A/N: Written for the HPFC Camp Potter Scavenger Hunt (Team Collaboration: PainkillerJane and TeddyLupin-Snape) Week 2 using the prompts:
Mandatory: Write about running out of : 1. Dialogue: "Wake up!" 2. Ghosts. 3. Photograph - Andrea Gibson. 4. Lesson learnt. 5. Winter.
Chapter 1: The Unexpected Safe House
"It's scorched, Potter. I don't think this is going to come out!"
"At least you can see, Malfoy," Harry grumbled, broken glasses in one hand while he levitated what appeared to be a dark green pillowcase.
"I don't know why they teamed us up," Draco replied, rubbing absentmindedly at his holster.
"You are the most insufferable git... Ugh, why am I justifying this to you?" With this, Draco stomped off towards the entrance of the safe house leaving a disgruntled Harry trailing at his heels.
"Where're you off to now, Malfoy?"
"Away from the likes of you."
"We should have gone straight to the Ministry, Malfoy. These items need to be sorted and catalogued as soon as possible," Harry said, trailing after his petulant partner. "We shouldn't be here. We need to get back to see Ron and his team so we know what..."
Draco stopped in his tracks and whirled around, Harry stopping nose to nose with him. "Listen, Potter, as much as I want to have a little reunion with that little weasel, I would like to get cleaned up and a good night's rest. Oh and some food would be nice. You know the basics that keep us living?" He spun on his heel and resumed his hike to the little decrepit shack. "Not all of us can go on like you do with nothing more than The Mission. Seriously..."
"What exactly do you plan on saying to Kingsley when he …"
"Not a damn thing!"
"We're Aurors now! It goes beyond The Mission now. It's our job, or have you forgotten that? And, we had orders."
"Screw your bloody orders, Potter. This was supposed to be a simple interview, not a freaking duel with a deranged Death Eater in possession of more dark objects than the Blacks and Lestranges put together!"
"More than even your father, you think?" Harry knew this would irritate the blonde even further, but he didn't care. "You know, you didn't have to use me as a damn shield. You can conjure one, cos you know, you're a wizard?"
Draco snickered, stepping over stones and broken glass, Harry now abreast with him. "The look on your face, Potter, was priceless!"
A cheeky grin split Draco's face as he remembered how he had levitated Harry in front of himself when the old Whispering Wizard, dubbed as such for whispering into the ears of strange and dark wizards in Knockturn Alley, started hurling enchanted objects causing Harry to shield both of them, but not before a strange cube had attached itself to Harry's foot, draining his magic in the process.
"That was a stupid move if I ever saw one, Malfoy. We're supposed to be partners!" Harry said with indignation, frustrated with Draco for what transpired in the old Death Eater's house.
"Well it wasn't my choice, now was it, Potter, to be partnered up with The Golden Boy."
"Oh, so you think it was my decision to pair us up? No, you know what, no. No. I'm done arguing with you about petty things. We have a job to do. Let's go to the Ministry."
Harry pulled Draco to a stop. "Apparate us, Draco," Harry said, face serious.
"Seeing how you are too weak still, it's best that we stay here and rest. Apparently you need it more than I do." He pulled his arm free. "See? I'm thinking of your best interest."
Harry stared at his retreating back, mouth set in a line, teeth grinding in anger. "It's your fault!"
"Now, now, don't get your knickers in a twist. You can go tattling to Shacklebolt when we get back."
They climbed the rest of the way up the low rocky hillside toward the derelict shack in silence. Almost all the safe houses appeared as abandoned buildings to all Muggles and wizards save for the one in Holland which appeared as a giant boulder on the edge of a precipice. This safe house was a small decrepit hut with boarded up broken windows, a half burned porch and a No Trespassing sign set on the broken gate at the bottom of the hill. Aurors were trained to spot the safe word among the various signs used to keep out trespassers. They knocked on the door, each with their wands in a synchronous pattern activating the magic. Slowly, the decayed wood of the door repaired itself and shimmered once then slowly swung open. Instantly, the voices of their fellow Aurors drifted out to greet them.
Draco stepped through the threshold, leaving Harry outside with the confiscated artifacts.
