Bring Me To Life : A Continuation
by I Got Tired of Waiting

Part I : The Past to the Present
Draco Draconus

Harry lost his fond smile as he remembered what followed. Once Lenore entered their lives, Severus declared it was time others took up the quest for those who went missing; they had more than enough to worry about at Hogwarts. By mutual agreement, his and Harry's attentions divided between running the school, raising Lenore, teaching the ever-increasing classes, and finding a way to stop the abductions from afar.

Protecting home first, they incrementally extended the castle's wards to encompass the entire Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade. As the war inexorably drew nearer to Hogwarts, their spirits flagged as the wards' constant maintenance drained both time and energy. They persisted only through sheer bloody-mindedness and the seemingly inexhaustible well of Harry's power.

The crisis came when the Yanks entered the fray. Following an inevitable path, the Muggle wars became global. Pushed beyond their limits, the first world-wide Enclave of Wizards gathered at Hogwarts, by far the most protected of all the communities. For two months, the leaders of the wizarding world and Goblin centres of commerce deliberated on how they were going to save their peoples.

Unsurprisingly, they decided they must somehow isolate themselves from the Muggles, the first step being to cease commingling with them. The days of Wizards living side by side with Muggles were officially over.

Plans were drawn and in the next five years, the exodus from farm and fen to town, suburb to castle was accomplished with minimal losses. Hogsmeade (and hundreds of communities like it) exploded in population, the conditions unbelievably crowded at first until more and more land and space came under the protection of the wards, allowing them some breathing room.

Ah, those were the days. What a boring world we leave behind now, Severus thought as he accepted the polite applause at his last telling remark.

Well, they were--something, I'm just glad they're over, Harry countered. I certainly wouldn't be waxing rhapsodic about them. The foolhardy risks, the days of anxiety, the rancid smell of death, the fear so thick you could taste it--I hated it. I hated what it did to me, what I became... What it did to you, to us--

Enough! I was there, too! Severus interrupted with unexpected force. Intense and glaring, his eyes held Harry captive from across the room; Harry almost vibrated in response. You're not the only one who would have given everything to make it stop! Who felt their own worthlessness watching helplessly while so many good people were lost... Arthur, Hagr--

I beg you, please. Don't start, Harry interrupted, so visibly upset Hermione turned to look at him, comprehension and sympathy in her eyes. I can't bear it right now. You. Have. Never. Been. Worthless! The full force of his emotions coloured Harry's thoughts. Don't start, Severus. We've worked through this. You are worth everything to me and that makes you the most important part of my universe. It's my one indulgence. They can have the rest of the world, as long as I have you!

Severus stopped speaking, as if gathering his next thoughts. His eyes softened in admiration as he sent, So magnificent. So passionate. I'm sorry. You're right; this is neither the time nor the place.

Harry felt his mental caress. No, I'm sorry. I know better than to bring it up. And we were not helpless; we took the same risks they did, and maybe more. We were out there doing, not watching. We were never passive. We cared so much about all of them, we sometimes forgot to care for ourselves.

Perhaps you're right, but they're gone, and... they left our hearts behind; we're still alive... it's not right, somehow.

Maybe we were just lucky. Maybe it wasn't our time to go. Maybe it was Kismet, maybe it was fate. Maybe our hearts won't let us go. Maybe-- He shrugged and shook his head. --Who knows? I don't. But I do know this: I love you and I will keep you as long as I can have you.

I still don't know how you do it, but once again I am humbled.

Well, Sirius always did say to leave 'em guessing, Harry thought, trying to lighten the mood.

Severus chuckled. Best thing the mangy mutt ever said.

But Severus sobered as he resumed his speech. "We overcame our limitations, we stretched ourselves beyond the confines of past ideas, shifting our paradigms as much as we shifted ourselves. But such triumph always comes with a cost, Our friends, our neighbours, and our families paid for our freedom in full coin." He faltered a moment, his head bowed and Harry felt the tears sting his own eyes as he recalled the many people they'd lost in the preceding years.

They needed something better than the traditional wards, something stronger. Working feverishly together for months, Severus and Draco designed and created the Dimensional Wards. Harry helped where he could. When asked, he provided the sheer power they sometimes needed to contain and shape the Wards. And of course, they didn't turn down the sustenance he and Lenore provided, sometimes forcibly, when concentration and brilliance overrode good sense.

