All Draco could see was Voldemort surrounded by swirling darkness. Draco's arm was pulsing with pain as he tried to find a way out.
"Bring Harry Potter to me," he hissed, his voice ringing and consuming his ears. "And all will be forgiven."
Draco covered his ears, but his voice continued to weave through his mind, strangling it. "Bring him to me."
Draco shook his head. "No."
His voice was now booming. "BRING HIM TO ME! Or your family will pay the price."
Draco sat up, gripping his forearm. His sleeve had been torn and blood was oozing out of his arm. He flinched, extracting his nails from the mark and covering it with his palm to slow the bleeding.
Harry turned and blinked, sleepily up at Draco. "Draco?" He noticed his arm and sat up. "What happened?"
"It was just a nightmare," Draco said.
Harry grabbed his wand. "Let me see."
Draco moved his hand away and Harry said a spell. The wound closed up and Harry looked down at the mark.
"It was Voldemort, wasn't it?" Harry asked, softly.
Draco put his arm against his stomach, hiding the mark from view. "It doesn't matter."
"What did he say?"
Draco didn't say anything.
"Come on, Draco. Tell me."
"It doesn't matter because I'm not going to do it."
"So then he asked for me," Harry replied. "Did he threaten you?"
Draco laid back down. "Can you just drop it?"
Harry leaned over him. "He threatened your family, didn't you? Just like you were worried about."
"So what if he did? They never protected me from him, why should I return the favor?"
"Then you're okay?" Harry asked. "Really?"
"Yes."
"You would tell me otherwise, right?"
Draco sighed. "Yes, of course."
Harry smiled. "Good."
Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and rested his head in the crook of his arm. It wasn't long until he fell asleep. Draco, on the other hand, couldn't. His ears were still ringing from the screams and he couldn't help but think of his parents. They hadn't helped him and they were the reason that he grew up to be a hateful bully. He shouldn't care, but they were still his parents. He had looked up to his father. And his mother had been a loving mother before Voldemort came back. They were just scared like he had been. Harry wasn't scared. He had faced Voldemort multiple times and he was still here and alive. He couldn't blame his parents for being scared but could he really choose them over Harry? He had but that was before his parents' lives were on the line. He didn't want to let his parents die but he couldn't let Harry die.
****
The next few days were much of the same. Harry made plans with Draco, Ron, and Hermione while trying to figure out where to go first. Today, an executor was coming over to read off Dumbledore's will. So, he hoped that that will give him some clue about what to do next.
Though, it wasn't an executor that came. It was the Minister of Magic. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco followed him inside. The trio sat on the couch while Draco stood off to the side. Hermione was given the children's book Tales of Beedle the Bard, Ron got a deluminator while Harry got the snitch that he caught at his first Quidditch match.
"Is that all?" Harry asked when the Minister didn't move from his seat.
"Not quite," he said. "Dumbledore also left you the sword of Gryffindor. Unfortunately, it wasn't his to give."
"But it belongs to Harry," Hermione replied. "It showed itself to Harry when he most needed it in the chamber of secrets."
"The sword may present itself to any worthy Gryffindor but that doesn't mean it belongs to him." The Minister turned to look at Draco. "He left something for you as well, Mr. Malfoy."
"What?" He asked, shocked.
The trio had similarly shocked expressions on their faces as the Minister pulled out a bracelet. It was a simple black band with green gems embedded in them.
"He says: to keep the darkness at bay," the Minister handed the bracelet over.
Draco took it and slipped it on his right wrist. The Minister bid them goodbye and left without so much as a backward glance. Harry walked over to Draco and looked down at the bracelet.
"Did you have any idea he was going to do this?" Harry asked.
Draco shook his head. "None. I was tasked to kill him for Merlin's sake."
"Good point. What do you think he meant by the note?"
"Maybe it has to do with the mark," Draco shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
****
Draco changed into a black suit for the wedding. He was tying his silver tie when Harry came in.
Harry grinned. "I like the tie."
Draco smiled. "Thanks. Some softie gave it to me."
Harry chuckled and kissed Draco's cheek. "He sounds amazing."
"And humble."
Harry straightened his tie. "You look great."
"Thank you," Draco looked Harry up and down. "You look like you raided Weasley's closet."
"I didn't bring a suit. I didn't think I would need one."
Draco turned around and pulled out a suit from his trunk. "Here. You can borrow mine. I've even got a green tie."
"Of course you do," he smiled. "Thanks."
Harry changed and Draco helped him tie his tie. "There. You look very handsome."
Harry smiled and put his hands in his pockets. He took his hands out and looked down to see he was holding something in each hand. "What is this?"
"Happy Birthday," Draco said.
"Draco—"
"I know it's not much but I don't have access to my family's money anymore." Draco took the simple necklace with a green emerald out of his hand and clasped it around his neck. "I charmed it to protect you. I don't know how well it will work but I hope it'll give you an edge at least. And the other thing is liquid luck. Given that you're always almost dying, I thought you could use a little luck."
Harry slipped the potion back into his pocket and pulled Draco into a kiss. "Thank you. I love it."
"It doesn't compare to your gift, though."
"That's okay," Harry kissed Draco's cheek. "I'll just be the best gift-giver in this relationship."
Draco scoffed. "Just wait until all this shit is over. You'll see how great of a gift-giver I am."
They both smiled at each other, both thinking and hoping for a bright future where they stayed together.