Through the open door came the sounds of a house buzzing with Aurors in various stages of departure. This safe house was discovered by Hermione during what would have been their seventh year when they were on the run from Snatchers. She had done an amazing job enlarging the interior to better accommodate six people comfortably; since then, it had been magicked to expand even further to house as many Aurors as needed at any given time.
Harry shut the door behind him, tapping it twice with his wand to replace the charm on the door and lacing his magical trace into the wards, as was common practice with Aurors in case of an emergency so they can be tracked.
"Harry, mate!"
Harry grinned at his old friends. Seamus and Neville, having been partnered together after Ron and Luna were given their own teams, were sitting around one of the tables with what appeared to be a very violent game of Wizard's Chess set between them.
"Seamus, I thought you'd have blown up Neville by now," Harry said. Neville grinned at the pout sprouting on Seamus' face.
"Very funny, Harry. Hey, mate, what happened to you two?" Seamus asked, looking the pair in their respective states of disrepair.
"You guys look worse than Seamus here did our first year in charms." Neville said, worry wrinkling his brow.
"Unlike you two, we actually have important assignments," Draco snapped, nodding to Harry, his sign of departure.
"Still a git of a ferret isn't he, Harry? I can't imagine what a nightmare it must be to be teamed with him, mate." Seamus muttered, watching Draco retreat into the dining area and up the stairs.
Out of sight, but still within earshot, Draco paused on the stairs with a sigh. He really didn't mind Potter all that much. He was good company most of the time. Quiet when it mattered.
Harry's voice drifted to him, "He's a good Auror, Seamus. He's not so bad, most of the time."
A sad smile pulled at the corners of Draco's mouth, it was getting harder and harder to keep up his facade with him. He was becoming too relaxed. Draco shook his head, banishing these thoughts and heading to the shower.
After all of the Aurors had left, Harry headed upstairs. He climbed the steps slowly, his mind thinking over his partnership with Draco.
He's not so bad, not really. I can feel him changing. Harry thought over the differences between their recent bickering, their long moments of comfortable silence and their various assignments over the past two years. Even though he's still very much a git, he could feel the emptiness in Draco's threats and insults. The playfulness behind the tantrums made Harry question whether the blonde was pretending to be insufferable on purpose.
Harry smiled at himself, continuing up the stairs to the shower, thinking about how the blonde man laughed at inappropriate times. He reached the bathroom still thinking about the other man. He didn't notice a towel-clad Draco whirl around to stop him from entering.
Pulled out of his trance, Harry's eyes moved slowly from Draco's elegant bare feet up his athletic legs, across the too short towel wrapped around his narrow waist, up a very flat, smooth stomach and across a nice broad, toned chest.
Draco cleared his throat bringing Harry's eyes up to his dark blush lips, raising his eyes at the blank look on his partners face.
"I-I-I'm sorry, mate," Harry stammered, backing out of the room and stumbling in the process.
In a swift stride, Draco slid out an arm and pulled Harry towards him to keep him from stumbling down the stairs. His breath caught as Harry reached up in instinct to cup the side of his neck to steady himself. They stood there, Draco holding Harry flush against him as Harry panted softly into the side of Draco's neck.
Flustered, Draco stepped back, forcing Harry's hand to slide down his chest, his hand still resting on Harry's waist, "You must be... uh... weaker than we thought." Breaking all contact, he stepped to the side and gave Harry a slight nudge forward. "Why don't you shower while I go ready some replenishing potions for you?"
With that he bounded down the stairs and towards the common room where their bags were still by the front door.
Harry stood very still where Draco had left him just moments before. His breathing was just a bit ragged, his heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't move for fear of falling. His legs threatening to completely turn to jelly if he stayed rooted to the spot, he finally took a tentative step into the bathroom and shut to door behind him, leaning against it for dear life.
Downstairs, Draco rummaged through the bags until he found what he was looking for. Still in his towel he raced back upstairs and bounded into the bathroom. The sight that greeted him as he entered made him forget about his decency and rush towards the dark haired man now leaning against the wall as if he might fall.
"Harry?"
His voice brought the other man's eyes up to meet his own and what he saw there startled him. The vivid green of his eyes shimmered with something ethereal and carnal.
