DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter
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After quite a long time in the shower, Harry reluctantly dressed himself. He didn't see anything wrong with spending the rest of the day naked with the love of his life. However, he knew Draco hated to be cooped up anywhere for very long so he decided to just go along with it. He watched as Draco tied a towel around his waist and wrapped himself in a blanket.
"What're you doing?"
Draco shot him a look. "I may be invisible with the cloak on, but that won't make it any less cold outside."
Harry looked outside. That hadn't occurred to him. Now he felt bad for having Draco tag along through the freezing November air.
"Drake, I can do this myself. You don't have to come along. I don't want you freezing to death!"
"I've suffered worse" he muttered, securing the blanket around him.
Harry flinched. Even though it wasn't directed at him, he still felt the sting of Draco's words. He could never forgive himself for allowing what happened to Draco. If he had just been a little quicker with his wand, a little faster on the broom, maybe he could have stopped it from happening. He wondered if Draco thought the same.
"But –"
"Shut it" Draco snapped, "I'm going."
Harry sighed in defeat and grabbed his wand from the nightstand. With a swirl of the tip, a small pile of money materialized on the table which he stuffed into his pocket. He turned around just as Draco flipped the cloak over himself and disappeared. As he pulled his sweatshirt over his head, Harry heard the door click open. A barely audible "shit" drifted through the doorway. He leaned back to see a newspaper floating towards him and suddenly being thrown on the bed. Snatching up the paper, he read the front headline with horrified eyes.
Muggle Killer Escapes Ministry
Harry looked up to see Draco throwing the cloak on the ground and crossing his arms tightly, glaring fiercely at the front page story.
"They're calling me a Muggle killer now" he snarled, his hands balling into fists. "I had nothing to do with my father's actions! How dare they spread such lies!"
Harry made to put his arm around Draco, but he shrugged him off.
"You know just as well as I do that The Daily Prophet makes these kinds of stories twice as bad as they should be."
"Yes, well it doesn't really matter what we know, does it?" Draco spat back. "The whole wizarding world gets this paper every day, Harry. They'll believe every word."
Harry's eyes dropped down to the paper in his hands. He knew he was right. There was no way Draco could go out in public without being spotted, which meant the Ministry would be right behind them.
He skimmed through the article as Draco fumed in the corner. Something didn't seem quite right…
"Huh. Interesting." Draco looked up. "My name isn't in here."
"Holy fuck!" Draco shouted sarcastically, throwing his hands up in the air. "Harry Potter isn't in the newspaper for once! What is this world coming to?!"
Harry gave him a glowering look before chucking the paper onto the table. "Not what I meant, smart ass. For some reason, they refused to put my name in there as either your boyfriend or the person who fought against Fudge to help you. That kind of stuff wouldn't be omitted if the Prophet had anything to say about it. The Ministry is behind this, I think. They don't want my name in there for a reason."
Draco narrowed his eyes. "Why does everything always have to be about you? Have you already forgotten that, as of this morning, every single wizard and witch out there believes me to be an escaped convict on trial for assisted murder?"
"Ron's trying his best to take care of it, Draco."
"Then why hasn't he come back yet?"
This made Harry falter. He didn't know why Ron hadn't returned. He should have been back by now. It had been, what, two days? Almost two days. If he didn't have a clear answer by now, then something must have happened. Harry shook the thought out of his head. Worrying wasn't going to solve anything.
"Whatever" Draco grumbled. "Let's just go." He snatched up the cloak and stormed off.
With a slow nod, Harry gave one last look at the newspaper before following a now invisible Draco out the door and locking it.
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Buying clothes was a lot easier than Harry had expected. Except for the constant hissing of every curse Draco could think of when they stepped out into the cold windy streets of Diagon Alley, everything went quite smoothly. As soon as Harry passed through the doorway of the closest robes shop, he was greeted and tended too immediately. This made searching for an outfit up to Draco's expectations simple. All Harry had to do was nod or shake his head at a new piece of clothing presented to him based on if he got an invisible jab in the back or not.
They went to three different shops, the first two for Draco since they held the nicest articles, the last for Harry. He decided to search for clothes himself, thinking that it would be quicker than having outfit after outfit shown to him. Draco, however, wasn't thrilled with having to follow him around the store silently as Harry found a very plain shirt and pants. To make things a little more interesting, Draco took it upon himself to catch Harry off guard by groping his ass whenever someone walked by them. This would cause Harry to jump and yelp in surprise, receiving many strange looks. Harry's face was bright red by the time he ran out of the store, Draco following and shaking with silent laughter.
They stopped back at their room to change. After a long discussion, they decided to chance having lunch somewhere far outside of the Alley. Draco knew of a small restaurant on the outskirts of Knockturn Alley he used to go to when he wanted to get away from the busy streets and people in general. It took quite a bit of convincing, but Draco finally got Harry to agree to it.
