Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters mentioned in this fic belong to J.K Rowling.
Beta'd by Aliza
Britpick by Winterstorm
The man opened his eyes. He blinked a few times before allowing his pupils to adjust to the darkness that surrounded him. He could not figure out exactly where he was, nor how he got there, but assumed that he was still inside the club, as he could still feel and hear the vibrations of the erotic club music nearby.
Suddenly, the male winced as he felt a deep pain coming from the back of his head. He lifted his hand to feel the throbbing spot, only to quickly put it back down as touching the painful area only caused it to hurt more. His hand fell onto something hard, cold and smooth; slowly the man realized that his entire body was laying on the solid, freezing surface. He got up from what he guessed to be the floor, taking his time as he did, for he was afraid he would bump into something in the darkness.
The man took a few seconds to gather his thoughts. He had remembered wanting to go behind the club's mysterious, red curtains, but the hooded bodyguards at the entrance said he wasn't able to go in unless he allowed them to hold onto his wand while inside. In his drunken stupor, he gladly agreed to the terms and quickly gave the guards his wand before rushing through the silky, red drapes. His feet had barely touched the other side of the curtain's floor before he heard a deep voice yell stupefy.
Blood rushed to the man's face as a large frown formed on his lips. He didn't know what type of game the owner of this club was trying to play, but he was not amused. The man checked the pockets of his tight, leather jeans and was surprised to find all his money in place. If they didn't want to rob him of his money, what other purpose did they have for using a stunning spell on him? The man did not care to find out, so he quickly tried to find a way out of the room.
He moved around the room, stretching his arms out as he tried to feel for a door, or even a light switch in the dark area. His hands came in contact with a large piece of silken fabric that felt to be hanging vertically. The man made a sigh of relief as he was sure he was touching the curtains that he had ran through earlier. He pulled back the drapes and was blinded by a bright light.
As his eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness, his mouth dropped open in horror at the sight before him. Bodies...headless, naked, bleeding bodies hung before him like meat in an abattoir. It was such a horrible, unbelievable sight that that man was sure he was dreaming, that he must be imagining things.
He blinked and blinked and blinked once again, but no. They were still there, the bodies hanging lifelessly on giant, metal chains. Large, curved hooks were at the end of each chain, hooks that were either pierced in one of the body's feet or thighs to keep them hanging in such a gruesome way.
The man fell to the ground and began to vomit as the strong smell of the rotten corpses began to overwhelm his nose. He wiped his mouth before quickly yelling loudly for help, his body too frozen in fear to get up and find help himself. When he realized that no one could hear him over the loud, thunderous music, he let out a tiny sob before staring at the scene before him once more. The man wondered what type of sick person could be so cruel as to do this to people.
Behind the male stood a being hidden within a grey cloak. An axe was the only thing that could be seen hanging from beneath the shrouded figure's clothes. The mysterious being raised the axe, causing the soft shuffling of its robes to alert the man of its presence.
The man turned around and his eyes quickly locked on to the sharp weapon hovering over his head. He didn't even get a chance to scream before the axe cut through his neck.
Draco groaned as he heard the obnoxious sound of his alarm go off. The blond buried his head deeper into his pillow before lifting his hand from beneath the bed cover and slamming it repeatedly around on the bedside table nearby. Draco made a pleased moan once his hand hit its target and the deafening noise went away. He took a few moments to enjoy the quiet before raising his head and glaring at the annoying clock. If he had his wand, he would have destroyed the device by now.
But then again if he had his wand and had used it, he most likely would have been in Azkaban by now.
Draco sluggishly got out of bed and went to shower. Once finished, he got dressed and went down to eat breakfast. As he walked downstairs, Draco spotted his mother in the kitchen happily frying bacon and eggs on the cooker. "Mum, you know you didn't have to cook breakfast for me. I'm a grown man. I'm capable of making my own meals."
