoy killing you."

Draco moved the wand in an arch. Harry could see him concentrating. Willing the wand to work. But only wisps of smoke came out. Voldemort waved his hand and the wand sailed through the air. He caught it in one swift, practiced motion.

"This is my wand." Hissed Voldemort. "It will not work against me, you arrogant fool!"

No. thought Harry. No. Draco couldn't die. He had to do something. But he didn't have the energy to dodge curses and without magic they were bound to be hit eventually. There had to be-

Harry realised with a start that he did have magic. He hadn't once used his wand to heal Lucius. He hadn't needed his wand to heal Draco's leg. And Voldemort had an aura of thick black fog around him. Voldemort was sick- broken somehow-and Harry could fix it. The energy it took to do it may very well kill him, but he could save Draco. Or at least buy him more time.

He pushed Draco down as a flash of green light sped past where he had been standing. With energy he didn't know that he had Harry ran at his opponent. He needed to touch him. And this time, his touch would heal Voldemort, not burn him.

Harry careened into the startled man and grabbed at his face. Voldemort pressed his wand to Harry's temple as Harry dove into the depths of his wound. He could hear the Dark lord screaming, but the pressure of the wand went slack. He would be incapacitated while Harry worked.

Harry pushed deeper. The black aura was everywhere. Little lines of black moved within his veins and had worked their way into the very fabric of his being. Harry found the strongest thread he could see, and began to follow it. He would try and get to the center of it all. Clearly something was very very wrong.

Eventually he saw it ahead. A huge black seething mass. It was a twisting, shimmering mass of nothingness. Harry felt cold just looking at it. To his surprise, the mass was attached to something else, something gold and bright. The blackness had twisted around the small gold light and was attached like a tumor. Harry tentatively reached out a hand to the gold light first. It felt like something otherworldly. Like something beautiful and strong. It wasn't like any organ that Harry could recognize. It was a fog, almost as if it was a figment of his imagination. But still,touching it felt like a privilege.

Harry pulled back and looked at the fog before him. What was this? A curse? Some magic gone horribly wrong? Like a burst of lightning Harry realized what he was looking at; Voldemort's soul. His soul had been broken by the creation of Horcruxes, and all that remained of it was the small piece of gold light. The black tumor like parts were the remnants of the dark magic from the rituals to break it into pieces.

Could he heal Voldemort's soul? Was that kind of healing even possible?

Harry stared at the shimmering gold, the only remaining part of soul left. He didn't know how big a soul was supposed to be, but that seemed far too small. It felt incomplete. Armed with more knowledge he reached out to touch the gold again.

Memories assaulted him. Memories of a young boy in an orphanage. A Strong student and a young man thrusting for power. Harry pulled back. He felt dizzy. This was the very essence of everything Voldemort was. When he had made Horcruxes Voldemort had injured himself in the most unnatural way possible. Harry didn't know if he could fix a wound like this...but he had to try.

He gathered his strength. This would be a fight even greater than when he had healed Lucius. The black magic seemed to sense the change in him and poised to pounce like a snake. Harry rubbed his hands together and reached forward with both of them. He could hear a buzzing in his ears that sounded like someone screaming.

The black magic lunged at him. Harry let it wrap around him. He wouldn't fight it, he needed the black curses to bring him to their center. The tumor swallowed him whole. It encased him in black so deep that Harry came to feel like he was sitting at the bottom of the ocean, floating. All around was nothingness. Nothingness where a soul should be. No wonder Voldemort was mad.

He closed his eyes and began to work. He called the soul fragments back to their home. He reached towards the gold bit, trying to find it and anchor his call. The blackness pressed in, oppressive and evil. It felt slick like oil. Harry pushed back. He called louder.

Come home now. Harry thought. be whole again.

He felt Voldemort's body jerk and twist-Something was coming.

A flash of gold light flew in from the darkness. It hovered outside the back magic and then sped forward to join with the other soul fragment. And soon more pieces were coming. Harry counted them in astonishment. One. Two, Three. Four. Five. Voldemort had spit his soul this many times?

Harry stared towards the mass of gold. Something was still missing. Had Voldemort really split his soul more times? He remembered distantly that Lucius had said that the diary was a horcrux. Maybe that was what he felt was missing? Unfortunately, he didn't think that piece of soul could be recovered. Should he stop?