"Fine" he sighed, "but the second someone looks at you suspiciously, we're leaving."
Draco rolled his eyes. "It's Knockturn Alley, Harry. They look at the cats suspiciously."
They walked for a while through the dark and gloomy corridors of Knockturn Alley. Hardly anyone was there, to Harry's relief, and the people who they did pass seemed too wrapped up in their own troubles to care about the couple. A hunched man in dirty black robes came up to them at one point, muttering insensible things to himself and unable to take his eyes off Draco. Harry had instinctively put a possessive arm around his waist and pulled him close. He wanted to go back, but Draco just hushed him and under his breath said to keep looking forward.
The deeper they walked through the alley, the dingier and more run-down the shops seemed to be. The amount of people they passed thinned down from just a handful to none at all. When they turned a corner, the street ahead of them looked so terrible that Harry stopped in his tracks. The shops that weren't burnt down or caving in were boarded up and vandalized. It seemed that only one shop was in business, the only window to have a faint light glowing in the distance. Draco coaxed Harry down the cracked cobblestone street, leading him to this shop. A sign hung by two rusty chains above the door and squeaked as it rocked slowly in the wind. Harry squinted to try to read the chipped and faded paint that was the name of the store; Fossey's.
Stepping over the broken steps, the two wizards entered the restaurant with a small ding of a little bell over the door. Harry looked around. "Restaurant" would not be the word he would use to describe the place. There were all of two worn wooden tables, each with just four chairs arranged around them. In the back he saw a small fireplace with a couple faded green velvet armchairs and an old red couch that looked to be out of the Victorian era.
Probably that old, too Harry thought. The air of the whole empty place seemed incredibly depressing. Harry guessed that this place hadn't seen a costumer in months.
A loud creak in the floorboards made Harry jump as he jerked around to see a figure in the doorway to what he guessed was the kitchen. A squat elderly woman emerged, wiping her hands on her apron. She bore a kindly but withered face, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she beamed up at her first customers in a long time.
"So sorry, dears! Didn't mean to take you by surprise just then! This poor old place. Falling apart, it is! But no matter. You do what you can! Now, how can I help you, my dears?"
Harry grinned back at her natural cheerfulness. Even in such a terrible place she was able to give out hospitality with a smile. It seemed to lift the depressing atmosphere and replace it with a warm and cozy feeling. Suddenly, the place seemed much more welcoming.
"Do you still have your Foreign Special?" Draco asked.
The woman's face lit up. "That I do, love, that I do! My, my, I haven't had a call for that in quite some time! You must have been one of the regulars back in the busy days. Although you must have been quite young in those days!"
Draco smiled politely. "Yes ma'am, I was young. I always enjoyed coming here though. A nice escape for me from the rest of the world."
She nodded quickly in agreement as she took a rag from her apron pocket and began wiping down one of the tables. "Oh yes, yes, I quite agree. Got to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city now and again. Still, I can't argue it would be nice to have a few more customers once in a while. But you do what you can! No matter, no matter. Please take a seat, my dears!"
They obeyed, taking two seats next to each other. The woman disappeared into the kitchen and Harry grinned after her.
"She's a sweet lady."
Draco nodded. "Always has been."
Harry turned to him, his face soft. "I can see why you liked coming here. It's a nice getaway."
Draco just stared at the table in silent agreement. Harry guessed what was running through his mind; images of him as a young boy sitting alone at an empty table. Harry placed a hand on Draco's knee, stroking it soothingly with his thumb.
"Here you go, my dears!" the bright voice chimed through the kitchen as the woman returned with two Firewhiskeys, setting them on the table in front of them. "On the house" she added with a wink.
"That's very kind of you, ma'am, thank you." Draco replied. She waved her hand in a dismissing way.
"Here now, as a former regular you must remember that I don't do with all that formal nonsense. Just plain Fossey will work nicely. Yes, that's fine. Your food will be ready shortly!" With a swish of her faded floral dress she hurried back into the kitchen.
Harry took a swig of his drink when something caught his eye and made him choke, almost snorting the burning liquid back into his bottle. He coughed harshly, reaching over to the second table and grabbing something off of it. The pile of papers fell on the table in front of them, showing what it had been opened to. The familiar Daily Prophet article about a certain Muggle killer glared back at them. Harry looked up at Draco in alarm. Just then, three things happened at once.
Harry and Draco quickly made to stand up and leave.
Fossey ran back in from the kitchen, her face white as a sheet.
There was a sharp knock at the shop door.
Time seemed to stand still as the three bodies in the room froze. Another few knocks set them in motion again. Fossey grabbed an arm of both of them as a voice thundered through the door.
