Despite being in excruciating pain, Harry and Draco disappearing was still overwhelmingly relieving. He'd gotten them out. They would be with Leif and Alexei. They would be safe. They would live. For the first time in his life, he'd done something right and made his miserable existence worth something. He only hoped the boys could forgive him one day, especially Harry.

The things he'd done to the child for a cover that hadn't even existed anymore. Voldemort had known all along and made him torture Harry to torture him, to make him a participant in Harry's torment for nothing.

Severus gasped as he was thrown backwards, hitting the floor where the boys had been. The shattered chandelier buried into his skin while the boys' mixed blood pools soaked into his clothes and wounds. He screamed as a Cruciatus set fire to his nerves. He twisted and thrashed, his bones threatening to snap under the harsh, unnatural movements. He wasn't left in his twitching heap for long, forced to his knees with his arms over his head, similar to the boys.

He lifted his head and straightened his back. He would not cower or tremble or portray any sign of giving up. He would die looking into the eyes of his murderer. He would not disgrace Harry and Draco's strength by laying down and waiting to die. He could feel them there, the remnants of their magic that had exploded so magnificently from them, and he drew his own will and strength from it, from them.

"The traitor is yours, my lord."

Severus glared at Lucius stonily, wanting nothing more than to rip the pompous monster apart for what he did to Draco, for what he made Severus witness. The sounds Draco had made...they echoed in Severus' head, just like Harry's.

He tracked Lucius with hard eyes until he disappeared just out of view to be replaced by Voldemort. His eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he saw the blood beading down Voldemort's face from the inner corners of his red eyes, still glittering with the magic he stole. Something had happened. Whatever Harry and Draco had done had injured Voldemort, was still hurting him.

"Severus," Voldemort hissed. "You think you have saved them, but I have them within me now. I can take the rest of their magic from anywhere at any time. All you have done is draw out their suffering and, don't you despair, they willsuffer."

Severus said nothing, only glowered at the threats while watching the madman continue to bleed. Something was happening and it was because of the boys.

Voldemort closed his eyes and tilted his head back, raising his arms to the side as though revelling in a sunlight that didn't exist. "I feel them."

Severus couldn't help his shudder at the way Voldemort's pleasured voice slithered over him. He stiffened when the snake-like eyes fell on him again with even more intensity, the red of his eyes becoming hidden by the colourful stolen magic. Severus couldn't tell if the magic was being consumed by Voldemort or was fighting for dominance.

"I feel you." Voldemort's voice remained slick, sliding thickly around Severus. "What sweet poetry it will be to torture and kill you with the magic you share with them, with the source of your betrayal, with your love."

Severus still didn't respond. He wouldn't give this monster the satisfaction of achieving any kind of rise. He just glared and waited, wrapping himself in the threads of Harry and Draco.

He didn't have to wait long. Voldemort raised his bone wand and a variety of tangled magical threads left it-red, blue, green, yellow, white, gold, black. Despite there being more of the coloured threads than the black, the black wrapped around the others in a tight spiral, forcing them into submission. As the magic touched him, it spread across him like a spiderweb, a black string for every coloured one.

He expected the pain. The Cruciatus was Voldemort's favourite, after all. So, when his nerves began to burn, it wasn't a surprise. What was a surprise was when it got worse, beyond any Cruciatus he'd experienced in the past. His nerves weren't just on fire. Instead, it felt like they were dissolving at the same time they were being sliced to shreds by millions of tiny blades. It was an indescribable pain, a Cruciatus powered by the sun.

No, not the sun; the world and the gods.

He craned his head down when a stabbing sensation in the very center of his chest joined the other pain, and found a braid of black and gold threads submerged in his chest. He groaned brokenly at all the agony, grinding his teeth so hard to keep from screaming he swore his teeth cracked. His groaning was cut off by his breath catching in his chest as his body fell cold, as though his blood had turned to ice, bringing that iciness to every inch of him. Then, the sharp, hard draining began, his magic, his core, his very life being pulled from him. Between the agony still tearing through his nerves and the steady draining of his life, his head was quickly growing light and his body weak.

