All Draco Malfoy heard as he entered into Number 12 Grimmauld Place was mass hysteria. The new Auror headquarters was filled with shouts of profanity and the distinct sound of glass shattering, more than likely as it met its untimely demise against a wall. Over the last forty-eight hours he had grown used to walking into the tantrums of his coworkers. Evidently something had upset certain members of the Auror team more than others…
"…how could you not tell me that you were bringing them into this?! When you said you were calling in reinforcements I was pissed enough, but this just tops it all off Harry! You told us you had everything under control and we'd have nothing to worry about!"
"I know what I said, Ron! But you know as well as I do that the tables have turned very quickly on us! There have been three more bodies found this week alone. Two of them were tourists visiting from other countries. This has gone international and we need someone who specializes in international affairs."
Draco couldn't help but notice the distinct sound of defeat in Potter's voice. That tone alone kept him from walking in on the quarreling friends. He needed to see where this conversation was going before he decided to get too involved.
"Yes, Harry! Someone! Anyone! But, no, you had to call her, and now not only is she flying over here to the rescue, but she's bringing her whole bloody team with her!"
Draco stood leaning against the wall outside the kitchen where the argument was taking place, wondering who this "her" was and why Weasley was so against the idea of her coming to help. Truth be told, the Auror team could use all the help they could get these days. Fifteen unsolved deaths in six months was rapidly starting to push the out of control button. He didn't care if the ministry recruited a team of knitting housewives, if it meant that they could get a second set of eyes on the case.
"Harry, you know the ministry has a damned good reason behind getting rid of female Aurors and now you are bringing in not one, but four and expecting us to be relieved and thankful. What's that old saying about a woman scorned? And now we will have four scorned bitches in our way. It's a huge liability and you know it and sit there pretending to be ignorant to it."
"Ron, only two are from our ministry originally, and they aren't as scorned as you'd think about it. On the contrary, they've thrived in spite of the antique ideas of our ministry. The American embassy took them into their Auror training program when Kingsley threw them out of ours. Their training was even more intense than ours, and involved muggle military tactics as well. In spite of it all, they have exceeded all of our abilities and have honed skills that could outshine our most gifted brothers. They have proven their strengths on Black Ops mission internationally, in territories that would make us all wet our pants."
"Whatever, Harry. I will keep my mouth shut and stick to focusing on doing my job, but I give it forty-eight hours tops before you send them packing. The last thing we need are four hormonal bitches getting in our way."
"She's changed you know. She seemed cold, ruthless, scary even. I talked to Luna when I was trying to finalize everything, but she wouldn't give me any answers as to what's happened to her. She's not the same girl she was seven years ago. The war changed all of us, especially her, but I have never heard her sound like that, no matter how bad things got. Something's happened to her, destroyed her in some way."
"Whatever it was, we could have helped, but no she ran away from us! She got pissed when the ministry turned her down for the academy and left us all! She could've done something else, married me, started our family, but no, she just left. And now she's probably just some old lonely spinster and that why she's miserable. I don't even want to look at her."
"Well they will all be here within the hour, so I suggest you get used to seeing her here. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get hold of Draco and Neville and the rest of the team."
"Already here Potter," Draco drawled, taking his cue to stop eavesdropping and entered the kitchen.
"Very good. I'll be in my office making some calls. If you two don't mind, we're going to need two get a few guest rooms ready, four of them. Like it or not Ron, they'll be here awhile, at least until they can figure out somewhere more permanent if they wish," and with that, Harry stormed off.
"What the hell was all that about Weasley?" Draco asked as they carried bedding upstairs to the guest floor.
"Evidently Kingsley is getting desperate and has decided to see some error in his ways. He had Harry seek out some backup and the best Harry could come up with is a team of whiny, hormonal girls," he spat in disgust.
"Surely they're a little more qualified than girl scouts than you're giving them credit for if Potter is sticking his neck on the line to get them here."
"I don't even care anymore, just as long as she stays out of my damn way."
"Who exactly is this she you keep referring to?
"Oh, you'll see soon enough Malfoy. And I promise when you do, you'll hate it as much as I do."
"That was Luna. They're less than five minutes out. I'm going to head on out front to wait if anyone wants to join me," Harry said pocketing his cell phone. Over the last hour parts of the Auror team started spilling into headquarters, some openly willing, some just curious. The majority of the Auror force slat out refused to be any part of it all together. Surprisingly, the Minister himself chose to be out of it too, requesting to be as uninvolved as possible.
Coward, Draco couldn't help but thinking as he rose from his chair to follow Harry outside, letting his curiosity of their new guests getting the better of him. He never figured he'd be the only willing to openly go along will all of this without hesitation, but then again very little surprised him anymore.
