"What do you mean something is wrong with my Harry?"
"Okay, this is going to sound weird, but hear me out," Harry breathes in, and then out. "You're bonded to Harry Potter."
Draco stares at him for a spare moment. "Oh. So you came from the loony bin."
"What," Harry says, making a face. "No, listen to me."
"I think I have heard enough," Draco turns, about to stick his head back into the fire to call McGonagall when Harry speaks again.
"You have a mixed bloodline!"
The blond freezes in place.
What in Salazar's name. Deny it.
"I do not know what you are talking about," Draco says through gritted teeth.
"Yes, you do," he hears Harry take a step closer. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."
He hears another step and Draco's blood boils. He whips around and flashes his wand, pointing it unwaveringly at Harry. "Who sent you? Who are you?"
Harry lifts his hands in defense. "My name is Harry Potter. I'm your mate from another lifetime."
"Bollocks. You have five minutes to explain yourself."
The Gryffindor sighs in frustration. "You have a mix of three bloodlines. You have Malfoy blood. But you also have your mother's Veela gene and your great-grandfather's Fenomus gene. At the beginning of the semester, you felt something pulling at you to find Harry. That was your Veela line pulling you to find a compatible mate. When you found Harry, you were scared enough to release wild magic, which began the bonding process. When Harry came out of the Room of Requirement he was hospitalized for a day before he called on you to complete the bonding ritual.
"After that, you memory was wiped so the process of your mating can continue naturally. That was until yesterday, when Harry's core started deteriorating at a faster-than-average rate. Your mate is dying, and if we don't figure out why, you will die, too."
Draco's hand starts shaking. "Is that why I could not recall yesterday's events?"
"Yes," Harry says quickly. "Draco, please. Your mate is dying."
"Should I not be able to feel if something is wrong if he is dying? If we are bonded, I should be able to tell if he is hurt."
"Something went wrong," Harry shakes his head. "The day you finished the ritual. You did it all by yourself, without any help and I think it took a toll on him."
"You..." Draco tilts his head and notices that Harry definitely looks older. There's stubble scattered across his face and there's lines of exhaustion on his forehead. "You are a guide."
"Yes," Harry cheers. "Yes, yes, I'm your guide."
"Where is Harry's?"
"Keeping him stable for the time being. But we need to hurry."
Draco walks forward, as soon as he's in reach, Harry takes his arm and pulls him down the tower. "Should you be able to touch me?"
"Normally, I'm in Harry's body when you need me. But since he's in danger I had to travel in mine."
"I have so many questions," Draco says breathlessly.
"I know. I've already answered them. You just don't remember."
They make it to the Infirmary quickly, and Draco runs to Harry's bedside. He looks pale, his lips are dry and his eyes are fluttering.
The blond snaps his fingers in front of Harry's face, and then he lays his hand flat on Harry's cheek, tapping it softly. "Potter?"
Harry's eyes flutter open, and they roll back once, twice, before focusing on Draco. He inhales. "Hey."
"Hey," Draco says softly. "Someone told me you were sick."
"What, no," Harry smiles weakly. "I'm fine. Healthy as a horse."
The Slytherin grins halfheartedly. "Can you sit?"
It takes them three tries before Draco gets Harry to sit up. When he does, Harry's head lolls to the side.
"It's hot in here, isn't it?"
"Not really," Draco places his hand on his cheek again, frowning when Harry leans into it.
"Feels nice," he mumbles. "Hands are cold."
"Your body temperature is boiling, Potter."
"His core is crumbling," the other Harry says behind him when Harry on the bed closes his eyes. "I can feel it."
"You can feel it...?" Draco is confused but he has no chance to voice it because the other Harry is pushing him to face Harry again.
"Do something!"
"What do I do?"
"I don't know! Anything!"
"Like what," Draco yells at him. "I just found out about this a few minutes ago, you cannot expect me to know!"
"Draco," the other Harry takes his face into his hands and looks him deep in the eyes. Draco shudders. "You are his Omega. Just think. Calm down, breathe. Listen to your inner form."
"My inner form? What...What does that..."
Draco is suddenly silenced, and he feels that familiar burn coiling in his lower tummy and rising to his lips.
Harry is kissing him.
And it is glorious.
The Gryffindor pulls back first, his eyes still closed. "I believe in you, Draco. There's not a thing you can't do."
The blond is still in shock, his body still reeling from the new sensation coursing through his veins, and then Harry gives him another little peck before he pulls away, and vanishes.
He swallows. "Alright. There is nothing I cannot do. I can do anything. I can do this."
Draco looks down at Harry's body and notices he's shaking, so he places his hands over his abdomen, and immediately there's a shock of magic that pulses through him.
And there it is.
He can feel it, Harry's magic. It's weak and small and barely there, and for some reason he can visualize Harry's core in his head. He sees ribbon after ribbon of magic snap and fall away, disappearing into nothing.
So he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, concentrates of Harry. For a few seconds he senses nothing, there's nothing that comes up in his mind, it's like he's asleep.
But then, when he starts chanting Harry's name in his head, it's like a channel opens up and tons of information flows in, slowly at first, and then it seems like it won't stop.
He sees every Draco before him, all of them look differently but have one thing in common. They all have a version of Harry beside them, looking at them as if they are their world.
And then he sees himself, he doesn't know how he knows it's himself but he does, and he sees his Harry, beside him like all the others, giving him the biggest, brightest smile he's ever seen him give anyone.
So he uses that, he holds that vision and expands it, all while holding Harry down, and he starts feeling something leave him. He starts feeling something somewhere inside him depleting, running out, as if he was giving it to Harry.
And then everything disappears.