Draco gasped and took a step forward, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Are you alright," he asked, his voice low and tentative.
Harry blinked rapidly as if waking from a trance and smiled a slow seductive smile.
"You..." his words dying on his lips as Harry closed the distance between them and tilted his head upwards to briefly capture his blush red lips.
Draco's eyebrows shot up into his pale fringe taken by surprise. His body stiffened as Harry pulled away. He was startled and tense but after a moment relaxed and realized that he really wanted the moment to continue, so he rushed forward, threading his fingers into Harry's hair and crushing their lips together.
After a minute, Draco pulled away, breaking the kiss and murmured, "You smell like smoke and you need to drink your potions."
Harry nodded, at a loss for words, and turned to face the mirror, Draco walking out the door slowly, their eyes locking for a second in the mirror, and then Harry was left alone.
Draco ran the last few minutes through his head as he pulled on his clothes. I've never looked at Potter as anything other than a nuisance and now we kiss? Fuck!
He paced around the room until he heard footsteps in the hall outside his room. He froze, not knowing what to do, a fleeting look of panic crossing his face and then he smoothed his shirtfront and regained his composure at soft knock on his door and then the turn of the handle.
"Draco?" Harry's voice, soft and low causing a gentle tingle at the base of Draco's abdomen made him lose his composure.
"Ye...ye..." He clears his throat, "Yes, Harry?" Draco walked towards the door, pausing just out of arm's length.
"I...um..." Harry inhales and looks at Draco, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "That was unexpected, right?"
Draco let out a bark of laughter. "Unexpected? I'd say!"
Harry chuckled, "Good night, Draco. See you in the morning."
"Yea, Good night..." Draco closed the door as his partner moved away and down the hall and sighed. "Harry."
Chapter 2: The Muggle Way
The next morning, Harry awoke in his bed the remnants of a dream involving Draco and a towel tugging at the corner of his mind. Trying halfheartedly to distinguish reality from dreams, he dressed and made his way into one of the offices on the first floor. There, he gathered together the artifacts they had confiscated the previous day, sending a slight stinging jinx to wake up his partner. He pulled out his papers with the Ministry regulation catalogue and began to sort and test the first artifact. He had nearly classified a strange round contraption by the time a well-rested, though slightly disgruntled, Draco entered the room.
"Ready to work, are we?" Harry inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, thanks to that little jinx of yours. Remind me later that I owe you one." Harry chuckled at the scowl on Draco's face. "You could've told me you were going to get going right away."
Their eyes locked over the table, both remembering in great detail what happened the night before in the bathroom.
"Um... will... How about you start on that end of the table and we'll meet in the middle, yeah?" Harry stammered pulling his gaze away from his partner's lascivious lips.
Draco looked slightly disgruntled. "Uh…yea, sure. Are we alone?" Draco asked quickly, looking over his shoulder into the hallway for eavesdroppers, faint blush appearing on his pale cheeks.
"Yes, we're alone," Harry said blushing in exasperation. "Now help me, will you, before I hex you again."
Draco looked affronted for a fraction of a second, then rolled up his sleeves and got to work opposite Harry.
It is slow work, but they muddle through. They work in a comfortable silence, for the most part. The occasional "Make sure you don't touch that part of it" and "Watch out for that one, it's dangerous!" is all that is heard for a while. The sun reached its peak as the Aurors pulled a cube-shaped artifact towards them.
"Hey, Potter, isn't this that…that...thing that the Whispering Wizard threw at you?" Draco tapped it twice with his wand. "Hmm," he said, puzzled.
"What were you expecting?"
"I don't know," He replied, shaking the cube, "smoke, maybe." This time he banged the object on the edge of the table with considerable force.
Harry hurried over, pulling the item out of his hands. "Malfoy, give me that! You're going to blow us up or something!"
"I am not going to blow anything up, Potter! I've had the same training as you, now give that back! I know what I'm doing" He snatched the cube out of Harry's hand and resumed his barrage of spells and physical attacks.
Harry, looking scandalized, reached over and grabbed ahold of the item. Both wizards were pulling on the cube when a blinding flash of light issued from the device. A strange tingling sensation ran from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes. The walls shimmered making the pair look at each other.
"What was that? Just… just give that here, before you make that happen again."
