Chapter Text
Theo shivered. It was a bitterly cold day. His hands were as numb as half of his heart. Draco had not been bearing any better. It had been a week. One week since Ronald Weasley had killed Her. Theo knew Draco was taking it the worst out of all of them.
She had been made for them.
She had been meant to be with them.
The other third of both of their hearts in this life and the next.
But stupid words. Foolish actions. And indoctrinated hate all had pushed their heart towards another. And it was fine. It ached. There was a hollow feeling in their chest, but it had been fine. She was safe. She was happy. But she hadn’t been. She hadn’t been safe. She hadn’t been happy.
Theo was afraid that he was going to lose Draco too. Everything had gone so abysmally wrong. Guilt, grief and desperation moved him. He hadn’t seen the blonde like this since the war. His proud dragon was devastated following their witch’s torture by his aunt's hand. But not Her . No, She wore her scar like a badge of pride. She was unflinching in the face of a Ministry that didn’t want to change.
And yet she was unable to survive her marriage. The golden trio had been irrevocably broken. The idiot in prison. Her dead. And Potter left as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, who somehow had no clue his best friend was a killer in wait. She was supposed to have been safe.
‘Bad things happened to wizards who meddle with time’. Theo had been well aware of that fact for most of his life. He had dedicated himself to making magical artefacts and working with the Department of Mysteries in the time room.
It had been there that he had found the ritual.
It was dark.
It was forbidden.
If it worked, they would have a second chance. A chance to do things differently. An opportunity to establish their friendship before the end of the war. A chance for Draco to develop a friendship with her too. One where he might not be held at arm's length the entire time. A chance to woo her. To steal her heart from the man who would eventually beat her to death.
They couldn’t go back as far as the first year. Too much time had passed. If his calculations were correct, then that would kill the two of them. The earliest they could travel and stand any chance of surviving was the summer before the sixth year. If they were lucky, they could get there before Draco was formally marked.
Cissa would help. She defied the Dark Lord once for her son. She could fight him again.
And Snape. Snape would help them. He, too, betrayed his master.
Theo’s marking was set to be after graduation. His was meant to be not a punishment but a reward to his father, who had served the Dark Lord since their days in Hogwarts. Theodore, however, planned on indulging in a little patricide.
Theo hated this island.
He hated this prison.
But he couldn’t ask Draco to return. He wasn’t held for long following the war, but he’d been almost broken under all his negative thoughts and feelings.
So it was Theo alone who made his way to the forest in the middle of the North Sea and walked through the iron walls into a bleak prison. He was, after all, a Ministry official. He was allowed to visit with his father in his cell. This would mark the first time since the war's end he might lay eyes on the monster who raised him.
His father was not his target, though. Not in this timeline.
No, this spell called for one thing they couldn’t get any place except for Askaban.
If Cissy could commit to being willing to kill her husband, the Lestrange brothers and her sister to save her son when they went back, then Theo certainly could bring himself to string up the man who murdered Granger. His blood and his last breath were both necessary.
A cautious Theo walked through the luxurious halls of Malfoy Manor. The place that had been a second home to him since the death of his mother. Almost silently, he let himself into the sitting room attached to Draco’s chambers.
The blonde was still sitting in the same chair. His book was on the same page that it was before Theo had left for the prison in the morning. His fierce dragon had been spending more and more time withdrawn and lost inside his head. Even the tea that had been left remained untouched.
He only came alive for Theo or the plan.
Cissy was heartbroken herself. Draco was her world just as much as his. To see him like this it was wrong.
Theo bent and captured the blonde's lips into a kiss while he cupped his cheek. “It is done,” he murmured softly.
“ It's not far enough,” Draco whispered. “ She won't forgive me.”
Draco had been torturing himself with thoughts of rejection and abandonment. Originally he wanted to return to the first year and restart fresh. Befriend Potter before the Weasel. Run into Granger during the summer and befriend her too.
He had destroyed the parlour once again after getting the news he'd have to make do with the summer he was marked. They would, of course, avoid Draco getting marked. It was just a matter of killing Bella for the cup, getting rid of Lucius, and disappearing with Cissy until the school year started.
“We are going to give them the war.” Theo pointed out.
Draco scoffed. “Fuck them.” He didn't give a damn about most of the Order’s side.
“All of them, Dragon?” Theo teased, sitting directly on Draco’s lap and sliding his arm behind his neck. “I'm not sure I could keep it up long enough to bugger Dumbledore or fuck Mother Weasley. I would have to cut my cock off if I fucked Potter, never mind the Weasel.”
