It was all a dream.

For Harry, as he woke up, that was the only logical explanation. He was going to find himself in the same grimy room, chained to the wall as he had been for far too long. There hadn't been a gallant rescue attempt. No one knew where he was, which meant that no one was on their way to save him. In a feeble effort to escape the harshness of his reality, he'd created a figment of his imagination that was a much sweeter pill to swallow. There'd been no battle. There'd been no reconciliation with either Malfoy or Snape. There was no Tardis.

And there was certainly no Matthew.

Except, as he became more adjusted to his surroundings, Harry discovered that he was met with a recognisably bright light, of which he'd grown more than accustomed to over his years at Hogwarts. Blinking wearily, he sat up in bed, a spot which was far comfier than what he'd become used to over the past week. The hospital wing. He doubted he'd ever been as happy to see that particular space, doubted he'd ever been as happy to smell the sterile potions and balms.

His first port of call was to try and get up, a consideration that soon backfired. His body was aching beyond belief, protesting wildly and loudly at the movement. Harry had no choice but to sink back into the cushions, an attempt to ease his weary bones and limbs. He wondered what had been done to him to result in such a state, what charms Madam Pomfrey had used to 'cure' his ailments. Or was it just a result of the malnourishment and exhaustion he'd recently been put through.

Whatever pain he'd been feeling dissipated as soon as he looked to his left. Hermione was lying on an identical bed, still resting after the ordeal. To be reunited with her was something he hadn't thought possible and, although she was currently unconscious, it didn't take away how overjoyed he was to be back in her company. That was before the doubts started to creep in as he considered exactly why she was in need of medical care, what she'd been put through, and whether she'd been involved in the battle.

Maybe it was through the power of his staring. Maybe it was just a funny act on the part of the universe. But, as Harry looked at his slumbering friend, she opened her eyes with a start. He had the good grace to look abashed, blushing as if he'd been caught ogling her. And, technically, he had, but if that was the extent of his worries nowadays after being subjected to such egregious torment and torture, then he was perfectly content with that development.

"Harry!" she blurted out, attempting to sit up and apparently facing the same dose of dizziness as Harry had experienced.

"'Mione! What…what happened?"

She huffed in laughter. "Where do I even begin?"

"They…they got me during the apparition exam, didn't they?"

Her face fell slightly, the ghost of previous grief washing over her. "They did, yeah. You should have seen the panic that descended after it happened. No one knew what was going on."

"Neither did I to be fair. They…told me that they hijacked the process, leading me to where they needed me to be. It's so frightening to know that they can do that."

"Only by getting close to you, and we're not going to let that happen again."

"I guess I'm going to have to take the test again, aren't I?"

Her laugh was more genuine this time. "That's seriously what your first worry is? After everything that's happened?"

"Well, I've been taught to not enjoy failing at anything, no matter the situation. And there's only one person who's responsible for that academic competitiveness I now suffer from…"

"Are you about to blame me for that?" she wondered with narrowed eyes.

"I've only just escaped one life threatening source of peril. I'm not going to be stupid enough to open my mouth now and get myself entangled in another one."

Hermione grinned. "It's good to see that you haven't lost any of your common sense. It was severely lacking to begin with."

"You know, I thought the insults would be put on the back burner for at least a day now that I'm back."

"Oh, Harry. You don't understand just how happy I am to see that you're okay and able to make these hilarious comments. Most of the people in the school will be able to tell you what sort of a mess I've been."

"Do you…want to talk about it?"

"Not especially," she quickly admitted. "Give it time. Right now, I want to focus on you being safe and happy, rather than thinking back on what it was like to not have you around."

Harry was only too willing to give her that. He didn't want to think that he'd been the cause of her obvious anguish, even if it wasn't truly his fault. He chose to sit back, allowing a contented silence to fall between them. There was so much still to be said, so much to be discussed, that it was difficult to know where to start. After not being able to properly talk to people for so long, it was like he had thousands of words wanting to spill out from his mouth, and none at all at the same time.

His gaze landed on the opposite side of the room, where another bed was occupied. Whilst there was a certain amount of space between the two spots, Harry could still make out a flash of blonde hair and a pale face that was largely camouflaged against the white sheets. So that hadn't been something he'd created in his head. He had chosen to save Malfoy's life and, more surprisingly, the Slytherin boy had chosen to accept the extended olive branch.

And if that was real, then surely that posed the question as to whether everything else had truly happened too.