"I don't know what the hell that was but it sure wasn't my fault." Draco retorted.
Harry took out his wand, waving it over the artifact like they had done with all the others, during the classification process. Nothing happened.
"Are you doing that right, Potter? Here, let me do it." Draco waved his wand, directing the tip at the cube-shaped object, but again, nothing happened. He tried accioing the parchment Harry had been working from and receiving nothing for his efforts, not even a flutter.
"Alright, Potter. What did you do this time? Why isn't my wand working?" Draco demanded, swishing his wand in the air again.
"Look, it's not my fault. It was probably that damned artifact—I bet it sucked our power away or something like it did when it latched onto me." Harry gave an exasperated sigh and looked solemnly out the window.
Draco's glance followed Harry's, and he said, "I think I'll go floo the ministry."
"Fine, I'll try and figure out this blasted thing."
Draco stormed off, not looking back. Harry sighed and returned to his work.
He stood turning the black cube over in his hands. He ran his fingers over the smooth sides and noticed that it wasn't as smooth as it appeared. He set the object down on the table and bent over putting his face flush to it.
Each face of the black cube had a multitude of fine scored lines. He traced his finger along the edge and followed one of the etched lines in what appeared to be a maze. The line began in one corner of the first face and down and around it then across the next face and the next in a tangle of lines ultimately ending in a tangle back at the beginning.
"That is interesting," Harry mumbled.
"HARRY POTTER!" Draco yelled as he bounded back up the stairs,
"What, Malfoy," Harry shouted back, still bent over the table touching the cube.
Draco reappeared in the threshold of the office, his eyes immediately roving over Harry in his position over the table.
Harry pushed himself up from the table, leaning on in as he turned his head to look at the blond. "What…" His words sticking in his mouth at the look on Draco's face, an intense fire burning in his eyes. Harry stood straight and crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "If you take a photograph, it'll last longer."
The other man broke his trance, an icy winter replacing the fire in his grey eyes. "We are trapped in this house."
"Trapped? What do you mean? How can we be trapped?" Harry questioned.
"We're trapped. We're fucking trapped, as in we can't get out. We're stuck here. And it seems like we're stuck here without any magic." Draco moved around Harry to the window, pressing the importance of the situation by trying to open the window and failing.
Harry moved to help him with the window, and after a brief session of grunting to no avail, he moved away and stared at his partner.
"Not to mention we have no means of getting ahold of the Ministry, and they happen to be the only people who know where the hell we are," Draco said taking a deep breath.
"Okay, so we basically need to wait here until someone from the Ministry decides to look for us. It can't be that long, they'll know we're missing and come looking," Harry gulped, the gravity of the situation hitting home. "Right?"
"I guess… But with no magic and no way out, what are we supposed to do for meals and such?"
Harry sniggered, "Well, Malfoy, we're going to have to resort to doing things the old fashioned muggle way." Draco looked absolutely horrified.
"You think you can handle that?" Harry inquired.
"Hmph, it sounds like you'll be cooking for us until we find a way out of here."
Harry nodded knowing that Draco would soon be at a complete loss.
Harry bustled around the kitchen making them dinner from the few supplies in the pantry. They had provisions for about 3 days, just over a week if they only ate once a day and managed their portions. They had plenty of water; the safe house was equipped with the original old fashioned muggle well and pump left in place just in case those taking shelter here were low on their magic or injured.
"Chop these, will you, Draco," Harry said, less a question and more of a command as he thrust an old knife and potatoes and directed him to the cleared off counter by the stove.
"What's this piece of wood for," Draco asked, holding the sack of potatoes at arm's length as if it were going to bite him.
"It's called a 'cutting board' where you cut things on."
Draco managed to look even more horrified. Harry couldn't suppress his laughter as Draco began to peel the potatoes.
"Draco, mate, if you keep peeling them like that we're not going to have much left to eat." He moved towards the flustered man who was chopping large sections of the tuber, stepping behind him, grabbing his hands to show him how to properly peel the spud.
Harry's voice was low in his ear as he talked him through it making his Draco's steely façade peel back at the edges. Draco leaned back, tilting his head to the side; his partners' breath made his skin prickle in lust. Harry squeezed his fingers over Draco's moving his knee between the other mans, his body flush until the most sensitive part of him was noticeable between the two.
