Disclaimer: I'm too young to be Rowling so there is sadly no way Harry Potter is mine…
Placing: After the war - could be canon…
Just an idea I had, nothing more.
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sSsSsSsSs
TIME-TURNER TIMES
sSs
"Sometimes I wonder why we even agreed to this madness…"
"Why? It was just a simple infiltration of Grindelwald's army, nothing serious."
"And there's the reason why I'm bothered by this!"
"Huh?"
"Since when do we call it a 'simple infiltration' when we're talking about inserting us into the enemy lines and then assassinating them?! This can't be normal, Potter!"
At that, the other crooked his head in thought, his green eyes clearly contemplating his partner's statement.
"Well," he finally said. "You might be right, Malfoy… This shouldn't be normal."
"And yet we're sitting here in the middle of who-knows-how-many dead bodies contemplating about 'simple infiltrations'!"
"But it was simple!" Potter objected. "Just comparing it to Ekrizdis and the infiltration of Azkaban makes it easy!"
"Indeed, Potter," Malfoy snorted. "As if it isn't logical that entering a fortress like Numengard hidden in the Alps without being seen is far easier than entering a hidden island in the North Sea – especially if no one bloody knows where that damn island is located!"
"Well –"
"Potter!" Malfoy screeched. "We're comparing a fortress with hundreds of men in it to a dementor ridden island with a sole inhabitant! How by Merlin's beard are you even able to think about comparing those two infiltrations?!"
Potter shrugged.
"Doesn't change the fact that infiltrating Numengard was simple," he said and Malfoy groaned.
"Potter!" he cried. "I hate you!"
"It's mutual."
And Malfoy groaned again.
Of course, one could wonder how those two wizards – two wizards who hated each other for all seven years of Hogwarts – ended up in a situation like the one they were in, currently: A situation with a lot of dead bodies around them, one of them using a very big stone from the destroyed ceiling as a stool and the other one sitting next to him on the floor, leaning against the boulder.
Both of them were covered in sooth and grime and blood. Their clothes were ripped, their hair mussy and one of them was spotting a black eye while the other had cradled his left arm to his body. Various cuts and bruises riddled the rest of their bodies, but they had no grave wounds and so they were contently sitting on or next to the boulder, watching the lightshow of the spells that flew through the air when the duel between Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and Gellert Albert Grindelwald heated.
One could indeed wonder how that came to be, but the answer would be banal at most: It was a typical combination of Potter luck, bad timing and curses going wrong at the sight of one Harry James Potter.
sSs
In the end, all started with a simple statement of Ronald Weasley.
"Blimey!" Ron said, his eyes huge and his grin nearly reaching his ears. "We're aurors, mate, aurors!"
And they were. After nine month of grueling training they had finally finished and were now fully fledged aurors of Britain.
"I can't believe we managed to join the aurors!" Ron crowed. "The aurors, mate!"
"Believe me, Weasel, we all heard you – loud and clear," Malfoy sneered at that and Ron frowned.
"Shut up, Malfoy!" he bellowed. "I wonder how you were even able to join the auror training in the first place, Death Eater!"
Harry Potter had just rolled his eyes at that and then stirred Ron away from the blond to stop a fight breaking lose between them on their graduation day.
"Not now, Ron," he hissed in the other boy's ear. "We're getting our badges in half an hour. You don't want to stand up there on the podium with a black eye, do you?"
For a moment, Ron looked like he didn't care, but then Harry nodded harshly towards Hermione who was sitting in one of the front rows waiting for Harry and Ron being called and receiving their badged and Ron slumped into himself and gave in.
"Don't worry, mate," he said. "I won't do anything."
Still, when Malfoy was called onto the pedestal, Ron mumbled sullenly, "I still don't get how that ass could become an auror!"
Harry just rolled his eyes, then it was his turn.
It was after stepping down that he was winked over by his boss.
"Potter," he said. "Do you have a minute? I and my colleague have proposition for you."
"Sure, sir," Harry said, stepping away from the crowd and following his boss into a nearby tent. Inside was another man, wearing the typical silver robes of an Unspeakable, his face obscured by a charm.
"Sit, Potter," his boss said and sat down into the chair behind a desk that stood at the other side of the tent.
Harry sat.
"Like I said, we have a proposition for you, Potter," his boss continued serious. "I'm talking about a once-in-a-life-time kind of deal."
Harry raised an eyebrow and waited until his boss sighed.
