Chapter 8 - The Final Decision

"Polly! What happened?" he asked, dropping down to her level.

"Master Draco.... after you left, he went through the house and tore everything up. Polly tried to stop him, but he was too fast and Polly could never hurt the Master. He said you weren't ever coming back, but Polly just couldn't believe him... and you did come back!" Polly exclaimed, sounding like Winky for the first time.

Tears were leaking from her eyes and she flung herself at Harry. She clung to his shirt as best she could with one arm.

"And... how did Polly get hurt?" Harry asked softly, holding onto her small form.

"When the Master turned to enter the treasure room... Polly stopped him. Polly told him not to do it... that he would regret it. He told Polly she didn't know what she was talking about and forced her out of the way. That's when Polly hit the door and broke the handle... and her arm. The master stopped when the door opened... he started crying. He couldn't even see where he was going! He ran to Mr. Potter's wall and grabbed the pictures.....," Polly stopped, pointing toward the pictures of Harry.

Then she pressed her finger to Harry's forehead. Harry gasped. Suddenly he could see Draco, clutching the pictures on the wall. He saw Draco's tears. It was as if Harry was seeing this firsthand.. It was so real. Draco let go of the pictures and dropped to the floor.

'Why!?' he heard Draco growl out loudly in anger... anger at himself. 'Why can't I do it!?'

'Damn you!' Draco continued, forcing himself to his feet and running to the desk. He collapsed against it. Then he flung his arms across it's surface, knocking down everything onto the floor. Then he did the same to the table.

Harry gasped again as the vision left him. No! What happened?! Where had Draco gone after that?! He looked down at Polly in his arms. She was still crying those huge house elf tears.

"Master... went to work early.... said he needed to... lose himself... to keep busy," she explained, voice even quieter. Harry's heart sped up.

"Polly? Are you okay? How can I help?" he asked, standing up while holding her. Her eyes fluttered shut. "Polly?!"

"Mr... Potter.... is so kind. Polly is sure Master Draco will... notice how he feels," the house elf murmured. Harry began to panic. She wasn't listening to him!

Harry rushed to the livingroom and grabbed his invisibility cloak off the floor. He flung it over both of them and quickly left the house.

– – – – – – – –

Harry walked into the auror's office, his heart rate accelerating. He was scared... He'd managed to get the nurses at Saint Mungo's to take Polly in despite her being a house elf, but now he had to find Draco. He had to find him and explain himself before the dumb blonde got himself in trouble.

Harry swung around the corner and into Draco's cubicle. Nothing. No one. Just as Harry was about to curse the high heavens, Percy Weasley walked past.

"Afternoon, Harry," he greeted, heading for the lift.

"Afternoon Perc-... Percy!" Harry exclaimed, grabbing onto the Weasley's arm. "Do you know where Draco Malfoy is?"

Percy took the time to blink nineteen times before he remembered the answer... or possibly remembered to answer at all. He nodded and Harry relaxed his grip on the man's arm.

"Yeah. He came in twenty minutes early and got himself sent out on a job," Percy explained.

"What job?" Harry asked. His heart would burst if it went any faster. Was it possible that by rejecting Draco, he'd sped up the chain of events?

"Some Gringotts case, I think. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the dragon at Gringotts, yeah," Percy said, nodding.

"No way!" Harry cursed, dropping Percy's arm and rushing for the lift. His cloak was over his shoulder, but he didn't care if anyone saw him. Draco was heading toward his death!

No no no no no! Harry couldn't believe this was happening. Time turners weren't supposed to work like this! He had to get to Gringotts and stop Draco before it was too late! Let some other wizard... let some other auror die!

As soon as he was able, Harry left the ministry of magic and got himself over to Diagon Alley. It was impossible to apparate straight into the bank. It wouldn't be a very safe bank if you could. Harry rushed down the cobblestone streets, taking no notice of the people he ran into, though most moved before he could.

As he ran up the stairs to the bank, he heard someone call his name. He stumbled to a stop. When he turned around, Hagrid was walking toward him. He waved his hand and said something, but Harry wasn't listening.

He turned and ran into the bank, ignoring Hagrid's surprised and confused shout. Harry didn't look at any of the goblins save for the one sitting behind the large main desk. He grasped the desk tightly and took a few deep breaths of air.

"Excuse me, is the auror to settle your dragon issue here yet?" he asked.

"Of course he's here," the old goblin growled out. "They're always here on time."

"Could you please point me in the direction I might find him in?" Harry asked, impatiently bouncing on the balls of his feet.

The goblin scrutinized him severely, probably wondering just what he was up to. Harry continued to bounce. He didn't have time for this! If the goblin wasn't going to tell him, then he'd just find out which tunnel was right on his own!

"That way," the goblin finally spoke, pointing to his left. Harry nodded.

"Thank you!" he called as he hurried off.

There was no cart here waiting. There was no goblin with him. Harry went down the tunnel on foot, running faster than he could ever remember running before. After some time, Harry began to recognize the tunnel. He'd been in here with Ron and Hermione... however, the Lestrange vault was not the only vault down here, and Harry could hear the sound of dragons coming from several tunnels nearby.