Draco watched as his mom turned around with a grin on her face. The blond could never express how happy he was once his mother had start smiling again. The woman had been through so much over the years. With all the tragedies she, or should he say, they, had faced together, Draco had once truly thought he would never be able to see his mother's beautiful smile again.
"Yes, Draco. I am aware that my little boy is all grown-up...as much as I hate to admit it, but I get bored just sitting around here. You can let me do a few things once in a while." The woman gestured to the seat at the kitchen table. "Now, sit. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."
Draco knew that there was no point in arguing with his mother, so he just sat down and began reading the newspaper that was lying on the table. The headline of the paper caught his attention.
Another body found at landfill. Turn to pg.8 to learn more.
Draco turned to the appropriate page to read more on the topic.
At 2.58 am, a headless body was found and reported at Charleston landfill. Police released information that the body was completely unclothed and possessed a gigantic hole in its right foot. The hole was in a similar shape and size to the other headless bodies that the police have found in the past few months. Just like the previous bodies, the police are unable to identify the corpse. No new reports of missing family or friends have surfaced either, which make the police question if the victims of these crimes are perhaps homeless. With that being said, citizens have taken to name this serial killer "The Homeless Hunter."
Draco scrunched up his face as he read the article. "Ugh, Muggles are so barbaric."
"What's that dear?" His mom came over and sat a plate of food in front of him.
Draco shook his head. "Nothing, just reading about this Homeless Hunter. It's disgusting, and almost amazing, how Muggles choose to kill one another."
"The Homeless Hunter?" His mother raised an eyebrow as she poured him a glass of orange juice. "Has he struck again? That makes the fifth time this week."
Draco nodded as he took a sip of his drink. He then heard a familiar popping sound, followed by several more. He watched as his mom let out a shrieking scream as she stared in horror at something behind him. The blond turned around and felt as if his heart had just leap into his throat.
Five. Five Aurors, with wands held out and ready to cast, stood in the middle of his house.
One of the Aurors, a chubby man with pale blue eyes, walked towards Draco. "Mr. Draco Lucius Malfoy. We are here for you."
Draco didn't understand what had gone wrong. He had taken every precaution to make sure that the Ministry of Magic never found him or his mother. After the war, Draco and his mother had taken whatever remained of the family's wealth and went into hiding. They knew, or at least thought, that hiding in the Muggle world was the perfect plan. The Ministry of Magic knew as much about the Muggles and their world as they did. They had been sure that even if Aurors were out looking for them, they wouldn't be able to find them in a place that they didn't know much about. Draco and his mother had even made sure to only leave their Muggle home when absolutely necessary, that way they could lessen the chance of being seen by Muggleborn witches.
The plan seemed so perfect, yet here Draco was, inside the Ministry of Magic, riding the service lift, surrounded by Aurors. Draco didn't know where he was going. He guessed the Aurors were going to give him a 'pretend' trial before quickly taking him to Azkaban, where he would never see the light of day or feel happiness again. The blond supposed he should have felt a bit afraid knowing this, but he just didn't. In fact, he didn't care if the Aurors just skipped the trial and put him in Azkaban immediately or even put him in a cell with his father. The blond was just happy at the fact that the Aurors hadn't taken his mom, just him. Heck, the Aurors didn't even seem to realize his mom was in the room, they just immediately grabbed for Draco and apparated both themselves and him to the Ministry. But Draco would not complain. He loved his mother and would never want to see her go through the things that he heard Azkaban had in store for a person.
As Draco rode the lift, he couldn't help but feel something, like a familiar, tingling, warmth on the flesh of his skin. It took a while for the blond to realize what the familiar sensation was, but then it came to him. Magic. Draco took in a deep breath and smiled as he breathed in the magical air that surrounded him. It was something that he took for granted during his earlier life, but it was quickly missed once he had to conform to Muggle living. Muggle air was so stale and boring; it compared nothing to the delightful and exciting feel one would get when breathing in the air of the wizarding world. Just taking a deep whiff reminded Draco of old times and past pleasure. Such as watching a Quidditch game, riding his first broom, or even simply walking on Hogwarts grounds.