Draco's eyes widened in surprise at the length pressing against him making him drop the knife in a clatter. Harry released him, backing away until he bumped into the kitchen table. He looked around frantically for something to hide under. Draco remained by the cutting board where he stood still as a statue, his breathing coming in large shudders as if he had just run a marathon.
"S-s-s-so you can… the potatoes… you… Good job!" Harry moved back to his spot over the sink where he had been filling a large pot with water from the pump. He mentally chastised himself, thinking that if they continued on this course it would surely end up in a major catastrophe. The two of them were so different that it would most certainly prove volatile.
"Would you like some of my special beefy broth?" His eyes widened to the size of saucers when Draco's head snapped in his direction, realizing the innuendo. "I mean," he held up the two small containers of bullion, "You know, for the soup, chicken or beef?"
"I think we should stick to chicken, yea?" He raised the now peeled potatoes, "And these?"
Harry instructed him on how to chop them from the safety of the pantry where he was busying himself by fishing out some bread.
They finished making dinner, bumping into each other more than once as they both tried to avoid coming into contact. They would bump and flush scarlet and apologize only to do it again as if on purpose. They sat down to eat in a strained silence, both eating with their eyes glued to their meal.
"Listen, Harry, I've been thinking," Draco said, infiltrating the silence around them. "I just… I mean…well, thanks."
Harry looked up at him, green eyes full of question, "What for?"
"I heard what you said to Finnegan and Longbottom yesterday, and I just wanted you to know…," Draco looked away and mumbled the rest of his sentence.
Harry smiled softly, "What was that? I didn't catch the last part."
Draco sighed, swallowing his pride and steeling himself to admit this little truth. "I appreciate what you said when they called me a git."
"Listen, mate, I admit that you're not the easiest to get along with but when it's just the two of us it's not so bad. You know?"
Draco nodded, taking a drink of water. "I know I can be difficult…"
Harry snorted loudly at this. "That's an understatement!"
"Oh, get off your high horse, Potter!"
"Seriously though, Draco, after being partnered together for these years, I don't mind being around you." Harry stood, clearing the table. "Draco?"
"Harry?"
"I think we need to talk about… about last night." He turned from his position at the sink to face his partner.
Draco nodded and stood in one fluid motion. He turned on his heel and walked into the common room, planting himself in a tattered armchair. Harry followed choosing the seat across from him.
"What do you…" and "You think…" they said simultaneously.
Draco smiled, "What do you think we should do?" He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, studying those brilliant green eyes intently. Harry squirmed a little under the watch of those wintery grey eyes.
"My main concern is whether it will affect our work."
"You mean to say that you want to… experiment with these arising situations?" Harry laughed at Draco's interpretation of the scenarios they had found themselves in.
"Listen, Draco, it is simpler than you make it out to be." Harry stood, looking more exhausted than he had just moments before. "But if this is something that's going to inconvenience you, then let's just forget what happened here and focus on getting out of here."
Draco sat up straighter at these words, his eyes following Harry as he walked out of the room.
After a few minutes, he stood and followed the other man out. He found him in the office studying the cube again.
"I didn't mean it like that. I would like to pursue this, but I'm not comfortable with everyone knowing. I don't exactly hold the record for successful relationships. And what will Granger and Weasley think? I know I can be a barmy git, but I…"
"Draco, come take a look at this." Harry moved to give the other man space. "Where have we seen this pattern before?" He tapped at the rubbing of the cube. He had taken parchment and quill and gently made a rubbing of all the sides until the etched lines on the cube where laid out flat. What looked like a maze on each independent face of the cube was in a symbol.
Draco picked up the parchment and turned it in all different directions until it came into focus. He inhaled sharply. At the center of the rendering was a harsh drawing of a skull with a snake threaded through the eyes and exiting the opened mouth.
"I thought we confiscated all of these when we raided the Lestrange property. How does this one exist?" Draco looked at Harry, tension creasing his forehead. "Harry, we need to get out of here."
"I don't think this, what where they called?" He snapped his fingers impatiently, his mind in overdrive. "Death Eater's Tessera should have been able to lock us in here. What I don't understand, though, is why it activated when it did. What did we do?"