Only, despite it feeling like the torture had been going on for several long minutes already, in reality, it had only been a few seconds. It was only a few seconds before the icy chill was chased from his body by a warmth that quickly grew directly where the magic had sunk into his chest. It took away the chill and stopped the draining, preventing the emptiness from consuming him. Then, the pain stopped, but another roar echoed in the hall.

Severus opened his eyes and found the coloured threads had returned to Voldemort, wrapping around the bone wand and skeletal hand. Some threads continued further, spreading up the side of Voldemort's neck. The coloured strands seemed to be dissolving the black, and scorching into Voldemort's wand and body. Blood spurted from Voldemort's eyes and he howled, stumbling backwards until he collapsed into his throne. His wand and arm spasmed under the magic's attack. Voldemort was clearly trying to release his wand, but was unable, the magic keeping it in his grasp as it burned and cracked. There was a blinding, glittering flash and Voldemort screeched in obvious agony before the light faded, the magic vanished, and Voldemort fell unconscious in his throne. His now unrecognizable wand clattered to the floor, falling from his limp, burned fingers.

"Traitor!" Lucius shouted, casting a Cruciatus before Severus could even comprehend what had just happened. He writhed, the movement making the shackles gouge into his wrists. The curse ended and Lucius stepped up to him. Severus glared up into the mutilated face that had once been so pristine, smirking at the permanent, angry lacerations that now marred the skin. Leif had not gone quietly. "To think, I thought you would be the one to help guide Draco. Instead, you stole him from me and this."

"Difficult to steal something that never belonged to you," Severus sneered.

Lucius growled and cast another Cruciatus before leaning in close with a glower. "You think you can keep him? He's my son."

"Blood means far less than you believe."

"You think you can protect him from this? Protect them from their destiny?"

"Not sure their destiny is the one in peril."

Another growl and another Cruciatus.

"How long do you think you can take it, Severus? I think I can go for as long as it takes."

Severus steeled himself for the torture that would surely lead to his long-awaited death. As the curse landed, he kept hold of Harry and Draco's magic, and held them in the forefront of his mind.

"Harry, get back into bed," Alexei ordered while meeting the boys' looks of utter defiance with his own exhausted glare. "Draco, lay down."

"No!" Harry argued. "We need to go back!"

"I am not letting you storm back into Malfoy Manor when Severus risked everything to get you out!" Alexei snapped back.

"How can you just leave him there?" Draco demanded.

"Because he told me to!" Alexei yelled.

Draco was taken aback by the shout and the tears shining in the vampire's eyes. He glanced up at Harry who turned to look at him briefly with his own stunned expression before turning back to Alexei. A dull ache made itself known in Draco's gut as he stared at Alexei's pained, broken face, blue eyes glimmering with tears begging to be shed.

It had been hours since he and Harry appeared in the Forbidden Forest courtesy of Snape's-Severus'? They'd both called the man ‘Severus' as they were pulled away from Malfoy Manor-Snape's Portkey. Draco had passed out while Harry fought to stay conscious as Alexei hurried them up to Hogwarts. Draco woke halfway through being treated, joining in on Harry's fight to get out and shouting about the Potions Master being left behind. As a result, they'd been treated minimally, just enough to be stable, and Alexei had immediately taken them to Prince Manor where they absolutely refused to stay in bed, leading to the current fight. 

"Severus begged me to take care of you, me and Leif," Alexei said, his voice quieting. "I made a promise."

"But-" Harry tried to interject.

"Do not make me break that promise," Alexei implored. "I have failed him too many times. Do not make me fail him again."

"He'll die," Draco said quietly.

Alexei's eyes fell shut and Draco's ache strengthened as he watched tears fall down the vampire's cheeks. When the blue eyes opened again, Draco swallowed thickly at the raw pain shining there.

"If I am to lose him, let it be only him," Alexei begged breathily, his shimmering blue eyes boring into them.

Draco stared back, hurt and guilt-ridden by Alexei's brokenness. He watched as Alexei turned to leave the room, pausing in the doorway. The vampire bowed his head and curled his fingers around the doorframe and door. The wood cracked and splintered under the white fingers, making Draco wince.

"I will never forgive myself for this, for losing him," Alexei whispered, "but I can have his forgiveness if I have you. I lost everyone once...I cannot do it again."

