The Dream Trilogy Book 2: Tread On My Dreams

by Helen Jay

COMPLETE. Draco is lost. Harry's is the world in trouble now, but it's Draco's past that is catching up to them. Fast.

8. Chapter Seven: With You

A/N 12-09-14: Sorry it's a bit late guys! There was a bit of emergency beach-side editing to be done, and this one's a bit epic so it took a while. But we're here now, at the end of book two – eeep! I hope you enjoy :-)

Chapter Seven -

With You

xxx

I woke up in a dream today

To the cold of the static, and put my cold feet on the floor

Forgot all about yesterday

Remembering I'm pretending to be where I'm not anymore

A little taste of hypocrisy

And I'm left in the wake of the mistake, slow to react

So even though you're so close to me

You're still so distant

And I can't bring you back

xxx

Linkin Park

xxx

Draco coughed as the mothballs flew all around him. He waved them away impatiently, his throat tickling so much it made his eyes stream.

"Is Master Draco alright?" chirped Dobby anxiously from by his knee. "Only Master Draco told Dobby not to disturb this room, so he hasn't."

"No," choked Draco, rubbing his face. "You did the right thing, but perhaps you could give it a quick sweep now, we'll probably be here a – a while." He had another good cough, wiped his eyes, then slowly entered the dark room he had just opened the door to.

Dobby as always was eager to please, and nipped in ahead of Draco, lit all the lamps in a flash, then set about making the room habitable again. With a flick of his little green hand, the curtains were pulled apart to reveal the bright May sunshine, and he began chasing dust out of the nooks and crannies and into a pan he'd produced from nowhere.

Draco stood in the middle of the room as Dobby the whirlwind spun about him. It wasn't the largest of rooms, merely a smallish study with a desk and a delicate looking wooden chair, one wall that was filled entirely with a bookcase, and a storage cupboard.

His mother's study, a place neither she or him had been in a number of years.

A single silver photo frame was on the neatly ordered, but fairly crowded desk top. Draco looked on as his eight year old self scampered about, waving at the camera and grinning with his two front teeth missing. Dobby hopped up and began clearing off the dust that had collected on top of all the books, note pads and stacks of paper.

This room had been used in the days where his mother worked hard to keep the affairs of Malfoy Manor all in order. But after what had happened at Hogwarts she'd never spent another single minute caring for the place, entrusting it instead to a housekeeper she's insisted on hiring.

Draco wasn't sure why he was in here. He was trying his best to pack for his move into the Potter's place, and had been combing through several of the less used rooms of the house in case he wanted to bring some forgotten keepsake. But this room had nothing of his in he was sure. Maybe he simply wanted to revisit a place he knew to have just been his mother's, never his father's.

Dobby sneezed and fell back onto his behind. "Dobby is truly sorry Master Draco," he said, sneezing again and scrambling to his feet. "Dobby should never have let any room in this house become such a state."

But Draco waved him off. "I told you," he said kindly. "I didn't want this one disturbed, I just changed my mind now that's all. How about you get us some lemonade to stop us having a fit whilst we work?"

"At once sir!" cried Dobby, and disappeared with a loud crack.

Draco sighed and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. He still wasn't feeling definite about moving in with Lily and James, but it seemed they, and Sirius, wouldn't take no for an answer. Hermione and Blaise thought it was a good idea too, but Draco was procrastinating in his departure from the Manor. This had been his only home, and he knew he could always come back, but there was something about the move that felt like abandonment.

There probably wasn't going to be anything useful in this particular room, and he was starting to regret bringing up such painful memories – as all memories of his mother were. He decided to have a quick look through then just move on as quick as possible; he'd let Dobby have his clean up to make him happy, then lock the door once again.

He scanned through the items on the desk but dismissed them almost straight away. Some of the books on the shelf looked vaguely interesting but not enough to take to Godric's Hollow, and then that just left the cupboard. Draco eased open the squeaky door and pulled down several cobwebs that had been stretched across the threshold.

It was all pretty chaotic inside there, all kinds of boxes and random items piled up in top of one another. From what Draco could tell it was his mum's old stuff from when he moved out of her parents' house and into the Manor. There were all her all books from Hogwarts, photo albums, a faded globe of the world, even her old Slytherin tie mixed in with board games, parts of fancy dress outfits and a number of slightly sinister Victorian dolls.

Eyeing a particularly creepy one with a cracked face and red ringlets, Draco went to close the door and leave the study for good, when his foot nudged something heavy tucked away in the corner. It looked like a stone pot with a lid on, like something you might cook with. Curious, Draco knelt down and edged it out into the study, and as soon as he got it into the light he could see it was engraved with the Black family coat of arms, all skulls and ravens and their motto "Toujours pur."

He squinted at it and gave it a prod with his wand. Instinct told him he knew better than to lift the lid off things when he didn't know what they were, but he reasoned it had belonged to his mother and she had never been involved with the dark arts. That was all Lucius Malfoy.

Carefully, he slowly lifted the stone lid of the pot with a nasty scraping sound, and as soon as the seal was broken a blue light started emanating from inside. He paused, for a moment sure he'd unleashed some terrible curse, but nothing happened so he heaved the heavy lid off and plonked it on the floor.

He stared in wonder as the source of the blue light was revealed; bright glowing wisps of smoke were twisting about inside the pot, twirling and dancing around one another.

Draco had never seen such a thing before, but he knew what they were. Memories. This was a Pensive filled with his mother's memories.

A strong wave of emotion rolled over Draco, almost making him dizzy. Excitement, fear, grief, they all mingled into one big mess. Why had his mother hidden away a secret stash of her memories?

He looked about, almost expecting Dobby to have caught him in the act, though he wasn't sure why he felt guilty. But the little elf was nowhere to be seen, and Draco felt his hands wrapping around the rim of the Pensive. The circumference was barely bigger than his head, but he knew that was what you were supposed to do – stick your head in and watch the memories like a ghost.

His stomach was squirming, but he knew there was no way he could just put the lid back on and forget about it. So with a deep breath, he leant forward on his knees and touched his face to the memories.

He fell forward instantly with a sickening lurch, his arms and legs flailing. But within seconds he was back on his feet, unharmed, in the west wing of Malfoy Manor. For a moment he looked about confused, thinking he had mistaken the Pensive for a Portkey and he'd merely moved through the house instead. But then his mother turned into the corridor, and Draco felt all the air leave his lungs.

She was startlingly beautiful, in a long white robe, her unlined face surrounded by tresses of golden hair. And in her arms, snuggled up to her neck, was a baby.

Draco looked back and forth between the child and his young mother. With its halo of blond hair there was no mistaking who the baby could be; it had to be him. Narcissa was bouncing the infant, swaying back and forth and shh-ing, in what Draco guessed was an attempt to keep him asleep. She looked so happy, so peaceful.

He'd seen photos of himself when he was small, and his mother when she'd been young, but there was something very surreal about standing there watching them walk towards him. The way the baby Draco fretted and the calmness with which Narcissa soothed him, the way they both smelled of fresh laundry, the way his mother's voice bounced off the Manor's otherwise silent walls.

He'd never thought he'd see his mother again, and even though he knew he was watching a memory the sensory overload was as welcome as it was overwhelming. She looked so carefree, so unburdened, it lifted Draco's heart.

He trailed after her as she passed him, following her down the grand staircase past a collection of Malfoy decedents from the eighteenth century. "Finally managed to get the little brat to sleep then?" griped a huge man called Francis, with whom Draco and Blaise had had several vicious arguments with since he'd inherited the house.

"Oh go boil your head," said Narcissa in a pleasant whisper. "We're off to find Daddy, aren't we Draco?"

She reached the base of the stairs and turned right. Draco felt a little surprised to hear her berate the painting like that, she had always seemed afraid of them. He smiled and jumped the last couple of steps.

They strolled along to Lucius Malfoy's study, the one Draco had been enjoying the last few months, and he was surprised again to see his mother waltz right in, and then again when his young father greeted them both with open arms.

"There's my favourite people," he said warmly. His hair was short and his eyes were unlined like his wife's. He rose from behind his desk to wrap his arms around Narcissa and the baby, and Draco watched as the two of them cooed his little self. He felt something twist in his guts as the other Draco was kissed and cuddled. Who was this man that looked like his father, his eyes shining with affection, his laughter filling the room.

Draco couldn't help but be relieved when the image shifted all around him, and suddenly he was outside in the sweeping grounds of the Manor.

"Draco be careful!" He spun around to see the still young Narcissa chasing after a toddler sized Draco, who was quite the speedy little fellow. Draco couldn't really think of it as being himself as the child whizzed past, his mother hot on his heals as he pelted towards a set of short steps set into rhododendron hedges.

It was then the little boy tripped, smashing his face into the bottom step and bursting into tears. Draco felt his hand fly automatically to his own mouth as the crying, miniature Draco turned over to reveal a contorted, blood splattered face. He could see right away his new teeth had gone through his lip.

"Oh baby," cried Narcissa, panic-stricken and sweeping him up into her arms, covering her with his blood. "Oh baby, it's okay mummy's here."

Draco watched them for a moment as they cuddled and little Draco tried to calm himself. The door nearest to them suddenly banged open, and all three of the people on the patio jumped. Draco knew there was nothing for him to fear, but he still flinched back slightly at the sight of his father's fury.

"What did you do to him!" he cried. Lucius' voice was panicked like Narcissa's had been, but it was also tainted with anger that Narcissa picked up on as quickly in the past as Draco did in the present.

"He fell," she said quickly. "It's just a cut, I was about to fix it."

Lucius snatched his son from her arms and held him up to inspect his bloody face. Toddler Draco began crying again, squirming in his father's hands.

"His face Sissy, look at his face!" She reached out but Lucius jerked away. "He cannot have a scar like that! Leave him to me." And so he stormed off, he son bawling in his arms, leaving Narcissa to lower slowly to the stone steps, her hand resting on her red-smeared robes.

Draco sat beside her as she stared blankly after her husband and son, blood dripping from her fingers. Why was this memory saved here? It was horrible.

It ended as quickly as it began, changing to his third birthday party in the main hall. The Manor's grandest room was filled with extended family and friends of his parents, as well as several children of the same age running around and squealing at a pitch that made Draco's ears throb. It took him a moment to realise that one of the little girls was a tiny Blaise Zabini which delighted him no end.

His parents were all love and smiles again, holding hands and talking to guests all holding champagne. Draco recognised Bellatrix Lestrange with a shudder, and a man who had to be Sirius' brother their looks were so similar. He remembered Sirius saying he'd been a Death Eater. At that moment the three year old Draco threw himself at his mother's legs, almost knocking her off her feet. "Mummy, Draco found stone!"

He held it up for her to see like he'd discovered a lost treasure. "That's lovely sweetheart," she said as all the adults around her laughed. But the little Draco was determined, and stretched up his arm even more, a scowl on his face.

"Heart," he cried, shaking his fist. "Mummy heart."

Still laughing she realised he was trying to actually give her the stone, so she took it from his hand. Draco had to crane his neck to see over his Great Aunt Theodora, but as soon as he saw what his mother held he barked out a laugh no one else could hear. The stone was shaped like a love-heart, just as three year old Draco had been trying to explain. But what made him laugh was that that stone had lived on his mother's dressing table for as long as he could remember, was still there in fact, and had been held and rubbed so many times it was now as smooth as glass.

As the memory changed again Draco made a mental note to pack it away with his things to take to the Potters.

There were several other memories that followed quickly after the ones he'd just witnessed. The first time he flew on a broom was a happy one like the party, but a terrible argument between his mother and him at the age of seven was very hard to watch. Narcissa was worried how much time he and Blaise were spending together, largely because Mrs Zabini was known to have murdered her previous six husbands for their inheritance, and it wasn't clear how her current one had managed to survive this long. Looking on as an adult, Draco could see his mother was just terrified Blaise was going to turn into her mother and slit Draco's throat during a game of exploding snap, but she was being vicious in her attempt to convince him. In turn, seven year old Draco was pulling out every horrible insult her could think of. The argument ended when Lucius stormed in and pulled them apart.

Draco remembered running off to his bedroom to have a tantrum, but now he saw what happened once he had left his parents alone. Lucius strode over and seized his wife's arm. "You are being paranoid," he had snarled. "That family is an extremely good match for Draco and I insist you let his affection for Blaise develop unhindered. Do you understand?"

Narcissa quailed away, her fear and anger suppressed behind a trebling lip.

Through his mothers memories, Draco watched as his and Narcissa's relationship crumbled. The more she tried to love and protect him, the meaner he became, the further away he pulled. He felt sick, realising how selfish he'd been, how much he'd let himself be manipulated by his father.

It wasn't until he saw his twelve year old self seated at the kitchen table did Draco realise what the memories were building towards. She couldn't have missed this moment out from the collection, of course not. But Draco felt panic hit him like a fist as he worked out what he was about to witness, and he turned to grab the door and run away.

But he was trapped. He was in the Pensive to watch the memories, and that's what he had to do. It didn't stop him from pressing himself as far back away from the table as possible.

Young Draco was swinging his feet back and forth looking about the room. His left hand was resting on his right forearm, and Draco knew it was because he'd just got a tattoo there and it was still stinging. But the other Draco looked happy. He was excited about showing his mother.

Draco felt sick, and he heard the shouting before his younger counterpart did, because he was straining for it.

"What were you thinking?" screamed Narcissa from several rooms away, and suddenly twelve year old Draco realised his parents were arguing. He looked up horrified in the direction of their voices as Lucius ranted about family and honour, and the colour drained from the child's already pale face.

"He's just a boy, just a baby," sobbed Narcissa, bursting through the kitchen door and seizing her son's arm, not even looking at him as she yanked up his sleeve to see it was true for herself. She gave a little gasp as the tender looking skull and snake came into view, and young Draco snatched his arm back with a hiss of pain. He looked up at his mother with scared and confused eyes.

"You're hurting him," cried Lucius as he strode in and pulled Draco too him, still cradling his arm.

Narcissa smacked the back of the nearest dining room chair making it bang on the floor with a loud crack. "He wouldn't be hurt if you hadn't branded him like some animal."

Lucius turned from her to crouch in front of Draco. "I want you to go to your room," he said, almost warmly. "Your mother's not feeling well."

Young Draco nodded and did as he was told, but the present day Draco had to stay as Lucius turned back to his hysterical wife. "Calm. Down," he said, his tone dangerous. But Narcissa fled from the room, sobbing and pulling at her hair. "You've made him one of them, one of you, he doesn't understand, he's just trying to please you and it will get him killed!"

Draco followed his parents into one of the drawing rooms as Lucius grabbed his mother's wrist and spun her round. "We have been chosen by The Dark Lord for this honour," he bellowed, shaking her arm. "I will not hear a single word more on the matter."

"But he's too young," wailed Narcissa, distraught. "I know what you all do, it's madness, reckless madness, I can't, I won't-"

Lucius pushed her down onto an armchair. "You can and you will," he growled pointing a finger at her. "It's already been decided, there's nothing you can do."

Narcissa curled up into a ball, her cries raking through her body. "I won't let you," she gasped. "You can't take him from me, I won't let you."

Draco stood and watched his father stare at his shaking mother for what felt like a very long time. Narcissa continued to cry, uttering "you can't" and "I won't" intermittently. Eventually, Lucius turned and left the room without a word, his face a hard mask. Draco didn't spare him even a glance as he did, just sank to his knees by the chair and wished he could offer his mother's memory some comfort.

She must have fallen asleep, because the room suddenly went dark as night had fallen. Draco jerked to his feet at the sudden sound of footsteps, and Narcissa stirred from her doze. Lucius walked into the room, followed by two men Draco didn't recognise.

He felt weak at the knees, unable to warn his mother in any way as she groggily sat up in the chair, eyes blinking at her husband as she remembered what had been happening.

Lucius had his hands gripped very tightly on his black cane with the silver snake head. The two other men stood silently behind him, waiting for instruction.

Narcissa looked between them and Lucius. "What's going on?" she croaked, her sleepy eyes wide.

Draco wasn't sure, but he could of sworn his father's lip trembled. "I'm sorry Sissy," he whispered.

The two men standing behind him sprung to life, and pounced on Narcissa before she had a chance to register what was happening.

"What are you doing!" she shrieked as they yanked her to her feet. "Get off me, Lucius? Lucius!"

Once on her feet the men began dragging her across the room kicking and screaming. "Lucius what's happening, what are they doing? Lucius help me!"

But Lucius Malfoy just stood there, his eyes fixed on the chair where his wife had been sleeping moments before. Her screams continued out into the hallway.

"Lucius you can't do this, he's too young!"

Draco was crying, a silent ghost helpless to rescue his poor mother. He stepped up to the memory of his father, glaring him down. A single tear fell down the man's cheek. "I'm sorry Sissy," he whispered again, and then the screaming abruptly stopped.

xxx

Draco tumbled back into his mother's dusty study, arms flailing so wildly he knocked Dobby clean off his feet, showering them both with lemonade. They both landed on their elbows, Draco panting like a marathon runner, Dobby scrambling straight to his feet to dart to his master's side.

"Master Draco!" he squeaked. "Are you okay! Draco's wasn't here and Dobby didn't know what to do!" Draco took several moments to catch his breath and slow his heart down. His insides felt like a pit full of fiery snakes, but his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"I'm fine Dobby," he said eventually, patting the little elf on the arm.

"Is Draco sure?" he replied, fussing over him and brushing ice off his shoulders. "Is there anything Dobby can do?"

Draco stared at the Pensive, his mother's screams resonating in his ears. "Yes," he said, slamming the lid back on to conceal the memories. "You can get me the Hell out of this house."

xxx

There was about a second before anybody could think of anything to say or do. Harry's sudden appearance had shocked them all into immobility. Harry knew it wouldn't last.

"Libermento!" he roared at Hermione as he snatched her wand from by his feet and threw it at her. As the ropes that held her tumbled to the floor she plucked the wand from the air and turned on the nearest Death Eaters before they could attack.

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted, pulling the gag from her mouth.

By then Hell had well and truly broken loose. The men and women robed in black rushed towards the prisoners but Harry was already blasting them back. Ron, who's hands had not yet been tied, flung himself towards Harry as a nasty jet of green light flew over his head, reaching eagerly for his own wand. Harry threw it to him as he jumped off the table, the rest of the wands safely in his grasp, and tipped the table over so they could duck behind it. Draco threw himself unceremoniously by Harry's side as Ron, now also ungagged, shot at the Death Eaters with one hand and dragged Tonks, still bleeding and unconscious, back into safety.

Harry fired several protection spells at the table then another Libermento spell at Draco, who took no time in yanking the cloth from his mouth and finding his wand from the pile. "Took your time," he said to Harry, a big grin on his face, before he ducked his head to the side of the table and fired off a spell.

Harry looked over to see Hermione and Sirius back to back over Remus, who although had been untied was too injured to move. They must have erected some sort of reflective spell around them that was stopping most of the spells from getting through to them. Most, but not all.

Several Death Eaters lay unconscious on the floor, but at least as many were still fighting having taken cover in the lower seating levels. Harry saw his old friends Mr Welshman and Salt-and-Pepper hiding behind a water fountain. The Welsh one fired a spell every now and again, but Salt-and-Pepper seemed to just be content to cover his ears with his hands and hum.

The little curly-haired woman that had punched Sirius suddenly made a break for it and dove towards to watery main doors that led out from Courtroom Ten. Harry knew if she got through she would fetch Lucius and the others as reinforcements.

"Stop her!" he yelled out to whoever was listening, but the spells he and Ron fired hit nothing but water.

They ducked back behind the table as it rocked from the force of several curses hitting it at once. Harry thought he heard a worrying splintering noise, but at that moment Sirius let go a strangled cry of pain.

"Cover me," said Draco before even checking what had happened.

Harry's stomach lurched as the blond boy jumped up and ran into the fray. Harry didn't have time to think, he just leapt up too and fired at as many black robes he could find, an unrelenting assault that Ron took only a moment to join him in. Tonks made a moaning noise by their feet, but Harry didn't dare take a moment to check and see if she was awake.

Hermione was spinning round like a waltzer gone mad, shooting spells frantically in every direction possible. She didn't have a very good aim, but the onslaught was so great she had all the Death Eaters dodging out of her way until Draco could reach her side. Sirius had crumpled by Remus, and the both of them were now panting, bleeding, and clutching their sides.

"We should get to higher ground."

Harry darted behind the table in shock. A battered looking Tonks was rubbing her head, her wand firmly in hand. She'd obviously performed some healing spells on herself whilst Harry's back had been turned. "If we can get a height advantage," she continued, "they won't stand a chance, the others can fall back with us then."

Harry only took a moment to think it over. "Agreed," he said as Ron shot at anyone who tried to aim at Hermione or Draco circling protectively over the injured adults between them.

