- Time Room, 20th of June 1996 –

Draco had seen time slow down, the sickly green colour of death itself ceasing its advance before slithering back into Voldemort's wand. He had witnessed time slowly turning back for months on end after that, the apple trees in the gardens at the Manor reverting to their white and pink blossoms. But never before had time come to a complete standstill. Not until Hermione was about to be crushed by the collapsing shelves around her and he did not have a drop of magic left in him to stop it.

He truly was a fool.

How could he have let her go? Why hadn't he told her to leave with him and their friends? Why had he been distracted, and even entranced, by Hermione's murmurings of his wife? What if she had hit her head like Harry had suggested? Or worse, could someone have gained access to her mind and seen the weakened war heroine he so dearly loved? Had the death eaters finally found out his secrets and-

A bright burst of silver and gold magic flared out of Hermione's wand, both her hands raised to protect herself. Her magic reverberated through his body as it pulsed around her. Instead of crushing her, the shelves now seemingly aligned themselves like metal puppets, their strings pulled and redirected at Lucius who disappeared in the shadows to escape the onslaught of Hermione's magic.

After everything he'd done, Draco's father deserved a fate worse than death. He would never forgive him for taking away Deandra, the spirit who had been like a second mother to him. If he could, he would slowly torture him to death for reducing her to nothing but a simple power enhancer. Draco could only pray to magic itself that Deandra had truly been freed when he destroyed the trinket containing her leftover magic.

The magic around Hermione turned into a less blinding silver and gold than it had been before, and Draco rushed forward, ready to heal her with the tiniest spark of magic he'd left. The death eater's wand felt strange in his hand. It was not the same familiar hum as his own, despite it having shifted allegiances. Yet, he forced the magic to flow out of him. To make sure she would make it to the atrium together with them.

Harry cautiously moved to where Lucius had been, but whatever magic Hermione had sent after him had scared him off. With a nod of his head, the raven-haired wizard indicated the perimeter was clear.

"Mione," Draco whispered, worry seeping through, mixed with awe at the magic she had just performed. "Are you alright, love?" He ran his fingers through her hair softly as he cradled her in his arms, hoping she was alright and had not drained herself.

The witch opened her eyes, and Daphne and Susan gasped loudly as they too noticed the change in them. Instead of the familiar warm brown eyes he'd gazed upon so often, one golden, and one silver eye started back at him, resembling the magic Hermione had displayed. She frowned, and he could see the uncertainty as she started up at him, her eyes lingering on his. Like a tiny kneazle, she tentatively reached out her fingertips to his cheek. Almost as if she was making sure this was real.

If he was real.

"Draco." Her smile could have lit up the entire room.

The leftover magic flared out of her and did indeed light up their tiny corner of the Time Room, swirling around the both of them until it latched onto his. Gold meeting silver, and intertwining into something new. Something… Familiar. A thread that would always lead him home. A thread he'd followed before. In Hermione's backyard. At Flourish and Blotts.

If he hadn't been sitting down, he would have been pulled down to his knees by the sheer force of it. He remembered this feeling. The vow they had made not just out of love, but out of despair. To always protect one another, through blood and magic. But they'd never been this powerful before. Their cores had always been either too young or too damaged and bruised due to the war. But this time, after their years of training, pushing themselves to their limits, the power they held now was entirely new.

"Impossible." He took the hand that was still cradling his face and kissed the inside of her wrist.

Finally, the magic died down, and Hermione's eyes returned to their usual warm brown. " Magic will come to not only my aid, but to his as well," she reminded him as she took the now broken time-turner from under her shirt. The sand was gone, but in its place, both the bond and her memories seemed to have returned. "I suppose this is magic's way of helping you. Bringing back… Me."

Still a little dazed when she finally got to her feet, Hermione's eyes darted between their other friends until they landed on Harry. Her emotions were a rollercoaster, echoing down the bond they shared once more. "He's alive and well, " he heard her thoughts whisper in awe at Harry's transformation. After all these years he was so used to the small changes he'd made, that he barely even remembered what the Gryffindor had once looked like. Saving Harry from the Dursleys, giving him the nutritional potions, and having him grow up with a loving family had done wonders. The last time his wife had seen her best friend, he'd been slowly starving for the past few months. To her, the change in Harry would be even greater.

