3 ½ years ago
All his life, Draco had hated masks. Since he was a child, he'd seen them everywhere. Lucius's stony expression hid anything but anger from his son. Narcissa donned a façade when she was upset, tightening her eyes and lips to hold back tears. Later, the masks had taken on a physical form in the Death Eaters' smooth, monstrous gray skulls. Draco, despite donning the Mark, had never worn a Death Eater mask. He'd told himself that it obstructed his vision, but later, he suspected he bared his face when performing Dark Arts so as not to lose himself in the process.
Trapped beneath an Invisibility Cloak, breath terribly loud beneath it, Draco's hatred of masks did not wane. He watched warily as the serpent-masked witch stepped into the compartment. One of her companions, face hidden by the curving tusks of a boar, turned immediately to stand guard. The other, rabbit-faced, followed suit, but not before giving a cursory sweep of the train compartment with eyes the color of onyx. Draco held his breath as the wizard's gaze passed over him, then let it out as they faced away.
"Put your wand down," The strange witch instructed. Harry did so slowly; Draco saw his hands shake. "Do you know who we are, Chosen One?"
Harry swallowed visibly, but as Draco watched, he spoke evenly, keeping his cool. "No idea."
As he and the witch talked, Draco carefully leaned forward, keeping the Cloak draped over himself. He examined the mask, though his heart raced while doing so - the serpent's fangs and flared hood were all too realistic, despite being adorned with patterned spirals, dots, thorns, and curling leaves. He looked through the holes as well, getting a closer look into the witch's violet eyes. They seemed unfocused, wild, but her demeanor and voice were anything but insane.
"Take off your mask, so at least I know who I'm speaking to," said Harry presently, and Draco glanced nervously at him. He wasn't sure he wanted to see what was underneath.
"We will not. And you must respect our decision not to do so." We? Draco squinted, wondering why an individual would say that. "We ask again, will you join us?"
Harry firmly refused. The witch's eyes narrowed, and Draco's hand shot to his wand. But the witch only bowed her head and stood, robes cascading to the floor. "We have faith that we will meet you again. Even if fate's hand must drag you."
As the three wizards vanished, Draco yanked off the Invisibility Cloak. Harry didn't look at him for a moment, slowly sliding his wand back into his jeans and processing all that had happened.
You all right, Potter? Draco wanted to ask, but he couldn't quite force the words out, and before he could gather the courage, Harry stood.
"Come on," He said shakily, "Let's fetch the others."
• • •
Fate's hand had succeeded. Draco had no idea why the return of the masked wizards scared him so, but the fear was there, prickling into his heart. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Harry, and the nearness of him made Draco feel less alone.
When he looked into the rabbit-masked wizard's eyes, Draco felt an instinctual swoop of recognition. Could it be…?
"You?" Joey's wand was out in a flash, but she didn't point it yet, anger coloring her voice. "You tried to kill me."
Both masked wizards touched their palms and bowed. "I assure you, my brother nor I have encountered you before," said the rabbit-faced witch; her voice was distinctly female - Draco couldn't confidently match it to the attacker in Manila.
"I don't suppose you have Veritaserum?" Joey muttered over her shoulder.
"I am not a walking potions shop," Draco said wryly. "Believe me, I wish I was."
"May we come in?" The boar wizard asked gruffly - his accent was similar to Ray's.
All three Aurors glared at this request. Ray took one look at their expressions and said, "I must know your intentions first."
"We heard that three English Aurors were present at the gas explosion," said the witch. Her voice was even, unreadable. All Draco could see were her glittering eyes; the mask hid any form of human facial expression. It was unnerving. "We simply came to investigate."
"We had nothing to do with that," Draco cut in, "Which you might have known, had you bothered to do any magical back-tracing."
The witch inclined her head in acknowledgment. "Our brisk sweep was inconclusive. I am sure we can trust your word."
"In this case, we'd like to welcome you to our city," The boar-faced wizard said.
Draco wondered if they simply were calling Bangkok home or if they were claiming ownership.
"Forgive me if I don't feel welcomed," Joey snapped. "Whoever did it could have killed us and a dozen civilians."
"I assure you, we are looking into it," The witch reassured. "We are glad you are safe. I see you've found a haven at the finest wizard academy in Asia. Ray," She nodded slowly to him, "It is always nice to see you."
"I do not think I have met you before," Ray replied firmly.
"Perhaps not. But we are all brothers and sisters, hm?" The witch paused, and Draco guessed from her crinkling eyes that she was grinning. "If you ever decide to come back home…" She lifted her hand, and from the crimson folds floated a carved, wooden mask. It suspended before her, shaped to mimic the face of a monkey.
