A Dead Man Walking.
Draco Malfoy was running through the Ministry of Magic as fast as he could, straight up to the Auror department. The reception however, was less than pleasant - Rather cold and indifferent actually, and Draco was not handling that very well. He wouldn't even come here if he wasn't in desperate need of help and someone twarting him didn't make it easier.
Within minutes, he threw any pretence of decorum and decency out of the window. He slapped both hands on the desk of the reception witch and voiced his demands out loud. "Where is Harry Potter?"
The witch, plump with a sandy brown bob cut kept a bored look on her face, even as he blew up and picked at her nails. "Mr. Malfoy..-" She said slowly, but didn't come much further than that.
"I need to see Harry Potter," Draco shouted full of fury and face flushed. "I need to see Harry Potter right now."
A suppressed snicker had Draco's head snap up and away from the witch towards the open door to the department. An Senior Auror, noticeable by the dark red robes, was hiding a laugh behind his hand.
"What are you laughing at?" Draco barked bewildered.
The man was big and buff, towering well above Draco - his voice gravelly but full amusement as he answered the blond. "The fact that you think the head Auror would ever grant you the time of day to speak with him." He made a shoo-ing motion. "You should get lost. The delusion astonishes me, filthy-"
"Oh, come off it!" Despite the man being almost twice his size, as Draco was slim and of average height, his anger powered him enough to push the man aside and storm into the office before the man could finish any derogatory comment he had in mind.
Once Draco stepped into the office - A large room full of desks separated by short dividers one could easily look over when standing, with owls and purple memo's flying erratically and a permanent open window they came and went through. The room was messy, with paperwork lying about, open file cabinets and workers moving around. It was loud and busy and all fell silent when they spotted him, standing in the middle of the room.
Aurors stood up. Juniors in bright red robes looking uncomfortable at their Seniors to see what action to take, desk workers in blue ducking behind the dividers. The Senior who mocked him swirled and came after him, wand drawn. The rest took this as a cue to follow and within moments, many wands were pointed at his being and the Senior took charge. "Nobody gave you permission to come in." He spat.
"I need to..-"
"The Death Eater wants a word with the Head Auror," He said mockingly. "As if!"
Laugh and giggles came and the Senior gave a nod towards a girl peeking over her divider. All the while the group of Aurors came closer and circled him, she left the other way to knock a door. Draco saw it from the corner of his eye, but decided that keeping his attention to the ones closing in was a better idea. In his hurry he hadn't brought his own wand along, and stood defenceless, cursing his own lack of thought. He ran in here like a bold Gryffindor, headless and brazz.
Draco clenched his fists. Even if he'd done so thoughtless, he hadn't expected the stand-off.
"You'll find," The Senior snapped Draco out of his thoughts and twirled his wand. "That the Head Auror won't grant you the time of day."
"Why wouldn't I?" Sounded the surprised voice of Harry Potter from behind. He had reacted to the summons from the desk clerk right away, and the frown on his forehead showed he was not pleased with the situation in the office.
"That lowly Death Eater..-" The Senior started but hushed fast. in his arrogance he never saw Draco Malfoy flying at him. He shouted, stumbling for a second to keep his wand from falling mid twirl. "Hey!"
As soon as the Senior began speaking, Draco, quick on his feet, spun around and charged right through the group of Aurors circling him and bolted at Harry. For the second time he knocked the same man aside, probably creating a wrath in doing so but at the moment he could care less. There was only one thing on his mind. He clamped onto the front of Harry's robe and pulled him close - Their noses almost touching.
"I'm in trouble Harry. You need to help," Draco bit. "Rather yesterday that today because there will be no tomorrow."
"What?" Harry asked as he tried to process the information given.
"Now, Harry!" Draco voice raised in oth volume and pitch, without a doubt in distress. "I'm a dead man walking!"
