Chapter 16

When Draco started learning complex diagnostic spells and monitoring the flow of magic in the body, she could see differences between injuries of the war.

Curses, physical injury, and emotional trauma all left traces behind, even after they healed, and if examined closely, no two marks were the same.

Nagini's venom left prickly-like sharp and green residue in Snape's aura, while Harry had a side that was completely blackened, and as if a part of him had been cut off; but even Teddy's all-colored happy infant aura wasn't just that: there was grief hidden in small amounts mixed in with other magics.

It was a complex maze to navigate, but when Draco started to get a little bit more practiced in it, and one day she found Narcissa visiting Andromeda, the two witches both trying to mend bridges, Draco stopped her when Narcissa was about to leave.

"I'd like to examine you. To make sure the curse that got hold of you won't just resurface again," she said.

"I thought you didn't care about us anymore," Narcissa said. She was right on the account that on the visit to the Manor with Harry, Draco told Lucius on no uncertain terms that she won't be coming back, ever again.

"I might not be a Malfoy, but I don't want you to fall ill because of a curse," Draco explained. "I still care about you, and as it happens, it could prove good practice if I want to become a healer."

It was not easy to untangle every injury a person carried, but Narcissa was patient, and Draco had found a sort of curious bind on her that wasn't supposed to be there. It was different magic than anything she'd seen before - except Harry had something that felt similar, yet was shaped and placed differently.

"What is it?" Narcissa asked.

"I don't know," Draco wondered. "Yet. But it's very strong, powerful, and it wraps around you while there isn't a magical flow coming in or out of it."

"Could that be a clue?"

"That it's dormant, probably," Draco said. "But I've never seen something like this before: only on Harry. And the magic on him has a flow that goes in and out, so it's not ring-shaped like yours."

"Bringing and taking magic? And his is active, you say?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes," Draco was deep in thought. "I just assumed it was another magical curiosity that only Harry Potter could have, but the color and the feel of the magic are identical to yours, only the function seems different."

She tried to gather more data, but the usual books of healing had no information. Even when she described it to Madam Promfrey, and the healer examined Harry herself, she didn't have the answers either.

"You say your mother has this type of residue on her as well?"

"Yes. What could it mean?" Draco asked.

"I don't know. It's not something I've seen before," the healer didn't know anything more about its function than Draco but she stopped. "But can you sense it? Wherever Harry's magic is going must be close."

Draco cast a bunch of spells and tried to concentrate on where it went, but she couldn't follow it as usual.

"I keep losing it," Draco said, until to her astonishment, the healer put the diagnostic charms on her next and said.

"It goes to you. You have the same signature. Some of Potter's magic go to you through the channel, and in turn, some of yours go to him."

"That can't be," Draco said, but when she cast the spells on herself for the first time, she had to admit Promfrey was right. "Maybe… could it be an indication that we're dating?"

As if love showed up in diagnostics - and if it did, wouldn't have wizards and witches used these spells to diagnose lovers for centuries already.

"It's not," Promfrey said.

"Harry also saved my life, and my mother his," Draco said.

"The life debt mark is here," Promfrey showed her. "It's faded because it's considered to be paid, see? But this unknown magic feels different. Certainly strong, and almost wild - my guess would be that it's an ancient type of magic that's so rare that the current texts don't include them."

"Should we worry?" Harry frowned.

"As I see it, there's no reason for you to," the witch told him. "The magic between you might connect you, but as much magic as one of you take from another, they also give it back, so it doesn't make any difference to your health. My advice would be to monitor it, and in case there's a change, maybe research some older healing texts and methods, and see whether they have a clue, but otherwise, there's no reason for us to try to undo it: we can only do damage if we play with something we don't understand."

That was the answer. Don't disturb it. Yet, Draco couldn't just let it go.

She scanned through all the material that was available in Hogwarts, and in her new internship in Mungo, and even ordered a couple of books, but came up with the same: nothing.

