"What the hell was that?" Harry asks, suddenly alert. There's another scream and he determines that it's coming from the wall that Harry shares with the house to the left of him. Draco looks at him, eyes wide, and scrambles off of him. Harry says a quick, wordless, wandless spell and they are instantly clean. Draco's skin prickles with the after feeling of the tergeo.
They dress quickly, putting on items of each other's costume in their rush. The house next door has been silent now for about a minute, but they are both still on edge.
"No, please!" Another scream. "No!" This scream is cut off suddenly. Harry and Draco look at each other for a moment before both nodding. They apparate downstairs to save time and then run out into the street, wands in hand.
Looking at the house next door, there is nothing apparently wrong. The lights are off, same as they were when Harry and Draco stumbled down the street on their way home from Hannah's.
"What should we do?" Draco asks. Harry frowns and then runs back inside. He returns a moment later and throws the invisibility cloak around them.
"Let's take a peek around, just to make sure everything is ok," he whispers. Draco nods and they move together up the stairs to Harry's neighbor's house. Harry taps the door with his wand and whispers,
"Alohamora."
Nothing happens. Harry frowns and tries the doorknob. He finds that it is already unlocked. They creep inside. The house is a mirror of Harry's, and they shuffle from room to room, finding nothing. Harry is starting to think they're not going to find anything when they hear a creak in floorboards above them. As one, they rush to the stairs and up them, taking care to avoid any creaking floorboards themselves.
They hurry along the corridor and Harry throws off the invisibility cloak. He tosses it to Draco who quickly stuffs it into a pocket. They advance, wands raised. The screaming had stopped while they were still next door and has not started up again. There is a knot in Draco's stomach as they reach the end of the corridor.
There is the crash of breaking glass behind the closed door and Harry springs forward. Using his sleeve, he turns the doorknob and throws open the door. It hits the wall with a loud crack. The scene that meets them is grisly. There is blood. A lot of blood. Blood in pools under a pair of bodies. Blood in violent trails along the walls. A blood covered knife lies in the middle of the floor, between the two bodies.
Draco feels bile rise in the back of his throat. He claps a hand to his mouth, willing himself not to be sick. He looks anywhere but at the bodies and notices the broken window. Wind is blowing through it, fluttering the curtains. He wonders if this was the shattering glass they had heard.
There is no one else in the room aside from him and Harry. He walks to the open window and glances outside. His gut is telling him this is how the murderer escaped, but it's a two story drop from the window into the garden. Both common sense and the Reliquary tell him a fall from that height would result in injury, so he waves his wand and mutters "homenum revelio". Nothing shows up. He frowns and gingerly leans forward through the broken window, but there is still nothing. He pulls back inside and turns to Harry.
Harry is standing where Draco left him, peering at one of the bodies. Draco walks over to him and stands beside him. He grits his teeth and looks down. The woman is most definitely dead, her neck cut so deeply open that there is no way that she could be alive. He glances at the other body and sees that it has similar injuries. Harry crouches down and lights his wand, holding it close while he looks at the woman.
"Put your wands where we can see them," comes a voice from the door. Draco's eyes go wide in surprise. He stands, quickly taking stock of how bad this looks. He and Harry have been found in a house that doesn't belong to them, leaning over a corpse. Draco can't think of a single worse way for them to be found.
He turns and complies with the command. He raises his hands in the air, his wand still in one of his pockets, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees Harry do the same. The lumos on Harry's wand projects strange shadows on the wall. The light, however, falls just short of the contingency of wizards that stands in the doorway, all of whom are pointing their own wands at Harry and Draco.
"Harry Potter?" someone asks.
"I can explain," Harry says quickly.
"Of course you can," says an unidentified Hit Wizard.
"We heard a scream," Draco says.
"Ah yes," another voice says. "The boyfriend."
"Please step away from the body," the first Hit Wizard says. Draco does so, taking two large steps towards the door. As he does, the other wizards come into sharper relief. He scowls as he sees Cormac McLaggen among the group.
"May I have your wands please?" McLaggen asks. Draco glances at Harry and sees Harry clench his jaw briefly.