Ray's hands lifted as if on their own accord, preparing to hold it. "I can't believe you kept it."
"You are always welcome, Ray."
Draco wondered why the witch didn't just hand the mask to Ray. Unless, of course, she had a good reason not to touch it…
In a flash, Draco let go of Harry's hand and lurched forward towards the wizards. Hoping to Merlin he wasn't wrong, he grabbed the wrist of the wizard, who grunted in surprise. Draco yanked him towards the mask, and as soon as his bare fingers brushed it, he disappeared in a flash of blue light.
Immediately, the rabbit-faced witch stepped back, her dark eyes wide. For the first time, she looked unsteady, caught off guard.
Draco retreated quickly back over the threshold. "Well," said Joey, her wand now joined by two more, "I wonder where that leads." Her voice was soft, though her eyes were sharp and unforgiving.
"I-I apologize," the witch stammered, "I did not know it had been Portkeyed, that was-"
"An unpleasant surprise?" Harry interrupted. "Yeah. Just like every time one of you shows up."
Black eyes narrowed in anger. The witch's fists opened to small orbs of fire, burning orange and blue with heat.
Ray did not flinch. "That will not work. Unless you are willing to be more diplomatic, sister," the word dripped with irony, "Your presence is not welcome here. Leave."
Before the witch could make a move, Ray lifted his hands and flicked his fingers. The door slammed, and the foyer was thrown back into hushed whispers, the noise of the street and people cut off completely.
"Stand with ease, Aurors," Ray told the trio. "Whatever she attempts, she cannot break through." He faced them, hands clasped, brow furrowed. "It is not safe to wander. Not as yourselves. Auror Clarke," He turned to her, "Once you can Apparate again, we will go to a different portal. I don't doubt your enemies will be waiting downtown."
Joey nodded. "I understand."
"In the meantime, you all can stay in the student dormitories," Ray said. "I'll show you."
The dorms bore little resemblance to the Slytherin accommodations back home, which Draco considered a blessing. He'd grown to love the shimmering green light cast on the stone walls but hadn't loved the slime.
Sunlight streamed in from an enchanted window, overlooking the curves of a white beach, turquoise water glistening in the afternoon sunlight. Beyond the sand stretched miles of lush, green rainforest. A few people and shallow boats dotted the coast.
Inside the room were three twin-sized beds, over which hung a tapestry of a gold-embroidered elephant drinking from a lake. Draco thought it might have been Muggle made until Harry touched the edge, and the elephant's trunk lifted in a tired wave.
Joey kicked off her boots and sat on the edge of her bed. Harry wordlessly flopped onto his, eyes beginning to slide closed of their own accord. Draco decided to take inventory once again, and he carefully emptied his potions, weapons, and supplies bag.
Joey spotted the small, white-and-copper bottle the same moment he did.
"That's the…." She trailed off, mouth hanging open.
"Teleportation potion," Draco confirmed. He looked carefully at her, but it didn't take a genius to interpret her wide eyes and furrowed brow. "You couldn't have used it," Draco said quickly. "It's a prototype; you could end up Splinched or worse, especially over a long distance."
"Then why the hell," Joey picked it up, at least having the foresight not to shake it, "Did you bring it?"
"You're the one who told me to," Draco replied irritably. "It's for emergencies only."
"Does this not qualify?"
"No. Give it here." Joey huffed, but she handed the bottle back. "If it makes you feel any better…" Draco tapped the copper wiring reinforcements with his wand, and they grew, twisting tightly into a woven chain. He held out the newly made necklace. "You can have it. There are no explosive ingredients, I promise."
Joey tentatively took the potion and draped it over her head. "Thank you."
"How come she gets it?" Harry mumbled sleepily, to Draco's surprise; he didn't know he'd been listening. "We can split it."
"You can Apparate, nitwit," Draco scoffed and jumped hard onto Harry's bed, springing the mattress and partially flinging Harry into the air.
"Ow. I could have broken my neck, you prat," Harry complained.
"Sorry," Draco said unapologetically. Harry's annoyed pout and pillow-rumpled hair, eyes lit up like jewels in the lemony light, made Draco's breath suddenly grow shallow. He almost looked away in embarrassment. Don't be such a child, Draco told himself, and reached out instead, tangling his fingers through Harry's locks. Harry's lips curved, and he turned his head slightly to kiss the inside of Draco's wrist.
