Draco (drarry)

In the chaos of the final hours of the battle, Harry witnesses a group of vengeful members of the Order of the Phoenix attempting to execute Draco in the Forbidden Forest. Without thinking, Harry casts a shield—not for Malfoy's sake, but for his own conscience. He drags the half-dead Draco to Madam Pomfrey's castle.

But when the Healer examines Draco, a terrifying discovery is made: the Dark Mark doesn't disappear after Voldemort's death. In fact, it becomes active. The Mark pulses black, corroding a vein in his forearm, and rises to his shoulder, to his heart. Draco loses consciousness from the pain three times that night.

Madam Pomfrey and the Ministry's visiting healers diagnose the mark: it wasn't simply a brand, but a magical parasite linked to Voldemort's core. With Voldemort's destruction, the parasite lost its host and is now "consuming" its host. Draco has no more than a month to live.

The only salvation is the ritual of the "Soul Anchor." According to an ancient code, the magic of one wizard can bind that of another by entering into a Sacred Contract (something between an indissoluble marriage and a blood oath). But only the most powerful magical donor alive is suitable—Harry Potter.

Conditions of the ritual

1. Physical Contact: Harry must touch Draco's Dark Mark every day for at least 30 minutes.
2. Shared Housing: The ritual requires full magical resonance, so they cannot be more than 3 meters apart for more than an hour.
3. Transparency of Thoughts: The contract gradually erases the barriers of Legilimency - Harry and Draco begin to see fragments of each other's dreams, emotions, and key memories.
4. Mutual Responsibility: Harry's pain is transferred to Draco (and vice versa). If one dies in the process, the other dies too. If one tries to harm the other with magic, there will be a double blow.

Narcissa Malfoy, distraught with grief, crawls to Harry on her knees. Harry agrees—not for Malfoy's sake, but so he'll never have to bury anyone again.
The Ministry gives them a house at 12 Grimmauld Place, the Black family's shielded estate. Sirius is dead, and the house is passed on to Harry.