"Bring me more pudding," Malfoy declared, waving his empty bowl at Kreacher.

Kreacher hurried to fill Malfoy's bowl, bringing an extra back for Ron as well. Ron glared at Malfoy, but accepted the bowl, seeming torn between wanting Malfoy gone and being appreciative that his arrogance had gained Ron food. He adjusted his blanket and sank deeper into the armchair in Harry's living room.

"So what's it like being the most powerful wizard in the world?" Ron asked Harry, his tone deceptively light.

Harry shrugged. "Warm," he said, unable to think of any other way to describe the current of magic he could constantly feel just within reach.

"Decided what you're going to do with it yet?" Malfoy asked. "Destroy some cities? Enslave some people?"

Ron opened his mouth in disgust before realising Malfoy was joking. He shut it again and went back to glaring.

"So, if you hadn't accepted the power, you would have lost both the power and the wand, since Twilfitt would have won," Malfoy said conversationally around a spoonful of pudding. "Damn confusing centaurs."

Harry nodded. "I hate divination," he muttered.

Hermione walked in, her nose in a book. "I've been thinking, Harry," she began.

Harry and Malfoy shared a look.

Hermione went on, oblivious. "I want to test something. Can you give the wand to Malfoy?"

"I like you, Granger," Malfoy said quickly. "I always thought you were too good for these two. Always said it, right from the start."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Hermione said, although her lips quirked in a smile. "Harry, could you?"

Harry passed over the Elder Wand. Malfoy accepted it eagerly. "What now?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Wave it around."

Malfoy waved it around. Ron yelped as his armchair rose immediately, hovering above the ground.

"Interesting," Hermione said softly.

Malfoy returned the couch to the ground with a frown. "That was easy," he said. "It was like the wand wanted to do it."

"That's how it feels for me," Harry said slowly.

Hermione grinned triumphantly, although she looked faintly worried. "Do you feel any different, Malfoy?" she asked. "Since the warehouse?"

"Apart from feverish and sore?" Malfoy asked. "Not really."

"You shouldn't be feverish," Hermione protested. "You checked out healthy from St. Mungos."

Malfoy shrugged. "Well then, yes I feel a little strange. Why?"

"I think you're both the masters of the Elder Wand," Hermione announced.

Ron bolted upright, spilling pudding over the carpet. "You what?!" he yelped. "Please tell me I misheard you just then."

"I'm not sure how," Hermione continued. "But Malfoy seemed to tap the same power as Harry when he used the wand to save Harry from the fall." She shot Harry an annoyed look, just to remind him he wasn't forgiven yet. "It doesn't make sense. Everything I read says there should only be one master."

Harry remembered how both he and Draco had seemed able to use each others' wands as if they were their own. He told Hermione, but that only seemed to confuse her further.

"It doesn't make sense," she insisted. "The wand chooses the wizard. One wand, one wizard. That's how it's always been."

"Has it, though?" Malfoy asked suddenly.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Ron said automatically, obviously reluctant to have Malfoy contribute to their usual theory discussions. Harry gave Ron a pointed look, which he ignored.

"What if it never had to be one wizard per wand," Malfoy continued, shooting Ron a glare. "That was just the convention. After all, how many wizards would want to share their wands when they bond so strongly to them? It could be a misconception."

Hermione looked excited. "Yes, and you and Harry have already shared wands, haven't you? He had your wand for ages before he gave it back, and you've both been the owner of the Elder Wand, except you're both still alive, which hasn't happened since Dumbledore and Grindelwald."

"Except they never owned the other two Hallows," Harry filled in, starting to get into the theory. "So their only link was the wand, not the whole tapping-directly-into-magic thing."

"It fits," Hermione said, looking smug. "You've demonstrated some kind of partnership, which the Elder Wand has obviously latched onto. Particularly since Harry gave Malfoy the cloak as he was falling." She shot Harry another glare. "And Malfoy found the stone, but gave it to Harry." She frowned. "You've consistently shown the exact opposite kind of behaviour to what the Hallows are used to."

Harry grinned. "You should be pleased, Hermione," he said. "Think what it could mean for post-war wizarding relations."

Hermione smiled brightly. "You're right," she said. "You two should do an interview about it. Only-" she trailed off, looking suddenly crestfallen. "How exactly are you going to share the wand?" She slid a sideways glance at Malfoy. "You two don't exactly work well together."

