Draco couldn't bring himself to leave the veil. It had to be late in the day, and people would be concerned by his inexplicable absence from his classes, but everything felt trivial compared to losing Regulus. Despite the sinking feeling in both of their guts, James and Draco kept trying. They carved extra runes for Light and Guidance into the stones around the veil. Draco reached his hand back into the veil several times. James tried walking through it. Nothing worked.

After hours, they sat on the steps, staring at the veil, hoping Regulus would miraculously waltz out. A distant sound of a door closing made them both jump. Until then, it had been eerily silent other than the occasional whispers coming through the veil.

"We should go," James said, glancing back to where the noise was. No one had entered the room, but someone was clearly moving about the Department of Mysteries.

Draco nodded but didn't move immediately. After a few seconds, he glanced at where James was standing and watching Draco. Pity was written all across his face. It made Draco sick, knowing that even James didn't believe that he could accomplish anything without Regulus. It just affirmed his own doubts, and it stung.

Slowly and stubbornly, Draco circled the veil one last time, letting himself hope for just a few more minutes. His eyes were peeled, looking for any glimpse of anything amiss, and he froze when he saw a shadow in the veil. He was standing on the opposite side that Regulus had entered from, and there was nothing around that could cast a shadow inside of the veil.

James froze alongside him and looked hopeful as Draco took a step forward. He couldn't make it what the shadow was; it was too hazy, but something was different. He turned his ear towards the veil and listened.

He gasped when he heard something that sounded an awful lot like his name. Bracing one arm against the stone archway and with the hand that bore Regulus's ring, he reached back into the veil. The chill wrapped itself around his forearm, but he forced it in further, opening his hand. The shadow was becoming clearer, forming into the outline of a man, a man with a dark head of hair. It reached forward, and Draco knew it was Regulus. Wrapping his fingers around Regulus's forearm, he tugged backwards, letting his weight pull Regulus back into the living world.

As Draco's arm exited the veil, the grip on his arm vanished. The moment his arm was fully free from the veil, Regulus became intangible once more, stumbling forward without the stability Draco provided. Regulus gasped in a breath, but instead of addressing Draco, he looked backwards. He was pulling another figure behind him. The moment Regulus's other arm was fully out of the veil, the man behind him lost his grip and started to fall forward. Instinctively, Draco caught the man.

Sirius Black gulped for air as he fell into Draco's shoulder, leaning all his weight into Draco and pushing him to his knees. Sirius's body was jerking with involuntary shivers.

"Sirius!" James said urgently as he knelt next to Draco.

"Is he okay?" Regulus asked breathlessly from his other side.

Draco, still too stunned to form words, cringed under the uncomfortable weight and gently lowered Sirius to the ground. His eyes darted wildly, but Sirius didn't fight it.

"Where?" Sirius swallowed. "Regulus?" He lurched to the side, trying to look around.

A banging noise startled all of them except Sirius, who started to thrash against the stone, so Draco promptly stunned the crazed man, saying, "Stupify."

"We need to go," James said, standing and looking worriedly at his friend.

"Disillusion and levitate him," Regulus ordered, his voice sounding steadier. "Let's hope Harry caused enough chaos to get out easily." Draco bit back his anger at Regulus and did as he was told. He needed to get out of this blasted room.

"Regulus is here, right?" James asked as they made their way to the exit.

"Yes," Draco said simply, walking quickly with his hand on Sirius's shoulder to help keep track of where the now invisible man was. Incredibly, Regulus had an uncanny sense of direction and led back to the lift in a fraction of the time it took to get the veil. Not a single person crossed their path.

In the main atrium, it was far less crowded than before, but a few groups of people stood gossiping. Aurors stood blocking the entrance and exits. Draco slowed his pace, trying to keep his footsteps quiet.

" - protections about entering into the ministry," a witch dressed in dark blue robes was saying.

The middle-aged wizard she was talking to responded, "It's appalling that he could get in at all."

"Potter's a menace," Another wizard spat, and others nearby expressed their agreement.

Conversations continued and from what Draco could tell, while Harry had been seen, he had not been caught. He desperately needed to get back the parchment and ask Harry to confirm.

Regulus took in the scene and probably noting the lack of people, asked, "How long has it been?"

Draco's anger flared once more, but he stayed quiet as he made his way to the apparition point. His skin crawled, feeling like someone was watching him, but he forced himself to stay calm. Thankfully, It seemed the Aurors were more concerned with who was coming into the ministry rather than leaving, so when a witch came through one of the fireplaces, he snuck behind the Aurors. Then, he cast a tripping hex on the witch, causing her to stumble and cover the sound of his apparition.

