The next year was one of the worst years of Harry's life. Draco's task was to kill Dumbledore. Even though he didn't go through with it, Dumbledore still died. Harry had encouraged Draco to complete his task… and there hadn't been time after to talk to his mate before he disappeared.

Harry had sensed the pain and fear from Draco that night. Had felt the desperation. He couldn't quite blame Draco for any of it. Harry wasn't sure he could say he would do any differently in his shoes.

Draco's emotions still came clearly through their bond, despite being far apart. The terror when Voldemort was angry, the rising panic when he searched the Hogwarts Express for Harry, the frustration when no one would tell him where Harry was… Harry sensed it all.

He tried to send back reassurance, love, and comfort through the bond. It didn't help much, but he could feel Draco's emotions calm a bit.

It was physically painful to be apart from his mate for so long. His mark burned. Hermione kept reassuring him that this was normal for veela mates. She applied tiny amounts of a potion to the mark whenever it was too painful.

She wouldn't tell him what the potion was. All she would say was that she had created it with Draco's help soon after they had bonded.

They spent most of that year hunting horcruxes. Whenever it was too much, Harry reached through the bond to feel Draco's warmth. It kept Harry sane .

He was able to handle wearing the horcrux longer when he could feel his mate's steady presence.

After Harry and Draco had bonded, they hadn't been able to spend much time together. Even so, Draco had become an anchor to Harry. He kept him grounded despite the distance separating them.

"Is it him? Is it Harry Potter?" Lucius demanded.

Harry couldn't quite believe it when he looked up into grey eyes. It wasn't ideal. He was kneeling in Malfoy Manor with death eaters surrounding him… but Draco was there.

Draco knelt in front of him. He was terrified and unsure. Harry understood why. Draco wanted to protect him. If he did try to protect Harry, it would likely kill him. Voldemort wouldn't be forgiving of that.

Stay alive. Stay alive. Stay alive.

Harry kept chanting in his head, hoping it would reach his mate. He could try escaping from Voldemort… but he was scared that Draco would be handed a death sentence if he lied.

"I can't be sure," Draco finally answered. "What happened to his face?"

"That wasn't us," Greyback growled.

"It looks like a stinging jinx to me," Lucius said.

He knelt beside Draco. Harry looked down.

"Is... that his scar?" Lucius pointed at a spot on Harry's forehead. "It looks like it could be if it was stretched tightly."

Draco's fingers pushed Harry's chin up. He brushed the hair out of Harry's eyes. Harry felt relief flood him. It wasn't appropriate, but Draco was touching him again. It soothed the ache in his mark.

"I don't know," Draco murmured. "It could be anything… it looks a lot like dirt to me."

"Lucius," Narcissa said, "we can't summon him if we aren't sure. He doesn't want to be disturbed… if it's not the Potter boy, he'll be angry."

Draco stood up, moving to his mother's side. Harry was still worried for Draco's safety. Draco had been ambiguous enough identifying him that Harry wasn't sure what Voldemort would do. Of course, that was if he found out about it.

What happened next was a blur. Later, Harry remembered being dragged off to the cellar. He remembered Ron screaming for Hermione. He remembered Hermione's shrieks of pain. Luna. Ollivander. Dobby. Griphook. Wormtail. The chandelier.

He remembered tackling Draco, taking wands from him, and a hurried whisper.

"Stay safe."

The next time Harry properly saw his mate was in the room of requirement. Draco was desperately trying to stop Crabbe killing him, but Crabbe refused to listen.

The fire Crabbe unleashed was out of control - and Draco was somewhere in there. Pure terror came through the bond.

"Accio brooms!"

There had to be brooms stowed away in all this mess. Harry held up his hand, praying that this would work. The first few seconds were painfully long. Then, he saw two brooms racing towards him.

He caught one. Ron caught the other.

"I'm going to go find Draco!" he shouted, throwing his leg over the broom.

It was easy to find his mate. Draco was screaming his name. Harry found him on a mountain of things that people had stashed here. When Draco spotted him, he raised his hand.

