Chapter 1
Warning: Rating M, slash content.
Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the plot of this story and perhaps additional original characters.
It all belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling who we all praise.
Side-note: This fanfic was written by two people as roleplay though in some situations we changed side characters. So there might be sharp changes from one character's POV to another. I tried smoothing it a bit but it still might a bit.. well, confusing.
Most importantly, enjoy!
Draco glared at the floor as if he could Crucio it with his eyes. He was absolutely livid. Some random man had tried to curse him in the middle of the Diagon Alley. Draco has stunned the man, and promptly been arrested. So, here he sat in a holding cell at the Auror department in the Ministry. Bound to a chair and being threatened with Azkaban for his 'questionable temper'.The other man? He had already been sent home, free of charges. Because that was fair. Draco looked up as the door opened and nearly groaned when he saw who it was. It was going to be a long day.
Harry was sitting in his office in the Ministry late night when he was called to come to the room in which criminals were held. He hurried over there and found Auror Allen waiting impatiently.
"You called?" Harry asked the other Auror.
"Yes, Kingsley asked me to fetch you. He wants you on this case," said the Auror Allen in a strictly business voice, handing over the criminal's folder to Harry.
"Did he say why?" Harry asked after noticing the name in the top right corner printed in big bold letters.
"No, but he wants you right away on it. The suspect is being held in the next room." With that said, the other Auror walked out of the room leaving Harry confused but determined to get this over with as soon as possible. He walked into the room, closing the door behind him. The blond immediately groaned upon seeing him while Harry pulled up a chair a fair distance from the other wizard.
He decided to speak up and said "Hello Malfoy."
"What the hell are you doing here Potter? If I wanted an incompetent Auror I would have asked for one." Draco spat out. He tugged against the bindings on his chair for emphasis.
"Stop moving, you will only make it worse. Do you want me to bind you completely?" warned Harry. He ignored the insult effortlessly.
Draco snarled but stilled. "No. I /want/ to go home."
"You might go home when we settle this." Harry crossed his legs and opened the folder once again. He looked back up after a minute and said simply "Tell me what happened."
Draco barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "I already gave a statement. I was in the Diagon Alley and I accidentally bumped into some girl. The man with her went nuts and started firing curses. I simply stunned him in defense. Next thing I know, I'm here. Tied to a bloody chair!"
"Calm down Malfoy. You would usually go to through a trail but since the other man has been sent home, there will be no need. He said it himself he won't be pressing charges but you will need to pay a fine and this will go into your record." Harry said in a firm tone.
"Why on earth would I go to trial? I simply defended myself. And every one else in the Alley for that matter!"
"You did attack a man. You stunned him.." Harry trailed off.
Draco stared at Harry like he had grown a second head. "He was flinging curses!"
"There is no proof of that. We didn't use veritaserum on him since it wasn't needed and there were no witnesses." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.
"Do you want to go home, Malfoy, or not?" he sighed.
Draco bristled. "No one came forward as a witness? Fine. Next time I'll just put up a shield so that curses can bounce around and hit random children, shall I?"
"Malfoy.." Harry warned in a frustrated tone.
"Look, not everything is perfect and fair. This is the mildest punishment you're getting right now, or should I get you a trail? Your choice."
Draco shot him another glare. "I just want to go home to my son."
"Oka-what?" Harry looked at him in shock. He then wiped the shock off his face and tried looking barely interested even though inside he was burning with curiosity.
"You have a son?"
"Yes, I have a son. I try to keep him away from the public for exactly those reasons." His eyes darkened. "If he had flung a curse at my son, I would probably be in Azkaban right now."
Harry didn't respond but you could tell he was thinking. He was staring at one spot behind Draco for a while before he shook his head and reached over behind him to get the official release papers. He cleared his throat. Draco watched him carefully, raising an eyebrow as he grabbed the paperwork.
"The fine will be 50 galleons," he pointed at the number in the paperwork "and we will have to put this incident in the record."
Draco looked up at him. "I can go home?"
"Yes." Harry flicked his wrist and wandlessly unleashed Draco from his bounds.
"You need to pay the fine in a matter of 3 days and come back tomorrow for some more paperwork."
Draco nodded and stood up.
"They can pull the money right from my accounts. I'll send a message to the Goblins to confirm it."
"You're free to go then. I'll have one of the guards escort you out." Harry exited the small room and entered the hallway. He approached a nearby guard and muttered a few words to him. The guard nodded and motioned Draco to follow him.
Draco eyed the man before turning back to Harry.
"Thank you, Potter... What time do I need to be back tomorrow?"
"It's fine. I'm just doing my job." he mumbled back.
"After 8am and before 6pm I will be around but if I'm not here anyone else can do it."
Draco nodded. "Okay. I'll be here first thing in the morning." He nodded to him and followed the guard out.
Harry shook his head goodbye and walked away. He had a lot on his mind but this wasn't the time to think about this. He had more piles and piles of paperwork to do.
The next morning, Draco walked to Harry's office, stopping in the doorway to knock on the frame when he saw the man was reading a Quidditch magazine over the paper work that Draco assumed he was supposed to be doing. He smirked and leaned on the door frame with his arms crossed. "Working hard?"