But no.. something felt off. There was more. He just knew there was.

Harry could feel his body tiring. He could feel himself going limp. But he had to finish what he had started. He gathered whatever strength he had and pushed his magic towards the call.

The pain took him by surprise. It hadn't hurt to gather the other Horcruxes, but this pain was searing, intense; worse even than crucio. The last gold light streaked towards them and joined the rest. There, Voldemort was as healed as he could be. Time to leave. Time to stop this pain.

He withdrew from the light. The blackness was almost all gone now. Harry tried to bring awareness back to his body. How had be done it before? Well he had passed out; that wasn't helpful. He floated away, or at least in the direction that he thought was away.

And then suddenly, he was outside of Voldemort's body. It was like someone had turned the volume up full blast. People were yelling and throwing curses to try to get to Harry and Voldemort. The Dark Lord was standing wide eyed and stunned, and glowing with a golden light that was almost blinding. He was moving his fingers as if he had never done it before.

It was then that Harry realised that while he had successfully left Voldemort's body, he had not returned to his own. He was floating over the scene and not in it. His body lay at the feet of Voldemort, unmoving. Harry stared at himself. He was bloody and almost every inch of visible skin was cut. His face looked as white as parchment and his lips were parted in a scream. And his chest was not rising to breathe. And for the first time ever he couldn't hear the rush of blood and the pounding of his heart, He was still.

He was dead.

Harry found that he was okay with that. He had expected to die, been prepared for it, for a long time now. Really this was how he had always thought it would go. In fact he was happy, because it seemed that he had accomplished his goal of keeping Draco alive. Voldemort seemed too stunned to do anything at all.

Draco was standing as still as a statue. With a start, Harry realized that his boyfriend's eyes were focused on him. Not his body- Him.

Harry smiled at him. He could feel a pull starting. A pull towards something different, his next adventure. I love you, Harry thought while looking at Draco, have a good life. He turned to leave and- Froze. He couldn't move.

"No." yelled Draco, he was looking right at him. His eyes burned.

And Harry understood. Draco was a necromancer. He was holding him.

"Draco." Said Harry, calmly. "I'm dead. It's okay. Let me go."

Draco closed his eyes in pain. A tear ran down his cheek, making a path through the dried blood and dirt. Harry could hear his breath; somehow it was louder than the yelling.

"NO." Draco ordered. "It can't end like this. Harry what did you do?!"

Harry felt the pull getting more frantic. The pull of the beyond. He needed to leave. He wasn't meant to be here.

"I healed him. I fixed his soul. As much as I could. I think-I think I was a horcrux." Harry said with detached scientific analysis. It didn't really matter anymore after all. "That must have been the pain of the last bit. I think he made me a horcrux by accident. But it's okay. Let me go Draco."

More tears fell down those perfect cheeks. Harry wanted to comfort him. How could Draco cry when it was all alright? None of it mattered.

Finally Draco nodded to himself. He wiped his tears and looked towards Voldemort. The man was still standing there, as if trying to discover some mathematical equation about himself. Draco's eyes zoned in on his enemy and he stepped forward.

Catching what he meant to do Harry began to vibrate in place. He needed to pull was all encompassing. "No. Draco. No. I'm fine. It's okay. He's healed now. His soul is one. He's not the same as he was before."

"He's still the monster that started this all. You can't heal something that was never whole to begin with." Hissed Draco. He drew close to Voldemort and glared.

The Dark Lord smirked and bent to pick up his wand.

"Neither can live while the other survives." Whispered Draco. "A life for a life. We must keep the scales even."

"Draco-" Said Harry, frantically.

Draco ignored him and reached forward. He grabbed Voldemort with his right hand and reached his left arm towards where Harry was floating, frozen. A noise like a thunderclap made everyone still. Then a white light burst forth from Draco like a tidal wave. It blinded Harry. He felt himself speeding downward, back towards his body. Voldemort's body went slack and crumpled to the floor. His face forever frozen in surprise.

Harry collided with his body and felt himself jerk upwards. Pain. pain everywhere. To go from peace to pain like this was a cruel punishment. He felt every cut, every kick and every ache. His head pounded, his heart thumped and his breath came in gasps. He could feel a jagged spot in him where the piece of foriegn soul had lived. It was too much to bear.