Harry dived, heart hammering. Everything was so hot. The fire was surrounding his mate. Harry grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him up onto the broom. His mate clung to him, face buried in his neck, as they flew out of the fiendfyre.

"Get us out of here!"

"I'm trying to find the door," Harry called back.

That's when he saw the diadem. It was thrown into the air by one of the fiery monsters. He needed to get it. Thank Merlin Harry was a damn good seeker.

Diving, he heard Draco screaming in fear. He tried pushing reassurance through their bond as he reached out for the diadem. As soon as he felt his fingers close around it, he pulled up.

Harry forced the ancient broom to its fastest speed. It shook under him. Draco clung tighter, almost painfully so… and then Harry spotted the open door through the smoke.

The broom felt like it was going to break into pieces with how hard it was shaking, but still Harry pushed it faster. He leaned down, flattening his body along the length of it.

As soon as they were out of the room, the door closed behind them. Harry and Draco collapsed onto the floor, coughing. Next to them, Ron was helping Hermione off the broom, holding her close, while Goyle was slumped on the floor. His friends must have rescued him.

"Crabbe," Draco choked, his eyes watering.

"He's dead," Ron snapped.

Harry shot Ron a reproachful look and glanced around. The only people in the corridor were the five of them and Goyle was still out cold.

Harry took a chance and kissed Draco's forehead. "It's gonna be alright."

Draco hugged him tightly, muffling a sob in Harry's shoulder. Harry held him tightly, running his fingers through his hair.

"Harry!" Ron's voice was urgent. "We don't have time for this right now!"

"Ron's right! We need to find the other horcrux!" Hermione coughed.

Harry rolled his eyes heavenward and quickly kissed his mate. Draco didn't have time to respond because Ron was yanking Harry away.

"Stay safe! I'll be back as soon as this is all over!" Harry said over his shoulder.

If he survived that long, he would be.

Harry stumbled out of Snape's memories, mind reeling. So, that was his role in all this. It wasn't just that Voldemort had 'marked him as an equal'. There was a piece of Voldemort's soul inside of him. Harry was a horcrux.

Harry had to die.

Forcing down his fear, he took a few deep breaths. He needed to be calm or Draco would know what he was about to do.

Grief washed over him at the thought of his mate. He had promised Draco he would come back.

Isn't that how stories are told? Fight the bad guy, be the hero, live happily ever after in love? After everything he had been through, some part of him really believed he would get a happy ending.

Harry could almost see it. A life with Draco. Children. A big family. A house filled with love.

That wasn't his destiny. He had to die instead. Now. He had to die now. There wasn't even time to say goodbye to his mate or his friends. They would all try to stop him anyways.

Tears threatened to form in his eyes. He blinked them away. Draco was getting worried. Pushing back comfort and love, Harry tried to soothe him and in return Draco sent a wave of love.

There was no choice for Harry. If Voldemort wasn't stopped, Draco would suffer. Harry's loved ones would all be murdered. Countless muggleborns and muggles would be slaughtered.

Harry straightened his back. He had a meeting with Death that he couldn't be late for.

Dying hadn't hurt. What had hurt was coming back and feeling absence where Draco had been. Harry had gotten used to the constant presence of his mate in the back of his head over the year. Now, it wasn't there. There was nothing when he reached for him.

The bond was gone.

Harry sensed someone kneel beside him. They turned him over. A hand touched his chest. A finger lifted his eyelid.

"Is Draco alive? Can you feel him?" Narcissa murmured, her lips next to his ear.

Harry had felt Draco up until he had died. The bond was gone, but Harry knew in his heart that he was alive. He had to be. He had just seen him.

Narcissa knew about the bond. She knew Harry and Draco were mates. She probably knew they loved each other.

He didn't have time to explain the bond was gone. Instead, he relied on instinct.

"Yes," he breathed because Draco had to be alive. He had to be.

Narcissa stood up.

"He is dead," she announced clearly.

Harry opened his eyes just a bit as he felt Hagrid stop walking. They were in front of the castle. Hogwarts looked like it was about to collapse in on itself. Through his lashes, Harry could see blood on the cobblestone.

A crowd was gathered on the steps, but he couldn't make out their faces. Harry didn't dare risk opening his eyes further.