Draco scoffed as he wrapped an arm loosely around Theo's waist. “Fuck Potter, and you won't have to worry about cutting your cock off. Pansy will do it for you.”
“Too right I would, my darling sexual deviants.” A familiar voice appears.
“Didn’t even have to say Potter cock three times to summon your dusty snatch.” Draco griped at his second-longest friend.
Pansy threw up her middle finger as Theo gave Draco a warning swat. “Behave.”
“You are fighting a losing battle Theodore if you think Draco Malfoy is capable of that.” Pansy scoffed, throwing herself down on an antique chaize.
“Hardly, my darling Pans.” Theo corrected, a lazy smile spread on his face. “When properly motivated, Draco is capable of being an exceptionally good boy.”
“It's just once he takes his dick out of my mouth, I regain the ability to speak”, Draco added with a leering grin.
“Please. Spare me.” She said, rolling her eyes. “How did it go?” She asked with feigned nonchalance.
She had less to lose than either boy. At least Potter was alive. He was married. Though currently not so happily. Guess when your wife’s brother kills your sister, shit gets strained.
“How did my happy act of murder go?” Theo asked. “Spectacularly well. He paid for his crimes and was drained of every drop. By now, the dementors will have him in a shallow grave.”
“The Weasleys might have signed to reclaim the body.” Pansy fretted while lounging. It was only years of friendship that enabled the two men to pick up on her anxiety.
“We are going momentarily.” Theo soothingly said. “This might be the thing that breaks up Potter's marriage. We have to go, but Pansy, you, you can stay.”
“Like hell, I'm staying. I want to hit Potter while he still has a youthful rebound time and the stupid glasses.” She countered. Like hell, she would send her boys and her brothers to woo the swot in the past on their own. They would be lost and mess it up horribly.
All they were waiting for was for Cissa to return and see them off. All three would be gone before the family could pick up a body.
Draco’s eyes snapped open. He was at home and in his bed. He could feel the familiar sheets soft and smooth underneath him.
He didn't feel any different. Fingers flew down the series of buttons on his silk sleep shirt. His chest was unmarred, his breath caught, and his heart skipped a beat. “Theo.” He hissed at the boy next to him.
“Dray?” A confused sleepy voice asked.
“The mark! I can't! Do I have the mark, Theo?” He asked, trying not to get his hopes up.
Theo went from sleepy to alert almost immediately. “I remember too.” He said with hopefully what sounded like a reassuring tone.
Draco didn't give a fuck about tones. He wasn't scared. It might have worked. It might have fucking worked. He squeezed his eyes closed, afraid to see it for himself.
Theo undid the button at Draco’s wrists and rolled up the sleeve revealing clean, clear, and unblemished pale skin. Laughing joyfully, he put his hands on either side of his lover's face and crashed their lips together.
He didn't give a shit. They both just woke up and hadn't even taken the time to freshen their mouths. It had worked. It had fucking worked. She was alive. Draco was unmarked.
Breathless, they both fell back onto the pillows laughing and grinning. They had done it. They had really done it.
She was alive. They would stop the war before the idiot trio went on the run. They would be the heroes this time around. The phantom aches in their chest had eased.
The Weasel would be distracted by Brown. They could step in and sway the object of their desires to them. He would never get the chance to hurt her this time around.
Now if only they had been able to have a few month's grace. They could have avoided the battle at the Department of Mysteries. She would have liked it if Harry still had his godfather.
Now they just had to break Cissa’s heart. She loved her husband. She loved the big sister that she remembered. But she insisted that there was nothing and no one she loved more than her son and his stray.
When Theo was little, she would reassure him that she had always wanted more children so he was no bother and always welcome. It had been easy to convince Thoros to offload his heir onto her. She had known there was something special between the boys when Draco was pleased by this rather than jealous and threatened.
A very young Draco did not like sharing. And certainly not his mum’s attention with anyone. If Draco had a favourite cup, then as far as he was concerned, Theo had to have the cup half the time. Mummy could have the cup, but he would pout the entire time. If the little Malfoy thought anyone else (Pansy) was going to touch the mug (which she was), there would be an explosive outburst of accidental magic. But he would share everything with Theodore, including his mother.