They couldn't hold out much longer.

"Tonks," whispered Harry urgently. "You take over the spells, Ron, help me lift the table." After being unconscious for hours Harry figured there was no way the young witch would be able to move the heavy wooden table, but she didn't seem to mind her new task.

The two swapped positions in an instant, and Harry and Ron grabbed the top leg on their respective sides of the table. "Go!" hissed Harry, and they were moving backwards, towards the stairway that lead back up to the circle where Harry had just jumped from. Tonks' spells were more varied and colourful than Harry's or Ron's had been, and so was her language. She was obviously ready for some payback after her ordeal, and soon a number of the Death Eaters were sprawled on the floor sporting tentacles, boils or feathers.

"Take that!" she crowed through a split lip as a skinny chap crashed to the ground, his wand sprawling from his hand. Tonks' eyes lit up and she darted her own hand out to snag it. She let out a mischievous laugh and began her onslaught again, but this time with the added advantage of using two wands. The Death Eater's wasn't as powerful as her own, and her left aim not as good, but she was still volleying off an array of dazzling spells.

Draco had taken a hit on his shoulder, and he was now cradling it protectively. There weren't that many black robed figures left standing, but Harry knew it couldn't be long before the others arrived to help.

"Up the stairs!" Harry told Ron as they reached the steps. He didn't need telling twice as he bolted up to the second level with Tonks right behind him. Harry remained crouched behind the table, firing at the few Death Eaters that were left standing. Once Tonks made it to the balcony though it was practically all over, as she blasted everyone she could reach into unconsciousness or at least ensured they could no long point a wand.

Harry jumped from behind the table and ran to Hermione and Draco. "You okay?" he cried, heaving his godfather up and hooking his head under his arm to carry him.

"Better for seeing you," said Hermione breathlessly as she gave Remus her hand so he could stand. "Let's get out of here."

"Mum."

Harry was already on his way to the stairs with Sirius when Draco spoke, but he turned so they were shuffling sideways to see what was happening.

Draco and Hermione were supporting Remus between them, Draco on his good shoulder, Hermione with most of her body. But Draco was holding his other hand out, looking at the crying blonde woman who had been cowering behind Lucius.

If course that was Draco's mother, realised Harry slightly horrified. His dead mother, the mother he had lost.

Suddenly Harry was far more concerned about Draco's metal well-being rather than his physical.

Narcissa Malfoy was curled up on the floor, her knees to her chest, her back to the wall right next to the watery entrance way. "Mum?" said Draco again more urgently, shaking his open hand. "Mum come on, come with me," he pleaded.

She stared at his palm as if it were holding a live grenade.

"Mum?"

She just looked up at him with bewildered eyes.

Draco looked as if he was going to let go of Sirius and go and physically pick the woman up, but at that moment Harry saw movement in the water outside the courtroom.

"We have to move, now!" he called out, dragging Sirius up the stairs. With a tortured look Draco spun Remus, Hermione and himself around, and together they ran for the walkway up to the circle.

Lucius Malfoy burst through the watery entrance just as they reached the top of the stairs. It only took him a moment to scan the scene to see something had gone very wrong in his absence. Tonks fired a curse that missed him by inches, and he jumped backwards in shock.

"Draco!" he bellowed, spinning around as he threw up several shield spells and furiously looked around the room. Draco however was too busy laying Remus down on the second level to do anything more than grit his teeth at the sound of his father's ravings.

Harry had entrusted Sirius to Tonks, who had pocketed the spare wand and was already fast at work with her healing spells, then whipped round to peer through the missing knot in the wood. Several Death Eaters were splashing out of the wall of water, instantly on their guard, including the little auburn haired woman, who almost had a feral look on her would-be-pretty face.

"Protego Totalum!" cried Hermione, performing another shield spell above the balcony to protect them as a number of Death Eaters tried to run up after them. Once they smashed into the invisible barrier and tumbled back down the stairs, a torrent of vicious spells were hurtled their way, but the combination of Hermione's charm and the wooden balcony meant the bedraggled group was reasonably well protected for the moment.

Sirius was already back up on his feet with Tonks, shooting down on the Death Eaters so they didn't throw anything too nasty up at them. A protective charm would do them little good if the whole floor collapsed.

"We need to get out of here!" cried Harry. "There's a secret passageway at the top, everyone up the aisle!"

They didn't need telling twice as the group sprinted towards the two-way mirror. All except Draco, who stood frozen staring at his mother as Lucius shook and roared at her for letting their son escape.

"You can't help her," said Harry urgently, his hand on Draco's shoulder.

Draco couldn't seem to make his feet move. "I – she doesn't know what she's doing, I can't-"

Harry tugged on his shoulder. "They won't hurt her," he said, hoping he was right. "She's one of them."

"She was before!" countered Draco pulling free and lurching towards the staircase. That's when Hermione's protective spell gave way.

Draco only just had time to duck as a blast of green light hurtled through the courtroom. Harry did the first thing he could think of, and screamed "Vapouritium!" which instantly filled the air in front of him with thick, grey smoke. He seized Draco by the collar and manually yanked him backwards. Coughing, the two boys scrambled up the steps towards the half open secret passageway. Harry was glad the others hadn't needed an explanation of their escape route.

Draco leapt through the hole with Harry right behind him, and he heaved the mirror shut before the Death Eaters could see where they had disappeared to. Draco swore, very loudly, and bashed the stone wall in anger. "Why wouldn't she come with me?" he cried, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. "I have to go back!" Harry grabbed hold of both his shoulders as he lunged for the mirror.

"No!" he said. "She made her choice – you can't just hand yourself over!"

Draco shoved him backwards, and Harry was so stunned for a moment he didn't realised he had scraped his palms. Draco pointed a quivering finger at him. "I watched her die. I wasn't there for her and they punished me through her!"

"That's not your mother!" shouted Harry, hating himself. His voice echoed along the dank stone corridor, the dim torches flickering. "That woman was too scared to save herself, and you cannot hold yourself responsible!"

"You have no idea!" cried Draco.

"I have every idea!" Harry yelled back. "You're talking to the only person who has any kind of idea!" His hands were shaking so badly he had to wrap them around his body. "My parents died to save me and I never even knew them until last November! I had to let them go and give the other Harry back his life and it almost killed me, and now, the sister I never should have had, who I had to let go too, is not only back but probably dead!"

Something snapped in Draco. "She's not dead," he said, suddenly calm.

"What?" said Harry.

"She – I helped her escape, under the water, outside the courtroom." He suddenly smiled. "And my father didn't have her, did he, when he came back in, so she must still be safe." He reached out and shook Harry by the arm. "She's safe!"

Harry didn't realise how worried he'd been until he slumped against the wall. "You're sure?"

"Come on," said Draco, still smiling. "We have to find her".

Draco turned to go, but Harry caught his wrist. "But, your mum?"

Draco sagged to his knees and looked out the two-way mirror. The smog was clearing and Harry could see the frenzy of activity going on in the desperate search to find them. He didn't know if the mirror could be opened from the other side, but he really hoped not.

"You're right," said Draco quietly. "I know it's not her. My mother was once like that, but after...after the school, she was strong, and brave, and funny. I did try to help her, but she wouldn't follow."

"I'm sorry," Harry said genuinely. Draco managed to smile.

"Don't be," he said. "Who knows – maybe this is what tips her over in your world? Maybe after this she and the other me will stop being idiots and pick the right bloody side."

Harry smiled too. "Yeah," he agreed. "Maybe they will."

It didn't take the boys long to edge along the little tunnel to Courtroom Seven. Draco, who was up front, stopped abruptly at the watery barrier, but Harry let out a tired laugh. "You just have to hold your breath for a moment," he said, coming up awkwardly beside him. "Trust me." He inhaled deeply, hoping the water hadn't risen too much, and plunged into the lukewarm depths.

He swam upwards straight away, and was greeted with a chorus of cries when his head broke the surface.

"Where have you been?" accused Hermione.

"We were so worried!" said Ron.

"I was about to make Remus go back for you," chimed in Sirius.

Draco shot up spluttering water by Harry's side, making everyone jump. "Whoa," he said, shaking his head to get the water out of his hair and eyes. Their heads were almost touching the ceiling the water had risen so much, and it gave the room a very claustrophobic effect.

"You there!"

Harry turned around to see Roberta Charlton peeking out from the top of an almost completely submerged portrait by the door. Sir William was still by her side, with a somewhat reluctant Lady Elizabeth clinging to his arm. Harry worried whether or not the water would make the paint run, but the portraits seemed alright so far.

"Where's the girl?" asked Roberta, addressing Draco. "The plucky one? You better not have lost her!"

"I helped her escape," he assured the painting, whilst helping Harry, who could barely swim at all, to stay afloat. "We need to find her."

"And stop this water," said Hermione. "If those people wake up before it's gone they'll all drown."

"And," said Remus, "if at all possible, we need to discover what You-Know-Who is up to, and put an end to it."

"Is that all?" demanded Ron. "Because you know, for a minute there, I thought we were all in real trouble."

Harry's feet knocked against something that felt like a cabinet or desk, so with great relief he managed to direct his body backwards and stand on the furniture. Draco was quick to follow his lead.

"Perhaps," said Harry slowly. "We should spilt up?"

The rest of the group looked warily round. "But," said Sirius, "we've only just found each other."

"I know," said Harry heavily. "But there's too much at stake. Sarah's all by herself, and there's got to be at least a hundred people who'll die if that curse breaks with all this water still here."

"So what do you suggest?" asked Remus. Out of the three adults, he looked the most worse for wear. But he was holding onto a lamp fitting to keep himself afloat, and he had a determined look in his brown eyes.

"If we only knew what was causing the water," said Hermione ruefully.

Harry looked at them all. "Oh," he said, almost embarrassed. "Oh, of course you wouldn't know – a couple of Death Eaters found me just when I'd entered the Ministry, and one of them aimed a blue spell at me. It hit that gold fountain instead and then..." he splashed a handful of water to illustrate his point.

"Ah," said Draco, smacking his head. "My mum said the fountain was broken."

"Blue?" repeated Hermione. "You're sure it was blue?" Harry nodded as Hermione broke into a smile. "I think I know what that is."

"But can you reverse it?" asked Ron, clinging to the chandelier above his head.

Hermione nodded. "If I'm right, then yes I think so."

"Okay," said Harry decisively. "Hermione, I want you to go back up to the first floor and reverse the spell."

"I'll go with her," said Draco quickly. "If we get caught, I can at least try and play the Malfoy card again. There might be people upstairs who don't know what happened in the courtroom."

"We can show you a short cut!" cried Roberta eagerly.

"Great," said Harry, feeling better already with the start of a plan in place. "Before you go though I need to know exactly what happened to Sarah, I need to find her."

"The black haired girl?" said Remus. "Who is she?"

"We'll explain later," said Harry, not wanting to get into any talk of parallel universes right now. "But she doesn't have her wand, and she's all alone." He pulled her wand from his pocket to show them he still had it.

"She swam down one of the narrow corridors on the way to Courtroom Ten," said Draco. "I caused a distraction, but I don't know where they go though."

"Which one precisely?" asked Sir William.

"The last one on the right before the courtroom," said Draco. Harry looked at him, his white blonde hair plastered back on his head, all the cuts and bruises he'd got. He looked so fragile, but at that moment he was at the top of Harry's hero list for helping his sister like that.

"That could take you one of two ways," said Sir William confidently.

"Two completely different ways?" Harry clarified. The painting nodded. "Right, that settles it, Draco and Hermione will go to the fountain, the rest of us will split up into two groups and go look for her." He looked about the room. "Ron, you stay with me, Sirius, Remus and Tonks you take the other way."

"Wait, no," said Sirius. "As least one of us should go with you guys," said Remus. "You need an adult."

Harry shook his head. "No offense," he said. "But you guys should probably look after each other. You're the ones that got tortured." His throat constricted around the word. "You should have the extra person, we'll be fine."

Sirius looked at Remus, and after a pause the two men grimaced. "If you're sure?"

Harry nodded.

"Splendid," said Roberta. "William and I will take you where the hallways go. Lizzy dear?" she said, raising her voice as if to address a naughty child. "Do you think you could take the other two children to Tandy Spinks office?"

Lady Elizabeth sighed dramatically. "I suppose," she said.

Roberta turned back to Draco. "She always had a bit of a thing about goblin rebellions that one, her office has some kind of secret route up to the top floor."

"What kind of route?" asked Draco eagerly.

Roberta looked at Sir William then back at Draco and Harry. "Well I'm afraid I don't know dear," she said apologetically. "It's a secret."

xxx

Draco really didn't want to follow the portrait of the young blonde woman. Not only was he abandoning Harry and his friends when they probably needed to stay together the most, but Lady Elizabeth was extremely tedious.

"Oh do 'urry up," she moaned in her thick West Country accent. "I ain't got all day."

"You're a painting," puffed Hermione, struggling with a basic breaststroke. "What else have you got to do?"

Lizzy ignored her as she hopped between half visible frames. Draco turned to glance at the rest of the party as they made their way around the opposite end of the corridor. Harry turned too, and the pair shared a weak smile before plunging down their respective hallways. They didn't know how long it would be before someone thought to check outside Courtroom Ten, and Level Nine would be the first place they'd look.

Draco and Hermione followed Lady Cockleton towards the stairs. It was terribly nerve wracking being out in the open like they were, but they'd already agreed to duck under the water at the first hint of any noise. Now all Draco had to worry about was how long he could hold his breath.

They reached the stairs without any incident though, and hastily fought against the water teeming down the steps to reach Level Eight.

Level Eight held the Ministry of Magic's Atrium, and once they left the stairwell Draco and Hermione sloshed down a short entrance hall that ended in a large pair of wrought iron gates, behind which could be seen a jungle paradise. Draco headed straight for the bars and peered through, curious to see if the magical creatures inside were in suspended animation like the Ministry employees. It wasn't long before he spied several pixies frozen amongst the foliage, and a cross looking niffler halfway between poking the water around him in distain.

"'Ere you go then," said Lizzy, bored. "This is the one you want." Draco turned round to see Hermione entering into an office to the left of the Atrium gates, water sweeping in around her as she pushed open the door.

"Do you have any idea at all where the short cut might be?" asked Hermione. "Otherwise we could be here for hours and might be better trying to take the stairs."

Lady Elizabeth, gave a loud, shrill giggle, hand on her chest, eyes looking wildly about. "As if know," she said, embarrassed, then fled off down the corridor.

"Well she was about as much use as a chocolate tea pot," said Draco scornfully.

Hermione huffed, hands on hips, then turned back towards Tandy Spinks office and entered. Draco followed, shaking excess water from his dripping clothes and sweeping his hair back from his eyes. Even though the water was only ankle deep it was swirling around at quite a rate and made it pretty difficult to wade through.

As soon as he reached the door's threshold Draco stopped. The water had rushed in and moved the items that had been on the floor, but the rest of the office was pretty intact. And a complete and utter pigsty.

"How are we supposed to find anything in here," cried Draco at Hermione, who had already started rummaging under a pile of grotty looking clothes. "It looks like a natural disaster!"

Loose parchment was strewn over every possible flat surface the office had to offer. The walls were covered in white boards which in turn were covered in writing of all kinds of different colours. Three calendars were pinned to the wall, all from different years and displaying different months. There were boxes of various different animal pellets and food stuffs, including a glass jar of live locus. A greasy old bike was propped up under the 'window' (which showed a starry night scene even though they were eight floors underground) and from the bike hung a number of pairs of socks and leads that looks like they went round the necks of very large animals. Numerous cheep looking toys and gadgets that probably came from the insides of Christmas crackers were scattered across the desk and shelves, and there were so many books on magical zoology lying half open everywhere Draco lost count. The bin floated into his shin, causing him to look down, and that's when he realised several dozen fish must have escaped from the now empty tank lying on its side on the carpet, as they were nibbling at his jeans.

"How can people live like this!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him before moving to the desk and yanking open the drawers one by one. "She doesn't live like this, she works like this. Each to their own."

"But surely," said Draco, forgetting at that moment their pressing time constraint and splashing over to the desk. "You couldn't function like this could you, it would drive you insane."

Hermione paused and looked up at him. "Well, no," she said, flicking her tangled hair back. "It's not how I'd keep my office. There would be far more labels. And an air freshener."

Draco smiled, then turned to start his own hunt. He knew Hermione wouldn't have liked being in such a mess, no matter what reality.

Hermione slammed the last drawer shut, obviously without finding anything, and gazed about. "Why?" she said.

"Excuse me?" said Draco, looking up from his examination of a complicated pie chart on one of the boards.

"Why did you ask that, about me and the mess?"

Draco stopped rummaging around and looked carefully at her. "Um," he said, unsure if he'd just stepped over some unknown boundary. His heart beat a little faster just looking at her, even though she was all bedraggled. Especially because she was all bedraggled.

"I just," he said, feeling himself go slightly hot. "Well, we're...friends in my world, and it would have surprised me if you tolerated this amount of rubbish. My Hermione would have started alphabetising everything by now."

Hermione wrapt her fingers on the desk. "Your Hermione," she said with an air of curiosity, her eyes already scanning the next pile of papers and crisp packets.

Draco turned away from her. She was a different person, he told himself again, pulling books off the shelf and trying his best to examine them. She didn't even look like his Hermione he reasoned, there were a number of subtle differences, like looking at twins when you really knew them. But she still spoke with her voice, still bit her lip and twisted her hands in the same way.

"Oh!" she cried, and Draco spun on his heals to see why. The lid of a trinket box was in Hermione's hand, and from the box a purple mist was rising out. It wasn't like gas just escaping though, it floated up like a bird taking flight, then shot across the room impossibly fast and absorbed into a large coat of arms hanging between two of the calendars.

The shield and crossed swords seemed to absorb the mist and now glittered faintly purple. Engraved on the shield were two centaurs with their front legs rearing at one another, but as the cloud settled on them they sprung to life and backed away from each other, shaking as if they were stiff. The engraving on the left suddenly looked suspicious.

"Where is Miss Spinks?" he demanded.

Draco and Hermione looked at each other. Draco raised an eyebrow. "We don't know," he said honestly. "But she's probably in trouble like the rest of the people round here."

"We're looking for a secret passageway up to the entrance foyer, do you know anything about that?"

The left centaur crossed his arms. "Maybe," he said evasively. "How do we know you haven't hurt her yourselves?"

Draco thought he might snap. "We haven't got time-!"

But Hermione calmly interrupted. "The Ministry has been taken over by You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters." She held her hands together. "You can go check if you like?"

The right centaur pawed at the ground. "That's a pretty bold claim," she said. Hermione held her hand out towards the open door.

"I said you could go check."

The creatures looked at one another. "Okay," said the male. "Say I believe you. You might have found your passageway, but we need an offering."

"An offering?" repeated Hermione, her joy at being told they'd found the secret route visibly diminishing. "What kind of offering?"

"The oldest kind," said the female on the right.

Hermione looked at Draco exasperated. "Can't you just tell us plainly, we're in a hurry!"

"Don't you think," said the male centaur. "The passageway might be just a little less secret if we told any old person who came in how to open it?"

Draco sighed, his stomach squirming ever so slightly. "It's okay Hermione," he said. "I know what they mean." He'd had to give the oldest kind of offering at the docks when he was a boy. "I need a knife."

"A knife?" she repeated. "What on Earth for?"

"Not that I'm helping," said the male centaur. "Because I'm not. But just...in case you were wondering. The swords are detachable."

"Ah," said Draco, understanding and pulling out one of the blades. It slid smoothly from its scabbard behind the shield, and balanced nicely in his hand.

"What are you going to do with that?" asked Hermione nervous.

Draco pressed the edge of the sword to his palm, and tried not to think of what had happened last time. "This," he said, then sliced a cut into his hand.

Hermione gasped and her hand shot to her mouth. Draco tried not to look at the blood seeping through his closed fist, and reached out to smear it on the shield. The centaurs flicked droplets off themselves, but otherwise didn't say a word.

"What now?" asked Hermione.

Draco shrugged, his hand stinging.

But then the male centaur saluted at them, and the female said "good luck," before the two of them froze back into place. The shield swung forwards, revealing a staircase behind it, winding upwards in a tight spiral.

"I'm so glad that worked," said Draco, shaking blood from his hand as Hermione squealed in delight.

"Oh, here let me see that," she said, seizing his hand and flipping it over to inspect the wound. Draco instantly tensed at the sudden contact, but Hermione didn't seem to notice as she performed a perfectly executed Episkey charm. "Good as new," she said, beaming as she let go of his now healed hand. "Shall we?"

"Erm," said Draco. "Yeah, I'll go first."

