Title: The Perfect Wife
Author: slytherin-nette
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.
Pairings: DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.
Warnings: This is a Post-Hogwarts story so it will be slightly more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains PREGNANCY, RATED scenes and SLASH relationships.
A/N: Wow! 66 reviews for just the first chapter! I'm so happy you all like the sequel! Yayness! First off, I'm so SORRY I took so long to update but like I said, school has started (I'm in grad school) and I've been swamped with work again. :grumble: Anyway, thanks for the wonderful reviews everyone! Just to let you all know, I'm planning that this story won't be as long as TPG so hopefully I can finish it earlier. Anyway, I won't delay you all any further. Enjoy!
Chapter 2 – An Ounce of Normalcy
BRRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNG!
From a rumpled heap of blankets and intertwined limbs, a hand shot out and blindly fumbled around the bedside table for the irritating source of the sound. This continued for around five minutes before the scowling, sleepy face of Harry finally peered out from underneath her pillow and slammed her hand down on the alarm clock to block out the noise.
She heard Draco's irritated growl from where his face was buried against her neck. Muttering something incomprehensible in his sleep, he shifted under the blankets and pulled her closer against him, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist.
What time is it…? Harry thought sleepily as she yawned and flicked her eyes over to the clock once more. Ugh…8:00…I'd better get up soon. She thought lazily to herself as she blinked up blearily into the top of their bed and waited for her mind to kick in.
Unfortunately, it was hard to think about getting up when she still felt Draco's warm body spooned so protectively over hers amidst the cold temperature that morning that her eyes began to close slowly again. Before she knew it, she had fallen into another delightful slumber.
It was a good twenty minutes later when she had woken up again and once glance at the clock again was all it took for her to jerk awake in utter panic.
"Bloody hell! I'm going to be late!" She cursed out loud to herself, earning another irritated set of growls and grumbles from her sleeping husband as she tore herself out of his arms and began racing for the bathroom.
Draco didn't bother protesting and instead, tossed the silk sheets over himself. He grabbed her pillow and stubbornly buried his head underneath, closing his eyes and allowing himself to sleep for a couple more minutes before he got up after her.
Racing out of the bathroom to grab a towel and some clothes, Harry saw this and rolled her eyes at him. She grabbed his pants – the one he had carelessly flung off himself in impatience last night – off the floor and hurled it at his sleeping form.
"Draco, WAKE UP! Otherwise, you are going to be late again and I do not want to listen to another one of your annoying nags about me being the reason you're always late." She told him pointedly, sighing when the only response she got was to have the pants hurled right back at her face.
"Piss off, Potter!"
Biting back an angry retort, she growled and walked over to him, poking and prodding at his form again to wake him up. When she didn't get a response, she sighed and walked back over to the bathroom to start her shower just as he let out an angry complaint.
"Why am I the only one who's exhausted after last night…? We must have done it around four times…?!"
She laughed when she heard his grumbling, slightly muffled voice dripping with mild annoyance. Looking back at him, she watched as the former Slytherin finally forced himself into a sitting position and glared sleepily at her smirking face.
"Five actually…You probably don't remember the last one because you passed out cold in exhaustion immediately at the end. Tsktsk…Weak form, Malfoy." She teased, earning herself a dangerous glare from her sleepy husband.
"Why don't I screw you hard on that table right now and show you who has a weak form?!"
"I'd like to see you try, Malfoy."
"Don't think I won't, Potter!"
Harry returned his murderous – though slightly sleepy – threat with an innocent smile, whistling cheerfully to herself as she stepped into the shower. Draco could still hear her amused response from where he sat on the bed from the open door of the bathroom.
"And to answer your question, I'm not tired becauseI can now have as many climaxes as I want in one night without ever exhausting myself the way men do. It's probably the only advantage I ever acquired when I got this body." She sounded smug when she said this but all Draco did was give a derisive scoff and bury his head back into his pillow.
"I don't care…You're always going to be bottom anyway."
Harry's left eye twitched at his blunt, crude response but before she could say anything else, Draco seemed to have fallen asleep again. Sighing in frustration, she rolled her eyes and finally stepped under the warm water of the shower, hastily beginning to shampoo her hair into a rich lather.