Maybe it was because he was exhausted, or maybe it was because of the stress of almost losing Regulus, or maybe it was because he was incapable of actually forcing himself to stay calm, but the moment he envisioned their destination and started the apparition, Draco panicked. The thought came unbidden, but instantly, he remembered how much apparating could hurt. His already-on-edge nerves became convinced he was going to feel pain just as the feeling of being compressed started. They landed clumsily, and Draco couldn't breathe. He looked to where he was gripping Sirius's shoulder, and it was bloody. The first thought to cross his mind was that someone was trying to kill them. They'd been caught.

Draco jerked backwards violently and fell to the ground. Someone was yelling, but Draco didn't even know if he was breathing, let alone what they were saying. The pain was going to come for him. His thoughts spiralled, they'd messed up. Regulus was gone. The Dark Lord was going to get him.

A figure stepped in front of his face. "You splinched him. Focus! It's not bad, but you need to fix it."

Splinched? Draco gasped in a breath. He looked between where Regulus was kneeling in front of him and where James was talking to Sirius's prone form. Draco had unknowingly dropped their disillusionment and paled at the sight of blood underneath Sirius.

Draco's mind still didn't know what was happening, but he scrambled upright. Regulus told him what spells to cast to stop the bleeding as James anxiously watched. Regulus was right; it wasn't bad. The only section that was splinched was the skin of his upper arm and shoulder. It didn't even get into the muscle.

As Draco started to gain more awareness, a wave of embarrassment hit him because he had never lost his grip on reality like that. It wasn't even for a valid reason; he'd just apparated, something that every wizard should be able to do. It was unfortunate that the splinching had been so close to where he had gripped Sirius. The blood must have been enough to send him over the edge after the hysteria that overtook him from the apparition.

He sat back on his heels once the skin had pulled back over the wound, and the bleeding stopped. Despite what his overreacting mind had told him, they had apparated, mostly successfully, to just outside the Shrieking Shack. No one had come after them.

Seeing his breathing steady, Regulus said, "We need to get this fear of apparition under control."

"You don't have the right to tell me anything right now," Draco growled.

James looked at him nervously. "Maybe let's just get Sirius somewhere safe, yeah? Then we can hash out whatever just happened."

It must have been dire if James was the voice of reason. Draco cleaned himself up and readied himself for the next step of their plan, ignoring Regulus's concerned look. They were in no way equipped to hide or help Sirius, and frankly, Draco had no desire to. However, James assured him that there was someone who would want Sirius and Draco just had to get him here.

He closed his eyes and focused, but Draco wasn't sure he could cast his patronus again. Last time, he'd been under the influence of Felix Felisis and objectively, things had been going swimmingly. Harry had chosen him, and Draco had felt real hope for the first time that school year. Now, when he tried to focus on those memories of Harry, it wasn't enough. They were all tainted with the knowledge that Draco would never get it back. He had ruined it.

Knowing Regulus and James were counting on him and wanting to prove himself after the disastrous apparition, Draco kept trying to find a happy memory. Even the last time, he had pulled from the hope he had felt rather than actual memories, so he tried to do the same again. He pictured Regulus standing before him, in a real body, smiling. James was at his side, grinning proudly. Harry, without his scar, without his horcrux, and wanting to be with Draco despite everything.

"Expecto Patronum," Draco said as he opened his eyes. The silver hawk burst out of the wand.

"That's a bloody terrific one," James commented, and Draco ordered the hawk once again to go to Lupin and tell him to meet at the Shrieking Shack to get someone he cared about. Draco hid several paces away and waited.

In a shockingly short amount of time, Lupin appeared with a crack and with his wand raised in anticipation of danger. Eventually, he spotted Sirius's prone figure and walked forward warily. A few paces out, he jerked forward in a sprint, finally recognising the man in front of him. He fussed for a moment, noticing the blood and then looked up, scanning the woods nearby.

"Draco?" Lupin asked, uncertain. Draco was surprised that Lupin had correctly guessed his patronus but didn't respond. He had nothing to say to Lupin. After another glance, he grabbed Sirius by his good shoulder and disappeared.

Regulus stood and turned to Draco. "We did it," he said proudly.

The familiar rage swelled in Draco. "Don't you dare say that." Regulus looked at him, confused. "You almost died!"

"I knew the risks, and, as I am sure you are aware, the veil doesn't kill."

"Fine, want to get technical?" Draco asked, exasperated. "We almost left you! You would have been stuck there forever. I was right about this moronic plan, and you won't even acknowledge it!"

James, who had been watching where Lupin disappeared, interrupted, "Let's just get back to the castle. Sleep would do you some good, and I guess whatever dimension Regulus and I get sent to might help settle our nerves."

"Fine," Draco growled and stalked towards the castle. Regulus wisely kept his mouth shut.