"Oh no," said Hermione pleasantly patting him on the arm and stepping up to the stairway. "I know far more magic than you do."

Draco didn't feel this was very chivalrous, but she did have a point. "Alright," he said following her, closing the shield behind them. "But I'm keeping hold of the sword, just in case."

Hermione snorted and said something like "boys" under her breath.

They climbed the steps for several minutes, most of which Draco spent looking strategically at the floor on not Hermione's jeans ahead of him, and towards the end of it they were both panting a little. "I think my thighs are going to cramp," said Hermione, stopping to massage them. Draco wasn't sure what to reply to that. Luckily, up above he could just see the end of the stairs, so ran up to the blank brick wall that greeted him after the last step.

"It's a dead end," he called down.

Hermione limped up the last few feet. "Do you still have any blood on your hand?" Draco frowned at her a second, then understanding dawned on him. Perhaps it required another blood sacrifice, but maybe this time he wouldn't have to slash his whole palm open.

He rubbed what was left of the blood on the wall, and stood back to see if anything would happen. Hermione came and stood behind him, anxiously watching too. After a moment, there was a creek, and the wall edged outwards, letting a river of water in from the entrance hall. Draco was taken by surprise by the water and almost pin-wheeled backwards, sword in hand.

"Whoa!" cried Hermione leaping away. Draco clung to the doorway and steadied himself.

"Sorry," he muttered, then turned to slosh out into Level One of the Ministry of Magic. The door swung shut after Hermione left the stairwell to show them it was hidden behind a portrait of an old Minister of Magic from the Eighteenth Century.

"Oh good!" cried the gentleman in a buttoned dress coat and cravat. "I thought you were more of those scoundrels!" He adjusted his white curly wig and looked about fretfully.

It wasn't hard to spot the fountain, even if Draco hadn't known which one Harry had been talking about. In the middle of the vast room stood the remains of the lobby's prized centre piece, the golden witches and wizards melted and distorted by the spell. The golden house elf had managed to escape mutilation and was now looking pretty smug about it. From the pool of the fountain gallons of water were churning out like there was no tomorrow, causing waves to emanate from the structured in all directions.

Draco and Hermione pushed forwards towards it; there was no sign of anyone else in the entrance hall with them. "How do we stop it?" asked Draco, sword still up and ready in case any Death Eaters decided to spring out at them.

Hermione reached the fountain and studied the point of impact carefully. "I should be able to perform the counter spell," she said thoughtfully. "I'm just not a hundred percent sure about the hand movement."

"Give it a try," encouraged Draco, turning to survey the rest of the hall for any signs of intruders. "We haven't really got anything to lose at this stage."

Hermione spent the next five minutes splashing around the fountain, muttering and flicking her wand. Draco watched all the exits he could see on tenterhooks, expecting someone to burst out at them at any second. The water tugged at his feet, threatening to pull them out from under him at any moment. The former Minister whispered to another man in a portrait adjacent to him, and the two raised their eyebrows.

"Yes!" cried Hermione suddenly, and Draco's feet really did go out from under him as the water suddenly, violently, reversed direction. He crashed to the floor, spraying water everywhere, and lost his grip on the hilt of the sword underneath the depths. "We did it, we did it!" Hermione practically sang as she waded around from the other side of the fountain.

Draco couldn't help but grin as he fumbled about trying to locate the sword under the surging currents. "I'm pretty sure you did it," he said.

"Yes," came the voice of Lucius Malfoy from behind them. "Aren't you a clever pair?"

xxx

Of two things Sarah Potter was currently very glad of from her childhood. One, that her father had insisted she learned a basic front crawl, despite how much she loathed putting her head below water. And two, that she had been the undefeated, unrefuted queen of hide and seek.

All her friends had grown to know that when it came to finding hiding places, no one was better at it than she, and games would generally only end when Sarah chose to reveal herself, often with a loud cry of "BOO!" Her favourite trick, which she'd gotten away with on several different friends, was to clamber into a wardrobe, slide her feet into some boots and wrap herself in a coat then do it up.

It was using this technique that she'd come to come to find herself inside a suit of armour on Level Six of the Ministry of Magic, perched uncomfortably as she watched Death Eater after Death Eater slosh angrily past on the hunt for her.

She was cold, she was scared, and her stomach was making far too much noise for her liking. But at least for now she was safe.

Her escape after Draco's diversion had been a frenzied one. As he'd thrashed about and churned up a wall of bubbles to conceal her, she'd thrown herself down the dark, water-logged corridor in a powerful breaststroke, vanishing round the corner before anyone even knew she was gone. She'd not stopped until she found Level Nine again, then sprinted up the stairs as fast as she could.

Just after passing Level Seven, the floor with all the Quidditch offices that she'd been held in before, voices had begun shouting not far behind her. Panicking, she'd darted down the next available door, taking her into Level Six which was home to all sorts of regulatory boards and filled with standard looking offices. But Sarah knew they'd look in the offices, and that was when she'd spotted the suit of armour.

It was stood in a hallway several twists and turns away from the doorway to the stairs, so Sarah figured even if someone did alight at this floor to look for her she'd have enough warning to hide herself or run. Her hand had been halfway in her pocket before she'd remembered that Draco's dad had taken her wand from her.

She'd cursed and stamped her boot through the water, watching angrily as the ripples ebbed back into the currents. She knew she wasn't very good at magic, something she was becoming more and more conscious of since returning to school, but at least she could do some things, like perhaps levitate the top half of the armour off so she could get inside. She'd glared at the gleaming metal figure as if it was his fault she'd had her wand confiscated, but then she'd sighed. She didn't have a whole lot of time, so unless she wanted to crawl under a desk she'd better get on with separating the torso from the legs.

She could of course kept running, try and get to the top floor and get out onto the street level. But she only had the stairs to go up, which now the Death Eaters were using, and if she did by some miracle get out who could she call for help? The school and the Ministry were both frozen, and she didn't have any family here.

The thought of her dead parents had made her angry again, so she'd taken the last couple of steps up to the suit of armour and grabbed it around the waist decisively.

"Do you need a hand there?"

She'd jumped back, terrified, but there was no one else in the corridor. That was when the suit had raised its hand, and waved.

"Hello," it had said pleasantly. "You alright there?" Its visor squeaked up and down an inch or two as it spoke, and the plume of its helmet ruffled as it turned its head to the side.

Sarah then edged back up to the suit. "Is there someone in there?" she'd whispered, looking back down the hallway to make sure no Death Eaters were sneaking up on her.

"Oh Heavens no," the suit had laughed, flicking its metal glove in a dismissive wave. "Just little old me." It sounded like a man, but Sarah didn't want to think of it as a 'he' – 'it' seemed less creepy.

"Oh," Sarah had said to him, her heart still thumping loudly. "Oh okay, well I was going to hide...in you. But if that's not appropriate I'll just find somewhere else."

"Nonsense," the suit of armour had insisted. "You're hiding from those terrible people aren't you? I'd simply love to help."

And with that, the suit had reached up to the torch bracket above its head, grabbed a hold, then lifted its top half off the bottom. He'd held on with one hand, and extended the other out to Sarah. "Climb on in," he'd said brightly.

After clambering inside, the suit had reattached itself, leaving Sarah to wait as the bad guys started angrily wading past her, cursing her name.

That had been maybe an hour, forty five minutes ago? She'd lost track of time with nothing to do but listen to the water lap around her shins, but what she was sure of was about twenty minutes ago there'd been a lot of shouting to get back to Courtroom Ten, and Sarah hadn't seen a soul since. Her adrenaline was waning, and as her heart rate slowed fluttering nerves filled her belly, and she began to torture herself with what she should do. How much longer could she risk staying in the suit of armour, how soon should she try and leg it?

"You doing alright in there?" the suit whispered to her, the words echoing around the helmet leaving a ringing in her ears.

"I guess," she whispered back, wiggling her wet toes in her even wetter boots. "I don't know if they've all gone, if I should stay here or make a run for it?"

"Hmm," said the suit, and nodded the helmet ever so slightly. "Stay here a moment."

Sarah couldn't help but look around in the dimly lit armour. "Where am I going to go?" She didn't get a response, and after a few minutes she began to feel herself panic. Having a animated bit of metal to keep her company was better than nothing, and suddenly she felt very alone. "Hello?" she whispered.

"Yes?" replied the suit, and Sarah blew out a sigh of relief.

"I thought you'd gone?" she accused.

"Oh no," said the suit assuredly. "I can't go anywhere, I was just listening to what the paintings had to say, see what's happening around the Ministry."

"Oh," said Sarah, not really understanding. "Any luck?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact."

There was a sloshing noise from down the corridor, and Sarah instantly tensed up in fear. But then she heard the people talking.

"That's him!" cried Roberta Charlton, the painting with the muddy robes and whistle around her neck that had been nice to Sarah when she'd been a prisoner before.

"Are you certain?" asked Remus Lupin.

"They all look the same," said a woman that Sarah guessed to be Tonks.

The suit of armour raised its arm, which was bizarre with Sarah's inside it. "Over here," it called out, its visor bouncing up and down. To Sarah it said "arms up," and as she obeyed it reached up once again and pulled itself apart using the torch bracket.

Sirius Black, her Godfather back home, was the first to reach her and throw his arms around her. "Are you okay?" he said, yanking her carefully out of the suit's legs and dropping her back into the water.

He wasn't her Sirius, that much was very obvious. He looked so much older, his clothes and person more ragged. But that smile was still there, and his eyes, always filled with light no matter what. She couldn't help but throw her arms around him, tears spilling down her already wet face.

"I'm okay," she shuddered, burying her face in his neck as he returned her tight embrace.

"It's alright," he whispered soothingly, stroking her hair. "It's alright."

"What happened to the others?" she asked suddenly, pulling apart just in time to see the suit of armour twist itself back together again. "Draco, he helped me escape-"

"They brought them to the courtroom with us," interrupted Sirius. "Then his father took most of the Death Eaters back into the water to go find you. Just when things started getting hairy, Harry dropped in – literally – and broke us all lose."

Sarah felt faint. "Harry's here? He's okay?"

Sirius nodded but it was her other Godfather, Remus who answered. "Yes, we're not sure where he came from, we didn't have much time to chat before we split up."

A flash of anger went through Sarah which she did her best to quell. She knew she was irritable from exhaustion, but she couldn't help it. "Why on Earth did you split up!" she demanded. "If you'd all stayed together we could just be escaping right now!"

"Shh," said Tonks, holding her hands up. "They'll hear you."

"Who?" snapped Sarah. "All the Death Eaters disappeared about twenty minutes ago, they all went back to Courtroom Ten." The three adults looked at each other.

"Well that can't be good," said Remus.

"So where's Harry?" asked Sarah, still cross they'd thought splitting up was a good idea. "What happened to him in the fire place."

"No idea," said Sirius, "he didn't say. But we know where he is now, don't we Roberta?"

Sarah had quite forgotten about the painting watching from above them. "Oh yes," she chirped. "Sir William took them down the other corridor looking for you."

Sarah suddenly felt very guilty for her outburst. They'd split up to look for her? "Oh," she said quietly.

"I'm sure we'll be able to find them in no time," assured Remus.

"The sooner the better," agreed Tonks. "Harry's the one with your wand after all, I bet you'll be glad to get that back."

"Oh," said Sarah, a little disappointed. "Yeah, my wand would be great."

"Hang on," said Tonks frowning, then shoved her hand into her pocket. "Nicked this off of one of You-Know-Who's cronies, sure he won't mid you putting it to better use." She grinned and handed it over for Sarah to take.

"Thanks," she breathed, genuinely grateful, but before she could say anything more she was distracted into looking down. The water she'd become so used to was no longer swirling around her ankles; it was pulling. Back towards the stairwell. "Is it me," she said slowly. "Or is the water..."

"Going backwards," filled in Sirius. "Yes I do believe you're right."

"Hermione and Draco must have fixed it," said Tonks brightly, staring as the water rushed by, taking debris from the offices with it. They were soon in a log-jam of waste paper baskets.

"Hermione and Draco split up too?" said Sarah in a small voice. She didn't like to think of them in more danger, not one little bit.

"They wanted to stop the flooding," explained Remus. "Otherwise everyone in the building was at risk of drowning at any second."

Sarah stood and watched the water receding. "This is all such a mess," she said sadly.

Sirius rubbed her shoulder, "Don't worry," he said. "We'll sort it, I promise."

"Do you two know each other?" said Remus, almost accusingly. "Who are you anyway?" He was just as ravaged looking as Sirius noted Sarah as she took a step away from them both. The loss of her parents must have hit them harder than she could have imagined.

"This isn't the time," said Sirius, but Remus was peering at her.

"You look awfully familiar you know," he murmured.

Sarah looked between the adults. She didn't know what Harry had told them about his trip to her reality last November, but Sirius was looking nervous, and Remus and Tonks curious. "The people!" she blurted out, then wasn't really sure what to follow it with.

"What's that?" asked Tonks, even more confused.

Sarah's eyes darted back and forth. What had she meant? "The people," she said again hesitantly. "Here in the Ministry. They're not going to drown now, because Hermione fixed the water problem?" She didn't need to ask, she knew it would be Hermione and not Draco that had the skill to do it. It comforted her in a bizarre sort of way that Draco was almost as hopeless at magic as she was.

"I guess so," said Remus, thankfully now distracted from gazing at her distinctly Potter face.

"So, if they woke up, they'd be okay? Those Wrangler things don't do any permanent damage do they?"

The three adults exchanged looks, and Sirius shrugged. "I don't even know what they are." So Sarah recounted what Hermione had told them at the school, about the creatures' telepathic powers, the way all the people were being used like batteries to enhance whatever spells had helped the Death Eaters get into the school and the Ministry.

"So, now the water's gone," she continued, thinking out loud. "Not only would the people be safe if they unfroze, but the spells would weaken and we'd have a lot more good guys on our side."

"What are you suggesting?" asked Remus as the waters lowered to little more than a deep puddle around their shoes.

Sarah chewed her lip. "I want to find Harry, and Draco and the others, I really do. But what good will it be? If we could break the Wranglers' hold over all the people, maybe we could actually win this thing, stop You-Know-Who, whatever he's doing."

Sirius rubbed the back of his neck and shook his wet hair in a very dog like manner. "Yeah," he said. "You're right. But does anyone have any idea how to do that, or even where to start?"

"You could try the Menagerie?" piped up Roberta. The humans all turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?" asked Sarah.

Roberta pulled at the whistle around her neck, frowning in concentration. "Well," she said. "Edmund, one of the other paintings, said before you joined us in the boardroom that there were some unusual looking things congregating in the Menagerie, on Level Eight. Big bugs, that sounds like your Wranglers doesn't it?"

"Yes," agreed Remus, hand on his chin. "But how do we stop them, will killing them break the trance? Should we kill them? They're only doing what comes naturally to them."

Sarah turned back to her painting friend. "Did Edmund say what they were doing in the zoo?"

Roberta pulled a face. "Not really," she admitted apologetically. "He just said that's where the big one had settled."

Sarah became very still, as did the others. A prickle of hope touched her senses. "A big one?" she repeated. "Like a queen?"

Roberta looked at her blankly. "A queen?"

"Yeah," said Sarah excitedly. "Like with bees and ants, there's a queen who's in charge, she binds the hive mind together."

Roberta still looked blank. "If you say so dear," she said encouragingly. "I'm afraid if it didn't involve a ball I could give a good thwak to I never did pay much attention to it."

But Sarah was convinced, and she turned to the three adults. "If we take down the queen, maybe that will break the hold they have on everyone?"

Remus was already nodding. "It's a very good idea, in theory. But we don't know how we'd go about stopping her."

Sarah grinned as the water at their feet dwindled to a trickle. "I say we go to the Menagerie and find out."

xxx

Draco spun on his knees and froze. His father was looming over them, a triumphant smile on his face; until Hermione blasted him backwards into the surging waters. "Come on!" she cried, gabbing Draco's arm, but he thrust his hands into the water once more to find the sword he'd dropped. "What are you doing, we have to move!"

"I might need it," insisted Draco.

Hermione made to argue, then aimed another curse at his father instead, who swore loudly as he thrashed about in the water, trying to fire back at the two students.

Mercifully Draco's fingers found the hilt, and he hoisted the blade from the waters and began retreating with Hermione. But Lucius was back up and shooting at them, so instead they ducked behind the fountain for protection. It was difficult with all the water roaring back into it, but it was better than nothing.

"Young man!" yelled Lucius, splashing through the raging flow. "I don't know what you're playing at but it ends NOW!"

Draco slung the sword through his belt and fired a disarming spell clumsily around the fountain. "I'm not playing at anything," he growled back as Hermione aimed a Bat-Bogey Hex at Lucius; from the sounds of it she got him square on, but Lucius was quickly shouting out counter-curses to fend off the hex.

"You have disgraced this family," Lucius continued to rant. "You've thrown your lot in with Potter and if you don't come out this second I am disinheriting you!"

Poor Other Draco, thought Draco as he tried another Expelliarmus spell. "You're a murderer," he snarled to his dad, he and Hermione skirting around the fountain to keep it between them and Lucius. "Disinherit all you like, you're nothing to me."

Lucius had nothing to say to that, and Draco took that to be a bad sign. "We have to get out of here," whispered Hermione between spells. She was just flinging them around wildly now as they could no longer tell where Lucius was.

"I know, I know," said Draco. "But I'm no match for him, we need to get his wand-"

A blast of light hit him square on the chest and he went sailing through the air. "Draco!" screamed Hermione, but before she could attack Lucius she too was thrown in the air, landing a good twenty feet from Draco. Both their wands were now in Lucius' hand.

Draco was really sick of having his wand taken from him today.

"I'm not going to hurt you," fumed Lucius. "Not if I don't have to."

"We're not cooperating with you!" screeched Hermione, dripping wet from the water rushing back into the fountain, and evidently also livid at losing her wand again. "We'll never help out Voldemort, you'll have to kill us!"

Lucius raised his wand, and Draco balked. "NO!" he yelled, desperate enough to get his father's attention. "Forget about her, she's no one, it's me you want."

Lucius stared at his son as the water raced into the fountain. It was very difficult to stand upright against such force. "Draco," he said slowly. "You hate this girl."

Draco clenched his jaw. "That doesn't matter," he said carefully. "Just let her go, this is between you and me."

Lucius bristled. "No one," he said sternly. "Is going anywhere except back down to the courtroom, conscious, or otherwise."

Draco pulled out the sword from his belt. He knew it was useless against a wand, but it felt good to hold a weapon up to his father at any rate. "Take your best shot," he said.

Lucius just stared, then looked between the two students. "Draco, I am your father. Have you lost your mind?"

"I know exactly who you are," Draco spat back, watching Hermione edge away from the corner of his eye. "You are the most selfish, most manipulative and cowardly person I have ever had the misfortune of meeting, let alone being related to."

Lucius clenched his jaw, his eyes wide. "I see," he said. The two Malfoys glowered at each other for a minute or two. Hermione was sloshing closer to the door she was aiming for. It seemed Lucius had forgotten all about her.

"Where does that leave us then?" asked Draco, the sword becoming heavy in his arms. He needed to swing it, lower it, but he didn't want to show his father any weakness.

"I will drag you back to The Dark Lord if I have to, you shameful, disobedient little brat!" spat Lucius, the vein in his neck bulging. But his didn't fire on Draco, when he easily could have. Was he clinging on to something? An idea that his son hadn't really betrayed him, one last hope? Again, Draco sort of felt sorry for his counterpart. But maybe after this he would wake up to what this man was really like, just like he hoped his mother of this reality would. If Lucius didn't kill his body – and Draco's mind inside it – first.

"You don't need us," argued Draco, playing devil's advocate as Hermione took another step. And then another. Past the door. What was she doing, she should escape? Draco strained to keep his eyes from actually flicking to her, as that would certainly alert Lucius. But why wasn't she saving herself?

"You were after that girl, why don't you just go find her," said Draco, praying Sarah had been found by Harry or Sirius by now, and would be far away from the Ministry. "We have nothing to do with this."

"You made yourself a part of it when you helped her escape!" cried Lucius, finally coming closer to Draco and raising his wand. "You aligned yourself with Potter when you left the courtroom with him! And don't you dare insult me by pretending you don't know who the girl is, you were ready to kill for her up in the boardroom."

"I don't have to know a little girl to stop you from hurting her," Draco shouted, edging away from his father's advances. Hermione was still moving around the room.

"No," said Lucius slowly. "You do know her, your mother was insisting how fond you were of her." He frowned, the wand in his hand bouncing up and down slightly as he pointed at Draco, thinking. "But you can't possibly know her, she doesn't exist."