Happiness radiated off of her and she stumbled forward, attempting to reach the Boy Who Lived. Catching her by the shoulder to steady her, her feelings quickly turned into annoyance as she looked at Draco.

"I'm terribly sorry," Hermione whispered, taking a step back and shaking her head before burying her hands in her hair as if she was having a migraine. "But she didn't want the magic to join us properly until she could put you in your place." Her head snapped up and she glared at him. "For the record, I do think you deserve it."

"Deserve what, I-" Draco stuttered, Hermione's eyes slightly changing, looking at him warily. She crossed her arms angrily and huffed a stray curl out of her face. He remembered this side of her. But he'd rarely seen her act like that. Not in this timeline has she ever seemed so bold and so… Gryffindor.

"Do you have any idea what kind of hardship we could have gotten into by you divorcing me without my knowledge?" she spat at him, her arms still wrapped tightly around herself, her fingers clenched as if to keep herself from an even worse outburst.

Harry nearly choked on his own spit and Daphne gasped audibly as they saw the lioness slowly but surely come out of Hermione.

"You know me, Draco Lucius Malfoy," she continued in fury, swinging her arms to her sides. "I swear to Merlin and Morgana themselves that you are the same dunderhead you have always been." Unable to control herself any longer she stepped forward and angrily pushed her finger into his shoulder. "You were the one who said no one would ever dare to offend me if I ever became Lady Malfoy. Well, you did! "

Her magic crackled along his skin, and her hair was getting more frizzy by the second.

"Did you honestly believe that I, Hermione Jean Granger, would not have a backup plan after we vowed to protect each other? That I would never find my way back to you? I-"

Clearing his throat, Harry interrupted her. "Mione, I have absolutely no bloody clue what you are on about. We can talk about this later, but now is really not the time for," he waved his arm widely between his two best friends awkwardly, "whatever this is."

The brunette's attitude changed instantly when she heard her best friend's voice. Her eyes lingered on him, her thoughts trailing back to her brother in all but blood, and Draco could see tears forming in her eyes. "Harry," she croaked, stumbling towards him and hugging him so tightly that Draco was unsure if the raven-haired boy could still breathe. "You look lovely in green and silver. Brings out your eyes," she murmured into his chest. "It's good to see you so healthy and full of life. I always knew nutritional potions would help with that. If only you'd let me brew you some the first time round..."

"Did she hit her head?" Harry mouthed to Draco, making the blond burst out in laughter. "I am very glad to see you too Mione, but-"

All of the commotion had attracted the attention of the death eaters, a pair of them yelling at them to put their wands down, thinking the group of teens an easy prey.

Before Draco could even point the alien wand at them, Hermione stepped back from Harry, her eyes hardening as she stared at the death eaters, the war heroine now awakened. "Can't you see I need a moment with my boys?" she inquired, her voice as cold as ice. She flicked her hand dismissively and threw both of them backwards with a burst of raw magical power, knocking both of them out. Only noticing their precarious situation now due to all the memories and emotions rushing through her mind, she took out her wand and murmured a spell, surrounding the three of them, as well as Daphne, Susan, and Cedric in a protective thin silver veil.

"That's Malfoy family magic," Daphne frowned, her voice laced with a sense of awe as she poked at the veil with the tip of her own wand. She and Harry shared a look, and Draco knew it meant trouble. They would definitely need to explain themselves once they got out of the Ministry.

"I thought only the Lord of the Manor could do that?" Harry supplied.

Hermione shrugged and started tapping into the well of magic that now flowed between her and Draco, healing their friends. Once, she seemed to reach for something at her side, only to come to the conclusion that whatever it was she was looking for, was not currently in her possession. Potions perhaps? There was so much Draco did not know about her life on the run during what was supposed to be their seventh year. So many questions to be asked once they made it to safety.