Just as she was about to dry herself off about ten minutes later, she let out a scream of horror when she felt a pair of hands haul off her out of the bathroom and deposit her right on the work desk in the bedroom. Looking up with a glare, she caught sight of Draco's scowling face before he sneered and yanked her towel right off.
"I told you I'd screw you on this desk."
Jaimee protested against him and tried to shove him off, her eyes riveting to the clock in the bedside table in panic.
"Draco, you can't be serious! I have fifteen minutes to get to work—OH GOD!"
The rest of her indignant sentence was cut off and the next sounds that the house-elves heard coming from the master bedroom were a good deal of Jaimee's breathless moans and aching screams.
"I'm late I'm late I'm late I'm late…Stupid Draco!"
Harry cursed irritably to herself as she arrived by floo in one of the fireplaces situated in the hectic Ministry lobby about thirty minutes later – her hair a rumpled mess and her Unspeakable uniform robes haphazardly worn and buttoned in all the wrong places. Half-heartedly attempting to fix her hair, she held the bag of coffee tighter in her other hand and proceeded to walk to the lobby's row of magical elevators.
Sparing a cordial smile and nod at the other Ministry officials apparating in and out of the lobby around her, she glanced at her watch once before rushing to one of the half-filled elevators. She bumped into several familiar faces on the way and nodded to them in greeting, ignoring the curious looks they gave her upon seeing her rumpled hair and uniform.
Just as she reached the elevator, she saw one of its occupants in the back raise a hand up and signal her with a friendly wave.
"Harry!"
Looking up, she grinned warmly when she saw Neville Longbottom's greeting smile at her as he excused himself through the crowd of the people in front of him so he could speak to her. Once he got to the front of the crowd, he gave her a light punch to the shoulder.
"Hey, Harry! Wow…I barely see you around here! How have you been doing lately?" He asked just as the a couple more Ministry officials began to pile into the half-filled elevator. Harry answered him with a noncommittal shrug and offered a wry smile.
"I've been doing alright, Neville…Mostly field work. How about you? How goes the Auror department and Kingsley? Should I be regretting not being with you guys?" She kidded but Neville laughed and shook his head, nodding briefly to a passing Auror before he answered her.
"Not really. Mostly we're still cleaning up a lot of the mess the war against You-Know-Who made. Same old stuff. How about you guys? Are you ever going to tell us what they really do up there in the Unspeakable department? Luna has been pestering me to ask you." He asked with an exasperated grimace, causing Harry to laugh at the look on his face.
She gave him an apologetic smile and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Neville…I can't do that. I'm under Ministry oath not to divulge anything about the department so please apologize to Luna for me. How is Luna by the way?" She asked curiously, turning to look at her friend again as a couple of enchanted plane-folded messages zoomed into the elevator above their heads.
Neville sighed in disappointment but answered her with a nod. "She's doing okay. The doctors say she could be due sometime August…I'm really nervous too. This is my first born." He told her with an agitated cringe, earning a laugh from his friend.
"Neville, relax… I'm sure it's not going to be as bad as you think it is—"
Harry's voice broke off when – just as the elevator doors finally began to close shut – a small hand shot out and pulled the doors right back open.
"Harry! I'm so glad I caught up to you before you went in!" The relieved voice of her longtime best friend – Hermione Granger Zabini – rang out as she pulled the doors back open and slipped into the cramped elevator.
Harry gave her an amused smile, noting the irritated glares they were receiving from the other occupants in the elevator at the delay they were causing. "What can I do for you today, Mistress Zabini? And no, I will not watch Elliot for you this afternoon, I'm needed somewhere—"
Hermione rolled her eyes at her teasing voice and settled herself next to Neville, giving him another smile before she turned back to Harry. "Actually, I was going to ask you about later tonight…Is that a formal event? I haven't talked to Blaise about it yet since he's still in that business meeting in MMC." She asked curiously, watching as Harry's face lit up in realization.
"Oh yeah…The anniversary celebration the Malfoys are throwing for Lawrence and Genevieve is tonight! I almost forgot!" She exclaimed, slapping a hand against her forehead. Hermione rolled her eyes at her best friend's ignorance and began to help her adjust the buttons on her robes.
