Hey everybody, yes I know, 'another one? So soon?' is no doubt the questions being asked of my followers. Well I just couldn't help myself. The HP bug has bitten me and I swear I have Drarry fever. Like most of my work, it's kinda AU, kinda OOC but still the Harry Potter you know and love. Totally ignores the epilogue though DH and all that still happened. I don't own HP cuz books and films are enough. Enjoy!

"Iii" = speech

Iii = thought

Chapter 1: Man's Best Friend

There was no denying the beauty of autumn, especially in October when September's sometimes uncomfortable mixture of summer's heat and fall's chill finally gave way to the latter as the former faded away. Nearly every tree in London was a shade of red, orange or yellow, their leaves shifting in cool breezes as frost often bit at them and the fading green of the grass of one of the city's few parks that allowed dogs. One of the park's many occupants was a rather tall, aristocratic looking blonde man with pale skin and stormy grey eyes to match his thick coat and dual toned scarf. His hair was short but fashionably long in places, a few rogue strands catching on his lashes due to the cool breeze winding through. His shoes were sleek and professional as were his dark slacks, both suitable for the outing with his dog, whose drool was thankfully not soaking into his gloves in a most unnerving fashion. Or such was the illusion that Auror Draco Malfoy wanted to portray, his hawthorn wand hidden in his sleeve for the very moment he and his partner were ready to make their move. Said partner was actually his counterpart in their ongoing game of 'fetch' with a cheap squeaky bone, the large dog darting around happily after the emerald green toy. Draco had gotten the toy as a joke, laughing all the harder at the scowl he'd received only to be joined in the hearty expression of amusement. Despite their pasts, and somewhat ongoing rivalry, Draco found it hard not to get along with his assigned partner Harry Potter, the raven-haired man having slowly warmed up to him in the first few months of their partnership. True to form Ronald Weasley and Harry's first real friend had been skeptical before giving in to the fact that the blonde wasn't secretly out to kill them while Hermione welcomed Draco into their group. In all honesty, Draco liked the young couple with Ron's ability to hold his own in chess and Hermione meeting him in the middle in terms of research for cases between her own work with the Ministry's legal departments. So far, Draco's own friends Pansy Zabini nee Parkinson and her husband Blaise had yet to lash out at the couple like he and Harry feared. Instead, the Slytherins found their own kinship with them, more often than not comparing notes on childcare since Pansy and Blaise were about to have their first baby while Ron and Hermione had a baby girl named Rose to care for. Pleased with this outcome, Harry in turn hadn't hesitated to try and help Draco and his mother Narcissa patch their relations with Andromeda and his godson Teddy Lupin. Even now, after three years, it was slow going but promising.

"C'mon Hadrian! Go get it!" Draco called in a kind voice to the large black dog that was Harry, using the name they'd chosen for when the raven was in his Animagus form, mostly to keep the blonde from calling him anything embarrassing, even for a dog. The composed tone was mostly due to Hermione's lectures not just on how Belgians answered to gentle guidance, but mostly because she threatened to leave his varying limbs on different corners of the isle if anything that happened to Harry turned out to be his fault. Like any level-headed Malfoy, Draco valued his life as well as his limbs.

Barking loudly, Harry bounded off after the thrown toy, his sharp white teeth chewing it mercilessly once he caught up with it and making it give off that annoying noise. No one had been more surprised than Harry when after nearly two years of training, when he'd finally shifted that he'd become a dog. There were a few theories on why but the man chalked it up to a subconscious tribute to his godfather Sirius who'd also been a dog. Turning into a stag and trying to perform surveillance would've been very difficult. And not just any dog, but a Belgian Shepherd, black with bits of brown as all of its kind were, with a white, jagged line where his scar was. Thankfully, his eyes were a deep chocolate brown rather than their natural emerald, mostly since the color was unheard of in dogs and that breed especially. Upon discovering what kind of dog he was, Hermione had forced Draco to undergo a crash course in the care of said animals, much to the blonde's dismay. More than once, Harry had shifted for said sessions, growling his annoyance whenever the blonde man did something wrong, baring his teeth when things weren't going to his liking. Rambunctious four-year old Rose found great delight in playing with her 'doggy uncle', Harry only changing when nothing else would please the child and changing back as punishment for when said child got too handsy with his long fur. More than once, he could recall when the little girl had been merciless when tugging on his ears and tail, making him yelp loud enough to make his friends jump. Ron and Hermione were certain to ensure their daughter kept from doing such things again else Harry might accidentally let his animal instinct take over just long enough for their child to get hurt. Fearful of that exact scenario, Harry made sure he only changed when either one of his friends was in the room to ensure things didn't go that far.