Draco sighed. He missed Hogwarts. It had been so long since he had seen the school that he couldn't even remember the last time he had been there.
Draco's cheeks flushed bright red as images suddenly popped into his head. Warm, soft lips against his, his body writhing in pleasure on the cold wet ground, large calloused hands rubbing over his sensitive flesh. No. He did remember the last time he was at Hogwarts. It was...that night.
Draco quickly shook away the lewd vision floating around his head. No, it had been over three years now. He should, and would, forget about that night.
Suddenly, the doors to the lift opened and Draco found himself being roughly pushed out the shaft by the Aurors. When he was completely out of the lift, the blond was surprised to find himself in an office and not in the Wizengamot Courtrooms like he had assumed he would be.
"Ah, Mr. Draco Malfoy."
Draco turned to where he had heard the voice and saw a bald, dark-skinned man with huge black eyes, staring at him from behind a desk. Draco raised an eyebrow at the man. "Mr. Shacklebolt?"
"Come, Mr. Malfoy. Sit, sit." Shacklebolt gestured to the chair in front of his desk.
Draco walked a few steps before quickly turning around to see if the Aurors were following him. They weren't, but they had their eyes locked on him, probably looking to see if he would try anything funny.
The blond quickly walked over to the chair and sat down. He then nervously looked at Shacklebolt, who was looking a bit too happy, given the situation.
"So, how are you, Draco?"
"Fine?" Draco didn't mean for his statement to come out as a question, but he really didn't know if he should feel fine or not. He was, after all, a criminal on a run, who had just been captured by Aurors and brought to the Minister of Magic himself.
"Well, that good. How's your mother?"
Draco looked around the room, searching for some type of device or magical gadget to let him know if he was a part of some joke or game show. "Fine, though I imagine she's not too happy at seeing her son being taken away from her by the Ministry of Magic."
"Sorry, about that boy. But I suppose we couldn't have owled you of our arrival, now could we?" Shacklebolt took a sip of the tea he had lying on the desk.
"Mr. Shacklebolt...am I going to Azkaban?" Draco voice trembled. He was afraid now. Seeing the Minister of Magic up, close and personal suddenly made the blond realize that he really might be sharing a prison cell with his father.
"Well, I guess that's all up to you"
Draco raised an eyebrow at the Minister but allowed him to continue.
Shacklebolt's happy expression suddenly disappeared and a much sterner look took its place. "Draco, we need your help."
"My help?" Now the blond was sure this had to be a joke.
"Over the past few months we've had to deal with missing person cases, witches and wizards are now suddenly going off and disappearing without leaving a sign or trace of where they've gone."
Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, so you have a few people missing."
Shacklebolt narrowed his eyes on the blond. "Not a few. Over sixty people have gone missing."
Draco eyes widened. That was indeed a huge number. "O-Okay, but I still don't see what this has to do with me."
The stern look in Shacklebolt's eyes softened. "We looked at your results during your years in Hogwarts. You had some pretty outstanding N.E., almost as good as the great Hermione Granger. If it weren't for your...history, you would have been a shoe in for an Auror."
"But the fact remains that I do have a history." Draco was getting slightly annoyed. He didn't care about all this Auror and missing person crap. He just wanted know why he was brought to the Ministry of Magic and whether he was going to Azkaban or not.
"We are willing to overlook you and your mother's past if you would be willing to help us."
Draco raised his head. He was now suddenly interested in hearing what the Minister had to say. "By overlook you mean..?"
"We will allow your mother, and you, to return to the wizard community without having to face a sentence or probation of any kind."
Draco's mouth hung open in disbelief. "And that's if I just help you with these cases?"
"Yes."
"What about my father? Will he be reaping any benefits from this deal too?"
"I'm afraid not." Shacklebolt took another sip of his tea before continuing. "We are willing to be so lenient with you and your mother because we are aware you two didn't play much of a part with Voldemort and his army. However, your father's actions did have quite an effect during the war. Being as such, we cannot let your father's judgments in the past go unpunished."