The elevator twisted and turned sharply for several distances – both vertically and horizontally – before the doors finally opened again and a voice spoke up above their heads.
"Department of Auror Defense…Department of Magical Artifacts..Department of Inter-Magical Cooperative Development…Department of Foreign Affairs…"
"Well this is my floor guys…I'll see you both and Ron later during lunch time…?" Neville asked as he and several other officials, as well as several flying messages, began to pile out of the cramped elevator. Harry and Hermione both gave him a nod and a smile of farewell before the doors closed again and they proceeded higher along the numerous floors of the Ministry of Magic.
As they continued back up, Hermione gave Harry a disgruntled glare. "Harry, you could at least have the decency to brush your hair every morning! We're in the Ministry of Magic now, not Hogwarts anymore! We have an image to uphold." She reminded her, causing the black-haired girl to roll her eyes at her friend's prudishness.
"I do brush my hair…Just not everyday." She grumbled, earning another reprimanding glare from her best friend. Before she could say anything else, Harry spoke up again to divert her attention. "And yes, the party later is formal. It's going to be held at Malfoy Manor, just so you know. A lot of the Malfoys' friends are going to be there." She sounded slightly put out at this, causing Hermione to give her an amused grin.
"Why do you sound so depressed, Mistress Malfoy? You do know that you're entitled to entertain the guests at these parties now right? Haven't you ever hosted one before?" She asked curiously, earning another exhausted sigh from her best friend.
Harry paused for a minute, waiting until the elevator stopped and let out more of its occupants. Once they were moving up again, she turned and gave Hermione a pointed glare. "It's not that. I adore Lawrence and Genevieve, I do…I just feel so out of place in these formal gatherings. All the guests are either sucking up to the Malfoys or hoping to get dirt on them. It's all so superficial." She admitted, causing Hermione to give her a sympathetic glance.
"I felt like that too when Blaise and I first got married. You're actually lucky you're not a muggleborn surrounded by purebloods. It was horrible at first…But then I adapted to all their traditional practices." From here on, Hermione suddenly started gesturing madly to the papers in her hands and gave Harry a bright smile.
"Speaking of practices!" She grabbed a stack of papers and held it up to Harry's face to see. "Have you heard of this new conspiracy of magical infusions I dug up in one of the Ministry's restricted libraries? Apparently, it's all hush-hush!"
Harry tried not to roll her eyes and pretended to look interested as the elevator stopped again and several more officials clambered past them to their respective departments. From the elevator, both girls were able to make out the glass-walled entrance of the elusive Finance and Inter-Magical Investments Department – along with their other best friend, Ron Weasley's familiar frame.
The former Gryffindor was in his office and had his back to them as he was conversing very sternly with one of the messengers from the fireplace. Several more assistants surged around him in panic, nodding every now and then to Ron's occasional barked orders.
Upon noticing his two best friends there, he turned around and acknowledged them with a friendly – although slightly distracted – wave and mouthed 'Lunch later!' with a quirky grin. Harry and Hermione waved back, giving him a nod of agreement before the elevator doors closed again and they finally ascended to their floor.
Hermione turned back to Harry and gave her another ecstatic look as she gestured to her papers once more. "I'm serious, Harry! It's really interesting, I've been assigned to research about this by my superior! These documents date back way before the time of You-Know-Who or even Dumbledore!" She began, unaware of Jaimee rolling her eyes at her own reflection along the glossy walls of the elevator's interior.
Whether she noticed this or not, Hermione went on anyway. "Listen! Apparently, there's some ancient magical practice – although very dark and very illegal – that led to the disappearances of hundreds of wizards in the middle ages—"
"Department of Unspeakables…Department of Muggle Relations…Department of Magical Artifacts Preservation…Department of Central Intelligence and Strategic Operations…"
"Well, I'd love to hear all about your theories Hermione but unfortunately, we're both off here." Harry suddenly cut in with an innocent smile as she gestured to the opened elevator doors. The last of the officials behind them excused themselves as they clambered past the two former Gryffindors, delaying Hermione's protests.
The Zabini Mistress looked irritated at having been interrupted but before she got the chance to say anything else, Harry was already whistling and walking out of the elevator towards the mysterious, magically concealed entrance of the Unspeakables Department.
