Differences from canon: 1) In a fit of anger, Voldemort kills off Lucius Malfoy. Narcissa senses Lucius's death. 2) When Narcissa witnesses Harry kill Voldemort, she has an epiphany that ends a lifetime's worth of blood-purity beliefs in an instant. But Narcissa remains in all other respects a cunning former-Slytherin Pureblood. 3) Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his Ollivander-made wand right after he kills Voldemort in the Great Hall, instead of doing the wand-repair later, in the headmaster's office. 4) Harry snaps the Elder Wand instead of reburying it in Dumbledore's tomb.

This is the closest I ever will come to writing a marriage-law fanfic. (One of the Life Debt demands that Narcissa puts on Harry is that he marry Hermione.)

Some of the words in Chapter 1 were written by JK Rowling.

Chapter 1
Harry's Life Debt

Saturday, 2nd May 1998, sometime after midnight
During the Battle of Hogwarts
Outside Hogwarts Castle

Lucius Malfoy said to the Dark Lord, "My Lord ... please ... my son..."

The blond man was desperate to find his blond son alive and healthy. Even the triumph of the Purebloods over the lesser-bloods was at the moment of less importance to Lucius than the survival and good health of his son Draco.

The Dark Lord replied contemptuously, "If your son is dead, Lucius, it is not my fault. He did not come and join me, like the rest of the Slytherins..."

Lucius slunk away.

Minutes later

Lucius Malfoy was a man whom people noticed, even disguised as a Death Eater. He was taller than everyone else, and his mask covered his face but not his long, white-blond hair. Nor did the cowl of his robe contain all that hair. Thus soon after Tom Riddle's conversation with Lucius Malfoy, the Dark Lord noticed that he did not see Malfoy nearby, nor did Riddle hear Malfoy's voice.

Riddle yelled, "Lucius Malfoy! Your master demands your presence; come before me!"

No tall, blond-haired Death Eater walked towards Riddle, and no Death Eater spoke up with Lucius Malfoy's voice.

When it became obvious that Lucius no longer was in the crowd of Death Eaters, Riddle demanded, "Someone give me their arm!"

When a Death Eater's Dark Mark was exposed to the starlight, Riddle put the tip of his wand against the Dark Mark. Riddle yelled in Parseltongue, "§Die, Lucius Malfoy, you traitor!§"

In Hogwarts Castle, Draco's father was holding an earnest conversation with Draco in the Great Hall. Suddenly, Lucius Malfoy screamed, then died.

A second later, the Lord Malfoy ring disappeared off the dead man's hand. At the same time, the Heir Malfoy ring on Draco's hand was replaced with the Lord Malfoy ring.

Draco felt both grief and joy.

Meanwhile, back in the Forbidden Forest

Narcissa Malfoy heard the Dark Lord hissing in Parseltongue. Narcissa did not understand the Dark Lord's words, but when she felt a shift in her magical core, she understood the result of those words—

Narcissa's husband Lucius was dead.

Hours later, before dawn
In a clearing in the Forbidden Forest

Harry had stood in front of Riddle, and had made no move to protect himself when Riddle had hit him with the Killing Curse. But instead of oblivion, and instead of Harry going to a beautiful and peaceful place forever, Harry had found himself in a white-painted version of King's Cross Station.

Harry had spoken with Dumbledore. The dead headmaster had given Harry a choice.

Harry chose to go back and to continue his fight with Riddle, because Harry's friend Hermione needed protection from the Dark Lord.

Harry returned to life lying on the ground, with his eyes closed.

Evidently, Riddle had likewise wound up on the ground—

Bellatrix Lestrange's voice sounded worried: "My Lord, let me—"

"I do not require assistance," said Riddle coldly. "The boy, is he dead?"

For a time, there was complete silence in the clearing. Then Riddle called out, "You." Harry heard a bang and a quiet shriek of pain. "Examine him. Tell me whether he is dead."

As Harry lay there, pretending to be dead, he was of two minds. A big part of him was frightened that his aliveness would be revealed by his examiner; then Harry would quickly become dead for real. But another part of Harry was pleased to note that Riddle seemed to be afraid of the supposed corpse of the Boy Who Lived.