"The Unspeakables want to recruit you," he said. "Our departments always had so called 'Double Edged Swords' – meaning aurors who did their normal duty in the auror department and something… more for the Unspeakables."
"Something… more, sir?" Harry asked, leaning back on his chair and waiting for an explanation.
"Well," his boss said. "While we aurors are there to defend our country against criminals and armies, there are other kind of threats we can't defend from. I'm talking about dark wizards who decided to hide themselves away in fortresses or gathering data on foreign countries or wizards if they pose a threat for our nation."
"So we're basically talking about assassination and infiltration," Harry said frowning.
"Indeed, Mr. Potter," the Unspeakable said. "That's exactly what we're talking about."
Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the Unspeakable.
"I didn't even kill Voldemort," he said. "I don't think I'm up to assassination – or infiltration, that is."
"I don't think that you have to worry about the assassination aspect, Mr. Potter," the Unspeakable said. "It's more about gathering data to ensure that a new dark lord won't raise now that the old one is dead."
At that, Harry frowned.
"If you have people to prevent the rise of a dark lord – then why did we have them at all?"
The Unspeakable sighed.
"My people are good, Mr. Potter, but they aren't gods," he answered. "But thanks to our Double Edged Swords we were warned not only about Grindelwald but also Voldemort when they were still gathering people. Without our swords, the wars would have been a lot worse than they were."
"And yet I can't remember any help from your people when Voldemort rose again," Harry said sarcastically.
The Unspeakable sighed at that.
"Finding people capable of being Double Edged Swords isn't easy," the Unspeakable said. "Since they have free reign we have to be sure that they won't be tempted towards the darkness, ever – either because they already felt its power and learned to fear it or because they never contemplated on delving into the Dark Arts in the first place even while facing overwhelming odds. Regretfully, we lost our last pair in the first raise of Voldemort. We searched for someone to take over but until you, there was no one we thought suitable."
"And now you want me to join the Unspeakables," Harry said frowning.
"Exactly," the Unspeakable nodded.
"What about Ron? Will he also be joining?"
At that, Harry's boss and the Unspeakable exchanged a glance.
"No," the Unspeakable said. "Only you, Mr. Potter."
"So you want me to do that alone?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
Again, the Unspeakable and Harry's boss looked at each other.
"No," the Unspeakable said. "But the Double Edged Swords need to be balanced: There's always two of them – one of them fully refusing the Dark Arts, you could call him the 'light aspect', and one of them who knows the Dark Arts and rejected them in the end, basically the 'dark aspect'. We're striving for balance, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Weasley doesn't fit the criteria."
"So you want to pair me of with somebody else?" Harry asked, then stood. "Sorry, but no thanks. I think I stay a simple auror, thanks."
With that he turned around and was about to leave when his boss spoke up again.
"Potter!"
Harry turned back.
"Yes, sir?"
"If you don't do it, I'll have to restrict you to desk work," his boss said. "You are the hero of the wizarding world, after all, we can't have you killed by a simple robber, now."
Harry's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again.
"B… but, sir!"
"Sorry, Potter," his boss said unapologetic. "But that's life."
And Harry groaned, knowing for sure that he would end up an Unspeakable, if he wanted or not.
"At least I can promise you that you will be allowed to work with Weasley as an auror when you sign up as an Unspeakable," his boss promised. "You'll get a special time turner so that nobody will know that you have a second job as well."
"Yes, sir," Harry sighed. What else could he say? He had no chance of getting out of this without ending up as a paper-pusher, after all…
sSs
"You know, it's oddly peaceful, this time around," Malfoy remarked, looking around cautiously.
"I'm quite sure you just jinxed it," Potter replied, pulling his wand.
A second later a cry could be heard from their left, hidden behind the trees of the forest surrounding them.
"I told you, you jinxed it!" Potter hissed and then the dementors emerged.
Malfoy instantly stepped behind Potter, drawing his wand and shielding the other one's back.
"Don't worry, this was the first and the last time I made that mistake," Malfoy drawled and then cast his Patronus, Potter's stag following it suite.
"Good to know," Potter grunted while directing his stag at the hundreds of dementors suddenly swarming the clearing.
"Damn!" Malfoy cried, when from his side at least another hundred emerged. "Are they nesting in this area?!"
"You're asking me that?" Potter replied amused.
Malfoy groaned at that.
"Forget it, Potter!"