Running back to Draco on his thin legs, his long face split in a dog's grin and pointy ears folded back, Harry was glad that there were few people in the park today. It was undoubtedly beautiful if the golden sun peeking in and out of the clouds, mixing well with the warm colors of the leaves in contrast to the snappish chill, making his thick fur a blessing. Relinquishing the toy to the blonde, Harry quickly noticed how his partner's face was turning a slight shade of pink, likely from exposure to the cool wind that blew by. The blonde also seemed to be favoring his shoulder, possibly for throwing the toy for close to an hour which was a tad bit longer than they'd intended by Harry's internal clock. Taking a seat just next to the tall blonde man rather than gearing up for another go with the toy, Harry inwardly smiled when Draco blinked. Not about to show his surprise and give them away, Draco glanced at the ground warily before sitting down next to the large black dog when he recalled what he and Harry had talked about.

"Dogs are smarter than you think so impressing you probably won't be easy." Harry had begun when they sat in their office between cases and paperwork over a year earlier. They had even moved their desks to make room.

Smirking, Draco had taken the comment with an air of mock irritation. "Should I take that as a compliment, Potter?"

Despite his answering smile, Harry remained solemn as he explained. "I'm just saying that in spite of things, dogs can be smart and the Belgian Shepherd has high marks on intelligence. Hermione says they're supposed to be good with kids, which is one reason I haven't accidentally bitten Rose yet." He stated, cringing at the mere thought of hurting his friend's only child. Draco stood by patiently for the raven to continue, knowing well enough not to press about the raven's fear. Keeping his voice level, Harry went on. "Anyway, they're also supposed to be high energy so finding something that we both agree on for long surveillance sessions would be prudent."

"Like what?" the blonde inquired, suddenly hating that he knew next to nothing about dogs at this point.

"Most things to do with agility and stamina since the Belgian is a herding dog, preferably something with high stimulus as well for the intelligence factor to keep the mind occupied throughout the activity. Obstacle courses and the like, including ones for police and military dogs." Harry clarified, not appearing surprised when Draco blinked his confusion.

"Police dogs? Oh, that thing muggles do?" the blonde asked when he recalled one of the many lectures that included how even dogs had jobs.

Nodding, Harry's demeanor seemed to take on a hard edge. "Yes, certain breeds are best for sniffing out contraband, suspects and detaining criminals. Many give up out of fear of being bitten by the dog and its unrelenting grip on their limbs. They even have vests for dogs to try and keep them from being shot. Despite being a different species, muggles treat dogs almost like equals in this regard. I've even seen a funeral for a fallen police dog."

Staring, his face pale, Draco nodded solemnly at this information. "And any snark I had on that is now suddenly inappropriate. Am I right in saying they train these dogs well?" he asked, hoping the question would be enough of a distraction from how much he hated himself at that moment.

Relaxing a bit, as if to show he was glad for the shift in subject, Harry went on. "They do, but mostly as games so that the dog enjoys it at the same time. Essentially, dogs are furry, four-legged children who need to be challenged and if they enjoy the work they're doing under the guise of game then they do better each time. The obstacle course is one of those activities that people will expect a Belgian to be doing. Of course, fetch is fine for now since I doubt we'll be infiltrating any dog shows."

"Dog shows? Muggles have shows for dogs?" Draco asked, bewildered. He had little knowledge of muggle television but a show with nothing but dogs sounds absolutely ridiculous.

For the first time, Harry chuckled at him, likely knowing where his mind had gone. "Yes, it's more of a contest for breeders and owners of specific dogs to show off their pets based on size, type and class. Far as I know, only purebred dogs can enter since mixed breeds are often too irregular in features to become a breed of their own half the time. Only certain dogs that best represent their classes win. Others are based on the obstacle courses I mentioned and accept mixed breeds regardless but often have different courses set up for the different sizes and win based on how fast both pet and owner complete to course. But since those include the owner running or jogging alongside the dog, giving commands and encouragement, we'll hold off on those unless we have to."

"I should hope not. I wish to chase suspects, not dogs." The blonde drawled haughtily, Auror duties be damned. He had his pride dammit!