"Of course," he says stiffly. "Nox." The light at the tip of Harry's wand goes out. He hands it to McLaggen, looking for all the world like he would much rather hit the man. Draco hands his wand over as well. He feels more naked without it than he did less than an hour ago when he was actually naked.
"We're going to have to bring you in," McLaggen says. "You do know that, don't you?" Harry regards McLaggen cooly for a moment before nodding.
"I'm aware, McLaggen," he says. "As you recall, I was an auror."
"Yes," McLaggen says. "Then I'm sure you're aware that this is now a Ministry crime scene." Harry nods once. "Since you've been here, using magic, we can't turn it over to the muggles, even though it looks like it was just a common muggle murder."
"I'm aware," Harry says again. Draco glances at him and sees a muscle in his jaw working, betraying the actual irritation that Harry feels.
"Well, come on then," McLaggen says. He gestures towards Harry and Draco and they walk toward him. McLaggen turns and directs the rest of his team to secure the area and to call in the auror squad.
Harry reaches out, takes Draco's hand and squeezes it.
...
"We are going to briefly question you under veritaserum," McLaggen says to Draco once they are safely ensconced in the Ministry.
"Really?" Harry asks. "I didn't think that was protocol." McLaggen sighs.
"It's protocol for ex-Death Eaters," he says quietly. Harry feels a flash of anger go through him. McLaggen is not his favorite person at the best of times and he seems to be enjoying lording his power over Harry. Harry is itching to pull out his Unspeakable badge, but there is no point in blowing his cover over something that appears to be a common murder. He blows a hard breath out through his nose and nods.
"Harry," Draco says, putting a hand on his arm. "It's fine." Harry turns to look at him and Draco flashes him a smile. Harry supposes it might be fine. They did nothing wrong, so there is nothing Draco can say that will incriminate himself. But the injustice still rankles.
"Someone will take your statement in the meantime," McLaggen says. He leans back in his chair and motions for another one of the hit wizards to join them. A young woman with her hair pulled back in a severe bun walks over. She gestures for Harry to follow her and he stands. As he passes Draco, he squeezes the blond's shoulder.
…
"Here," McLaggen says, pushing a glass of water across the table to Draco. "Drink this." Draco tamps down any snarky response he might have wanted to say and takes the glass. Still staring at McLaggen, he downs the water in one go. It takes a moment, but then he feels the unmistakable push of the veritaserum at the back of his mind.
"Right then," McLaggen says. He straightens the papers he has in front of him and then looks up at Draco again. "Baseline questions. What is your name?"
"Draco Lucius Malfoy."
"Where do you live?"
"34 Sorella Gardens."
"Profession?"
"I'm the assistant manager at Flourish and Blott's," Draco says. He does not mention his Reliquary work. He's not stupid. He had noticed that Harry had said he had been an auror, not that he is still employed with the Ministry. Perhaps McLaggen doesn't have clearance. But either way, Draco himself is absolute top secret and it's unlikely McLaggen should know about him.
McLaggen seems content with his answers, though he frowns at his papers for a moment more before marking something with his quill and moving on.
"Why were you with Harry Potter tonight?" McLaggen asks. Draco frowns at him.
"What are you getting at McLaggen? Harry's my boyfriend."
"Is he?"
"Yes. I practically live with him."
"Oh that's cute. Do you love him?" McLaggen's tone is mocking.
"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I do," Draco snaps. But there's none of the expected pain or nausea that he associates with lying under the influence of veritaserum. So it must be true. Well that's interesting. But he doesn't have time to dwell on that because McLaggen continues his questioning almost immediately.
"What do you know about the Reliquary?" Draco keeps his face impassive but his heart rate picks up. Why the hell is McLaggen asking about the Reliquary?
"The what?"
"Don't play stupid with me Malfoy."
"I'm not," Draco says. He makes his eyes as wide and innocent looking as he can, while also fighting down the feeling of nausea that is now rising in him. "I don't know what reliquary you're talking about. I'm not a muggle religion scholar. That's what a reliquary is, right? A thing that holds religious relics?" McLaggen makes a face that displays his irritation.
"Why are you spending so much time with Pansy Parkinson?"
"She's my friend. Or do you not recall from our school days?" Draco is trying very hard to keep his temper in check, but McLaggen is making it difficult.