Near the end of their effort, Severus and Harry travelled to France on school business while Ron and Hermione left for an Auror Enclave in the Dakotas. Alone in the dungeon workrooms, Draco had been gnawing at an impasse when a ransom Owl arrived; his grandchild had been abducted by the Muggles. Unable to locate anyone, Draco's fear for her overrode his native caution and, with rare impetuosity, he left Hogwarts alone to rescue her.

Finding his note when she came down several hours later with his supper, Lenore frantically called everyone home. They'd all desperately looked for him, the search spanning the globe for days.

Ron and Hermione knew through their bond that Draco was in serious trouble. They kept Hermione sedated, her body racked with the torture he suffered. Although not much better, Ron nonetheless drew on his training and control to focus the pain into a fine-tuned divining rod that did much to narrow the search. After a violent argument with Harry and Ron, Severus and Sirius left the castle to find him.

The four remaining kept vigil over Hermione, the days stretching into forever, marked only by her constant, echoing cries. And then she stopped. Her eerie silence tore their hearts more than her screams, for in that instant they knew her link with Draco had been severed.

Forever.

Ron fell unconscious, Seth wept, Lenore comforted him, and Harry waited.

He would never forget the horrible moment a week later when he'd met a hollow-eyed Severus and a wrathful Sirius bearing Draco and Sarah's bodies. Tortured by the Muggles for the magic he would not give them, he'd obviously perished long after her; Severus believed that Draco, knowing it was hopeless, had given her a graceful passage before the Muggles could use her against him.

To the point of their own exhaustion, Severus and Harry returned to Draco's broken body the dignity stripped from him before they let Ron and Hermione see him; there was only so much they could bear. While they said nothing, they knew.

Harry missed Draco calling him 'Daddy' with that self-mocking voice only Draco could summon, missed the happy, lusty joy his friends had shared. With shadowed eyes Ron and Hermione coped badly with their loss. Harry re-bound the two of them with the ancient bonds he and Severus shared, hoping it would help them recover, although Severus thought him foolish for trying. Surprisingly, it mitigated some of their emptiness and with the support of their family, they pulled through.

Severus, strong and surprisingly silent, continued the work on the Wards with Hermione's assistance. Night after sleepless night they worked, burying their sorrow in their labours. He and Ron were by their sides, gratefully giving them the energy and power, if not the expertise, needed to complete the wards and, with little fuss, they succeeded.

Dry-eyed, they'd returned to their quarters after calling another Enclave for the following week to distribute the wards and instruct in their placement. When private, Severus had finally broken, letting loose the pent-up grief with shaking sobs. Holding Severus tightly, he'd wondered if he grieved for Draco or Lucius?

For both, Severus thought to him candidly, his mental voice choking, I mourned them both. Looking briefly at someone else in the audience, he continued, Careful, Harry, you're broadcasting.

Through the silent tears wetting his own cheeks, he glanced over at Ron and Hermione. Their bleak expressions and the tears running unchecked down Hermione's face told him that Severus was right. Reaching over, he took Ron's hand and when he turned to look at him, Harry apologized with his eyes.

It seemed only fitting they posthumously name the new wards 'The Draconus Wards' after Draco. While he'd never seen them fully completed, they wouldn't have existed had it not been for the foundation he'd laid and the sacrifices he'd made.

The Enclave agreed.

The Draconus Wards shifted the wizarding world just one step out of phase of the same time and reality plane as the Muggles; once in place the Muggles would never be able to find them.

It was bloody brilliant, Harry thought. Only Draco could have dreamt it up; only you could have made it a reality.

I'm not certain modesty becomes you-- he cleared his throat, sipping on a glass of water --do not sell your own contributions short, for in the end no one wizard but you could power them.

Once set, the magical power consumption of the Draconus Wards was immense and wizarding resources began slowly dwindling as wizard after wizard fell, their life-energy drained in the Ward's maintenance. What was once thought to be their salvation became their bane and many cursed them for ever creating them.

That is, until Neville ingenuously suggested binding the Draconus Wards to the Earth Stone each community had as the keystone of its power. The earth stones were what linked all the communities and allowed for the Floo and the Translocation Portals Network; Neville was involved in maintaining that Network. He hypothesized their vast energy could, theoretically, power the wards forever. However, there was a drawback--

It would take wizards of near-equal power to merge the two into one.