She never would have thought she'd need Lucius' help not for money, but for access to the Malfoy Library, yet her father wouldn't even let her close to it - unless Draco was back under his control again.

"Why does it matter?" Harry asked. "You know the magical influences I had compare to almost none. Like surviving the Killing Curse."

"Twice," Draco said. "I can see and identify that. But this is different. I'm involved. Just as my mother."

"I get that you want to protect her," Harry said. "But maybe it's not worth it if you have to make a pact with Lucius just to look for the answers, with no guarantee that he has them."

"Our library is one of the biggest private collections that house even centuries-old books," Draco reminded him. "And Promfrey did say it was an older type of magic. Even if I won't sell my soul to obtain the answers, obviously, maybe I can make some time of a deal."

"With Lucius, the two might as well be the same," Harry said, but he was supportive, tolerating the healing medical volumes Draco sometimes read next to him in bed.

Up to a point, at least, because when Harry thought Draco had read enough for a day, he would just close her books, put them on the nightstand, and kiss her instead - providing a welcomed distraction ever so often.

"I won't do anything stupid, I promise," Draco told him, and she meant it.

But Harry shouldn't have worried: Narcissa took a couple of books at a time when she came to visit Andromeda, and lent them to Draco behind Lucius' back, and no text from the Manor had the answers anyway.

Until one mentioned a potion that could help excavate more information on a source of an injury than the usual diagnostic spells. Snape knew it as well and insisted to help, so they finished it in just a matter of weeks.

The results, however, only confused Draco more, instead of less.

It was a spell that was indeed older than any other spells that were in use in the magical society these days, and the magic that flowed from Draco to Harry originated in the war, but no matter how many things the potion listed, Draco didn't quite understand it.

"I think I know what it could be related to," Snape, however, was different, once they had all the new data. "Are you sure you wish to know?"

"Is it bad news, then?" Draco asked.

"I can't say," Snape said. "But you might want to get your boyfriend for this particular conversation."

"Why?"

Harry was fidgety when Snape sat them down.

"The magic that's on you and Draco," Snape had started. "I have reason to believe it's connected to some object Dumbledore arranged for you to have, Potter. One in particular. Care to share it with your girlfriend, or should we continue to keep her in the dark?"

"What is he referring to?" Draco asked Harry, nervous. Harry was keeping something from her?

"It's nothing. Truly. Just one of the secrets Dumbledore had," Harry told her, before turning to Snape, adding. "And not that it matters, because I got rid of it. The object you're referring to, Professor, doesn't exist."

"Voldemort tried to kill me over that small, insignificant object, Potter," Snape warned. "And if you're certain it's gone…"

"Very much," Harry's eyes flashed at him.

"You could trust Draco with the truth," Snape said. "If you won't, I will."

Upon hearing a story about how the Deathly Hallows were real, Draco at first thought it was a prank.

"And I had the Elder Wand's loyalty for a time, without knowing? Don't be ridiculous," she thought it was funny.

But, she and the Malfoys were never directly told what the Dark Lord wanted with Ollivander. She had her assumptions about a lot of details, like why Voldemort wanted to kill Snape - Draco thought he was outed as a traitor.

But then again, if the Hallows were real, maybe it made more sense.

"And how exactly did you dispose of the Elder Wand, Potter?" Snape asked, and when Harry told him, he requested. "May we see the pieces?"

"It's not… I don't have them," Harry said.

"I can see that. But could you get it?" Snape suggested.

Harry took Draco to Dumbledore's tomb, and retrieved the wand broken in two - and later they let Snape examine it.

"It's the same magical signature as your mysterious residue with Potter," Snape said, and Draco could confirm as much. She didn't even have to be close to it to feel that it was indeed the exact type of magic she had been looking for a long time then.

"Yes," she curtly confirmed. "But that makes even less sense. Even if these magical influences on us happened when Harry took my wand and gave it back, it doesn't explain why there's a constant flow of magic between us. And how my mother is involved, with a passive spell on her of the same source."

