Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. It and any characters from the franchise that may appear in this fanfiction are the intellectual property of J.K. Rowling. This story was written for entertainment purposes only and no profit is made from this story.

Author's note: Eternal thanks to my beta, GeekandProud (AO3) a.k.a. AnimeIsMyCrack (FF) who also made the cover image for this story.

! This chapter will switch perspectives between Draco and Harry. The first and last part of this chapter will be written from Draco's perspective, while the middle part will be written from Harry's perspective. I will add a small notice of this before each part by writing either DRACO or HARRY !

DRACO

- The Hospital Wing, 8th of May 1993 –

"Mr. Malfoy, if you do not calm down right now, I will have to ask you to leave or take a calming draught." Madam Pomfrey said sternly as Draco still had no control of his magic and nearly lashed out at the Mediwitch when she was coming to check up on Hermione. Thank Merlin that Luna had told her to take that damned mirror with her. Else she would truly have been… No. He refused to think about that.

"No one has been petrified for months ." He muttered frantically to the nurse, trying to reign in his emotions. "And then when we are at Quidditch Practice, she just suddenly…" he couldn't say it. Couldn't tell the nurse he had almost fallen off his broom when he felt her disappear . For a moment he thought she had died when he felt the bond between them weaken to a flicker of its strength. If Daphne hadn't helped him keep his balance, he too would be lying in a hospital bed right now. His magic had so desperately lashed out to find her, nearly losing all hope until he found the sliver of magic he'd been looking for. He'd thought he'd lost her. Again .

"She will be revived in just three weeks' time when the Mandrake Draught is finished, just like the others. I understand your concern for your friend-"

His friend. If his magic had a voice, it would scoff at that description of what Hermione meant to him. True, she was his best friend. But deep down, both he and that bloody bond knew that she was more than that to him. She was the one he'd sworn to protect, in both time-lines. How he'd failed so miserably was beyond him. He could kick himself for being such a bloody wanker. Draco's chair was starting to shake, his magic feeding his anger at himself.

The teacup that one of Colin's friends had left on the Gryffindor's nightstand when they were visiting suddenly exploded into a thousand pieces.

"Mr. Malfoy! Enough!" The matron's shrill voice echoed around him.

He slouched down into a chair next to Hermione's bed, taking a deep breath to relax both himself and his magic as the nurse went to get him some calming draught. She was right. Letting out his magic right now wouldn't be of any use. If anything, he'd need it. If he ever saw Weasley, he would kill him for what he'd done.

" Draco, calm down , she will be alright. " Deandra soothed him.

The blond reluctantly agreed and the doors to the Hospital Wing opened, Harry running through. He'd talked to Snape to ensure he would notify Hermione's parents of what had happened. After a quick chat, the Professor had once again said there was not a single bit of proof that Ron controlled the Basilisk.

Draco stood up and approached his friend, the words rattling out of his mouth. "Let's find Weasley. We need to figure out how he's controlling Sirona. And why he sent her after 'Mione."

"Woah, mate." Harry said, grabbing Draco by the shoulders, shaking him to bring him back to his senses. "Luna saw this coming, remember. Maybe it was just meant to happen. We'll save 'Mione. Just, relax."

Meant to happen? Draco blinked. Another thread of fate unwinding? And why was Harry telling him to relax ?

"Relax?" Draco asked. "What would you do if it was Ginny ?"

Harry blinked at him. "You know that me and Ginny have barely spoken to each other, thanks to that stupid brother of hers." He said angrily. "Don't you think that I don't want to…" Realisation hit the spectacled boy like a ton of bricks. "Are… Are you saying that what you feel for 'Mione is the same as I feel for Ginny ?" He grinned knowingly.

Draco just stared at him. No . It wasn't. True, he felt protective of Hermione. She was his best friend after all, and this timeline's incarnation of his wife.

The issue was that she… Had started to see him as more than just her best friend. He'd noticed her darting around him, blushing more than usual. He had done his best not to encourage her little teenage crush, considering he was nearly five years older than her.

He hated betraying her trust. If he could tell her the truth without jeopardising the hopefully positive outcome of the war, then he would. But as it stood, she couldn't know about the future. So, he'd done his best to not behave any differently. He would be her best friend, always. Anything else was too much to ask until she learnt the truth.

"I don't have a crush on 'Mione." Draco finally answered Harry. "But, she is more precious to me than anyone else. She's always understood me. Don't get me wrong, you're like my brother, Harry. But..."

"I get it, I get it. Hermione is a girl who's into talking about feelings and getting you out of your brooding ways." Harry smirked. "Shame you don't see her that way though. Else Sirius would have owed me 20 galleons!"