It wasn't all that surprising that Snape was waiting for him in the entry hall. He was furious as he questioned and berated Draco. Draco did his best to avoid his normal snarky remarks but refused to give Snape any useful information. He just wanted to get to bed. Snape eventually released him stating he wouldn't be so kind the next time and warning Draco not to leave the castle tonight. His defensiveness at being confronted turned to exhaustion as he made his way to the Slytherin common room. The day weighed heavily on him, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and forget about it.

He ignored his dormmates as he pulled off his shoes and didn't even change as he pulled shut the soundproof curtains around his bed. He laid down, checked the parchment, and when there was no response from Harry, he pulled off Regulus's ring, not giving him the option to talk with James. He paused before removing James's ring.

They had become frighteningly close to losing Regulus, and if that had happened, Draco would be stuck with James, someone who was practically still a stranger. They barely knew each other and rarely had a chance to speak without Regulus, and as he watched James now, he knew they had to do better in case that situation happened again.

"How are you?" Draco asked. James looked a little surprised by the question but immediately smiled, relaxed his posture, and answered.

"I didn't think I could feel exhausted in this form." He ran his hand through his hair and continued, "They were so old. Padfoot and Moony, although I feel like I shouldn't even call them that. They probably only go by Sirius and Remus now. Everything has felt a little fake so far, you know? Like it could just be a dream, but seeing them," James voice cracked, "I realised how much time I missed. It's been years. Sirius was in Azbakban and Remus looked so tired. Has he been alone this whole time?"

James started to cry, his ramblings only made things worse. He looked at Draco and, seeing Draco's curled lip said, "Sorry, you shouldn't have to deal with me."

"It's fine," Draco said and tried to school his expression. He didn't know how to handle someone so open with their emotions, but he didn't hate James for it.

James brushed the tears from his eyes. "Clearly, I am a mess, but how are you? I'm bloody thankful you got Regulus out. I wasn't sure if we could do this without him."

Draco said bitterly, "I get it you can't trust me, but you don't have to rub it in."

"Wait, that's not what I meant," James said earnestly. "I know how much he means to you. He means a bloody lot to me too. I am happy you don't have to be without him. It's clear how much you like him. I never meant to imply you aren't competent without him. Regulus can't do anything from the ring, so it's always been you doing the real stuff. You're remarkably strong."

Draco looked at his lap, uncertain how to feel.

"You don't believe me, do you?" James asked.

Draco didn't. He would be nothing without Regulus. "Good night, James," he said quietly and took off his ring.

Before the sun was up the next morning, Draco slipped on Regulus's ring and promptly panicked because Regulus didn't appear. He whipped his head around, and Regulus blinked into existence after only a second.

"No James?" Regulus commented, eyeing Draco's hands and then, looking up at Draco's expression, asked, "What is it?"

"You didn't appear." Regulus raised his eyebrows, and Draco quickly amended with, "Not right away."

"How long?"

"A second maybe. It's because of the veil, isn't it?" Draco asked, frustrated.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter."

"Stop it," Draco spat. "I'm serious. None of this self-sacrificing nonsense. You sound like Harry, and I am not going to let you leave me."

"This is about yesterday, I assume?"

"Of course it is! Do you know how long you were gone? How long I kept my hand in the veil? How long James had to hold back his tears because he thought you were gone? I can't do this without you!"

"Calm down," Regulus said.

"Don't talk down to me. It was a terrible idea, and you didn't listen."

"There were some… unforeseen consequences, but I needed to save my brother."

"Why? He did nothing for you!" Draco asked, exasperated.

"I don't expect you to understand," Regulus said, annoyed. "I wanted to be just like Sirius for so long, and when I couldn't do that, I needed to be better than him. And then, after years of trying, I learned that he would always make the better choices. He was right about everything. James filled the role I never could as a proper brother. So I made a deal with myself that I would try to be better and do whatever I could save them."

"What about me? I need you! Sirius already made his choices, but I need you to tell me how to make mine!"

"You are so entitled," Regulus said, voice rising. "You demand everything. Why is it so hard to accept that I wanted to help someone else?"

"Because I hate who I am without you!" Draco screamed and pointed to his memory ring. "Without this ring, I am cruel and love no one, and no one loves me! I just want you to pick me."

Regulus's eyes shot open at the admission, and Draco immediately regretted it. "I didn't realise -" Regulus shook his head uncertainly. "I'm sorry, I didn't think I mattered so much to you."

Draco didn't know how to have this conversation. "I wish I could punch you," he mumbled.

Regulus snorted. "I'll let you get in a hit if I get my body back."

The rest of the day was much calmer than the previous. Draco checked the parchment, hoping to hear from Harry, but nothing had changed. It was still his handwriting taunting him. The moment he stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast, McGonagall gave him a week of detentions for skipping his first day of classes. His housemates watched eagerly, expecting Draco to challenge it, but he only scowled in response.

The Daily Prophet confirmed their assumption that Harry had gotten out of the ministry, and Draco prayed that he had gotten the locket.