Sweet Merlin.
"I think I'm going to ask Ray more about those amulets," Joey said loudly, standing up. Her eyes were glued to the ceiling.
Both Draco and Harry blushed furiously. "Sorry, we didn't…" Draco opened and closed his mouth.
"Back in an hour," Joey said meaningfully and promptly swept out of the room.
Draco nibbled his lip nervously, almost afraid to look at Harry again. Even after three years, he couldn't get used to it, the rush of newness and joy that filled him entirely when they were together, driving everything else from his mind.
"You all right, love?" Harry murmured, his lips brushing against Draco's knuckles. Cocky, insufferable, adorable bastard. He knew that drove Draco mad.
Draco leaned down, pulling his hand from Harry's grasp, and gently ran his thumb across his lower lip. "I will be," He whispered and kissed him hard.
• • •
The academy students rose at dawn, so the trio did as well, donning their gray uniforms and condensing their supplies in preparation for the return to Cambridge. Joey had been Apparating in short bursts all around the academy, to Draco's and Harry's great relief. She popped before them at the door, braids tightly coiled in a bun, eyes bright.
"Ready when you are," Joey said, hand poised over the doorknob. Draco and Harry nodded.
Ray stood just outside, still as a statue amidst the flow of students. He seemed tense, eyes scanning over the heads of the crowd, hands clenching into fists and relaxing repeatedly.
"Any sign of them?" Harry asked.
Ray shook his head. "The guards I placed must have scared them off. Maybe they have given up." His words were stiff, almost robotic; Draco dismissed it as his way of showing anxiousness.
"Who knows," Draco muttered. The Following's movements were so unpredictable that at this point, he wouldn't be surprised if their masks waited on the other side of the Cambridge portal.
"Come." Ray held out his arm, and all three Aurors grasped it. With a twist of darkness, the early-morning buzz and smog of the city disappeared.
It had been so long since Draco had Apparated that a wave of nausea overtook him, and he grew still, waiting for it to pass before taking account of the new surroundings. They'd landed on a small, dirt path, winding its way through a thick, tangled jungle. The steady hum of cicadas and the humidity pressed in from all sides. The portal, however, was nowhere to be seen.
Joey's brow furrowed. "Where…"
"This way." Ray jerked his head towards a clearing through the trees, a narrow passage overgrown with roots and fallen leaves. The tension hadn't left his shoulders, and though Draco could relate, anxious to get home, he wondered at Ray's demeanor. Surely, he wasn't expecting trouble here, wherever here was. "There are many Muggles in this area. Safer to travel on foot."
Despite this assertion, Draco saw many more animals than he did people as they wound through the trees. A few tiny lizards, in shades of brown and green, scattered about the ground. Colorful birds, whose faces were streaked with black feathers, flitted through the overstory. A black snake wound its way lazily over a thick branch - it took Draco a moment to spot it, and he grabbed onto Harry in fear.
"Keep moving," Harry said gently, not slowing, but he took Draco's hand in his. His palms were sweaty, but as Draco resignedly observed, that was unavoidable in the heat.
Ray slowed after a few minutes, though the path from whence they'd come had already disappeared. The sky appeared darker through the leaves, dusky blue turning to gray. From far off came a rumble of thunder.
"Not far now." Ray sounded relieved, and his gaze turned skyward, but he didn't move.
"Which way?" Harry asked unsurely, shifting from foot to foot. The faint trail they'd been following had faded into the grass along with the wild chirp of bugs and birds.
Ray closed his eyes and faced them. "You must understand," He said, only his voice had changed, more effeminate, with an accent that Draco couldn't place. "I'm only doing my duty." Then he began to change, hair lengthening, brow lifting, nose flattening slightly, stature shrinking a few inches.
Draco's insides twisted, and from Harry's suddenly tight grip, he must have been feeling the same way. "Joey. Joey, we need to go now," Draco hissed and grabbed her coat. He turned on the spot, focusing on the threshold of the academy - even if it wasn't safe, they needed to be far, far away from here.
But a cold, hard wall of magic closed them in, and as the red-robed wizard's eyes opened to deep, ebony black, Draco knew they were truly scuppered.
"Do not despair, Draco Malfoy," Joey's attacker said. No longer a female, their face was nearly blank, completely androgynous. They looked like every other person Draco had seen in the past few months. "Your hard work will not be for nothing." They held out their hand, and from within the trees spun a rabbit-shaped mask. The wizard put it on, and if they either grinned in eagerness or frowned in regret, Draco had no way of knowing.