Despite the almost overwhelming sense of determination, Draco still collapsed the moment his feet touched the ground at 12 Grimmauld Place. Whatever was affecting his shoulder felt like it was spreading throughout his whole body. Everything was turning painfully stiff, and his legs didn't want to hold his weight any longer. Regulus and James screamed at him to get up and make it inside. He was exposed outside of the house and the wards, and it would be bloody embarrassing to make it this far and then die on the front steps.
Mustering his strength and embracing the encouragement from Regulus and James, he shuffled inside. He almost fell again as the door opened but caught himself on the frame and then made it to the sitting room and even to a dusty sofa before collapsing again. Regulus hovered over him.
"I know it hurts, but you can't pass out. You jostled the shoulder, and it's bleeding again. You need to cast a spell over it."
"What's wrong with it?" Draco rasped while fishing out his wand. Even his voice didn't want to work right.
"I have a guess, and considering your mother seemed familiar with it, it's a pretty good one. Narcissa removed any flesh touching the wound, but the curse is likely still lingering. If it's the same dagger Bella paraded around in her youth, it'll kill anything it touches slowly and painfully."
Draco grunted, pulling his arm out of his robes, getting his first glance at the wound. A small yet steady stream of blood was pooling down to his chest. Regulus must have been right about his mother removing extra flesh since the wound was much larger than the dagger could have caused on its own. Most concerning was that the area around the wound was almost black, and grey tendrils stretched out from it, reaching down the nearby veins.
"Why is it that colour?" James asked, worried, "Is it going to kill him?" Draco stared at it, desperately hoping the answer was no.
"It probably looks worse than it is, but we need to make sure it doesn't spread," Regulus answered and gestured to Draco. Shifting upright, Draco cast a healing spell on the wound, and it gradually sealed over more. The stream of blood slowed to mere drops. A wave of exhaustion followed the spell, and Draco sagged, letting his eyes droop closed.
"Draco!" Regulus yelled.
His eyes fluttered open. Right, he needed to not let his shoulder kill him.
"What spells?" he mumbled, fixing the grip on his wand.
Regulus debated something, looking worried. "Start with a minor stasis charm. It'll freeze the wound, so it can't heal, but it'll stop the curse as well."
Draco did. Another wave of exhaustion hit, and everything ached. His body wanted to sleep, but he forced himself to stay awake and listen to Regulus.
The next spell was trickier. It was supposed to re-animate some of the dead skin. Draco cast it, but to Regulus's disappointment, the blackness only faded to a dark grey. Regulus considered the next move as Draco felt his vision dim. He wasn't going to be able to stay awake for much longer.
"Draco!" Regulus cried, and Draco tried to move more without much luck. He hazily looked at Regulus's worried face. "Call Kreacher! Tell him to keep you alive. You're going to pass out."
Regulus was right about that. "Kreacher," he said weakly but with intent. The elf was beside him instantly. Seeing Kreacher, he remembered how bloody amazing this elf was. "Harry?" he asked the elf.
"What does Master Malfoy mean?" The elf grumbled, staring at Draco's shoulder, eyes growing large.
"How's," Draco sucked in a weak breath, "Harry?"
"Betters than yous," Kreacher said, leaning closer to the wound. He shifted uneasily on his feet.
That was good. Harry shouldn't suffer like he was. Draco's vision was almost gone now. Regulus wants him to do something else, right? "Keep me 'live," he mumbled to the elf.
Regulus and James both spoke quickly, and worriedly, Kreacher rasped something, but Draco let the darkness claim him. It was inevitable.
When Draco awoke again, he had no idea how much time had passed. He had been moved to a bed in a new room. Regulus and James sat on the bare floor, looking bored. Kreacher stood vigil at the end of his bed.
Seeing that Draco was awake, Kreacher exclaimed, "Yous is alive! Kreacher did as he was told."
Regulus and James clambered to their feet, excited. "How are you?" Regulus asked.
Draco took stock of himself. Everything ached. He doubted he could move much at all. His shoulder was thrumming with pain, but his head felt clearer. "Hurts," he grunted. "Less tired, though."
James snorted, "Considering you slept for almost a day, you better be."
He glanced at the window, and the sky did seem dimmer, it must be close to sunset. He shifted and grimaced when it caused his shoulder to flare.
"Pain potions," Kreacher said, coming forward. "I tried to give them, but you did not want to swallow."
That was a mortifying image of the elf pouring potions down his throat and them spilling out like a drooling child. He took the vial with his good arm and took a swig. Instantly, the aching dulled. Regulus encouraged him to sleep again, stating there wasn't much else to do for the wound. Kreacher had taken his command to keep him alive very seriously and had done some remarkable healing on his shoulder. There would be lingering effects, but Regulus hoped most would clear up in the next few days with rest.
