p class="MsoNormal"strongA/N: Don't worry! I haven't abandoned this fic. and i SWEAR this time I'll actually update once a month. I loved writing this from adult Draco's POV. Trying to give the poor man the redemption arc JKR never did./strong/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"***/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"uspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Chapter 6/span/u/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco Malfoy was a stern man. Perhaps not in private, no, but this was what the world saw of him. He had to be stern and unshakeable, to keep the world guessing, because it kept his son safe. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Today, however, he was feeling particularly…shakeable. He wasn't sure he gave off any sort of air of sternness, and he needed to get himself under control. But it was hard to do. He had met with Potter this morning, and after their conversation, he had gone to catch a fae./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"And succeeded./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He had laid his cards out, and chosen a side – precisely the opposite side that his father and mother would have been on, had they still been around to care. The thought was unnerving. Even from beyond the grave, his father especially still had the ability to make him second guess his decisions. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He arrived at a decrepit building, and quickly double checked the address on the piece of parchment in his left hand. No – the address was right. He relaxed his mind, allowed his eyes to strip away the glamour as he had been taught long ago. Suddenly, in front of him stood a towering cathedral with a warm glow emenating from its many windows. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco paused a moment to take a breath and compose himself, then strode up to the door and knocked confidently. It was opened a few moments later, by Jace Wayland – who he had met that morning in Potter's office and rather liked – and a young boy peeking out shyly from behind an intricate carving of an angel. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Jonathan," he said, by way of greeting. The other man smiled amiably./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Jace is fine. What brings you here, Mr Malfoy? We weren't expecting you for another day at least." He stepped back and gestured for Draco to enter./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco entered into the foyer and peered around discreetly. The entryway was large and wooden, with intricate carvings on the walls that looked possibly like family coats of arms. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Draco is likewise fine," he responded as Jace closed the door behind him. "I've found…" He trailed off as his eyes strayed to the boy, still tucked behind the statue. "I've found what we've been looking for."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I see," said Jace, raising an eyebrow. "I'll show you to the conference room and grab my wife. Maybe once you're there, you could floo for the others?" The younger man looked almost a little bit uncertain. Normally, this would have made Draco scoff, but if anything he found himself relaxing a little bit in the presence of such uncertainty. "I've just, only really used it once or twice," Jace continued, "And I really hate the feeling of my head spinning away from me." He shuddered a little./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco chuckled in spite of himself. "The first time I remember travelling by floo I was about three. Went through completely – not just my head – and I sicked up all over my mother's favourite carpet."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Jace grinned sardonically back. "Your mother kept her favourite carpet outside of a fireplace you used to floo?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Drace shrugged back as if to say em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Who knows what she was thinking/em. The young boy had stepped out as they spoke, and was now eyeing Draco with the reverence only a pre-teen could give to someone who had just told a story of them sicking up all over their house. The boy stepped forward to tug on Jace's sleeve affectionately. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I could use the floo, if you don't want to," he said, almost slyly. Jace just rolled his eyes. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Sorry, Draco. This is my son, Steve. And," he turned to his son, "under no uncertain circumstances are you to be anywhere near the conference room this afternoon, understood?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""But dad," the boy started to whinge. Draco suppressed a shudder. He hated winging. Probably because Scorpius did it so often – and Astoria almost always gave in when he did. "Uncle Alec and Uncle Magnus will be here, and I didn't even get to em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"see /emthem last time but Teresa did and that isn't fair."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Jace looked towards Draco and grimaced slightly before looking back at his son. "I promise your uncles will come visit you afterwards, okay? I know it's hard now that they're living at Hogwarts. How 'bout we see if they can bring Max and Rafe over when they come through today, okay?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The boy – Steve – seemed to brighten significantly at the prospect. "I'll go find Teresa, then. Can you send them to the library when they get here, Dad?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I didn't promise they'd be able to come," Jace responded in a warning tone./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I know!" Steve called backwards as he raced off. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco gave Jace a small smile. "They have never-ending energy at this age."