"I've been able to do Malfoy family magic ever since I became the true mistress of Malfoy Manor," she answered Harry as she healed a cut on his face. "Saved your arse quite a few times with it." She frowned, a sudden sadness apparent on her face. "Not that you would remember," she mumbled.

Lifting her hand up to the only light source in their vicinity, Hermione studied her own hand in the light, until the Lady Malfoy ring materialised onto her finger. "Still here," she sighed in relief, ignoring Daphne and Harry's murmurings. "So the bond was only broken with… Me. Her? Us?" Once again, her hands went through her mane of curls, holding her head in her hands. She winced in pain and left her left hand resting on her temple.

"The magic is almost settled. Soon, we will be as one," she addressed Draco.

Harry grabbed her by the shoulder, his friends' secrecy clearly having hurt him. "As one? Mione, what are you-"

"Bombarda!"

Hermione had pushed Harry out of the way in the nick of time to dodge a curse aimed at the veil, and aim the exploding spell at another dead eater that had found them. His wand arm had been blasted off and a quick silencing charm stopped his screams.

Harry took a cautious step backwards, taking Susan's wrist. Cedric too came to stand beside Daphne, unsure as to what had gotten into Hermione. They had noticed how she no longer batted an eye at hurting anyone.

"They don't know this side of me," she told Draco quietly as she put her wand back into her pocket, noticing the others' reaction to her. "They haven't lived through a war like you and I have. They don't know I nearly starved to death. That I died. None of our friends will ever know that."

Draco opened his arms before she could even fall into them, hugging herself closer to his chest.

"We will tell them. Together," he promised as he wrapped his arms around her protectively, kissing the top of her head.

"Thank you," she croaked as she looked up at Draco again, tears in her eyes. Her hands were balled into fists against his chest, and her body was tense, yet her words were grateful. "I can't believe you did all of that for me. For Harry."

"I'd do it again," he assured her, taking her face into his hands and resting his forehead against hers.

Tilting her head upwards, she kissed his lips softly. "Take care of her. Of us. Of me."

Draco wiped away the single tear that ran down her cheek. "Always."

Closing her eyes, Hermione's shoulders lost their tension instantly, the war heroine hiding inside of the small brunette once again. Draco could sense the magic inside of her flowing more calmly, the storm that had been raging inside of her finally subsiding. When she looked up at him, he saw she was back to her Slytherin self, but there was a glint of something else now when he looked deeper. The memories of everything she'd suffered through.

"You really were a bigoted little cockroach, weren't you." She tilted her head and laughed, probably remembering the time she'd punched him square in the face. "I cannot believe I fell for you."

He chuckled and flashed her a smirk. "But I was charming too. Besides, Hermione Granger has always loved to break the rules. And what better rule to break than falling for the prince of Slytherin?"

Hermione smacked his shoulder and addressed their friends, making sure everyone was alright, ignoring their cautious stares. Taking Draco's hand in hers, they started running towards the Atrium together. Whenever he dared to glance at her, she smiled brightly.

"You told me about everything you've attempted to change," she told him as their family magic whirled around the five of them, protecting them from any death eaters. "But I never realised the true implications of it. I did not understand what either you or I had gone through before."

"We will talk more about it when we get home," he assured her, sending soothing waves down the bond between them.

Draco could not believe how time and fate had played out. Finally, after five long years, they were together again. But neither one of them knew, that very soon, they would be ripped apart once more.

- The Atrium, Fifteen minutes later –

Joy radiated off Draco in waves as he held Hermione's hand, fueling the shield around them with his magic as they all ran towards the atrium to hopefully meet up with the Order and the rest of their friends. Hermione had been right. "As usual," she'd supplied with a wink. Both their bond and magic were finally whole again, and their magical reserves had been replenished when the bond had been re-established. He felt like he could take on the world. All that power at their fingertips. Voldemort and his band of baboons didn't stand a chance.

Or so he thought.

He was nearly in disbelief at the fact that she was beside him, all of her memories intact, or getting there at least. Sometimes, she would send a memory through the bond and look at him questioningly, as if she was still receiving them but in the wrong order. Draco grabbed her hand more tightly with a promise he'd help her remember it all.

