Author's Note: Written for…
Pirate Ship Battles. Ship: Drarry – Theme: Valentine's Day – Prompts: Leg, Trap, Scandal, Nurse, Reading, Desk
Harry Potter Carnival Competition. Prompts: Daphne Greengrass, Aphrodite
Would You Rather… Challenge. Situation: Dating someone your family doesn't approve of.
Rummikub Game Challenge. Prompt: tied to a lamp post
Guess Who? Challenge. Prompt: Malfoy family
PayDay Challenge. Prompt: cane
In Hiding
"Draco, your mother's here."
The blonde looked up quickly from the paperwork on his desk. Daphne was hanging in the doorway, ready to dash away at a moment's notice.
"My … mother?" he asked uncertainly. She never came to see him at work.
"She's making quite a scene at the front desk. Thought you ought to know."
He composed himself and headed out of his office to see for himself. The last thing he needed right now was to deal with more family drama. He'd only been back in the country for two hours and there was a stack of forms he needed to fill out before he could go home and sleep.
Narcissa Malfoy had not aged gracefully in the last five years. The war had taken its toll on her and shut down her favorite supplier of anti-aging potion to boot. She was looking especially out of sorts this afternoon, wearing a dusty cloak with her hair in a messy pony-tail.
Draco plastered on a smile before saving the floor receptionist from being hexed.
"Mother, you're looking lovely today," he said calmly, pulling her away from the counter and embracing her. She was stiff in his arms.
"Draco, thank Merlin! He's back," she whispered hoarsely, staring at him with wide eyes.
He took her back to his office, forcing her into a chair and pouring them tea. He made sure the door was shut before he continued their conversation.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your father, Draco. He was seen this morning, in England." The teacup rattled uncontrollably in her hands.
"Has he come to see you yet?" he asked calmly. He had to remain neutral about the whole thing, or else his mother would fly off the handles again.
"No, not yet. I was afraid he may have come for you, so I rushed down here…" She sipped the tea carefully. He could tell she was doing better, but neither of them would really be okay until Lucius was safely behind bars.
"Did the aurors mention moving you to a safe house until they catch him?"
"I wasn't paying much attention to what they were saying. I was only worried about you."
Draco nodded, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He would have to talk to the aurors; work something out about her safety. He didn't care about his own. Lucius could show up on his doorstep for all he cared, as long as his mother was safe.
"Who's in charge of finding him now? Is it still Horton?" he asked, hurriedly writing a note to his superior demanding the rest of the day off for personal reasons.
"No, I think Horton moved to another department. Longbottom met with me, but it was Potter who had the run-in with your father. He's in the hospital now."
"Life-threatening?"
"I don't think so. Apparently he was beaten and left tied to a lamp post."
Draco sent the note off and pulled on his overcoat.
"Stay here until I get back. Daphne is three offices down if you need anything."
"Where are you going?" she asked frantically.
"I'm going to speak with Potter and see what he intends to do to stop Lu – Father."
Narcissa pursed her lips, but didn't make any move to stop him. He kissed her cheek and headed for the elevators.
:-:
It wasn't too hard to find Potter's room, all Draco had to do was follow the line of reporters and scattered fangirls.
He found his former nemesis trying to escape treatment from a persistent nurse, which was almost comical with him hobbling on crutches with an arm and leg in bandages and wearing a hospital gown.
"I told you, I'm fine!"
"Mr. Potter, I really don't think you're well enough to leave just yet…"
Potter ignored her, grabbing his clothes off a chair and trying to dash out the door, which Draco was blocking. Facing him, Draco could see a dozen cuts and scrapes over his face and bruise forming around his left eye.
"Having a bad day, Potter?" he said, smirking at the other man's obvious discomfort.
"Draco, what're you doing here?" Potter huffed, trying to balance on his good leg while the nurse tugged at his arm, attempting to lead him back to bed.
"Thought I'd see what excuse you had for letting Lucius get away this time."
Potter grimaced. "He caught me by surprise, alright? I was after someone else, and he came up behind me."
Draco nodded, deciding to let it go. He knew better than anyone how difficult his father was to stop when he was determined.
"Well, I'm glad he didn't kill you, at least." Old habits die hard. "Care to tell me what's being done to protect my mother, then?"
"You'll have to ask Neville. I'm officially off work for the moment."
"I'm not putting my mother's life in Longbottom's trembling hands, thank you."
Potter sighed, glancing down at the gown and back to Draco. "Give me a moment to get dressed and we'll go to the Ministry."
Draco ushered the nurse out of the room and waited outside while Potter dressed, which took longer than it probably would have if he'd gone in and helped the cripple, but that probably would've been inappropriate.
:-:
Draco went back to his office to fetch his mother while Potter met with the aurors. The former Gryffindor was waiting for them by the elevator when they came off.