"That's true. Though at school I thought you were straight." McLaggen leans back in his chair and surveys Draco with his hands clasped behind his head.
"Well obviously I'm not." Draco does not know why McLaggen keeps bringing this up. Perhaps he is in the closet himself. Or maybe he's just homophobic.
"And Potter's bent too?"
"Clearly." McLaggen sits forward again.
"Why did you save Heiligar Mottiç?" Draco is not thrown for a moment by the shift in questioning. It had been a commonly used Slytherin tactic in the common room.
"We saved his life because he was poisoned. What would you have done in our position? Let him die?"
"But why were you there?"
"Haven't you heard? I'm dating a professional celebrity. We were there as public figures. Or, rather, Harry was and I was there as his date."
"And you, what? Just happened to have a bezoar on you?"
"As I said, I'm dating a professional celebrity. We've almost been kidnapped once already - on our first date in fact. So yeah, he's prepared for all kinds of attempts on his life."
"Why were you in that house tonight?"
"We heard a scream, so we went over to try to help. I think trying to help is a natural reaction for Harry."
"How could you have helped?" Draco shrugs.
"I don't know. You and Harry and both Gryffindors. You explain to me how you two think." Draco's patience is all but gone now. McLaggen narrows his eyes at Draco.
"Ha bleedin' ha," he says. "Did you kill them?"
"No. Why the fuck would I kill them? I don't even know who they were."
"Because they were Muggles."
"I don't have any problems with Muggles," Draco says and he is pleased when he feels fine saying this. A part of him had been worried that some of his previous prejudices might still have lingered. But it's true. He doesn't have any problems with Muggles.
"That mark on your arm says differently."
"What? This?" Draco pulls up his sleeve to reveal the small, silver serpent tattooed there. McLaggen frowns.
"I thought-" he starts to say.
"-And even if I did have the mark you think I have, it wouldn't mean shit. People can change. I understand if this is hard for you to comprehend as you're still the same pompous asshole you were in school, but I'm not the same person I was ten years ago. I'll have you know that I even dated a Muggle last year." McLaggen's eyebrows go up.
"Could that Muggle confirm this?" And this is the last straw.
"Look, McLaggen, I don't know what your problem is with me." McLaggen clicks his tongue. "But I've answered all of your questions, under veritaserum might I add. Harry and I were just trying to help. We didn't kill those people. You have no right to hold me here." McLaggen sighs and leans back in his chair again. Draco stares at him but does not say any more. Finally McLaggen nods.
"Fine," he says. "You're free to go." He waves toward the door. Draco stands and turns to leave. He stops before leaving the room.
"McLaggen?"
"What?" McLaggen spins around in his chair to face Draco.
"My wand?" McLaggen frowns but nods.
"Horning will return your things to you if you go back the way you came." Draco nods and exits.
…
Meanwhile in a dark alley several miles away, one cloaked figure paces in front of another. The second figure is wringing their hands, clearly worried.
"Fuck me, you're incompetent," the first person hisses.
"I'm sorry! It was the wrong house. I-I didn't realize until it was too late."
"How did you go to the wrong house? You're a wizard for fuck's sake."
"It was dark…"
"Well it's fucked everything up." The first figure rounds on the second. "Now the Ministry's investigating."
"I'm sorry. The woman, she woke up and she screamed. If she hadn't woken up, I would have just left them alone and gone to the right place." The first figure clenches their fists. Then they take a deep breath.
"Well, we have to hope no one figures out it was you. I'll see if someone can run interference on the investigation." The first figure lets out a large sigh. There is silence for a long moment, then there's a groan. "Circe, you've possibly set us back months. We can only hope whoever has the Reliquary doesn't put two and two together." The first figure slams their fist into the wall behind the second figure's head and the second figure flinches. "I hope Oliver Wood rots in hell. If he hadn't stolen the damn thing, we would have been in control of it."
"Do you think it was purposeful? Him stealing it, I mean."
"Almost certainly." There is another long pause. "We will just have to be more careful in the future and hope your blunder doesn't ruin everything."
…
"McLaggen asked me about the Reliquary," Draco says as soon as they have apparated home. Or, at least to Harry's house, which Draco somewhat thinks of as his second home.
