Chapter written by InDreams.

Dawn broke, the faint light of it teasing through the fabric of their tent. Draco stirred awake, his body and magical core weary in tandem from the exertions of the day before.

But a certain lightness crept in that he hadn't known in a long time. Hermione was in his arms, sound asleep against his chest, and Draco brushed a kiss to her curls.

Memories from the day before trickled in, and although he knew the battle with the Death Eaters would spell trouble for the Collective, he also knew their best shot would be to work with the Order. At last, Naylen had decided to see reason.

And while it might not have been their original intent when infiltrating the Collective, Draco harboured a small hope it could turn the tides of this timeline's war.

Hermione stirred, blinking bleary eyes up at him before pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Her mouth curled with a coy smile. "Good morning."

"It certainly is morning," Draco said, stifling a yawn. "Whether it's a good one is yet to be determined."

Her smile widened, lighting her eyes from within. "I have faith. Naylen and Harry are both impossibly stubborn. But they need one another."

Briefly, Draco basked in her certainty, feeling a flicker of it inside himself before he sobered.

"And we need to find our way home." He held her stare for a long moment, tracing the line of her cheekbone with his fingertips. "Maybe Naylen's software will be able to help us."

Her smile dropped. "We removed the faulty programming in order to replace it with the Collective's magic tracking program. Even if we knew what went wrong with the other Draco's device, we can't access it anymore."

Draco only shrugged, rolling onto his back and tugging her with him into his chest. "Theo thinks there might be a way to recover it. Some sort of file restoration. But we'll need help from their experts."

Hermione released a long breath and the light returned to her eyes. "After the meeting with the Order we'll talk to Naylen about it." She caught his stare, her smile coy. "We've been here this long―what's a little more?"

"If I'm with you," Draco said, offering a wry smirk, "it doesn't matter which timeline we're in."

A snicker escaped her lips even as her eyes narrowed. "Smooth."

"I thought so," he huffed, dragging her in for another kiss.

They scrambled out of bed as the consistent hum of activity rose in the new camp, throwing on some clothes and heading for the makeshift atrium that had been established.

Hermione cocked her brow, unimpressed, as she gazed upon him. Draco frowned, adjusting the shoulder straps of his sword's holster as he asked, "What?"

"Did you have to bring that?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "The Collective knows you have magic. I can't see why bringing a sword to a meeting about two opposing groups collaborating can possibly help matters."

He wrinkled the bridge of his nose. "I like it."

Lips twitching, she shook her head. "You like that it makes you look imposing."

Draco flickered his brows and clicked his tongue. When he didn't respond, she nudged him in the side. "I'm only joking."

"I won it in battle," he clipped, "fair and square. In fact I may try and bring it home with me."

Merlin, it felt like it had been so long ago that they'd stumbled across one another near the ruins of the Ministry. He could still remember the chaos of the wizards and Muggles fighting outside of her building, reduced to a pile of dust and ash.

She fell silent, as though remembering the same. When she spoke, her voice was softer. "I don't know that we'll be able to bring anything back with us."

They arrived at the communal space that had been thrown together the night before while Draco and Theo dug the bunkers, slipping in along the outsides of the crowd.

"Where are we at?" Draco asked as Theo noticed them and sidled over.

"The Order operatives are due to arrive by Portkey any minute now. I've lowered the wards we installed on the camp last night so they can get through." When Draco nodded, Theo snickered. "Nice sword, mate."

Draco huffed.

But as Theo suggested, only moments later, three men appeared in the centre of the atrium with a soft blue glow. Many people stumbled back a few steps to give them a wide berth as Potter, Weasley, and Sirius Black stepped forward, Potter tucking the rusted flagon Portkey into his cloak.

Naylen strode forward, his shoulders back and chin high as he extended a hand. Potter gave it a brisk shake, although neither leader looked as if they wanted to be there.

Potter said gruffly, "So you're the one who shot Hermione."

"Yes." Naylen paled visibly but stood his ground. For a long, tense moment the two stared at one another until finally Potter cracked a grin.