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""His sister is much quieter," Jace responded as he led Draco through the halls. "Now tell me about this faerie you captured. How did you even do it that quickly?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I have connections," Draco shrugged as they arrived at the conference room. He wasn't particularly willing to say more and Jace seemed to understand that he didn't want to be pushed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Half an hour, and quite a few floo calls later, the conference room was packed. Draco was more than a little bit anxious, but he did his best to take it in stride. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He had somehow ended up seated next to Potter, who was discussing in low tones with Weasley how they planned on questioning the faerie. To his left was a man in the most blindly bright pink robes and – god forbid – sparkling eyeliner. Draco possessed an aggressive hatred for anything that sparkled. Next to him was his husband, Alec Lightwood, and their eldest son Raphael, who had insisted on being allowed to stay although he was only fifteen. Next to Raphael sat Jace, and beside him his wife, who had been introduced to Draco very briefly as Clary. Closing the circle were James Potter and Teddy Lupin, who Draco had only met previously in passing. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Alright," said Potter finally, clearing his voice and bringing everyone to attention. "We've already spoken amongst the Aurors about using veritaserum on the faerie that has been captured for us." He gave a brief nod in Draco's direction. "To fill in our Shadownhunter counterparts – veritaserum is a potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth. We're aware that fae, by nature, cannot lie," he continued, as Draco noticed that Clary had opened her mouth as if to argue./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""But not lying is not the same as telling the truth," Draco filled in. It wasn't like him, particularly, to speak up in a group, but in a way it was refreshing to be away from the wizarding world. Here, he could be whoever he wanted and act how he pleased. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He caught Potter's eye, and the other man tilted his head, indicating Draco should continue. "It takes a practiced expert to be able to outwit Veritaserum. It compells the drinker to speak, and only a sharp mind with much practice can learn how to omit information when under its influences. While faeries, I am told, may have practice at speaking half-truths and misleading information, they cannot do this under veritaserum; not without much practice. So it seems most effective."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The Shadowhunters all nodded at this, and to Draco's horror, Magnus winked at him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Where do you have the faerie now?" Jace asked, directing the question towards Draco. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""He's, ah…He's at my house?" Draco's response turned into a question. Somehow, he was hesitatnt to tell a group of near strangers from outside his own world that he had a manor, complete with some of the most secure dungeons in magical Britian – Hogwarts and Azkaban excepted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Your…house?" Alec responded, speaking for nearly the first time that day. "You're keeping a strong magical being hell-bent on destruction at em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"your house/em?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco glanced almost unwillingly towards Potter for help. The other man just raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"your funeral, mate/em. Except that Potter would never call him mate. Git. It was Weasley who took pity on him and spoke up. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""By his house, he means Malfoy Manor," the readheaded man drawled, "Which has some of the most secure dungeons in all of Britain."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Are you confident in that?" Alec put in. "It's not as though you lot make a habit of collecting Downworlders in your dungeons. Right?" He added, almost unsure of himself – as if wondering if Draco maybe em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"did /emcollect faeries and werewolves. Draco inwardly smirked – and Weasley seemed to read his thoughts./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"When Scorpius became friends with Rose, Ron had gone one step further than Potter ever had. Instead of pretending they had no history for their children's sake, Weasley had sat him down and they had talked – of everything, really. Their pasts, fatherhood, the time Weasley had ended up locked in his dungeons…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's secure," Weasley said in response. "The Auror department has done numerous tests on it." He looked almost apologetically towards Draco at this. While he may have been cleared of all charges at his trial thanks to Potter, the Ministry still insisted on doing thorough checks of the Manor every year for Dark artifacts and Merlin knows what else. Since their children had started at Hogwarts and Rose and Scorpius had become fast friends (unlike Albus and Scorp, who had taken some years to grow on each other), Weasley himself always showed up personally to inspect. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Alright then," Jace spoke up. "Shall we go there and administer this test, then?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco didn't miss the look that Potter shot Weasley, and he didn't blame them. If he were Potter – or Weasley, really – he wouldn't want to spend any extra time in a place they were imprisoned during a war./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""We'll do it at Hogwarts," Draco cut in smoothly. "The castle is more secure than my dungeons, and it should not be hard to transfer the faerie there."