"He what?" Harry stops walking and turns to face Draco.
"He asked me about the fucking Reliquary." Draco is still rattled by this.
"Yes, I heard you," Harry says. He blows out a breath. "I just. Shit. I don't know what to make of that." He makes his way over to the couch and flops down on it. Draco sits next to him and lays his head on Harry's shoulder. It is now three thirty in the morning and Draco has work in a few hours. He wonders if he can call in sick or if Big Dick will think he just has a hangover.
"Do you think he has clearance to know about me?" Draco asks. Harry immediately shakes his head.
"Not a chance." He frowns. "The only thing I can think is that he was part of the original search for the Reliquary after Oliver stole it and he's still asking around."
"He also asked why I was spending so much time with Pansy."
"Mm," Harry muses. "It could be that he put two and two together. But I don't understand why he would care."
"Because he's a persistent bastard." Harry chuckles. He shifts slightly under Draco's head and Draco sits up.
"You didn't tell him anything, did you?"
"Only that we live together and that we didn't kill your neighbors." Harry nods.
"Good."
"Though, thank Circe I'd had my veritaserum training already, or I might have said something about the Reliquary. Instead I gave him a snarky answer about muggle religious artifacts." The corner of Harry's mouth quirks up in a smile.
"I hope you weren't too snarky. He was questioning you about a murder."
"He deserved all the snark that he got," Draco says. He leans back in the couch cushions, happy to be home. He stretches his arms above his head and yawns. Harry takes this as a sign that they should go to sleep, and for the second time that night, apparates them straight to the bedroom. This time, however, when Draco falls into the sheets, he falls asleep almost instantly.
…
"Why the fuck did McLaggen tell me he arrested you last night?" Pansy hisses in Draco's ear the next following day at work.
"Good morning to you too, darling," Draco says. He straightens a book on the display he is putting together and then stands back to look at it.
"Draco," Pansy says. Her voice is quiet but it is full of menace.
"Well if McLaggen has told you about it, there's not much I need to say, is there?" Pansy puts her hands on her hips and frowns at Draco. "Ok, fine. Harry and I were found standing over a dead body."
"You what?"
"There was a murder," Draco says. He draws out the U of murder.
"You murdered someone?"
"No, you ninny. We heard screams from the house next door and went to try to help only to find two dead bodies and a shit ton of blood."
"Oh."
"And then McLaggen got all upset because the Ministry's going to have to investigate because Harry had used magic, even though it was clearly a Muggle murder."
"I ascertained that from the shit ton of blood comment," Pansy says. She looks down at Draco's display and straightens a book pile. "Did you stop to think that perhaps you shouldn't run into a house with screaming people in it?"
"I was with Harry," Draco says by way of explanation.
"Right," Pansy says. "Mr Do First and Think Later."
"Precisely."
"Well," she says after a long moment where both of them stare at the book display. "Don't do it again." Then she stalks off and Draco realizes he hasn't asked her about her night. He'll have to ask Greg.
…
Draco and Harry have Greg over for dinner that night in order to get him drunk and pepper him with questions. Kreacher makes salmon with a side of the best Brussel sprouts Draco thinks he has ever had and Draco wonders at what point he and Harry might share ownership of the elf (who clearly likes Draco more). Over dinner, they share a lovely bottle of Chardonnay, followed by another possibly even lovelier bottle of Pinot Noir.
But Greg remains tight lipped - so tight lipped that Harry jokingly asks if Pansy has obliviated him.
"Not this time," Greg says, but then says no more on the topic. Draco wonders if this means Greg knows that Pansy is a Hit Wizard, but doesn't know a tactful way to bring that up in conversation.
Greg is delighted to learn that Harry has learned the rules of Exploding Gobstones Snap and after dinner they retire to the living room for a lively round. But even after several Manhattans (one of which Greg had to down, even though it had been newly mixed), Greg stays silent on the topic of Pansy. So Draco only has the smile that plays around Greg's lips as he talks about her to go on. And that tells him that they had a good time together, even if it tells him nothing else.
Around eleven, Greg begs tiredness and heads home, leaving Harry and Draco to snuggle on the couch, nursing the ends of their own drinks. Harry turns on the television, but Draco doesn't pay much attention to it. He is drowsing in his cocktail and all but asleep when there's a flash of green light from outside.