"Cornelius Fudge from the Ministry! Open up!"
Harry's stomach lurched and he felt like he was going to be sick. All the blood drained from Draco's face.
"Yes, yes! Just a minute, my dear! Be right with you!" Fossey called back. Harry and Draco turned to her, horrified and pleading silently with their eyes. She said nothing but steered them away towards the kitchen.
"Under the rug" she whispered quickly before turning toward the door.
They ran quietly in the opposite direction into the tiny kitchen. An oval purple and maroon rug covered the old tiles of the floor in front of the stove. Draco flipped it over to reveal a sort of trap door. He opened it with little difficulty, ushering Harry down into it. Harry lowered himself down, his feet hitting dirt. He scrunched himself into a corner as Draco jumped down and arranged the rug before closing the door.
It was almost completely black in the tiny crawlspace, save for the small cracks of light that fell through the slits in the warped floorboards. Harry heard the door open and several pairs of feet enter the restaurant. He held his breath. Draco moved over toward him and gripped his arm tightly. They held on to each other as they strained to listen to what was going on in the other room. It wasn't hard as there was no other noise on the entire street besides the present conversation. Harry identified Fudge's voice immediately.
"Good afternoon, madam. I am here on behalf of a very serious matter you should be quite concerned about. I assume you have heard of the escapee from our very own Ministry dungeons?"
"Oh, yes, yes, of course! Why, just this morning I read about it in the paper! Just dreadful. I can't imagine. Makes a poor old woman like myself scared to death just to walk home every night!"
Harry heard Fudge clear his throat. "Yes, well, it's my duty to follow up on these sorts of things, you see, and I heard from a source that the very same vicious killer came by in this direction not moments ago."
Draco suppressed a growl at the mention of him being a killer. Harry took his hand in his own and squeezed it gently.
"Oh upon my word!" he heard Fossey exclaim.
"Have you seen anyone fitting the description of this man? A Mr. Draco Malfoy?"
Harry's heart flew into a frenzy of beats.
Did she not realize who we were? No, she must have. Why else would she have hid us? Still…oh god, please don't tell!
"No, no, no one by that description, no. You don't suppose he's out there right now, do you? Oh, my hearts and stars! What a world it has come to! I'm so glad to know we have gentlemen such as yourself working to right this terrible occurrence."
"Indeed" Fudge replied smugly. There was a pause in the conversation that worried Harry. Then Fudge spoke again. "May I ask as to why you have two opened bottles of Firewhiskey on that table there?"
SHIT!
"Oh, yes, well you know business hasn't been quite as available as I hoped. Customers and money are getting harder to come by around these parts, you can imagine. You can't blame a woman for wanting to ease the pain, can you?"
Silence. Neither of the hidden wizards dared to move or breathe. If he didn't believe her, it was over. He would have the place searched. They would be found. The silence continued for what seemed like forever. Then the floor creaked.
"No, I suppose not. Thank you for your time, madam. I do hope business picks up for you. Please do your part and inform any authority if you see anything suspicious."
"Yes of course! Thank you very much for your concern. Good day, good day!"
The floor groaned under the weight of moving bodies leaving the shop. It wasn't until they heard the door close did Harry and Draco exhale the breath they had held.
"Too close" Harry whispered.
They heard quick footsteps come towards them and they squinted as light flooded the cramped space they had been kneeling in. Draco nimbly climbed out the trap door and Harry followed close behind. Draco spoke almost immediately.
"Fossey, I can't even begin to thank you for what you just did. You have saved both our lives. I don't know if you believe what they've written in the paper, but –"
"Oh pish posh, my dear" she interrupted with a gesture of her hand. "I've always thought the Prophet to be a load of rubbish. I remember you, you know. Recognized you as soon as you came through the door. I remember you sitting at the table by yourself when you were a youngster. Remember the small talks we had? There was no killer brewing in that heart of yours. Sadness, yes. Hate, no, never hate. And now I see you with this lovely boy." Harry blushed, not realizing that she had seen him put his hand on Draco's knee. "No, I don't think you a killer at all, my dear."
Draco sighed and smiled at the old woman. "Thank you again. We owe you our lives. I think we should go, though. We don't want to cause you any more trouble with the Ministry."
Fossey took one of his hands in hers and patted it lightly. "Of course, love. I hope for your sake they give up on this false chase."
Draco placed his free hand on top of hers gratefully, then took Harry by the arm and led him out of the restaurant. Fossey followed them to the door and waved as they walked back up the street. "Good luck to you, my dears! If you ever need a place to stay, you know where to find me!"
Harry waved back in acknowledgement. A feeling of hope passed through him as the sight of Fossey's shrank behind them.
We can't be at a total loss…there are still decent people in the world.
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