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""How did you capture it, anyways? And how will we transfer it?" James Potter spoke up, for the first time all meeting. Draco imagined it must be challenging – being a Junior Auror thrown onto the largest case in the country – even if the Minister considered it an open and close case that wouldn't involve the Wizarding World. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's a long story," Draco said, giving a level look to the younger Potter. "I used the Imperius curse," he added sheepishly, with a glance at Potter and Weasley. "He should still be under it. I can transport him by secure portkey to Hogwarts. Perhaps one or two others could come with me, just in case."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Magnus and I will go," Alec said immediately, standing up. "You come too, Rafe," he added, glancing down at Raphael – Magnus was vaguely aware that this boy was Alec's son, but was more than shocked that he would allow such a young boy to accompany them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'll come, too," Weasley added, before Draco could foolishly voice his concern. Sometimes he thought being a parent had made him soft. After all, at the age of fifteen he was letting the Dark Lord into Hogwarts. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"***/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The Headmistress had given them access to what must have been one of Filch's old detention rooms, deep in the bowels of the Hogwarts dungeons. Draco, Weasley, Alec, Magnus, and Raphael had all portkeyed there along with their faerie prisoner, who was bound under em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"incarcerous/em and immediately attached to the only chair in the room. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Under the imperius curse, it didn't take any effort particularly to force the veritaserum down his throat. Draco leaned against the wall, out of the way of the others, as Potter and Alec prepared the questions they were going to ask while they waited the necessary ten minutes for the veritaserum to take effect. It gave him a good opportunity to study the faeire. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The faerie was tall and lithe. His pointed ears were hid just behind a mess of black hair atop his head. His eyes were narrowed, and Draco watched him take in the room around him. Draco wasn't sure what to think, honestly – he'd never encountered one of the fae before. If he were being particularly honest, he didn't have much experience with anything that wasn't all the way human – though he refused to bow to the prejudice of his parents and use terms like em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"half-breeds/em – he was better than that. Faeries weren't really half-breeds anyways, they weren't human at all./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Never seen one before?" a young voice came from his left, suddenly. He looked over in surprise to see Raphael leaning against the wall beside him. Draco felt Raphael give him an appraising look, as if measuring up. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No," Draco responded finally. "We haven't even had reason to think of them until recently." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Raphael gave him a nod, as if he understood. "We didn't have reason to think of your kind until recently," he finally said with a shrug. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco took a moment to appraise the boy. He had dark skink and tousled dark hair – his appearance reminded Draco of Albus Potter in some ways, although his eyes were dark and tense with pronounced bags under them. He looked to drawn and tired for a teenager. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""We're human, just like you," Draco decided on responding./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""We're not human," Raphael responded, with a quiet sigh. He gave Draco a sardonic smile. "We're Shadowhunters." He paused for a moment, as if considering. Draco waited for the boy's thoughts to catch up with his mouth./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""They killed my family," Raphael finally said. His head was down, but he was glancing at Draco out of the corner of his eye./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco had to fight back the pity he automatically felt – Raphel wasn't looking for pity. Neither was Draco, when he was this boys age, no matter how hard his life had been. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""War does that – no matter the people involved or the world it's in," Draco settled on saying. He looked straight ahead, watching as Alec and Potter shook hands and clapped each other on the back. "You should speak with Potter – Harry I mean," he added, averting his eyes from the men and towards the boy. "He lost his parents to war when he was young. A war that I was on the wrong side of, but I'm sure you knew that." He raised his eyebrows at Raphael, who nodded in return. Draco felt as if he had just passed some sort of test. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"They settled in beside each other as Potter gestured for quiet and his wand lit in what Draco knew to be a recording charm. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Head Auror Harry Potter, Depeartment of Magical Law Enforcement, here on this day of September the fifth, in the year two-thousand and twenty-two to question under veritaserum a faerie of the Queen's Courts, along with Alexander Lightwood of the London Institute."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""State your name, for the record," Alec barked at the faerie. When the faerie remained silent, Alec sighed. "What is your name?" He rephrased. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Cleon," the faerie very nearly snarled the name out. Clearly, the compulsion under the veritaserum was working. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What do they fae want with the Wizarding World?" Potter asked next. Draco had never seen Potter in full auror mode before, and was impressed, if not a little intimidated. Maybe it wasn't just his name that had allowed himself and Weasley to fly through the ranks so quickly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The faerie seemed to struggle just as long as he possibly could, before biting out a response. "Wands," Cleon growled. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Potter simply raised his eyebrows. "What else?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Domination." Draco's nose wrinkled in distaste as Cleon spat at Potter's feet. The faerie seemed to take a moment to calm himself, and then sat back rather more calmly. It was wise, Draco thought, whether the fae knew it or not. An individual was less likely to have their secrets pulled from them by veritaserum if they calmed their mind. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He glanced over at Rafe who was white as a sheet. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Why?" Alec asked then. "Domination to what end?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The man was not particularly good at questioning under veritaserum, although Draco could hardly fault him. It took much practice to be able to word questions in order to compel the individual to confess in the way you wanted. Not that Draco had much practice himself, of course./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""The Shadowhunters have blocked us access to our power and freedom," Cleon began. Draco could tell that no matter what else was asked – this was the message that the faerie had wanted to get across. "They do not respect us. We will make them regret the day they chose to weaken us."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"There was a moment of silence while Alec and Potter regrouped. Draco glanced to his left to regard the boy beside him. Raphael was white as a sheet, no doubt looking exactly how Draco felt. Another war was something he was not prepared for. Especially another war in which the enemy was something they had never encountered. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He looked around the room for Magnus, jerking his head toward Raphael when they made eye contact. The warlock looked grim, but gave him a small smile as he came over and wrapped his arm around his son's shoulders. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Do you need to leave?" Magnus asked in a low tone. Draco watched as Raphael shook his head, just slightly. Magnus opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a white lynx bounding into the room. The lynx turned to face Potter before opening its mouth./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Ollivander's has been attacked," the lynx announced in the Minister's deep voice. "They are invading Diagon. Gather the Shadowhunters and come at once."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As the Patronus disappeared, everyone moved at once. The room dissolved into chaos – but all Draco could see were Raphael's terrified eyes staring back at him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"***/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"uspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Chapter 6/span/u/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco Malfoy was a stern man. Perhaps not in private, no, but this was what the world saw of him. He had to be stern and unshakeable, to keep the world guessing, because it kept his son safe. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Today, however, he was feeling particularly…shakeable. He wasn't sure he gave off any sort of air of sternness, and he needed to get himself under control. But it was hard to do. He had met with Potter this morning, and after their conversation, he had gone to catch a fae./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"And succeeded./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He had laid his cards out, and chosen a side – precisely the opposite side that his father and mother would have been on, had they still been around to care. The thought was unnerving. Even from beyond the grave, his father especially still had the ability to make him second guess his decisions. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He arrived at a decrepit building, and quickly double checked the address on the piece of parchment in his left hand. No – the address was right. He relaxed his mind, allowed his eyes to strip away the glamour as he had been taught long ago. Suddenly, in front of him stood a towering cathedral with a warm glow emenating from its many windows. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco paused a moment to take a breath and compose himself, then strode up to the door and knocked confidently. It was opened a few moments later, by Jace Wayland – who he had met that morning in Potter's office and rather liked – and a young boy peeking out shyly from behind an intricate carving of an angel. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Jonathan," he said, by way of greeting. The other man smiled amiably./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Jace is fine. What brings you here, Mr Malfoy? We weren't expecting you for another day at least." He stepped back and gestured for Draco to enter./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco entered into the foyer and peered around discreetly. The entryway was large and wooden, with intricate carvings on the walls that looked possibly like family coats of arms. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Draco is likewise fine," he responded as Jace closed the door behind him. "I've found…" He trailed off as his eyes strayed to the boy, still tucked behind the statue. "I've found what we've been looking for."