This had Harry chuckling again, the noise making Draco shift uncomfortably. "My thoughts exactly." The raven told him, positioning himself in the open space they'd made. "Let's get started."

They pair spoke about the subject in a companionable fashion for close to an hour, eventually agreeing that Harry taking a seat without being commanded was a sign that he wished to stop their current activity for some reason. When Harry simply stared, panting lightly from the exertion of their game, Draco knew then the raven wanted to take a break. Glad to be seated even if it was on the cold ground, the blonde was surprised further when Harry moved to lie down, his head held high in a way that made him look oddly regal. If I didn't know any better, that mane of his makes him look like a strange kind of lion…typical Gryffindor. Draco thought as he let his gaze wander to the house across the street, the one they'd been watching for the hour they'd been there. He'd hoped to see their suspect, a smuggler of rare artifacts, come or even come out of the house but so far, there had been nothing. And since Draco knew Harry was sensitive to Dark items and their magic, and the raven had yet to react, it was safe to assume their quarry probably wouldn't be around for a while. Or at least that was his assumption until the black dog stiffened, his ears straight and eyes focusing with unnerving accuracy onto a figure crossing through the park in a very poor attempt to look unassuming. Since it was a Muggle space, and any wizarding folk that lived nearby were few and far-between, there was no denying the man was probably who they'd been waiting for. Harry's wet nose was twitching, the large dog shifting in place in obvious anticipation. Even as a human, the raven couldn't help but fidget, his time as an in-action sort of wizard usually putting a damper on their surveillance sessions. But Draco knew better than to doubt the raven, having seen him duel more times than he cared to for him to trust him in a fight. Even in the form of a dog, now was one of those times.

"Ready?"

Harry growled, shifting some more in anticipation. Draco was once again glad they'd gone over what cues his partner would likely use, for even as a dog the man was impatient. Like his Animagus form, he wanted to chase. The way the large black beast was licking its chops was warning enough but Draco just looped his fingers through the red collar they'd found for Harry to wear as part of his cover. "Just wait." Draco soothed, pretending to scratch Harry behind the ears as he watched the man pass them by, the idiot paying them no mind in his haste to get to the house across the street.

Tail wagging, Harry inwardly liked the gentle stroking of Draco's fingers over his furry neck, dutifully ignoring the sensation in favor of their quarry. It hadn't been difficult to train the dog section of his brain to use his human half as a sort of targeting system, mostly to prevent him from going after the wrong person should he lose sight of his quarry somehow. Ever the professionals that they were, they both waited until the man made one last nervous scan of the street and the park before he opened the door. Once he was about to step inside, Draco gave Harry a little push, the cue the raven was more than happy to take. In seconds he was up and bounding through the park gates and across the street that was thankfully vacant of cars, his canine legs eating up the distance as if he were flying on his Firebolt. Draco was right after him, knowing that Harry's instincts would be overwhelmed by the dog that he was, making sure that they were under a Disillusionment Charm even at a full run in case any Muggles were curious on why they were sprinting across the street. A feral snarl and a bout of loud barking was all the warning the man got once Harry was on the steps, closing the distance with a spring of energy that had strong jaws clamped onto the man's arm like a vice. Surprised and in pain, the man was cursing and howling as Harry bit and thrashed, tearing into the man's sleeve and his flesh just underneath. Draco didn't envy him one bit, casting Silencing Charms to keep anyone nearby from coming up to see what all the fuss was about. He would've gone into the customary speech of telling the man he was under arrest and whatnot but from all the struggling going on, Draco knew he had to be discreet about revealing that his partner was an Animagus.

Pulling the large dog back by the color, Draco didn't give the man a chance to recover by hitting him with a Stunner, hoping it would be enough to bring his partner back to his human senses. To his relief, it was for the dog began to shift back into the tall, raven-haired man that he was. Emerald eyes blinked as his eyesight adjusted from black and white to color, pulling his glasses from a pocket in his jacket. Like Draco, the raven was dressed like a muggle, his casual attire making him look like he worked in an office that made him look gorgeous in Draco's mind. Not that he'd admit it out loud, even under Veritaserum or even when drunk. Next to him, Harry was drawing his wand from his sleeve and pulling the now oversized collar over his head, stuffing the crimson band in to a pocket, green eyes hard with a perfected look of determination and professional confidence.

