Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world are owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Warner Brothers. I merely take Harry and Draco out to play. I own nothing but the plot.

Warnings: Slash. Vulgar language.

Author's Note: This will be a chaptered story. I will be updating this regularly. I'm not going to promise a frequency rate because real life have the nasty habit of throwing that off. Comments, suggestions and constructive criticisms are welcomed. Happy reading!

Trouble is Brewed

Harry sighed wearily as he trudged towards the designated Apparition points outside of the Ministry of Magic. It had been one of those days in Auror Training; three gruelling practice raids in the morning followed by an afternoon of a series of lectures on Stealth, Defence, and Dark Arts. Harry was glad that his training for the day was over; his body ached, his brain overwhelmed, and his eyelids were starting to feel heavy. He was very much looking forward to spending the evening at home with Draco. Draco would know how to tend to his bruises and cuts garnered from the practice raids, and he would have a way of helping Harry to sort, analyze, and remember information and material from the lectures. Not to mention, Draco was an excellent cook and would treat Harry to a delicious dinner. Harry smiled as he pictured the two of them cuddling in front of the fireplace enjoying tea while swapping work stories and other anecdotal tales of the day. With that thought in mind, Harry located an Apparition point just outside the main entrance, turned on the spot, and was on his way home.

With a soft crack, Harry appeared out of thin air and was standing in the foyer of the house that he shared with Draco. They had bought the house together a year into their relationship, and have been living together for the past two years. The house was an amalgamation of both of their tastes, style and personalities. Gryffindor red was interweaved with Slytherin silver in the decor, Muggle appliances ran on magic, and Harry's sloppily folded clothes can be found alongside with Draco's neatly folded ones. A wizarding picture showing Harry and Draco kissing each other was placed in the centre of the mantelpiece, with pictures of their respective friends and families flanking either side of the picture. Kicking off his shoes, Harry paused to take a fond look at the picture before finding Draco. They had taken the picture on their first vacation together as a couple, and looking at the picture always reminded Harry of the blessing and joy of having Draco in his life.

"Draco?" Harry called out as he entered the kitchen, but no response came to him. Draco was not in the kitchen, which Harry found to be a bit odd. Draco insisted that cooking them dinner is part of his daily routine, and without fail, Harry would find Draco cooking up a storm after he arrived home from Auror Training every day. Today, however, seemed to be the exception to Draco's routine.

Draco had mentioned at breakfast that he was going out to tend business this afternoon but that he would be back for dinner, Harry thought to himself as he exited the kitchen, so either he got caught up with something at the store, or something else happened. Draco co-owned The Perfect Potion, an Apothecary and Potion store in Diagon Alley, with his business partner Blaise Zabini. Draco's primary job is to maintain the potion stock in the store; being the proficient Potions Master that he is, Draco had no trouble with keeping pace in brewing up various potions, draughts, and elixirs to satisfy the demands of the witches and wizards in London. Following that particular train of thought, Harry went downstairs and peeked into Draco's potion lab. Nope, no sign of the blond there either.

Deciding to confirm Draco's presence or absence at The Perfect Potion before continuing his search, Harry knelt by the fireplace, tossed a handful of Floo Powder into the fire, called out "The Perfect Potion!" and stuck his head into the glowing green flames. After the familiar dizzying sensations that accompanied Floo travel settled, Harry found himself looking at the tiny house elf working at The Perfect Potion.

"Tilly has come to receive your Floo call Mr. Harry Potter, sir. May Tilly be of assistance?" The elf squeaked, bowing low.

"Yes, erm, Tilly, have you seen Mr. Malfoy today? Did he come to the store?"

"Yes, Tilly helped Mr. Malfoy to stock the potions shelves today, sir. Mr. Malfoy is a most talented Potions Master, sir, and he has brewed many potions for stocking shelves and he delivered the latest batches this afternoon, sir. We were about to start stocking the Dreamless Sleep shelf together and then he received an owl, and he left. I finished the stocking the shelves with Mr. Zabini."

"Ah. So he left then. At about what time did he leave Tilly? Do you know where he went? I'm trying to figure out where he is, so any help that you can give me would be great."

"I believe Mr. Malfoy departed at quarter to five. Tilly heard Mr. Malfoy cursing at the letter delivered to him, but Tilly does not know where Mr. Malfoy went afterwards."

"Alright, thanks Tilly. Is Mr. Zabini at the store?"

"No, sir, Mr. Zabini left about half an hour ago. Perhaps you can reach Mr. Zabini at his house? Tilly is sorry she is unable to provide any further assistance."

"It's alright Tilly. Thanks for what you told me."

"It's a pleasure. Good night Mr. Potter, sir." Tilly bowed again as Harry ended their Floo connection.

Pulling his head out from the fire, Harry regrouped his thoughts with the new information that the elf gave him. So Draco had been to the store, and while tending business, had received a letter by owl that required his immediate attention, left the store….but to where? That was the mystery to be solved. Zabini was one of Draco's best mates, and there was a chance that Draco had shared with Zabini what the letter was all about, and that Zabini may know where Draco was. Sticking his head into the fire for the second time that night, Harry made a Floo call to the Zabini household.

And for the second time that night, Harry was greeted by a house elf receiving his Floo call.