Draco continued to stare at the parchment. "These things usually just work one way, it neutralizes the opposition's power and that's it. But this," he pointed at the Tessera, "this is something more complex. I've never seen any of them with such intricate carvings. Harry," he tapped on the two square faces adjacent to the Skull. "Do these look odd to you?"
He pulled the parchment, studying the two faces Draco had pointed out and saw what he meant. "I think we need to find a way to either deactivate this or get out of here."
Draco looked at his hands, "But I don't feel any different. How much time do you think we have left before…"
He looked up at Harry, unable to finish his thought.
"We need to hurry. Here hand me that staff." He handed the bronze staff with a serpents head to Harry.
He moved towards the window and swung. He pulled back and swung again, this time the wall shimmered but nothing more.
"Harry. Harry, stop! Look," Draco pointed at the Tessera. The snake etched on it seemed to be writhing. "I think you've angered it."
Harry turned back to the window and started swinging with all the force he could muster. "Draco, don't just stand there!"
The other man grabbed an ugly scepter and took position facing Harry, making sure they had a safe distance to swing.
"We have to hurry," he said, looking at the Tessera. The skull was gaping at them; the snake glowing as it moved over the rest of the faces, "I think we're running out of time."
Draco started to swing when Harry pulled back from his swing, so they stood there, panting, alternating hits against the window. The walls shimmered brighter with each hit.
"I think we're nearly there." Draco said panting. There was small fissure forming where they were hitting the window. The glass itself was intact; they just needed to physically break through the wards the Tessera had created.
A soft glow began emanating from the object glowing brighter and brighter as they pounded on the window. Harry glanced over his shoulder as he pulled back from swinging and uttered a single word.
"Shit."
They were out of time.
A/N: Yes, a cliff hanger, our apologies. Deadlines and time limits and RL all happened all at once. Review if you enjoy what you read! we 3 reviews!
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A/N: written for the HPFC Camp Potter Team Scavenger Hunt Week 4 with Prompts:
Mandatory: Write about a birth.
Optional: 1. New Year 2. Dialogue: "Is this where I say 'congratulations'?" 3. Black hole 4. Craziness 5. Laugh
Chapter 3: Schism
The glow intensified; the table it sat upon engulfed in bright light and growing larger by the second. Draco, holding the sceptre above his head with both hands, braced himself for impact. He threw a glance at Harry, who stood seemingly entranced by the ever growing glow, and panicked. He brought the tip of the sceptre straight down and into the fissure. Upon causatum, the light radiated back into the Tessera almost as if imploding, allowing the two Aurors to breathe a sigh of relief before exploding outwards once more with force.
Draco shielded his eyes with his left arm, reaching for Harry with the other. His fingers closing around the other man's hand as the white light sent them spiraling down a black hole.
I know the pieces fit cause I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering, fundamental differing,
Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion
Disintegrating as it goes testing our communication
~ Tool "Schism"
The darkness was just as intense as the bright light, maybe even worse. Harry felt his partner's fingers twitch around his hand as he came back to consciousness.
"Draco," he whispered into the dark in the general direction of his friend wiggling his fingers in the process. "Are you hurt?"
There was shuffling from the other man, "No, just a little sore." He grunted, sliding closer, "Where are we?"
"I don't know. I can't see anything." Harry smiled as much as he could given the circumstances when Draco squeezed his hand tighter as they both moved to stand.
The ground rumbled beneath them, a faint glow illuminated by hundreds of tiny lines all around them. It looked vaguely familiar. The faint tendrils of light casting shadows from the darkness itself leaving them in a contrast devoid of all the greys.
Harry looked at his partner, taking in his haunting appearance. The light illuminating them from the ground up and from the ceiling down and cancelling in the middle leaving their faces in more than darkness. Their eyes bright with what could have been mistaken for animal glow, protruded from the recesses of their eyes, their cheeks highlighted with a layer of shadows that seemed to drip down over their chins to disappear into the brightness of their necks. The outline of their clothes seemed bolder, in sharp contrast to the darkness pierced by the tendrils of light only to get lost in the light at their feet.
