Title: A Most Unlikely Partnership

Authors: Dark Nuriko and Mayhem's Angel

Disclaimers: Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy do not belong to us. The character of Bernard Strongshack however, DOES belong to Mayhem.

Warnings: SLASH! Lemon! But not in this chapter! Introducing…PLOT!

Notes: Mayhem's crazy life has finally settled down. Two weeks of going insane, one week of break (where we did nothing on this), and now her teachers are on strike. Peachy. So now we're working on it. About time. We'll see how long this rp streak runs.

Dark Nuriko: Well, thank you to all the loyal readers who are still with us. I promise, back to the story. And we'll try to keep the chapters coming as much as we can.

Chapter 9

Harry woke up suddenly at the sound of a gong ringing through the already echo-y room at Malfoy Manor. It seemed like they were being called back to work. A glance at the clock showed that they were already 10 minutes late getting back from lunch. He stretched a little, crawling out of bed to find his clothes; wherever they had been thrown. Slipping into them, he noticed Draco - now awake - watching him from the bed.

"Come on. Strongshack wants us back at the office." He told the blond, picking up his pants and throwing them at him.

Draco caught them with a smirk on his lips. "You sure know how to ruin a man's fun, Potter. But you're right. We can't be any later than we are." He made certain he was cleaned up, and then pulled on his clothes. He even fussed with his hair until it looked mussed, but not because of the great session they had held in his bed.

"So... what's taking so long, Potter? I'll see you in the office." That said, he apparated from the bedroom.

Harry just grunted, still struggling with his stupid boots. Stamping his foot, he finally got it on, then apparated after his partner. "Nothing too big we missed?" He asked once he had appeared in the office, and found Draco already bent over his desk.

He looked up, his silver eyes flashing. "Nothing at all, if you consider the mountain of paperwork you seen to never do no problem, Potter."

"Er, Alright then. Guess I should do some then, eh?" He said a little awkwardly, not sure what that look in Draco's eyes had been.

He then picked up the folder he had been looking at and moved to go past Harry. "I expect that all finished before I return, Potter. For once, I am not getting stuck with the paperwork."

"Alright. I can take a hint Malfoy." Harry spat out, looking up at him as he passed. He reached for his quill, intending to get started, when he noticed little red flakes around the trash can. He got up to look at it curiously. A Howler? How come Malfoy'd gotten a Howler? They hadn't been THAT late. Or maybe it was something else?

Draco had headed for the Department of Mysteries, where he spoke with several people. Each one stating the same facts. He didn't want to believe it... but there was no denying that the facts were telling him it was all as that damn Howler had said.

Harry tried to piece the Howler back together by magic, but it wasn't having any of that. Sighing, he flung the rest of the flakes into the trash, and sat back down to work and worry over what Malfoy had been up too. Instead, he got down to work, knowing he'd be in for it if Draco got back and nothing was done.

Draco stopped at a few more places. All being given the same results. This was more than he had wanted to find out and it was driving him nuts. This just didn't happen to a Malfoy... it just didn't.

Harry continued his set task, looking up every so often at the door to see if Draco had returned. He sighed after the tenth time of doing this and tried to focus.

Draco grumbled, coming back into their office with a dark look on his face. This just wasn't his day... and he wasn't liking the way things were turning out.

Harry looked up when his partner finally re-entered. Catching the unpleasant expression on his face, he thought carefully before saying anything. "You alright there?" Well. It still turned out to be a stupid question, but what ELSE was he supposed to say?

His silver eyes glared at him. "Does it look like I'm alright, Potter?"

"Um. No. I suppose not. Sorry." He apologized, blushing and looking down at his papers. Sucking in a breath, he looked back up. "Anything you need help with? Unless... you don't want to tell me about why you got a howler."

"Not really. I'm not certain what's going on at this moment. When I have more information, I'll let you know."

"Okay. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you." Harry offered, feeling a bit useless at the moment.

He snorted and pulled something from his desk before moving to head out of the office once again.

Harry blinked, completely dismissed at that moment. "Okay then." He muttered under his breath before going back to the paper work covering his desk. Maybe he should have just followed Draco, found out what was really up with the other auror.

Draco paused at another office, asking for some spell-o-tape. Once he got it, he turned and headed back down toward the Department of Mysteries.

Throwing down his quill, Harry raced out the door. He had to know what was going on around here! He stopped at a corner when he spotted Draco entering another office, and then come back out with a roll of tape. 'What would he need that for?' Harry thought before following him all the way down the Department of Mysteries.

Draco knocked on the door in an odd way. First with one knock, followed instantly by two short sharp knocks. He paused for five seconds exactly before knocking five times in one second moments before rapping with his knuckles twice more. The door then opened and he handed the tape to the rather shady looking wizard standing at the door.

"Good boy, Mr. Malfoy. You've grown up to be a well behaved young man. So, you want to know about the missing Death Eaters and their connection to your missing mother, huh?"

He sighed, his eyes dark. "You know I do."