When a little Theo worried he forgot how his mum smelled, Cissa bought the disgustingly expensive perfume his mum used to wear. His room from that day on was constantly stocked with two bottles so he would never have to forget. Two bottles at all times were required because, with only one, her sweet stray and the son of her heart but not body would worry it might run out. She did not want her little angel to become anxious.
All that to say, hurting Narcissa Malfoy hurt Theo just as much as Draco. Future Cissa had let them know that she would struggle at first to accept they were doing all of this for a Muggleborn. But Miss Granger had many qualities that would endear her. And most importantly, she would complete them like no other person could. She initially tried insincerely but eventually would come to respect and enjoy the girl. She certainly had when the girl was Theo’s friend and Draco’s acquaintance. It was not common for soulmates to find each other. It was a blessing from magic itself. She knew she would not be able to argue against magic itself.
“Boys. Why so pensive?” Narcissa asked from her seat in the glass conservatory that she was eating her breakfast in.
The duo watched as she lifted her teacup and waited for them to talk.
“We have a third,” Draco whispered, hovering in the doorway.
“A third?” She asked, confused. She may have speculated they might have been soulmates, but she had never had confirmation, so it was not the first thing that came to mind. “Sit.” She instructed. “Eat and explain.” No matter how much she fed Theodore, his tall frame was sleek and lean.
Both boys tentatively sat and served themselves in absolute silence.
“Draco Lucius Malfoy and Theodore Nott, you explain, and you explain this instant what all of this is about.”
Theo sighed and decided to save his love from the burden of breaking Cissa’s heart for a girl she would struggle to accept but also couldn’t reject. “Our Dragon is half of my heart. And I am half of his. Fuck,” he swore.
“Language, Theodore!” She scolded.
“We meddled with time,” Draco added, trying to pick up the story to give Theo a few minutes to stab his uneaten eggs.
“We thought she was happy. We thought it was for the best. But Cissa, he killed her. We stayed on the sidelines because she would never forgive Draco. Not after the war. Not after she was tortured here. In the drawing room. Bella made him watch Cissa.”
“Who?” She demanded.
“We almost lost Draco after Cissa. And if I lost him too, I wouldn’t be far after him.” He admitted bluntly. “She was under the Cruciatus Curse for hours before Bella started playing with knives.”
“Theodore, who?” She repeated when her question went unanswered.
Still, the boys refused to answer. They needed her to understand. “The Dark Lord will force me to take his mark this summer. And I will be tasked with seemingly impossible tasks to punish father for his failures. Father will be given the choice of him or me.”
“Lucius, of course, picked himself.” Theo had to tell her. “You never forgave him. You refused to visit him in prison after the war.”
Now that at least distracted her from her demands to know who their third was. “Why was your father in prison after the Dark Lord won?”
Draco snorted and raised an eyebrow. “Mother, he loses. I got saved from prison because while she was our prisoner, I refused to identify Potter, and I let them steal my wand. You, however, Mother, lie to him and betray him.”
“Draco, why would I betray our Lord?” Narcissa asked, horrified.
“For us, Cissa. You do it for us. Potter survived the killing curse again. You knew the Dark Lord would lose as you were the one to check for signs of life.” Theo explained.
“She testified for Draco. Her and Potter single-handedly kept him out of prison.” Theo mentioned both trying to delay their confession
“Enough!” She snapped. “I demand you tell me who this instant!”
“It’s Granger,” Draco whispered
“You know you always suspected. You’d reassure yourself that you thought it was me. But there was just something. The way she consumed every thought. Took over every letter.” Theo said, revealing confessions from her future self.
“No.” She insisted. “It cannot be Potter’s Mudblood.”
“Muggleborn.” Theo corrected gently.
“Your father! My sister! The Dark Lord! They will kill you!” She said in a panic. “It cannot be that girl. It just can’t. I’m sorry. No. Tell me this is a poorly thought, tasteless joke immediately!” She demanded, slapping the table with her palm. There was little that could crack her mask, but her boys were her weakness. The chink in her armour.
“They can try and kill me now. But their actions, the path they put us on, they kill me too.” Draco softly confessed as Theo took possession of the other boy's hand. “I will kill myself and take as many Death Eaters with me as possible if he holds your life against me to obtain compliance.”
“I refuse to sit here and indulge you in this terrible joke.” She insisted, glaring fiercely at both boys. She all but lept from the table. “You may find me when you are both ready to apologise. And until then, I do not want to hear another word about this!” She insisted before storming from the room. Her robes flowed behind her dramatically.