"Do you have your wand," Draco asked, concern showing in his voice.
"No, it's back in my room."
Draco hesitantly let go of Harry's hand and plunged it deep into the shadows of his robes. He withdrew from the midst a long, slender rod made of half-darkness and half-light. Harry stepped closer, realizing in mid-step what he was looking at.
"Think it will work," Harry gestured around him vaguely, "here?"
Draco shrugged, the effect lost among the throng of shadows. "Lumos."
Nothing happened.
"Try it again," Harry urged.
"LUMOS," he said with more feeling.
This time a small spark erupted, temporarily illuminating their faces.
"Alright, that's a good sign," Harry said, reaching out to grab the other man's hand.
"Granger! Where's Potter and Malfoy," Kingsley Shacklebolt thundered as he barged through Hermione's office in the Department of Mysteries with no regard for knocking. Although he appeared to be in total control, his eyes belied his frame of mind: worried.
"On some half cocked mission of yours, I presume, Shacklebolt." Hermione looked up at the towering shadow and sighed, "I haven't seen them since a week ago right before they dispatched on their latest mission. Have you asked Ron and his team?"
Kingsley nodded with a huff. "Yes, I have, Ms. Granger, and they haven't heard from them either. They were supposed to check in two days ago. Nothing since they arrived at the Whispering Wizards house."
At that, Hermione stood, "That isn't like Harry at all."
She was worried now, all work was erased from her mind, her focus now was her friend and his partner. "Have they checked in with any of the other teams," she asked.
She had heard tales about the Whispering Wizard and his were the nightmares that awaited children who misbehaved. She moved around her desk and headed to the elevator, Kingsley right on her heels.
"Only those who were presently in their department." He had to hurry to catch up with her. "Where are you going," he asked almost plowing into her when she came to an abrupt halt in front of the lift.
"To the Auror department. I want to check Harry's clock." The lift doors opened and she stepped in.
"Clock?"
She didn't look at him, instead she grabbed a few of the memos hovering above her head and charmed her message on to them and sent them zooming to their new destinations. She then removed a coin from a pocket in her inner robes and transfigured it into a map of Europe. She enchanted it to hover and started casting spells and charms making all the different roads glow and shimmer.
"The clock above his filing cabinet." She continued working while the lift ascended, "It was a gift from Ginny, it is similar to the one in the kitchen at the burrow."
Kingsley nodded. "I'll send for all the Auror teams that are not on assignment."
They reached the second floor and stepped out, each moving in opposite directions. Hermione moved to the open space at the center of the meeting area, throwing the map onto the floor and spelling its projection at waist level.
Slowly, Auror teams begin to show up, some looking haggard, others eager for an assignment. Ron and Luna joined her side with their respective teams.
"'Mione," Ron said, a memo crumpled in his hand, "whatever you need from us," he motioned to both his and Luna's teams.
Hermione nodded, "Will one of you plot all the safehouses on the map?" She swished her wand and sent the zooming clock to rotate above the map.
There were a multitude of hands continually rotating around the face only to finally land on Work. Hermione stared at it, everyone else staring along with her. She chewed on her nails as the last of the hands came to a final stop.
All except two of them: Harry and Draco.
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so
We cannot see to reach an end crippling our communication.
~Tool "Schism"
They sat in silence, Draco sending small sparks above them each time he tried his wand, gaining nothing but a brief respite from the darkness. Harry's eyes darted back and forth, their focus a sliver of light that started at one end of what he assumed was a room - no discernible features had revealed themselves in the low lighting - across the floor and then dimmed and disappeared only to reappear on the other side of the room where it had started.
He followed the sliver a third time then shifted his focus to another sliver above their heads. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, something important, like a word on the tip of his tongue.
Draco huffed, falling prone in frustration. "It seems that here, wherever here is, our magic is still not working."
Harry stood, "Give me your wand," he said, reaching in semi-blindness towards the prone man.
"What?"
"Your wand, give it to me," his voice brisk and commanding. "I think I know where we are."
Draco stood up, grasped around and thrust his wand into the other man's awaiting hands. "Where?"