"I'll see you at lunch, 'Mione! I'm late!"
Harry never saw the frustrated glare Hermione sent her as she raced towards the large distorted mirror at the end of a dark, narrow hallway and tapped her wand once on the glass surface. Almost instantly, her distorted reflection suddenly looked up, blinked sternly at her and spoke to her in a cold, brisk voice.
"Identity verification please."
Checking her watch, Harry leaned forward and spoke up in an equally clear voice. "ID Code 7707." She paused to place her bag and coffee on the floor before pressing both her palms up against the mirror's surface. At this, her reflection disappeared and the mirror glowed a bright, eerie green.
After a couple of seconds, the green light vanished and her distorted reflection appeared again. "Identity confirmed…ID number 7707 may proceed. Welcome Mrs. Malfoy." Harry had to cringe awkwardly at the sound of her legal name as she grabbed her bag and coffee off the floor again and walked magically right through the glass mirror's surface.
Her surroundings began to refocus and she finally stepped into the large, surprisingly classy and exclusive interior of the Unspeakables Department. The walls, ceilings and floors of the entire department office were enchanted to be nearly transparent enough for all the Unspeakables to see right through the entire building and through each other's offices. This also enabled them to be instantly aware of any unwanted guests or intruders from other departments spying or approaching.
Amazingly enough, the office was also enchanted so that no one outside could see into the large department and this was something Harry was particularly thankful for. Unfortunately, the transparency of each Unspeakable's office walls also enabled her co-agents to see that she was late – something Harry was definitely not thankful for.
"You're late, Potter!"
As she entered the busy department, about twenty Unspeakable agents looked up from their individual offices and turned to give her an admonishing look. Cringing and giving them all an apologetic smile, Harry ducked her head sheepishly and raced to her assigned office – the one in the far corner right across the Head Unspeakable's office.
Just as she passed by Byron's office, Harry peaked through his slightly open door.
"You want some fuel?"
Looking up to meet her grin with a crooked one of his own, Byron nodded gratefully and gestured for her to enter. "Thanks. You're an angel, Harry. About time you got here too. What's the matter? My cousin keep you up all night again?" He teased as she set the cup of coffee down on his desk and gave him a silencing glare.
"Lay off it, Byron! Or I'm going to tell Lawrence exactly why you turned down that debutante he set you up with again last night." She threatened with a mischievous grin, causing Byron's face to pale slightly as he reached over and took a sip of her offered coffee.
She gave him a wicked grin and raised an eyebrow at him in consideration. "Such a shame really…She was hot. I would have hit on her had I still been a guy." She thought out loud, causing Byron to shoot her a mildly exasperated glare.
"Well you're not, so don't talk like that! You're the Malfoy Mistress, you'll creep other people out! Besides—"
Before he could think of a proper witty response to say, another Unspeakable had already poked his head into Byron's office and was now approaching Jaimee with a very flirtatious smile.
"A pleasant morning to you, Jaimee…You are looking particularly gorgeous today—"
"Good morning to you too, Nicholas." Harry answered with a slightly bored, otherwise wry smile as the handsome figure of Nicholas Ambleton – a handsome, blonde Unspeakable from Beauxbatons who had graduated two years ahead of them – walked right up to her and handed her a thick stack of folders.
"Here is your paperwork for this morning. Ashford says he wants those in by this afternoon." Nicholas shot her a particularly gorgeous half-smile and gave her a suggestive wink as she took the folders from his hands. "Late again, are we? Judging from Ashford's face right now, I'd say he doesn't look too happy about that." He drawled, allowing Harry to follow his dark eyes right through the semi-transparent walls to Ashford's seated figure in his office several meters away.
Sure enough, Vincent Ashford was conversing with several assistants all at once through the fireplace but was shooting Harry dirty looks every now and then, indicating haphazardly to the watch on his wrist. Harry cringed and offered him a sheepish smile, which he returned with another glare before returning to his conversation.
Byron smirked and watched as Harry – in her distracted state – suddenly stiffened when she felt Nicholas slowly snake his arm around her waist.