With a flick of the holly wand, Harry muttered. "Homenum Revelio." The spell swept through the door and over the fallen man like a gust of wind. When nothing happened shortly afterward, Harry scowled. "Empty. We should still look though, in case of evidence."

"Way ahead of you." Draco responded, casing an Incarcerous on their fallen foe prior to stepping over him to walk further into the house, casting charms for curses and alarms. Knowing the blonde wasn't going to come back and help (like always), Harry levitated the man fully into the hall before shutting the door, finding the man's wand and following Draco. As expected, the house was unfurnished and void of decoration save for the fading paint on the walls. It was also dusty, making his still sensitive nose twitch as it tried to clog up his head, forcing him to sneeze forcefully and earn a look from the blonde.

"Sorry, price one pays I guess." He mumbled, a blush coming onto his cheeks, his color more of a healthy pink than a deathly pale as when Draco had first met the man.

"I'll take your word for it." Draco retorted shortly, giving his partner a sneer of annoyance as he blew his nose with a hanky he had in his pocket.

Chuckling, Harry smiled at his partner with mock sympathy. "What's the matter Malfoy? Afraid you turn into a garter snake or something?"

"Yes, because I fear I will change into one of the most useless animals on the planet. That's exactly it Potter." The blonde shot back, only earning another deep chuckle for his quip.

"I don't know: being able to fit into small spaces, be up high in the rafters without being noticed? Maybe the cold might get to you, maybe even the dust but who knows? You might get a lot done as a little yellow and black strip of leather." The raven joked, earning a punch in the arm for his efforts, laughing all the louder at the other man's face.

"Fuck off Potter." Draco snarled, more frustrated than angry but wasn't about to let his partner know that.

"So you don't want me to let someone make you into a belt then?" the man pressed, grinning like a fool when Draco simply glared viciously, his face turning beet red.

"Just shut up and work you idiot." The blonde seethed, completely distracted now.

"I think someone just woke on the wrong side of his little sunlamp. Do you think if I cast Lumos you'll feel better?" Harry had to dance out of the way of a hex sent his way, still smiling in spite of it as he backed away into the hall again. "Hit a nerve have I? Well I'll check upstairs while you see if they have a basement or something. You just might like it down there!"

"You-!" Draco began but the raven had already dashed up the stairs like a child running from his parents, making the blonde call out after him. "I'll get you yet you snarky bastard!"

The only response he got from his infuriating partner was deep laughter, the low tones making Draco shiver as they echoed off the walls and hit him like a slap in the face. For having worked with the man for the past six years, the first two spent in a grueling and tense time of training where their rivalry had finally reached its apex. Only when they had been assigned to one another did it die down and become more an ongoing contest in terms of wit and hard work that ended with them getting a drink or a meal regardless of who won. It sure as Hades wasn't based on them being in differing Houses and from conflicting points of view. So far, the raven seemed to enjoy riling him up just to see him get upset and lash out, laughing even as he dodged curses and hexes. Forcing himself to take a few calming breaths, Draco continued his search of the floor through the few rooms that were there before proceeding to the basement. Once downstairs, the darkness forced away by a Lumos, the blonde scowled in puzzlement at a myriad of wooden crates. The fact there were crates was worrying, which meant they were either artifacts or stolen goods. And since they were after the man upstairs for illegally importing rare potion ingredients, something that might be benign at first glance was possibly extremely dangerous. Stepping carefully into the unbearably dusty and shadowy space, Draco cast detection charms for curses and Dark magic before pulling the lid off one of the crates. The crumpled bits of hay that acted as packing material greeted his eyes, using his wand to push it away to reveal jars of scales, hairs and small horns that he recognized from the various potions he himself had made through legal means. Quite a few were actually required for qualifying for the Aurors, and Draco hadn't been surprised when Harry had grazed by well enough to satisfy the instructors. He was just glad the raven hadn't blown up half the lab with any potential mistakes. Moving on to another box, Draco was satisfied to find it free of curses and hexes before opening it, finding more jars and vials of contraband. He was about to look into the third crate when the sound of the door distracted him.

No one's supposed to be here but us and the suspect. So who…? Draco felt his blood run cold. Either there was a muggle in the house, which was unlikely going from the charms on the house, or one of the smuggler's partners had just shown up. That or the bastard woke up, got free and just ran for it. Only the sounds of two pairs of voices told him it was the second of his wild assumptions, daring to go up the stairs far enough to catch what was being said.