Not once during his leap into the past had he considered Hermione as half of a whole. He never would have if she hadn't gained her memories back. But now that she truly knew him and remembered everything they had been through, something felt significantly different between the two of them.

Following his train of thought, Hermione squeezed his hand. "I honestlycannot believe you thought you would be rid of me so easily. You know I have a contingency plan for all of my contingency plans."

Their group of seven reached the atrium not a minute later. His mother, Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny had seemingly incapacitated two death eaters who were lying face-first on the floor at awkward angles.

Harry nearly pushed Draco out of the way to get to Ginny, wrapping her in his arms with a sigh of relief to see that she was alright. Looking away from the intimate moment between the two of them as Ginny grabbed Harry's face and started murmuring something as she looked into his eyes, Draco decided to approach his mother instead.

His mother beat him to it, and Narcissa ran towards them and wrapped both him and Hermione in her arms. "Draco! Hermione, thank Morgana you are alright." She touched his cheek gently and looked at him, deeply saddened.

"I know," he muttered. She did not need to tell him what was amiss. His mother felt the loss of Deandra as much as he and Hermione did.

Finally having reached her breaking point, his mother cried and pulled him closer to her, burying her head in his shoulder, as the fireplaces around them started erupting in green light, the Order of the Phoenix and half of the D.M.L.E. arriving at the scene.

Draco took a moment to study his mother as aurors and other witches and wizards started interrogating his peers for answers. She was missing half her hair, and her clothes were torn and singed off in certain places. Her left cheek was swollen, and she would need to be looked over by a healer, but she was alive.

"Aunt Cissa," Tonks breathed out in relief, putting a tentative hand on her shoulder when she saw the three of them. "We got here as fast as we could. Are you quite alright? Was Lucius-"

A wave of powerful magic swept over all those standing in the atrium, physically freezing them in place for a mere second. Amelia, Sirius, and Dumbledore walked through the last two fireplaces before the green fire from the floo network died out, an anti-apparation ward wrapping itself around the Ministry. The feeling of being trapped made Draco's skin crawl.

Hermione's sharp intake of breath made the blond clench his wand, looking for the source of its magic. They had not come this far, only to be stopped now.

"Tom!" Dumbledore yelled, his purple robes billowing behind him as he moved with the speed of a man much younger than him through the atrium. He raised his wand at multiple witches and wizards present but shook his head when he did not find who he was looking for. Power radiated from the old wizard, and one thing was certain. Dumbledore was the one keeping them all there. But why?

The former Headmaster kept frantically aiming his wand from one person to the next. "I know you are hiding, Tom!" he yelled.

"Dumbledore seems to believe Voldemort is in our midsts." Hermione's thoughts echoed in his mind as she started training her wand at the headmaster, the distrust apparent on her face. She had more reason than anyone to realise the true implications of Dumbledore's actions both in this timeline and the first.

Dumbledore's quest soon came to an end, as a dark chuckle behind them made a shiver run down both their spines.

Hermione whimpered, her wand shaking in her hands. "No. Not again." Her magic bubbled underneath the surface, fueled by anger and sadness. "Not Harry."

They turned around, both of them unsure what they would meet when they looked at their best friend.

Casually twirling his wand in his hand, Harry slowly let his eyes linger on all of them, reminding Draco of a Nundu ready to pounce on its prey. His usual green eyes flashed red, and a wicked grin was plastered on his face as Ron and Neville led Ginny backwards slowly.

Dumbledore attempted to disarm him, but Harry stopped the spell with a flick of his wand. "You have lost, old man," he hissed at the former Headmaster, the parseltongue Voldemort favoured blending in with Harry's natural speech pattern. "Even though you made it more difficult and taught the boy occlumency, the Boy Who Lived, is nothing more than a puppet now."

With another flick of his wand, Harry attempted to curse his opponent, but Dumbledore was an experienced dualist. He quickly stepped aside and conjured a shield silently, just in case Harry would attack again.