"Welcome to the Zabini household. Merca is pleased to be of assistance to you." The Zabini house boomed in his loud, tenor voice, bowing to greet Harry.

"Uh...thanks. May I speak with Blaise Zabini please? Tell him it's Harry Potter calling regarding Draco Malfoy, and that it's urgent that he takes this call."

"Alright. I will fetch Master at once. Please wait while I am fetching Master" The elf then disappeared from Harry's view, but Harry could hear the loud booming voice of Merca echoing down the hallway. Soon, the voice of Blaise Zabini joined the echoes of Merca, and his face came into view as he knelt down to speak with Harry at face level.

"Potter! Good evening. You're wondering where Draco is right now?" Never the one to mince words, Blaise cut to the chase right away.

"I just Floo called the shop, and your elf, Tilly, informed me of Draco leaving the store upon receiving a letter by owl. Tilly also informed me that Draco wasn't…pleased with the letter when he left. I am looking for him, and I was wondering if you'd have any idea where Draco might be."

"Draco received a letter from Gringotts today informing him of some finer points of the finances and assets that he had inherited from Lucius Malfoy upon him receiving the Kiss—"

"Lucius Malfoy was Kissed four years ago, immediately after the war. What do you mean by 'finer points'? All the documentations and paperwork had been done four years ago!"

"—be as that may Potter, Gringotts have recently uncovered some things related to the finances and assets that Draco inherited from his father that are not…entirely pretty. I'm afraid what they uncovered may cause Draco troubles in the foreseeable future and beyond."

"What ARE they then, do you know Zabini? Do you know where Draco went? Come on, you're one of his best mate, he must've told you something, anything!" Harry was starting to really worry about Draco. Knowing Malfoy senior, the finer points associated with the finances and assets may be more sinister than Harry cared to imagine at this point.

"Potter, while Draco and I do share a lot of things, you must know that Draco is a private person. I do not actually know what Gringotts have uncovered exactly, other than what Draco said, and I quote him, 'can't believe my fucking Father thought it would be a good idea to do what he did. Now I am fucking fucked by my fucking Father's fucking idiocy. Fucking Father for trying to fuck around with stuff like that. You can't fuck around with stuff like that. Fucking hell' I do not know what the stuff he mentioned entitled, nor do I know where he is right now. I guessed that he may have went to Gringotts to try to sort things out, but knowing Draco, sorting things out isn't something he'd do when he's all fired up like this."

"So you have NO idea where Draco is right now? What kind of a friend ARE you to him Zabini?" Harry hadn't meant to direct his anger and frustration at Zabini, but with nowhere else to vent, Zabini was the unfortunate target.

"Potter. Do calm down—"Blaise held up a hand to stop Harry from protesting further "—I know you're worried about Draco. I am too. I've been Draco's friend long enough to know how Draco handles unexpected stressors like this. You vent your feelings by yelling and screaming, Draco does it by drinking himself to oblivion. I would hazard a guess that Draco is in his favourite bar right now, downing his sorrows in pints after pints and drinks after drinks."

"Sorry about the outburst…it wasn't about you," Harry had the grace to look sheepish here "I was just worried about Draco. What is Draco's favourite bar? I will go and collect him. I don't want him to do anything he may regret."

"Merlin's Magical Drinks. And trust me when I say this Potter, Draco is very vulnerable during and after his drinking binges. Please don't try to force anything out of him. He'll tell you all about it in his own time and accord. Just take good care of him. Draco may never admit this to you, but he sees you as family and trusts you with his secrets. You're about the only person he trusts with all of his secrets. Just don't force him to tell you anything, please. If you need help, send a call my way and I'll be there."

"Thanks Zabini."

After ending the call with Blaise, Harry threw on a travelling cloak, tied on his shoes and left through the front entrance of the house. Focusing on Merlin's Magical Drinks, Harry turned on the spot, feeling the sensation of being squeezed by thin air enveloping him. Harry stumbled as he landed in what had to be the entrance of the bar, with the strong smell of alcohol wafting through the doors. Harry pushed open the doors, scanning the scene before him for the familiar head of platinum blond hair. Harry spotted him sitting on a bar stool, downing a colourful drink. Harry then made his way across the crowd to join Draco.

"Draco? Let's go home now." Harry said as he sat on the stool next to Draco's.

"Harry? You came for me. Wow. I sure love you. No we're not going home. I'm fucked up. By my own fucking Father. I'm fucking fucked up Harry. Fucked up. Very fucking fucked up. Fucking fuck my fucking Father for fucking around stuff like that. You don't fuck around things like that." Draco slurred as he tried to focus his attention on Harry.

"Shh…it's alright Draco. Whatever it is, we'll get through together. I'll help you out. But now, let's go home"

"No Harry, I'm fucked up….I"m so fucked that I don't think you can help me out here. I may lose you if you help me out. And I can't lose you. Harry I love you too much for that. I don't want you hurt because of me…I love you Harry. I can't lose you." With that, Draco started sobbing into Harry's shoulder.

Harry held onto Draco as he sobbed, rubbing his back as he rocked him in their corner of the noisy bar. Whatever it was that was troubling Draco, Harry swore that he would make it right. Nobody hurt Draco like this and get away with it.