Malfoy coughed politely while Harry suddenly found the carpet fascinating. He risked a glance at Hermione and found her watching him shrewdly.

"So, you never explained how you figured out the Hallows," he said quickly.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, but burst into the explanation she had obviously been holding back. "Well, it was all about interpreting what the book was saying about magical creatures, wasn't it?" she said. "You see?" she pressed, when Harry looked blank.

"No." Harry shook his head.

"It was referring to centaurs and house elves and goblins," Hermione went on, ignoring him. "Because the master of the Hallows becomes stronger than any magical creature in existence," she said, sounding awed. "Harry, you-" she paused and looked at Malfoy. "Both of you are the first wizards to own all three Hallows in centuries. No one seems to have held them for long. Partly because people can steal the stone so easily, or resort to treachery to kill the wizard and steal the wand, but also because of the toll such power can take."

Harry winced. "Toll?" he asked.

Hermione nodded, looking unperturbed. "That's why you need all three to unlock the true power of the Elder Wand. Otherwise it's just a really powerful wand. For the wand to truly accept you as its master, and to make you a conduit for magic, you have to prove that you can survive its power. They are called the Deathly Hallows not because they make you the master of death, although that does make a lovely children's tale, but as a warning that so much power held by someone unworthy can only lead to death. The Hallows are deathly; they can cause death. And the wand chooses the wizard. The Elder wand chooses he who is master of concealment and wisdom - the cloak and the stone - so that he may have the best chance of surviving the Hallows."

Harry nodded slowly. "And that's us," he finished lamely, looking at Malfoy. Malfoy looked suitably stunned.

"Yes," Hermione said. She looked deeply concerned, flicking another glance at Malfoy. "Like I said, the wand seemed to pick up on the link you two had formed by sharing your wands so freely. Add to that that you were probably the first two wizards to throw the other Hallows back and forth between each other without any greed at all, and it isn't such a big jump for the wand to choose its last two living masters as worthy of the full power of the Hallows. You were demonstrating great wisdom after all."

Harry sat back, feeling like the air had been knocked out of him.

"You're going to have to be careful though," Hermione warned. "Just look at Twilfitt. He was just an ordinary wizard, obsessed with power. He was no Voldemort, but he became incredibly dangerous from the lure of the Hallows alone. He's not going to be the only one."

"How did he find you two?" Harry asked, remembering suddenly.

Hermione pulled a face. "He had been watching Nurmengard," she admitted. "I should have been more careful. Naturally he would be hoping you would show yourself there looking for information on the Hallows, so he could get in a sneak attack without actually confronting you. As it happened, we presented a pretty good hostage solution."

"Wait, hang on," Ron interrupted, staring wide-eyed at Harry and Hermione. "We're okay with this git having more power than any other wizard in the world?" He pointed at Malfoy. "We're just going to go, 'oh, okay', and move on?"

"Watch it, Weasley," Malfoy said with a sneer. "I can make you vomit slugs for eternity if you're not careful."

Harry gave Malfoy a warning look.

"Except I wouldn't do that, of course," Malfoy said, rolling his eyes. "Because I am lordly and merciful."

Ron snorted, although his eyes clearly showed alarm.

"He won't do it," Harry said, looking directly at Ron. "Really." He coughed, knowing that he had to tell Ron and Hermione the truth about he and Malfoy, but finding the words too difficult to say.

"Harry will keep me in check, won't you dear?" Malfoy said sarcastically. Harry looked at Malfoy with a mixture of relief that Malfoy had made the first step and alarm that it was now out of his hands. Malfoy met his gaze with exasperation.

"Dear?" Ron snorted. "What the hell, Malfoy? When did you get a sense of humor?"

"I don't think they're joking, Ron," Hermione said quietly, looking back and forth between Harry and Malfoy.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, frowning. "What aren't they joking about? Harry keeping Malfoy in check? Well I bloody hope they're not joking about that, Malfoy needs a good kick up the arse if he's going to have this kind of power." He trailed off at the expression on Hermione's face. "What?" he asked, looking at Harry.

Harry groaned and leaned back in the armchair, looking up. "Draco and I are dating," he said to the ceiling.

Ron laughed. The laughter stopped. "Dating?" he asked finally, after a long silence. "What, like, romantically?"

Malfoy snorted. "Potter couldn't romance someone if he was under a love spell. But yes, Weasley. Your incredible powers of deduction have hit the mark."