"So…Jaimee…You wouldn't happen to still be married, would you…? Because if you're looking for some company tonight, then I would love to take you to dinner." Nicholas murmured flirtatiously again, chuckling when Harry stiffened and instantly shoved him away in irritation.
Giving him an angry growl, she stepped away from his grinning form and shook her head in exasperation. "For the last time, Nick…Yes, I am still married! And even if I wasn't, I still wouldn't be caught dead with a sleaze like you!" She snapped, ignoring Byron's muffled laughter as she gave a smirking Nicholas one last glare before stalking right out.
She heard Byron mocking Nicholas as she left but she didn't dwell on it as she finally made her way to her own office, placing the documents, her own cup of coffee and the rest of her things on her slightly disorganized work desk. She was just about to sit down and take a short breather when she heard Ashford's loud, angry voice echoing across the hall.
"POTTER! MALFOY! ADDISON! GET YOUR ARSES IN HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"
Looking up through the near transparent walls, she saw Ashford glaring at all three of them and indicating impatiently for them to get up.
Great…I knew there was a problem with these stupid walls. I can never slack off and get some rest. Harry sighed weakly in exasperation and forced herself out of her seat again; meeting both Byron and Spencer's equally curious glances as the other two Unspeakables clambered out and followed her to Ashford's larger and much more intimidating office.
"You reckon he's finally going to tell me how much he wants me?" Spencer whispered to Jaimee with a wink as he fell into step with her. Byron answered before she could by giving the other man a threatening growl, accompanied with his fingers lengthening into gleaming, sharp talons.
"Maybe he's going to report me to Azkaban for breaking your neck, Addison." The Malfoy son growled, causing Harry to roll her eyes and push them both back away from each other. "Break it up, you two…Come on." She led them both to the Head office and pushed open the large doors, meeting Ashford's lazy blue eyes from behind his desk.
The handsome Head Unspeakable had looked up from a thick stack of parchments and folders on his table and leveled them all with a stern glare. "Sit down. I only have fifteen minutes to explain this afternoon's assignment. Don't worry. I've given you three relatively easier missions since you're all rookies anyway." Ashford drawled, smirking at the look of offended irritation on their faces.
Harry stepped awkwardly into the large, overtly trophy-decorated office and plopped herself down on a small chair situated at the far corner of the room. Spencer sat down beside her – far away from Ashford as possible – while Byron grinned widely and sat himself down at the very front directly in front of Ashford's desk.
"Good morning, sir…Get a good night sleep?"
Ashford merely raised an aristocratic eyebrow at him in mild amusement, his blue eyes sweeping once over Byron's lean frame.
"Somewhat."
He cut himself off immediately after that and turned to face Jaimee and Spencer before Byron could say anything else.
"First off, you were late Potter. You come in late one more time and I will send your skinny arse back to training, is that understood?!" He snapped harshly, causing the female Unspeakable to wince but otherwise nod in agreement.
"Next…Malfoy, I want last night's mission fully compiled and ready on my desk by this afternoon before you leave for your assignment. No excuses." He continued, much to Byron's slight panic as he opened his mouth to voice his adamant protest.
"But sir! You just gave me that report this morning! I'll need some help if I'm going to finish it on time, perhaps you could help—"
"Hmm…Maybe you could use help." Ashford stroked his chin in thought, failing to see the excited gleam in Byron's golden brown eyes. To the metamorphagus' disappointment, Ashford turned sharply to Spencer and gave him a brief nod.
"Addison, help Malfoy with it this afternoon. I'll be expecting better quality since there are two of you working on it." He decided curtly, causing the light in Byron's eyes to fade into irritation.
Seeing Spencer smirk and wink pointedly at Byron, Harry hid a smile when she saw the dark-haired Malfoy's scowl. Ashford chose that particular moment to speak again, his attention not on them but on the stack of parchments his secretary had just placed again on his large desk.
"Now...For your assignments. I'll be splitting you three up into separate missions today so listen carefully." He paused briefly to affix his signature on a particularly long piece of parchment before looking up and pointing his quill directly at Spencer.
"Addison, you'll be impersonating a St. Mungo's Healer today to visit a wizarding family in Switzerland – the Brechbühlers." Ashford paused for a minute at this to glance at his notes, ignoring Spencer as he looked up and gave Byron a nonplussed look at the strange name.