Draco blinked. "You two were betting on that?"

His best friend shrugged as he led the two of them back to Hermione's bed, seeing Madam Pomfrey approach with some calming draught.

"Not just me and Sirius. Remus and Tonks too. Aunt Amelia. Theo. Blaise. Daphne…"

"All of our friends and family then. Right. Bloody brilliant. Hermione will love that." Draco scowled. His irritation made his magic flare up again, making the cups on Hermione's nightstand dance up and down.

"Mr. Malfoy, I swear on Merlin's beard-" Poppy said as she shoved the calming draught into his hands. "A twelve-year-old-boy should not be spouting all of this. Are you quite sure you're alright?"

He grunted and downed the potion in one take. Fuck, he needed to get control over his magic. The vow suddenly activating to help protect Hermione when she was hurt had left so much leftover magic in his body that even he as an experienced wizard had issues keeping a tight leash on it.

"You should go find her." Draco told Harry after the potion had started to work, finally calming both him and his magic down. He took one last look at Hermione, frozen still, and let his eyes fall closed. She was still here. She was safe.

"Sirona you mean?" Harry asked as he wiped some of the hair in Hermione's face away, tucking it behind her ear, not liking seeing his best friend like this either. "Or Ginny?"

"Why not both." Draco inquired, opening one eye to look at his best friend. "Sirona said that she hadn't seen Ron in months. Maybe Ginny is just scared that you don't want to be friends with her anymore after what happened? Neville has come to eat with us at the Slytherin table multiple times, even without the twins being there. Maybe all she needs is for you to inspire some Gryffindor courage within her?"

"We should give you some calming draught more often if you finally start making sense." Harry joked as he stood up. "Take care of our girl, will you? I'll go look for my other two girls."

Draco smirked and waved at Harry. He scooted closer to Hermione and took her left hand in his, fuelling the small flicker of magic inside of her with his own. Just three more weeks…

HARRY

As soon as Harry left the Hospital Wing, he ran into Daphne, both of them chuckling as they nearly bumped heads.

"Are you alright?" He asked her as she noticed her teary eyes. He'd always liked the blonde Slytherin and considered her a close friend. Seeing her like this made his heart ache for her.

"It's my fault, Harry." She whispered back at him, starting to cry again. "If I had convinced her to come outside with me, then this would never have happened, she's in there, because of-"

"Because of some idiot." Harry interrupted her. "It's not your fault, Daph. And don't worry. Hermione will be fine. I promise."

"You can't promise that." The blonde half-frowned, half-smiled at him. "But you're right."

"Of course I am." He winked at her. "Draco is still with her, if you'd like to speak to him. He might be sleeping, though. Madam Pomfrey had to give him a calming draught after his magic kept going all over the place."

A frown crossed Daphne's face at the mention of their friend's name.

Harry didn't have to think twice about what she was thinking. "You saved him, you know. I don't even know if he properly remembers what happened at the pitch, considering the state he was in… If you hadn't steadied his broom, he might've plummeted into the ground."

"Honestly, I just acted on instinct," she confessed. "I've seen so many things go wrong with you on your broom, that my mind acted before I knew what was happening. That scream that tore out of him though… That was…"

"Pure despair." Harry supplied, physically flinching at the memory. Dear Merlin. He'd thought Draco had hurt himself when he heard the sound of terror echo around the quidditch pitch. When Harry had finally managed to land next to him, the magic was flowing over him in waves and Draco's teeth were chattering. The blond's whole body trembled because he could barely contain his magic. None of them had any clue what had happened to him. All he'd uttered after a few seconds of them worriedly standing around him was Hermione's name. They all knew something was terribly wrong then, and Harry wasn't the least bit surprised to find her in the Hospital Wing after Draco's display of magic.

Daphne nodded and bit her lip, thinking. "Has Sirius ever told you about magical bonds, Harry?"

He gasped, realising where she was going with this. "Daph, you don't think…?" Harry thought back for a second. "Luna mentioned something, however, when I met her on the Hogwarts Express. She claimed Draco had a wife . Or he would have. At the time I thought his father had gotten him in some nasty betrothal contract with Pansy, but I never considered…"

"She told me she's from an adopted Malfoy line, according to the heritage test she took when you three were at Gringotts." Daphne whispered, making sure no one could overhear them. "Family bonds can be strong. But this ? We all saw how he reacted. It wouldn't surprise me if there is some sort of ancient magic, a vow even. I'm unsure if he himself is aware of its existence. If he wasn't before, then he will be now, though."

