A/N: Thanks to everyone who left a review! Like always all reviews = love.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

He blinked, his eyes rapidly adjusting to the dim light. He rubbed at his lids to clear the blurriness from the vision, focusing on the dimensions of the room. He frowned, taking in the random assortment of jars and vials before he caught sight of the desk.

He froze taking in the occupant behind the desk.

"Sev."

His godfather gave him a thin smirk before rising from his seat and coming closer as though to appraise him.

He felt overwhelmed. Of every loss he'd ever felt, Snape's had been the most bitter. The man had always been an enigma, but to him, he'd always been a reliable parental figure. Snape had never given into his spoiled and petulant demands, but he had taught him and offered him guidance that was more valuable than anything his own father had.

He'd missed his surly presence.

Yet, if he was seeing him like this that could only mean…

"You're not." Snape said softly, looking him over carefully as though to memorize his features.

He swallowed roughly.

"You're not dead. Close though."

He bit his lip, sensing from the twist in Snape's mouth that he was about to receive one rather familiar verbal lashing.

"Where is your sense of self-preservation? Surely, I taught you better than this." Snape gestured over his form, "I've only been dead two years, and you let yourself get to…"

"Oh Come off it. It's not all my fault." Draco said, folding his arms and pressing them tight against himself.

Snape raised a brow, showing he obviously didn't believe him. He bit the inside of his cheek as he shifted his weight slightly as Snape continued to stare him down.

"Maybe so." Snape conceded after a moment.

Draco let out a breath, he hadn't even realized he'd been holding before he turned to examine the potions master's office. "So does it all look like this? the in between the void."

"No. It is a manipulation, designed by your mind to show you something familiar."

He nodded once.

"So if I'm not dead…"

"They're stabilizing you, but the beating and weariness of your body was enough that your soul was able to momentarily tear itself away…"

He swallowed roughly. He'd come so close to just...being gone.

He fisted his hands tight at his sides, suddenly thinking of one benefit to being in this limbo state.

"My mother…" his breath hitched, "Can I…"

Snape looked at him oddly. "Narcissa?"

He let out a shaky breath.

"Can I see her?"

Again, his godfather seemed confused.

"Narcissa isn't here."

His heart rate seemed to race, and suddenly he became more aware of the various aches in his limbs that he hadn't noticed before.

Snape eyed him, seemingly sensing his growing perception. "They're bringing you back."

"No wait." He bit out, "What do you mean my mother isn't here?"

Snape shook his head, reaching out to grip him by the shoulders.

"You've done well Draco. Much more than I could have ever hoped for you."

He shook his head, his vision blurring the room and darkening the edges. "No Sev. Please."

"Your father and perhaps even myself may have made it seem you had to earn approval Draco."

He shook his head, feeling rather light headed now but unable to take a breath.

"But I am proud of who you've become."

He blinked furiously at the stinging in his eyes.

"Sev."

"You're so close Draco. You're so close to figuring it out. You and Miss Granger."

Snape's form was fading before him, and even his voice was becoming nothing more than a faint whisper.

"NO." He shouted in vain against the blackening of his vision. "Please. I need more time. I have to know…."

About Voldemort.

About Mum.

Snape gave him a thin sort of smile before he seemed to fade completely, and Draco slipped back into the rather familiar darkness.

"Oh Gods Hermione. I am so completely sorry."

Hermione shook her head at Ginny's fifth apology. She bit her lip watching Draco's prone form on the bed before her.

She'd never, ever, in her life wanted to feel Draco's body actually grow cold in her hands as he stopped breathing. The heart beat had been so faint...so so faint.

She shuddered, pushing the memory from the forefront of her mind and instead focused on the weak though steady rise that his chest now moved.

"It wasn't your fault Ginny. Merlin." She blinked back tears as she forced a weak smile on her face, "Gods know that Draco probably didn't help matters egging them on."

Ginny looked as though she disagreed before glancing down to look at Draco.