"This wasn't how it was supposed to happen," Hermione's thoughts raced down the bond, the worry seeping through. "Harry didn't know occlumency back then. Harry was weakened. Sirius had just died. How… How did he get into Harry's mind?"

How indeed? And since when? Harry had been ushering them out of the Time Room, so surely-

The door leading to the Department of Mysteries opened and Draco put himself between the intruder and Hermione, ready to attack any death eaters that were coming after them. But to his utter horror, Ginny Weasley was standing in the doorway, stained in blood. Merlin. What he'd assumed was an intimate moment between the youngest Weasley sibling and her boyfriend had been…

His head whipped back and forth between the Ginny who had just appeared and the girl standing between Neville and Ron, neither one of the boys able to discern who was real. The same evil grin as Harry's was soon plastered on her face, however, and her skin started to stretch and pull, transforming her into the death eather she was.

"Bellatrix," Narcissa spat as her evil sister held both Ron and Neville at wandpoint, stopping the aurors from coming closer. The death eater whispered something in Neville's ear, making the boy go red in anger.

"You're right. She must have put a spell on him while posing as Ginny, making it easier for Voldemort to possess Harry," Hermione deducted, following Draco's train of thought. She looked up at him desperately, her eyes searching his. "What do we do, we could- ?"

They tried to formulate a plan, but they had simply run out of time. Everything happened too fast. Suddenly, Harry and Dumbledore were all out duelling, knocking half of their spectators down due to the sheer magical power they were both displaying. Tonks and his mother had quickly attacked Bellatrix, trying to save the two Gryffindors. Death eaters started pouring into the atrium like ants, finally having made their way out of the Department of Mysteries. The aurors and the Order of the Phoenix did their best to fight them off. Ginny was screaming her head off at Harry, begging him to listen to her, begging him to come back as Arthur Weasley found his daughter in the fray and tried to get her to safety and away from the ongoing fight.

During the whole battle, Hermione was right at Draco's back. They stunned and cursed their enemies left and right, working in sync as they had done during their training in the Room of Requirement. Now that they were able to communicate telepathically again, and tap into each other's powers, their opponents barely stood a chance.

The Ministry wards were starting to crumble, the Minister and the rest of the D.M.L.E. probably trying to make their way in after the distress call one of the aurors had sent out as soon as they'd arrived in the Atrium. Why had Dumbledore been so foolish to close it off? Sure, Voldemort could not escape, but now none of them could.

Breathing heavily, Hermione put up a shield and put her hand on Draco's arm, horror clear in her eyes. "What if that is his plan? What if he doesn't want him to escape?" she asked, her voice trembling. "What if he wants to kill him?" Her eyes trailed over to where Dumbledore was still fighting Harry, his spells getting more offensive.

Dumbledore was many things. But he was not a murderer. Draco shook his head. "Dumbledore would not-"

An explosion of magic made the ground tremble beneath their feet, throwing them off balance, and with one well-aimed spell Harry was lying on the floor in front of Dumbledore, his wand long lost. The old wizard stood over him, Voldemort taunting him. Telling Dumbledore to… Kill him.

Dumbledore raised his wand and sighed deeply, remorse shining through in his eyes. "I'm terribly sorry, Harry. But this is how it needs to be. You're more than a mere puppet. A lot more valuable too, if Voldemort truly has gotten his claws into you." The former Headmaster closed his eyes in regret, and the beginnings of a spell left his lips.

In this timeline, Dumbledore had not gotten to know Harry as he once would have. Had not formed a bond with the Boy Who Lived. From what Draco could see in Hermione's mind, Harry had been a pawn before as well, but at least he'd cared for the boy. Dumbledore had known Harry was a horcrux. Hermione had figured it out too, sometime during those hungry lonely nights on the run.

Draco refused to lose his best friend tonight, however.

"Expelliarmus!"