Harry's head shot up to find a cocky looking blond staring at him.
"Give me a break." he motioned to the two huge piles of paperwork lying on the desk.
Draco snickered. "Good to know our law enforcement is so very dedicated to what they do."
"Shut up. I've been here since 6am and this is my first break." Harry said tiredly while motioning Draco to sit in a chair in front of the desk.
Draco pushed himself away from the door frame and sat down in the indicated chair.
"So what is this paperwork I have to do?"
Harry stood up walking over to a cabinet and ruffling through it. After a minute he found the folder he was looking for. He sat back down and looked at Draco.
"Much more signing non important papers, giving a statement that involves describing the whole thing, and agreeing to various terms."
Draco watched him, nodding along with his words until the last part.
"Terms? What terms?"
"It usually doesn't take long but the Ministry just enforced a new more detailed law, blah blah long story short. More work for me and you.." he muttered cursing darkly under his breath. When Draco's face showed confusion Harry carried on explaining.
"Well, since you have a son, your parental abilities have come into questioning. Basically, you will be agreeing to have an Auror check up on your every month. The Ministry is practically forcing me to check every single thing about you and find some dirt.." he confessed sighing.
Draco's head snapped up to look at Harry.
"I want Scorpius kept out of this. He wasn't there. He has nothing to do with it."
"Scorpius? Oh, your son, right. I'm sorry Malfoy.. I will do my best to help you. We both know that the Ministy had been wanting to lock you off in Azkaban since Voldemort disappeared."
Draco sneered. "I know they have, that's why I've kept my nose clean..."
"Is there anyone else to take care of him if something happens to you?" Harry asked thoughtfully.
Panic flashed through Draco's eyes at Harry's question and he shook his head. "Lucius was Kissed and Narcissa passed years ago. I'm all he has."
"And Scorpius's mother?" Harry asked curiously.
Draco shook his head. "I haven't seen her since a week or so after Scorpius was born. She didn't want children. We had Scorpius to break the arranged marriage."
"Oh. Okay.." Harry said his brows narrowing.
"Listen, Malfoy, I will do my best. I won't let them take away innocent people just because of speculations. And I definitely do not want to see your son grow up without a parent. I know the feeling." he muttered the last part.
Draco sent him a grateful look. "Thank you. I've avoided Azkaban this long, I really don't want to have to go now." He glanced down at the paperwork. "So what happens if I disagree with the terms involving my son?"
"The Ministry will enforce a person to live with you and determine are you or are you not a suitable parent. You may lose your son. If you do agree, a person will check up on you every month or so."
Draco hissed in irritation. "So, either way, he's involved? How am I supposed to explain to him the random checks by the Ministry? The random raids are bad enough!"
"I know, I know.." Harry sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Unfortunately there is no other way. I guess you could flee but I wouldn't recommend it, nor am I allowed to.." he trailed off.
Draco looked up at him. "Allowed to what?"
"I'm not allowed to tell you to flee.. to run away. They will track you down.. possibly."
Draco pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as he looked to be seriously consider going in to hiding. He finally shook his head. "No. I don't want Scorpius to have to live that way." He sighed. "Alright. Fine. If someone meets me once a month, when and where and who would it be?"
"I have to check with Kingsley, he will determine how often and who. I will contact you with an owl." he said grabbing a quill.
Draco nodded. "Fine. I guess that will have to do." He signed the paper with a scowl.
After a few minutes of silence except the sound of quill moving on parchment Harry spoke "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry this is happening. Even though Voldemort was defeated life didn't get any better. You don't deserve this.."
Draco didn't look up, but his quill froze mid-word as he was writing his account of what happened. His whole body was still. "This is how these things work, Potter. The war isn't over. It's just your side is in charge right now."
"It's not my side. If I could I wouldn't even have anything to do with them.." he said scowling.
Draco paused before he chuckled lightly, looking up at Harry. "I don't have a side either. I look out for me and mine."
"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." Harry said firmly.
Draco smiled faintly. "Dumbledore told me the exact same thing."
"He was an incredible wizard. I miss him to this day.." Harry smiled back, sentimentality glowing in his eyes.
Draco shrugged. "He was a good man But he was manipulative. He made things harder for some and easier on others." His eyes darkened slightly. "I'll never forgive him for the way Snape was treated."
"It was all for the Greater good, he kept repeating but sometimes he made bad choices." he paused before continuing "Snape was a great man, he was a hero."
Draco snorted. "He would have cursed you just for saying that. He didn't want to be a hero. He just wanted everything to be over."
"He spent his whole life looking over me, he sacrificed so much because of her and.." his voice broke but he coughed to cover it up. "He was a snarky, greasy but brilliant dungeon bat." he finished with a small chuckle.
Draco laughed, a true genuine laugh. "Yes. He was a right bastard most of the time. But he was absolutely genius."
Harry smiled and looked at Draco. "You're not all bad, Malfoy." he said quietly.