"You must have some nerve, then," he said, before drifting out of the circle and walking towards them. Potter assessed Hermione and Draco, his stare lingering for a beat longer on Nott, before he nodded. Dropping his voice so only the three of them could hear, he said, "I hope this is worth revealing ourselves."

Nott snickered, presumably at the double entendre, and Potter shot him a glance though his lips twitched.

Naylen announced to the newcomers, "We've arranged a place to talk."

"Lead the way." Potter extended his hand with a flourish as he fell into step with Weasley and Sirius. As Naylen walked by with a few of the Collective's high level operatives, he nodded towards Draco then tilted his head towards the tent where they were to speak.

Adjusting the straps of his sword holster once more, Draco followed along, Hermione and Theo at his sides.

"I'm surprised you two haven't left Potter and Naylen to sort this out between them," Theo said casually as they walked, dragging their feet for a little privacy. "It's not like this is your fight."

"We still need to fix the device." Draco exchanged a glance with Hermione. "We'll do what we can to assist with this partnership, and if all goes well, we'll be leaving soon."

Theo clicked his tongue. "I must say you're easier to get along with than the Draco from this timeline. And I can't say I've ever known much about the other Hermione."

Hermione peered around Draco and quipped, "You're on their side now."

"True."

They arrived at the Collective's strategy tent—Draco had never seen the interior of it—and took up spots along one wall to observe as the Collective and the Order members sat around a small table in the centre.

Theo was right—it wasn't their job to see the rest of this timeline's war through, but they had been here long enough, and had come to know these people well enough that he wanted to ensure they left them on the right foot.

And to give them any assistance they could in moving towards ending their war with Riddle and the Death Eaters.

So when Potter and Sirius had asked about the Death Eater attack the previous day, Draco, Hermione, and Theo offered as much information as they could to assist with Naylen's retelling. While the Collective knew how everything had gone, they didn't know the specifics about who the Death Eaters had been.

Potter, Weasley, and Sirius listened through the explanation, their faces grave.

Sirius frowned. "So your lot killed General Lestrange and then left your original camp to come here?"

"Yes." Naylen's gaze flickered to the three of them. "These three really helped by getting us out in time. We would have lost many more lives if not for them."

Potter only hummed, though Draco could have sworn pride danced in his eyes when he cast them another brief glance. "And tell us about these devices you've built. Our operative Malfoy built something similar but we couldn't quite get it to work."

"That's why we broke into the Collective's camp," Theo added with a snicker.

Naylen added darkly, "And disabled all of our devices just before a major attack."

Theo sunk back against the wall.

"The fact remains," Potter pressed on, "this is valuable technology. You possess a method of not only detecting but tracking magical users. We would seek to work together—the Order of the Phoenix and the Collective—and use our combined knowledge and skill to take down the Death Eaters once and for all. Our enemy is the same; we don't seek quarrel with you or any other Muggles."

"After seeing just how valuable magic users can be to the cause yesterday," Naylen said, sharing a look with his team, "we're inclined to agree."

Potter brandished a hand across the table, and after a tense beat, Naylen gave him a firm handshake. Both shared a grin.

The only one who looked skeptical was Sirius. Draco found himself eyeing his mother's cousin, wondering what sort of life the man had faced in this timeline, and whether he might have had the chance to get to know Sirius back home if he had survived.

The thought caused a strange flutter in Draco's chest, and as he glanced at Hermione, for the first time since all of this had happened, he felt homesick. Almost every moment since arriving in this timeline had been fraught with uncertainty and doubt, if not outright fear, but at last they knew the situation.

Now that the idea of returning home was within their grasp, he found himself looking forward to it.

He couldn't be certain whether things between him and Hermione would remain as they were now—and, in fact, he could only assume it would be an entirely different landscape to navigate—but being in this timeline felt as if he'd put every other aspect of his life on hold.

When her eyes lifted to meet his, Draco smiled. He was ready to start moving forward again.

Hermione's hand slipped into his and he gave her soft fingers a squeeze.