"Well, at least it isn't a slaughter this time around," Potter remarked while directing his Patronus from one shrieking dementor to the next. "I'm still unsure if I was able to get all that blood out of my hair after that damn fight last time…"
"Well, that was your fault, Potter!" Malfoy replied. "You were the one insisting to stay close until Emeric the Evil was dead!"
"Yeah, well, how should I know that Egbert would slaughter him in a way that parts of him landed in France? In France, Malfoy! France! They fought in Wales!"
"Like I said, Potter, all you own fault," Malfoy replied smugly and directed his own Patronus with new found viciousness after remembering the last fight. The look on Potter's face had been Patronus-worthy!
They fought the dementors for hours, or at least so it seemed. In the end they won anyway – not that either of them had been surprised by it. They had been fighting dark wizards for some time now, after all.
When the last one fled, they looked at each other.
"Alright, I guess we take a look what's going on here," Potter said with a sigh and Malfoy groaned.
"Do we have to?" he whined. "We're always taking a look and suddenly we're in the middle of the next mess!"
"Well," Potter replied with a frown. "The last time we didn't because you suggested it, we were nearly burned at a stake – so forgive me if I prefer the direct approach. I'm truly not interested on knowing how it feels to be burned at a stake, you know?"
"That was years ago, Potter! Years! You can't truly believe that that would happen to us again, can you?" Malfoy complained and Potter raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself.
"Are you sure, Malfoy?" he drawled – a habit he had taken up after spending so much time with his current companion. Malfoy looked at him, truly looked at him. Then he paled rapidly and suddenly grabbed Potter's hand to drag him forward towards the next village.
"You're right, Potter, absolutely right," he said, his voice quivering. "With your luck we're not only getting burned but also tortured before that. Let's go and search a village!"
Funnily enough they ended up on the stakes anyway…
"Any last words, witches?" one of their capturers sneered.
Malfoy closed his eyes. They had helped those damn muggles. They had killed the wizard who had gone after their children and used them for his experiments – and yet, here they were, about to be burned at a stake anyway!
"I hate you, Potter!" He groaned.
Potter next to him snorted.
"It's mutual," he said and the torch ignited the wood around them.
sSs
"No, sir! Everything but that!" Harry objected when he heard about the plans his bosses had for his new job as a Double Edged Sword. "Everything else but that, sir! I'd be dead by the end of the day if you do it!"
"Potter," his boss sighed. "You can't deny that there aren't a lot of options –"
"I don't care!" Harry cried. "Even being a paper-pusher can't be as bad as that! You truly can't expect me to –"
"I can and I will, Potter!" His boss roared now. "You're not a child anymore so quit acting it! You will do as I say and you will give your best or you will never ever see anything else but paperwork ever again!"
For a moment or two Harry thought about his options. Maybe the paperwork was worth it…
Then he reminded himself how much he had hated to do his homework and he gave in with a bitter sigh. He wouldn't stay sane for a year if he didn't get to do anything else but paperwork – especially if he knew that that would be what he would do for the rest of his life…
It was then that another, surprising voice came to his aid.
"I'm quite sure that Potter is right, sir," Malfoy drawled. "Even if he didn't put it in the best way."
Harry glared at the other man at that.
"Still, it doesn't change the fact that it would be… suicide for both of us if you keep insisting on us being partners in a mission."
Harry's glare hardened, but he couldn't object Malfoy this time around, because even if Malfoy was an annoying git – he was right.
"You and Potter have been the best of the new recruits," Harry's boss said sighing. "Adding to that that you two where exceptional when you worked together in a team training mission and –"
"We weren't working together!" Harry objected instantly. "He tried to kill me – several times!"
"Potter didn't even think about following the bloody plan, sir!" Malfoy objected. "There was no teamwork in our team back then! No teamwork at all, sir! That was all nothing but dump luck!"
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Dump Potter Luck – like always in dire situations!"
"Why by Merlin and Morgana is it Potter luck, Potter?" Malfoy cried offended. "I'm quite sure that it was my luck –"
"It's always Potter luck, Malfoy!" Harry interrupted him. "It was the same dump luck that made me survive a dark lord for who-knows-how-many times before that!"
Malfoy opened his mouth to object again, when their boss interfered.
"Whatever you want to call it – it definitely wasn't luck," he said coolly. "You two knew exactly how to use the strength of your partner in battle and you two won – a whole five minutes faster than every other team for the last seventy-five years. So, argue as much as you like, we won't change your assignment. You two are partners as the Double Edged Swords from today onwards. That's my final word!"