So he knew Sarah was from another reality. Something cold flickered through Draco's heart; was that why Voldemort was after her? "That doesn't make sense," was what he said to his father though. "Of course she exists, I've seen her."

Something strange was passing over Lucius' face, and Draco wasn't sure he liked it. "But it's Potter," said the elder Malfoy eventually. "Potter's the one that switched, it can't be."

Draco raised the sword suddenly in front of his face. "Don't come any closer," he barked, but Lucius had lowered his wand, a look of horror growing on his features. "No," he said. "No, it's not possible, Harry was the one who traded places last time, and now the positions have been traded again, that's the way it works."

"Father," said Draco, desperately, trying to stop him realising what he knew was already too late. "Father I don't understand, I'm sorry, I-"

"You are not my son."

Draco stopped talking, stopped moving. "Don't say that," he whispered. "Dad, I'm sorry."

Lucius suddenly thrashed across the water, wand aimed at Draco's face. "What have you done with him!" he roared, firing a spell and yanking the sword from Draco's grasp. He stumbled backwards in shock, falling into the currents. "Where is my son, where is the real Draco!"

"I don't know!" snapped Draco, abandoning the facade. He'd wanted to protect his true identity for as long as possible, for fear the truth would grant some power over him. But if Lucius had worked it out lying would only make it worse.

Lucius stopped in his tracks. "So it's true?"

"I was pulled here," cried Draco, slapping the water, frustrated. "I don't know why or how, but I woke up in your son's body just in time to witness his father betray his home, his government and his whole bloody people! I bet he'll be so proud when he gets back."

"So he will come back," asked Lucius, real concern written all over his face. Draco was taken aback, it was so unlike Lucius to care about his family's wellbeing.

"Once I go home," said Draco, eyeing up his father's wand. "To my own reality. He'll wake up, no harm done."

Fury replaced Lucius Malfoy's concern. "Then let's get you out of his body then," he snarled, firing a binding curse at Draco's hands and hauling him to his feet. "You filthy parasite."

He turned, and without even needing to look, fired the same spell at Hermione, who had been trying to sneak up on him, a large vase raised over her head to attack him with. It seemed Lucius hadn't forgotten about her after all.

He marched them over to the stairwell through the receding water, a satisfied smirk on his face. "I knew my son would never let me down," he gloated, not caring his fingers were digging into their arms, or how many times they tripped over their feet. "The Dark Lord will be pleased."

xxx

It just about broke Harry's heart wading through the twisting dungeons that served as the Ministry's hall of records, though not as much as it would have broken Hermione's if she were here, he suspected. Despite being dungeons, they weren't as low down as the courtroom on Level Ten, or even the offices on Level Nine it seemed. Harry guessed they lay somewhere in between Nine and Eight, and as such were wading through waist high water.

"This parchment is doing my head in," moaned Ron, and Harry had to 'shh' him, again.

"There could be Death Eaters anywhere," he whispered as they looked around another alcove piled high with documents and artefacts. Well, those that hadn't floated off yet anyway. The dungeons were made of dark stone and there weren't that many torches, so Harry and Ron both had their wands lit and raised as they searched through as quietly as they could for Sarah. Except Ron kept forgetting about the quiet part. So far they'd come across nothing much, not even many frozen people, but as the currents swirled more and more of the Ministry's history was being swept out of its boxes and drawers, and being ruined and lost in the water.

Harry and Ron were now continuously fighting against clogs of paper, files, photographs and charts to get from dungeon to dungeon. Now that the immediate danger had past, Ron was doing what he generally did best, and moaning about the situation. "The water's really cold again," he griped, parting a layer of tax returns. "Can't we heat it up? My legs are numb."

"I think," said Harry patiently. "If we do that, anybody in the same water will probably know we're here, and this particular stretch of water probably reaches quite far." Ron harrumphed but argued no more on the matter.

The paintings were very sparse here, so Sir William had shown them the way in, and told them the way out, but other than that they'd only seen him once, when he'd been waiting in surrealist painting on the top shelf in one of the alcoves. Harry supposed it was some sort of artefact, or evidence in some trail, but the bizarre, melted subject of the work seemed very happy to have guests, even if only for a few minutes.

Since then, the two boys had been on their own, delving through the dungeons, calling out Sarah's name quietly. So far they'd found absolutely nothing useful, and they were well over halfway through now. Harry was losing hope. He kept telling himself that Sirius and the others were just as likely to find her, but he'd insisted on holding onto her wand because he'd just assumed they'd be the ones to track her down.

"So this Alex guy," said Ron, forgetting once again to keep his voice down and breaking Harry's line of thought. "Was he sort of an angel?"

As they'd been searching, the boys had filled each other in on what had been going on. Harry had heard all about the empty file with 'Dimensional Hotspots' written on it, and in turn he'd told Ron about his visit to Alex's house in the stars.

Harry pulled a face as he looked around an alcove filled solely with cuddly toys. "No," he replied, quickly satisfying the question as to whether or not Sarah was hiding there. "I don't think so. He called himself a Watcher."

"Whatever that means," mumbled Ron as they fought their way back out again against the collection of teddy bears blocking the doorway. "I still don't get how you can have a bit of You-Know-Who in you."

"Two bits, from two realities, that's the problem. He needs the bit from Draco's world to go back there."

Ron scoffed, and said "Draco" almost too low for Harry to hear. But he did. "Yeah?" he said. "What's the matter with that?"

"You," said Ron, unabashed. "Calling him Draco like you're best mates. His name is Malfoy, doesn't matter where he's from."

"Actually, it does," said Harry crossly, wading on and forgetting to lower his own voice. "In case you've purposefully kept your eyes closed the whole day, he's completely different to Malfoy."

Ron shrugged, stomping off into another alcove. "Sarah?" he called out.

Harry followed on after him. "Hang on a minute," he said, his forehead creasing. "Are you jealous of him?"

Ron wondered around the shelves that the bigger room held. "You never talked about it, what happened over there, last year. But ever since, it's like you're always cutting Malfoy slack, sticking up for him, giving him the benefit of the doubt."

Harry stopped walking. "I do not," he said hotly. "I told you, Malfoy is nothing like-"

"Draco, yeah yeah," interrupted Ron. "But it's like you're always waiting for him to spring out, and today he did. And it's like…like you're complete again." Ron had done a circuit of the room, and had now stopped in front of Harry. "I'm just," he sighed, and rubbed his hand through his red hair, making it stand up at all angles. "I'm just worried about your judgement when he's around. I don't think you can completely trust him."

Harry felt the anger rise in him, and he splashed out of the dungeon and onto the next one. Surely if Sarah was around she'd hear all their commotion, but he still continued with the manual search. "Because he's a Malfoy, and Malfoys can never change, or be good people."

"I'm just saying-" argued Ron, but Harry didn't want to hear it.

"Weren't you listening, when him and Sarah were talking about me in their world?"

The question caught Ron off guard. "Err," he said, confused.

"They said I was a moron, that I was mean."

Now it was Ron's turn to look cross. "No they didn't."

"Yes they did," countered Harry, scanning the room of sports equipment quickly then moving on. "So if they've got the idiot Harry Potter, who doesn't even know how lucky he is to have a family," he added bitterly. "Why can't they have the good Draco, who helps to defeat Voldemort like we do? Which, by the way, he did."

Ron threw up his hands. "Alright, I'm jealous." Harry very quickly felt the anger fade as Ron crossed his arms and glared angrily into the water. "You disappeared," he carried on. "We were worried sick, and it turned out you went to this amazing place where all your dreams came true, where your family was alive, and I was dead, but that was okay because you had a new best friend. And since the moment you came back you've been trying to see that Draco in our Malfoy. Aren't I enough for you!" He'd gone bright red. Harry felt quite startled at this sudden outburst.

He felt he should point out this was not the place to have this discussion. Somewhere less wet might have been better, with less lunatics looking for them, and less sisters in trouble. But Ron was clearly upset, so he figured a few minutes wouldn't hurt. He was almost certain Sarah wasn't down here anyhow, otherwise she would have shown herself by now.

"Ron," he said reproachfully. "You and Hermione are my best friends, the best I could ever hope for. How do you think I felt when I heard you were dead there, that all your family were?"

Ron shrugged, his gaze fixed on the water gurgling around their waists.

"And Draco and I hated each other to begin with, just as much as we do here. But he proved himself, he saved my life twice. He's brave and selfless. He's not you, he could never be you. He's just different. I never thought I'd get to see him, so yeah, I was pretty happy when he showed up this afternoon. But so much bad stuff has happened since then." He reached out and took Ron by the shoulders. "And I'm so lucky to have all my best friends by my side."

Ron managed a weak grin. "Okay," he said thickly. He looked up sheepishly. "Sorry for being an idiot."

Harry punched his arm lightly. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Before he could even register what was happening, Harry's legs went out from under him, as did Ron's. They cried out as they hit the water, scrambling back to the surface to work out what was going on. "It's going backwards!" cried out Ron, ecstatic. "She did it, Hermione fixed the spell!" Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him as he watched the water speeding back towards the stairwell, presumably churning back into the busted fountain along with the volumes of parchment and text books from the vaults.

"Well that's one less thing to worry about," he said, grinning. "Come on, let's check the rest of these dungeons." The next several rooms were just as lacking in his younger sister as the others, but Harry wasn't exactly surprised. If Sarah had checked their corridor at a glance, she might have assumed it to be a dead end. It was more likely she'd taken Sirius' route, he just hoped they'd found her in time.

He'd been pondering what Ron had said during their fruitless search. "I did tell you about the dream I had, didn't I?" he said after a while, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" said Ron.

"Last November," said Harry. "Over there, I dozed off briefly, and it was like you just walked in and sat down. It was so real. We had a chat in the forest about what was happening, and you cheered me up. So, you know, I must have really been missing you."

He'd forgotten all about the dream until Alex had reminded him a few hours ago, but he was glad he was able to share it with Ron now. He'd expected this little story to cheer him up further, but he just stared at him as if he'd gone insane. "Chat in a forest?" he repeated.

"Yeah," replied Harry, not sure what his point was.

"And Malfoy, I mean Draco, was sat there too. And Hermione was by you, and Seamus and Parvati were across the way. And this random dude showed up, with a pocket watch?"

"Oh, yeah," said Harry a little flatly. "I must have told you after all. It was just before the those feral witches attacked us."

But Ron was shaking his head. "You never told me that, never. It's just," he frowned for a moment, trying to find the right words. "I think I had that dream too, at the same time, whilst you were gone."

Harry peered at him. "What?"

"I sat down," said Ron. "And it was like I knew what was happening, about your parents, and Sarah, and Germany, and Malfoy. We had a little chat about it, then Hermione woke me up and I thought it was a weird stress dream, but then you came back and told us what happened, and it was like I knew, like I'd guessed it in that dream."

Harry stared at him. "Are you telling me we had the same dream?

Ron pulled a face. "Kinda sounds like it, doesn't it?"

But," said Harry, reeling. "How is that possible?" Ron shrugged.

"How should I know," he said. "You're the expert on alternate dimensions."

"He is quite correct Mr Potter," said a new voice, and the two boys spun on their heels, wands raised. The voice's owner was emerging from the next dungeon along, but Harry didn't need to see him to recognise that smooth, snake-like quality. His heart pounded as panic gripped him. How had they been so careless, how could he have let this happen?

Despite still being surrounded by a fair body of water, Harry's mouth was as dry as a bone as Voldemort calmly stopped in front of them. He didn't even have his wand out, such was his confidence.

"And seeing as you are such an expert," he continued as if they were old friends. "I was very much hoping we could all have a little discussion on the matter."

xxx

Sarah followed Sirius and Remus onto Level Eight, with Tonks protectively behind her. It had been hard work making their way down the stairwell against the water flying back up the steps, it seemed extremely eager to return to its fountain. But they'd made it, and not seen a single unfriendly face along the way, which made a nice change.

Level Eight had a short corridor, with a couple of doors along the sides, only one of which was open. Sarah glanced in at an outrageously messy office, but her attention was quickly drawn to the gates of the Ministry's Menagerie at the end of the corridor. Beyond the wrought iron looked to be an actual jungle, the path quickly winding out of sight as the trees and plants were so dominant. A Niffler had been frozen, just like all the people were, and looked as if it was in the middle of prodding at something when it had. Sarah also spied a group of unmoving pixies hiding in a bush.

"How do we get in?" asked Sarah as the party reached the entrance. Sirius narrowed his eyes.

"I'll try some of the basics."

A quick Alohomora was all that was needed though, and the gate swung open without so much as a squeak. Sarah looked back over at Roberta Charlton, hovering in the last painting before the walls became covered in lichen rather than artwork.

"Good luck," said the former sports official. "I'll be waiting right here."

"Thanks," muttered Sarah, not feeling quite so brave now her crazy plan was being put into action. "I think we're going to need it."

"Nonsense," said Roberta kindly, clenching her fist supportively. "I have every confidence in you, just ruddy well keep your eye on the ball." Sarah nodded, then followed the adults into the animal sanctuary, the gates swinging silently shut behind her.

"How big is this place?" muttered Tonks, her wand up and her eyes scanning the foliage warily. "And what exactly lives here?"

"Um," said Remus also looking about. "Pretty huge, and everything I think. It's sort of a Noah's ark, with lots of different habitats. I read once they're separated by invisible barriers, so in theory we can pass through but the animals stay where they're supposed to."

"Wonderful," Tonks replied. "I guess we just listen out for any buzzing, and head that way then?"

"Hmm," said Remus. "And maybe movement, it looks like the Wranglers have frozen everything else in here. I guess it's all energy for their binding spells."

"Animal battery, human battery, what's the difference," murmured Sarah, more to herself than anyone else. She had in her hand the wand Tonks had given her from one of the Death Eaters. Sirius insisted Sarah not be allowed to take part in their mission (even though it had been her idea in the first place) unless she could defend herself properly. But she wasn't feeling very confident with this strange wand, and hadn't even got a chance to try it out yet.

It wasn't long before the buzzing started. As the terrain became more rocky and less luscious Sarah and the others began spotting the odd Wrangler or two, but managed to either hide in time or stun them before any harm could be done. It was becoming increasingly difficult though, and the group decided to hide under some huge banana leaves to discuss their strategy before they went any further.

"We can't just walk up to the queen," insisted Tonks, nursing her split lip again. It had been healed for almost an hour but she kept rubbing it still. "She be surrounded by all her drones."

"Maybe we could lure the drones away?" suggested Remus.

"The point is mute," argues Sirius. "How do we kill the thing once we get to it? We don't even know how big it is?

Sarah watched as Remus rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We are not," he said patiently "going to kill the queen."

Sirius looked genuinely confused. "Why not?" he said, somewhat peeved. Sarah peeked out through the banana leaves. The humidity was still stifling even though they were leaving the tropical environment for something a lot sparser. It seemed the climates overlapped.

"Because," sighed Remus. "It's just an animal, it's not doing this with malicious intent, it's just its nature."

"Well it's my nature to stay alive," Sirius argued back. "And if it's between my nature and hers, I'm not going down without a fight."

Sarah spotted something between the leaves. "Uh guys?"

"Do you have to be such a child?" demanded Remus.

"Boys keep it down," insisted Tonks.

"Guys?" hissed Sarah.

"If it's going to kill us, I'm not going to hop aside and say, 'Oh yes Mrs Giant Bug, gobble me up and feed me to your spawn because it's your nature'."

Remus huffed. "This is ridiculous, we're not going to hurt it, it's just like a lion, or a shark-"

"Or a hoard of waspy offspring?" suggested Sarah.

"Yes," agreed Remus, pointing at her. "Hang on what?"

Sarah, very quietly, pointed to the banana leaf she had let drop again. "Hoard," she said in little more than a breath. "Of waspy. Offspring."

Sirius looked a little sick. Tonks leant forward and peered between a gap in the large leaves. "Yeah," she whispered, gently pulling back again. "There's a serious amount of insects out there crawling about."

Sarah didn't have to look again to feel sick. The way all their legs moved, their expressionless, beady eyes, those mouths that looked like they were clawing the air for food. She couldn't shake the feeling of them getting stuck in her hair, despite the fact they were technically big enough to chew her whole head off. A bug was still a bug, and bugs got stuck in your hair. She shuddered.

"We're trapped," she said. It wasn't a question.

"No," said Remus shaking his head, his voice barely audible. "No we just need to distract them, create a diversion."

"How smart are these things?" asked Tonks.

Sarah realised she was talking to her, but all she could do was hold her hands up. "Not really sure," she whispered. "Hermione didn't exactly give us a break down of their IQ."

"Hive mind," Tonks muttered, shaking her head. "Drones, soldiers." She gritted her teeth, then put the tip of her wand up to the tiny gap in the leaves. "Expecto Patronum," she hissed.

A bright blue light made the banana leaves almost transparent, and instantly there was a flurry of activity. Some of the leaves blew aside, just in time for Sarah to see a fierce silvery wolf sprinting away, all of the Wranglers in hot pursuit.

"Was that your Patronus?" asked Sarah in awe as they climbed out from behind the foliage into the now empty pathway.

Tonks scanned the area as Sirius poked other plant life, making sure there were no bugs left behind. "Nice work kid," he said, and Tonks rolled her eyes.

"There's bound to be more," said Remus. "Let's get moving."

Sarah clung to her Godfather's side as they hastened through the greenery, fantasizing what her own wolf Patronus would look like. She wondered if there would be a way to give it red eyes.

They wound their way through more and more boulders, which held the advantage of being far sturdier to duck behind than banana leaves when any Wranglers attacked them. They stunned several more pairs along the twisty path they were following, until they reached an outcrop.

On Remus' nod, they dropped down and crawled on their bellies along the dusty floor, then peered out over a small basin, absolutely covered in Wranglers clambering over each other in a sea of giant insects. Sarah clamped her hand over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut. Throwing up over the ledge might just give their position away.

In the very centre of the bowl-like clearing stood a Wrangler that dwarfed all the others. She was magnificent, in a terrible sort of way, standing on her six legs with an additional pair outstretched like hands in front of her. Her wings were huge and wafting slowly back and forth, glimmering in so many different colours they looked like spray from the base of a waterfall, catching the sunlight and refracting it like a diamond.

The regular sized beasts were scrambling around her legs, and she looked like she was watching them with interest. Her massive eyes were entirely black though, so she could have been looking anywhere for all Sarah knew. A chill ran down her spine.

"Okay," said Sirius so quietly she had to lean in to hear. "There's the queen." He raised his eyebrows. "How do you wanna kill it?"

Remus was surprisingly dumbstruck on the matter. "That is big isn't it?"

"Surely we could just stun her from here?" suggested Tonks.

"And cheese off all her minions while we're lying here helpless?" Sirius shook his head. "We need an exit strategy."

"Or at least a good place to hide," added Tonks, looking awkwardly about from their position on the floor.

Remus frowned. "We don't know what incapacitating their queen will do to the drones," he said. "It could send them crazy, or they could all fall asleep."

"I'm afraid I missed my entomology class this morning," grumbled Sirius. "On account of having the crap beaten out of me by my cousin. How about we just try and separate her from the others, then catch her in a big net?"

"Agreed," said Sarah. Sitting around doing nothing was making her nerves jangle.

"Okay," said Remus, breathing out. "Let's try and get behind her at least, there might actually be somewhere we can hide and just blast her, maybe put up a protection spell to stop all the little ones getting to us afterwards."

Sarah nodded. "Cool," she said, and rolled away from the edge.

The basin was surrounded by plenty of jagged rocks and densely planted spindly trees that looked in desperate need of water, but all in all it offered pretty good cover for the four of them as they edged around the clearing. They were about a quarter of the way around when they came across a little alcove facing away from the basin, just big enough for maybe three of them to squeeze in.

Remus looked around, considering. "This looks like a pretty good place to man an assault," he whispered, checking there were no bugs nearby to hear or see them. "We can try stunning the queen, then take cover."

"We won't all fit," pointed out Sirius.

"We could always make a larger bubble of protection charm," suggested Tonks. "So it was just around the cave." But Remus was shaking his head.

"It will be much stronger if we do it straight across the entrance, even more if we leave a lip so we're properly insulated." He looked up and down, then settled his gaze on Sarah. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Sarah," he said firmly. "I want you to find another place to hide, further away. If anything goes wrong they'll attack us and I don't want to risk your safety."

Sarah felt something boil inside her. "I'm not hiding," she hissed. "I'm not a little child, I can take care of myself!"

"Which is why," Sirius said calmly. "We can trust you to go alone. Remus is right, this could go horribly wrong, and if you're not with us, not only will you be safer, but you'll be able to run for help."

"From who?" spat out Sarah, who did not want to be treated like a child, and certainly did not want to be abandoned again.