"Bless you…"
When Byron rolled his eyes at him, Spencer turned to Harry. "How do you spell the name of that family?" Harry ignored him and turned back to Ashford as he continued.
"I'm sending you there to investigate a strange medical case. I was recently told to look up on the mysterious and slightly suspicious case of the family head's strange magical sickness." He shook his head and looked up to meet Harry's slightly curious gaze.
"What's wrong with him, Ashford?"
Ashford frowned and creased his eyebrows in thought. "I'm not entirely sure…I suspect it's a form of poisoning. But he's been getting physically weaker with every passing day and his magic has been going off everywhere like he can't control it. We have no known record of his condition as of yet so we'll need to investigate." He turned to Spencer again and gave the man a strict glare.
"The Brechbühlers are a very traditional pureblooded family living just east of the elite neighborhoods of Berne so they're very hostile to strange investigators. You'll have to be undercover as an expert and prestigious healer from England to get them to talk to you" He told him, causing Spencer to look slightly put out at such an easy assignment.
"That's it? No flirting with complete strangers and leaving them hanging for more of my mysterious sensuality? No danger and death-defying combats that might lead me to my premature death?" He asked with a pout, causing Ashford to look up and glare at him with icy blue eyes.
"Keep talking and I'll lead you to your 'premature' death myself."
Harry and Byron both sniggered under their breaths when Spencer gulped and answered Ashford with a sheepish grin of agreement.
"Next…You, Malfoy. There is a similar case with a young witch who works at a bar in Tokyo. She's the daughter of a Japanese Wizarding family and has been showing some of the early symptoms of the strange disease. I want you to look into the matter, not as a healer but as a normal bar customer who will befriend her and ask her about it directly." He finished, causing Bryon to look slightly bothered as he voiced his question out loud.
"Will I be able to make it back to London in time for dinner? My family is throwing an anniversary celebration for my grandparents, you see—"
"That's entirely up to you and how fast you can give me adequate results from your investigation." Ashford interrupted him impatiently, causing Harry to roll her eyes and lean over to whisper something to Spencer beside her.
"I don't know what Byron likes so much about Ashford…He's such a pompous, bigheaded prick if you ask me—"
"Well no one's asking you, Potter." Ashford cut in with a pointed smirk at her, causing her to snap her mouth shut loudly and color in mild humiliation. She ignored Spencer's muffled chuckles and offered her boss a helpless smile.
"I—I didn't mean for you to hear me sir…What I meant was—"
Ashford ignored her and flicked his gaze back to his paperwork. "You, Potter…I am assigning a search and capture mission." Byron and Spencer looked slightly put out at this but only until Ashford finished his next couple of sentences.
"You are to meet later with a man whom we discovered is the direct supplier of the illegal, red-label potions used by Petrovsky – as well as a whole ring of other illegal businessmen around England." He began, flicking his wand up to distractedly to levitate three sheets of long parchment to all three of their outstretched hands.
"All your mission parameters and objectives…As well as the schedule times, meeting places, and delivery of your undercover outfits should be listed there. If you all have no further questions, you may all get back to work." Ashford finished with a final nod, never noticing the look of exasperated dismay that was once again on Harry's face.
"Sir…? Why am I assigned another one of these missions?! Do I really have to—"
"Yes, Potter. You really do have to wear a slutty leather outfit and boots."
Hearing this spoken out loud, Harry instantly colored while Byron and Spencer burst out into rambunctious laughter. Ashford was looking impatiently at her as she ignored her teammates' laughter and tried to voice out her protests once again.
"B—But sir! WHY must I always be undercover in these ROLES?! Can't I have Byron's mission?! Or maybe Spencer's?!" She asked in frustration, to which Ashford answered her simply by smirking and shaking his head at her growing ire.
"Because it works for you, Potter. Like it or not, you transformed into an incredibly hot woman. As such, you have also been given the powerful gift to manipulate the daft and simple male mind. You of all people should know how easily a man – a straight one that is—" Ashford paused as Byron and Spencer both chuckled at his quip.
"—is swayed by a gorgeous woman. You may not like it but you are one of my most valuable agents in the department right now precisely because of that gift. That's called an advantage, Potter…And I intend to make full use of that advantage as much as possible." He gave her a brief grin when he saw the irritation etched on her features.