At the table in the centre of the room, Potter and Weasley had begun an effort to explain the concept of Horcruxes to the Collective operatives, who stared on in varying states of horror.

If nothing else, he liked to think that their abrupt arrival in this time had helped matters, even if only a little.

It made Draco wonder what other sorts of potential lives they might have lived, if these parallel timelines existed in perpetuity.

When Potter stumbled over his explanation of the Horcruxes and how they might factor into the situation, Hermione duplicated several chairs with her wand—the Collective's representatives blinked at her, as if still growing accustomed to the presence of magic wielders in their midst—and she pulled up a seat at the table.

Draco and Theo took the other chairs, listening on from a distance.

As he listened to Hermione explain the Horcruxes that had existed during their timeline, he found himself marvelling at everything she had actually done in an effort to end their war.

It further bolstered his conviction that they needed to get back home. She had already done her part to end one war. Not that Draco had contributed anything positive to the effort back then—but he had a chance to do something about it now.

And he could only imagine how heavily the idea of going through it all over again must have sat on her.

Those thoughts on his mind, Draco explained everything he had known about the version of Voldemort in their timeline, allowing for corrections from Theo.

Between those assembled, they gathered a wealth of information on the situation, and Draco found himself hoping it might be enough in the end.

After an hour of listening to the group debate strategies and terms of collaboration, Draco felt himself begin to droop. His magic was still strained from the exertion of the day before, and he could only imagine how Hermione felt. She had nearly exhausted her entire spring of magic holding that shielding spell up, after having been shot only days before.

When he caught her gaze as the Order and the Collective began to draft a contract, her smile looked a little forced and he could see the weariness in her stare.

No one had thrown any spells or punches, so it felt safe for him, Hermione, and Theo to duck out of the tent. They ventured towards the atrium in stilted silence. Since the meeting had been scheduled for so early, many of the Collective were still eating breakfast.

The three of them slipped into line, receiving plates of food, and Draco felt hunger gnawing at his stomach at the smell of crisp bacon as they sat at one of the empty tables.

Already the new camp had begun to look like the old one, and many of the Muggles waved to them.

Draco found himself more invested in the outcome of their war that he had initially foreseen. He was drawn from his thoughts as Hermione nudged him in the side, swallowing a bit of her breakfast.

"You've been somewhere else," she said quietly. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah." Draco released a long breath. "I guess I'm just thinking about going back."

A slow smile tugged at her lips, and before he could say anything more, Theo let out a sigh.

"Hypothetically speaking," Theo said, "if I were to go back with you—"

"That isn't happening," Draco said with a bark of laughter. "We're trying to fix one problem, not create new ones."

"Okay but." Theo shot him a glare. "Maybe the Theo from your timeline will be interested in swapping places with me. We'd have to assume from this side of the situation, of course, because it sounds like he'd be sent here automatically. But maybe he'd really enjoy it here." He scratched the back of his neck, and carried on. "Aside from the war I guess, and the fact that the city's mostly been destroyed and it isn't safe to go anywhere…"

Draco only snickered and took a swig of juice. Hermione's foot pressed against his beneath the table as she failed to stifle a giggle.

But Theo deflated a little, frowning. "It feels like I don't belong on either side anymore. I've defected from the Death Eaters and you know Riddle would be happy to kill me for it. Obviously I don't belong with the Collective anymore either, even though I spent the last few months here. And I'm not one of the Order."

The humour sloughed from the conversation as quickly as it had arrived, and Draco eyed the approximation of his friend across the table. "I don't think that's the case. You're moving on from an unhealthy situation with the Death Eaters. You were never really part of the Collective because you were only there to get information for Riddle. And…" He shrugged, hesitating for a moment. "I think you've already proven your worth to Potter and the Order. I think if you asked, they would take you on as a full member."

Draco could tell the situation still bothered Theo even as he nodded, his eyes dull.

"And," Draco added, "I can't say for certain, of course, but I think the Draco from this timeline would be willing to accept you as a friend again now that you're not a Death Eater anymore."

"Yeah. I suppose you're right." Theo forced a grin that didn't reach his eyes.