"Harry and Ron are still out looking for you," said Sirius, placing his hands on her shoulders. "The painting can lead you to them. And Hermione went with Draco to stop the water at the fountain, and we know they succeeded. They might just be waiting there for you."

Sarah could feel her lip pouting, but that was better than letting the tears that were threatening to spill actually escape her eyes. She crossed her arms and looked away from them.

"Fine," she snapped. "I'll go find somewhere to hide like a good little girl."

Sirius pulled her into a hug, and when he released her, she stormed off without another word.

"Stupid," she grumbled to herself. "Idiots." She kicked a stone in frustration, then instantly froze, her entire body tensed to run. After about a minute she allowed herself to breathe again, then cursed herself for being so careless. What if the Wranglers had heard her? She might have ruined everything.

She still felt extremely cross as she searched for a place to take cover, another cave type opening, or a large bush perhaps. At least she could be useful by utilising her hide and seek skills.

It took her a moment to realise that she had been staring at a patch in the rock face, and then a further moment to realise why. It had a door cut into the stone. Sarah looked about, conscious Sirius and the others might begin their attack at any moment. Why would there be a door in a wall of rock? To be fair it didn't have any noticeable handle, but the size of it was definitely door-like in nature. She pushed at it, but it didn't budge, so she fished out her borrowed wand and pressed it to where she felt the handle should have been.

"Alohomora," she said, and the door swung inwards. She couldn't help but smile at her serendipitous hiding place, then cast a Lumos spell so she could see where she was. It was a store cupboard, filled with medical equipment, reference books, cleaning products, food pellets, and rather unexpectedly, a broomstick.

Sarah's hand flew to the broom without hesitation; a Cleansweep Four, pretty old, but it still felt like it had some fire left in it. She wondered why it would be in here? Maybe for maintenance work, or if a gnome got stuck up a tree, something like that she guessed.

The sudden, unmistakable hiss of magic brought her sharply back to reality. Forgetting entirely she was supposed to be taking cover, she darted back outside towards the basin edge.

Even through the tree branches she could see that the other three were firing stunning spells at the queen Wrangler. And they were having absolutely no effect. Sarah watched, heart in her mouth, as the queen stared curiously at them, then with some soundless command her hordes of drones rose from around her feet, and shot straight towards the little cave.

Sarah couldn't help but gasp as Sirius, Remus and Tonks cried out, ducking back into their makeshift shelter. The insects' were making a furious buzzing sound as they threw themselves at the barrier, and dozens of them started spitting out gobfuls of black, oily goo from their mouths, that smacked sickeningly onto the rocky surface, dissolving within seconds. Sarah guessed that was how they paralysed their victims, and made a mental note to steer well clear of it.

She was almost behind the queen now, and could see how little the attack had perturbed the massive wasp. She was still crouched down, content that her children were fighting off the intrusion. And behind her, like a field of marbles nestled in the freshly dug earth, were row upon row of eggs. They would have been about a foot tall, and had a dirty green look to their shells. Even as she watched, a new egg dropped from underneath the mother bug, but it smashed on the floor, spilling out a bucketful of slimy goo and what Sarah assumed was a half grown Wrangler.

The queen knew the egg had smashed as soon as it hit the ground, and began making a scratchy wailing sound, clumsily trying to turn her enormous form around to see what had happened. Sarah thought maybe there was supposed to be another Wrangler there to catch it, and maybe another to settle it in the soil, but they were too busy trying to break down Remus' protection spell. The queen tried to pick up what remained of her baby, but her hands were more like pincers and she just succeeded in smearing the gunge around. She tilted her head back and howled that raspy noise again, deeply distressed.

Sarah watched this as the smaller Wranglers continued their assault on where her friends were hiding. The cave was solid stone so was holding up pretty well, but how long could their protection charms last against to paralysing spit the bugs kept shooting at it, let alone their claws and teeth? She had to do something.

If she could just get the queen away, or distract the drones, like Tonks had done. But Sarah couldn't make a Patronus, and she felt her anger at her lack of magic skills rise again. She didn't have time for that though, she just needed to think of something else.

The queen was still fussing over the broken egg, nudging it with her snout. Sarah had to feel sorry for her really; Remus was right, she was just an animal following her instinct, and all she wanted to do was look after her children.

An idea snuck into Sarah's brain, and right away her whole body flurried with goosebumps. Of course, there was a completely obvious way to distract the queen, but to what end? Sarah could maybe lure her away, but would the drones all follow? And how could Sarah hope to immobilise the queen even if she did get her alone. The adults' stunning spells hadn't worked and there wasn't anything else Sarah could think of to do.

At that moment there was an eruption of Wranglers as something blasted them several feet away from the cave. Sarah jumped back instinctively as Remus dove out, shouting out spells in every direction. The protective barrier must have failed. Sirius and Tonks were right behind him, but it was Remus that took the brunt of the insets' counter attack, and he just wasn't fast enough and a glob of oily black goo got him slap bang in the middle of his chest.

"NO!" screamed Sarah without thinking. Sirius and Tonks backed up against the rocks again, blasting out fire and explosions and a multitude of spells in an attempt to keep the Wranglers back.

Sarah took a step forwards, then realised she had something in her hand; it was the Cleansweep. Sirius spotted her as he frantically assessed his surroundings. "Sarah get out of here!" he bellowed.

Sarah looked down at the broomstick, then made up her mind.

Without really knowing what she was doing, she threw her leg over the broom and kicked off the ground, soaring into the air.

She couldn't help it, she laughed. She was flying, she was good at this, very good at this, and for the first time since she'd landed in this messed up world she felt in control of it. No one noticed her assent, not Sirius or the queen or any of the drones, and for a moment Sarah just hovered, taking in one breath after another. Then she dived straight for the patch of eggs, picking one at random. She pulled the broom up just before she reached the ground, and reached her arm out to scoop the egg from the dirt.

The second she touched it, the queen's head snapped round. The two stared at each other for a moment that stretched on for far longer than it really did. On the one hand, Sarah was very pleased her little plan had worked; she was right, all the queen cared about was her eggs. On the other hand, she now had the full attention of a terrifying monster.

"You want this?" she bellowed, holding the egg up in a shaky hand for the queen to see. "Come and get it!"

She tore off into the sky again, and the queen roared, twenty times louder than when the egg had broken on the ground. Sarah looked over her shoulder to see the great beast scrambling around on her many legs, tripping over herself in her haste to catch up with the little girl on the broom with one of her babies. Sarah had no intention of hurting the unborn Wrangler; she agreed with Remus, it wasn't the creature's fault they were enemies. But the queen didn't need to know that.

The beast flapped her beautiful wings exhaustingly, obviously out of practice using them, but eventually she managed to rise out of the stony basin, still screeching and writhing around in fury as she became airborne. Sarah was just about to hightail it when she spotted there was definitely something wrong with the other drones, and it stopped her.

Sirius and Tonks were looking round confused as their attackers ceased to attack. Instead, they were now drifting, stumbling away, tumbling over each other, flying off in odd, shaky lines. If Sarah didn't know any better, she would have sworn they'd all become very drunk, very quickly.

She didn't have long to ponder it though, the queen was up in the air and gaining speed fast. Sarah just had to hope she was faster. She fled as quickly as the old broom would take her, flying into the foliage, using the trees for cover as she zoomed this way and that, doing her best to confuse the overgrown insect. The queen screamed out and pulled at the branches, swatting them away in search of her egg, but Sarah just kept on flying.

What felt like plaster and brickwork suddenly rained down on Sarah's head, causing her to swerve on instinct. As she shook the debris from her head she risked looking upwards to see what the queen was doing. She didn't have to wait long to find out; the queen was so cumbersome and obviously not used navigating in a small space. She kept flying upwards into what looked like the late night sky, but what was in fact the ceiling enchanted to look like the sky, just like at Hogwarts. As she bashed into it again she snarled a noise like a chainsaw being started up, and dove back down to the top of the tree line to search for Sarah again as more of the roof crashed down on them both.

Sarah zigzagged around the bits of brickwork and around several trees. The landscape was changing again, leaving the tropical jungle behind in exchange for a pine forest damp with the smell of earth.

Just as Sarah whipped past a frozen herd of Chimera, a small Wrangler darted past her, making her scream out in shock. After seeing their behaviour at the basin she'd assumed they'd all been incapacitated, but apparently some of them had been able to keep it together. The bug quickly corrected its course to come chasing after her, and it wasn't long before half a dozen others joined it. Sarah gulped and clung onto the broom, fleecing it for all it was worth.

The queen swiped down blindly with her claws and her drones spat goo in an attempt to slow Sarah down. Before they fired, the drones thankfully gave off a tell-tale whistling noise that alerted Sarah just in time, but they'd caught the end of her broom twice now. If they got any closer it was game over.

"SARAH!" the unmistakable voice of Sirius Black rang out, startling the Wranglers and giving Sarah a fair fright herself. He must have magically enhanced the volume of his words as they were a considerable distance from the basin now. "LEAD IT BACK HERE!"

Sarah's heart was thumping so hard she could barely concentrate, and she panicked thinking she wasn't sure how to find her way back. But that was before she heard the fireworks. Spinning her broom around on a hairpin she saw the bright red sparks that accompanied the whizzing and popping noises, and looped around the startled Wranglers to go find the source.

The queen took a minute or so to realise the girl with her egg had switched directions, so Sarah only had to contend with the drones as she hurtled back towards the basin. "I'm coming!" she yelled as loud as she could, almost certain Sirius couldn't hear her yet, but she kept on yelling anyway.

"I'm coming Sirius," she cried, holding tightly onto the egg. "I'm almost there!"

She flew through the jungle as the little bugs spat at her and grabbed for the end of her broom. She'd managed to lose a few along the way, but the couple that remained seemed as determined as ever to bring her down.

"Over here!" yelled Tonks faintly through the trees, and Sarah adjusted her course, leaning into the broom to get every ounce of speed out of it as the queen bared down on top of her again and the few straggling drones reached for her heals.

She broke back into the rocky clearing which was now littered with stumbling, disorientated Wranglers. "HERE!" hollered Tonks, standing ten feet or so away from the cave and waving her arms frantically. Sarah wasn't sure what the plan was, but she hurtled past the frozen Remus Lupin towards the pink-haired woman without looking back.

Another Wrangler spat at her, and Sarah lurched to her right to avoid it. She overcompensated though for fear of dropping the egg, and she spun right into the ground, rolling head over heels and losing the broomstick. Tonks ran at her, screaming profanities at the creatures, but just as they and their queen closed in on them, Sirius emerged from the little cave, wand in hand.

"SPINNERETIOUS!" he bellowed, white string exploding from his wand. No, not string Sarah realised, clutching onto the green egg as the spell blossomed over her head. Cobweb.

The Wranglers and their queen screeched out in horror as they were an able to stop themselves ploughing into the webbing that now stretched from the floor up the rocky side of the basin. But as soon as they touched the sticky substance, they were stuck fast. Tonks skidded to the ground and flung a dome of protection around her and Sarah just as the furious Wranglers began spitting goo through the gaps. "Sirius!" she hollered. "Now would be a good time!"

A hot, bright light filled the clearing, and Sarah snapped her eyes shut against it, curling into Tonks. But the protection spell did what it was supposed to do, and the two girls were unharmed by whatever Sirius had just done. The Wranglers, on the other hand, were now fast asleep.

"Woohoo!" screamed Sirius as Tonks leapt to her feet.

"Stay there," she commanded at Sarah as she sprinted off back to the cave. For once she was content to do as she was told. She looked up at the insects now happily snoring in the giant web. They looked quite peaceful when they weren't trying to kill her.

The Wranglers not caught in the cobweb suddenly sobered up, then began buzzing gently around the clearing, flitting off in all directions absentmindedly as if they'd just remembered they'd left the oven on. A pixie suddenly flew up in front of Sarah's face, hands on its little hips. "What are you doing here?" it demanded in a very high pitched voice.

Sarah laughed. It was more of a bark really, right at the pixie, who jumped back, then huffed scornfully before flying away again. Sarah laughed again, the peels escaping almost hysterically as she gently let the egg she was still clutching roll to the ground.

"Sarah!" Sirius cried as he sprinted under the webbing and over to where she sat. "Sarah are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she yelled back. "Did we do it?"

Sirius actually picked her off her feet as he howled in delight. "You did it you little monkey!" he said, spinning her around. He didn't put her down when he was done, instead hoisting her onto his hip to carry her back to the others like a small child. Again, Sarah found she didn't mind. "Remus got zapped, but I think he's alright now."

Tonks was hugging him as the two turned to wave happily. Another Wrangler bumbled on by, totally oblivious to their presence.

"Once you made the queen mad enough to follow you, it's like the others couldn't function anymore," Sirius carried on, chuffed to bits. "So we worked out what spell to use, then you pretty much did the rest." He mussed up her hair and pinched her cheek, and Sarah felt a hot sensation rising through her face. She was grinning so much it hurt. She'd done it, she'd really done it.

Sirius hugged her even tighter, wrapping his arm around her head, and she happily buried her face in his neck. "You dad would have been so proud," he said thickly.

Sarah smiled as tears of relief rolled down her face. "I'll tell him you said that," she told him.

xxx

Harry couldn't breathe. Fear was gripping at his throat like cold hands squeezing the life out of him, his fingers were clenched so tightly around his wand the circulation was failing. Voldemort smiled. Ron made a noise that could have been a whimper or a gag. Harry didn't blame him for either.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said eventually.

Voldemort creased his forehead; Harry suspected if he'd had eyebrows on that ghastly snake face of his, they would now be raised. "Really," he said pleasantly. "You don't know anything at all about parallel universes, alternate realities?"

Harry licked his lips. "Why would I?"

"Yeah," said Ron, sloshing forward a step against the returning waters, holding his wand up bravely. "You're the ones who emptied the file on Dimensional Hotspots."

Harry couldn't help but let his head drop a little in defeat. Good old Ron, always putting his foot in it. But Voldemort didn't seem surprised that he knew about the Hotspots, he just smiled again.

"Why yes we did," he agreed. "But there wasn't really much in that file my Seers hadn't told me already, but Harry here..." He extended his hand gracefully. "Well Harry here has been to another reality, haven't you?"

Harry swallowed, trying to keep his face blank. "That's absurd," he said, letting a small laugh escape. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"So," said Voldemort tilting his head. "You didn't visit a parallel world last November? Hm?" He shrugged his shoulders as if what he was saying was only mildly interesting. "I wonder in that case what you were doing those few days you were missing? Perhaps your friend here knows."

He gave Ron an easy smile, then flicked his wand and send him crashing to the floor, holding him under the rushing waters.

"Stop!" yelled Harry frantic, dropping to his knees to try and pull Ron up. "Stop it you'll kill him!"

Voldemort held his gaze for a moment. "I have no wish to," he said softly.

Harry pulled at Ron again as he thrashed under the currents, but he wasn't going anywhere. "Okay," said Harry. "Okay, OKAY! I went to another universe, let him go, please!"

Instantly, Ron sprung back up to the surface, coughing up water and gasping for air.

"There," said Voldemort. "That wasn't so bad was it?" Ron tried to say something in response but just ended up choking again. Harry waked him on the back and glared at Voldemort.

"What do you want to know?" he demanded. "I sent myself there by accident, and then my friends in this world brought me back. That's it."

Voldemort chuckled softly. "Yes," he said genially. "I'm sure that is it, in its entirety. But why don't you join me for a little further discussion anyway? Satisfy my curiosity?"

Harry ground his teeth. "Fine," he snapped. "But Ron stays here, this is between you and me."

"Oh," said Voldemort reproachfully. "But you're so much more cooperative when your friends are around. I think he should stick with us."

Harry opened his mouth, but he realised they were no longer standing in the Ministry's archives. He and Ron stumbled as the pressure from the charging waters was suddenly removed, and he looked around at all the Death Eaters staring at him from around Courtroom Ten. His stomach sank. There were right back in the snake pit.

At least it was just them, he consoled himself as he helped Ron to stand. At least the others had got away.

"You see," said Voldemort, strolling around as a handful of Death Eaters lunged forward to take the boys' wands and restrain them. "I've been a little busy, peering into the future with my very talented Seers. They are so useful to have around, don't you find?"

Harry just glowered, but Voldemort took that as enough of a response.

"They've come across a wonderful little prophecy which to begin with I was certain was about you and I."

He looked as if he was going to carry on, but at that moment two figures were thrown through the watery barrier at the entrance to the courtroom. Harry didn't think his heart could sink further, but it did. Hermione and Draco lay panting and bound on the floor as Lucius strode through the waters, which were already lowered to just below the door frame. He dried himself with the flick of a wand, but left his son and Hermione to drip.

The blonde woman who Harry now knew to be Draco's mother Narcissa cried out but stayed stood where she was, near the back of the room. No one held her there, but Harry had the feeling there would be several people ready to stop her if she tried to get in Lucius', or more importantly Lord Voldemort's, way.

"Ah!" said Voldemort. "Excellent work Lucius."

"Thank you my Lord," he said stiffly. He looked especially irked, and his eyes kept flicking towards his son. Harry's insides squirmed uneasily.

"I was just telling young Potter here about the prophecy," then he laughed, as if someone had delivered a punch line. "I do apologise," he said, addressing his followers before looking once again to Harry. "I mean of course Potter, the elder. You are not the youngest of your family anymore."

Harry pulled against the men restraining him but they didn't budge. "If you're talking about the prophecy," he growled instead. "That says I'm the heir of Gryffindor, and you the heir of Slytherin, then I'm way ahead of you, it's old news."

Voldemort stared at Harry, and he quickly wished he'd kept his mouth shut. It obviously wasn't the same prophecy. "Well," said the Dark Lord. "Well, well. That is interesting. I take it you learnt that on you little trip last year." Harry said nothing, but Voldemort looked pleased anyway.

"Trixy?" he called out. "Would you be so kind?"

One of the robed figures stepped out of the crowd, and lowered her hood once she reached the central well. She was a spindly, willowy girl, who could have been any age between fifteen and forty, Harry just couldn't tell. Her blonde, wavy hair was thin and hung limply beside her long, vacant face. She was staring into the middle distance, as if she couldn't see a single other person in the room.

"He who misplaces himself," she began reciting in a trembling voice. "Shall hold the key, and he shall bring light and power and control to all he sees, all he can imagine. And with great force and acumen he will be the instrument of unity, and the king of all will rule."

Once she was done she lifted her hood once again, then melted back into the throng.

"Ah," said Harry. "That's not the one I heard."

"But you see the problem don't you?" asked Voldemort, as if he were teaching a class at Hogwarts. "When my visionaries relayed this prophecy, and we confirmed with the Ministry's prophecy catalogue that it had come into effect now, this very day, I assumed it had to be you. You were the one who travelled across the boundaries of the worlds last year. But you…you're still you, aren't you? You haven't swapped, this is your world." He folded his hands together. "Your sister on the other hand-"

"How did you know that?" snapped Draco, struggling to sit upright. "How did you know Harry crossed over last year."

"Be quiet," hissed Lucius, aiming a kick at him and earning another whine from Narcissa, but Voldemort held up his hand.

"I know a great deal Master Malfoy," he said, looking at the boy curiously. Harry begged Draco to shut up before Voldemort tortured him and Hermione like he'd already done to Ron. "But your question goes someway to confirming it further for me. How, may I ask, do you know Potter left this reality for another?"

"Because that's where this boy is from," spat Lucius, and Harry's insides turned to ice. He stopped struggling against the Death Eaters holding him.

"No," he breathed.

"Lucius?" asked Voldemort.

"The girl may be from the second reality," explained Lucius, his voice full of malice. "But so is this Draco. He is not my son."

The room went very still. Voldemort regarded Draco with new and delighted interest, whilst Draco glared back, chin in the air. Hermione turned her head between the two of them, horror clear on her face. Harry guessed she was thinking the same as him; Voldemort didn't want Harry like he said, but he didn't want Sarah either, she'd been a last resort. The prophecy was about Draco.

"W-what?" said Narcissa, taking a step forward, but no one paid her any attention. Voldemort was drifting towards Draco, oblivious to all else.

"'He who misplaces himself'", he quoted again, his wicked mouth curling into a real grin. "My, my. What a turn of events."

"What do you want with him then!" lashed out Hermione, also awkwardly moving to lean on her knees.

"Hermione-" began Draco, frightened, but Hermione ploughed on.

"She said 'the king of all will rule', rule what?" Her eyes blazed and Harry felt Ron struggling against his captors. It seemed they'd learnt from last time though and already gagged him. He gave a good go at shouting something out anyway.

"Hermione," hissed Draco again, pleading. "Leave it, I can handle-"

"He's only been here half a day," she shouted, cutting him off. "What do you want from him? He can't make you be the king, he can't hand over whatever power he's supposed to have, he just landed here. So how about you go find your own alternate reality to lord over and leave him alone!"