When Draco had fallen... Some sort of mass chaos had erupted. The lookouts on duty had panicked at their revenge filled fury that had led to a blatant disregard for orders. It seemed that the inside hadn't been truly aware of all that was going on, and it wasn't until Ginny had dashed up to stop the fighting that things had seemed to blur around her.

She hadn't cared much to keep up with it. Thank gods for Theo and his steady nature that allowed him to regale their tale in between stabilizing Draco as best he could until they were within the Order's hospital wing.

Ginny believed her.

She saw it in her stance, in her eyes. Draco had saved her life...and Ginny had known. She'd known about him before. The fact that he was still one of their own even after all this time was not as shocking to her as it had been to others.

But Ginny was one voice amongst many senior members, and as most of the rest were scattered between assignments, a rather large raid, and a few satellite branches, she'd been overruled by those who remained.

Hermione clenched her free hand.

It was why they'd been disarmed.

She stole a glance at Theo, who was looking more grim with each second that passed with the Healer still not back from running tests.

She shuddered taking one of Draco's cool hands into both of hers.

"He'll be alright Hermione." Ginny said softly, coming up and putting a hand on her shoulder. "We have good healers."

She let out a shaky breath, nodding before clearing her throat as best she could before she spoke.

"I know. He...Draco's a fighter. He'll." She trailed off, her breath suddenly thin as she blinked unable to prevent a lone tear from slipping past her lashes and trailing down her cheek.

Ginny rubbed her back soothingly as her will finally broke and she began silently crying.

She wasn't sure when it happened, but soon Ginny's soft touches were replaced by a strong pair of arms.

"It's ok love." Theo murmured near her ear, "Let it out."

She clung desperately to Theo. "Gods Theo, I love him. I love him so much."

Theo murmured gentle reassurances to her, all the while letting her cry until she felt she couldn't have shed a single tear more.

She wiped at her face, content to just wait in Theo's embrace until Draco woke.

Ginny gave her a thin reassuring smile before wondering out loud where the bloody healer was when a commotion sounded outside of the hospital wing's door.

"I don't bloody care if they haven't been questioned or whatever fucking excuse you're giving me. Open the goddamn door."

Her eyes widened as she recognized the voice. Ginny looked panicked as she rushed toward the door. She felt Theo move, putting himself slightly in front of her.

She shook her head, placing a hand on Theo's shoulder in warning. They shouldn't appear threatening or defensive for that matter.

Especially not to one of her oldest friends.

Harry pushed passed Ginny, not hearing what the girl was obviously cautioning him about. He froze before them, growing more confused the longer his gaze drifted between Draco's unconscious form, Theo, and her.

His expression hardened as he drew his wand and pointed it at her.

Theo shouted in disapproval throwing himself firmly before her.

"I'll deal with you later. Move and let me see my friend." Harry said tightly.

"Your friend?" Theo exclaimed, "You drew a wand on her."

"I will make sure you're laying flat on your back like Malfoy if you don't…"

"Harry James Potter you will not be hexing my brother." She said, fed up at their predictable though pointless arguing. Didn't they see it wasn't worth it? Didn't they see that there were so many other things that were much more important to be focusing on?

She stood and put a hand on Theo's outstretched wand arm, guiding it gently down.

She could feel Ginny's questioning gaze, but Harry, on the other hand, had become unreadable. He was confused, perhaps betrayed, but in many ways what he was was unsure.

She stepped in front of Theo, still keeping her hand on his arm. "Ask Harry. Just ask." She said softly.

Harry let out a shaky breath before clearing his throat.

"That Christmas we spent alone we went-"

"We visited your parents" she whispered, "And I conjured flowers for the graves."

Harry dropped his arm abruptly, and before she even realized it, she'd darted forward and threw her arms tightly around him.

This was Harry.

One of her first friends and her first brother.

"Oh gods Hermione. I missed you."

She tightened her hold around him.

"I know Harry." She whispered back.

Harry pulled away to study her face before his gaze went to Draco's unconscious form.

