A/N: Disclaimers still here. I'm rather disturbed that the story is becoming some sort of epic-adventure-thing, by the way. It definitely was not planned.
Draco had the fleeting thought that his father would have been rather disappointed to know that his son had allowed Harry Potter to Apparate him anywhere. Then he put the thought out of his mind, because times had changed. His father had lost.
Draco had lost, for that matter. He should have been in Azkaban—would have been, had it not been for—
Harry's voice jarred him out of his musings. "Draco?"
Ahh, yes. Where were they? Draco gazed at his surroundings, and his words caught in his throat. The two of them were on a mountaintop: the sky gleamed brilliantly above, and in the valley below, in all their fiery, majestic splendour, were—
"Dragons." Harry glanced at Draco anxiously. "I didn't know—"
Dragons. From his childhood Draco had been fascinated by these creatures, his namesakes. He'd devoured stories about them, and when there had been no more to be told, created his own. They'd been his protectors, his companions, his friends...
Draco shook off the memories and turned to the man around him. "I can't believe it, Harry," he said softly. "Where—how—"
"We're in Wales," Harry said cheerfully. "The last wild dragon reserve in Britain. I talked to Charlie Weasley—has good connections, that man."
"The last?"
"The dragons are on the move." This time, Harry's smile had a sadder tinge to it. "Mass migrations all over the world-Obliviators have been working overtime, of course, and various Ministries are frantically talking to their Muggle counterparts, but there's no doubt about it: they're leaving."
"Where?" Draco frowned. "They must be going someplace."
"Well, that's the thing, isn't it?" Harry shrugged. "Wherever they're going, it's not in this world."
There was a silence as Draco tried to absorb what Harry had just said. "You—you're planning to follow them," he breathed out slowly and heard no denial. Suspicion was beginning to crystallize in his voice. "Potter, why did you bring me here?"
"Back to Potter again," the other man muttered, disappointed. "I wasn't lying—I did want a date with you. Went through a lot of trouble for it, too, if you haven't noticed."
"But?" Draco's eyes narrowed. "You have ulterior motives."
"I always do," Potter grinned. "Does the Daily Prophet still think I'm an Auror?"
"Yes," Draco replied promptly. Then he blushed. "Not that I care—"
"Of course not." Potter nodded in mock seriousness. "See, the thing is, they're wrong. Right organization, but wrong department."
"Who in the Ministry deals with—this?"
"Who else?" And now there was a very familiar, reckless fire in those green eyes. "The Unspeakables, of course."
"Why me?"
The question came after a long silence. They'd stood there, watching the dragons fly among spurts of radiant fire; Potter had retreated a bit, given Draco time to think. And during this time, Draco had come to two conclusions: One, that Potter was an insane man who—for some reason—wanted something from Draco. And two, that just for the sake of the dragons, Draco might go along with it.
"Why you..." Potter repeated thoughtfully. "You know a fair bit about fixing things—and going between places, if you know what I mean. You knew Snape—yes, Severus Snape," he nodded as Draco shot him a startled look. "He's somehow involved, though we're not quite sure how. I could do with a decent flier around: I hear some Pureblood families have kept up with—ah, older methods of transportation."
The excitement glowing in Potter's eyes—it was faint, true, but there if you looked—was beginning to affect Draco. Yes, indeed, there were more ways of flying than just on broomsticks. Draco remembered with fondness the flying carpet in his childhood bedroom (it had only ever hovered about a foot off the floor, but that had been enough for his imagination) and the dragon harness in the attic. Was it still possible? Who knew?
"And," Potter continued, "I'd rather like to have you around."
"How long?"
"How long what?"
"How long have you been planning this, Potter?"
"I haven't, actually." Potter grinned at Draco's incredulous stare. "The Unspeakables have known about the dragons for only a week. But—it seemed right. And I thought it'd be all right if I asked."
"You'd like me to abandon my life, my home, and go with you on a madcap adventure chasing dragons to Merlin-knows-where. Because it seems right."
"Yep, that's the crux of it." Potter glanced at Draco challengingly. "Would it be so bad?"
No, Draco had to admit. It was something he'd liked to have done, once upon a time... "What if I say no?" He asked.
"Then I'll take you back. And you can live your life the way you want. I won't bother you anymore." The man's earnest eyes caught Draco's. "It would certainly be more peaceful."
Draco bit his lip. "I have one condition, Harry Potter," he finally said.
"What's that?"
"That I get some explanations."
"You'll have them." Potter's smile was blinding. "But first, we follow!"
TBC...
Yeah, you'll get them, too. But that's for a different chapter. Hehe.