With Neville's innate knowledge of the Network and Severus' knowledge of the Draconus Wards, Harry used the magic of the earth itself and his own deep resources to provide the raw magic necessary to fuse the Wards to the Stones, starting at Hogwarts. After several aborted and unsuccessful attempts, he finally succeeded and once set, the Wards perpetuated themselves in union with the Stone, which barely felt the drain.

Which could not be said for Harry. He collapsed with what he'd thought would be his final effort; there was nothing left in him to give. During the few weeks of recovery from the near-fatal drain of his magic, Harry and Severus worked out a rigorous schedule to install the Wards in other communities. With a clearer understanding of the correct sequence of spells and the amount of magic required, they were ready to begin.

But they had a problem. Only a handful of wizards remained who were willing and strong enough to make the connections. As only Harry proved sufficient to go it alone, the others needed to work in spell-sharing pairs or triples to provide the necessary power. After weeks of intense training, the six teams including Harry with Sirius as his companion, began the massive effort to protect each and every community. Town after town, region by region they would arrive at dawn, and collapse exhausted at night. Harry returned to Hogwarts as often as he could, sometimes desperately needing the recharge only Severus could give him.

There were times I was sorely tempted to bring you in by force. Even over the distance, I'd feel your dwindling resources until I myself was too far gone to do more than lay about like a Flobberworm. It was most inconvenient. I don't know what I would have done without Lenore.

Well, your indisposition served a purpose. How else was the girl ever to get Seth's attention with you glowering and sulking all the time?

I did not! Well, erm, perhaps I glowered a bit, but that was more from irritation with the boy for not noticing how much she loved him. I wish I'd known what it was Albus did to make Sirius change his viewpoint; I'd have used it copiously on Seth.

Harry chuckled. Ah, it seems you're fated to forever endure thick-headed Gryffindors. When Severus snorted, he added smugly, And, despite your desire then to kill me, you still loved me, although I do recall Sirius being on the receiving end of some blistering reprimands.

Venting my frustrations on you would have been pointless. You would have given me that look and ignored me anyway. Sirius was convenient and I suspect he didn't overly mind; there's a certain comfort in continuity and the gods know I loved baiting him. I still miss the mangy mutt.

Harry sent a mental caress; Severus might jest about it, but he knew the sentiment was real; he missed Sirius, too.

They both remained mentally silent while Severus continued his speech to the crowd as if they weren't conversing inside. Harry was almost returned to his reverie when Severus interrupted his meandering thoughts. I did learn something important, though, something Albus tried to answer for me before I voiced the question.

Surprised at the comment, Harry suppressed his curiosity, knowing Severus would get around to it in his own time. Limiting himself to an ironic, That sounds like Albus, he couldn't stop a wicked chuckle.

Severus snorted. Do you mind? Believe it or not, this is important--

Harry instantly sobered. I'm sorry. Please, do continue.

Brow raised Severus hesitated. I--oh damn! Not now, though. I'll need...

What? Brandy?

Idiot. Time. I need time. It's not easy to talk about the changes I went through then. He looked away. Damn, I should have kept my thoughts to myself, he mentally muttered.

Harry didn't think he'd ever seen Severus so flustered and couldn't hide his amusement; he'd drag every sordid detail out of him later.

Severus was right, though; many things had changed then, but immersed as he had been in his daunting task with the wards, Harry remained largely unaware of them. He never knew till later how Severus struggled to run a school with an ever-increasing census, nor was he involved in the castle's rapid expansion as it groaned under the new weight of the student body. Severus never said and Lenore, ever his able assistant, also remained silent.

To this day Harry wasn't certain whether Severus' slow evolution from despair happened because their plans seemed to be working, or because he'd been too exhausted to sustain his bitter cynicism. However, one thing was very clear; the changes in Severus' personality crystallized the year he almost lost Harry.

Must you? Severus groused. I really could do without another re-enactment from your fertile memory. This is supposed to be a party.

Harry just smiled serenely at him from his hidden position in the audience before sticking his tongue out at him.

Severus rolled his eyes and continued his speech. Harry chuckled unrepentantly, knowing Severus always hated it whenever he exposed his softer side.

TBC