The fact that Hermione hadn't brought up Matthew's return straight away tempered Harry's optimism somewhat. Surely she would have wanted to discuss it, to celebrate it. Unless she didn't realise that he knew as well. She had been pretty out of it when she'd been taken to the Tardis. So perhaps she was trying to calculate his current mental state and whether he was prepared to learn of that development. Harry wasn't quite so sure, himself.

In the end, they should have known that the boy would be the one to broach that issue through his own means.

He made his way through the doors of the hospital wing as if he owned the place, which wasn't much of a change in character for him. It was like a phantom was coming to visit, and that wasn't the sort of thing you were looking for when you were receiving medical care. Unlike the other ghosts who called Hogwarts their home, Matthew wasn't able to physically walk through walls, instead having to use doors like any other normal person. Which suggested that the spectre was even more perplexing than Harry had first thought.

"Ah, you're awake!" he exclaimed. "Great news! I was hoping that'd be the case."

Harry's mouth was hanging open, not that Matthew was paying much attention to that detail. He turned his head to look at Hermione, who could only offer up a meagre smile. At least that proved she didn't have a clue about what was going on either, which was the only source of comfort Harry was currently able to draw upon. Her face was pale and Harry got the sense that she'd been dreading this moment, when explanations would finally have to be provided.

"I was told to alert everyone else when you woke up," Matthew continued, oblivious to their mutual strife. "But I'm going to be a bit selfish and keep you to myself for just a short while longer, if that's okay?"

"I don't think we've ever been able to dissuade you of anything," Hermione argued. "The idea of changing your ways now is ludicrous at best."

"I'm glad you've cottoned onto that. Now…I've given you the time to rest, because Madam Pomfrey threatened to use some surprisingly violent spells on me if I didn't comply. But I was just walking through the corridors and another student actually fainted when they saw me, which really is the tipping point. Everyone's been acting strange…even stranger than normal…and I want answers. I know that you've both been through a lot, but you're not exactly hiding your confusion whenever you look at me."

Hermione had the good grace to school her expression, but Harry didn't think he was physically capable of obscuring his shock. He felt like that was only fair, seeing as what he was being presented with. Hermione had at least been given a bit longer to process the development, apparently, whereas Harry had faced Snape's heroics, Matthew's return and a brief fight with Voldemort all in the space of a few minutes before promptly falling unconscious. He was allowed to be dumbstruck.

"Matthew…will you sit down?"

Hermione gave the instruction with a soft tone of voice, though there was the sense that she was brokering no argument. The boy in question followed the suggestion obediently, perching so that he was placed on the end of her bed. Almost instinctively, she was reaching for Matthew's hand, as if she were trying to prove that he was truly there through physical touch alone. If she was gaining any reassurance through the simple act, then she wasn't making it obvious.

"I don't even know where to begin," she admitted.

He laughed nervously. "You're officially starting to scare me now."

"You died."

Harry was the one to blurt it out, growing tired of the stalling and walking on eggshells. Perhaps his body's weary state had made him less willing to be patient, and it certainly made him less concerned about the dangerous, alarmed look Hermione was now sending his way. It was like ripping off a plaster. It was better to be done with it quickly, so that they could save themselves a lot of pain in the long run.

"Is this some sort of joke?"

Hermione sighed, evidently having wanted to take a softer approach to broaching the topic. "No, it's not, regardless of how much I really wish that was the case. And I'm concerned that you can't remember what happened, seeing as you so obviously survived. None of this makes sense!"

"No changes there, then," Harry grumbled.

"You're going to have to take things from the top," Matthew said, fidgeting nervously.

"You…were in Diagon Alley when a group of Death Eaters located you. You didn't stand much of a chance after that."

"Well, at least it's a gallant way to go. I'd ask for nothing else."

"Don't you dare joke about this! You don't understand what we've been through. You don't realise how many sleepless nights I've experienced, how often I've started crying all of a sudden just because I remembered you weren't there. And then you just…show up again as if nothing has happened, as if no time has passed."

"How much time has passed?"

"It was just after Christmas," Harry replied, taking over the duty after sensing that Hermione's ability to string coherent sentences together was weakening. "And now we're in September. So…it's been a difficult few months, to say the least."

"Months?"

"I just don't understand why, if you somehow survived the attack, it's taken you so long to come back. What have you been doing?"

"Are you sure that I actually died?"