Hermione ducked her chin, staring hard at Theo for a moment. "We'll miss you too, Theo."

At last he huffed a laugh, some of the sparkle coming back into his face as he snapped a strip of bacon in two and ate half of it. "Fine, fine, I'll miss you both when you go home without me."

Lips twitching, Hermione said, "And don't tell me you missed that look Harry gave you when he first arrived here this morning."

Theo grinned. "I didn't."

Several hours later, the sun reaching high into the sky, the canvas doors of the Collective's strategy tent finally swung open and the group emerged, Potter and Naylen in conversation with one another.

Where each of them had been heavy with tension and uncertainty that morning upon entering the tent, Draco could see the fresh infusion of hope and determination as they walked towards the atrium for lunch.

For lack of anything else to do—and for old time's sake—he, Hermione, and Theo had spent a portion of the morning training in the archery pits with a few others from the Collective. They had created a game with a system of points, and Draco had lost every round; clearly Theo's time in the Muggle organisation had allowed him to hone his archery skills because even Hermione hadn't been able to beat him once.

He could understand Theo's melancholy over the thought of them returning home so soon, and tried to imagine how he would have felt had he not stumbled across Hermione.

For all he knew, he would have ended up stuck here forever if he had tried to face this situation alone, forced to fight through the entirety of another war. But Draco had faith this war would come to an end too.

Chugging a bottle of cold water, Draco dropped into a seat beside Hermione. The air had grown hot as they practiced, and fatigue had once again crept in.

She had already drawn out their device, tapping various buttons on their surfaces; he couldn't understand the technology well enough to know what she was doing. All Draco could imagine was that she was trying to navigate towards the programming they had deleted.

"I took a look at it last night," Theo admitted, "and I think I know where the other Draco might have gone wrong. May I?" He reached for the device and Hermione nodded, sliding it across the table.

Theo tapped through numerous prompts, a heavy furrow between his brows before he grimaced. "I can't say for certain, and I definitely don't know how it backfired so badly. To go from detecting magic to pulling your exact signatures here from a different dimension makes no sense."

Draco could feel eyes on him as Theo and Hermione discussed details about computers that were beyond him, and he glanced sidelong to find Naylen watching them. Moments later, the man excused himself from his company and strode over, taking up the seat beside Theo.

With a deep swig of his water Draco said, "It looked like your meeting went well this morning."

"It did." Naylen offered a brisk smile. "I am cautiously optimistic that the Collective and the Order will be able to work together and that this partnership will benefit all of us."

"Good."

They fell silent while Naylen stared at the device, before reaching for it where it sat on the table. He fidgeted with the buttons for a moment, frowning. "What exactly did this do that you need it to fix?"

Draco caught Hermione's stare. Her eyes flashed before she said, "This device pulled Draco and I from an entirely different timeline and swapped us with the Draco and Hermione that actually live here."

Naylen stared at her, his expression hard.

"It's true," Draco quipped.

Naylen scoffed. "How is that even possible?"

"That's what we've been trying to figure out since we arrived here," Hermione said with a shrug. "The magical detection element went wrong. The trouble has been to get it to work in the same way again to send us back."

Naylen flipped the device over again, twisting his face as if he couldn't quite comprehend what they had just told him. "But it was meant to work as ours do?"

"Yes," Draco said, "that's why we requested one of your devices. We'd like to see where the problem was… and if that might help us to fix ours."

"Do you think that will help?" Naylen dropped the device onto the table and reached for his own, holstered at his waist, before setting it alongside. "The technical logistics of it don't make sense to me but I'm not the one who originally programmed them. A lot of science went into our programming and it sounds like what you're hoping to fix is magical in nature."

Draco grimaced at the thought that the Muggles might not be able to help them with it after all, even as he eyed the second device they had worked so hard to get. But he could only hope that Theo's unique experience on both sides might yet help them.

"The problem is that we replaced our software with yours so the Order could duplicate it before we knew you'd be willing to help us," Hermione said with a wince. "We were hoping your specialists would be able to restore it."