Draco loved his father, but he couldn't help but agree with Shacklebolt. Draco and his mother had only gotten involved with Voldemort because of him. But still, this whole thing sounded too good to be true. All he had to do was find a few people and he and his mother could return to the world of magic...just like that...no tricks?
"I'll accept."
Shacklebolt smiled.
"But..."
The Minister's grin quickly vanished.
"I don't understand why you would choose me to help you solve these cases." Draco folded his arms, "Why not someone like Granger, or heck, Granger herself?"
Shacklebolt avoided Draco's gaze. "Um...Miss. Granger is pregnant right now. Not the proper condition to do investigation work."
Draco narrowed his eyes on the Minister. "That still doesn't answer my question. Why me?"
Draco took notice of Shacklebolt's sudden nervousness. The man's eyes kept shifting away from his. He nibbled on his lips while he repeatedly tapped a finger on his desk.
The Minister finally spoke. "Look, does it really matter why we chose you? We're giving you, a criminal, a chance at freedom."
Draco thought the man's words over. He was right. Why look a gift horse in a mouth? "Okay, I'll do it."
"Good. Now, on to business." Shacklebolt let out a deep breath, which Draco saw as a sigh of relief. "Because you are still technically a criminal, you won't be working on this case by yourself. A top Auror will be working with you constantly. In fact, the Auror you will be working with has been listening to this entire conversation while waiting outside my office door. You may come in now."
Draco turned toward the door and watched as the Auror walked in. When the blond's eyes connected with two piercing green pupils, hidden behind a pair of black spectacle frames, visions of hot sweaty bodies rubbing violently against each other suddenly came into his mind.
"No..." Draco thought as he stared at the person's hair. Remembering what it once felt like to run his fingers through the shaggy mop.
"No..." He continued to think as he watched the person lip's turn into a smile. Thinking back to how those lips once felt against his and how they caused his body to feel like it was on fire.
"No..." Draco finally choked out as he watched the man wave a hand at him, the same hand that had caused him to feel such great pleasure once in his life.
"I'm sorry, Draco. What was that?" Shacklebolt asked.
Draco felt all his blood rush to his face and before he even knew what he was doing, Draco got out of his seat and turned to glare angrily at bloody, flipping, HARRY SODDING POTTER. "NO! I will not work with him!"
"But-"
Draco stopped Shacklebolt before he could even speak. "No! I would rather be sent to Azkaban. I would rather be sent to Hell. Heck, I don't care where it is, so long as Potter is not there."
The room was silent at Draco's sudden outburst. Neither Shacklebolt or even the Aurors knew what to say or do.
Harry, who still appeared to be smiling, attempted to say something. "Draco-"
Draco eyes suddenly looked horrified as he stared at Harry with a mouth hanging wider than a fish out of water. "NO! POTTER! We do not refer to each other by first names! I am a Malfoy, that is what you should call me!"
"Dr-"
Draco glare intensified.
"I mean Malfoy," Harry quickly corrected. "I know you don't want to work with me, but this is a very serious case, can't you just put whatever hatred you have for me aside for right now."
"No." Draco quickly stated. "I refuse to work with someone like you. Hell, why do you even need my help. Aren't you the fucking chosen one? Shouldn't you be able to solve this on your own?"
Harry laughed and for a moment, the blond really thought he was about to kill the git. He hated the man's laugh, he hated how warm and friendly it sounded. Hated how it made butterflies suddenly appear in his stomach, and most of all, he hated the memories it suddenly brought back.
"I'm afraid I'm no good when it comes to missing person cases. It took me three years to find the last person I tried to find. In fact, none of the Aurors here are particularly good with these cases. Trust me, we wouldn't have called you here if we didn't need your help."
"Well, can't I work with someone else? Why do I have to work with..." Draco groaned. "...you."
Draco missed the suddenly silent communication Shacklebolt and Harry briefly had with each other.