And with that he left two dismayed looking aurors in his wake in the search for a drink – and he needed a drink after speaking to those two stubborn men.
sSs
"Salazar Slytherin, Potter! Salazar Slytherin!"
"I got it the first time, Malfoy," Potter replied, rolling his eyes. "Truly, the following six times were totally unnecessary."
"But Potter!" Malfoy said whining. "It's Salazar Slytherin! The real Salazar Slytherin!"
"Yeah, I know, Malfoy," Potter said, sounding as if he was talking to a two-year-old. "And we've established that he went mad somewhere between building Hogwarts and trying to destroy it…"
At that, Malfoy looked at him like a wounded puppy.
"Oh, stop looking at me like that, Malfoy!" Potter groaned. "It's not my fault that it happened! Just be happy that we had the chance to get the man before he went utterly nutters! Damn it! He taught us potions for two years! So what if we have to go and kill him now that he's lost his sanity? We at least got to know him before it started to happen!"
"But –"
"No 'buts', Malfoy!" Potter objected. "You and I know that we can't let him destroy Hogwarts just because he has been your idol since you were a wee babe. The old Salazar would kill you on the spot if he'd ever hear you hesitated when it comes to the protection of the children of Hogwarts!"
That seemed to bring Malfoy out of his funk.
His grey eyes hardened and his dazed expression closed off.
"You're right, Potter," he said. "We have to stop him. That's what he would have wanted!"
Then his eyes started to shine again.
"To think that he might have trained us just so that we can stop him right now…" he said dreamily.
Potter looked at him oddly.
"Malfoy," he said amused. "He taught us potions. There's no way that we will fight against him by throwing calming draughts at him –"
At that Malfoy's expression turned to rage.
"I hate you, Potter!" He screamed.
"It's mutual," Potter replied amused.
sSs
"I'm home!" Harry called and closed the door behind himself.
Ginny entered the hallway with a smile, Teddy toddling slowly next to her.
"Welcome home," she greeted her boyfriend. "How was work?"
And for a moment Harry thought about telling her about the Intel gathering he had done with Malfoy for the last week. They had been snooping out some old Death Eaters who had decided that now was the right time to try a new kind of war.
They had planned to enter the ministry and kill as many as they could in a kind of suicide mission. They had plans for the whole ministry and knowledge about the comings and goings so that they would at least get the most important people before they died: the Minister, Harry Potter and one or two others.
Harry and Malfoy had watched them for weeks already, using their time-turners daily until they were finally able to scoop them out today.
It had been hard and tiring work.
It had been exiting.
Harry opened his mouth and said, "Like usual. Ron and I are working on a robbery in Diagon Alley, you know?"
And while inwardly feeling guilty, Harry knew that he would never be able to tell his girlfriend what else he had done while using a time-turner. The Double Edged Swords had no identity and when Harry was one of them, he didn't have one as well.
He never was anywhere else but with Ron today as far as anyone else was concerned.
"Ah," Ginny said. "I hope you have some leads on this."
Harry frowned at her relived tone of voice.
"Why did you ask?" he asked her and Ginny sighed.
"There was a special edition of the Daily Prophet about the aurors storming a Death Eater hide-out," she answered. "I was a little bit worried that you were a part in it. It sounded dangerous."
And for a moment, Harry felt guilty for not telling her the truth. But then he reminded himself that if he told her, she would be in danger. A Double Edged Sword was only safe as long as nobody even guessed who the men behind the masks were. Harry couldn't endanger his family like that. Never.
"No," he said instead. "I'm still a rookie. I guess it will at least take another year or two until I'm allowed to take on cases like that."
Ginny smiled.
"And I'm thankful for that, Harry," she said. "I worried enough for you in the past without having to add to my worry now. I'm grateful if you give me at least one or two years to recover from the last time I worried about you before heading into danger again."
And Harry smiled, kissed her and his godson and went into the kitchen.
"You don't have to worry," he said. "If I can, I will always come home to you no matter what."
sSs
"There's a new dark lord gathering an army, truly?" The man in front of them said and Potter and Malfoy looked at each other.
"Truly," Potter said. "Arthur and I have gathered a lot of information about him in the last two months."
"We've also infiltrated his army for a bit," Malfoy added. "He's not yet ready to reveal himself but Merlin and I are sure: In another month or two he will have enough people in his army to start working openly against the Ministry of Magical Britain."