"We've found a safe house for you," he started, looking ill.
"Excellent. Where?" Draco pressed, keeping an arm around his mother as she fidgeted nervously by his side.
"Muggle London, not far from here, actually. I doubt Lucius will ever bother to look there."
Draco had to agree, although he wasn't looking forward to having to go without a wand for however long it took to capture Lucius.
"Will someone go with us?" Narcissa asked timidly. "An auror, for protection?"
"Yes, of course. I'll be with you the whole time," Potter told her, smiling reassuringly.
"You?" Draco sneered, sounding a bit harsher than he'd meant to. "I thought you were off work."
"Draco!" his mother admonished.
"Convenient, seeing as you'll be staying in my home," Potter told him, and he looked as thrilled about the arrangement as Draco felt.
:-:
Potter's flat wasn't half as bad as Draco imagined it would be, though he would never admit that to his host's face.
It was spacious and comfortable, although noticeably missing several magical conveniences that Draco knew right off would be a problem later on. Then there was the issue of sleeping arrangements. Narcissa automatically got the guest room, which left the master bed to Draco until his mother forcefully reminded both men that Harry was injured and Draco was fit to take the couch.
Thus the blonde was condemned to a sleepless night spent staring at the ceiling and wandering aimlessly around the flat, nosily examining pictures and keepsakes that littered bookshelves and end tables for something to do.
When Harry finally woke just after dawn, he found Draco reclined in his favorite chair, reading a week-old newspaper that he hadn't gotten around to tossing out yet.
"Your papers are incredibly dull," the blonde told him with a yawn.
"Then why are you reading it?"
"Because I'm bored. I couldn't sleep and you don't have anything interesting to read and I can't leave, so I found this." He rattled the paper roughly before rolling it up and whipping it across the room, right into the rubbish bin.
Harry, eating an apple at the counter, watched his house guest closely. "Do you have any idea where your father is hiding?"
Draco glared at him. "He's not my father. And no, I haven't spoken to him in five years, how should I know?"
"I was just asking. The others wanted to set a trap for him, you know. They wanted to use your mother and you as bait."
"I'm sure that would've gone over well. Would you even bother rushing in to save us?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Despite what you may believe, Draco, I actually do like your mother."
"Not more than me, I hope?" He gave the auror a dramatic wink, which earned him a chuckle and shake of the head. "I'm sorry for what Lucius did to you, by the way."
Harry shrugged, tossing the apple core in the trash and hobbling over to the couch. "It wasn't so bad, really. Just surprised me."
Draco nodded. The bandages were off Harry's arm now, and the blonde could see the long, thin bruises made by Lucius' cane coming down on the pale skin. He wished he could say it was the first time he'd seen bruises like that.
"So there's something I don't understand," he said, trying to change the subject. He motioned to the coffee table between them, and the statuette of a woman sitting atop if. "What is that?"
"It was a gift from Luna. It's Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, mother of cupid. She says it's charmed to bring me good luck in finding someone by Valentine's Day."
"Valentine's Day?" Draco questioned. "Oh, yes. That's in a couple days, isn't it? Shame, Mother and I will probably still be here then."
"Yeah, probably."
"Shame about that, then."
Harry smirked. "It is, actually. I had big plans."
"Oh?" Draco quirked an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly.
"I booked a muggle hotel hours away, where I wouldn't run into anyone, and I made reservations at a rather expensive restaurant. I even had a gift picked out," he sighed. "But I suppose I'll have to cancel it all now."
"Don't make any rash decisions," Draco advised carefully. "You never know, this whole thing may be cleared up by then."
"Maybe. But you know what would make this day really special?" Draco shook his head. "If I was able to go out in public with my date, or let my friends know that I'm seeing someone. We've been going out for over a year but they're worried about a scandal."
Draco frowned. "It's not-" There was movement in the spare bedroom and he lowered his voice. "It's not about a scandal, I keep telling you! I'm worried what it'll do to Mum if she finds out."
Harry was about to argue the point when the witch in question passed through the living room and sat down beside him.
"If I were you," she began, glaring at her son. "I'd be more concerned with what your boyfriend will do if you keep him waiting any longer."
"You know?" Draco squeaked.
"Darling, you're quite possibly the least-subtle person in all of England. I'm surprised they let you handle such delicate foreign affairs," she said gently. She turned to Harry and patted his shoulder fondly. "And I approve, of course. I only wish I'd been told sooner."
"Well, we have no intention of keeping you out of the loop any longer," Harry assured her. "Do we, Draco?"
Draco looked between his mother and boyfriend uncertainly, as if trying to determine if he was in the middle of a very confusing dream. Finally he came to a conclusion and grinned at them.
"Not if it keeps me from sleeping on the couch."