This is my first time in some years that I have decided to upload a new story. I was inspired by a song while reading Harry potter Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I thought this one particular song would pair nicely with little fic. So let's dive in.

Chapter One

The sky was grey. Like the heavens knew of the melancholy that the day was experiencing. Today was a most peculiar day.

Harry sat upon his desk, head buried in a file on an unusual circumstance. "Guard detail", he reads aloud. Bemusement brushing his face, his brows furrowed in a scowl. He was on guard duty.

"For none other than Draco Malfoy himself". Harry looks up from his file at the sudden appearance of his best friend, and partner, Ron Weasley. "Honestly mate, what did you do to piss off Robards this time?" Ron asks, making his way to his desk and plopping himself down into his chair, leaning back to get comfortable.

Being an Auror for two years now, Harry's had his fair share of running into a brick wall, by the name of Robards. If there is any red tape around a case, it was put there by the big man himself. The leading Auror in the Ministry for Magic was a bit of an ass. But to be fair Harry wasn't one to always follow the rules. Robards knew that in order to keep the world famous Harry Potter in line, he had to make sure Harry did things by the book and not his own interpretation of it. So after illegally spying on a suspect in a case involving a muggle murder, Harry was to be assigned guard duty, as a way of keeping him line. If there is one thing an Auror hates, it's guard duty.

Being on guard duty means that the Auror has to check in constantly with his superior before making any moves with his subject. It was a way of keeping him in his place. But of all the people in the world to be assigned to guard, it had to be Draco Malfoy. "THE Draco Malfoy". His nemesis. His foil, the man who was the bane of Harry's very existence at Hogwarts.

Harry finds himself laughing at the thought. A very deep rumble escaping his lips. He places his hand to chest, to sort of calm himself.

"Robards must be out his mind!", Harry exclaims. Ron simply shakes his head at his friends madness.

"Me? Guarding Malfoy? That git? Robards must really hate me."

Ron leans further back into his chair, looking at Harry with wide eyes. His best mate is a madman. Being best friends with Harry since they were eleven, and his partner since they became Aurors, made Ron very intuitive to his behavior. Knowing Harry, he would barge into Robards office and demand to be taken off the case, only for Robards to remind Harry of his sworn oath. And like clockwork Harry rises from his desk, slamming the file onto the surface. Ron pulls out a file from his own cabinet as he hears the door open. Without looking up he buries his face into the details of the case he has to work.

Harry storms out of the office, making a b-line for the head office, just a right turn down a hallway. The door is open. And the room is silent. "Hello?", Harry calls out to the dim lit room. No answer, but there is an envelope on the desk, addressed to Harry, he picks it up with a roll of his eyes. Whenever Robards doesn't want to talk to his members, he leaves a note:

Harry, at this point you have received your assignment. You are to protect Draco Malfoy during the trial of his father, Lucius Malfoy. Upholding your oath, you are to protect and serve your community without prejudice. I believe this assignment will do you good.

Best of luck,

Robards

With another roll of his eyes and a groan, "Why me? What does he mean 'it'll do me good?', he asks himself out loud. He drops the letter back onto the desk. "Just gonna pretend I didn't read it". He walked out the room, leaving the door open, and headed back to his office.

"Any luck with convincing Robards to take you off the detail?", Ron asks him.

"In a matter only he can convey, he left me a note. And no". Harry crashes into his chair, leaning far back so he can stare at the ceiling. "Wanna trade assignments"? The laugh escaping Ron's chest was more than enough of an answer.

"Putting Malfoy and me anywhere near each other is sure way for me to kill him. And as much as it'll be gratifying, I like my job more. And anyways, this case seems rather open and shut." Ron holds up his file he's been skimming over, "There haven't been much going on in the wizarding world as of late. Aside from helping muggle police on some difficult cases, it's all quite", Ron shrugs.

Taking his glasses from his face, Harry presses his fingers into the bridge of nose, trying to apply pressure to relieve the ensuing headache. He begins to wonder what exactly Robards meant when he wrote "It'll be good for you". Harry has been a little uptight these past few weeks. After finding out that a death eater had escaped Azkaban, the whole wizarding world was on edge. Upon finding out that the death eater was non other than Lucius Malfoy, Harry asked to be put on the case, but Robards took the lead. The Minister for Magic Shacklebolt wanted to make sure there would be no way Lucius Malfoy escaped from their custody. "I need my best and most experienced team on this case. Robards has been an Auror since after he left Hogwarts like you Harry, but Robards has a certain way of making sure prisoners do not escape that is required in this case", Shacklebolt had told Harry. "Besides, we can't have you on the case, we don't know if he'll come after you. We don't want to jeopardize our agents in trying to pursue Malfoy and try to protect you at the same time".

"But sir", Harry had tried to protest. "I can protect myself".

"That may be the case, but you have other matters to take care of".

Harry didn't want to sit back and do nothing, but Robards told him he'll be on desk duty for a year if he dare to interfere. It only took two days for Robards and Smith to track down Malfoy in a hideout in the Swiss mountains. He was brought into the department in a body bind hex. His hands behind his back and his mouth hexed shut. He looked ragged. His once bright silver hair, now dull and dirty. His face was no longer angular but sagged in the most odd of places, cuts adorning his cheeks and forehead. He looked like he had put up a fight, but not a scratch was seen on Robards or Smith.

"This time, he's not going anywhere". Robards had a devilish smile on his face. They took Malfoy off down a hallway that lead to the department of mysteries. He haven't been seen, until today, when he was being transferred to the courtrooms. He looked even more downtrouted than before. His hands were submerged in what looked like orbs made of water, but Harry later learned it was a material the Mysteries were testing, to see if they could rid a person of their magic. They couldn't fully test it until he was sentenced.

In three hours time, Harry had to intersect his subject. It was suggested they meet on neutral ground, in the muggle world. There , they surmised, no wizard should be able to attack him, not without fear of persecution. Coming back into the wizarding world would be the problem. Harry was prepared for his mission, but he wasn't prepared for the events that happened after meeting with Draco Malfoy. The sky was grey and full of melancholy. But in the little cracks of the rain filled clouds, there was just a peek of sunlight.