Alexei left then, leaving behind broken wood and silent boys. Draco's back begged for his attention, but he ignored it, eyes flicking to Harry as the Gryffindor came to sit on the foot of his bed.

"So, now what?" Draco asked quietly.

"We can't leave him there," Harry said.

"We can't leave Alexei or Leif either," Draco argued. "How do we even know he's still alive?"

"He's alive," Harry said firmly. "Can't you still feel him?"

Draco sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I feel him."

"We have to-" Harry broke off and grabbed his head with a quiet cry.

Draco watched with wide, startled eyes. "Harry?" He winced at the strange warm pulse he felt in his chest, fluttering his fingers over his bandaged sternum.

"Something's happened to Voldemort," Harry said after a few seconds. "He's hurt, really hurt."

"Severus could be fighting back," Draco suggested, not bothering to question what name to use. There were more important things in that moment.

"He won't have much time left if he is," Harry said, looking at him. "We have to save him. He's saved us too many times for us to leave him."

"How? We're barely healed, we have no idea what happened there, and, it's Malfoy Manor, sure, but I can't just walk us in the front door," Draco told him.

"No, but you can get us back there," Harry said and Draco looked at him, confused. "Magic Running."

Draco blinked and then leaned close, glancing at the bedroom door as though Alexei was going to be standing there, listening. "Are you insane?" he hissed.

"Got another idea?" Harry retorted.

"I don't know how to do Magic Running," Draco argued. "Leif only mentioned it before he was attacked."

"You can do it, I know you can," Harry encouraged.

"I don't even know what could happen if I mess up," Draco replied. "Honestly, at best, I could kill us."

"And Severus will die if we don't do this," Harry said.

Draco hesitated, a pang in his heart.

"I love Leif and Alexei," Harry said gently, "but it's not home without Severus."

Draco gazed into Harry's eyes, seeing the earnestness there and knowing his own eyes were reflecting the same thing because Harry was right. He loved Leif and Alexei, too, and they were part of this thing they were all creating, but Severus was at the center of it all. They were all together, had become whatever they were, because of Severus. What would truly be left if Severus was gone?

"Alright, let's go," Draco agreed and he dragged himself out of bed, ignoring the pain it caused. He pulled a jumper from his wardrobe and slipped it on, gritting his teeth at the movement and brushing of his bandaged wounds. "You know, if we survive this, Alexei will kill us."

"Not if we have Severus," Harry said as he moved to quietly close the bedroom door after glancing out to check for the vampire. He returned to Draco and held out his hand. "Ready?"

Draco took the Gryffindor's hand, casting him a withering look that was so reminiscent of Severus. "Not even a little bit."

Harry gave him a smile that was half amused and half apprehensive. "You can do this. You can get him back to us."

Draco took a deep breath at Harry's conviction and let his eyes close. Leif had mentioned this ability, but hadn't had a chance to start teaching him. It was the final, most difficult thing an Aetherion could do, tapping into a magical signature and using it to transport oneself to that person. A strong signature or a strong connection to the person was required along with Draco's ability to actually follow the magic beyond where he connected with it. It was something he'd never done, always connecting to magic immediately around him and never needing to go beyond. According to Leif, it took a lot of power and strength; mental, physical, and magical. Leif had anticipated it would take weeks to go even a small distance, let alone all the way to Malfoy Manor and with another person. It was an extraordinary risk they were taking, but...

They had to save Severus.

So, he focused, finding the magical remnants that filled Prince Manor. Leif, Alexei, Harry, and Severus' magic were everywhere, his own tangling happily with every single one of their threads. He pushed through all the magic so it was only Severus' he saw, using the Occlumency the man had taught him. It was difficult. He was weak, his magic weak, and he could feel Harry's was too. Voldemort's draining and then their spontaneous expulsion had severely impacted their magic levels. It wouldn't be long before they began suffering the effects of magical exhaustion. Just what they would need on top of everything else.

He pushed the worries aside and guided his magic to gather Severus', creating a thick rope of waving gold and black. His magic spiralled around Severus', encouraging it to lengthen beyond where Draco could see. He imagined the magic rope extending across an abyss and connecting to Severus, imaging the core he'd seen and felt so many times before. He remembered its power, its protection, its warmth.