"Could it be that you used her wand for a while?" Harry wondered.

"That wouldn't leave a magical imprint like this," Snape shook his head. "Especially since she voluntarily gave her wand to Draco."

"So there's a connection to the Elder Wand, but we'll never know more," Draco said. "All this was for nothing."

"Not necessarily," Snape turned to them with his chair. "I'm more versed in cursed objects than wands, but I can say this for sure: Potter might have broken the Elder Wand in half, but it's not destroyed. It still has powerful magic inside it, and some kind of hold on you."

"So how can we destroy it completely?" Harry asked.

"Maybe you shouldn't do anything rush before you understand what it does, Potter," Snape suggested.

"I think I understand it better than most, Snape," Harry told him. "And that's why I wanted to get rid of it in the first place."

"And risk your and Draco's lives in the process? Maybe even Narcissa Malfoy's? Because then go ahead, be my guest," Snape wondered. "But if not, you might want to consult a wandmaker first."

So Harry and Draco went to see Ollivander, but the old wizard didn't say anything for the longest time, only humming to himself while he examined the broken relic.

"May I see your wand, Mr. Potter?" he asked.

And, after about half an hour, he also asked for Draco's.

"Curious. Certainly curious."

"Could you tell us what's going on?" Harry finally asked.

"I can't say for sure," based on Ollivanders answer, they weren't ahead. "But I can tell you: Mr. Snape's been right, and the Elder Wand isn't gone. It's been active all along, just in a different form."

"What do you mean, in a different form?"

"Since it's broken, it was forced to find another way to carry the magic it's designed for," Ollivander said. "And it also seems to have been acting through not only you, Mr. Potter, but Draco as well."

"What? It doesn't," Draco was sure she would have noticed.

"It's all a conjecture at this point unless a person who's highly competent in reading magical influence could confirm it, but… could you tell me how Harry came to get your wand, Draco?"

"He took it."

"Are you sure?" the wizard asked.

"I've just said," Draco stated.

"And there wasn't even a small part of you, in the back of your mind, that let him have it?" Ollivander asked.

"Why? Is there a difference?" Harry asked before Draco could consider her answer. Was there a part of her that wanted Harry to win the war so badly instead of Voldemort, that she didn't truly fight Harry when her wand was taken from her?

"The 'curse' you described that the Wand caused," Ollivander pointed out. "Since Harry gave you your wand back, Draco, it would make some sense that there's a magical flow from him to you that's connected to the Wand's magic. But if the wand was won before, why is there a flow from Draco to you as well, Mr. Potter?"

Harry and Ollivander were now both staring at Draco, waiting for her answer.

"I don't know," she told them truthfully. "I hated Voldemort, and wouldn't have minded if Harry got rid of him. But I couldn't have known that if he took my wand he'd be one step closer to that, and given how important wands were in the war, I don't think I wanted to be left without one, not even unconsciously."

"Your wand is your life. Did you do anything in your power to save that wand from Harry or not?" Ollivander asked.

"I don't know."

"You must!"

"Yes. I mean, maybe!" Draco said.

"No, you DIDN'T," Harry quietly said, but stopped Ollivander from interrogating Draco any further. "You didn't give me up to Bellatrix, nor did you fight to get your wand back once it was in my hands as if you accepted that I would take it all along, and only put up a show."

"I didn't."

"Draco," Harry shook his head, making her rethink everything. Could be he right?

"It would explain the traces you see with the diagnostic spell and the potion," Ollivander said. "And why do you both seem to share the Elder Wand's power now."

"Excuse me?" Harry asked, confused.

"As I said, you'd need a specialist on magical influence to investigate this matter further," the old wandmaker said. "But what I can say is that somehow, since the Elder Wand was broken, it acted through the wands you had brought from me."

"Both of our wands?" Draco echoed.