Voldemort looked at Draco, then at Lucius, then at Hermione. "Crucio," he whispered.

Hermione smacked into the ground, flailing and screaming in agony. "NO!" screamed back the joint voice of Harry, Draco and a muffled up Ron. Hermione continued to writhe, and Voldemort turned to Draco.

"Will you talk to me now?"

"I never said I wouldn't!" cried Draco, scrambling forward on his knees, his hands still behind his back. "I don't care, let her go, I'll tell you everything!"

Voldemort seemed to consider this, then abruptly Hermione stopped screaming. She crumpled where she lay on the ground, legs curling into her body as she shook and air shuddered in and out of her lungs. "Draco," she uttered, her voice cracking. "Don't…tell him anything."

Voldemort laughed, good and hearty, before flinging Hermione across the room, smacking her against the wooden railings then letting her fall to the floor, unmoving.

"Hermione!" cried Draco, and Harry strained against the hands on his arms, but they yanked him back without pause. Voldemort lurched forward and seized Draco by the jaw. Harry saw Narcissa scuttle forward another couple of steps.

"How does it work?"

Even from across the room Harry saw Draco's eyes widen. "I…" he stammered. "I don't…" Voldemort slowly raised his wand, pointing it at Hermione.

"The History of Magic classroom!" yelled out Harry. There was a painful moment where Voldemort's arm just hovered, until finally he turned.

"Ah, Mr Potter," he said happily. "What was that?"

"I sent myself through a Dimensional Hotspot by accident, in the old History of Magic classroom," he said, breathing hard. Every pair of eyes in the room was on him. Except for one.

"I was angry, I was casting spells and wrecking the room, I only had one thought in my head."

"Which was?" asked Voldemort, gliding away from Draco and towards Harry. Good, Harry thought, that's it forget about them, come to me.

"I," he said, a lump in his throat. "I was wishing, begging, praying with all I had…that Sirius had remained my parents' Secret Keeper rather than hand the job over to Wormtail." Pettigrew flinched from his position near the back of the room. He never was one to be on the front line.

"Ah," said Voldemort sadly. "But without Wormtail's loyal service, I never would have found you at Hallowe'en, all those years ago."

Harry really yanked against the hands holding him, so much so they even slipped a bit. "You son of a-"

"So am I to assume," Voldemort carried on, waltzing around the room like a lecturer again. "That because you wished it so hard, right by the portal, with all that magic in the air…you propelled yourself there. Of your own sheer will?"

It was Harry's turn to glare. "I guess so," he said through clenched teeth.

Voldemort's eyes lazily roamed over Harry's features. "Didn't anyone ever tell you, be careful what you wish for?"

And then it was Harry's turn to laugh. Hard. Ron stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. "And obviously your Seers never told you what happened over there, did they? Because I destroyed you, again!"

Voldemort stiffened, and Harry knew he was right. "Yeah," he goaded, "I toasted your sorry hide, gave that other Harry a nice lightning bolt scar, just like this one."

Voldemort flashed his wand, and Harry was on the floor, flung from his captor's hands screaming unyieldingly as fire tore across his body. He wasn't sorry though, even as the tears streamed down his face and he heard people wailing his name. He wasn't sorry because he deserved this, he'd caused all this mess and seen far too many other people suffer for it. This was his pain to own.

And then it was over, and he trembled on the floor, staring at the imperfections in the wooden boards. "Don't…" he grunted. "You want to know. How I got back?"

He couldn't raise his eyes to see where Voldemort was or what he was doing, but after a moment he felt his robes swish not too far from his face.

"Explain," he said.

"Dumbledore," Harry groaned, his face mashed into the floor for the second time that night. "Charmed a letter, sent it after me. Pulled me back."

He felt Voldemort's steps thump towards him. "That's it?" he cried. "You seriously expect me to believe you accidentally landed there, then someone else, him, threw you a lifeline to get home!"

Harry laughed. It wasn't quite as impressive as his earlier effort. "I'm sorry to disappoint."

He knew it was dangerous to taunt the most evil wizard that ever lived, but exhaustion was playing a considerable part in diminishing his reason, and as a result he was finding the whole thing vastly amusing.

Voldemort did not respond with torture again like Harry assumed he would. He just cleared his throat. "And how do you explain young Master Malfoy's transformation, and the appearance of your sister?"

"We were just sat there," cried out Draco, and Harry winced. He wanted to talk, he wanted all the attention on him. But he didn't have the exact answers, and Draco had a little more than that so he pressed on while Harry dithered.

"Shut up," Harry whispered, but no one heard, least of all Draco.

"We were just in the classroom, the same one Harry said," Draco shouted, pulling Voldemort further away from Harry. "Then a lightning storm blew up in an instant, the window shattered, and we were here." Harry shifted his head, and could see Draco was sat up on his knees, his hair plastered to his head, his face set.

"I went where I was needed," Draco said, resolute. "Harry came to my world because he knew how to defeat you, my Voldemort, and I," his voice broke. "I…I came back to his world. Because I knew what it meant to have you people in my school. To…let you people in my home, then to fight back, to give everything to try and make it right."

Voldemort turned to Lucius. "What kind of boy is it you have here?"

Lucius stiffened as Narcissa crept forwards again. The only pair of eyes that had not flinched from her son, that didn't even acknowledge her husband or her lord. She was at the front of the crowd now.

"You sound fanatical," said Voldemort to Draco, taking a turn about the room again. "You make it sound like destiny flung you where you were most desired."

"Yeah," said Draco with a grin. "So how about you find yourself a world full of angry mobs and do us all a favour." Harry wasn't even shocked when Voldemort unleashed the Cruciatus Curse on his friend, but it didn't stop him from crying out as Draco jerked in pain, screaming like something unhinged.

"No!" cried Narcissa, flinging herself on her suffering boy. "No, no stop it!" The curse ended, and she cradled her son. "He'll tell you my Lord, you don't need to resort to such cruel methods!"

"What my wife means," said Lucius hastily stepping forward. "Is that the boy will cooperate, he would be a fool not to."

"I see," panted Draco. "Only one fool here." He was looking at Lucius. Harry decided to take the conversation back to himself.

"We can't tell you a spell to jump realities, if that's what you want?" he said from the floor. He was still too weak to stand from the torture curse, but the guards hadn't restrained him again either.

Voldemort bared down on him. "What about the spell that pulled you home then?" he demanded. Harry rubbed his face in an attempt to bring some life back into it.

"It only worked because I had already crossed over. There are only ways to bring people back, not send them over."

Voldemort smirked. "That you know of."

"Exactly," agreed Harry. "So my suggestion would be to go to Hogwarts and get really mad in that classroom, and see what happens."

Voldemort sighed. "And this is all the information I'm to expect from you boys, little more than hearsay and guesses?"

"Sorry," said Draco, not sounding sorry at all. He was still resting against his mother's embrace; Lucius did not look impressed with the situation.

"Well then," announced Voldemort, his tone cheerful once again. "Then I think your work is done here ladies and gentlemen. We have much we can progress with, I still hold every confidence we can bend this prophecy to my will, all is not lost." He turned back to Draco and Narcissa. "All that remains are a few loose ends."

Narcissa stared at her Lord, and blinked. "What?" she stammered.

"I alone," growled Voldemort. "Shall rule. I alone shall see the realisation of this prophecy, and I will not risk anyone else standing in my way. Certainly not this boy."

Harry's heart hammered; Voldemort was going to kill Draco. He glanced around desperately from the floor but he didn't see any way he could stop it. Ron was still restrained and neither of them had their wands. Panic gripped him, and he mustered all his strength, preparing to leapt to his feet and fling himself between the two if he hand to.

Draco just stared at the Dark Lord, his jaw still clenched, almost daring him to kill him.

Lucius looked afraid. "My Lord," he said, his voice shaking. "You are of course correct, this boy should not be allowed to remain. We can force him back to his own world, and our son, our loyal son, will return to us."

Voldemort didn't even look at him, just pulled his wand from his robes. "And leave him free to cross back to us any time he pleases?" He made a tutting noise. "I thought you would know better Lucius, your son is already dead, I am doing you a favour."

"NO!" screeched Narcissa, jumping to her feet and putting herself firmly between Voldemort and Draco, just as Harry had planned to do. "No he is my son!"

"Sissy," cried Lucius, trying to pull her back, but something erupted in this frail, cowering woman.

"NO!" she screamed, thrashing against her husband's grip. "NO DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!"

Several people jumped forward, some grabbed Narcissa, some Draco who had also started screaming, ordering them to let his mother go. No one grabbed Harry. He launched himself forward on unsteady legs, barrel rolling into Voldemort, knocking him off his feet.

Spells flew, people shouted and yelled, Harry was blasted back, skidding across the floor as Voldemort rose to his feet again. He ignored Harry, and turned back to Draco.

"NO," Narcissa howled again, clawing at the hands that held her.

"MOTHER!" bellowed Draco,struggling uselessly against the Death Eaters, too weak from the Cruciatus Curse still to have any effect. Narcissa, though, was like a force of nature, elbowing and scratching her way free.

"Don't you TOUCH him! Don't you dare, you'll have to kill me first, you'll have to kill me!"

And then her wand was in her hand, her husband and the other Death Eaters blasted away, and she was running towards her son. Harry scrambled back up again, running in the same direction, but he wasn't fast enough.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort screamed, and green light filled the room just as Narcissa leapt for her son. Harry stopped in his tracks, horror steeling all feeling from his body.

"No," he exhaled, tears filling up his eyes.

The lifeless body of Narcissa Malfoy was strewn on the floor, and for a moment, the entire room was still.

"No," croaked Draco. "No, no, no, NO!" Harry blinked himself awake, remembering his friend was still in danger, but he was too slow. A Death Eater crashed into him, pulling him to the ground as another one seized his feet.

"GET OFF ME!" he bellowed, but no one heard him over Draco's screams.

"Mother!" he howled, thrashing manically against the people holding him. They were losing their grip. "Mum! No, mum NO! PLEASE!" He smacked his head back into one captor and savagely kicked the knee of another. "Not again! Not again! MUM!" He broke free, and tried to run to her, but Voldemort was waiting, watching, a predator watching his prey.

"Goodbye Master Malfoy," he said with a wicked grin.

"NO!" screamed Harry with all he had left.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

And the whole room feel down.

xxx

Draco crouched on the stone window sill, the storm raging in the night's sky behind him. The Great Hall of Hogwarts School was throbbing with students screaming and shoving each other, some sobbing, some waving wands. Some had blood matted in their hair, others ragged holes in their sides.

A girl in the crowd's centre saw him. Over the thundering din, all Draco heard was the soft 'oh' of recognition that escaped her lips. Everybody in the room stopped moving, stopped talking. Now there were all looking at him, and he watched them back, hunkered down like an animal, sizing up its prey.

Seamus Finnigan stood behind the girl, the girl with wavy brown hair and kind brown eyes. "Hermione," said Draco told himself, but nobody else heard. Seamus had his hands on her hips, and as Draco watched her swept her hair back and slowly kissed her neck.

Hermione raised her hand and pointed at Draco. "It was him!" she screamed.

Now it was the students who were the animals, the predators, and Draco was their prey. He jumped from the window sill, and ran as if through treacle out of the hall and down the corridor, bodiless hands groping at his clothes, pawing at his skin. The grand double doors stood open before him, beckoning him out into the night. In his way stood his father, who became his mother, then his father once again. As Draco charged at them, the formless figure blew away into smoke, releasing him into the raging storm.

The rain vanished as soon as Draco reached the entranceway steps, but the wind howled, tearing at the trees, stripping them of their leaves. He ran along the wall of the school, until he found the rope he knew would be waiting for him. He climbed up, as if he weighed nothing, until he reached the broomstick perched on a ledge by a sad looking gargoyle.

Draco's fingers were reaching for the broom, when suddenly there was a tug on the rope tied to the middle of the broomstick, and it and Draco began to fall back to Earth. "Fly!" he told the broomstick, and so it did, even though Draco was still dangling below, hand wrapped around the rope. They soared over the dark grounds of Hogwarts School, but Draco knew they were not alone. The girl was hanging onto the rope below him, only she was no longer Hermione, but Blaise Zabini hiding behind a sheet of long brown hair.

He wound his other hand around the rope to make it into reigns, spurring the broomstick on. Blaise was thrown from their ride, falling to the ground and smashing into a thousand pieces.

They galloped on, and Draco found his legs astride a pitch black warhorse, flying down a railway bridge that stretched out of sight. They rode and rode, and after forever and a blink of an eye, the train line was running into a castle, surrounded by walled up medieval town.

Someone was behind him. He couldn't see who it was, no matter how he twisted and turned, but he knew they were there. He knew it was a knight, in gleaming armour and billowing red and gold standards, driving forward a large white horse. But he never once caught a true glimpse of the rider.

There were people waiting for him in the town centre. Sirius Black sat atop a horse even bigger than his own, and around him were countless other figures, their features hidden by brown cloaks with long overhanging hoods. Townspeople stood amongst them, their faces gaunt, their hands holding burning torches aloft.

"You cannot go on forever," Sirius called to him as Draco tried to calm his rearing horse.

"Who says I can't?" he replied, the heat from the torches flushing his cheeks.

"I do." Draco pulled the reigns to turn the horse, eager to see the voice who had spoken behind him.

"Harry!" he said happily, jumping down from his ride to throw his arms around his friend. Harry Potter did not return the embrace. "Harry why can't I keep running?" he asked, letting him go to look at his face. He looked so old.

"Because it's not you they want."

All of Draco's skin was burning now, he could feel the heat emanating from it. "It is," he insisted as Harry's clothes caught fire. But the other boy shook his head.

"It never is," he said as his burst into flames, melting right through Draco's fingertips.

xxx

Draco awoke with a start. His breathing was heavy and his forehead was damp with sweat. He was on a metal cot bed, tangled in several blankets, in a shadowy room with wooden panels and beams, and a fire roaring in a stone mantelpiece that filled the whole wall. Several portraits on the wall in front of him were pointing and staring. A woman with chocolate brown ringlets curling from underneath a bonnet spotted he was awake. "Ooh look!" she said delightedly. "I think dear Ric, our visitor has regained his senses!"

"Then let's not scare them away again Jane," said a handsome man in an adjacent painting. He looked like a medieval knight, in red and gold livery, and something about the dream resonated at the back of Draco's bleary mind.

"Draco." He snapped his head to the left, where a slimly built man he didn't recognise was sitting on a sofa, his fingers interlaced, his pale face troubled.

"Who are you?" Draco demanded, still feeling sick from the dream that was quickly fading from his memory. The man was extraordinarily good looking, with spikes of blonde highlighted hair and wearing scuffed up jeans, pirate boots and a t-shirt with a design so faded Draco couldn't even make it out in the dim light.

"A friend," said the man with a sign. "Oh Draco, what have you done?"

Draco stared at him. "I don't know," he said. "Something bad?"

"Oh no," said the man, raising his eyebrows and leaning forwards. "Something wonderful, something exceptional." He licked his lips, and leant back on the sofa with his hands behind his head. "Just...something unexpected."

There was a yapping noise, and something started tugging on one of Draco's many ragged blankets from the floor. "What's that?" he asked, leaning over to see a tiny white terrier puppy, a woollen tassel clamped between its jaws. It growled in a high pitched grunt every time it jerked at the blanket.

"Ah!" said the man happily. "Don't know, he's new round here." He leant forward and scooped the puppy easily up in one hand to plonk him on Draco's bed. "I decided I was a bit lonely, wanted someone to talk to. He may not have a name yet, but he's a very good listener." The man ruffled the puppy's soft, downy hair as it bounded over to Draco, who couldn't help but pet him too as he jumped around and nipped his fingers. Draco laughed, then spotted a collar around his neck.

"His name tag says he's called Sir Woofsalot?"

"Does it?" said the man, delighted, picking up the pup and taking a look at the silver disk. "So it does, well hello there Woofsy, have you made friends with Draco?"

Draco was feeling dizzy from the heat of the flames to his right. "How do you know my name?" he said as his eyes dropped. "What did I do, who are you?"

The man sighed again, and rested Sir Woofsalot on the sofa beside him. "Don't worry," he said kindly as Draco felt the darkness rushing over him. "I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing you again soon."

xxx

"Did he just bark?"

Sarah looked over at Harry, mouth full of sandwich, her eyebrows raised as her hands holding her lunch hovered halfway between face and plate.

"Huh?" she said thickly through bread and cheese.

Harry frowned. "I thought," he said, leaning closer to the metal cot bed where Draco was lying. "I thought he said 'woof'." He felt ridiculous even as he said it, but he could have sworn that's what he'd heard.

Sarah swallowed, placed the sandwich back on the plate then leant over the sleeping boy as well. "His eyes are moving under his lids," she said, a smile creeping onto her face. "Maybe he's waking up?"

Harry picked up Draco's wrist and felt the pulse beneath the skin. It seemed a bit faster. "His cheeks are pinker too."

Sarah picked up the plate and discarded it on the cabinet by Draco's bed. They were the only ones in Hogwarts' medical ward, even Madame Pomfrey had left them alone for a time, but Harry would prefer it if Draco were to wake up with just the Potters waiting for him. He was bound to have a lot of questions.

"Come on," he muttered as a light breeze came through the half open window. It was still warm outside despite the calendar's protests Autumn had well and truly begun, and the watery October sunshine glinted off of the water jug by Sarah's plate.

"Uf," said Draco.

"There!" said Harry jumping to his feet and standing over Draco as he twitched in his sleep. Sarah grabbed his hand.

"Draco," she said, squeezing. "Draco can you hear me?"

He twitched again.

"Should we get Madame Pomfrey?" she asked, almost trembling with excitement.

"No," said Harry, shaking his head and sitting himself down again in the green plastic chair he'd set up camp in over the last couple of days. "Let's just see what happens."

"No," muttered Draco, and Harry's insides twisted. He followed Sarah's lead and took Draco's other hand. It was clammy. "No," he whimpered again, and Harry suddenly didn't think he was prepared for what was about to happen.

"Draco?" said Sarah, standing up to peer at his face and brush his damp hair back. "Draco it's alright, we're here."

He was wrestling with the sheets, his legs kicking as his face contorted. Then with a sudden gasp, his eyes were open, and he became still.

"Draco?" said Sarah uncertainly as Harry took the hand he was already holding in both of his.

"Draco?" he said.

His grey eyes were wide, sweat was beading on his forehead and his chest rose and fell. "Am I dead?"

"Oh Draco!" cried Sarah, flinging herself onto his chest. "We were so worried!"

Draco dopily patted her back as she half laughed and half cried into the pyjamas Harry had lent him. "What happed?" he asked blearily. "What's going on?"

"You're at Hogwarts," Harry said, the shock of the relief still sending ripples through him. "You're okay, you've been asleep."

Draco stared at him, his hand resting on Sarah back as she sat up on the bed, grinning. "Asleep?"

"For three days," said Harry with a nod. The euphoria of Draco's recovery was quickly ebbing away, and the dread was returning. ""You've been through quite a lot."

Draco looked like he was struggling to stay awake, or form any thoughts. He kept blinking slowly and his forehead was scrunched up. "I don't," he said slowly. "We were...the Ministry..."

"Yes," said Harry encouragingly as Sarah watched on, biting her lower lip. "That's right, we were at the Ministry. We were prisoners, the Death Eaters-"

"Voldemort," interjected Draco, shaking, sweat dripping down his neck. "He had us, he..." His face went slack and he seemed to sink even further into the pillows he was propped against. A sound escaped from the back of his throat. "No," he said hoarsely, looking to Harry with horror in his eyes. "Oh no, no...no?"

Harry just gripped onto his hand even tighter. "I'm so sorry," he managed to whisper.

"My mum," croaked Draco, his gaze still locked with Harry's. "No I didn't, she...no, no." He curled in on himself as the tears began to fall, sobs wracking through his body. Harry kept hold of his hand, a terrible sadness weighing him down as Sarah wrapped herself around him. "No," he uttered between sobs. "No, not again."

The grief was pouring from Draco, he emanated it. "I could have saved her," he choked. "She could have, I should have-"

He broke off, distraught. Harry felt helpless. He had more than his fair share of mourning for his own parents, but he'd never really known them to miss them, his earliest memories were of that hollowness. Draco had had a great void torn through him with his own mother's murder, and now the wound had been reopened with her counterpart's death.

"You did all you could," said Harry with conviction. "You didn't cast the spell, you tried to protect her."

"It should have been me," breathed Draco, the violent cries subsiding into convulsions.