Draco couldn't sleep without knowing what happened with Harry, so he questioned Kreacher. He had taken Harry and all of the other prisoners to a Weasley safe house. From Kreacher's perspective, they'd all gotten there safely and uninjured, but Draco wasn't sure if he could trust the elf's account.
"Can you take me there?" he asked Kreacher.
Kreacher started to nod, but Regulus said, "You can't leave this place."
"Why?"
"We have no idea what the Dark Lord knows or what tracking spells are in place. Your mother has done it before, and if that knowledge is transferred to the Dark Lord…" Regulus trailed off.
Draco frowned. He knew his mother was intelligent, and with Bella as her sister, she was a damn good occlumens, but Regulus was right. He was safe within the wards of the house, but he couldn't risk his safety by leaving. Worse, he could risk leading them to Harry.
But Kreacher now knew a safe house location, something Draco would have considered impossible days ago. He just needed to figure out how to best use it. Reluctantly, he sank back into the musty bed and rested again.
"Should I take off the rings?" He asked Regulus and James.
"Yes," they both said quickly, and James clarified, "It's been a stressful day just watching you almost die."
Draco slipped off their rings, hoping they hadn't fought too much and fell asleep.
The next time he awoke, he was alone and hated how exposed that made him feel. He reached for the rings and put them on, but only James appeared. They both looked uneasily around for Regulus before they both concluded that he would show up later.
"How are you feeling?" James asked.
Draco evaluated. Terrible. Instead of verbally responding, he reached for the pain potion Kreacher had left on the nightstand and took a swig. James grimaced.
"I'm sorry."
"Not your fault," Draco said, relaxing back into the pillow. He didn't want to be alone with his thoughts, so he asked James, "How was Harry?"
James lit up. "I owe you Draco. Seriously. He was amazing. He's been through so much shit and still so determined. It's weird that I have a son practically my age, but," he paused, letting the grimace fade from his face, "I am still weirdly proud of him."
Draco nodded, content to keep listening to James ramble. "Feel guilty, though. He shouldn't have to deal with this much, and it's all because of what happened when he was a baby."
"Not your fault," Draco said.
"I got myself killed…" James frowned but then shook his head, "but I shouldn't dwell on it. It is what it is. Thank you, Draco. You didn't have to do that."
"He deserved to know," Draco said simply.
James gave a sincere nod, then said excitedly, "Did you know that his patrous is a stag? It sounds just like Prongs. And he has a -" James continued with details that, yes, Draco already knew.
He let James prattle on. Apparently, in their short encounter, James had rapid-fired questions at him, and then when Wormtail showed up, James encouraged Harry to stick up for himself. "Can you believe he enacted a life debt because he saved Wormtail? Merlin, I don't think I would do that to my parents' traitor." A small smile crossed Draco's face. Of course, Harry would.
Regulus appeared during James's recounting of events but listened patiently without interrupting. Draco assumed he already heard it all from James while he was passed out, but he indulged James all the same.
James's excitement was contagious, and it made Draco want to do something. The only problem was, it was bloody difficult to walk. He barely made it ten steps before his legs turned to jelly. Regulus claimed that the curse would linger, killing the inside of him until his magic fought it off. That was unsettling, but he trusted Regulus that he wasn't in immediate danger.
Kreacher knew where Harry was, and that was huge. It was his first opportunity to open a line of communication with Harry since the parchment. And while Draco couldn't go to him and Harry couldn't come to Grimmauld. There had been nothing wrong with the parchment other than Harry's inability to keep in on him.
He called Kreacher and ordered him to give Harry his parchment once more. James whooped in excitement as Kreacher left, and even Regulus looked pleased. Draco waited impatiently with his own parchment, and remarkably, Harry wrote within minutes.
I forgot how ridiculous the phrase for this was. Have you ever even ridden a Firebolt? Then you'd understand.
How are you? I saw the dagger was going to hit, but then Kreacher took us and didn't return.
I'm fine. It hit my shoulder. My mother stopped the curse, and Kreacher and Regulus have been keeping me alive.
(I have no need to ride a Firebolt. My Nimbus 2001 is much sleeker.)
I'm sorry. I should have waited for Kreacher.
Yes, you should have, but I knew you wouldn't. We got out. That's more than I hoped for.
Out? Where are you?
Grimmauld. It was too risky to stay.
I can come to you then!
DO NOT
My mother knows I have access here, and I have no idea what she's told the Dark Lord. It could be watched.