"Yes. It also changed the magic between you two and is actively shaping it, but for what reason and how, I can't say," Ollivander confirmed. "But didn't either of you do extraordinary magic you couldn't explain, lately?"

Draco had found herself chuckling, making both wizards give her a strange look.

"I did, and I was so arrogant that I didn't even notice it," she said. "I defeated Lucius Malfoy in a duel. And I thought it was because of all the DADA practice when he's older, more powerful, and experienced than I ever could be."

"Even if that's because of the Wand," Harry said. "I didn't notice anything. And I don't think the Wand can be owned by two people at once."

"Now you're getting to the most interesting questions, Mr. Potter," Ollivander said. "Unfortunately, I can't say I have the answers for them."

Draco had to admit defeat on their way back to the castle.

"If what Ollivander says is right, and we both are the owners, we should at least know, right?"

"I'm not sure," Harry seemed uncertain. "Plus, I don't know anyone specializing in magical influence anyway."

"But I do," Draco said. "My father."

"Of course," Harry said, and Draco saw how the last thing he wanted to do was involve Lucius Malfoy, so she gave up on that research, until one day both of her parents came to Grimmauld's Place, and Harry let Lucius examine him.

"May I?" Lucius pointed a wand at Draco next, and she would have refused, if it wasn't Harry's idea, and Narcissa wasn't there monitoring the whole process. "Ha."

"What is it?" Narcissa was the first to ask, but Lucius enjoyed the undivided attention of Harry and Draco the same.

"It's funny, in a way," Lucius said to keep up the suspense, basking in it, until Harry seemed ready to curse him. "The Wand, as I understand it, is meant to be held by one wizard at a time, until the next person in line wins or takes it from them. But since Draco almost as if gave its loyalty away, and Mr. Potter no doubt gifted it back, not to mention how the Elder Wand was broken, it enchanted you both."

"Enchanted us?" Harry asked. "How?"

Draco didn't even have to hear the answer to guess she wasn't going to like it. Lucius seemed only too happy with his findings.

"The magic passing back and forth between you two?" he asked. "It's far from harmless. Its pattern is similar to a form of an ancient type marriage bond, or an effect of a love potion. My guess is that the sudden infatuation you have with each other is the result."

"What?" Draco asked, even though she began to understand, possibly for the first time.

"Simply put: I think the Elder Wand put a love spell on you," Lucius said.

"Even if that was possible," Narcissa stepped forward. "Why would it?"

"If Potter and Draco are both supposed to own the wand, maybe if they were married, it didn't matter where its true loyalty was," Lucius said. "Or, if they had an heir, the ownership could transfer to them, and the result would be the same."

"That's rubbish," Harry said.

"You would think so," Lucius said. "But the passive mark that's on my wife, left by the same magic says otherwise. The minute she started to interfere with your relationship, she had fallen severely ill, seemingly without an obvious cause. Almost died, then miraculously and fully recovered when Draco renounced the family name: meaning her influence didn't matter in terms of your relationship."

Draco had to sit down on the closest chair. Could it be? No, right? Lucius was only playing games with them, they shouldn't have asked for his opinion in the first place.

But then again, she did feel an inexplicable pull towards Harry and mistook it for attraction. What if it wasn't? What if this year they could get closer than ever not because Harry changed, nor because Draco tried so hard to overcome the things holding her back, but because their decisions weren't their own?

"It's not true," at least Harry seemed sure out of the two of them, taking Draco's hand. "You know it isn't."

"I would love to say I do," Draco told him. "But it's a fact that the Wand has an active spell on us. And just two years ago, you were trying to kill or maim me, and now we've agreed we'd raise an infant together."

"It's just the war," Harry said. "It changed us. But you don't have to believe me. Let's destroy it. And if we still have the same connection, you're stuck with me."

Draco could only nod. It was a project that was easier said than done: they had to involve Ollivander, Snape, the Malfoys, Promfrey, and even Hermione to create a potion that - in theory - could damage the Elder Wand - hopefully - enough so that whatever effect it had, it would be gone, and they didn't get it right for the first few tries.