"I buried you!" Hermione screeched, and it was a miracle that no one came running or the other patients woke up. Perhaps they just didn't want to face her ire. "I had to look at your body and say goodbye. So don't call that into question."

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, and I can't imagine what you've been through. But that's the main problem here. I can't follow what you're saying. I was in the Tardis, going about my business, planning my next move in the hunt for horcruxes. And then we were being forcibly taken to an unknown destination, only for you to be standing by the door. It wasn't as if I could even focus on that, seeing as you were promptly telling me that Harry had been captured and we were facing a battle right that very moment. Talk about a slap in the face. Though I'm guessing my arrival must have been the same for you, if you're right about this."

"We are right about this," Harry reminded him.

Hermione was frowning. "What do you mean when you say the Tardis was forcibly taken to Malfoy Manor?"

Matthew was sharing her bemusement. "You don't know? I thought you would have put the pieces together, seeing as you were the one who caused it."

"I was?" She looked to be thinking about it for a few moments, and Matthew was apparently giving her the space to figure it out for herself. "The key!"

It was Harry's turn to be puzzled. "The key?"

"The key to the Tardis! I was holding it just before Matthew arrived! We were struggling to get past the wards and I was starting to lose hope that we were actually going to be able to save you, Harry. I was so desperate…it's quite embarrassing really, because I started wishing that Matthew was there. And then…this miracle happened. But how would that work? Because miracles and wishes aren't real forms of magic."

"There are runes laid into the key," Matthew explained. "A fail safe, for lack of a better term. If you're separated from the Tardis…if the situation is sufficiently dire…then your connection to the ship could activate it, drawing the Tardis to your location. Basically, I built that in because I knew I was going to be separated from you as part of the horcrux hunt and, through that, you'd always be able to summon me if things truly were bad."

"But…that doesn't explain how I summoned you with the Tardis. I was in it earlier that day. It should have come on its own, instead of bringing you back from the dead. Unless…"

Hermione was wearing an expression that the two boys had grown used to over the years. It was one of consternation and of acute concentration. She was piecing a jigsaw together that only she could see, and it appeared that she was only going to clue them in once she had all the elements in one place. She went through a continuous cycle of staring at Matthew and then looking down at her hands, as if she either couldn't believe what she was coming up with or didn't want to believe it was true.

"Matthew…what's the last thing you remember?"

"Well, I'd just been expelled thanks to the toad that is Delores Umbridge. It was a pretty average day, to be fair. I was actually planning on sneaking back into Hogwarts to see the two of you before I was interrupted so spectacularly."

"Is it…is it possible that you've travelled through time? Is it possible that you've arrived here from a point in time before you were killed?"

"The Tardis hasn't been able to do that since I first arrived. Except…"

"Except, the first time you introduced me to the Tardis, you told me that there was a way for her to be coaxed into travelling through time, and that was through her being summoned. What if I accidentally did that? What if, when you placed the charms on the key, you didn't stop to think that it could connect me to the Tardis at a different point in time from the present day?"

Harry was nodding his head, only because he wanted them to believe that he was following the conversation. The intricacies of time travel weren't exactly his specialist topic. Hermione and Matthew's interaction was something he hadn't realised he'd missed, with the way they were able to hold a conversation at a rapid rate without having to properly fill the gaps for one another.

The other boy stood up, abandoning his spot on the bed. Evidently, he was opting to pace in a small circle to get rid of some of the nervous energy consuming him. His expression matched Hermione's almost perfectly, in that it was contorted into a heavy frown as he attempted to consider all the ramifications. Until he finally came to a stop, skidding to a halt right in front of them, his eyes gleaming.

"It'd explain why the landing was so violent," he said. "The Tardis is rusty when it comes to temporal travel, to put it lightly. It's a miracle that she was able to do it, that she was even able to pick up on the signal. But that proves the level of power you tapped into when you called for her."

"Pure magic"?

"We don't need any further evidence about your abilities after the stunts you were pulling in the battle. It's no wonder that you're serving bed rest right now."

"So…let me get this straight…you didn't survive the attack?" Harry asked.

"That's evidently in my future," Matthew remarked, far too casually for someone who was talking about his demise. "Something to plan for."

Harry's eyes lit up. "Does this mean that you could find a way to stop it from happening in the first place? If we've got time travel up our sleeve, then we could send a message back to you at an even earlier date! We could tell you to steer clear of Diagon Alley on that day."