"Should we tell them our suspicions?" Harry asked her. "Or ask Sirius and your parents?"

Daphne shook her head. "The Malfoys are an ancient family. The magic in their blood runs strong. Along with the Black blood that is in Draco's veins, no one knows what kind of magic has been evoked because of that. It might be the two last heirs of the line protecting each other so it doesn't die out… It might be something else entirely. He'll figure it out. And if he doesn't, I'm sure that 'Mione will."

Harry smiled at that. "She's quite inquisitive, our best friend, isn't she?"

"She is," the blonde witch smiled fondly. "Don't worry, I'll do some research on my own and I can drop some hints to 'Mione if needed. For now, let's just be glad that whatever makes him so protective of her is there. Merlin knows what would have happened to her last year if he hadn't been so attuned to her."

The Boy Who Lived was confused at that. "Last year?"

"Harry, please. Don't you remember the incident with the troll?" Daphne rolled her eyes. "Draco was so convinced it had found her already, and he knew exactly where to find her in the castle. His magic has always been pulled towards hers, has always been protecting her. It wouldn't surprise me if hers has been doing the same to him. We've just never noticed before."

"That's more than a little food for thought, Daph." Harry said as he took hold of his friend's hand, squeezing it as she opened the door to the Hospital Wing. "Take care of them, will you?"

"I will," she promised. "Now you go and do whatever you were up to. I feel like I was interrupting something important when you almost knocked me over earlier." She winked at him.

Harry let out a bark of laughter at her astute observation. After Daphne walked in, he broke out in a run. He'd wasted enough time already. Months really. The last time he'd checked the map to find Professor Snape to tell him what had happened to 'Mione, he'd noticed Ginny was in the Gryffindor Common Room.

He nearly skipped up the stairs, taking two at a time, on his way to the seventh floor. Why had he been such an idiot? He liked Ginny. He should've tried his best to reach out to her, instead of wallowing in self-pity after the duelling club event. He had been acting like a scaredy kneazle with his tail between his legs when it came to Ginny Weasley.

"Oi Harry, you alright mate?" Fred Weasley suddenly piped up from behind him, making him stop in his tracks.

"He must've learnt some tricks from Snape. It almost looks like he's moving like a bat out of hell." George agreed as they noticed Harry rushing up the stairs.

"I'm looking for your sister, actually." He replied as he kept going up the stairs, the two Gryffindors easily keeping up with him.

"Merlin's beard Gred, I would say that someone has finally grown a pair and dared to tell our sister that hiding will do her no good." one of the twins said.

"Indeed, Forge," the other agreed. "This does mean you owe me 5 galleons though. I was after all the one who predicted that it would be Harry who would get his head out of his arse first, rather than our lovely sister."

The Boy Who Lived shook his head at the twins' antics and even had to suffer through a brotherly talk where they were warning him to never hurt their little sister. Afterwards, the conversation quickly turned to pranking and hanging out with Sirius and Remus during summer.

Promising he would owl his Godfather, Harry entered the Gryffindor Common Room, feeling welcomed by the familiar sight of the red and gold that greeted him.

"Anyone seen Ginny?" Fred and George asked at the same time. "We have a certain lord who has come to confess his feelings and woo the damsel."

Harry rolled his eyes at the twins, but quickly grew concerned as he realised that no one had seen Ginny in quite a while. Huddling in a corner with the twins, all three of them studying the map, only made his worry grow. Trying to hide his concern from the twins, he quickly left the Gryffindor Common Room and said he'd look for her on the grounds.

He ran through the halls, still searching for Ginny, while also calling out for Sirona in Parseltongue when no one was around to hear him. Neither the girl he liked, or the spirit-Basilisk he'd conversed with so often during the past months were anywhere to be found. What the bloody hell was going on?

DRACO

At some point, the blond must have dozed off. It was nearing nighttime and Mr. and Mrs. Granger were sitting on the other side of Hermione's bed, Mr. Granger asleep with some muggle newspaper on his lap.

A copy of Witch Weekly was lying on Hermione's nightstand, indicating that Daphne had been around at some point. She should've woken him if she'd visited. He could only imagine how she was feeling after seeing Hermione like this. He also had an inkling feeling that he would have some explaining to do about his reaction at the quidditch pitch. Now that he was a bit calmer, he remembered how he'd reacted. Daphne was a pure-blood like him, educated in the ancient ways. She would definitely have her suspicions after seeing that… No mere bond between friends made magic react that strongly.