Only, when they did, Harry was wrong.

Draco still loved him, but it was noticeably different, as if not so intensive - or as if it was more like a memory than a feeling. And Harry refused to admit that he was the same, but he started to disappear for the nights when he would have to sleep next to Draco - not to mention how he avoided intimacy.

It took Draco a week until she could even locate him to talk to him.

"I… maybe it's time we admitted defeat," she suggested. "And broke up."

"Is it what you really want?"

"I'm not sure," Draco sat down next to him. "But you've been avoiding me for weeks, and if we're done, I'd rather end it than wait until we despise each other again."

"I still remember how it felt," Harry didn't answer, just stared into nothing. "But Lucius was right, and the way the way I feel about you is just the shadow compared to it."

"It's the same for me," Draco took his hand. It was a relief to discuss it, even if also heartbreaking. "But maybe… we could still be friends?"

"I was avoiding you because I knew you'd say that," Harry was openly in distress, and Draco wished she could afford to break down the same.

"What else is there that we could do?"

"We fit together," Harry said. "The magic might have pushed us, but we made sense."

"Or, the magic took away the differences that would have ruined the relationship from day one," Draco corrected. "And now that it's gone, it's just a matter of time that these things resurface."

There were so many barriers between them. And without the magic manipulating them, Draco saw them all more clearly, so they were harder to ignore.

"So that's it? The first chance you get to rid of me, you'll take it?" Harry quietly asked.

"Show me how to fix it, and I will," Draco told him. "But if it's been fake from the beginning…"

"The connection we built wasn't fake," Harry said. "All the time we spent together was real."

"Yes," Draco agreed. "That's why I'm still here, talking to you, and not in a different country, starting a new life, but… is that enough, Harry? If you're being honest, if you think of the connection we forged - is that sufficient for a relationship, now that the feelings are faded?"

"We could make it enough," Harry said.

"Then why are you crying?" Draco pointed out, close to breaking down herself. It felt like dying. And in a way, it was. Whoever Draco thought she could be with Harry - and unknowingly, with the Elder Wand's magic - that witch was gone.

"Because I know you, and you've already made up your mind?" Harry said. "And I've never felt so powerless in my entire life, not even when I walked up to Voldemort."

If Draco wasn't just as devastated as him, the right thing would have been to say goodbye, and not elongate both of their pain of the break. Yet, Draco couldn't do it. She couldn't willingly hurt Harry so badly, even if nothing was the same, that part didn't change.

"You can always dose me with a love potion, as it would have similar effects," she tried to joke, putting a hand on Harry's.

"I don't need you to love me," Harry said, looking into her eyes. "I just need you to stay."

"It would destroy even what we have left."

"Or we could fill the gaps the magic left behind by intent," Harry corrected.

"It's madness, Harry, and I say this because I still love you so much that I don't want to put you through that," Draco sighed.

"I'd take any madness on if the stakes were so high," Harry declared. "It might not have all been genuine, but it showed us what we could become, and that was real."

"With a lot of time, maybe."

"No, not even that," Harry said. "I still remember how you feel when I hold you in my arms. How when I fall asleep next to you it feels like I can breathe freely again, and how I'd make a complete fool of myself anytime if it made you laugh. That's NOT nothing, Draco."

Draco didn't know what to say. Just by saying that, Harry made her remember so many things of the previous months, and if she had to imagine her life without Harry, the alternative would have been just a black void, compared. But she didn't know what was the best decision in the long term.

"I wish I listened to Lucius Malfoy of all people," Harry added, now looking away. "If we married when he was pushing for it, maybe I could convince you now."

"No," Draco shook her head. "If you want to convince me, do it. If not, that wouldn't help."

She didn't count on Harry desperately kissing her, hearing that. How it would feel different, but she'd almost get emotional because she didn't remember when they kissed last, and she still wanted Harry, even if everything seemed to change around them.