"I'm afraid that's not how it works. If we went back and stopped the Death Eater attack…if I was still alive…then there'd be no reason for Hermione to summon this version of me to help rescue you. Which means we wouldn't be having this conversation, and then we wouldn't be making the choice to go back…and then you can see the loop that's starting to form. It's a paradox. My death is set in stone."

"You should be more willing to fight this! We've been given a second chance!"

"There are some things you can't stand against, and this is one of them. I'll have to go back. I'll have to face whatever fate is waiting for me."

"You can't."

"But he does," Hermione said quietly.

"I thought you'd be at the front of the queue to make him change his mind!"

"It's not that. Of course I want him to stay. But I know that he goes back."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Just think about the way he acted right before we lost him. That last conversation I had with you, Matthew…you made a big deal of me wearing the key around my neck, keeping it close to me at all times. And that's surely because you knew I'd need it to bring you back! You were trying to guide my hand whilst also trying not to give the game away. I can't imagine what sort of hell it must have been for you, talking to us as if everything was normal, when you knew what was to come."

Matthew's smile was weak. "I guess I'll find out what that's like."

"You might be onto something, 'Mione," Harry admitted, losing some of his anger. "Because there was a news article that came out when the Death Eaters were able to get free from Azkaban. And I can still picture your face, Matthew, when you saw it. Maybe…maybe that was because it confirmed what was going to happen, that the day had arrived."

"I don't imagine it being something you can smile about."

"Even the way you spoke to me in our final chat, just like Hermione. You opened up to me like never before, as if you were making up for last time. That was your parting gift, sharing details about your past after the countless times I'd brought it up over the years."

It was a point that suddenly kept Harry quiet as he considered a rather vital development he'd overlooked. Thanks to his period of unconsciousness and the sheer insanity that revolved around Matthew returning from the dead, he'd completely forgotten that he'd met Enola. He'd spoken to her, built some sort of connection with her. She'd saved his life, only to stay behind under the banner of Lord Voldemort, though he wanted to believe she was doing that for a more wholesome reason.

How was he supposed to slide that into passing conversation when they were already dealing with so many shocks?

That wasn't to mention the other discoveries he'd made during his imprisonment. Now that they were back together, there was nothing stopping them from continuing their search for Voldemort's horcruxes. And now Harry knew that he was one such artefact, albeit an accidental one at that. Again, he couldn't just blurt out such a declaration. Largely because he was fearful of what the consequences could be. Enola hadn't been able to extract the dark essence from his soul, which suggested that killing Voldemort completely had to result in Harry's death as well.

No matter what that damned prophecy had once proclaimed.

"You even left a message with Emilia for me," Hermione pointed out.

"Emilia?" Matthew replied.

"She was in one of the shops on Diagon Alley when the Death Eaters came on that awful day. You…well, you saved her. She said that your last act was to get her to safety. You ended up apparating her to Hogwarts, where she was able to tell us about what had happened. And the final thing you said to her was an instruction, so that she'd end up telling me not to lose hope, no matter if you were gone. Again, it was another subtle hint that you were only one summons away. Although you didn't make it easy! I suppose that's always been your way of operating."

"It's nice to know that I go out heroically."

Hermione scowled. "Now that you're here, I have the chance at last to ask you why you were so stupid! Why did you sacrifice yourself for someone you didn't even know?"

Matthew held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, that's not my fault! Think about it. You've just told me that I saved her. Now, when I go back, I'll have to do that. Otherwise the paradox I mentioned before starts working overtime again."

Harry sighed. "So you're really going to return?"

"I don't have much of a choice. I've already explained that. But…"

"But you don't have to go straight away," Hermione finished for him, a hopeful smile threatening to break through on her face. "There's no rules on that. There's hardly any rules when it comes to time travel as it is."

"I was actually going to say that I have no choice but to return, but I also don't have much of a choice when it comes to staying either."

Harry was tired of getting migraines whenever he spoke. "Care to elaborate?"

"Hermione might have been able to summon the Tardis. The old girl might have been able to travel into the future. But that doesn't mean that those systems have been unlocked or reignited. I can't physically get back to the past. So, until that's fixed…I'm here for the long run."

"And you've never been able to fix it since you crashed…"

"Exactly," Matthew said, eyes gleaming. "I think you may just be stuck with me for a while longer."