"It shouldn't have been anyone!" said Sarah sternly, her black make-up in delicate streams down her face. "No one should have had to die! Not your mum, not Seamus." She turned to Harry. "Not your parents. None of it's right."

Draco laid back and stared at the white painted ceiling, trying to steady his wet breaths down. "She didn't know any better," he said, his voice tight.

Harry managed a smile. "She loved you more than anything," he said. "She would never have let anyone hurt you."

This brought on a fresh wave of grief, but Harry just let Draco cry it out. Their hands slipped apart and Draco clung onto the starchy white sheets as if they were anchoring him there. Sarah did a good job of rubbing his back and arms and making soothing noises.

After a time, Draco calmed. His anguish blew out leaving him like an empty sail, gently rippling in the breeze. His chest shuddered up and down sporadically and his eyes dried. Harry and Sarah waited patiently, neither of them apparently wanting to speak until they felt Draco was ready. Eventually his voice rose out of him like a ghost from a crypt.

"I know she wasn't my mother."

He rubbed his red eyes and blew out heavily. He managed a very weak smile at Harry, then took Sarah's hand again.

"She wasn't your mother here," agreed Harry, some of the tightness in his lungs easing a bit.

Draco nodded then grabbed a tissue from the box on the dresser and blew his nose loudly, and rolled his head making his neck crack. He exhaled, dropping the tissue into the bin. "She was the other Draco's mum though," he said. There was a sadness to him, but also a resolved tone. "I can't believe-" his voice caught but he swallowed and he carried on. "He'll have to deal with that too, I would never have wished that on him."

"Of course not," said Sarah kindly, stroking the creases in his pyjamas.

He took a deep breath and nodded. "But she wasn't my mum. My mum died last year, and that woman was very different to her. I know that, I do. I've already buried my mum."

Harry felt a bit awkward. As much as he wanted Draco to be okay, he didn't want him to sweep this loss under the carpet, that wasn't healthy. But Draco's lip trembled and he took another breath to steady himself, and Harry decided to just let his friend deal with the bereavement however he saw fit. He obviously wasn't going to just dismiss it, and perhaps a certain amount of disassociation was what he needed to survive.

"How," he said when he'd regained composure. "How am I alive?" he looked between the two Potters. "I remember, he fired the killing curse at me, how am I not dead?"

Harry looked at Sarah, who nodded slightly. Yes, he thought. There was no point in delaying it. Harry slapped his thighs and reached forward, taking hold of Draco's right wrist, and turned it over.

In the other reality, Draco had a tattoo on that wrist; a great ugly black skull with a snake emerging from its mouth. That tattoo signified his acceptance into the ranks of the Death Eaters, and Harry knew he'd been given it just before the attack on the school. Draco had several other scars to keep his Dark Mark company, thin silvery lines that Harry suspected had been the result of the darkest moments of Draco's life. But here, in this reality, his arms were unblemished.

Or at least they had been.

"What's that?" Draco asked, staring at his wrist as he pulled it from Harry's grip to get a better look.

"Hermione," he told him, "said it's called a mobius strip. The sign of infinity."

Draco's eyes flicked from the slender figure of eight stretched across his wrist to Harry, then Sarah, then back again.

"Yeah," he said. "But what's it doing on my arm?" He rubbed at it, then very quickly realised it was still tender. "Will it heal?"

Sarah was just looking at Harry, and he supposed she was right. This was his to explain.

"It will heal," he said. "But I don't think it will fade, you – or more likely the other Draco – will be scarred for life." Draco looked appalled.

"What the Hell happened, how did I get a scar, you said I've been asleep!"

"You're right, you have," said Harry quickly. "But you were also right before."

Draco looked blankly at him. "Harry," he said, anger rising in him. "Just tell me."

He sighed. "You were right that Voldemort fired the killing curse at you, point blank range."

Draco cradled his arm, then blinked. "Then why aren't I dead?"

Rather than scramble for the words, Harry raised his finger, and pointed at the bolt of lightning on his forehead. Draco took this in, then looked back at his wrist.

"I don't understand," he said. "Are they the same?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure, but it's my best guess." He crossed his arms over his chest, hugging himself as if it might help keep him together. "Our mothers...they both gave their lives to save ours. Then when Voldemort turned the same spell on us." He made a 'poof' motion with his fingers.

"Voldemort is dead?" cried Draco.

"As much as he can be," said Sarah. "Harry's been explaining it to me. It's what happened here when he was a baby. Voldemort was sort of dead, but his spirit floated around until it found another body. Harry reckons that's what happened to our Voldemort last November, and more than likely what you did three days ago."

"But, for all intents and purposes?" pressed Draco, and Harry nodded.

"As soon as the curse hit you," he explained. "There was an explosion of light, the courtroom caved in, it was like a bomb had gone off, and Voldemort was gone, vanished."

Draco fell back against his pillows again. "Wow," he said, his eyes staring blankly as he lightly rubbed the new scar with his thumb. "I...my mother, defeated Voldemort."

Harry allowed himself a little smile. "Yeah," he said. "You're a hero."

Draco stared at his scar, a smile playing on his own lips. "How about that mum?" he whispered. He raised his head to look at them. "What happened to my dad, everyone else? Did they escape?"

Harry couldn't help it, he laughed. "No, I'd say definitely not." Sarah grinned, pleased as punch, as Draco arched an eyebrow at them both.

"What?" he asked warily.

"You explain," said Harry, and Sarah practically bounced on the bed.

"Well," she said, launching straight into it. "Sirius, Remus and Tonks found me just before the water started going backwards, so we knew you must have reversed the spell, so we decided to go one step further and wake everybody up to help stop Voldemort."

"Okay," said Draco surprised.

"One of the paintings mentioned that all the Wranglers had congregated in one place, and there was a giant one, so we thought that must be the queen, so we figured if we took her out then it might break the spell on all the people!"

Draco turned to Harry. "You let her do this?"

"I didn't let her do anything," said Harry, holding up his hands defensively.

"Shh," scolded Sarah. "So then we trap the queen and Sirius knocks her out good, then voila! Everyone wakes up."

"You missed out the broomstick part," said Harry, but Sarah waved a hand dismissively.

"I'll go back to that later. But it wasn't just that the people unfroze," she carried on. "Because all the spells the Wranglers were working on died down, so who pops up but Albus Dumbledore!" She tapped Draco's arm in excitement. "You see, when the school was attacked, he tried to get here for reinforcements, but he ended up getting caught between the two places, mid-apparition. So all the people wake up just like I said, and Dumbledore finds us, because he just knows, you know? And we tell him about the courtroom and Voldemort, and he charges down there with all the auroras and generally arrested anybody they could find."

"The Death Eaters were about to tear my head off," chimed in Harry, slightly more subdued than his sister. "They thought I was somehow responsible, but Dumbledore crashes in and before you know it, everyone's in custody." He tilted his chin at Draco. "Including your dad."

Draco nodded his mouth tight. "Good," he said. "Good."

The silence hung a little heavily for a moment, but Sarah's glee wasn't easily defeated. "You must be starving?" she said, clapping her hands together and jumping off the bed. "Let me get you something, whatever you fancy, I'll run down to Dobby."

"Dobby's here?" cried Draco, sitting bolt right up in bed.

Sarah looked confused. "How do you know Dobby?"

"Dobby was the Malfoy's house elf before he was freed," Harry explained. He turned to Draco. "He works in the kitchens now."

"Yes," said Draco, his eyes alight. "Yes I want some food, whatever's there I don't care. But you tell Dobby he has to bring it to me himself, I won't take no for an answer."

Sarah smiled and spun around, darting from the room. Harry watched Draco watch her go, then turn to face him. "You think he'll let me give him a hug?" he asked.

xxx

Sarah awoke in the dark, gasping for air. She dug her fingers into the mattress, scrunching up the sheets, and slowly exhaled. It was just a dream, she told herself, just a dream. The half moon was peeking through the gaps in the starch-stiff curtains and making dappled patterns on the floor. Somewhere a tap was dripping.

There had been a waterfall, Sarah remembered as the dream began to fade. She'd been fighting to escape the churning currents, blinded by the hot white light shining through the waters' surface. She pressed her hand to her forehead to find it beaded with sweat, and there was a trickle running down her back. Just a dream, she reminded herself sternly.

She looked over at Draco in the metal cot bed next to her, then Harry in the one next along. Harry was fast asleep, peaceful and serene looking. Draco was unconscious amidst a violent tangle of bedding, his left foot dangling over the edge of the bed frame. He was making little clicking noise at the back of his throat as he breathed in and out.

Sarah wiped her face with the sheet and picked up her glass of water from the cabinet to take a gulp. It was only half eleven, but it felt like the dead of night. She blinked her eyes several times and leant upright against her pillow, unwilling to go back to sleep just yet and risk returning to the drowning dream. After everything that had happened at the Ministry, she thought, she was definitely going to invest in some proper swimming lessons.

There was still no one else in Hogwarts' medical ward, and Sarah felt a slight chill as she looked around the shadowy room. She gathered the duvet around her and fished her wand off of the bedside cabinet, her eyes still darting about. She tried telling herself she was perfectly safe, but it was hard to believe when the school's defences had been breached only days before.

She'd seen the increased security from the Hogwarts staff for herself though, and the Ministry had sent a squad of auroras to watch over the students whilst everyone recovered from the insurgency. The building was as safe as it had even been, more so. But at night, when it was quiet, it was hard not to feel that old sense of panic creeping back in.

Now that she'd had a few days to process what had happened since her and Draco had fallen into the wrong dimension, Sarah was feeling pretty morose about the whole thing. All that work she'd done to convince herself that her home was safe, that it was good progress to be going back to school, had all been unravelled. She'd been taken hostage, again. She'd been just as helpless as she'd been last year, and people had almost died. People had died. She looked sadly over at Draco again.

He'd been slowly improving since he'd woken up the day before. The loss of his mother for a second time was undoubtedly a terrible, traumatic event, but he'd managed not to break down at all this afternoon, and spent most of the time reminiscing on happy times they'd spent together back in his own world. But Sarah was feeling increasingly responsible for it all. Harry had explained that the prophecy hadn't been about her in the end, but she couldn't help but feel if she'd been able to rescue herself, then maybe Narcissa wouldn't have had to throw her life away.

She shuddered, and took another sip of water. She was going crazy in this place, her thoughts were eating her alive. The imprisonment was voluntary it was true, but the cabin fever was obviously playing havoc with her nerves. Maybe she could go for a walk, just a little one? Stretching her legs would do her a world of good she knew, and perhaps stop her mind from worrying quite so much.

She swung her legs out of the bed and fumbled in the pale moonlight for the skirt and leggings Ron's sister had leant her. She'd been kind enough to provide Sarah with a couple of different outfits whilst she was stuck in this reality; it would have been simpler to borrow from Hermione as Ginny Weasley liked to ask a lot of questions, but Hermione's clothes had been too big. Sarah was sort of glad if she was honest, as Hermione's clothes were on the whole frighteningly dull.

She pulled a long, chunky knit cardigan over the t-shirt she'd been sleeping in then shuffled her cold feet into her own boots. She'd be quick, she promised herself. No one would ever know she'd been out. But she still felt a little guilty as she eased open the medical wing door.

The student body of Hogwarts school was tucked away in their dorms now, and the institute was calm. But for the last few days all the youngsters could talk about was their ordeal, what had happened, and who had saved them. Harry, Ron and Hermione had practically been mobbed with teenagers desperate for answers, but their questions were all about the attacks on the school and Ministry. They had absolutely no idea anything from outside their realm of reality was involved, and therefore the boy who'd swapped bodies and the girl who didn't technically exist had been hidden away in the medical ward, far from prying eyes.

Not that they hadn't tried. There had been a frightening increase of injuries within the Hogwarts population that Sarah couldn't help but feel was a ploy to get into the ward, but Madam Pomfrey had set up a temporary base in a Transfiguration classroom for them, and soon enough the maladies died down.

Sarah crept along the corridor, already feeling better for the blood rushing along her achy limbs. Some people had been allowed to visit her and Draco, it wasn't like they were in solitary confinement. Harry hadn't left at all for starters, and Ron and Hermione had been by frequently, Hermione more so since she'd caught up on the homework she'd fallen behind on in the whole day she'd missed of school.

Sirius had brought Remus and Tonks by twice now, the first time whilst Draco had been asleep and the second last night after he'd woken up. He'd seemed very touched by Sirius' concern for his welfare. On the first visit, Hermione and Ron had joined them too, and whilst Draco dreamed, Harry and the others had explained to the adults just what had been going on with all the reality-swapping. Sirius had had an inkling Sarah knew, and had worked out who she was almost straight away. But Remus and Tonks were utterly gobsmacked, it wasn't the kind of thing that happened everyday after all. Their incredulity had soon been replaced by curiosity and, in Remus' case, real excitement. He had endless questions about Sarah's life with her parents, her dad in particular, and wanted to know everything there was to know about the Dimensional Leaps and Hotspots. It made Sarah a bit sad, reminding her about the immeasurable gulf between their two worlds.

They had had a rather long and painful visit from the Ministry as well that morning. Sirius, Remus and Tonks had decided after finding out the truth that there were a couple of people from the government that should be informed about Sarah and Draco as well, otherwise the investigation into the Ministry's attack and Voldemort's motives were going to get too tricky. The three of them all swore blind that Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mad Eyed Moody could be trusted not only to help keep but cover up their secret, and Harry had agreed. Unfortunately there was no way to keep Minister Fudge out of the loop as well, and he had accompanied the two officials to the medical ward too. Sarah had become increasingly unnerved by the detail of questioning he went into. He sounded almost as fascinated by the whole affair as Voldemort.

The corridors were deserted, just as Sarah had hoped. She still kept a vigilant eye out for the caretaker Filch's cat Mrs Norris, or Peeves the poltergeist who would both be delighted to find a student out of bed. Whilst the coast was definitely clear, she stopped to examine a tapestry of a wild boar who said 'hello' to her in a Scottish accent, so she said hello back. She thought there might be alterations between the two schools in the different realities, variations in decor and secret passageways, but as far as she could tell from what little she had seen they were pretty much identical. She found it comforting in a way, but at the same time she felt like she was looking for discrepancies, something to assure her this was still an alternate reality and home was as far away as it ever was. The boar started snuffling around in the dirt so she carried on walking.

Sarah was torn, she couldn't help it. She was desperate to get home to her own world, to see her mum and dad and feel their arms around her whilst she told them everything that had happened since Sunday afternoon and that storm in the old History classroom. But then, that would mean leaving Harry behind, the real Harry as she'd come to think of him. She'd seen glimpses of this boy when she'd been growing up in her own brother, the bravery and the kindness. But they'd been replaced by bitterness and anger in the recent months, poisoned further by Parvati Patil and Harry's broken heart in the wake of Seamus' death.

She wasn't even completely convinced they would be able to get home, and thinking about it made her stomach squirm with uneasiness as she stared out of a window at the great lake down below. Dumbledore had been working on the spell to send them back, according to Hermione, but like they'd said before, it was much easier to pull a person back to their own reality rather than try and send them back independently. What if they got stranded in some sort of in-between place? There must be something between the different realities, Sarah had decided, otherwise where did the doppelgangers go when people like Draco and Harry took their places? They could be lost in the nothingness if Dumbledore tried to send her and Draco home. They could be worse than dead.

"Are you okay?"

Sarah jumped out of her skin, forcefully breaking from her macabre reverie. Terry Boot was standing behind her, looking concerned.

Panic and guilt seized her both at once. She'd promised herself she wouldn't see anyone, she had wanted so desperately to avoid any awkward questions from anybody, and now here she was, face to face with her brother's best friend. He doesn't know you, she told herself as she clutched her chest, you don't know him, even Harry doesn't really know him. This is a different reality.

"Oh sorry," said Terry, taking a step forward. "I didn't mean to scare you, it's just it's after curfew." He had a slight northern accent of some description that Sarah could never place, Manchester perhaps, or maybe somewhere in Yorkshire. He looked almost exactly like he did in her own world, nearly as tall as Draco with dark blond hair curling out from under a woollen hat. He managed to pull off wearing a cardigan over his t-shirt without looking even the least bit feminine, and had his hands jammed in his jeans pockets as he peered over frameless glasses with deep, chocolate brown eyes.

"Um," she said, trying to collect her thoughts. "No, that's okay, but why are you out if it's past curfew?" She thought maybe she could distract him as she tried to edge away.

He pulled aside his cardigan to reveal a shiny Ravenclaw prefect badge pinned to the collar of his Led Zeppelin t-shirt. "Special privileges," he said with a crooked grin. "Apparently there are nutters out there who want to take over the school."

"Oh," she said, not sure how else to respond.

"Seeing as you don't have one," he said, wiggling the badge. "Maybe you should be in your dorm?"

"Yeah," Sarah replied, taking another few steps away from him. "That's probably a good idea, I didn't know it was so late."

"You're quite the celebratory you know," said Terry as she retreated, so quietly she almost didn't hear. She couldn't help but stop and turn back towards him.

"Yeah," she said again. "Seems that way."

"Be careful, okay?"

Sarah regarded him. What did he care? At least he wasn't harassing her with questions like she thought he would. "Okay," she said with a nod, then walked back to the medical ward. It was strange, she thought along the way, how someone like Harry or Draco could be entirely different people between realities, whereas what she'd seen of Terry he seemed exactly the same. How many factors had resulted in that? She suddenly felt very tired.

It didn't take her long to get back to her temporary home, and thankfully she saw no one else on her way there. But once she opened the door all thoughts of sleepiness vanished. "Oh there you are!" cried Hermione.

All the lights were on, and Harry and Draco were both awake and out of bed. "Where have you been!" accused Harry. "Ron's out looking for you."

"We were worried," added Draco, coming over to her to check her over, as if she'd had a chance to get into trouble the whole twenty minutes she'd been gone.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I just needed a walk, what's going on?"

The boys looked at Hermione. "We've done it," she breathed, her face flush.

Sarah didn't quite understand. "Done what?"

"The spell," said Hermione, her smile wide. "Dumbledore finished the spell. You're going home."

xxx

Draco sat on the side of the hospital bed, rubbing his thumb over his newly acquired scar. He was dressed back in his own clothes, having spent the best part of the last week in a pair of Harry's borrowed pyjamas, and he'd had a good, long shower in the medical ward's communal bathroom. The mobius strip under his thumb still tingled a little when he touched it, but it didn't stop him tracing the thin scar back and forth. His head had been hurting worse than ever since he'd regained consciousness, but he figured maybe concussion did that to you. Whatever the reason, he really hoped it would let up once he got back home, he didn't think he could take much more of this pounding.

Dawn had broken not long ago, buttery sunlight beaming through the early morning fog that was winding its way through the grounds of Hogwarts school. Draco had watched it with a knot in his stomach, an empty detachment keeping his tired eyes open. He and Sarah were going home. He pressed his thumb down again but all he felt was a slight stinging. His heart was numb.

His life had been split into two irreconcilable parts, and now the moment had come to choose between them. He thought of Hermione back home, probably worried to death where he and Sarah had gone, if they were okay. And he thought of Harry here, his brother, the person who gave him strength more than anyone else in his life had ever been capable of. It made his head hurt even more.

He had Blaise at home too, who would be equally if not more worried about him, and his new friend Dean. Lily, Sirius, Remus. Even James maybe. Dobby. He had school again, which felt more like home than Malfoy Manor had ever done. He had his life.

And this was the other's Draco's life, which Draco had absolutely no right to steal, no more than Harry had back in his world last November. He understood now how it wasn't really a choice at all, it was just what was right, and he was finding some consolation in being absolved of the decision. It didn't mean he wasn't sad.

And guilty, crikey the guilt was all but eating him alive of what state he was returning the other Draco's life back to him. Every time he closed his eyes he saw his mother in the flash of green life, heard her screams in his ears. He inhaled deeply and pressed his thumb on his scar again. Not his mother, he told himself sternly. Narcissa. He'd already buried his mum, and didn't have the strength in him to do it a second time, that he would have to leave to the other Draco, whom he had no doubt would ever forgive him for what he'd allowed to happen.

He thought of Potter, back home, the rage he carried with him now like a torch for Seamus Finnigan and the mess Harry had left behind him last November. He'd always argued it wasn't Harry's fault what had happened in the Black Forest, but he couldn't seem to bring the same conviction to his own doorstep. He would never forgive himself for what he had failed to do for this world's Narcissa Malfoy.

Sarah opened the bathroom door with a bang, drying her choppy black hair with a towel as steam billowed out. Draco blinked and dragged his thoughts back to the present. Sarah was also back in her own clothes but currently minus any of her piercings or make-up, and Draco was struck by just own young she looked. She glanced at Harry, Ron and Hermione who were pouring over some parchment and talking intently, then came and sat by Draco. "How you doing?" she asked rubbing her head.