He poured every bit of magic into the disarming spell, keeping a tight leash on the bond with Hermione so he wouldn't end up draining her as well. His magic pulsed out of him in waves, fueled by his anger. Why in the bloody fuck did Dumbledore assume he had the right to do the world a favour by killing Harry Potter? Was he really nothing more than a horcrux to the old man? Another one of Voldemort's vessels? Perhaps, changing the future so that Harry was no longer under Dumbledore's thumb had indeed made the former Headmaster desperate, unable to see a way out. But to attempt and murder him? Draco's blood boiled, silvery green scales beginning to break out over his body as his desperate need to save his best friend fueled the spell.

Dumbledore stumbled backwards as the force of Draco's spell hit him, Sirius and Amelia upon him immediately when they realised what he'd been about to do to their godson. As the two aurors incarcerated him, his usually twinkling eyes followed the trail of his wand finding its way to its new owner after being knocked away so roughly.

Hermione held her breath beside him as he bent down. Draco studied the wand in his hand, surprised at how its magic instantly attempted to replenish his own. The Elder Wand had always been described as the most notorious and powerful wand in the fairytales he'd grown up listening to. He now realised its reason. How could he not have felt its power or allegiance the first time around? Had he really become that more attuned to magic?

Dumbledore struggled against the magical restraints put on him. "What have you done, boy?!" He hollered at Draco. "Give me back my wand!"

The Slytherin faced the leader of the Light and smirked, twirling the wand between his fingers, feeling its eagerness to display any magic Draco could possibly desire. "Your wand? I think its allegiance has shifted to me, Dumbledore. I will do with it as I see fit."

Hermione glanced at him, her eyes searching his. All he needed to reassure her was to softly caress her cheek with his knuckles. "This power might corrupt, but it is not my burden to bear," he whispered, his eyes drifting to their best friend who was still struggling on the floor, curled up into a ball. His voice was hoarse from screaming as he clawed at his head, his magic angrily lashing out at Amelia and Sirius.

"Protego."

The silver magic that protected Hermione as she ran over to Harry was a sight to behold. Both Lord and Lady Black stared at her as she neared her fallen friend, none of the adults able to reach him with his magic being so volatile. But the power of the Elder Wand, combined with the bond she and Draco shared had strengthened the shield so much that Harry could not hurt her, not even if he tried.

Draco kept the other death eaters at bay and watched her thoughts as she cradled the face of the boy who had always been like a brother to her. He could feel the words she was whispering to their best friend as if they weren't only meant for Harry but also him.

"It isn't how you are alike," Hermione soothed the Boy Who Lived, running her fingers through his hair to calm him down, his head lying in her lap. "It's how you are not. The dark will never be able to claim you, Harry. Because there is light within you. You have us. You have a family."

She kept repeating the same thing to him, over and over again for what seemed like ages, until his eyes turned from the bloody red to its usual vibrant forest green.

Tears of relief flooded her face when Harry finally croaked her name. "Mione?"

A sigh escaped Draco's lips. He pulled his hand through his hair, sleek with sweat. They had made it. They had survived. Taking a careful step towards his friends, all he wanted was to embrace them. Make sure they were both real. As soon as he kneeled down next to them, Hermione sobbed, leaning her head onto his shoulder, her hand still holding Harry's.

Harry sat up and wrapped his arms around the both of them, his hands trembling as he touched their shoulders. The silver trio sat there, making sure they were alright, the protective shield keeping any harmful spells out. "Please don't ever let me go through that again," Harry whispered to them, hugging them closer.

The wards around the Ministry finally crumbled, the Minister and the rest of the D.M.L.E. popping straight into the Atrium. Draco looked behind them and quickly scanned the crowd. Fudge's personal lackeys looked way too pleased with themselves. Warning bells began echoing in the silver trio's minds as they struggled to stand. Their battle was far from over it seemed.

"Cornelius, what a pleasant surprise." The slippery voice of Lord Voldemort whispered through the room as the Dark Lord himself finally stepped out of the shadows, a cruelly wicked grin on his face.

From the corner of his eye, Draco spotted Sirius edging closer to them, ready to apparate them out at a moment's notice, while also strategically placing himself between Voldemort and the three teenage wizards he considered as close to him as if they were his own children.

Dumbledore was screaming bloody murder, pulling against the bonds binding him, but the silencing spell Amelia had put on him earlier did not allow anyone to hear his warning.