I want to see you.
Do you?
Of course, I do! You found my father! And Sirius came by last night. Ron said that he was alive, but I couldn't believe it till I saw him. You did that. I owe you everything.
Regulus saved Sirius.
Which means you did it. Did you think I'd be upset?
I am confident you are upset about Dumbledore.
Draco supposed he shouldn't have brought it up so soon after establishing communication again, but he hated not knowing what Harry was thinking. He was still trying to save Harry but assumed Harry would no longer do the same for him. The response took much longer.
I don't know. I don't understand, but I want to trust you. I saw you in my visions. You've been tortured because of me, and yet you still helped at the manor. You knew it was me. Why?
You saved me first.
So this was just getting even?
Of course, it wasn't, but Draco didn't know how to explain it. Yes, he felt like he owed Harry for being too good to him in his sixth year, but he craved being with Harry how they were at the end before Dumbledore. It was intense and good, and Draco finally had someone he chose to be around. He was doing this because he wanted that feeling again. He simply wrote -
No.
I still have questions.
Draco frowned. He couldn't answer everything until he was sure he could save Harry, but he wasn't going to lie anymore.
I can't answer everything.
Will you help destroy the horcruxes?
Of course.
Draco was bedridden for another day, and then when he could walk, it was only for minutes. He sensed James's and Regulus's impateience. They had been close to attempting the rituals to bring them back, and this delayed things, but they kept quiet, knowing Draco couldn't do anything about it.
His ailment did provide ample opportunity to write to Harry. There were still things Harry kept from him; he was still hurt and confused about Dumbledore and his involvement with the Death Eaters, but it was nice to talk even about the mundane things.
After a week, things started to look up. Draco felt almost back to normal despite his shoulder still flaring when he moved it. Regulus admitted that it would likely always have problems. It was also refreshing to be out of the Manor, even if Draco found himself missing Hogwarts. Incredibly, they had seen no one spying on the manor. That didn't mean the Dark Lord didn't know where he was, but it was still a good sign, even if Draco wouldn't risk leaving. He wisely avoided thinking about his family; they'd made their choices, and he'd made his.
The most exciting thing was that they were finally able to attempt to bring Regulus and James back. Regulus had insisted that they try with them both first, and since Regulus's designs were sound, Draco and James went along with them. Draco just wanted to try something. Their whole plan for saving Harry hinged on them being able to do this.
"Are you ready?" Draco asked them.
"Let's do it!" James said, faking casualness. Regulus gave a stiff nod.
Draco took a deep breath and took off the rings for what could be the last time. They both disappeared, staring at each other, and Draco placed their rings on their respective chests. He spotted Kreacher lurking from the doorway, but he didn't shoo him away.
Their bodies were laid side by side under a complicated rune circle that was meant to retain their souls if something went wrong. Draco's role was simple - he just had to trigger the ritual. He pricked his finger and drew a rune on each of them, Binding. It was a simple ritual meant to bind an object to a person, and in this case, their rings along with their souls. They hoped that their magic being in the vicinity of each other would be enough to release whatever hold was still on the rings.
It wasn't. Draco did as they had planned, and nothing happened. He waited with Kreacher breathing heavily behind him for almost an hour before giving up, wiping off the blood runes and returning the rings to his finger.
James appeared first and tried to hide his disappointment. "If it was easy, you would have solved this before you ever found me. My money is on at least five attempts."
Regulus appeared then. He frowned at his lifeless body and then questioned Draco about every detail. He was certainly taking mental notes for their next attempt.
Their second attempt was almost identical to the first, except that the runes were slightly different. The result was also identical.
On the third attempt, they tried doing the ritual with James first, then Regulus. It failed.
The fourth and fifth attempts both involved fusing the rings into their bodies, much to Draco's displeasure when he had to fish them out when, once again, the attempts failed to bring them back.
Before they could get to the sixth attempt, Regulus started disappearing more than he was around. It changed overnight; he went from frequent disappearances to frequent appearances. Regulus tried to act calm about it, but he was clearly stressed every time he reoriented himself.
Over a week had passed since the first attempt, and things kept getting worse. Draco was going mad from being cooped up, and they still had no better ideas on how to bring them both back. One afternoon, when Regulus had been gone for over an hour, James confessed what was on his mind. "We need to do something different."
Draco saw the truth in that but still said, "Regulus won't like it."
"He's not here," James said with a sigh. "I promised you I'd get him out, so let's do it."
Draco appreciated his drive, but it made him uneasy. There was a reason why they started by trying to bring them both back. He said what would test James's sincerity the most. "Harry deserves to have you back, too."