"Really Hermione though. Malfoy?"

The accusatory tone of his voice made her heart sink. Would he not at least listen to her side?

"Harry please." She began.

He shook his head to cut her off. He clenched his jaw before dropping his hands from around her and crossing them against his chest.

"He saved me once." Harry grumbled. At her questioning glance, he continued, "At the battle. I'll...I'll at least wait until he's conscious and we've talked before I condemn him."

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding before her face split into a large smile.

"Thank you." she said quietly.

He gave her a tight nod before proceeding to bombard her with questions.

She shook her head, taking her seat once more at Draco's bedside and reaching for his hand.

"I'll tell you everything." She said looking from Ginny to Harry, "Just when he's woken."

She missed the grim looks on both their faces as she grew lost staring at his.

Oh Gods Draco. Please wake.

The Healer returned some time after Harry had formally met Theo as her brother (a rather awkward explanation that Harry and Ginny seemed to both take in stride). She'd been on edge waiting for him. So much so, she barely registered the idle chatter around her and Ginny's low declaration that they were lucky Ron was away at a smaller base until the end of the week.

They probably were.

She didn't think she could handle the very foundations of her world falling apart and Ron's famous temper at once.

The healer, Healer Warren, had a kind face, a comforting one that didn't seem fazed to be treating a rather controversial patient. Of which she was thankful. Even more so, when he returned with his rather familiar apprentice.

Padma gave her a reassuring smile as she bent over Draco to once more cast spells to check his vitals as Healer Warren came to her side to speak.

"Well." She said stringing her hands together.

The Healer let out a breath. "He's extremely fatigued. The extent of it physically and magically alone are dangerous without taking into account the internal injuries he's sustained."

Her chest tightened as her eyes moved rapidly over his face, searching for some sliver of more information.

Warren cleared his throat. "But."

Her heart fluttered.

"It's nothing we can't handle as long as we treat everything carefully."

She nodded, relieved beyond measure to have something to grasp onto that spoke of hope.

"He's lost a rather extreme amount of blood, and after healing the internal bleeding, I'm going to administer blood replenishing potion."

She signaled her understanding with another slight nod.

"The magical exhaustion is trickier. Considering the state of his levels-"

"A magical transfusion." Theo spoke suddenly, a firm mask on his face as he toyed idly with the ring on his hand.

Warren nodded.

"Yes, that would be best. Preferably with a close relative…"

Her mind raced, as she began analyzing what the healer was saying alongside a rather eerie echo of what she'd encountered in her interludes in Narcissa's diary.

"Teddy." she said suddenly. Harry looked at her oddly before his eyes widened in realization.

"He's at another base..." Harry jumped to his feet trailing off as he muttered that he would contact them before dashing out of the wing.

Healer Warren didn't seem the least bit perturbed by Harry's outburst or his abrupt departure, continuing as though nothing had happened.

"But we need to move quickly. He's stable now, but the longer we wait the more difficult the procedure becomes. I'd like to treat him for this before we move on to other injuries."

She seemed to tone out the rest of the Healer's analysis, noting absently that Ginny seemed to be listening to it intently enough for the both of them.

She clutched Draco's hand tighter, studying the simple motion of his chest rising and falling.

Hang on love. Hang on a little longer.

She hated waiting. The feeling of it spread like claws between her veins through her gut and settled near her chest. It was like she was bleeding, like she was dying alongside him for each moment that seemed to pass.

Ginny had left in search of some food to stuff in her since she refused to leave his side. Theo hadn't wanted to leave either, but at Ginny's mention of a shower the temptation to simply be clean again proved to be too great for even he to resist.

She, on the other hand, had allowed Ginny to cast a few cleaning spells over her and called it day. She truly couldn't leave not until there was some sort of indication that he'd be completely alright.

Healer Wilkins had gone and begun gathering supplies and tools that he would need for the transfusion, leaving Padma in the wing to keep monitoring Draco along with a spell to alert him to changes to Draco's condition.