He stopped for a moment. He tried to hear which dragon sounded the most... out of control. He didn't wait long. It took only a moment before the sound of a screeching dragon and flames caught his attention. Harry made his way toward the sound, looking for Draco the entire time.

He passed a goblin on the way. The creature paid him little mind, probably suspecting that even if Harry were a robber, going toward a dangerous, out of control dragon would take care of him. Then Harry saw what he was looking for.

"Draco!" he called out.

The blonde wizard stopped in his tracks and turned back to Harry. He seemed shocked at first, and then he glared.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" he asked. "I'm working. Get out."

"No! Draco, don't go!" Harry exclaimed, running into Draco and holding onto his shoulders. "You're not going down there!"

"Yes I am! It's my job!" Draco growled, trying to shake Harry off and continue towards the dragon.

"No!" Harry yelled in aggravation, shoving Draco up against the cold, rock wall. "You'll die!"

Draco opened his mouth to retaliate, then closed it. He seemed to link something in his mind. Then he narrowed his eyes. He gripped Harry's shoulder and shoved against him.

"You lying rat! You don't know that," he growled. Harry shook his head and leaned it against Draco's shoulder.

"Yes... Yes I do!... Draco-! You're the one I came back to save! Please believe me! I wont let you go to die!" Harry pleaded.

"See! That's why you're lying! Your person doesn't die till tomorrow! Plus! You said you loved the person who died more than anyone else ever! You've already told me you didn't return my feelings! So stop lying to me!" Draco yelled.

It was a good thing there were miles of tunnels under here and that people usually flew through them so fast they couldn't see or hear anything, otherwise everyone would notice this argument. Harry felt his body go weak with fatigue... more so than the fatigue it took to get him down here. His hands shook and faltered in holding Draco to the wall.

"No I....," Harry tried, finding it hard to get breath. "I lied!.... Draco, I lied!" he said, beginning to sob without tears. "I didn't think you should know about your death.... I thought... it would mess everything up... so I lied and told you I didn't love you.... so you wouldn't... know it was you... and I-...ah..."

Harry's legs gave out. He fell to the ground and barely caught himself in time not to smash his face. His whole body felt weak. He didn't understand.... Why now? He had to tell Draco everything and his body was giving out! Why? What was wrong with him?

"Harry?!" Draco's voice was in his ear, sounding worried. Oh...What a lovely sound. Draco had used his first name again. "What's wrong?" it sounded far away. Everything sounded far away. The dripping water in the tunnels, the roaring angry dragon, Draco trying to help him... It was all so soft. The world went dark, like a movie fading away to another scene.

Then all noise returned full force, but only half his energy seemed to flow back into him. He could see again. Harry pushed himself up to a half sitting position. Had he fainted or was it like one of his dizzy spells? How long had it lasted?

"What happened?" Draco asked. He tried to make eye contact with Harry, and Harry pulled him down for a kiss.

Draco didn't respond at first. Harry pulled back but didn't take the time to look at Draco. He kissed him again. Draco's eyes shut and he returned the kiss. Then Harry pulled back and looked away. He couldn't breathe properly.

"Sorry.... Gods, I'm dying, aren't I?" he groaned. Draco grabbed tightly to Harry's shirt and made him look forward.

"What the hell does that mean?" he asked. His features were torn between anger and concern. He ripped Harry to his feet. "You confess your love to me, kiss me a couple times, and then say you're dying? What the bloody hell is that?"

"So you believe me?" Harry asked, a smile creeping onto his face. Draco's expression faltered. Then he blushed lightly.

"Yeah... I guess I do. I mean... It sort of makes sense. You came back to save someone and just happened to decide to follow me around for a couple days? I'm surprised I didn't think of it earlier. And I suppose that answers the question of why you'd invite me to the beach too," the Malfoy heir thought aloud. "But that's not the point. Why in the hell would you be dying?!"

"Because I'm saving your life," Harry explained.

Draco watched Harry's eyes. They burned with confidence and shimmered in the light of a nearby torch. Draco didn't follow... that was the point wasn't it? To save Draco's life?

"I don't get it. That was your whole reason for coming back, wasn't it?" Draco asked. "Why would you be dying? You're not even hurt!" Harry heard the way Draco's voice rose an octave. He was scared.

Harry realized... he was scared too. Yet somehow he was filled with confidence and clarity. It was similar to the feeling he'd gotten when he finally decided to face Voldemort.

"You said it yourself, Draco. Time-turners... I mean, I should just be doing the same things that already happened... which means you would be dying soon... tomorrow, actually. But I've changed things. Every time I declared that I'd save you,... I didn't know it then, but I faded out for a minute. Like how my hands got cold after our fight this morning... or how I got dizzy twice after similar declarations....," Harry said.

To help as an example, Harry put his hand on Draco's face. From Draco's response, he knew he'd been right. He was probably ice cold.

"You know...," Harry murmured, his eyes filling with tears that weren't falling. "I know I told George I'd save you... even if it meant dying myself... but I didn't think it would actually come to that."