"Is there a way for you two to stop him before he becomes that strong?" The Unspeakable in front of them asked. The man had added them to his troupes when found out about their abilities and actual status. He had found out that they had been misplaced in time, but he had never found out how far from home they were or if they were working on returning home. He hadn't even found out their true name or appearance, because both of them were truly adapted at using fake-names and changing their appearance so that nobody could identify them.
No wonder they were so useful for him…
"What did you find out about the new dark lord?"
Merlin and Arthur as he knew them – Potter and Malfoy – looked at each other before Potter started.
"The new dark lord is obviously using the void that Grindelwald left behind to gain influence on the darker side of our community," he said.
"We're guessing that he's too young to be actually part of Grindelwald's army. His ideals are too different –"
"And he's clearly not associated with Grindelwald in any kind or form or he would have more problems in building his army, since most people don't trust those who were part of Grindelwald's army anymore," Potter added.
"He's also very charming and able to draw in young, hot-blooded wizards with a lot of influence and money," Malfoy said.
"That means he has to have had connections to them before. If you add that the most of his followers went to Hogwarts at the time of the war with Grindelwald –"
"And were also in Slytherin," Malfoy added.
"We're looking for a powerful Slytherin who went to school at the time of Grindelwald's war," Potter said. "It must have been a charming individual."
"Headboy or prefect, maybe," Malfoy added.
"Someone with powerful magic –"
"And the thrive to lead and manipulate others –"
"Alright! Alright! I get it! I send some men to look into it!" The Unspeakable said before dismissing them.
The moment Potter and Malfoy left the office, they looked at each other.
"Do you think they will act on our warning and stop the war before it begins?" Malfoy mused.
"Experience and future knowledge speaks against it," Potter replied dryly.
Malfoy sighed at that.
"I hate you, Potter," he said without heat.
"It's mutual," Potter replied in the same tone of voice.
sSs
"We've got a new mission for you," Harry's boss said when Harry and Malfoy entered his office.
Harry sighed and sat down next to his partner. They had been partners for two years already and they had started to get used to work together – mostly. They were still an awful team, Harry guessed, but at least they didn't try to kill each other just when seeing the other in the hallways anymore – and that had to count for something, hadn't it?
"A new mission, sir?" Harry asked and his boss nodded.
"They found some odd kind of magic new Aberdeen in a cave," Harry's boss said. "You and your partner are send to investigate. It shouldn't take too long, just a few hours."
Harry sighed at that and nodded.
"Alright," he said before turning to Malfoy. "I just go and grab my time-turner. Do you have yours already?"
Malfoy nodded.
"I do," he said. "I take a look at the file and clue you in on the way to Aberdeen, Potter."
Harry nodded and then left the office of his boss to go to his own desk. He opened a hidden and secured apartment of his desk and pulled out his time-tuner, hiding it beneath his auror robes.
On his way back to the boss's office, he was stopped by Ron.
"Hey, mate," he said. "We've got a lead in the Pierce's burglary case. You coming?"
"Sure thing, mate," Harry said. "Just let me go to the boss for a moment. He wanted to talk to me about my last report."
"Alright, mate," Ron said. "Hurry up!"
And Harry wondered when he had stopped feeling guilty about lying to Ron.
Ten minutes later – or some hours earlier if you added the use of a time-turner, Harry and Malfoy apparated to Aberdeen from the boss's office. If Harry would have known how long it would take him to come back he would have left a note telling him that Ron was waiting for him with a case…
sSs
"You know, killing dark wizards for a living isn't that bad," Potter said while cleaning his blood-splattered battle robes.
Malfoy next to him raised an eyebrow. He had his wand in his hand and was currently searching his battle robes for holes he hadn't mended yet.
"How did you come up with that conclusion, this time around?" he asked incredulously.
Potter shrugged and then looked at the body near by.
"I guess it's the first time I truly feel… satisfied… accomplished, you know? It's somehow nice to know that thanks to me the world's a better place, somehow."
Malfoy snorted at that.
"What by Merlin and Morgana have you been brewing yesterday, Potter?"
Potter rolled his eyes at that.
"Nothing," he said. "You and I know both that everything brewed should be kept away from me if we don't need a spectacular explosion or are in absolutely dire need of potions…"
"Exactly," Malfoy said. "And that's the reason why I'm concerned right now, so – what have you been brewing to act like that?!"