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I see," said Jace, raising an eyebrow. "I'll show you to the conference room and grab my wife. Maybe once you're there, you could floo for the others?" The younger man looked almost a little bit uncertain. Normally, this would have made Draco scoff, but if anything he found himself relaxing a little bit in the presence of such uncertainty. "I've just, only really used it once or twice," Jace continued, "And I really hate the feeling of my head spinning away from me." He shuddered a little./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco chuckled in spite of himself. "The first time I remember travelling by floo I was about three. Went through completely – not just my head – and I sicked up all over my mother's favourite carpet."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Jace grinned sardonically back. "Your mother kept her favourite carpet outside of a fireplace you used to floo?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Drace shrugged back as if to say em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Who knows what she was thinking/em. The young boy had stepped out as they spoke, and was now eyeing Draco with the reverence only a pre-teen could give to someone who had just told a story of them sicking up all over their house. The boy stepped forward to tug on Jace's sleeve affectionately. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I could use the floo, if you don't want to," he said, almost slyly. Jace just rolled his eyes. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Sorry, Draco. This is my son, Steve. And," he turned to his son, "under no uncertain circumstances are you to be anywhere near the conference room this afternoon, understood?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""But dad," the boy started to whinge. Draco suppressed a shudder. He hated winging. Probably because Scorpius did it so often – and Astoria almost always gave in when he did. "Uncle Alec and Uncle Magnus will be here, and I didn't even get to em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"see /emthem last time but Teresa did and that isn't fair."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Jace looked towards Draco and grimaced slightly before looking back at his son. "I promise your uncles will come visit you afterwards, okay? I know it's hard now that they're living at Hogwarts. How 'bout we see if they can bring Max and Rafe over when they come through today, okay?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The boy – Steve – seemed to brighten significantly at the prospect. "I'll go find Teresa, then. Can you send them to the library when they get here, Dad?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I didn't promise they'd be able to come," Jace responded in a warning tone./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I know!" Steve called backwards as he raced off. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco gave Jace a small smile. "They have never-ending energy at this age."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""His sister is much quieter," Jace responded as he led Draco through the halls. "Now tell me about this faerie you captured. How did you even do it that quickly?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I have connections," Draco shrugged as they arrived at the conference room. He wasn't particularly willing to say more and Jace seemed to understand that he didn't want to be pushed. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Half an hour, and quite a few floo calls later, the conference room was packed. Draco was more than a little bit anxious, but he did his best to take it in stride. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He had somehow ended up seated next to Potter, who was discussing in low tones with Weasley how they planned on questioning the faerie. To his left was a man in the most blindly bright pink robes and – god forbid – sparkling eyeliner. Draco possessed an aggressive hatred for anything that sparkled. Next to him was his husband, Alec Lightwood, and their eldest son Raphael, who had insisted on being allowed to stay although he was only fifteen. Next to Raphael sat Jace, and beside him his wife, who had been introduced to Draco very briefly as Clary. Closing the circle were James Potter and Teddy Lupin, who Draco had only met previously in passing. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Alright," said Potter finally, clearing his voice and bringing everyone to attention. "We've already spoken amongst the Aurors about using veritaserum on the faerie that has been captured for us." He gave a brief nod in Draco's direction. "To fill in our Shadownhunter counterparts – veritaserum is a potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth. We're aware that fae, by nature, cannot lie," he continued, as Draco noticed that Clary had opened her mouth as if to argue./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""But not lying is not the same as telling the truth," Draco filled in. It wasn't like him, particularly, to speak up in a group, but in a way it was refreshing to be away from the wizarding world. Here, he could be whoever he wanted and act how he pleased. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He caught Potter's eye, and the other man tilted his head, indicating Draco should continue. "It takes a practiced expert to be able to outwit Veritaserum. It compells the drinker to speak, and only a sharp mind with much practice can learn how to omit information when under its influences. While faeries, I am told, may have practice at speaking half-truths and misleading information, they cannot do this under veritaserum; not without much practice. So it seems most effective."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The Shadowhunters all nodded at this, and to Draco's horror, Magnus winked at him. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Where do you have the faerie now?" Jace asked, directing the question towards Draco. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""He's, ah…He's at my house?" Draco's response turned into a question. Somehow, he was hesitatnt to tell a group of near strangers from outside his own world that he had a manor, complete with some of the most secure dungeons in magical Britian – Hogwarts and Azkaban excepted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Your…house?" Alec responded, speaking for nearly the first time that day. "You're keeping a strong magical being hell-bent on destruction at em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"your house/em?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco glanced almost unwillingly towards Potter for help. The other man just raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"your funeral, mate/em. Except that Potter would never call him mate. Git. It was Weasley who took pity on him and spoke up. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""By his house, he means Malfoy Manor," the readheaded man drawled, "Which has some of the most secure dungeons in all of Britain."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Are you confident in that?" Alec put in. "It's not as though you lot make a habit of collecting Downworlders in your dungeons. Right?" He added, almost unsure of himself – as if wondering if Draco maybe em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"did /emcollect faeries and werewolves. Draco inwardly smirked – and Weasley seemed to read his thoughts./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"When Scorpius became friends with Rose, Ron had gone one step further than Potter ever had. Instead of pretending they had no history for their children's sake, Weasley had sat him down and they had talked – of everything, really. Their pasts, fatherhood, the time Weasley had ended up locked in his dungeons…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's secure," Weasley said in response. "The Auror department has done numerous tests on it." He looked almost apologetically towards Draco at this. While he may have been cleared of all charges at his trial thanks to Potter, the Ministry still insisted on doing thorough checks of the Manor every year for Dark artifacts and Merlin knows what else. Since their children had started at Hogwarts and Rose and Scorpius had become fast friends (unlike Albus and Scorp, who had taken some years to grow on each other), Weasley himself always showed up personally to inspect. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Alright then," Jace spoke up. "Shall we go there and administer this test, then?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco didn't miss the look that Potter shot Weasley, and he didn't blame them. If he were Potter – or Weasley, really – he wouldn't want to spend any extra time in a place they were imprisoned during a war./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""We'll do it at Hogwarts," Draco cut in smoothly. "The castle is more secure than my dungeons, and it should not be hard to transfer the faerie there."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""How did you capture it, anyways? And how will we transfer it?" James Potter spoke up, for the first time all meeting. Draco imagined it must be challenging – being a Junior Auror thrown onto the largest case in the country – even if the Minister considered it an open and close case that wouldn't involve the Wizarding World. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's a long story," Draco said, giving a level look to the younger Potter. "I used the Imperius curse," he added sheepishly, with a glance at Potter and Weasley. "He should still be under it. I can transport him by secure portkey to Hogwarts. Perhaps one or two others could come with me, just in case."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Magnus and I will go," Alec said immediately, standing up. "You come too, Rafe," he added, glancing down at Raphael – Magnus was vaguely aware that this boy was Alec's son, but was more than shocked that he would allow such a young boy to accompany them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'll come, too," Weasley added, before Draco could foolishly voice his concern. Sometimes he thought being a parent had made him soft. After all, at the age of fifteen he was letting the Dark Lord into Hogwarts. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"***/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The Headmistress had given them access to what must have been one of Filch's old detention rooms, deep in the bowels of the Hogwarts dungeons. Draco, Weasley, Alec, Magnus, and Raphael had all portkeyed there along with their faerie prisoner, who was bound under em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"incarcerous/em and immediately attached to the only chair in the room. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Under the imperius curse, it didn't take any effort particularly to force the veritaserum down his throat. Draco leaned against the wall, out of the way of the others, as Potter and Alec prepared the questions they were going to ask while they waited the necessary ten minutes for the veritaserum to take effect. It gave him a good opportunity to study the faeire. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The faerie was tall and lithe. His pointed ears were hid just behind a mess of black hair atop his head. His eyes were narrowed, and Draco watched him take in the room around him. Draco wasn't sure what to think, honestly – he'd never encountered one of the fae before. If he were being particularly honest, he didn't have much experience with anything that wasn't all the way human – though he refused to bow to the prejudice of his parents and use terms like em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"half-breeds/em – he was better than that. Faeries weren't really half-breeds anyways, they weren't human at all./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Never seen one before?" a young voice came from his left, suddenly. He looked over in surprise to see Raphael leaning against the wall beside him. Draco felt Raphael give him an appraising look, as if measuring up. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No," Draco responded finally. "We haven't even had reason to think of them until recently." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Raphael gave him a nod, as if he understood. "We didn't have reason to think of your kind until recently," he finally said with a shrug. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco took a moment to appraise the boy. He had dark skink and tousled dark hair – his appearance reminded Draco of Albus Potter in some ways, although his eyes were dark and tense with pronounced bags under them. He looked to drawn and tired for a teenager. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""We're human, just like you," Draco decided on responding./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""We're not human," Raphael responded, with a quiet sigh. He gave Draco a sardonic smile. "We're Shadowhunters." He paused for a moment, as if considering. Draco waited for the boy's thoughts to catch up with his mouth./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""They killed my family," Raphael finally said. His head was down, but he was glancing at Draco out of the corner of his eye./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Draco had to fight back the pity he automatically felt – Raphel wasn't looking for pity. Neither was Draco, when he was this boys age, no matter how hard his life had been. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""War does that – no matter the people involved or the world it's in," Draco settled on saying. He looked straight ahead, watching as Alec and Potter shook hands and clapped each other on the back. "You should speak with Potter – Harry I mean," he added, averting his eyes from the men and towards the boy. "He lost his parents to war when he was young. A war that I was on the wrong side of, but I'm sure you knew that." He raised his eyebrows at Raphael, who nodded in return. Draco felt as if he had just passed some sort of test. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"They settled in beside each other as Potter gestured for quiet and his wand lit in what Draco knew to be a recording charm. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Head Auror Harry Potter, Depeartment of Magical Law Enforcement, here on this day of September the fifth, in the year two-thousand and twenty-two to question under veritaserum a faerie of the Queen's Courts, along with Alexander Lightwood of the London Institute."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""State your name, for the record," Alec barked at the faerie. When the faerie remained silent, Alec sighed. "What is your name?" He rephrased. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Cleon," the faerie very nearly snarled the name out. Clearly, the compulsion under the veritaserum was working. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What do they fae want with the Wizarding World?" Potter asked next. Draco had never seen Potter in full auror mode before, and was impressed, if not a little intimidated. Maybe it wasn't just his name that had allowed himself and Weasley to fly through the ranks so quickly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The faerie seemed to struggle just as long as he possibly could, before biting out a response. "Wands," Cleon growled. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Potter simply raised his eyebrows. "What else?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Domination." Draco's nose wrinkled in distaste as Cleon spat at Potter's feet. The faerie seemed to take a moment to calm himself, and then sat back rather more calmly. It was wise, Draco thought, whether the fae knew it or not. An individual was less likely to have their secrets pulled from them by veritaserum if they calmed their mind. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He glanced over at Rafe who was white as a sheet. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Why?" Alec asked then. "Domination to what end?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The man was not particularly good at questioning under veritaserum, although Draco could hardly fault him. It took much practice to be able to word questions in order to compel the individual to confess in the way you wanted. Not that Draco had much practice himself, of course./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""The Shadowhunters have blocked us access to our power and freedom," Cleon began. Draco could tell that no matter what else was asked – this was the message that the faerie had wanted to get across. "They do not respect us. We will make them regret the day they chose to weaken us."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"There was a moment of silence while Alec and Potter regrouped. Draco glanced to his left to regard the boy beside him. Raphael was white as a sheet, no doubt looking exactly how Draco felt. Another war was something he was not prepared for. Especially another war in which the enemy was something they had never encountered. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He looked around the room for Magnus, jerking his head toward Raphael when they made eye contact. The warlock looked grim, but gave him a small smile as he came over and wrapped his arm around his son's shoulders. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Do you need to leave?" Magnus asked in a low tone. Draco watched as Raphael shook his head, just slightly. Magnus opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a white lynx bounding into the room. The lynx turned to face Potter before opening its mouth./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Ollivander's has been attacked," the lynx announced in the Minister's deep voice. "They are invading Diagon. Gather the Shadowhunters and come at once."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As the Patronus disappeared, everyone moved at once. The room dissolved into chaos – but all Draco could see were Raphael's terrified eyes staring back at him./span/p