Draco wrapped his hand around his scar and managed a smile. "Okay," he said honestly. "Just thinking." She nodded then picked up Hermione's brush from the bedside locker and began to detangle her hair. He knew she was also scared the spell wouldn't work and they would get stranded somewhere in between the two worlds, but Draco was less concerned about that. Dumbledore was a formidable wizard, and in this reality he'd never been wounded by Voldemort like he had in their own world. And his old friend Severus Snape had been asked to oversee the incantation, so between him and Hermione, Draco was sure they would get home with no trouble. He just wasn't a hundred per cent sure he wanted to.

"I saw Blaise on my way from the kitchens," said Sarah as she tossed the towel over the metal bed frame and began easing her various nuts and bolts back into her ears and nose. "I smiled and said hello, and she acted like I was something that had just crawled out of the Black Lagoon." Sarah stuck her tongue out and began screwing her stud back through. "Why ish she tho ditherent?"

This was another very good reason to go home Draco knew; Blaise Zabini in this world was a shadow, a mouse. After talking to Harry about it yesterday he'd found out her father had died in mysterious circumstances when she was child, and he figured growing up with only her mother would definitely be enough to turn her into a recluse. No matter how much it grieved him to leave Harry he could never live in a world without Blaise.

"Don't worry," he said brighter than he felt. "We'll see the real deal soon enough, and she can do your make-up properly again."

"Urgh," said Sarah with an eye roll as she reached for the make-up Ron had managed to borrow off of Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. "I need some decent foundation," she grumbled.

Draco watched Sarah's well practiced application as he ate some more of the croissants she'd bought up from the school kitchens. Draco had almost gone with her to say goodbye to the Dobby of this world, but then he decided against it. It would be too confusing to explain at that moment, so he'd left instructions with Harry to bid farewell on his behalf later.

Just as Sarah was finishing the thick black lines under her eyes Hermione came over, breathless and excited. "I think we're ready when you are," she said. Draco knew she was only keen to try a new and complex spell, and she'd been ecstatic a certain ingredient had been found as it was out of season and very rare. But he couldn't help but be hurt at her eagerness to get rid of himself and Sarah. Sarah must have felt the same as she slowly put the lid back on the eyeliner pencil, her whole body taught. Hermione picked up on their mood and looked embarrassed.

"Oh," she said a little flustered. "But, if you need more time, that's fine, I could-"

"No," said Draco kindly, even managing a smile. "It's fine, there's no sense putting it off." He addressed Sarah and rubbed her back reassuringly. "Have you got everything you came with?" She shuddered under his fingertips, then looked about their little section of the medical ward, over their few borrowed possessions littering the cabinets.

"Yes," she said, her voice tight. "I think so." Draco had inherited his double's body, so had made sure to dress back in the clothes he'd arrived in, as a courtesy. Harry's pyjamas were folded on the pillow Draco had been moulded to for the past week.

"Let's go then."

Dumbledore and Severus had visited them all in the early hours of the morning, along with the professors McGonagall and Flitwick. Apparently the spell involved all their magical disciplines and they had all contributed in its preparation. However, Dumbledore had explained, as Harry had travelled to Draco and Sarah's universe, and Ron and Hermione had performed the incantation to bring him back, it would give it a lot of extra potency now if those three were the ones to physically perform the spell that would take Draco and Sarah home. Snape seemed uncomfortable in giving three Gryffindors such a level of responsibility and had glowered at them through the entire conversation. The other two seemed more inclined to agree with the Headmaster, but in the end it was decided for everyone's peace of mind that Snape would be the one to assist with the final preparations. Harry and Ron were not especially charmed by this idea, but Severus perked up notably. He even smiled at Sarah and Draco, whom all the teachers now knew to be not of this universe.

Draco couldn't help but feel reassured as well. Harry and Severus may have hated each other, but Draco had always found the potions master to be a port in a storm, and thought his no-nonsense approach calming. Ron, however, was at present grumbling before he'd even left the medical wing.

"Dunno why he has to come along, greasy old git," he said for the dozenth time. "We could do it just fine."

Hermione tsked and reminded him that last year the two of them had just written the letter, created the conduit. The teachers did all the rest, and they'd been given far more responsibility this time round. Ron wanted to know why someone else couldn't have been given Snape's responsibilities, but by this time he was out in the corridor and leaving Draco's hearing range.

Sarah trailed behind them, and Draco followed Harry as they made to leave the room, when suddenly the other boy stopped dead. A mild look of horror passed over his face, and he darted back to the bedside table he'd been using the last few days. Draco waited for him as he yanked open the drawer, and rummaged around for a panicked minute before finally withdrawing a fine silver chain accompanied by a puff of relief. Draco had been around enough wealth all his life to recognise that what Harry was holding was an incredibly valuable bit of craftsmanship, and the purple stone suspended in the delicate nest of a pendant was like no jewel he'd ever seen.

"What's that?" he breathed, taking a step towards Harry, his eyes fixed. Harry held it up for him to see, and Draco took the cool oval nest in his fingers. The stone was floating in the middle of its own accord, presumably fixed in place with magic.

"I don't know," said Harry with a shrug. "Not really, it's a bit complicated I guess, but it's part of the spell to send you back."

"How?" asked Draco, looking Harry in his green eyes. "No one's never mentioned it."

"That's because no one else knows about it," Harry told him with a raised eyebrow, looping the chain over his head and tucking the pendant under his t-shirt. "Like I said, complicated."

Draco eyed the slight tell-tale bump under Harry's top in trepidation. "What's it do?" he couldn't help but ask as they walked out of the medical bay.

Harry paused for a moment. "It will make sure that everything that's supposed to travel back to your world, does."

"Oh," replied Draco. That didn't sound too bad. "Okay." They walked along in silence for a bit; the others must have carried on up ahead. "Thanks," he said after a while.

Harry frowned. "For what?"

"Dunno," said Draco, feeling a little awkward. "For not being a moron." Harry laughed.

"You're welcome," he told him. "And thank you too."

"I guess," Draco began, rubbing his throbbing forehead. "We're never going to see each other again."

Harry sighed. "Well, that's what I thought last time, and look how that turned out."

It was Draco's turn to laugh. "It might be nice to meet under slightly less stressful circumstances though. Y'know, say the pub? Instead of a battle against Voldemort?"

Harry clapped him on the shoulder with a grin as they climbed a flight of stairs. "You never know."

Hermione appeared at the top of the steps, slightly out of breath. "Oh there you are," she cried. "Is there a problem?"

Harry smiled patiently. "We were just discussing how we might never see each other again."

Hermione froze. "Ah," she said, going pink. "Sorry." She darted back around the corner without another word.

The boys stood for a few moments. "You're right," said Harry eventually. "Chances are we won't see each other again. We shouldn't see each other again in fact, if the universe behaves itself."

Draco stared at the nearest portrait, a young girl in a floaty white dress, who suddenly seemed very interested what was happening in her neighbour's frame down the corridor and scuttled off. "Yeah," he said, feeling heavy. "It's cool though, y'know, being able to say goodbye. Last time I didn't know..."

He trailed off. "Who I really was," said Harry, nodding. "No one did," he said by way of an apology. "Only my mum and Sirius. Not even Sarah."

"It was," said Draco slowly, picking his words. "A bit disconcerting to learn the truth."

"I'm glad we got a chance to see each other again, and Sarah," Harry said, smiling. "Clear things up a bit." Draco looked at him, really looked. His scruffy black hair, the green eyes behind the glasses, square shoulders and square jaw. He was almost identical to the other Harry, but at the same time so totally different. There was a lightness about him, an openness. It made Draco smile too.

"Take care of yourself," he said, putting his arms around his shoulders. Harry returned the embrace, equally as unabashed.

"You too," he said with a pat on the back.

They walked the rest of the way to the old History of Magic classroom lost in their own thoughts. Draco was feeling okay about the impending leap, less like he was being marched to the gallows. He and Sarah were going home, to their real lives, and Harry and the others would continue their lives here. No one was dying, it was selfish to morn just because he wouldn't be a part of this world. Harry had made this decision himself last November, and Draco finally understood why he couldn't have possibly made any other. Everything was being put back in the natural order, and it felt good.

Hermione was waiting for them outside of the classroom. "Oh," she said, standing up straight. "Hi, um, great." She jerked a thumb at the door that was open ajar beside her. "We're just finishing setting up."

"Thanks Hermione," said Harry. Pushing it open.

But she stopped Draco just as he was about to follow. "Um, could I just have a quick word?" she asked, looking between the boys. Harry shrugged and pulled the door to behind him.

"Everything alright?" said Draco, a little nervous again. He was ready to go now, he didn't want any more hanging around.

"No everything's fine," Hermione said looking a little distracted. "I just feel awful about how I've been acting."

Draco actually felt relieved, and exhaled with a small laugh. "Oh don't worry about it," he said genuinely. "I know you're just excited about being part of the spell, and finding that ingredient, the rare one."

"The refined Dragon's Bane," she said automatically, but it didn't look like her heart was really in it. She wrung her hands. "I guess," she said, looking at her fingers. "But...I supposed I want to put things back the way they should be too, and that's not fair."

"It's totally fair," interjected Draco. "That's exactly what I've just been thinking about. There maybe things about this world I'll miss, but this isn't my body, or my life." He took her hand. "Sarah and I need to go back, and your Draco needs to come home. It's what's right."

Hermione was looking at her hand, and Draco suddenly realised he was holding it. "Sorry," he mumbled, and made to let go. But Hermione gripped on.

"Our Draco," she said. "Our Malfoy, he really is nothing like you, at all."

Draco couldn't seem to lift his eyes from their fingers. "I think there was probably a time where we were very similar," he said, his throat tight.

"Then maybe you will be again," she said, a smile brightening up her face.

Draco was fighting against an instinct kicking at him like a broncin buck. "I know you're not her." The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. It was like he was caught in a hurricane, and her hand was the eye of the storm.

"Not who?" she said, confused but kind.

"Hermione. You're not my Hermione. You're bossy and sarcastic and there's this whole..." he waved his free hand about. "Hair thing going on."

Hermione frowned and smoothed down her wild waves.

"But," Draco could feel the lump in his throat, now the moment was actually here. He was scared. "Sarah's right. This spell could fail, we could never materialise and get lost between worlds or something, and I have to tell you, even if it's not really you, I just..." He faltered. "Maybe there's some way she'll know?"

"Know what?" whispered Hermione. Their hands had pulled their bodies ever so slightly closer together, and Draco could feel her breath on his skin.

He hadn't even realised his lungs had been empty until he took a breath and looked her in the eye. "I love you."

She stared, her mouth slightly open, her eyes disbelieving. He slid his free hand behind her neck, and before he could change his mind, kissed her softly on the lips.

"Goodbye," he whispered, then dropped his hands from her body and walked into the classroom.

He only had a moment to decide whether or not to regret what he'd just done. The taste on his lips told him no, but the logical side of his brain was screaming he was a cheat. Whatever the case, he decided as he stepped into the old History classroom, he'd got the chance to say goodbye. To both of them. That was a good thing.

Something rather strange was happening in the classroom, and it took Draco a second to process it all. Snape was standing behind a desk someone had put the right way up again, nursing a cauldron and surrounded by bits of ingredients. To his side, peering into the mixture, was a curious looking Sarah Potter, and Severus Snape was talking to her. And smiling.

"Do you see how they blend together?" he asked, stirring the liquid and leaning slighting over to Sarah. "The way it froths? That's what's supposed to happen. Now you try."

Draco raised an eyebrow as Sarah smiled back tentatively and pointed her own wand at the potion, swirling it around just as Severus instructed. The pair of them seemed to have completely missed Draco and Hermione's entrance. "What's going on?" said Draco quietly as he stepped over to where Harry and Ron were stood, arms crossed and mouths open, by the blackboard graffitied with profanities. Grey clouds were gathering outside the large window to their left.

"Dunno," whispered Ron with a shrug. "The second she walked in it was like Christmas had come early, he got all...happy." Ron visibly shuddered. "Asked her to help. Think the flattery's made her bonkers."

"That's it," said Severus proudly, as she sprinkled in a glittery substance. "Perfect, you're a natural."

"I'm thinking adoption," said Harry, mesmerised as Severus looked down on Sarah like a long lost father. Sarah seemed to have forgotten that her family hated this man and was bathing in the attention and praise.

"She has been adopted?" asked Draco dryly as Hermione came and stood by his side. She didn't seem mad about the kiss which eased his conscious somewhat. "Or will be."

"Either," said Harry with a small head shake as a fork of lightening pierced the sky. Draco remembered this from before. The weather had taken a violent turn for the worse just before they'd jumped. He felt a flutter of nerves.

"Harry!" Sarah cried out from behind the cauldron. "Can you see? He says I'm doing great." She beamed, but Severus looked coolly up at him.

"Yes," he said good naturedly. "I am happy to see at least one of you inherited some sense when it comes to potions. Your mother was quite the natural." Sarah giggled and poked her tongue out at Harry, too giddy with success to be sensitive.

Draco couldn't help but smile too. "She wants to be useful," he said to Harry. "Stand on her own feet."

"Well I wish it wasn't Snape encouraging her," he grumbled back. "I'll never hear the end of this."

Draco rubbed his temple. "I cannot wait to get rid of this headache," he said to no one in particular.

"Headache?" asked Hermione.

Draco nodded. "Had it since I crossed over."

"I think we're just about ready," said Severus, almost pleasantly. Draco was used to it but the other three just stared. He looked between them, then down at Sarah. "If you'd like to take your places."

Draco and Sarah went to stand by the window as the others collected near the door. Severus was handing out charms, glass spheres of swirling light that fit neatly in each of the three students hands. "Why can't Harry just lose his temper again?" asked Ron, sullenly. It wasn't the first time he'd voiced this opinion, and Draco couldn't help but roll his eyes. "That worked last time, why can't they just shout their way back?"

"Because," replied Hermione patiently, "the factors that lead to Harry finding that particular universe before were almost infinitesimal. They would be more likely to end up in a completely different universe than they every would be of getting home."

"Quiet please," interrupted Severus. "We cannot afford even the slightest of mistakes."

"Professor Snape's right," said Harry tensely, briefly touching the lump under his t-shirt that indicated where the purple pendant lay. "We only get one shot at this."

The teacher looked at the pupils. "Have you...said your goodbyes?" he asked, looking between Draco and Sarah and the others. "Now will be your last chance."

Draco wanted to say yes, but the word got caught in his throat. He and Harry had had their moment, and he'd even kissed Hermione for crying out loud, but still he found himself unable to move a muscle, to agree that he and Sarah were ready to leave. Dread was nestled in his stomach, taking root in the flag-stoned floor through his legs. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

It was Sarah who broke the tension, by stepping away from Draco and walking over to give Harry one, last tearful hug. "I'll never forget you," she said with only the smallest of hiccups as Ron stepped forward and patted her back.

"Me either," said Harry cradling her head. "You guys are awesome."

Draco cracked and went over to hug them both, and then they were all five of them involved in one large bundle.

Severus cleared his throat.

Draco stepped back, wiping his eyes and laughing. Sarah did the same. "I have got to get my make-up back," she quipped, flicking back droplets from her fingers. Harry and the others held their wands up as they regained their composure, holding the spheres in their lefts hands as they glowed. Severus handed Draco the letter Harry and the others had been writing in the medical ward earlier, now safely sealed in a blank envelope and warm to the touch with enchantment.

"Goodbye Draco," said the professor sincerely. "I wish you all the best." He turned to the youngest Potter. "And Sarah," he said weightily and took her hands in his. "It was," he lowered his head. "A privilege to have met you. Please convey my warmest regards to your mother, and I hope you have a wonderful life."

He let go of her and turned away. Sarah stared back with a mixture of confusion and awe. "Miss Granger," Severus carried on in his usual stern tone. "I have every confidence in your abilities, and am trusting you that nothing will go wrong. You have a very precious cargo."

And with that he swept out of the door and banged it shut behind him. Ron's mouth fell open. "Is...is he in love with you?" he stammered.

"Oh shut up," snapped Sarah, bright red as Hermione locked the door to ensure against intrusions. "He's in love with my mother, everyone knows it." Harry shared a look with Draco that suggested that everyone did not in fact know this, but both boys decided this was not the time to press the matter. "Still," said Sarah happily as she took hold of the letter in Draco's hand. "He said I was good at potions."

The wind was really howling now, and rain splattered on the window pane. It was like the Heavens knew they were about to rip a whole between universes and was bracing itself.

Draco and Sarah were clutching the enchanted letter between them, the letter that would take them home again once the spell was activated. It could have been any item Draco knew, but like before their conduit home was also a message to those beyond.

"Who's it for?" Draco asked Harry over the rising storm, giving the letter a flick.

Harry aimed his wand. "Open it when you're home," he said over the rising winds. "There's a little something for everyone."

Draco felt a thrill as Hermione and Ron aimed their wands too, all aiming them at the letter between Sarah and himself.

"Are you ready?" asked Harry. Ron's forehead was beaded with sweat, Hermione looked calm and focused.

Draco nodded. "Goodbye," he said, the word deafened by the storm. Sarah squeezed his hand.

"Love you," she called out to no one in particular.

Harry swallowed, his eyes locked on Draco. "NOW!" he screamed, and the three students fired.

With an incredible roar of thunder the glass window shattered in every direction, lightening crashed down with blinding force and the wind howled, drowning all else out. Draco was thrown to the floor, and he tried to shield his eyes from the startling light that filled the room. Someone was screaming, but he couldn't tell who as voices mingled with lashing rain and raging winds.

Then everything was still.

Carefully, Draco lowered his arm from his face and blinked at the sight before him. He'd been knocked back to the door of the classroom, and Sarah Potter was beside him. Glass glittered everywhere and a gentle breeze blew through the gaping hole in the wall that was once a window. The storm was dissipating, the clouds rolling away before his eyes.

"Did it work?" asked Sarah, staring round the empty room. The others were gone, just like Draco had expected.

"I guess so," he said slowly, rising to his feet and brushing the glass off. Her gritty hand found its way into his and she pulled herself up too.

"Oh Draco!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "We did it, we're home!" He returned her embrace, a smile creeping onto his face.

"We're back," he whispered, looking out at the rapidly clearing sky and the sun shining down on the bare brittle trees. "Everything's okay."

Sarah let out a loud, shaky laugh and let go of him to dance around the room. "We did it, we did it," she sang as she twirled about.

Draco smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. Why wasn't he running out the door, why was he still looking around the room? What was he searching for?

"POTTER!" came a bellow from outside the door as someone started pounding on it. Sarah and Draco both jumped backwards, and looked at each other.

"Who could that be?" Draco wondered and Sarah shrugged apprehensively. The banging continued, and Draco walked slowly over to the door. When he pulled it, it was still locked. An icy sensation slid down his insides. Why would it be locked in their world?

He turned the key and the door swung inwards so fast he had to leap out of the way. A flustered Severus Snape all but fell on top of him, but steadied himself before he could lose his balance, then stared in surprise at Draco, then Sarah.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his hands on their shoulders, staring around the empty room in confusion. "What happened?"

"Um," said Sarah, her breaths short and sharp. "Well I thought we'd crossed over...but that would mean you've crossed over too..."

Severus' eyes had been frantically combing the room, but suddenly they flicked to Sarah. "No," he said measuredly. "No we haven't gone anywhere, the furniture's exactly the same, the words on the blackboard."

There was a roaring in Draco's brain, the headache had gone into overdrive.

"But we have to!" insisted Sarah. "We've crossed over, the others have gone!"

"They have indeed," said Severus gravely, picking up a sliver of glass from the floor and turning it in the October sunshine. A sinking sensation was creeping back into Draco's stomach where the dread had just been rooted. "They are gone," conceded Severus as the light from his shard reflected on the walls. "But we did not lose consciousness. And from yours' and Mr Potter's accounts of your previous journeys, that is essential to the Dimensional Leap."

Draco stumbled against a nearby desk. That was it, he realised, the nagging sensation he'd had. There had been no blackout, he'd barely even closed his eyes. And Severus was right, everything was just as it had been a few minutes ago. But if they hadn't moved...

"Where are Harry, Ron and Hermione?" he asked, his voice croaking, his hand crushing the still unopened letter.

The glass shard dropped to the floor and shattered as Severus let his arms fall by his side. He stared out of the remnants of the window as white fluffy clouds rolled peacefully by. "They could be anywhere. The spell could have sent them to any universe at all."

Draco felt the whole world slide on its axis. There was no air in his lungs, his knees had turned to water. His tongue felt like sandpaper, but still, as he gripped into the chewing gum underneath the table behind him, he was able to push one, single word out of his throat.

"What?"