With another deep breath and squeezing Harry's hand, he connected to Harry's core and pulled at his magic. He guided it to mix with his, watching the coloured braid twist with his silvery-white, and pushed the strands into the rope. He imagined their braid travelling through the rope to the magical core at the other end, pushing the magic to do just that. Once it was just beyond his sight, he funnelled all of his power into it and, shockingly, they moved. It was a strange feeling, like they'd had an extremely strong Accio cast on them, but Draco could also feel the hard constricting happening around his core. He was pushing it well beyond its limit.

He had little more time to dwell as shouts of anger and surprise, and screams of pain began echoing around him. His eyes flew open.

He'd done it.

They were back at Malfoy Manor.

And staring directly into the mutilated face and sleek wand of Lucius.

"You," Lucius breathed.

Draco had no time to respond in any way as he and Harry were sent flying through the air, sliding across the marble floor. The impact was agonizing on his already severe wounds, but Draco pushed himself up as quick as possible regardless.

"Potter is yours!" Lucius announced to the other Death Eaters. "Leave Draco to me."

The Death Eaters swarmed while Lucius swept past the half-suspended figure that was Severus and raised his wand to Draco. Draco instantly connected to Harry again and threw his hands up, creating a glittery shield that dissolved Lucius' incoming curse. As another curse quickly approached, Draco created a funnel to catch the curse and dodged, sending the spell over his head where it hit another Death Eater who crumpled to the floor.

There was a yelp and a crunch behind him as a violent wind created by Harry picked up, and Draco pulled at the Air Magic, creating a swirling vortex around his father that deflected every spell the man tried to cast. With Lucius temporarily detained, Draco looked over his shoulder to find Harry tripping a couple Death Eaters with vines while holding three others in a cylinder of fire. Draco reached out to the one he was certain was Dolohov and attached to his core, pulling harshly at the magic. Hating the feel of the Dark Magic, he spun and sent a Slicing Hex at the chain holding Severus up, using the power he was stealing. The iron chain links shattered and the man collapsed to the floor. He turned again and sent Dolohov, who was wavering where he stood from the excessive loss of magic, flying into a wall where he crumpled, unconscious.

Draco released Dolohov's core and dashed across the hall towards Severus. He had just slid to his knees beside the professor when he collapsed, writhing under his father's Cruciatus. He cried out at the pain, feeling it compound with the rest. It ended abruptly and Draco rolled over in time to see the vine that was wrapped around his father's wand and was constricting, threatening to snap it. Lucius whipped his wand around and the vine burnt to ash.

Draco threw up another shield to block the incoming Cutting Curse and reached out to connect to Lucius' core. He had just connected when he went flying again, slamming into the fireplace mantle. He yelped at the crack he felt in his side and grasped at the source of the pain. He quickly rolled to avoid the Blasting Curse, stone from the fireplace exploding behind him.

Lucius was on him before he could react and Harry screamed across the hall. Draco gasped for air and clawed at Lucius' hands as they wrapped around his throat. He fought to stay connected to Harry, feeling both their magic flickering with growing weakness.

"You thought you could run from me?" Lucius snapped. "From who you are?"

Draco glared through his spotting vision. He fought to focus through the lack of oxygen reaching his brain, trying to see the magic around him to do something, anything. The strands flickered in and out of his view. He managed to see the floating magic just enough to see the tangled threads of his and Harry's magic twist around the gold-black strands of Severus. As the man's magic was pulled in to join, Draco felt a ball of warmth begin to grow in his chest.

His head was light and his vision darkening when he saw it, the royal purple strings that swam amongst the other magic from seemingly nowhere. They moved swiftly, wrapping around the mixture of Draco, Harry, and Severus. Draco could swear he saw their strands multiplying with each touch of the purple ones. The warmth in Draco's chest expanded, flooding his entire body. There was a waver, a pulse, and, without thinking, Draco pulled his hands from Lucius' and threw them to his sides, spread-eagle and palms to the marble.