He prayed to all the gods that Draco was still alive.

People started screaming.

"No!"

"Harry!"

It was awful. He wanted to show them all he was still alive, but all he could do was stay limp. He closed his eyes again.

He heard Voldemort lie about how Harry had died. Heard Neville defy him. Heard the taunts and jeers.

Harry cracked his eyes open in time to see Neville pull the sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and cut off Nagini's head in one swift move.

It was almost unbelievable. The ring, diary, cup, diadem, locket, Nagini… and Harry. All the horcruxes were gone. It was now or never.

Harry rolled out of Hagrid's arms and a very specific kind of chaos erupted. The shouts of his name were now full of disbelief and joy as the crowd realized that he was still alive.

Through it all, the sound of bones cracking and cloth tearing echoed around them, delaying the battle for just a moment.

Turning toward the sound, Harry saw his mate. The air around him was shimmering, making him look blurred.

Then, Draco jumped into the air. Flying must have been instinctive because Draco didn't seem to be having any problem with it.

Flying? Harry resisted the urge to rub his eyes. Draco had wings. Long, pearly white wings. Their eyes met. Silver and emerald. Draco was glowing. Everyone else seemed to freeze and Harry realised this was the first time they were seeing Draco as a veela.

Harry didn't have time to care about everyone else. He had to defeat Voldemort.

"Harry!" Draco threw Harry a wand as Harry scrambled off the ground.

His mate looked terrified. He was too far for Harry to touch, but Harry's hand reached toward Draco without thinking. A silent gesture.

Around them the battle had begun, McGonagall leading the way.

"Hide!" Harry finally yelled back before he tore his eyes from Draco at last and ran head first into the dueling witches and wizards.

The fight that followed wasn't what Harry expected it to be. He had expected more death. Bellatrix and Greyback were the only people he saw fall before he confronted Voldemort.

He tried to give Voldemort a chance. He really did. Voldemort refused to show any remorse. Then, it was over.

The great hall went silent. No one could believe Voldemort was really gone. The remaining death eaters surrendered.

Harry stared down at Voldemort's body, feeling slightly sick. He wasn't sure if it was relief or sadness that had him sinking to his knees. He started trembling.

Not even a moment later, he was tackled. The body that flew into his arms was warm and familiar. So familiar.. but strange with the addition of feathery wings. Harry tangled his fingers into Draco's hair.

"I thought you were dead. I felt the bond sever." Draco whispered in a choked voice against Harry's chest, sobbing. "You were gone."

Harry swallowed roughly. He wasn't sure what he could do or say to make Draco feel better.

"Death can't stop true love, Draco. All it can do is delay it for a little while." He kissed the top of Draco's head. "I'll always come back to you."

Draco lifted his head, his eyes red and puffy. He searched Harry's face. "There's no way you came up with that yourself."

"I may have seen it in a movie that my old babysitter likes." Harry grinned slightly. "I'll show it to you sometime."

"What is a mov-?" Draco started, but was promptly cut off by Harry's lips.

Harry kissed Draco with a year's worth of longing. Draco hesitated, but only for a moment. The hall erupted into noise around them.

"As soon as we can… I want to sneak away with you. There's probably somewhere in the castle that hasn't been destroyed where we can have privacy," Harry murmured, speaking into his ear.

"Why?"

"To renew the bond… I'll tell you what happened when I died too."

Draco's eyes flashed silver. He pulled Harry into an earth shattering kiss.

"If you ever die again, I'm bringing you back to kill you myself."

In the corner of the great hall, Pansy was hugging Hermione. Ron was holding them both as the girls cried with relief. Ginny had picked Luna up and was spinning her around. Narcissa and Lucius were watching their son and Harry. The rest of the Weasleys were huddled together.

It wasn't a complete victory. They had still lost so many people. Remus, Tonks, Fred… so many had died in this fight. The castle was in ruins.

Harry still had hope despite the losses. They could mourn for the dead. They could honor their memories. They could rebuild the castle… and they would do it together.

Harry kissed the top of Draco's head. All would be well. He would make sure of it.

Notes:

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