The man chuckled in a dark, almost mysterious way and handed him an envelope. "Happy hunting, Mr. Malfoy," he said, before closing the door and leaving him staring at the large white envelope in his hands.

Harry watched this exchange a few feet away. Tape for an envelope? That was the weirdest bargain he'd ever seen, which was saying something, considering this was the wizarding world. This was all really really strange. The secret knocks, tape and envelopes, shady wizards. Not to mention, the connection between missing Death Eaters and Draco's mother. Harry thought she had died. So how could she be connected? Unless... she wasn't really dead.

He growled for a second. "Stupid Department of Mysteries workers. They all act a little daft lately," he grumbled, even as he opened the envelope and started shifting through it. Inside were pictures and detailed reports. Yet as one picture caught his attention, his eyes widened and he gasped, it fluttering from his lose grasp to fall to the floor. In it, was his mother, seemingly with the missing Death Eaters. And from the looks of it, she wasn't a captive, she was helping them!

Harry watched the picture fall to the ground, but from his angle, he couldn't quite see what it was, but obviously it was something shocking to Draco, judging by his reaction. Damn it! If only Draco would tell him things! Then he wouldn't have to hide around corners trying to glimpse fallen photos! Stupid stubborn slytherins!

Breaking composure, a single tear fell down his cheek, even as his knees gave out and he fell to the floor. His mother... she had always been special to him... and now... she was alive... but doomed to be going to Azkaban with the rest of the Death Eaters. And the worst part of it was that her own son would be the one to do it. It wasn't fair! It just wasn't fair at all.

Harry gasped when Draco fell to the floor. Coming out from his hiding spot, he rushed over to the blonde. "Draco? Draco, are you alright?" He asked, wondering what was so terrible. It was then that he could finally see the fallen picture. Narcissa Malfoy helping the Death Eaters. In this one, she was wrapping bandages around ones head, after he had been hit with some curse. He reached for it, looking closer at the moving figures; he could read her lips praising him for his excellent work in the fight. Such courage. A bunch of rubbish if you asked Harry. "Oh, Draco." he said, wrapping his arms around his lover in a tight hug.

He felt the arms wrap around him, and for a second he gave in to the warmth, comfort, and love he felt there. He then pushed them away, wiping angrily at his eyes. "Stop it! I'm not a child. I don't need a hug. I know where the other Death Eater's are. We can go after them tomorrow."

Harry reeled back, as if he had been physically hit, shocked at his reaction. Looking away at the floor, he mutely nodded. "Do whatever you want Malfoy."

Silver eyes narrowed at Harry as he looked up, tears almost ruining the effect of his anger. "I have to arrest my own mother Potter! You'll never understand how that feels!" he growled, even as a lone tear made it's way down his cheeks.

Harry really had nothing to say in response to that. It was true. His mother was dead, and even if she had been alive, she would never have gotten mixed up in all this. He could understand Draco's anger. He wouldn't want to do that to his own mother, and he really didn't want to arrest Narcissa either. But if it helped them end this for good... Harry sighed. It was probably best to just leave Draco alone right now. He wouldn't accept any sort of comfort from anyone much less him right now. Standing up, he collected the photographs and documents back into the envelope and left them next to Draco as he walked away down the hall. It tore at him to do that, but he knew it would be best for now. Thinking of something, he cast a tracing spell on the blonde so that he would

know if he went anywhere or did anything that might require saving. He glanced back once over his shoulder before apparating to their office.

He remained on his knees for a while. A numb feeling beginning to settle in as he just stared at the floor. He didn't even bother to try to block the spell Harry had cast on him. It was just something he wasn't ready for. Something he didn't want to deal with.

His mother had been a vast supporter of Voldemort and his ideas. He had always believed she had supported him because of her husband and son being apart of it. He had never dreamed that it could actually be because she believed in the cause so strongly. With a sigh, he shed one last tear, wiped his face, pulled the envelope into his arms, and stood.

First thing he would have to do is apologize to Harry for the way he acted. Then for what he had said to him. While it was true Potter didn't know what he was going through, it was also true that he had never had the chance to have time with his mother. Voldemort had taken it from him. He had taken a lot away from him. In Draco's own way, this is the only way he could apologize for something his father had helped bring about. He apparated to their office and looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry, Potter. I was harsh earlier. I'll work on a plan of attack and we can look it over once I get a rough draft wrote out. I don't want to go into this without a proper plan. Or we might as well kill ourselves and spare them the trouble." That said; he took a seat, pulling out the papers once more, but ignoring the pictures.

Harry looked up, surprised at the apology. "That's alright Malfoy. I get it. Let me know if you need help with the plan." He said.

He nodded. "I will. Yet I don't think you get it. I'm sorry as well for bringing your mother up in this. You never got to be with her, so it was uncalled when I brought her up."

"Thank you. I appreciate your... caring."

He raised an eyebrow at Harry's hesitation, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he began working diligently, trying to faze out the whole addition of his mother into an otherwise basic mission.