Harry couldn't hear anything but the blood thrumming in his ears as the world around him seemed to go in slow motion. He was sure his heart was about to burst out of his chest as he scrambled from the small bed pushing Hermione's hands away as she tried to still him and keep him in place.

Draco. That's the only thought he could manage. Draco. He needed his mate. Harry felt magic at his finger tips as his best friend reached to stop him and with a single hand raise, Hermione stopped in her tracks with a sharp gasp as she felt the power in the room pulse around her.

The raw magic and energy pulsing off of him was a sight to behold. Harry looked at his hands and back to his friend. "I don't want to hurt you Hermione, where is Draco. Whether he is dead or taking his last breath as we speak, I want to see him. Now." The room vibrated at the last word.

Hermione didn't dare speak. She knew that the wrong move could send Harry into a magical outburst and it wouldn't end well for anyone. She just pointed to the door that led to the small hall of isolation rooms. He didn't give her a second glance and he moved quickly throwing the door open so hard it came off it's hinges.

Instantly Harry could smell him. It was barely there, but there none the less. He couldn't determine if his mate was alive from scent alone. A stronger scent was coming from a closed door. Draco wasn't alone inside, he turned the handle and pushed inside recognizing the room he has stayed in for Draco's first heat.

Harry attempted to calm his heart rate as he shut the door hurrying to the bedroom. He felt sweat drip down the back of his neck, his anxious hands smoothing out his shirt as he slowly approached the bed where he could see his mate laying against a mountain of pillows, a white sheet pulled up almost to his chin, looking paler than he had ever seen him. Beside the right side of the bed was the other scent he couldn't place.

Narcissa Malfoy.

He hadn't seen her since the end of the war and trials. She looked more worn then the last time he had seen her, heavy bags under her eyes, her hair a complete mess and her hand shook slightly as she was grasping her sons.

She didn't even look up as Harry approached the bed, "Mr. Potter." She said calmly. "I had warned them you would destroy the place to come and find him. They insisted they knew what was best for you, no matter how much I disagreed."

"Is... is he..." Harry couldn't bring himself to even say it. He moved the the bed on the opposite side, wandlessly conjuring a chair to sit alongside his lifeless mate.

"Physically he is still here with us. His magical core has been damaged. He breathes but nothing more." She said gently now looking up at the worlds hero. Her eyes were red from what Harry was to assume was heavy crying. "They made only necessary decisions for his health. The rest of them... they are left in your hands Mr.Potter."

Harry reached out and took Draco's right hand, clasping it tightly, frowning at how cold it felt. "Please, call me Harry. The rest of them? What do you mean? He will recover won't he?" He glanced back to the pale face of his sleeping mate willing him to know he was here, willing him to wake up.

"Mr. Pot- Harry..." Narcissa started softly. "I know that you don't know a lot about our world. That you were thrown into its pits during some of its most trying times and that the knowledge this school and mentors gave you was based solely on your role to save it. Magical cores are literally the center of every witch or wizards existence. Cores are extremely complex and even the best med-wizards haven't found the means to heal a broken core. Historically, there has only been a few case where cores have been mended miraculously and the witch or wizard had survived. But even the documentation on those events are vague at best."

Harry frowned at that. She didn't sound very hopeful. "So we just give up then?" He felt anger boiling in his chest. Anger at those who had made this happen, anger that he wasn't there for Draco when he needed him most and now anger that his mother was just so willing to give up on him.

"Before I was even Draco's age, I had been promised to Lucius. The Malfoy's were a powerful a family, and my family told me it was an honor that they wanted me to wed and mate to their son when the time was right. I had thought, with time I could love him and he would love me. I thought... for a long time that Lucius loved me and I him. That's all a girl dreams about when she's young. Is falling in love and being whisked away. I thought I had that. Then I had Draco and I knew that in that exact moment, that's what love really felt like. I watched Draco grow, and as a mother my worst fears were happening. His father was molding him to be just like him. A cruel uncaring man who had little value in his actual family nor a care to find love in this world."

Harry watched as the woman paused to stroke Draco's cold cheek. She seemed lost in her own thoughts for a moment. He felt wrong witnessing such a tender moment between the two of them.

"Do you know what one of a mothers greatest wishes are for her children? That they find someone who completes them in every way, and that their life is filled with as much love as could possibly deserve. A mother just wants her child safe and happy, Harry above anything else in this world. I didn't know your mother, but I would bet everything in my vault that her only wish for you would be be to find love and be happy and safe in that life." She paused again and now looked at Harry. "When Draco presented as an Omega, Lucius was furious. Beside himself in a rage that no one could calm. His perfect heir, wasn't going to be able to live up to his impossible standards. I, however, secretly rejoiced. This was a gift from Merlin. A mothers wish granted. That finally, my son would have the chance to love and be loved. He was about to discover a whole new world. I contacted Severus, knowing that Lucius would be disowning Draco the second he pulled out of his heat. For the first time in years, I had hope that his life was about to turn around. I knew it would be a rough couple of months as he adjusted to his new life, but I also knew that this would be what was best for him."

Harry noticed a few tears slide down her face, she didn't even move to brush them away.

"I found out that you had been courting Draco through Severus. I'm sure that this will surprise you, Harry, but I couldn't have been happier. Harry Potter, courting my son. Before you think ill of me, it had nothing to do with your name sake but everything to do with the person you were. I watched you walk into the woods that day, and you gave your life for an entire world of people who had used you and put you through more hell than a child should ever face just to save those that you loved. You never second guessed it. You just did what was right for those you loved. I knew you would love Draco so fiercely and so throughly that as a mother, my greatest wish had come true. Severus would update me when he could, so Lucius wouldn't know. When he told me he saw Draco's bond mark, I knew you would protect him. You would do anything for him. You could have had anyone in the wizarding world but you chose my Draco." Now Narcissa was looking at him, baring her entire soul on her sleeve for him. "I don't want you to give up Harry. How could I ever want you to give up? Even if I did, that's not in your nature. Draco often described you as more stubborn than any creature he had ever come across. What I want, Is what I always want. Is for you to love my son and in that love you have for him, and decide what is best for him. I might be his mother, I will always love him. You, however, decided to love him. To share your soul with him for the rest of your life. I trust that you will make the best decision for him because of that love."

Harry felt his heart in his throat and now was wiping away his own tears. "I know he's not done fighting Mrs. Malfoy. If he could talk in this moment, he would want us to fight for him. You are right, I don't know much about magic and the history of it. I don't care what seems impossible to the rest of the world. I have defied the odds my entire life and I certainly won't stop now. You are more than right about the love I have for your son. When we started this, it was for selfish reasons. I wanted a family to call my own. Children, a husband and a house. The whole picture. I didn't care how I got to those means, and in that right it makes me no better than your husband. I was willing to put my own needs and happiness in front of your sons. I took advantage of the fact that he need protection and cashed in on it. But as time passed, and I got to know him, I started falling. Hard. He was everything I had every wanted and more. Draco has always treated me as just Harry and I needed that more than I had realized. I love your son more than I have ever loved anyone else in my life. I want what is best for him. Right now, that is to fight. I will find a way to bring Draco back to us. We both need him." Harry reached across and took Narcissas other hand and squeezed it gently.

A small smile graced her lips as she looked back at her sons sleeping form. "I'm not a betting woman Harry, but if I was, I would bet on you. If there is a way to bring Draco back from this, I know you will find it." She squeezed his hand back and let the room fill with just the sounds of their breathing.