Harry ignored him, moving instead towards the first sliver of light he had followed across the room, Draco's eyes following his dark shadow. He stood where it began and followed it to the end. His left hand flat against what indeed was a wall, only the wall wasn't smooth. His fingers dipped and stumbled over deep ridges and whirls as he moved along it. His right hand out in front of him, sending small sparks to illuminate his path. He reached the end and knelt down, his fingers probing the floor where the sliver of light vanished.
"I think," he grunted as he lay his face close to the floor, "there is a door here."
"A door," Draco said, a high pitched half crazy laugh. "You're kidding!"
Harry wriggled his fingers in the corner where the floor and two walls met. "We might have a way out, I mean, there's a draft here."
"About time! My bladder is so full I feel like I'm about to give birth to my kidneys!" Draco jumped in place a little before crossing his legs in an effort to hold his bladder longer.
Harry moved up to a kneeling position, wand pointing to the corner and bellowed, "DEPRIMO!"
A river of lights swarmed towards Harry, engulfing him in bright lights. They crowded in the corner, white light piling upon white light. Harry moved back towards Draco as the pile of brightness kept building.
Behind them was pure darkness, all the skittering slivers of light abandoning their paths to join the throng.
A deep rumbling emanated from the pile making the men stagger.
"This doesn't look good, Harry."
They looked at each other both thinking the same thing and dropped flat on the ground, shielding their heads from the brightness and the ensuing chaos sure to come.
The compounding light was halfway up the wall when a sudden explosion sent it flying like lightning across the room. The two men stayed on the ground as the last of the light ricocheted around them, their ears ringing from the blast.
Draco threw a glance at his partner and yelled, "Nice work, Potter!"
Harry huffed at him in frustration. "Well, I had to try something, Malfoy!"
Draco laughed in the wake of all the craziness, "Nicely done! Is this where I say congratulations?"
"Look at the wall." Draco followed Harry's line of vision, his eyes widening at the sight.
In the corner, where all the light had exploded, there was a door, indiscernible and flat except for the splintered bottom half that belied its location.
"Where does it lead, do you think," Draco asked, standing up and running his fingers through his dishevelled hair.
The explosion of light had painted the room in splashes of brightness, like a glow stick broken and the liquid thrown at the wall. It clung to their clothes and skin, illuminating them from the pitch black their features had been surrounded in.
Harry moved towards the splintered door, his hands and eyes inspecting the wall close to it.
"Does this look familiar to you," he asked.
Draco stared at the gouged markings along the wall where his partner had indicated. His eyes traveling past the door and across the room. After he had taken in the room in its entirety, he nodded.
"This looks like the markings on the Tessera. The only difference is I can't make out the skull and snake."
Harry nodded his agreement. "It must have been some kind of portkey."
Draco rubbed his face with both hands and let out a tired sigh. "You don't think we could be inside the blasted cube?"
Harry moved past Draco and knelt in front of the splintered door and shook his head. "Be reasonable. It has the same basic shape and markings, but it isn't identical. Look here."
Draco followed Harry's hand as his fingers dipped into the the seam at the edge of the blast and saw immediately what he was referring to. The outline of the door had been revealed but there was no door knob or latch of any kind.
"Should we go through?"
Draco nodded. "We don't have a choice, other than staying in here."
Harry then motioned for him to go through. After Draco's feet disappeared through the hole in the door, he got on his hands and knees and crawled through. He was unprepared for the events that had unfurled as he exited the room.
Draco lay motionless several feet away. Harry pushed himself up, scrambling to his knees only to meet the tip of a wand.
The last thing Harry saw around the person standing before him was another dark robed figure levitating Draco through a door.
He cast his eyes upwards as a red stream of light hit him in the face, and then all was dark once more.
AN: This story, for those few who recognize it, was formerly posted on my joint account (togetheratthewindow) with Teddylupin-snape. I removed it from that account because neither one of us continued to update after the team projects ran out and even then RL simply prohibited me from being able to collaborate with Teddy.
I do still give credit for her collaboration to -snape, but anything posted after this is written by myself (although most of the initial outline will be followed since we had outlined the entire story - which should have been a oneshot- when we first put our heads together.)
Also, fair warning, the story that is taking priority at the moment is Between Fire and Ice as it is a gift fic that decided it needed to be a multi chap!