Draco smirked at him. "I tried to tell you that when we were eleven. You shot me down." He shrugged. "It was your loss, really. I'm fantastic."
Harry threw his head back and laughed. "Sure, Malfoy. Sure." he winked at him grinning.
A slow smirk spread over Draco's face and he raised an eyebrow. "Potter... If I didn't know any better, I would say you were a flirt."
A barely noticeable blush spread over Harry's cheeks. "You wish, Malfoy." he muttered looking away.
Draco's smirk widened and he returned to his paperwork. "So what ever happened with you and the Weaselette?"
"We broke it off after He was gone. She wasn't my type, nor close to it.." he trailed off, picking up another bunch of papers and spreading them on the table.
Draco chuckled softly. "Still holed up in that closet of yours? Must be getting cramped after all these years."
"What?" his head shot up instantly, glaring at Malfoy.
Draco looked up at him innocently and cocked his head slightly. "What?"
"I could say the same about you Malfoy. Over heard Blaise bragging about a certain blondie and his skills." he smirked enjoying the look of horror on Draco's face.
Draco paled and snapped his mouth closed, glaring at him. "I've never denied my sexuality, Potter."
"Well good for you but I had to. You know I did. Even though the Wizarding world is much more open minded than the muggle world about these things.. My friends, the Weasley family. I just couldn't . I would lose them." he sighed sinking his head into his hands.
"They just wouldn't understand Malfoy."
Draco scoffed. "Well, if you can't come out to the world, who can?"
"People except me to be a typical working husband with a stay at home wife, have two perfect children and live my life by their expectations. I can't do that but I can pretend until.."
"Until what? Until some bloke comes comes riding along to sweep you away?" He sneered.
"Not going to happen, Potter, you know why? Because no one knows you're bent."
"Jeez Malfoy, I'm not expecting a knight in shining armor. It will happen, somehow, someday. But I will NOT sacrifice everything I've worked on over the years. People still see me just as the boy who defeated Voldemort even though I want them to see the regular me but now they will have an excuse." he scowled.
Draco glared at him. "Defeated the Dark Lord, but is terrified to tell his /family/ who he really is. You're a coward."
Harry suddenly stood up and pointed a finger at Draco's chest. "Don't you dare tell me I'm a coward. How about you and your /arranged/ marriage? Ha?" he spat out.
Draco shot to his feet as well. "That marriage was arranged when I was an infant and signed in blood when I was old enough to write! We were miserable and we divorced as soon as possible!" He shoved Harry away from him. "/My/ family and friends all know what I am, because I had the guts to tell them!"
Harry stumbled backwards but soon regained his balance and strode forward around the desk and pushed Malfoy. "I didn't have a choice! You don't know what's it like being me! Everybody knows what I'm doing, where and why. Most importantly with who!" he spat out, clutching Malfoy's shirt. He was inches away from him and was staring in his gray eyes. "It's none of your bloody business anyway!" he finished and let go of Malfoy's shirt.
Draco snarled at him as he tugged his shirt straight. "I don't know what it's like? I know exactly what it's like to have things expected of you that you don't want to do! I know what it's like to have people watch your every move! I know what /all/ of that it like! I stand by what I said. /You/," he prodded Harry in the chest. "Are a bloody coward."
"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Harry screamed. He just stood there, his breathing quick and shallow. "You need to go. Now." he said in a deep, dangerous voice.
"Or what? You'll drop your name and have me thrown in Azkaban?" Draco scoffed.
"You think that scar on your head makes you special? No. You're just like everyone else." Draco eyed him hatefully. "And, just like everyone else... You don't scare me."
"You bloody well know I don't want to be that Harry Potter. The boy who lived, The Chosen One, The Golden Boy and the Boy who defeated Voldemort. I JUST WANT TO BE HARRY! Bloody invisible Harry, normal looking Harry without a scar on his forehead but with a family." he spat out.
Draco watched him for a minute before saying quietly. "You need to look at your life, Potter... It's not a good thing when your enemy from school can see who you really are and your family can't." He shoved the paperwork in to Harry's chest and turned, walking out.
Harry wanted to spit an insult back but before he could even open his mouth, Malfoy was out the door and he was left alone in his office to think about what he said. After a few confusing and frustrating minutes of replaying their conversation, he sat back at his desk and picked up a random pile of paperwork. If he couldn't solve this he will at least take his mind off of it.
Draco was furious. Again. He couldn't understand how one person could make him so very angry. He apparated home as soon as he possibly could and sighed in relief. At least he was done with everything that involved Harry bloody Potter. He would have to deal with random Auror visits for a while and everything would be fine again.
Harry stayed at work for as long as he could but after midnight he was told by his supervisor to go home. He had no choice then to apparate to his flat he shared with Hermione. When he entered she wasn't there. He figured she was probably out somewhere with Ron. He poured himself a shot of firewhiskey in order to relax himself but he only became even more tense than he was. He needed to settle this with Malfoy or forget about it as soon as possible. He promised himself he will go to Kingsley first thing tomorrow morning and get the information needed so he could finally seal the case. He got into his bed and dozed off to sleep in a matter of minutes.