"Nothing," Potter repeated. "I just thought that it was nice to actually see that killing people isn't always bad – especially if said people are about to kill off a whole country with their evil deeds…"
Malfoy just raised an eyebrow.
"That's all?" he drawled.
Potter looked at him guiltily and then shrugged.
"Ah… maybe I was also remembering my past a little bit," he said a little bit embraced. "You know – the search, the problems, the basilisks, the duel…"
Malfoy rolled his eyes.
"Only you would sound fond while remembering a bloody whole year of searching for a Horcrux after trying to kill that damn Herpo, the Foul, for three times without being able to do so! Truly Potter! You're comparing one insane wizard with another! That's Herpo, the Foul, and Voldemort you were talking about! Stop sounding as if you were talking about your grandchildren!"
Potter blinked at that in surprise.
"I don't have any grandchildren, Malfoy," he said amused. "So how would you know how I sound like when talking about them?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes.
"That wasn't hard to guess, Potter!" He hissed. "I've been listening to 'Teddy this' and 'Teddy that' for more years than I can count already – add a little bit more idiocy to your voice and face and see here, grandchildren-like! And that's exactly like you sounded, Potter!"
Potter pouted at that.
"So you've been in love with Salazar Slytherin?" He asked interested. "Because since the time we met him, you sounded exactly like when you're talking about Astoria when you talked about him…"
Malfoy spluttered, for a moment or two not even able to find a retort.
In the end he settled on his standard reply.
"I hate you, Potter!" He groaned.
"It's mutual," Potter replied, grinning.
sSs
"Malfoy," Harry said hesitatingly. "That doesn't look safe. Like: not safe at all!"
"Oh, shush, Potter!" Malfoy replied. "What do you think will happen when we get a little bit closer to it? The magic around it is looking stable and there have been people poking at it for two days now, so don't fret!"
Harry just frowned, looking at the oddly wavering blue-white sphere in front of them.
"I'm still not sure if it's truly a good idea to get any closer," He said. "It looks like a curse to me that has somehow been frozen in time."
Malfoy poked at it with his wand.
"You're right, Potter," he said exited. "It's exactly like a curse frozen in time. I wonder how that came to be…"
"Actually, Malfoy, I don't want to know," Harry said. His gut told him that that was an awful idea, a really, really awful idea.
"Oh, come on, Potter, what do you think will happen?" Malfoy said while rolling his eyes. "Truly, you don't act like a Gryffindor at all, today!"
"And you don't act like a Slytherin, Malfoy!" Harry replied irritated while pointing at the sphere. "There's something awfully wrong with this and you act as if –"
In that moment the sphere spiked and a bust of magic hit Harry. His eyes widened, his legs gave in and Malfoy reached out with a surprised "Potter!" to catch his partner before said partner could hit the ground.
Before Harry or Malfoy could react or even do something, Harry saw two men entering, both dueling but silenced thanks to the odd shield that was surrounding the sphere. One of the curses of the dueling men slipped by the defense of the other. The other man ducked and the curse when through the shield around the sphere instead and hit Harry in the chest.
Harry's time-turner lit up with red fire and then broke.
The time sand in it mixed with the sphere and a blinding light enveloped Harry and Malfoy. Malfoy's time-turner broke as well, adding new sand to the mixture and with an almighty explosion, they were gone.
sSs
"Shouldn't we long since have reached our entrance point in this madness?" Malfoy groaned and set up gingerly. His whole side was red and blistering.
Potter just sighed.
"Not yet," he said tiredly. "But the spirals are getting greater."
"Huh?"
"Oh, come on, Malfoy!" Potter groaned. "You studied those damn tattoos with me! You should know it as well as I do!"
"Well, Potter, I never studied Ancient Runes!" Malfoy objected. "And I stopped taking Arithmancy after fifth year!"
"Not a reason!" Potter replied annoyed. "I never took any of them – and I still know how those damn tattoos work!"
"Yeah, but you're weird, Potter!" Malfoy replied exasperated. "Now tell me what you're talking about without using riddles!"
Potter rolled his eyes.
"It's obvious, Malfoy," he said tiredly. "We will bounce around in time until the tattoos have settled."
"I gathered that much, Potter!"
"It's mostly working like a spiral with some odds in it," Potter explained. "We're bouncing forward in time and then backwards. So gathering that our last stops were Grindelwald, Salazar Slytherin, Voldemort and Herpo, the Foul we should be at the end of our journey soon."