"—already be comin' up to hex us! Did you have to slam the door so hard?" the first man growled irritably, recognizing it even though he wasn't yelling in pain.

The second man, the newcomer, sounded morose in the face of his friend's irritation at him. "Sorry Gordo, it was the wind, I swear."

"Sometimes I wonder why I keep you around. Is anyone else coming?" the first man snarled, keeping his voice low when they all heard Harry shifting around upstairs. It was possible the raven hadn't heard the door or thought it was Draco getting help.

"Nah, just me today. Why?" the newcomer asked, honestly curious.

The first man's next words made Draco want to be sick. "That Auror came with a dog of some kind. His partner no doubt but if they're onto us, then this whole thing is bound to go up in smoke. They could know what's in the basement, this months' shipment, right now!"

"So why not just go and hex 'em? It's just the two of 'em ain't it?" Gordo asked, finally using his small intelligence to do some calculating.

"Don't be daft! Aurors are trained to be tough as they come! Besides, I ain't so dumb to take them on…at least fairly." The first man seethed with a hiss, switching to dangerous glee when he asked his companion. "You got that thing I asked for?"

"Right here." the newcomer Gordo told him, the rustle of cloth telling Draco the man had pulled something from his pocket, possibly an artifact.

"Perfect." The first man hummed in blood-chilling mirth, sounding oh-too-smug for what he planned to be good. "You might want to stand back."

Draco only had seconds to react, silently hoping Harry had done the same as he cast Protego against the wave of magic that swept through the house like a sonic boom. The transparent shield held for all it was worth before collapsing, the unknown magic thankfully avoiding Draco long before the spell failed. Upstairs, Harry wasn't as lucky as a shout echoed through the empty house followed by a forceful slam of a door. Draco didn't know what had just happened but from the way the raven had shouted, it hadn't been good. From the way the two men started cackling, they had no idea the artifact hadn't affected him, working under the belief that Harry was alone while he was supposedly off getting help. And if he didn't act soon, who knew what they'd do to the one man in their office who actually gave a shit about him! Heavy footsteps told him the pair was on their way upstairs to his now trapped partner, giving Draco the needed opportunity to try and catch them unawares. One of them was without a wand but without having an eye on the artifact they had, his moves were limited. Stepping as lightly as his shoes would allow, tempted to cast a Silencing Charm on them, the blonde made it through the kitchen and the small hall under the stairs into the empty living room to see a shadow just pass the end of the banister within his line of vision.

Moving with as much stealth as he could encourage from his nervous body, Draco carefully followed the two men, gripping his hawthorn wand with every intent of hexing the men half to death if Harry was hurt. Not just because he cared for the man. No, mostly to keep his friends from hunting him down for not fulfilling his role as the raven's makeshift keeper. Listening carefully, Draco followed their footsteps to a room at the end of the second floor's long and thankfully wide hall leading to the left where a door stood ajar. Just ahead, the unfamiliar back of the newcomer passed through but thankfully didn't close it behind him. These idiots really think they're along! Bad for them, but good for me. Draco thought as he crept forward with both speed and grace, keen ears picking up on low chuckles from the two men and Harry's muffled cursing. Already he could feel magic shift in the room beyond as the raven tried to spell himself out only to curse louder and much fouler, earning more harsh cackles. A loud noise made Draco jump, making the two criminals start roaring as Harry began to kick at the door rather than try and blast his way out. Explaining to their boss Robards why a pair of muggle apartments had been wrecked would be interesting and probably earn them a month's worth of paperwork and crap assignments. But as the men crowed with cruel joy over their victim's actions, Draco could tell Harry's attempts were becoming more desperate.

"I think we got ourselves a greenhorn Henry!" the newcomer declared with a disgustingly easy tone, far too amused by the thumping of flesh against thick wood.

"I think we do Gordo, I think we do." The first man stated in turn, now dubbed Henry, making it easy for Draco to envision the cruel grin on his ugly face. "I also think it's time we had some fun."