"Even though it didn't work?" Naylen lifted a brow.

Draco clicked his tongue, blowing out a breath. "We need to make it not work again. It's our only hope of getting back home."

Thick tension hung between them as they all processed the implications for a moment. Draco wondered how they would actually be able to recreate the problem that had come up with his alternate self's experiments without knowing what had gone wrong in the first place.

Finally Naylen gave each of them a look. "Well, we won't know unless we try. Come on then."

Naylen's computer expert was a small man named Gilbert who Draco could remember having seen only in passing several times during their week within the Collective's compound. He wasn't one of their main fighters which explained why they hadn't seen him in training—but it sounded as though he might have been even more valuable as the person in charge of all the Collective's technology.

He listened to the situation, awe mingled with curiosity when Draco and Hermione explained how they had landed in an entirely different timeline, before peering closely at their device for several minutes in silence.

Draco, Hermione, and Theo waited patiently in chairs within what had been set up as their new technology tent. The large computer they had hacked the day before had been set up in place on a desk and Gilbert had connected their device in the same way Theo had. Gilbert typed something into the keyboard, his fingers clacking against the keys with such haste Draco wondered if he actually knew what he was typing.

Theo dragged his seat closer so he could watch Gilbert's work, but none of it made any sense to Draco, and with a little dumb luck, he wouldn't have to worry about it too much longer.

But it made sense for Theo, who would most likely remain on with the Order in some capacity, to have a working knowledge of computers.

Draco eyed Hermione as they sat in silence near the entrance, only paying attention as she stifled a yawn.

She spoke softly at last, her gaze lingering on the computer. "Do you think this will work and we can actually get home?"

"I don't know," Draco admitted. It seemed an almost insurmountable task. "But I hope so. As interesting as it's been to wind up in the middle of another war, I'm ready for the peace of being back home."

"Me too," she said quietly, dragging her bottom lip between her teeth as if speaking the words aloud was somehow shameful. "I want them to figure this all out between the Order and the Collective—I do—but there's a part of me that just wants to be back home. We've already fought in our war, you know?"

"I know." Draco slung an arm around the back of her chair and she inched closer, sinking into his hold. "I feel the same way."

Her eyes slid towards his, something flickering beneath her stare he couldn't quite place, but before she could say anything Gilbert spoke.

"I might have found something." The man's eyes narrowed as he peered at the computer. "I was able to trace back the override from yesterday and revert the operation in order to restore your previous software." He hesitated for a moment as Draco and Hermione gathered behind Theo.

The jumble of words on the screen might have been a wholly different language for all Draco could tell, but he nodded along, understanding the basics.

And the basics sounded promising.

"We can see here," Gilbert went on, pointing towards several lines of code, "where the… other variation of you attempted to enable the magic tracking. It's a complex bit of tech, and honestly quite impressive. But instead of locating magical signatures in general as ours do in order to track them down, this software targets the user's magical signature."

Comprehension dawned in the back of Draco's mind. "And since Hermione and I were the ones testing the device—"

Theo offered him a grim look. "The other Draco's device didn't fail at all. It did exactly what it was meant to do."

"It was just a programming error?" Hermione asked, her gaze squinted as if she could almost understand. "When the device looked for our signatures as the users, it had to reach elsewhere because we were already right there?"

"Right," Gilbert said with a sharp nod. "The other Draco had enabled a minimum threshold for the distance." He fell silent for a long moment before adding, "I have no clue how the device reached into an entirely different timeline. I didn't even know that was real."

They were so close.

"Is there anything in there to suggest how our particular timeline was targeted?" Draco asked, feeling very much as if he were grasping for something that he would never be able to find. If these timelines truly were infinite and the device's reach random, even if they could get the device to activate in the same way, they might only jump into another. Most likely they would never get back home.

Gilbert let out a breath. "No."

Draco caught Hermione's eye, feeling the lingering shreds of hope seep from him like water through his fingers. With a grimace, he dragged her hand into his.

If nothing else, at least they were stuck here together.