They'd barely made it down the steps when the roar of an engine caught their attention. A glossy black Rubicon came roaring around the corner, tires catching pavement, squealing in its wake. The massive Jeep rumbled to a halt as Harry let out a slow appreciative whistle.
"Man, I've always had a thing for American Automobiles. She's gorgeous!"
Even Draco had to admire the sheer size of the SUV; the black tinted windows, bordering illegal, the dark rims, even the row of flood lights. It was a badass piece of machinery and he knew it was more than capable of taking on the terrains of dangerous areas than any British car. There as a shimmering, silver graphic across the hood, a constellation, making his inner nerd grin with delight. It was a shockingly feminine touch to the beast of a vehicle.
More shocking than the graphics, were the three figures emerging from the beast. He immediately recognized Luna as she exited the driver's seat, her long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, still too big for her face. They no longer made her look wild eyed and crazy, but more exotic and sensual, hypnotizing even.
"Hello Harry, Malfoy," she smiled at them, hugging Harry tightly.
"Hey Luna. It's so good to see you. How long has it been? Three years?'
"Four!" she corrected. "Harry these wonderful woman are an irreplaceable part of our team; Claire and Jessa. We met up with them in New York and we've been inseparable since," she beamed.
"I'm so thankful you all could make it on such short notice. This is one of the members of the local Auror quadrant, Draco Malfoy," Harry explained to their visitors. Draco only managed a short not at them, unable to form a coherent sentence.
He didn't know which was more impressive, the beast of a vehicle they rode in on, or the fact that there were three gorgeous women clad in tight black combat gear on their doorstep. He was pulled from his wayward thoughts when Harry cleared his throat, feigning a cough to cover up his chuckle at Draco's expense.
"Not that I don't appreciate you three ladies, but I could have sworn there would be four of you joining us," he laughed. "Where is she?"
"Oh you know her," Jessa smiled, her voice holding a very southern drawl, not that of a New Yorker. "She had to make sure all the gear she insisted on bringing across the big pond got tucked away safe and sound first. Priorities, priorities. I think the only thing she didn't bring was her bathroom sink."
"Besides that, she's developed a need to be fashionably late everywhere we go ever since…" Claire added in, but got cut off by a sharp jab from Jessa to her ribs.
"Speak of the she-devil," Jessa interrupted, "I think I hear her bike now," glancing up the quiet street.
"Bike?" Draco asked, his eyebrow quirking up in surprise. Clearly his ability to be surprised had come rolling back along with these vixens. Whoever this woman was, he was officially dying to meet her. If she was anything like the three goddesses gracing their doorstep, he could die a happy man right then and there on the sidewalk.
He looked up the street following the direction of the noise of a revving street bike rounding the corner just in time to witness by far the sexiest thing he'd ever seen in his twenty-five years. The "bike", as Jessa so modestly put it was a specimen to behold in itself; sleek, with the most intricate graphic jobs he'd ever seen. The body was almost solid black, the paint job varying through shades of gray and silver to end in shades of green. The scale-like pattern represented a fierce snake, and as a true Slytherin at heart, he had to appreciate it. Another constellation mapped out on a smaller section of the tank caught his eye and he couldn't help the grin he felt growing across his face.
The bike itself paled in comparison to the body that began untangling itself off of it. He soaked in the sight of the rider, starting with her shit-kicker combat boots, one firmly planted on the ground, the other perched on the bike seat. Her body lazily leaned on the seat as his gaze traveled up her long, leather-clad legs, up to full hips and a delicate waistline. A small tan patch of skin winked at him beneath the hem of a snug leather vest. As the rider began tugging off her gloves, he followed her delicate hands up to tan, toned, bare arms, to the most perfect chest. The zipper of the vest had pulled up to a stop right in the center of her breasts, emphasizing her cleavage and a glimpse of what appeared to be a tattoo on her left breast over her heart. He as suddenly drawn away from his reverie as she reached up to pull off her helmet.
There on her left forearm, red and puckered was the last thing he'd expected to see, MUDBLOOD. He could feel her eyes on him through the dark shield of her helmet. The gears in his head had started clanging together loudly in his ears. He knew exactly who "she" was. His jaw dropped as she tucked her helmet under her arm, laying her gloves inside it, and walked up to him toe to toe. He felt his throat draw tight and the blush rush to his face as her hand reached forward to cup his chin, her dark whiskey eyes never leaving his. He felt the slight pressure of her pushing his jaw closed, evidently it had hit the ground.
She slowly backed away from him, heading up the steps to the landing at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. As he hand reached the doorknob and she began to turn it, she paused, throwing a glance over her shoulder. With the faintest of smirks in his direction and said, "Long time, no see, Malfoy,' before entering the house.