That was all Draco needed to hear, bursting into the room quick enough for their reactions to be delayed, shouting 'Aurors!' and thus allowing him to Stun them both, summoning the newcomer's wand before binding them. Searching his initial captive, Draco felt another chill go through him when he found the artifact responsible for Harry's predicament: an Imprisonment Bell, a simple, innocuous looking piece of magic pewter polished to the point of appearing silver. The main difference with this bell was that it had no clapper and its magic, soundless as it was, could only be activated by the user's wand. Just barely legal, the item was often used to ensure that intruders would be trapped in confined spaces for the authorities while others, like now, used them against unsuspecting Aurors just doing their jobs. And going from Harry's incessant pounding, the raven wasn't pleased about it. If anything, the man was more desperate than ever to be free of his makeshift prison, worrying the blonde even more.

"Harry? Harry, you need to calm down." Draco called down, letting out a relieved sigh when the pounding finally stopped.

The blonde blinked in shock when a small voice answered, sounding nothing like the confident man he worked with. "Draco?"

"Yes it's me. Are you alright?" he asked, wary of this odd shift in personality.

"Get me out…please get me out Draco." Harry said with a soft wail of emotional agony and distress, coupled with a disturbing sound of nails scratching at the paneling.

Blinking at the broken plea, the prospect of using the raven's fear against the man would've enticed Draco into all kinds of dark forms of thinking, coming up with cruel ways to further traumatize his victim. But that was something a child would do, blinded by limited the invisible walls of status and his father's iron control over everything. Now, Draco wasn't so vile to do such a thing unless what he intended was mild and in jest, earning laughter rather than screams. Unsure if the bell needed an incantation or not, and deciding not to test it and pocketing the bell instead, Draco cast Finite on the door since he was certain Harry had tried it first and it hadn't worked for some reason, hoping it would be enough to free his partner. To his relief, and Harry's, it worked, the door giving way to Harry's bodily attempts to get it open and thus causing him to plow right into the blonde on the other side. Letting out a surprised yell and almost dropping his wand, Draco managed to grab his partner as they fell. They fell in a heap of limbs, Draco on his bum and Harry in his lap, still wriggling and gasping in his attempts to escape a prison that didn't exist anymore. Pretty soon Draco was shouting.

"Harry! Dammit Potter calm down!" he commanded, getting his partner by the shoulders of his jacket and shaking him out of his frenzied stupor.

Emerald green eyes blinked, losing their distant look to focus on Draco, the raven looking positively pitiful as he righted himself so they were both sitting on the dusty floor. "S-sorry…I just…" he bit his lip, looking away, whispering. "Sorry."

"Bloody hell man, what just happened?" Draco demanded, caught between childish anger that there was one more secret the man was keeping from him and wariness on how to proceed, sensing the man next to him was fragile.

Seeming to come back to himself, Harry spoke with more of his usual tone, blinking as if he'd just come out of some kind of trance. "I…I was scouting around when something just pushed me into the closet, slammed the door behind me. E-everything was dark and I couldn't get the damn door open. I sure as Hades wasn't about to blow a hole in the wall but…I had to get out! I had to!" he insisted, his face twisted with emotional pain as he raised his clawed hands, his knuckles and fingers an angry red from his attempts to escape.

Grabbing him by the shoulders again, Draco gave him another gentle shake. "Alright, alright! Just take a breath, pull yourself together." Harry didn't respond, only nodding as he obeyed, the blonde eventually letting him go to eye him cautiously. "I didn't know you were claustrophobic."

Harry stiffened but shook his head, not looking at him. "It's not exactly something I like to advertise. J-just make sure that doesn't happen okay?"

"Fine by me. I almost got trapped in the basement which is bigger but just as dark so I know how you feel…sort of." Draco responded, letting out a sniff of disgust as he got up and swatted away at the dust stuck to his clothes.

Rising to do the same, Harry's mood lightened as he snickered, also dusting himself off before helping his partner out. "Heaven forbid a holier-than-thou Malfoy gets stuck in a dusty muggle basement."

"There were spider webs down there! One was particularly intricate so that ups the chances I could've been bitten! You're lucky there weren't rats too." Draco told him, shivering at the thought of the rodents scurrying around, hoping to get their little teeth into him. "And I'm not about to forget what just happened either. We've been partners for years and you didn't tell me? That's something you don't keep from your partner Harry." He growled, scowling as Harry ducked his head bashfully.

"I can't exactly bring something like that up in casual conversation." The raven told him, sounding honestly sorry about keeping such a thing hidden. "I did plan on telling you but I could never find the right moment and it kept slipping my mind."

"Well I guess there's no avoiding it now. Let's finish up and get these two bumbling fools to the cells so we can eat something. It's almost lunchtime by my clock." Draco stated in his ever-haughty, aristocratic tone.