Despite her effort at a smile, he thought he might make a rather lousy consolation prize.

As the day crept steadily towards night, a bitter cold sank into Draco's stomach at the thought that after everything, they still might not be able to find a way home.

There had to be something they were missing, but he was so exhausted from the strain of it all he couldn't think of anything else.

Weasley and Sirius had returned back to the Order headquarters to report in after the meeting, but Potter had opted to linger at the Collective's base for dinner. He joined their table with a heaping plate of food, slipping onto the bench beside Theo.

Theo rolled his face towards Potter, with a wry, "Hello."

"Nott." Potter's lips twitched, his stare lingering on Theo for a moment, before he cleared his throat. "Malfoy. Hermione. I think it's been a productive day, all things considered."

"I think so too," Hermione offered, her eyes flicking towards Draco's with humour in her stare. "It might not have been your original intent, but between the Order and the Collective you have a lot of joint knowledge and experience. Together you might finally be able to put an end to this war."

The Potter in this timeline was rougher around the edges than the one Draco remembered from home—although he supposed it was to be expected, given this Potter had lived a wartorn existence well into adulthood—but a smile tugged at his lips. The man looked in better spirits than Draco had seen since they'd stumbled onto the front step of headquarters weeks ago.

"I think you might be right," Potter admitted. "We also, rather unexpectedly, have a defected Death Eater in our midst. And that's got to count for something too."

Theo's eyes snapped open wide, his fork frozen halfway towards his mouth. He set the fork down. "Me?"

"You." Potter shot Theo a look as he nudged him in the shoulder. He chuckled. "Or are you not defected?"

"'Course I am," Theo said quickly, casting a bit of an uncertain glance around the table, "but I didn't really know where any of this left me."

Expression faltering, Potter dropped his head to the side. "I was under the impression you wanted to join the Order."

The softness in his voice made Draco want to avert his eyes, wondering what—if anything—had transpired between the two. Hermione's foot nudged his beneath the table, and Draco caught her with her lips pressed tightly together as if to refrain from saying anything.

Merlin knew the Theo from this timeline could stand to catch a break.

"I do," Theo said. "I'll tell you anything you want to know about the Death Eaters—if you'll have me."

Draco thought the sentiment sounded loaded, but a bigger part of him was glad to know that the Order would take Theo in despite his past as a Death Eater. Especially having heard Theo's hesitancy firsthand earlier in the day. If they did manage to figure out a way home, at least Draco would know his friend wouldn't be left alone.

"I know you haven't been on our side very long," Potter went on, clearing his throat, "but I think you've more than proven yourself with us already. Protecting the Collective yesterday—and helping keep these two alive on multiple occasions." He nodded towards Draco and Hermione.

Finally a slow grin spread across Theo's face. "Thanks, Potter. I'd be honoured to help you kick Riddle's slimy arse into the next world."

"Literally, as we've learned," Draco quipped.

The four of them shared a laugh, and Draco's smile lingered for a moment before dropping off. Before he could dwell on anything else that had happened that day, Hermione stifled a wide yawn, her eyelids fluttering.

The sky was already falling dark around them and Draco collected their empty dishes into a stack.

He felt fatigued himself and could only imagine Hermione was worn out too after the events of the past days.

"Should we call it a night soon?" he asked, holding her stare.

With an apologetic smile towards Potter and Theo, she rose to her feet. "Probably a good idea to get some rest. We'll have more to look into tomorrow with these devices."

Draco had to respect her optimism, even if he felt uncertain of the outcome. But maybe he could borrow some of her faith—maybe they would figure this out yet.

"Good night," he said, tugging Hermione closer into his side as they walked from the atrium back towards their tent.

Hermione's lips curled with a smile when she glanced back over her shoulder. "Something tells me those two will be happy to have some time alone."

"I think," Draco said, cracking a grin, "you might be right."

Her face softened. "And we're going to figure this out. I'm certain of it."

"I'm sure you're right about that as well." Draco planted a kiss to her lips as they ducked into the tent, sleep tugging at his eyelids as soon as his head hit the pillow.