"Stop it, Harry!" Draco snapped. He lifted Harry off the floor and helped him stand. "Stop talking like you're already dead. You're still here!"

"But once you don't die... Luna wont come to tell me about your death, George wont give me the time-turner, and I wont come back to save you... It'll be as if it never happened, and I'll vanish... or I hope I'll vanish. It would be hard to explain a dead body that looks just like —," Harry's sentence was cut off.

Draco smashed their lips together. Then he pushed Harry against the wall and kissed him three more times. Harry didn't know what had made Draco do it, but he wasn't arguing. Draco pulled back and looked Harry in the eyes. Harry saw fear there. Draco was afraid this time because Harry responded. Harry was real and physical, but Harry could hardly breathe. He hardly had the strength to return those kisses. Every minute that passed without Draco facing that dragon and dying was another minute causing Harry problems. Draco could tell, couldn't he? That's why he was afraid.

"I don't want you to die," Draco breathed out in a moment where the dragon made no noise. It was almost as if it knew what was going on.

"I'm not," Harry replied with a smile. "There's another Harry... sitting in a bank in Germany... thinking about you even as we speak. Soon he'll be yelling at a goblin. Tomorrow he'll write an early morning report and will be back at work by lunch. That's the Harry you should be worried about."

Draco grit his teeth together. He couldn't argue. Harry was right. The original Harry was still alive and well. He had no idea about what was going on down here in these vault shafts. He had no idea what kind of danger Draco might be in... but he loved Draco just as fiercely as the Harry Draco had pinned to the wall, because he was one and the same.

Harry felt his chest contract. His heart jumped over a beat where it should have pumped. His body felt clammy to himself. He wondered how it felt to Draco. Was it cold like a corpse? Did he look as faint and weak as he felt?

"Polly," Harry began, pausing to take a deep breath. "She's at Saint Mungo's. You should go see her once I'm gone.... and George... You have to tell him I saved you. And I did save you, Draco. If I vanish, that means I saved you. You can't go throw your life away after that. If I reappear, I'll use this time-turner to come back and kick your ass."

Draco couldn't help but snicker despite the topic. He gripped Harry's shirt tightly. He didn't want to say goodbye... but he knew that if he said that, Harry would just tell him he didn't have to... because the real Harry wasn't going anywhere.

"And Draco," Harry's voice spoke up, soft as it was.

"Yeah?"

"When I get home tomorrow... Give me a kiss, and I want to hear you say you love me," Harry said.

"Y-yeah... Sure thing," Draco complied. He nodded slowly. "Harry-..."

"Yeah?"

"You're see-through," Draco said. The blonde bit back the tears as Harry had done so many times this last day. Harry smiled.

"Yeah... I know....I know, cause it feels like I'm air," Harry murmured.

"Harry, where do time-turner users go when things like this happen?" Draco asked, his fear so thick in his voice one might think Draco was vanishing and not Harry. The brunette shrugged.

"I don't know. I think I'd like to become part of myself... you know, rejoin my own soul, or some nonsense like that," Harry said.

"Yeah... You do that," Draco nodded.

"Draco... go take care of the dragon... but be extremely careful. Don't get to close. I can't entirely vanish until you finish the job and come back alive," Harry pointed out. Draco nodded again, a single tear slipping out of his eyes.

"Yeah.... I know," he said. He also knew that every moment he wasted was another moment Harry was in pain. Then Draco leaned forward and gave Harry another, softer kiss. "I love you. Wherever you go after this, just remember that... okay?"

"Deal," Harry agreed.

Draco let go of Harry's shirt and turned away. He pulled out the clanker(1) his goblin escort had given him. As he walked away from Harry and toward the dragon, he began to shake it. It made a terrible racket, but the dragon didn't respond to it. Harry slid down the wall. The noise of the clanker got louder despite Draco getting farther away.... He must have put a spell on it... or something.

Harry closed his eyes. Yeah. It really felt like he was just becoming air... like he was flying without a broomstick. He wished Draco could feel this too... just for a moment.... he wished.... and somewhere in Germany, Harry Potter cried a single tear.

One more chapter.

(1) A number of small metal instruments, which when shaken make a loud, ringing noise like tiny hammers on anvils. This was explained as being used by the goblins to make their dragons run out of the way when they take wizards to their high security vaults. It's mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: chapter 26.

Preview: Chapter 9 - The End

Harry wondered how he should greet Draco when he got to work. 'Hey there, fluffy. You didn't chew up the furniture while I was away, did you?' Harry snickered to himself. Draco's hair really did look better un-gelled... but that greeting might get him more than just a headache.

Even the Harry who had come back in time hadn't said it. He'd admitted to lying about NOT loving Draco, but he'd never told Draco 'I love you'. The Harry who had come back to save him had not kissed him like this, had not shown this much passion towards Draco.

Draco understood the why's... but he still wanted to hear Harry say it.

"I was trying everything I could to make you see me as strong, powerful, talented, amazing. I was trying so hard to win your approval, but everything I did only made you hate me more - or.. so I thought. I hated myself for how I was acting, but I couldn't stop. It was the only way I knew to get you to look at me."