"But we reached already Voldemort – so how can we be stuck in the middle ages again fighting against Yardley Platt, a serial goblin killer in the fifteen hundreds?!" Malfoy whined.
Potter rolled his eyes.
"Because we're in the last circle," he said sighing. "You know, in and out, in and out. We were in the outer circles just a jump ago, so we have returned to our last inner circles for now. We're maybe one or two jumps from home."
At that Malfoy groaned.
"And why couldn't you just say so?" he moaned. "Honestly, Potter, after who knows how many years of jumping together through time you should know that I'm not interested in the technical stuff if I don't need to know it!"
"And if it isn't potions or defense or astronomy, I know," Potter replied, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, I still don't know why you didn't read the future in the sky…"
Malfoy snorted at that.
"Because I can't read out future in the sky, Potter!" He harrumphed. "I can read the future of the damn planet in it – but not how long we're still bouncing around in time. I'm good – but I'm not that good."
Potter snorted at that.
"You need more practice," he said laughing. "Maybe you could try and read who we have to defeat next before we move on to our next jump-stop in time."
Malfoy rolled his eyes at that.
"No!" He said, pouting. "I'm just annoyed if I know which fool we have to fight against the next time we bounce!"
At that Potter laughed.
"Oh, hush, you!"
Potter laughed just harder.
"Tell me, Malfoy," he said wheezing. "Are you afraid of what you will see when you look in our future?"
Malfoy turned crimson.
"I'm not!" He hissed, and Potter rolled on the ground laughing and not caring for his wounds.
"Shut up, Potter! I'm not!" Malfoy cried and when Potter didn't stop laughing, he pouted again.
"I hate you, Potter!" He cried, still pouting.
"It's… it's mutual," Potter answered wheezing before dissolving into another fit of laughter.
sSs
When Harry woke up, he and Malfoy were in the middle of a forest and Malfoy was sitting next to him, fuming.
"Malfoy, what -?"
"That's all your fault, Potter!" Malfoy hissed. "If you just would have never been named my partner!"
"What's my fault?" Harry asked frowning.
"This!" Malfoy hissed before casting a tempus. "We're in the middle ages, Potter! The middle ages! And it's all your fault!"
"Hey," Harry replied angry. "You were the one poking at that damn sphere! I told you that it was a stupid idea! We should have stayed away from that thing! We should have gone back and told them to send someone else to –"
"We're Unspeakables, Potter!" Malfoy hissed. "It's our duty to take a look at something –"
"We're operatives! That thing was something to look at for scientists –"
"Doesn't matter! We were send and we had to take a look, Potter!"
They argued for the next two hours until they finally collapsed on the floor, utterly drained from the day's happenings.
"I would have been married in two weeks," Malfoy said suddenly, sounding as if he wanted to cry. "I was looking forward to calling Astoria my wife…!"
And suddenly Harry felt awful.
"We find a way to get back," he promised. "We find a way to get back to exactly that time we left and you will marry her still, alright?"
Malfoy just sobbed and Harry reached out to the other man to comfort him. It was then that Harry saw the markings, looking oddly like tattoos on his hands and wrists. They were a bright, angry red and consisted of runes and odd circles and spirals.
"What -?"
Harry looked at his hands in surprise. Malfoy looked up and followed his gaze before looking at his own hands, his eyes widening.
"Mine as well," he said, showing Harry his blistering red, tattooed hands.
They looked at each other.
"Er… did you have Ancient Runes, by chance?" Harry asked, but Malfoy shook his head.
"Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy. I stopped both after fifth year," he replied. "You, Potter?"
Harry shook his head.
"Divination and Care," he replied.
Malfoy raised an eyebrow.
"You can see the future?" he asked surprised. Harry snorted.
"No," he replied. "I just took what Ron took – and Ron took the easy way out."
Malfoy stared at him.
"That was stupid, Potter," he said.
"Yeah, I know now," Potter replied sighing. "But I can't change it now."
"So… what do we do?" Malfoy asked and Potter shrugged.
"How about we do our job and try to learn about those?" he replied while showing off his hands. It would take them some time until they knew what they were dealing with. The time-turners' sand and basically been imbedded into their skin, making them living time-turners. Since the sand was not yet fully fussed with them, they would be thrown back and forth in time until it was.
Over time, the angry red tattoos faded to gold and then to something just a shade darker then their skin. It would be the day they faded completely that they would attempt their first voluntary jump through time. But that would be a long time from then.