The ward around them disintegrated into small shimmering lights that disappeared. People rushed at them. There was yelling and magic and someone was touching him. Harry blinked up for the first time into the relieved face of Remus. Snape and the Malfoys hovered not far behind. He could hear Dumbledore yelling orders. There was a weight on his legs. He couldn't move. Harry glanced down and realised that is was the exhausted form of Draco, sobbing over him.

He took two more breaths. Until it felt familiar again. He wasn't dead. He was alive. Harry shook his head to dust away the cobwebs. The pull of the beyond was gone. He was back, exactly where he needed to be.

He reached for Draco. His boyfriend was sobbing over his prone body. His body shook so violently that Harry shook with him. Harry ran his fingers through Draco's matted hair, he couldn't bring himself to move more than that.

"I'm here, Draco. I'm okay." Said Harry. "Thank you for bringing me back. Thank you."

For some reason that made Draco cry even harder. Harry looked to Remus for help, but he also seemed to have been overcome with tears. Even Snape seemed to be wearing a strange grimace that seemed to indicate he was holding back from crying. Narcissa brushed at her eyes and leaned down to rub her son's back.

"I'm okay." Repeated Harry.

Draco finally popped his head up. It was tear streaked, red eyed, and full of snot, dirt and bits of dried blood, but Harry thought he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

"Your you?" Said Draco. "I didn't- I didn't-"

"I'm me." Said Harry. "I'm me. And I'm alive. I'm okay."

Draco grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him deeply. Harry forgot for a moment that literally everyone he knew was watching. For one blissful moment it was just the two of them. In that kiss Draco told him how much he loved him. He told him how scared he had been. He showed Harry his soul. He bared it all and Harry returned it in kind. He was alive and he planned to use that valuable time doing all the snogging he could.

Only when he was on the verge of passing out did they come up for air. The adults around them were smiling and rolling there eyes. Harry shrugged, he refused to be embarrassed.

"Harry!" Hermione and Ron knelt down beside him.

"Are you okay?" Said Ron, his eyes were shining.

"I am." Said Harry "Just tired."

It was only after he said the words that he realized how true it was. He was exhausted. Healing someone's soul and then being brought back to life could really take it out of a person.

Hermione ran her fingers through his hair like he was a kitten she was afraid of scaring away. Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. "What happened? You were so still. I thought- I thought you were dead."

"Umm...I guess I was." Said Harry, "Luckily, Draco here is a necromancer and wouldn't let me die."

Ron and Hermione turned to look at Draco. The Slytherin had leaned back on his knees and was regarding them with a cold disinterest that dared them to comment on his ingenium.

Hermione lunged forward first. "Thank you!"

Her arms wrapped around Draco's neck and her hands scrunched his shirt into a fist. A tear ran down Ron's cheek and he joined the hug. His long arms easily wrapped around both Hermione and Draco.

"Thank you!" Said Ron. "You saved him!"

Harry could see the stunned expression on Draco's face from the small hole in Hermione's bushy hair.

"Harry! Harry!" Mrs. Weasley and the whole Weasley clan burst through the crowd. A disheveled, bloody and tired redhead brigade. "Harry are you alright?"

Ron leaned back from the hug and pulled Hermione with him. "Draco saved Harry! He brought him back to life."

Mrs. Weasley leaned down, grabbed Draco by the scruff of the neck and pulled him to standing. Draco looked at her in confusion.

Her eyes searched his face. "Is this true dear? Did you bring Harry back to life? I didn't know such a thing was possible."

Draco's eyes flicked toward his boyfriend. Harry gave him an encouraging nod. Draco slipped into his Slytherin prince mask."I did. I'm a necromancer."

The Weasley matriarch's face crumpled into a tearful smile. "You beautiful, beautiful boy! Thank you!"

She pulled Draco into a fierce hug, and soon more Weasley's were joining, until all you could see of Draco was a strip of blond hair amongst the red.

Harry let out a chuckle, leaned his head back and promptly went to sleep.

A/N: How many of you guessed that? I started to feel like you were all going to predict the end once I revealed the ingenium's. I very much regret to inform you all that the next chapter will be the last one in this story. Please stay tooned for that because I have some fun moments on the way to wrap this all up. Thanks so much for reading and please review!