Harry jumps beside him and Draco jerks awake again.
"What was that?" Harry asks. Draco rubs his eyes with one hand. He looks at his watch and then back at the window.
"Fireworks probably?" he hazards. "It's almost Guy Fawkes day. They are probably some idiots setting things off a few days early."
"Oh, right," Harry says, though he looks unconvinced. "Probably." As if to back up Draco's statement, they hear a crackle as another set of fireworks goes off somewhere in the distance.
"Sometimes, I think you're a bit too on edge," Draco says."You need to switch off sometimes." Harry gives him a rueful smile, which he drops as Draco leans in and kisses him.
"Probably," he says.
"Maybe we should get you in bed," Draco says.
"What do you mean by that?" Harry lifts an eyebrow at him.
"I mean, maybe we should sleep. I'm shattered."
"Am I allowed to ravish your tired body?"
"You may," Draco says with a smile.
And as Harry apparates them to the bedroom again, Draco wonders why they even have stairs in the first place.
…
Harry wants to let Draco sleep in the next morning, but he gets an urgent message from Hermione, summoning them to the Ministry. Still, he lets the blond sleep as late as he can before he gently shakes him awake. It's been long enough that he really can't delay their going into the office any longer. Draco frowns at him, eyes scrunched up against the light.
"What?" he asks, his voice scratchy from sleep.
"We've been summoned in to the office," Harry says.
"Why?" Draco pulls his pillow out from under his head and hides his face under it.
"Hermione asked to see us." Harry stares at the pillow and is about to take it away when Draco pushes it off of his face and sits up. He never made it back into his pajamas last night and the spiderweb of scars on his chest is silvery in the morning sunlight.
"Do you think it's about the other night?" Draco asks, jerking his head in the direction of the house next door.
"I'm not sure," Harry says, frowning. "But either way, you'd better get up." Draco grumbles for a moment, but swings his legs out from under the covers.
He dresses quickly and soon Harry and Draco are making their way into the Ministry. It is quiet on a Sunday morning and they see no one as they make their way down to Hermione's office. Harry keeps a professional distance nonetheless. When they reach Hermione, she ushers them in and motions for them to sit.
Harry tries not to feel too apprehensive, but a knot forms in the pit of his stomach nonetheless. He hasn't seen Hermione since the Halloween party and he is a little concerned that in telling her that he cares for Draco that she's going to start worrying about their relationship. Not that it's any of her concern. (Except that it probably is.)
"Harry, Draco," she says once they are settled in their chairs. "Thank you for coming in. Something has come up."
"Is it about the murder?" Harry asks. He might as well ask the blunt question. Or, at least, one of the blunt questions.
"The murder?" Hermione's brow furrows in confusion.
"Nothing for you to worry about," Harry says quickly. "Just there was a murder in the house next door to mine." Hermione's frown deepens. She leans forward and steeples her fingers.
"Well, that makes my decision easier then," she says. Harry fights to keep his face impassive. His mind races through what decisions Hermione could have made. Is she splitting them up? Are they bringing Draco on full time? If so, what will happen to their cover? But before he can get too far, she continues speaking.
"We picked up some chatter the other day," she says. "That someone is planning to steal a dangerous magical object." Harry relaxes. This is a Reliquary thing. This has nothing to do with their relationship or the murder or anything like that. "And we want you to figure out who's behind the plot."
"Great," Harry says. "Do you need us to case a museum during a charity function or some such thing?"
"I need you to go on vacation," Hermione says.
"Oh?"
"The object in question is in a vault in Switzerland, up in the alps. So we want you and Draco to take a long, leisurely trip up there by train and then survey the place, under the cover of going skiing."
"Skiing?" Harry asks. A thrill of nerves goes through him.
"Yes," Hermione says.
"I don't know how to ski," he says quietly, staring into his lap.
"You don't know how to ski?" Draco asks, turning to look at him. When Harry looks up, there is a smirk of amusement on Draco's face.
"And you do?" he snaps.
"Of course, my parents took me during the Christmas hols during our third year. They had a chalet in the French Alps, but, uh, they no longer have that."