There was another long pause. Harry looked back down at Ron to find he had turned almost the colour of his hair. Ron turned to Harry beseechingly. "He's kidding, right, Harry?"

"No, Ron," Harry said, shaking his head. "I was going to lead up to telling you two I was gay, but I guess it didn't work out that way." A thought hit him. "Your mum knows. And George. And your dad. And Ginny. Not about Draco, but that I'm gay. It slipped out."

"It slipped out," Ron echoed.

A surprised gasp made Harry suddenly remember Hermione. He whipped his head back to look at her and saw that she had grabbed Malfoy by the collar and dragged him nose to nose. "If you even think about hurting him," she hissed. "I'll make you wish you'd never been born, you little cockroach." She shoved him back with a glare. Then her face changed and she suddenly smiled. "I'm so pleased you're both happy," she said, beaming at the two of them. "And it bodes really well for the Elder Wand situation."

Malfoy slowly adjusted his shirt collar back to normal, staring at Hermione like she had grown two heads. "Yeah," he said distantly. "It does." He shook his head. "So, should we schedule a press release, sweety?" he asked with a smirk, turning back to Harry.

The sound of the front door opening broke the conversation. Ginny stepped through the door, bearing a gigantic basket of flowers which she immediately deposited on Malfoy's lap. "I heard you saved Harry," she said, bending down and giving him a kiss on the cheek. She took in the expressions on the three of their faces, still frozen in mixtures of shock and revelation from the previous conversation, and grinned. "Was it enough to finally sweep him off his feet?"

Malfoy stammered, staring at her as if she had suddenly grown two heads and both were Hermione's.

Ginny laughed. "I saw you follow him out at the speed dating, you idiot," she said. "Looking all manly and pissed off. It was adorable. I'm glad Dave's gone, he was a right git."

Harry's mouth moved up and down in a wonderful mimicry of a fish. "You never said," he stammered finally.

Ginny shrugged. "It would have been rude. Hermione told me you and Malfoy were all cuddly at the hospital though, so I figured something good had finally happened."

"Er, hi," Ron said, waving at Ginny. "I'm your brother, I don't know if you remember me. I got really injured a couple of days ago. It's lovely of you to visit." He looked pointedly at Malfoy's flowers. Malfoy covered them with his arm defensively and glared at Ron.

Ginny waved her hand dismissively. "You always get injured. And you didn't save Harry. And you're not new to the family."

Ron spluttered indignantly. "That git is not part of the family," he managed before suddenly looking at Harry and wincing. "He might be… distantly… accepted… several times removed or something…" he muttered.

"Oh, before I forget," Ginny said, handing Harry a letter. "I grabbed it off Edgar on the way in. And I've got someone waiting outside. If it's okay, would you be able to let her in?"

"Sure," Harry said, standing up and opening the letter. "Hey," he said excitedly. "They're giving me a tryout for the English quidditch team!" he said, waving the letter.

"Brilliant, Harry!" Ron said, looking like a man at sea who had suddenly found solid land. "Krum said you were interested!"

"Congratulations, Harry," Hermione said with a smile.

Harry grinned and tucked the letter into his pocket. He followed Ginny to the door and opened it to a tall brunette who looked vaguely familiar. He thought she might have been a couple of years below them at Hogwarts.

"Hi, I'm Harry," he said, stepping forward with a smile. "It's twelve and a half Grimmauld place," he said, watching her expression of surprise and delight when the house materialised in front of her.

"I've never seen that before," she said, looking around in wonder. "That's amazing."

Harry grinned. He liked her more than Christa already. Ginny immediately linked arms with the girl and led her into the house. Harry followed and sat down next to Malfoy on the couch, leaning back and linking their hands together. Malfoy smiled at him and leaned his head on top of Harry's.

Ron didn't notice. He was too busy looking at the girl with dawning shock and comprehension, while Hermione looked suddenly amused.

"Everyone," Ginny said as Harry sat back down on his armchair. "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Astoria Greengrass."

Wow. Okay, so when I started this fan fiction I was only intending to write something about 8000 words maximum and not put it up anywhere... that changed somewhat. I hope I explained my idea about the Hallows clearly enough. Not that I don't like what J.K did with them, but I thought this would be a fun way of extending the story.

As you can see, it's left kind of open to a continuation of the story line, so I'll probably come back at some point and write more, either in this story line or I might make others, but for now I'm going to go back to my non-fanfic writing projects. Thank you all for reading and sticking with it to the end, it's been fun! :)