Until then, they learned a lot. Harry found out he was a genius in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Malfoy found out he had the Sight. Both of them just groaned when they found out.
"We should have chosen differently in third year," they both commented. But too late was too late, and done was done. So they learned now.
They also learned that they always showed up at a time of conflict, a time that needed them to interfere. The day after they had done their part, they were moved on. They saw a lot: Ancient Greece, the USA, India, the Middle Ages, the Founding of Hogwarts, etc.
They didn't age, they didn't know how long they traveled. Harry later on often guessed that it had been at least four to five years or more.
It was a long journey, with a lot of discovery, a lot of learning and a lot of relying on each other.
There was just one thing that never changed…
"I hate you, Potter!" Malfoy screamed.
"It's mutual," and with that they were gone again.
sSs
The return home was nearly anticlimactic.
They had just defeated another idiot who liked to kill innocent bystanders by capturing him and then throwing him into prison, when the last part of their journey began.
They ended up exactly where they started and – from the fight of the two men in front of them – just a second or two after they left.
Malfoy looked at Potter.
Potter looked at Malfoy.
"Here we go again," Potter said, his lips curling into a cruel smile.
"Here we go again," Malfoy said and together they charged into battle. The battle didn't last long, and soon they had the attacking wizards incarcerated. The sphere was gone – destroyed, the scientists would say later on – and nobody knew of Potter's and Malfoy's trip through time. The attackers meanwhile were left at Potter's and Malfoy's mercy.
They were very… interested… in talking with those two.
"And because of that we conclude that they tried to build a way to travel in time so that they could bring Voldemort forward in time before he died," Potter concluded his report to his boss.
The boss turned to Malfoy.
"Anything else to add?" he asked the man.
Malfoy shook his head.
"Nothing, sir," he said. "Permission to leave?"
"Sure," the boss said and Malfoy and Potter left. They looked at each other, before Malfoy gestured with his empty hand and an odd bubble surrounded them, shielding them and their discussion from prying eyes.
"You didn't think it necessary to tell our boss that we are time-turners now?" Malfoy asked interested. "I thought that you, as a Gryffindor, would tell the man about our new abilities and our adventure…"
Potter just raised an eyebrow.
"And then we would be used as an experiment for the Department of Mysteries," he drawled. "No, thank you. I'm special enough without them knowing about that!"
Malfoy grinned.
"So," he said. "See you the day before yesterday to set up the sphere?"
Potter answered his grin.
"Sure," he said.
And with that they dissolved the bubble and went their merry ways.
"Bloody hell, mate! Was that Malfoy you were talking with just now?!" Ron exclaimed and Potter wanted to groan. He had forgotten that Ron had been waiting for him…
"No," he finally said. "Definitely not Malfoy. Just a look-alike. He works in the Department of Mysteries. Wanted to know if me killing Voldemort with an Expelliarmus was true – you know, the usual spiel…"
"Ah… sure," Ron said, looking a little bit confused but believing him.
Neither of Harry's friends would ever know about Harry's work with Malfoy. Even years later, when Harry's own second boy was old enough to go to Hogwarts, Hermione and Ron still didn't know.
"Hey, mate," Ron said when they left Kings Cross. "Did Malfoy give you a nod?!"
Harry snorted.
"Do you truly think we're on good enough terms to nod at each other?" he replied and Ginny had to hid her giggle.
Ron frowned.
Then his face twisted into a grimace.
"No! Definitely not!" He said.
Harry nodded.
"Definitely not!" He said. "Malfoy is a bloody git and I hate him!"
"It's mutual, Potter!" Malfoy called before striding onwards to his car. Astoria and Ginny shared a look, Astoria raised her chin as if looking down at Ginny and Ginny rolled her eyes and turned towards Harry.
All was good – and part of that was Harry's hatred towards Malfoy.
See you the day before yesterday for dinner. Bring the kids and your wife along!
xXxXxXxXxXxMalfoyxXxXxXxPotterxXxXxXxXxPotterxXxXxXxXxMalfoyxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Well, I couldn't let go of that idea of the nod shared between Malfoy and Harry at the end of the book – an action solely between those two and not Ron and Hermione. I guess I would have taken a lot longer to write that fic, if I hadn't found one that inspired me to finally write it down fully: So, thank you to 'The Elite' by Adari. Without it, I wouldn't have finished this fic as fast as I did.
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