"Yes, well," Harry says, his voice hard, perhaps harder than he means it to be. "I didn't have parents." Draco bites his lip. He reaches out and puts a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"I'll teach you," he says. "It will be a fun, "romantic" activity." Harry notices that Draco uses air quotations when he says romantic, and he is grateful for that.
"So once we figure out who is planning to steal the object," Harry starts to say and then he pause before asking, " Do we know what it is yet?"
"Uh." Hermione looks down at her notes. "I'm not sure," she says after a moment. "My notes don't say. They only say where the item is being kept." Harry nods. It is not the first time that an informant has given them incomplete information.
"So once we figure out who is behind this, you want us to stop them?" Harry continues.
"No," Hermione says slowly. "We think this is part of a larger crime ring, so once the item has been taken, we want you to track the thieves. Follow them back to whoever ever hired them. We believe they will be trying to stay under the radar, and will therefore also be using Muggle transportation, so it should fit in with your leisurely tour around Europe." Harry nods.
"Um," Draco says. "Excuse me." Hermione turns to him. "I don't mean to be rude, but what's going to happen with my job? I can't just go galavanting off around Europe on a train. I have a full time job."
"We've already cleared it with your boss," Hermione says, waving her hand.
"You what?"
"We told him that Harry is taking you on an impromptu vacation."
"And he was okay with this?" Draco asks, amazed. "But I'm the assistant manager! I'm important."
"Yes, you're the assistant manager," Hermione says. "A position that comes with much more vacation time." Draco narrows his eyes at her, but nods slowly.
"And I had originally felt worse about disrupting your daily lives, but if there's been a murder next door, it might be best if you do leave the country for a bit. You know, for you safety."
"It was a Muggle murder, Hermione," Harry says. "It had nothing to do with us."
"Well, still," she says.
"Is McLaggen going to be alright with us leaving?" Draco asks Harry.
"McLaggen?" Hermione asks. Harry sighs. He had hoped they would have to get into this, but he supposes it is something he should tell Hermione about. It would be better than it getting back to her second hand, which it will.
"We heard screaming," Harry says. "Next door."
"The murder?" Hermione asks. Harry nods.
"So we went to see if we could help."
"Oh," Hermione says softly. "Oh Harry."
"Long story short, McLaggen came in and found Draco and I crouched next to two very bloody and very dead bodies."
"I see."
"It wasn't us, Herm,"
"I know."
"But he brought us in."
"Yes," Hermione says. "Protocol."
"And he questioned Draco using veritaserum." Harry tries not to sound angry at this, but he's not sure he quite manages it.
"Mm, protocol," Hermione says again, this time more quietly.
"And he asked about the Reliquary," Draco says. Harry whips his head around to stare at Draco. He hadn't been planning on bringing that up, but now that Draco has said it, there's no taking it back.
"He what?" Hermione asks, mirroring Harry's reaction when Draco had told him.
"He asked me what I knew about the Reliquary. Of course, I'd had your training the other day, so I told him I knew nothing about it, but it was unnerving to say the least." Hermione nods. She is frowning again. "Then he asked me why I was spending so much time with Parkinson." Hermione nods again, but doesn't say anything. She appears lost in thought. She brings a hand up to her mouth and absentmindedly chews on a hangnail.
"Right," she says, suddenly coming back to the room. She lays both hands on the table. "We need to get you on the train tonight then."
"I'm sorry?"
"We had planned to have you leave in a couple of days, but McLaggen complicates things."
"Won't he find that suspicious?" Draco asks. He's sure he would if he were in McLaggen's shoes. Hermione shrugs.
"If he does, he does. But if you're out of the country, I think he's less likely to keep thinking you might be the Reliquary. After all, why would we send away our most valuable asset?"
"Really though," Draco says. "Why are you sending away your most valuable asset?"
"Because we need you on this heist. This is the priority. We think it's going to lead us to the head of an Italian crime family - the Battaglia Family - that we, and the Polizia Magica, have been tracking for years. They're notoriously slippery and it is Dempsey's opinion that it's time to send in the big guns."
"The big guns being me?" Draco asks.
"Precisely."
"I guess I'm learning how to ski then," Harry says. He slumps back in his chair, but smiles to let them know he's actually somewhat pleased by this turn of events.