The warm explosion of magic washing away from him was powerful and instantaneous. Everything moved in slow motion and the magic moved like strong soundwaves, making the air wobble and thrum. Lucius was pulled from him and he heaved in long-denied oxygen. He blinked rapidly to get his vision back, and found his father and the other Death Eaters attacking Harry suspended in the air. The magical threads had melted together. Instead of the threads of his, Harry's, and Severus' magic being individual ones braided together, they had absorbed into each other, making rainbow ropes, the colours mixed together like tie-dye. It looked as though it were a whole new type of magic. The rainbow ropes were tangled with the royal purple strings, creating a mesh-like wall that washed across the room again and again, the air continuing to thrum low like a bass around them.

Moving his eyes from the magic to his floating father, hate boiled inside him. He pulled at the combined magic, wrapping it around Lucius and sending him flying so hard into a wall that the wall cracked behind him. Draco stood, despite the hurt in his side from a very likely broken rib, and walked towards Lucius through the mesh walls, eyes hard. He sent more magic at Lucius and large thorns drove themselves through the man's palms into the wall, effectively pinning his father who cried out.

Draco stopped in front of his father, glowering at the sneer Lucius mustered.

"Are you going to kill me, son? Your own father? Your own blood?" Lucius drawled.

Draco ground his teeth and clenched his fists.

"You've tried to run from it, but admit it," Lucius said with a smirk of satisfaction. "You are just like me."

Draco growled and pushed magic at Lucius, connecting harshly to his core. Lucius gasped at the violent attachment. Instead of pulling Lucius' magic from him, Draco began to flood magic into the man's core. Lucius began screaming, but Draco just watched as the black strands that made Lucius' core burned, turning red and dissolving into glittery ash. He could feel tugs on his own core as though something was asking for his attention, but he couldn't tear his focus from the burning of his father's core.

"Draco! Draco, stop!"

Draco heard the voice, felt the hand that grasped his arm, but he couldn't look away from his writhing, screaming father. He poured more magic into the man's core, black strands steadily disintegrating.

"Draco!"

He became more aware of the insistent tugging on his arm and the magic whipping around him like a strong wind. He could feel and see the purple and rainbow magic trying to wrap around his rope connected to Lucius' core, trying to create a film around the man's core to protect from Draco.

"Draco, let him go!" Harry shouted. "Don't do this!"

"I have to!" Draco yelled back. "I can't live with him hanging over me! I can't be him!"

"You're not!" Harry yelled. "I promise you're not! You're my brother!"

Draco turned his head to Harry, barely noting the horrible gash on the Gryffindor's forehead pouring blood down his nose, cheek, and chin. All he saw was the desperate, shining green eyes.

"Do not make me lose my brother," Harry said firmly. "Not when we're here to save our family."

"E...everything he's done..." Draco said weakly and Harry nodded.

"I know and, I promise, he'll pay, but not right now. Not today," Harry said imploringly. "Come home."

A scene of sitting with Harry and playfully pushing each other played in his head, followed up by a scene of lying in bed with Severus sitting on the edge.

Home.

Lucius' screams stopped as did the rushing magic. Draco gave Harry a tight nod and allowed himself to be led away from his father over to the heap that was Severus. The form was torn, bloody, and trembling violently.

"Get us out of here," Harry said, grabbing Draco's hand and Severus' arm.

"How?" Draco asked as he realized a problem. "Alexei's magic isn't here."

"Just try," Harry told him. "We have to get out of here."

Draco took a deep breath and closed his eyes, seeing the magic around them again. The rainbow ropes and purple threads were still there, tangled together while also wrapping around where Draco, Harry, and Severus were holding each other. He gathered what he could of the rainbow ropes and sent it away from himself in a random direction. Like when finding Severus, he imagined Alexei and Alexei's core on the other end of his searching magic. He remembered the way the vampire's magic felt and the way it felt to connect to the vampire's core. He imagined travelling along the rope of magic and reaching Alexei. He imagined Harry and Severus there with him.

The purple strings brushed across his cheek, and Harry's, and Severus', before sinking into their rainbow rope. There was a strong pulse and then the same feeling of being Accioed. As they were pulled, Draco saw the rope beginning to disassemble, becoming individual strands again. As they separated, his and Harry's began flickering, fading, and a sharp pain began to grow in Draco's chest.

The pulling stopped and Draco sprawled across the wooden floor they landed on. He made to open his eyes, but the pain in his chest exploded and the last thing he was aware of was the hard, uncontrollable seizing of his body.