"The prissy shitshow here..-"
He wasn't even finished speaking when two pairs of hands grabbed him by the back of his robes and pulled him back. Someone else stepped forward, reacting faster then the Senior who had taken lead. Draco found himself looking crosse-eyed at the tip of a wand, way to close to his face, with the tip glowing red. A spell about to be released by the slightest movement. Draco stayed frozen, the hands still on his back. Then the group came loose. Degrading jabs and jeers sounded all around him now and it was all drowned out by the one right in front of him. "What the hell are you even thinking, grabbing the Head auror like that? We don't help your kind here."
The Senior auror joined him and also pointed his wand at Draco. "Like I said. Get lost, Death Eater."
"Let him go." Harry's voice was soft, too soft. The crowd in front him went quiet almost instantly. They were used to the man shouting and barking orders as a default, however, they all knew that once he turned around and kept his voice low and calm, they were in trouble. Before anyone could speak, or even move he told them to line up. "Now."
Haphazardly, every Auror lined up. It wasn't good enough for the Head Auror. He looked around the room. "Line up. Properly! All of you."
Scraping chairs sounded when the desk clerks got up and formed a line along the wall; Aurors scrambled to form lines by rank and length of employment. Harry stood there with a watchful eye, lips thinned and arms crossed. "Faster!" He edged on.
Once all in a line, the same Senior, as bold as he was, dared to ask the meaning of it. Harry, who was about to turn towards his office, turned back. "Senior Auror Miller. What was the meaning of your abysmal behaviour?"
"I-" He startled.
"Don't answer that. Think about it while I grab something." Once he turned, murmurs sounded. He continued his way but barked, without looking at them. "Quiet!"
Draco watched it all happen. He still stood in the middle of the room, with his face flushed from a mixture of anger and embarrassment. He didn't know what to do, so he simply stood to the side, as far away from the lined up office as he could. Some threw disdainful looks at him, one even flipped him a finger but he kept his head high, and silently begged for Harry to hurry up. Luckily, his prayer was answered quickly.
Harry came back in a mere minute, carrying a thick, black book. He stepped in front of the men and women he made stand and glanced over them. "Unacceptable," He said loud. "Hands up if you know what this is." He tapped the book in his hand as he held it up for all to see clearly.
Almost all hands went up. "You." Harry pointed at a Junior in light blue Auror robes who he had known to only recently join the office. He was a young man; a beanstalk barely of age who still needed to do a lot of filling out and growing up - one who trembled at the site of a fuming Head Auror. He took a step forward, pushed some dirty blond curls away from hazel eyes and cleared his throat. It hadn't mattered, his voice still cracked as he mumbled the answer. "The Auror handbook. The rules we must adhere to, and the morals were expected to uphold."
"Decent," Harry said, still holding the book up. "Nicely worded though, point to you."
The Junior Auror nodded and stepped back in line. Harry gave a sharp nod back. "This tells you the meaning of being an Auror. It encompasses every detail and you," You wiggled a finger to make Senior Auror Miller step forward. "You are going to read this, out loud, to everyone standing here."
"Sir?" Senior Miller questioned but still took the book offered.
"Nobody will go home, nor sit or will even go to the bleeding toilet before you have read this entire thing out loud." Harry told him. "I do not accept your behaviour, and nobody better than the handbook to make you see exactly why."
Harry tapped the book. "Better get started, I will know if any of you step out of line. So my advice," He once again glanced over the assembly. "Don't."
"Come, Draco," Harry turned away from his Auror and walked towards Draco, who still stood watching quietly, although now, he had a suspicious tiny smirk edging his face. "We'll talk in my office."
"But Sir," Senior Miller said, not reading the room, at all. "He's a-"
"Death Eater?" Harry said, only looking over his shoulder and he smiled. "He's also my husband."
A pin could be heard drop in the next moment. Some opened their mouths to say something but Harry didn't let them. "MY orders were clear. Get started."
Harry then guided Draco to his office and before he closed the door, he peeked his head outside. Senior Miller had finally grasped he should just do as said and had begun reading when Harry interrupted him. "Oh, and Senior Miller?"
"Yes Sir?"
"Once you're done reading, you're suspended for the week for insubordination." Harry gave a last nod, and closed the door.