She let out a breath, sinking deeper into her chair as she watched the other girl alternate between watching the spells showcasing Draco's vitals and going over the various stock and potions in the hospital wing.

The silence though...that was beginning to get to her. It screamed with only Draco's soft breaths breaking it.

"Your Healer apprenticeship must be almost over." She said quietly.

Padma looked up startled that she'd spoken before she quickly recovered with a bright smile.

"Almost. Pretty soon I'll be a Junior Healer and able to manage patients without constant supervision."

She smiled weakly at Padma, truly proud of her one time friend. "That's great Padma."

Padma gave her a sheepish shrug as she came closer to stand at the foot of Draco's bed, watching the sleeping blond.

"He's not all bad is he?" She said after a moment.

Hermione chewed her lip.

"What makes you say that?"

Padma turned to her before letting her eyes drop back to rest on Draco. "Besides the fact that you're here sitting with him?" She let out a breath, "He helped someone very important to me once. Actually even more than one person important to me."

Hermione smiled thinly, moving her hand to comb her fingers through his fringe.

"He seems to do that alot. Without people even realizing it." Hermione said softly.

Padma nodded before grinning slightly.

"I'm sure he'd hate for people to draw attention to it. Would probably ruin that devilish persona he has going."

She smiled.

Padma returned it before looking up at a flash from one of the monitoring spells. She frowned murmuring something to herself.

She turned to look back at Draco, who was now shaking underneath her hands.

"What's going on?" She asked.

Padma tore her eyes away from the monitoring spells, looking grim.

"He's strained. I'm worried he might have a seizure if we…" Padma trailed off before she turned toward the stock cabinets and rummaged through, looking for some potion or another.

She stood abruptly. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing.

She was about to say as much to Padma when she heard the door the wing open. She shook her head at the interruption as the figure stepped tentatively into the room. Hermione blinked rapidly more than a little shocked a quite speechless at the figure's identity.

"Hello Hermione." Luna said, "I'm so glad your back. We worried about you."

She frowned unsure what to make of Luna's entrance. She opened her mouth to speak when she was cut off by the sound of coughing.

She whirled around to see Padma leaning over the occupied bed, holding Draco firmly up as he seemed to cough...cough up more blood.

"Luna. Truly it's wonderful to see you, but I need…"

The door flew open again. This time, with Healer Warren rushing in and heading to help Padma.

"He needs help."

She turned to Luna, who seemed to grow more and more concerned as she studied Draco.

"I can help."

She blinked rapidly.

"Luna, he needs a relative for a transfusion. That's what will…"

Her words died as Luna turned quickly to face her, looking more focused and defiant than she'd ever seen the icy blonde appear.

"We're cousins." Luna said murmuring lightly, "I think that's close enough." She turned and began walking toward the pair of healers.

Hermione blinked before rushing after the other girl, grabbing her by the arm.

"You're...you're cousins?"

Luna gave her a patient look while simultaneously pulling herself out of Hermione's grasp.

"My mum was Pandora -"

"Malfoy." She breathed dropping her arm.

Luna gave her a thin smile before turning to introduce herself to Healer Warren.

She stumbled back, out of the way of the mass commotion that seemed to unfold as Luna made her claim.

She turned to Draco's stabilized but still unconscious form.

You're going to be ok.

You're going to be ok.

His first thought as the darkness seemed to fade away was how heavy he felt. His limbs felt like iron, practically limp and drilled to a rather lumpy mattress. He groaned lowly as his eyes fluttered open before shutting at the onslaught of light.

"Easy." he heard someone murmur, as he once more opened his eyes.

He blinked a few times as the brightness seemed to dim and his vision sharpen to take in the edges of what was obviously a hospital wing.

He swallowed roughly, wincing at the rawness of his mouth and throat. He turned to his side, and slightly confused, he took in a figure he hadn't seen in ages. She gave him a thin encouraging smile as he pulled himself to sit upright.