Blinking at this shift in subject, Harry couldn't help but let a smile curl his lips in a strange mix of confusion and humor. "You don't even have a watch!"

"There's always the Tempus Charm, Potter. Do use your brain will you?" the blonde returned, already levitating one of the unconscious men out the door, knowing his partner would mirror him as he followed.

From behind him, he could tell the raven had that annoying Gryffindor grin on his handsome face. "About that, why do you keep calling me 'Potter' when you were just calling me Harry?" he asked, mirth clear in his voice, using the moment to his advantage to poke at the blonde.

"I'm not so insensitive to let you suffer, going so far as using your name as I must to snap you out of your fear-fueled stupor." Draco growled, already at the stairs and heading to the door, wanting to use the living room to apparate from without fear of splinching. "And you called me 'Draco' so we're even."

"Uh-huh. That's believable." Harry muttered in mock ire.

Naturally it stoked Draco's very real frustration. "Stuff it Potter."

"There you go again!" the raven exclaimed, chuckling when Draco just growled at him in response.

They continued arguing up until finally apparating into the Ministry with their catch of the day, the two men still stunned and bound to the small desk where the tight-faced witch who manned it sat. Without a word she handed them a pair of clipboards of paperwork to fill out, the pair obediently using the provided quills to do so. Levitating the scruffy men into their respective cells, the Auror partners quietly made it to the elevator, through the bustling halls and all the way to their office before daring to start arguing again. Given how they'd just about strangled each other in their first year together, Kingsley commanding them to get along or end up sacked, they knew to keep it to themselves so to avoid another scene. Behind closed doors however, the former school rivals either fell into a stubborn silence or went at one another like enraged animals. The fights continued for certain, only they had gone from being about their childish agitations to simply over who had the better theory of how their latest case had been committed by their sometimes nameless quarry. It was such to the point where their coworkers knew when best to avoid either man or simply wait until they were in the halls, sometimes using the rare bouts of quiet to intrude on them with their own issues. Teaching Harry's dog form to tell a wizard by his magical signature had been a challenge in their second year but was best used in tracking down their repeat offenders. Other Aurors had even asked for Harry's help in case their assignment fell under that category. The raven had relented save that he be rewarded for his efforts, rarely for credit in the arrest when the other party had nothing to give. More than one had made the very grave mistake of calling Harry the 'Ministry's Pet' and other less flattering names, earning equal amounts of enraged barking or hexing from the raven though he was certain Draco and his friends had done mostly hexing on his behalf.

Another more reasonable name Harry had earned amongst his coworkers was 'Grim' or 'Shadow' since he could move with an eerily silent grace through the halls both as a wizard and as a dog, sometimes only his claws clacking on whatever hard surface that existed underfoot to give him away. Many a criminal caught by Harry in his dog form recalled seeing the eyes before seeing the jaws, hearing the barking and feeling the pain as they were overwhelmed by the heavy beast. A number of Ministry workers claimed they were often scared out of their wits when Harry 'appeared from nowhere' on them when both parties were working late, the raven vanishing or appearing seemingly at will and without the loud crack of apparition. One witch in Records was scared to the point of not wanting to be in the same room with him, at least for the first six months before Harry finally cornered her and explained himself. He often visited her at her desk either to get hard-to-find information or just to talk, even appearing like the ghost she once believed him to be as a joke. As a result, Harry became quite adept at cleaning charms and catching the falling items with either his hands or his wand, smoothing things over with his brilliant smile. Today the pair spent the rest of their work day getting through their backlogged paperwork, spending the next few hours in a calm silence that allowed Harry to be oblivious to Draco's whirling mind on exactly why it had taken his partner of three years so long to reveal such a personal detail. Granted it'd been by mere coincidence but the fact still nagged at the blonde. He could only wonder. Just what else is he hiding from me?

Any good? I should hope so, since I've been agonizing over this for almost two months now. In the end, I think I did well. Ready for more? Well take a gander for what's to come in:

Next chapter:

Chapter 2: Bad Dog Day

Life is never easy for Harry and friends, since his luck likes to be fickle, right along with the ups and downs of his job. With the past, and the future, rearing its ugly head, can Harry get through his nine-to-five job without being attacked or worse? What devious plots do I have in mind? Find out when 'Shadow Of A Doubt' returns with:

Chapter 2: Bad Dog Day!