*******
"He doesn't need anyone else with him. I can handle him, I'll be fine."
Draco stirs, his eyebrows furrowing and his head pounding.
"I promise," the voice stops, most likely from the groan that Draco emits, and then there's a rushed tone. "I'll let you know what happens. Goodbye."
There's hurried footsteps somewhere outside his curtains and then a soft knock.
"Draco?"
"Blaise," Draco rasps out. "Water."
"I'm going to open your curtains," Blaise warns.
There's no bright light, like Draco expects. But there is a lot more people than he was ready for.
Hermione is standing in front of the fireplace with her arms crossed and a worried wrinkle in the middle of her forehead. Ron is sitting on his futon, close to the fireplace, his elbows on his knees, Blaise is the one holding his curtains open with worry lines all over his face, his eyes wide.
Then there's Harry Potter.
He's dressed in trousers and a crisp shirt, different than the last time he saw him, and there's a watch on his wrist. He's also holding the glass of water Draco asked for.
And for some reason, Draco's face crumbles. He reaches for Harry and releases a sob. "Harry."
The Gryffindor rushes forward, setting the glass on Draco's night stand and he doesn't hesitate in getting under the covers next to him. He pulls Draco into his chest and rocks him, back and forth and back and forth, laying his cheek on Draco's head while Draco cries.
Something about the way he does it makes Draco's body sag with warmth, like he's done it so many times before.
Draco doesn't hear what his friends are saying, he just feels the deep rumble of Harry's voice through his head, along with the steady beat of Harry's heart.
"It's alright, love," Harry is saying, still rocking Draco and him to calm him down. He has his hand rubbing circles on his back. "You're fine."
"Harry," he whispers, sniffling once, twice. "Harry."
"Right here. I'm right here. I'm sorry for leaving you alone again. Do you want water?"
The blond nods into his shoulder and he feels Harry stretch before there's something cool touching his lips. He takes the cup and gulps it down while Harry watches him.
When he's done, Harry takes the glass and sets it back down.
"Will you be alright?"
Harry looks up and nods at Blaise, gives him a smile. "Thank you."
Ron stands and walks up next to Blaise. "Did you need us to do anything?"
"Just make sure Harry is stable. And if you guys could bring Draco a plate of food. I don't think he's eaten all day."
"I'll get the plate," Hermione says. "You guys go check on Harry in the Infirmary."
Blaise and Ron nod, and they leave hand in hand after Hermione.
Harry sighs, keeps rubbing Draco's back.
"What happened?"
"You saved Harry."
"Why did I faint?"
The Gryffindor holds his tongue for a second, thinks about what he's going to say. "Do you know how Veela dynamics work?"
Draco nods against his chest. "A Veela looks for a mate when a significant amount of their energy is depleted. When they find their mate and the bonding ritual is initiated, the bond decides which mate is to be the Alpha and the Omega. Or, rather, the bond clarifies which mate is the strongest one and which one will be the carrier."
"Yeah," Harry exhales again. "So when the bond chose you as the Omega, it chose you to be the last defense over the Alpha's life, the carrier. In whichever case that your Alpha is not able to heal himself, like today, the Omega has to take the roll as a temporary Alpha to revive their mate."
"So I saved Harry."
"And almost killed yourself in the process."
"Is that why I fainted?"
"Your magical reserve is not as large as your mate's. That's why he was chosen to be the Alpha in your bond, so he can protect himself and protect you. But you, since all you need to protect is him, you don't need so much magic, just enough for minor wounds. If you had more than you do, your body would probably deteriorate in half your lifespan.
"And so, since your Harry's reserve is just about three times the size of yours and was completely empty, you depleted yours to save him and it also took a toll on your body. Your nervous system shut down immediately after you were done. Luckily, you revived Harry, which means I had enough energy to come back and revive you."
"But Harry is well? He will be fine?"
Harry laughs and pulls Draco closer to him. "Yes, your Alpha will be fine. Also, your Alpha seemed to have rejected the bond the first time. The day he woke up after your memory was wiped, his mental reserve was in a tandem with his magical reserve and he kept rejecting the idea of you, which is why his core failed."
Draco frowns. "He could do that?"
"As the Alpha, yes. Normally, the mate with the Veela gene is the Alpha, so the rejection of a bond is rare. But in this lifetime, he happened to be stronger so the roles reversed."
"Will he do it again?"
"No," Harry shakes his head. "I made sure of it. Your memories won't be wiped this time so you both know what is going on. This will be the first time the process will proceed unnaturally, I'll have you know."
The blond closes his eyes and nods his head against Harry's neck. It's quite for a moment before Draco remembers the voices at the dawn of his wake. "Who were you talking to?"
"The people who gave me to you."
"Like a board?"
The man chuckles into his hair. "Yes, Draco. Like a board. They just wanted to make sure the bond was still in tact and that you were both safe."
The boy nods again and snuggles back into his guide. He lifts his head after a second. "Harry will still have a guide?"
"Of course, he's talking to him right now."
"But you will not be able to come like this all the time."
"In my own body, no," Harry shakes his head and moves down to place a kiss on Draco's lips. "It's not allowed, but both of you somehow managed to be exceptions. An event like this isn't supposed to happen so early in the bonding."
"Will you be here all the time?"
"Once your mate and you become comfortable and accustomed to one another, your guide visits will be scarce. And once the bonding is complete, we will disappear and return to our lifetimes."
"But what if I need help," Draco panics, sitting up straight. "What if I do not know something and Harry is in danger?"
"Sweet Omega," Harry grins. He pulls Draco to his chest once again and rubs his back. "You can never do wrong when it comes to your Alpha. You will have each other's backs no matter the circumstance."