"Wait, wait, wait," Harry said when soon they found themselves in their bed. "I don't want to—"

"Have sex with me anymore?" Draco sighed.

"NO, I do, more than ever," Harry stated sharply. "But I don't want a relationship that's only physical."

"It might be a good start," Draco couldn't believe she said that, but she still wanted Harry, as the example proved, which seemed more important when Harry wanted to stop at the worst possible moment. "Please?"

"I have an idea, although you might not like it," Harry said.

"Probably," Draco agreed.

"If only I had a way to convince you," Harry still hovered close on the top of her, but just out of reach for a kiss.

"Of what exactly?"

"We recreate our dates," Harry said. "And reclaim them just for us. Without the influence of magic. Even now - I could have you the same way when we first had sex, to prove to you we don't even need anything else."

"And the rest of our problems?" Draco asked, even though just by thinking of repeating their first night together, she really wanted it.

"You'll just have to marry me," Harry joked, slowing his movements down.

"If I didn't marry you while we were unwittingly bound together, why would I do it now?" Draco stopped him only for a short time.

"Maybe magic didn't give us our feelings, just intensity," Harry said, and Draco only then realized he wasn't joking. "But it definitely had given us trust. And a contract might just support us until we can get back there again."

"I wish," Draco would have even agreed if she shared Harry's optimism and believed they could get back to the same place where they were before.

"No, correction," Harry said, kissing her. "I don't even want to go back. Because if we manage to make us work again, it will be something far better."

"How could it be?" Draco asked.

"It would be something we fought for. Together," Harry said. He didn't even elaborate, because he couldn't keep away from Draco anymore, and Draco had shared the feeling, but that simple idea took root in Draco's mind, even lingering days later.

When Harry only got closer to her in the morning after waking, Draco didn't want to ever let him go. Maybe magic got them together, but it's not like they were strangers, when Draco knew every little habit Harry had (bad and good ones), and Harry not only knew hers but still wanted to stick around.

"I know you had asked me a hundred times, but ask me once more," she said.

"About- you mean, the big question?" Harry asked, and when Draco nodded, he said. "You, know, I can't go down on one knee if you're laying on the top of me."

"Maybe that's for the best."

"Will you marry me, Draco?"

"Yes," she said. "On one condition."

"I should have known," Harry laughed, but he also looked sad, as if Draco was never going to say yes to him, and mean it.

"I need you to promise me that no matter what, we're in this together."

"I think that's the definition of marriage," Harry didn't understand.

"That's not the point. We have seen what our life together could be like," Draco said. "And I want that more than anything. But we're also capable of only hurting each other, as before, so I reckon the difference is…"

"Doing it 'together'?" Harry asked.

"Trusting that no matter what crap comes in our way, which it no doubt will, if I show up for us, you do the same," Draco had a hard time putting her thoughts into words. "Promise me you won't leave me to fight our battles alone, making me look like an idiot in front of everyone, and I'll fight through whatever. If it's with you."

"Are you proposing to me, or am I to you?"

"Is that a 'no', then?" Draco mimicked Harry's usual way of asking that.

"Merlin no," Harry said. "I mean, no, it's not a no, so it's a YES. Obviously. I promise."

But as he said it, Draco only got a small kiss, and despite how Harry wasn't a morning person, he got up and started dressing as if leaving somewhere.

"Where are you going?" Draco had to ask.

"I mean, if you meant it, I'd rather arrange for a ceremony as soon as possible, before you change your mind. Let's get married - right now."

"Yeah," Draco laughed. "How about you just come back to bed."

"You have exactly 5 minutes - until I wake Andromeda and ask who could officiate us - to choose what you would like to wear."

"Harry…"

"Don't say I haven't warned you," Harry said in a sing-song voice, disappearing.

"What even is my life," Draco couldn't help but ask the ceiling, unsure whether Harry meant that, or just went to the kitchens, pulling the biggest prank in history on her.