"Madam Pomfrey told me you were throwing quite the tantrum, Draco." Jean Granger said, interrupting his thoughts as she put an empty teacup on the small table next to her. "Your mother would not be pleased with your behaviour."

She got up from her chair and walked over to him, brushing his hair out of his face. It was probably sticking up all over the place after falling asleep.

"But I am grateful that Hermione has friends like you and Harry. That there is someone who cares about her enough to throw a tantrum. Life wasn't always easy for her, before coming to Hogwarts." She whispered, looking at Draco with tears in her eyes. "She has always been different. Special. And any parent would say that about their child, but I knew it was true. That she was magic, just like my Grand-Mère."

Draco blinked up at Jean. "You knew?" he whispered in disbelief. "Hermione only figured it out after I got her the perfume in Paris…"

Hermione's mother smiled at him, nodding. "When I was a little girl, my Grand-Mère told me she dreamt I'd have a daughter who would look just like me. She would be fierce, loyal, and brilliant. Magical . My own mother never believed in magic, you know. She thought it was just some old wife's tale. But I knew that something about my Grand-Mère was different." She mused. "When I got pregnant, we went to visit her one last time, to tell her the happy news. A daughter just like she had predicted. You see, she was quite ill at that time, and she died shortly after 'Mione was born. After she died an owl flew through the window in the kitchen, straight into the dining room. It carried with it a letter, written in my Grand-Mère's handwriting. It said that Hermione would find her chosen family at Hogwarts. I suppose you two are her two boys of prophecy, her chosen family." Mrs. Granger smiled at Draco.

Draco didn't know what to say to that. Had Hermione's great-grandmother truly been able to see snippets of the future? But, her chosen family… In the first time-line, it was obvious who those two boys were. He couldn't help but wonder if this time too, it would turn out to be Harry and Ron in the end.

"I know you two will always protect her, and for that I will be eternally grateful." Hermione's mum said before she touched Draco's cheek lovingly, thanking the boy with her motherly warmth. "Would you like some more tea, dear? You look a bit peckish."

He nodded dumbly as Jean got up and walked towards the kitchen on the side of Madam Pomfrey's office.

In the corner of his eye, Draco noticed the doors to the Hospital Wing open, yet no one seemed to be walking through it. Harry must be back then, hiding under his invisibility cloak since it was after curfew.

More quickly than he'd expected, Draco felt someone grab his shoulder.

"Merlin, Harry!" He half whispered in shock, jumping in his chair. "I know I showed you how to cast a charm so you would actually move silently, but there's no need to scare me."

Harry threw his cloak off, looking both panicked and frustrated. He shoved the Marauder's map in Draco's face with a sense of urgency. "I can't find them. I tried calling on Sirona through the walls, but she wouldn't come, no matter where I went! And... Ginny . She's not on the map. Do you think that Ron got to Sirona again? She told me just last week that she hadn't seen him in months, nor had she felt the curse pulling at her. I was honestly starting to think he'd flushed that bloody book down the drain and that we were rid of it. Where could they possibly-"

Draco looked at the map in his lap. There, in the corridor towards Myrtle's bathroom were two names. He took Harry by the arm, interrupting him, and pointed towards the small two dots. They had reached the bathroom by now and then suddenly disappeared. There was only one way to leave that room. The Chamber of Secrets.

"No," Harry said in disbelief. "No this can't be. Not him . He's a bloody idiot."

"You couldn't find Ginny because your dad and his friends didn't know about the Chamber… It's not on the map," Draco whispered.

Jean found the boys, staring at the piece of parchment when she returned with a cup of tea for both her and Draco. "Is everything alright, you two?" She asked, noticing their distress. "Do you need me to get you anything, Harry?"

Harry took the map from Draco, shoved it in his pocket and nodded his head at Mrs. Granger. "Could you find Madam Pomfrey and tell her that the Chamber has been opened. Its entrance is in Myrtle's Bathroom. She will know what it means."

Harry folded up his invisibility cloak and put it in one of the pockets of his robes, as Draco went over to Hermione, taking her hand in his, whispering that they would be back soon. It was then he suddenly felt it. A small piece of paper, stuck in her fist. By the way she was clenching it, it must've been important. Draco pried it out of her hands and showed it to Harry.

"'Mione figured it out," Harry whispered. "How could we have been so stupid not to see it."

Jean was now looking over Draco's shoulder, reading the small paper. "What does 'Mione mean with "It's Lockhart" ?

Draco never noticed the lines that were written on the other side, showing Hermione's research on time-travelling and the Hour-Reversal charm. If he had, he might've been better prepared for whatever the future held in store for him.