James's confidence flickered for a moment but returned. "He's made it his whole life without me, and I don't think there's a way for us both. To break this," he gestured vaguely, "someone needs to break first."
Draco understood what James wanted. Break his ring by scratching the runes out, then when his soul and hopefully magic flared, trigger the ritual for Regulus. The problem was that it was practically a death sentence for James. Draco wavered. It was looking like getting them both was unlikely, and Draco needed Regulus.
Caving, he did as James wanted. They went back to their first plans before Regulus realised it wasn't a guarantee that James would be able to come back. They were excellent designs; Regulus was clever, but these had a much higher chance of succeeding.
They didn't tell Regulus about their change in plans, letting him continue his dual attempts. He was gone most of the day anyway, making their secret research far easier. Regulus, of course, was suspicious by their sullen mood and the near-constant guilty look on James's face, so he eventually snuck a look at what Draco had left on the desk.
"What the fuck is this?!" Regulus yelled, accusatory.
James winced, and Draco said, "Calm down."
"No! You're going to break the runes?"
"It'll work," Draco said.
"Yeah, until the backlash kills him. Also, we don't know how long it'll take for me to be conscious! His soul could leave!"
Draco and James didn't respond. They already knew that. Realisation dawned on Regulus.
"You said you'd bring us back together!"
"I said I'd try. And we already have," Draco said.
"His soul will detach. Permanently, if you do this," Regulus warned.
"Yours already is detaching!" James said. "I can't watch you disappear. How much time do you honestly think you have at this rate? Days?"
"I don't care. I am not coming back without you."
"Neither am I. This is the chance to save one of us. You disappear, I am trapped. It's you. Or none. Both aren't an option anymore."
"I will make it an option," Regulus turned stubbornly back to the papers Draco had laid out for him.
James and Draco shared a conflicted look but let Regulus do as he pleased. That look changed to determined when Regulus disappeared again minutes later.
The next days were tense. Draco's only comfort was his daily communication with Harry. He'd still been writing, and apparently, he had come up with a plan to get into Gringotts, although he was reluctant to give many details, showing his lack of complete trust in Draco.
James was depressed but trying to act happy. Regulus was depressed but trying to stay angry at them. Kreacher was less depressed but more manic, and with each failed attempt, he pestered Draco more. Unfortunately, Draco was depressed and was acting depressed. He wanted to stay in bed and rest his shoulder, but when once again Regulus was gone for far too long, and James assured Draco he was ready, Draco affirmed to himself that he was going to do it.
That night, Draco made the adjustments to the runes on the floor and waited for Regulus to appear again. When he did, the look of utter horror and betrayal made Draco feel ill. He glanced between them both, fury leaking from his pores.
"I love you," James said sadly.
Regulus looked at him, eyes welling with sad, angry tears. He turned to Draco. "Don't -" Regulus was pleading with him. "Draco, don't do this."
"I promised you," Draco said, his own eyes welling with tears.
"Not this," Regulus said and turned back to James. "Not this."
"You'll be okay," James said soothingly, but Regulus snarled. "Hey, this could be it for us. Want your last words to me to be complaints?" James's tone was teasing, but Draco knew he was serious. He didn't want Regulus to send him off like this.
Regulus knew it, too. Part of Draco wondered if he would keep complaining, protesting, and remain stubborn right to the end. Draco would understand that. Saying anything else would feel like giving in, even if James never saw it that way.
Regulus's face twisted, but he said, "I love you."
James gave a smile, but his face tightened, and his eyes watered. "I'll always love you."
He turned to Draco and gave a sharp nod. He was sure about this, even as Regulus shook his head and glared. Seeing the goodbye for what it was, Draco took off their rings. He sat there exhausted and contemplated what he was about to do. He wasn't ready to give up James either. He was no Regulus, but Draco had grown used to his presence. His unfailing confidence often became full-out arrogance that was oddly refreshing from Regulus's cold competence. It was far less annoying than it once had been.
It was horrifying knowing he wasn't ready, but he had to do this anyway. He paused, still reluctant, mind racing for an alternative.
Regulus's recent designs had the rings flipped. James with Regulus's and Regulus with James's. It was admittedly a brilliant idea since James needed to release the seal on Regulus's ring and vice versa. The glaring problem that Regulus was yet to overcome was how to get the soul into the right body. He supposed there might be a way to force the bodies to accept a new soul, essentially living as each other, and as unsettling as it was, it was far better than their current position. That, however, required more research, which required more time. More time that Regulus didn't have.