Harry knew that he needed to speak up. Because the fact was that Enola had somehow managed to travel through time, and potentially had the capability of doing so again. That meant there was every chance she'd be able to help Matthew return to his correct point in time. If they didn't want the entirety of reality to collapse around them, which the boy seemed to think would happen, then they needed Matthew to put things straight. Harry understood that he wasn't supposed to be keeping that potential solution to himself.

But, despite those concerns, Harry couldn't stop the smile forming on his lips, nor did he have any intention of doing so. After so many months of things going wrong, it felt like it had all been worth it to have that moment. After the past week of torment, it felt like it had been the final test he'd had to pass in order to get this reward. He wasn't in any rush to go through it all again, but that wasn't to say he wouldn't be tempted if he still had Matthew waiting for him at the end of it.

Ignoring the weariness in his body, Harry slowly got out of bed, in what must have been quite a feeble display as he struggled against the covers. Ignoring his private, warring thoughts, Harry walked up to his friend, who was looking at him in subtle fascination. And, ignoring any lingering qualms Harry might have had about the boy's re-emergency, he brought Matthew into a fierce hug, one that seemed to take his friend by surprise.

There was probably a good reason for that. Over the years, the number of times in which Harry had been the one to instigate such embraces could be counted on one hand. Hermione had always been a big fan of hugging them, even at the early stages of their friendship, and Matthew wasn't one to shy away from them either. Harry hoped that it made the moment more special, through the fact that he was taking that leap. That surely explained why his eyes were burning with tears, the sort of manly crying that teenage boys were allowed to do.

Harry wasn't ashamed to be so emotional, not really. It was an outpouring of feelings that drove him towards Matthew, proving beyond doubt that his friend was alive. He'd lost his parents at a young age, and he'd thought that that would be the worst trauma he'd experience in his life, only for it to happen once again to someone who'd basically filled that familial gap. Harry's life didn't tend to serve up much positivity, which meant he had to make the most of it when it arrived.

With the two of them caught up in the weight of the moment, they didn't hear Hermione shifting from her bed. But they did feel her come up behind, joining in with the hug, with both Harry and Matthew opening their arms to welcome her. The three of them stayed like that for a while, none of them wanting to be the one to end it. Hermione had surely thought that she was going to lose her second friend so soon after losing the other, which meant it was no surprise to find her clinging onto them so tightly now that she'd somehow got them both back.

"Oh, my boys," she murmured quietly.

When they eventually broke apart, their eyes were all mutually wet, though they didn't bring it up. There was a slight air of awkwardness as they tried to figure out how to move on from the tender moment, Matthew fiddling with his hands whilst Harry looked at the floor. Hermione allowed a small laugh to escape her lips and that seemed to end the tension, Harry risking a smile, whilst Matthew rolled his eyes.

"It'd seem that I've missed quite a lot," he commented. "Want to give me a brief recap?"

"Umbridge is gone," Harry quickly said. "Hermione saw to that straight after…you know, everything happened. She was formidable, wouldn't take no for an answer."

The girl in question looked suitably bashful. "I may have been on the warpath after you died, which sounds ludicrous to say when I'm talking to you."

"We also happened to destroy a horcrux."

"Harry did, technically. He tapped into his pure magic to get the job done. It was spectacular to watch."

Matthew settled himself on the closest seat available to him. "Blimey, it doesn't sound as if you actually need me here."

"Don't be silly. And there are going to be so many people who'll be unbelievably happy to see you again. Though I don't know how we're going to begin to explain how that's possible."

"That girl who fainted before will probably need medical attention. Hopefully I won't have to go through that with everyone I see. I hate being the centre of attention. Then again, based on what I've been able to decipher, Harry's going to have that focus on him after what's been going on. Do you want to tell me how on Earth you got yourself captured? And why the hell Malfoy is occupying one of these hospital beds too?"

After that, they descended into varied conversation, the sort they'd experienced too many times to count over the years. It was comfortable, as if no time had passed at all since they'd last done it. Harry supposed that that was the case for Matthew, a point he was going to be wrapping his head around for weeks to come. But, as they sat there, recapping events and taking it in turns to swap stories, Harry felt that things were finally right.

He didn't have to think about horcruxes. He didn't have to think about Enola. Those were concerns that could wait until at least the day after, when this current storm abated. They were going to be consumed by the circus of attention as soon as they left the hospital wing, so it was only fair that Harry appreciated the momentary solitude, the brief respite of calm. For as long as he was able to enjoy being with his friends again, that approaching storm could be put to the back of his mind.