Harry shook his head. "No, you can only work with me."
Draco crossed his arm. "Then I guess I'm going to Azkaban."
Harry sighed. He then turned to the rest of the people in the room. "Do you mind if we have a moment to ourselves?"
"I mind." Draco watched as the Aurors as well as Shacklebolt left the room. "Wait! I don't want to be left alone with this git."
"Well, you have no choice." Harry shut the door after the last person had left.
Draco let out an angry grunt. He really wanted to stamp his feet on the ground like a four year old in mid-tantrum, but he resisted because he still had some dignity. He felt uncomfortable being left alone in the room with Harry. Even though the man was feet away, he still felt close enough to cause Draco's cheeks to blush. The blond turned his body away from the man, hoping that he wouldn't see his face redden.
"Dr-Malfoy, I know you're incredibly angry right now, but try to think clearly."
Draco took note at how soft and calm Potter's voice sounded. It could probably send babies to sleep and cause girls to swoon...God, he hated Potter.
"You would get your freedom back, you would no longer have to stay in hiding, and you would be able to come back to the wizard community."
"I don't care. I would gladly give up all those things if it means I could avoid working with you." Draco didn't even bother turning around as he said this.
"Okay, you don't care...but what about your mother?"
Draco's eyes widened. Shit
"As much as you hate me, I'm pretty sure you could tolerate me just for her sake."
Draco wanted his mom to be happy. He knew that she could never be fully content until his father returned, but it would definitely help if he could get her back into the world of magic. Merlin, why did Potter have to know him so well.
"Fine, I'll fucking work with you." Draco raised an eyebrow as his response was met with silence. He slowly turned around. "Didn't you hear me? I-"
Draco gasped as he turned to find Harry practically on top of him. Fucking snake, he must have snuck up on him whilst his back was turned. Draco tried to ignore the man's warm breath tickling across his cheeks, he pretended not to noticed the pleasing scent of what appeared to be the man's aftershave, and Merlin, how he tried to ignore the hungry gaze in the man's emerald eyes.
"I don't understand why you're so upset."
Draco mentally cursed his traitorous body as he felt his cock twitch at the sound of Harry's now husky tone.
"I wasn't the one who ran away, quite quickly might I add, after we had sex."
Draco didn't even bother trying to hide the blush that took over his face. "I-If we're going to work together. I appreciate you not bringing up old events."
"After so many years, I think I deserve an answer."
"After so many years, I think you should have gotten over it." Draco eyes widen as he realized Harry's face was getting a bit too close to his.
Harry smirked. "After that night, I could never get over you."
Harry brushed his lips against Draco's. The blond gasped in surprised, which he quickly learned was a mistake, as it allowed Potter entrance into his mouth. He felt Potter's tongue slowly entering and tracing the inside of his mouth. The man's tongue seeming to gradually familiarize itself with the moist cavern it once explored.
Draco moaned into the kiss. He really didn't want to, didn't even mean to, but Potter's tongue felt and tasted so good...how was anyone supposed to fight it? Draco felt Harry pull his body closer to his, and before Draco even knew what he was doing. He found himself wrapping his arms around the man in response. The blond's tongue was to next to respond as it began twirling around Potter's, both playing a game of who could dominate who. Draco quickly lost. He got distracted once he felt Harry grind his hard, clothed length against his groin.
How could the man be so hard so quickly?
Harry grinded against his groin once more and this time his hard cock rubbed directly on the tent in the Draco's trousers.
Correction. How were they both so hard so quickly?
A knock came from the door. It was Shacklebolt. "Are you two alright in there? I don't hear any talking."
Harry and Draco quickly broke away from each other.
"Yeah, we're fine." Draco wiped away the saliva from his lips. He then looked at Harry who appeared to be giving him a knowing smirk.
"Before this case is closed, I will find out why you ran away all those years ago."
Draco watched as Harry walked over to open the door. The blond tightened his fist as he resisted the urge to release a blood-curling scream. God, how he hated Harry fucking Potter.