Criminal Harry Potter Terrorizes Ministry Employees

It was an absolutely ridiculous article about how Harry had come to disrupt justice and free convicted muggles. It made all sorts of claims about how he cursed random employees, and some witch said he tried to kill her. Draco flipped through, letting James read over his shoulder, contesting every outrageous claim, but a small story caught Draco's eye.

Famous Wandmaker Killed

Gregorivitch, a profound German wandmaker, was killed overnight along with his family. Draco knew it was the Dark Lord. His obsession with wands was getting worse, and it terrified Draco not to know why. He caught Regulus looking at the same story.

During class, Regulus told them about the veil. Despite his resentment about the previous day, Draco was appreciative of it. The veil was some of the most interesting magic Draco had ever encountered. According to Regulus, time was different, and his memories didn't feel accurate. He could only vaguely remember getting Sirius, claiming it felt like a dream, and now that he was awake, most of his memories of it were gone. He described the whole experience as unsettling but couldn't provide many concrete details.

The following week was refreshingly easy to fall into a routine despite all of the changes. Hogwarts would still be Hogwarts, even if the majority of the student body was either terrified of him or wanted to curse his skin off.

Draco was outvoted when he said he didn't want to continue quidditch. When the new sixth-year captain had announced tryouts for the weekend, Draco walked right past without signing his name. James was loud about how he couldn't believe Draco would turn down Quidditch. Regulus acted indifferent but said it would be good for Draco to keep up his fitness. Draco knew that he just secretly enjoyed it.

Frustratingly, they still couldn't enter the Room of Requirement, so Draco made use of the abandoned classrooms. On Regulus's insistence, he called Kreacher. The elf was thrilled to see Draco again, but since Harry was still the elf's official master, Draco skipped the pleasantries to question him about Harry first.

"Master Potter agreed to destroy Master Regulus's locket!" Kreacher announced excitedly. "He was staying at the Black House, but he has not returned for days."

It was an even worse sign when Kreacher affirmed that Death Eaters were watching the Black House. Harry must have been seen returning from the ministry, but considering he hadn't heard anything from the Dark Lord, Harry was likely still alive. Since he still hadn't read or responded to the parchment, Draco asked Kreacher to search for it. The next day, when he appeared with Harry's parchment in hand, Draco wanted to cry. He couldn't talk to Harry anymore. The idiot had left it behind.

He tried to order Kreacher to give it back to Harry, but Kreacher claimed he only could if Harry called him. Draco scowled, knowing that it meant Harry might never call the elf again, even if it was the obvious solution. He had never trusted Kreacher truly after Sirius's 'death.' Of which, they collectively agreed not to tell Kreacher especially since Regulus was protective over the elf and despised how his brother treated Kreacher. Sirius didn't deserve the elf.

Another part of Draco's new routine was lying to Regulus and James. Every night, he took off the rings, saying he was going to bed, but he stayed up researching. Burke's trick of attaching the cabinets was ingenious, and he was determined to do the same with their rings. It would be much more convenient if they could talk directly, but Draco hadn't wanted to get their hopes up. It would be a fortunate surprise for both if he accomplished it.

His detentions with McGonagall were tiring but manageable. She left him alone to organise broom closets by hand, so he discussed with Regulus and Sirius their plans for the next few months. They finally had the inklings of a scheme to rid Harry of the horcrux, being greatly inspired by their rings. If they could tie Harry's soul to a ring and then "kill" him and the horcrux, his soul would still be alive inside the ring, identical to James and Regulus. It all hinged on the ability to bring him back, so they made plans to double down on getting Regulus out of the ring to prove it would be possible for Harry.

In the second week of classes, Draco was approached by the Carrows to carry out detentions. Apparently, they had been liberal about what deserved detention and found themselves with more students than they could handle.

They guided him through their detentions, and it made Draco sick. It was exactly what someone would expect from a Death Eater punishment. They had students practising dark spells, and those who underperformed became targets for those curses. He couldn't help but notice the Weasley girl was there and had apparently already been assigned to detentions for months. She stared defiantly at Draco, daring him to do something. Draco was still pissed at her but kept to teasing remarks and spinning his wand in what he hoped was interpreted as a nonchalant threat. He never pointed it at any of the students, but they all eyed him uneasily, and several looked like they would rip off his face if they could. Draco wasn't sure if he'd even had so much anger directed at him at once.

It was conflicting. He had a reputation to uphold. The Carrows expected him to essentially torture students, but he didn't want to. James, righteous as ever, told him to refuse to participate, but Draco knew that could only make things worse. Regulus proposed he host detentions like he had with Harry, convincing enough that no one questioned him, but not cruelly. It had worked to get Harry not to hate him, and Draco was feeling rather inclined for people not to hate him at the moment.