Hands, softer than he had been expecting, touched Harry's face, pulled back an eyelid, crept beneath his shirt, down to his chest, and felt his heart. He could hear the woman's fast breathing; her long hair tickled his face. He knew that she could feel the steady pounding of his heart against his ribs.

"Is Draco alive? Is he in the castle?" whispered Harry's examiner. The woman's lips were an inch from his ear, and her head was bent so low that her long hair shielded Harry's face from the onlookers.

"Yes," Harry murmured.

He felt the hand on his chest contract involuntarily; her nails pierced him. Then her hand was withdrawn. She had sat up.

"He is dead!" Narcissa Malfoy called to the watchers.

And now the Death Eaters shouted, now they yelled in triumph and stomped their feet. Through his eyelids, Harry saw bursts of red and silver light shoot into the air in celebration.

Still feigning death on the ground, Harry understood. Narcissa knew that the only way she would be permitted to enter Hogwarts, and to find her son, was as part of the conquering army. She no longer cared whether Voldemort won.

After dawn, in the Great Hall

Narcissa and Draco were in the Great Hall when the Dark Lord's lifeless shell hit the floor.

Immediately the room was filled with loud cheering—except for the Malfoys. Draco said nothing, but Narcissa saw that her son's face was angry.

"Oi!" yelled Draco. "My ring is gone!" Draco's newly gained Lord Malfoy ring just had vanished off his hand. But the yelling and cheering in the Great Hall was so loud, Draco was sure that not even his mother heard what he said.

Narcissa's response to seeing Harry Potter end the Dark Lord was for her brain to be hit with Realisations. Many Realisations in fact, all of them profound—

A halfblood boy has singlehandedly defeated the leader of an army of Purebloods! Blood-purity dogma says such a thing is impossible, yet I've seen it happen with my own eyes. Also "impossible," yet it's true: Potter's Muggle-born friend gets higher marks than my Draco. We Purebloods have all been wrong, and we Purebloods have all been wrong for centuries.

Narcissa looked at the boy in amazement. Does he have any idea of all the golden opportunities that he can take advantage of now? Then Narcissa thought about what she knew about Harry Potter, from seven years of her son's letters. Narcissa's conclusion: Potter has no idea of what prizes the world now is holding out for him to take. What a waste of all those opportunities.

Then Narcissa's brain was smacked by a thought: I could fix this.

Elsewhere in the Great Hall

Harry had killed Riddle in the Great Hall. Harry had used the Elder Wand to repair his holly-and-phoenix-feather wand, had snapped the Elder Wand in half, and had tossed the two pieces of the Elder Wand onto Riddle's corpse.

Earlier, Harry had seen Hermione and Ron kiss. Earlier, Remus Lupin and Tonks both had died; Harry's last link to his parents was gone. Now Harry felt completely alone.

Meanwhile, Slytherins and ex-Slytherins were sitting and chatting at the Ravenclaw table; and Ravenclaws were sitting amongst Gryffindors; but the Malfoys, mother and son, sat at the Slytherin table still.

Nobody, in any colour of robes, sat near Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. Dead Lucius Malfoy lay on the floor, ten feet away from the rest of his family.

Blond Narcissa stood up, walked round the Slytherin table, and walked towards Harry. Three feet in front of Harry, Narcissa stopped. With head and eyes down, she curtseyed to Harry and said, "Heir Potter, I ask you to come with my son and me, and to bring your genius Muggle-born friend with you. I wish to speak with both of you, and with my son."

Harry was physically exhausted, depressed and lonely, and the last thing he wanted was to deal with Draco and his mother. Harry said, "What do you wish to speak with me about? Can it wait?"

Narcissa's head still was bowed, but her blue eyes now looked straight into Harry's. "I wish to speak to you about the Life Debt you now owe me. I'm sure that you don't trust me, but you would trust the words of the Muggle-born girl who is part of your Golden Trio."

"Tell me what you mean, exactly, by 'Life Debt.' "

"I saved you from the Dark Lord killing you again, a situation I didn't cause, and I saved you at great risk to my own life. I may demand anything from you, from a kiss on the cheek on up to you giving me every coin in every one of your vaults, and you must give me what I demand, or lose your magic."

Oh shit, thought Harry.