"What are you doing?" The Minister hissed at his lackeys who kneeled in front of the Dark Lord. "Arrest him!" Even though he pointed straight at the Dark Lord, not a single one of his most trusted advisors would move.

Voldemort's laughter made Draco's blood run cold, and he could feel Hermione shiver next to him as she gripped her wand tightly in her hand, ready to fight with everything she had left.

Seemingly uninterested, Voldemort looked at the Atrium, appraising it as if he were imagining owning the place. Draco remembered the redecorating the Dark Lord had done before. The Magic is Might statue had always made the wizard want to throw up when he passed it.

"You will soon understand, Cornelius, that I always get what I want. You will not be in control of this country for much longer," Voldemort stated casually, stalking forward.

A ridiculously brave, or stupid, auror cast a disarming spell straight at the snake-like man, making him tsk. With a wave of his hand, the young auror started choking, Tonks and Luna running to his aid to save him.

"Now where was I? Oh yes." Voldemort asked no one in particular, sidestepping, his movements fluid and snake-like, a hand waving dismissively as another curse bounced harmlessly off the shield he'd conjured. His gaze never left Harry, honing in on his prey as he continued to slither from the shadows still clinging to him. "Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived." Voldemort hissed, his wand arm drawing back, ready to strike, as he finally stopped in the centre of the Atrium. "If you won't let me have him, then I will just have to take another." Lightning fast, he struck, the spell flying from the end of his wand, smashing through the shield to wrap and coil around his intended target.

Draco barely had time to register what had happened as the dark magic destroyed his protective shield, yanking him away from his friends, and dragging him back to darkness. It was like trying to run through tar or oil, the evil trying to find a way in. Never one to back down from a fight, Draco clawed at the floor, calling out to Harry, quickly shoving the Elder Wand at his best friend. The years of playing Quidditch and duelling together paid off and Harry caught the wand easily, while also trying to grab for Draco's outstretched hand. Draco wouldn't let Harry get dragged to his death as well, however.

Seeing the Elder Wand, now with its rightful master, gripped tightly in the hand of the Master of Death, Draco shifted his gaze to Hermione. Smoky tendrils continued to coil around him and they forced him to stand upright, next to Voldemort.

This was it. Fate had finally found a way to get back at him. Perhaps, it was attempting to find a mortal life to claim after Sirius survived in this timeline.

"Giving up so easily that you would throw away your wand, Lord Malfoy?" The Dark Lord taunted as he finally held him in his grasp, dark magic wrapping around Draco's body, making sure he could no longer move or talk. Draco stayed silent, taking a calming breath, his eyes still fixed on Hermione.

Voldemort's long fingernails went straight through the blonde's shirt, pulling blood as he gripped his shoulder roughly. He leaned closer to him, whispering in Draco's ear. "Or do you think giving your friend a spare wand will give him a fighting chance against me?" Voldemort gripped his chin and forced him to look into his red snakelike eyes, his magic trying to seep through the cracks in Draco's occlumency. All he met was a wall of silver and green scales, frustration and a thirst for power lingering in the Dark Lord's gaze.

Thank Merlin Voldemort had no clue what Draco had just done. What wand he'd handed to Harry. What power he'd given him.

"Take care of each other," Draco told Hermione down the bond as he shifted to look at her one last time. No matter what they would do to him, if they would kill him or torture him, he would always want his last memory to be of her. Her wit, her resolve, her cunning, her bravery, her beauty. Her love for him.

"Draco, do not give up, Harry and I-"

She and Harry stepped forward, wands raised, ready to fight, but with Voldemort holding Draco in his grasp, they were also fearful of hurting their best friend. One stray spell, and he would be no more.

Voldemort did nothing but laugh at them. "You won't be able to save this one, mudblood," he spat, mockingly putting an arm around Draco's shoulders.

Magic pooled at the centre of Draco's stomach, the familiar feeling of apparation tugging at him.

"I love you, Mione." He sent his thoughts out to her before he was taken away in a swirl of dark magic, unsure if he would ever see her again.