Draco wished he could just shove their souls into the right bodies, but that… well, that might be possible. Outside of triggering the rituals, Draco hadn't been considered an active participant. They relied on Regulus and James's magic and had considered Draco's involvement undesirable in case of an unintended backlash. But he had been studying horcruxes for over a year, and while splitting their souls was a disastrous idea, moving them wasn't. Part of creating a horcrux was channelling the soul piece into a vessel. Draco could use the same principle. The souls would likely want to return to their original bodies anyway, so he just needed to be the catalyst and give them a nudge.
He paused, staring down at the two. He could always try James's idea after, right? This was worth one last attempt.
He placed Regulus's ring on top of James's chest and then realised if he was going to do this, he might as well commit. He sunk the ring into James's chest. Then, he did the same to Regulus with James's ring. Forcing a physical connection between the two, he pulled their arms on top of each other.
As Kreacher attentively watched from the doorway, he carefully drew the runes on their chests, just above where their rings were, stepped carefully outside the circle, and started the ritual. Immediately, something felt different. The runes on their chests were glowing softly.
Encouraged, Draco cast a spell to guide the souls. He gasped when he could feel them. He focused on Regulus's first since it kept flickering concerningly. He pulled with his magic, but it resisted him. Frowning, he pulled back. He needed James's magic to move Regulus's soul.
Draco was running out of time; he could feel the way Regulus's connection was fading. He placed a hand firmly on James's chest, and while the runes burned against his hand, he imagined siphoning the power from it, then he readjusted how he directed his wand and tried again.
It worked. He could feel the soul moving through James's body and into his arm. When it reached Regulus's arm, it jolted, seemingly happy to be in the right body again, and it melded, flattened, almost becoming one with Regulus. The rune on Regulus's chest flared and then started to fade, so Draco quickly repeated the process for James's soul.
Having finished guiding James's soul back to himself, Draco pulled back and let out a breath at the same time as Regulus. Both he and Kreacher jerked at the sound.
Regulus's eyes were open.
Kreacher reacted first, barreling into Regulus. Regulus let out a gasp, but when he looked down at the elf, he pushed one arm underneath him, propping himself into a half sit and then wrapped the other around Kreacher.
Kreacher was openly sobbing, and tears started down Regulus's face. The elf was mumbling unintelligibly into his chest as Regulus looked around, landing first on Draco with a dumbstruck expression and then on James's prone form.
"No," he whispered and clung to Kreacher tighter with both arms. "You shouldn't have done it."
Draco opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut. He hadn't done what Regulus thought, but maybe something went wrong. He watched James intently. He moved his soul second, but this was taking a while. Had something gone wrong? He could sense Regulus's despair without even looking over at him, but Draco had done what Regulus wanted.
He was about to cast the spell again to see if his soul got lost when James's eyes opened, and he sucked in a breath. Draco sagged in relief; he hadn't fucked up. Then, as Regulus let out a cry of relief, Draco swelled with pride.
Draco watched as James took in a deep breath and looked at his surroundings. His eyes fell on Regulus, and he grinned. Regulus jolted, then gently pushed Kreacher off and lunged for James. Regulus gripped his arm first, and they both stared down at it amazed.
"Damn, that feels good," James said, propped himself up and gave Regulus a proper hug. They stayed there for a moment. Kneeling in front of each other, clutching each other, then shifted so their foreheads pressed together. Regulus was smiling.
"I can't believe you did it," Regulus told James.
"Actually, I did it," Draco said, matching their grins.
"What do you mean?" Regulus said, confused.
"I used your design, and then I moved your souls."
"I - That -" Regulus stumbled over his words, but James's face lit up.
"Come here, Draco," James said, letting go of Regulus and gesturing. Draco cringed but knelt in front of him.
"Do you feel weird at all? I want to -" Draco was cut off by James's bone-crushing hug. He shouldn't be this strong after being dead, but Draco supposed that was a good sign.
James dropped him eventually and said, "I can't believe I can touch things!"
Draco looked to Regulus, who was watching him. They froze. Tension existed between them. So much had happened between them in the last years, and it had all led to this moment.
"Thank you," Regulus said and shifted awkwardly. Did he want a hug? Their families weren't the touching type.
"Hug him, Regulus. It feels good."
Regulus twitched but leaned in, and Draco embraced him. It did feel good. He had shared so much with this man, and now he was real. This was just another thing he could share. Touch.
They let go, and James came in for another hug from Regulus. He was excited, holding onto Regulus and even giving Kreacher an awkward pat, much to Kreacher's annoyance. Draco knew he should be evaluating them to make sure their souls were attached properly, but he let himself wait. He deserved to relish what he had accomplished.