"Hey Luna." He coughed before pushing himself up into as much of a seated position that he could manage.

He felt her ease him up the rest of the way, putting pillows behind him for support before she let her hand rub his back until his fit ended. He relaxed unconsciously into the touch. Luna had always had that way about her, more like they were long lost siblings than cousins. They could go practically months without truly speaking and when they did come together it just seemed so natural to pick up where they'd left. At least on Luna's part, it always had. She'd accepted him right off the bat.

He wasn't sure he would have, especially with how they'd been treated by his grandfather and later Lucius.

He hated it. He hated that they could have grown up as a proper family had things been different, but then when had his family ever been proper?

He focused on breathing, slow and as deep as he could manage against the lingering tightness in his chest. When he finally lifted his head and sat back on his own, his vision had cleared, and he felt much more oriented than he had before.

"I'm glad your finally awake." She said with a beaming smile on her face that quickly turned into a scolding face. "That was very scary Draco. They almost didn't let me in here to help you."

He winced before dipping his head in a nod.

He had so many questions, but the urgency to ask them seemed to flee right then. He could smell Hermione's lingering scent that told him she'd been here recently. It was enough to quench the fear of where she was. He hoped that her absence meant that she was at least off taking care of herself.

Luna shook her head before sitting back at the foot of his bed, and taking his hands into hers. She focused on his left hand and rolled up the sleeve to expose the mark. She shook her head in displeasure noticing the scars and uneven skin.

He looked down as faint flower patterns sprouted around and through the mark and he let out a slight grin at her antics.

"You should have sent word you were coming. I could've at least made those teaberry tarts I know you like."

He bit back the laughter at the absurd statement. Though he knew Luna well enough by now that she wasn't serious about the tart. She wanted to lighten the mood, and sometimes that meant saying ridiculous things.

"It was rather rude of me." He admitted. Luna grinned before dropping his arm, the flowers fading as she did.

They sat in silence, not really wanting to speak, but needing too.

"So I'm guessing they all know now."

About us. About being related. Do they judge you for it like they judged me?

"Yes." Luna said simply before turning a sharp gaze on him. "Are you alright?"

"I…" He began, unsure what to say. Truthfully, he didn't know, but some part of him was becoming more and more concerned. If anything, he knew something more than whatever had landed him here was wrong.

Then, of course, there was the returning jumble of thoughts as he grew more awake with each passing minute.

Had it been a dream? It couldn't have.

Mum.

What had happened to his mother?

He shook his head.

"I'm as well as I can be." He finally managed as the door to the hospital wing flew open and before he could register who was entering he was engulfed in another person's arm, her hair unbound and slightly wet as it rubbed against his cheek.

"I'm so glad you're finally awake." Hermione muttered before pulling away and planting kisses from his forehead to his cheeks. He tilted his chin up and snaked a hand around her neck to guide her to where he really wanted to be kissed.

She melted against him, flinging her arms around his own neck to hold on for dear life.

He felt a pang of guilt as his tongue slipped passed her lips.

She was pouring everything into this kiss, into the motions, into holding him.

He knew how he'd felt at even the idea that something could have happened to her. He knew how broken he'd been left by some of the visions that had plagued his dreams.

She'd been devastated. Her desperation was proof, and it made him feel incredibly warm while also incomparably worried.

They were mad.

Love.

Gods. He was just learning it; this thing that seemed to flood him and turn his senses into dust. He hadn't had a true comparison before, but this felt uncharted. Blissfully uncharted.

A throat cleared somewhere behind her, which seemed to pull Hermione out of her stupor. She broke away abruptly, flushing bright red. He smirked slightly, kissing her once more on the cheek before turning to look passed her.

Theo gave them an amused look, though for him, he saw clear warning in his friend's eyes.

Theo came closer and clasped a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"It's good to see you awake mate. You really had us freaked for a moment there."

He let out a breath, willing his strange dream away as he forced a weak though confident smile on his face.

"You have no idea." He murmured.