"Besides…I believe that the best approach to any investigation is stealth so you're perfect for these roles. They'll be so busy staring at your arse that they'll tell you anything." He finished, ignoring the adamant shaking of her head as he looked back down onto his parchments
"But Draco will—" Harry's panicked protests were cut off once more when the Head Unspeakable waved them away in growing impatience.
"Malfoywill just have to understand that it is your job to do as I say! You're welcome to quit anytime otherwise if you don't like it!" Ashford snapped out irritably, causing the Malfoy Mistress to finally fall silent and nod meekly in helpless agreement.
"The man you are meeting is the owner of this illegal business which manufactures red-label potions. He expects to have hired a particularly dominatrix prostitute for tonight so you'll have to play the part—"
Byron and Spencer muffled their laughter again at the look of horrified disgust on Harry's face when she heard 'dominatrix' but Ashford ignored them and continued.
"—Take that opportunity to catch him alone without his bodyguards, knock him out and bring him directly into custody in Azkaban. We have enough evidence to lock him up for several weeks." At this, Ashford finally paused again and looked up to give a cringing Harry a slightly thoughtful look.
"Hmm…Bring a whip along as well and keep your hair down. You can cover yourself up going there with a large trench coat. I will have your full disguise sent to your office after lunch." He finished, ignoring the pink blotches on Harry's face and the laughter Spencer was trying to choke back at the mere idea of Jaimee carrying a leather whip.
Byron, however, had his own problems and was now eyeing his own sheet of parchment with a look of sheer horror on his face.
"S—Sir…My disguise later…? A—am I really supposed to look like…like…well—"
At this, Ashford finally looked up and gave Byron a surprisingly teasing wink, the corners of his lips lifting into a lazy, sexy smile.
"Androgynous? Yes, Malfoy. I believe it's called cosplay in Japan. The bar you're going to is popular for it. Don't worry, you'll blend in easily and I guarantee the only attention you'll attract is one drawn from lust." His voice sounded slightly flirtatious at this, causing Harry to look up in surprise just in time to see Byron meeting Ashford's look with a suggestive smirk of his own.
Spencer looked livid and appeared as though he was about to make a scathing comment directed towards Ashford but Harry shook her head hastily and yanked him away, distracting him long enough for Byron to make another teasing comment.
"In that case, sir…Perhaps you could help me with my disguise later…? You know…Just check to make sure I look alright enough to blend in…?" He asked with a sly smirk, ignoring the way Harry was making a face at them and pretending to gag herself.
Ashford looked up at this and swept his blue eyes once more over Byron's lean frame before letting it come to rest on the dark-haired Malfoy's smug face. This time, the lust Harry had seen from Ashford's intense orbs directed towards Byron was unmistakable. Raising an eyebrow, the Head Unspeakable rewarded the younger man with another smirk before returning to his paperwork.
"Perhaps another time, Malfoy…"
Byron looked slightly disappointed at this but didn't have time to dwell on it when Ashford spoke up again – this time in a sharper voice.
"Now…You three! Get to work!"
At this, Byron and Spencer both stood up immediately from their seat as though it had caught on fire and began making their way to the door. Before she followed them, Harry looked up and gave her stubborn boss one last pleading look.
"Sir, do I really have to wear this outrageous outfit?! Draco's going to kill me—"
"GET OUT, POTTER!"
"Y—Yes, sir!"
Harry meeped at Ashford's raised voice and shot up from her seat, scrambling her way back to the door's exit. Unfortunately, she hadn't even made it to the door's handle when she felt a sudden wave of nausea overcome her – followed by a strange feeling as though the ground beneath her feet was suddenly pulled out from under her like a thin rug.
"Potter! Potter, are you alright?! Malfoy, get her some water or something!"
She heard Ashford's concerned order, as well as caught sight of Byron's concerned face as the metamorphagus rushed back into the office. Ashford had leaped up from behind his desk in shock right before her eyes began to flutter close and she felt the near transparent walls of Ashford's office beginning to spin around her until her vision began to dim into black.
"Harry! Harry?! What's wrong?! Are you okay?! She looks really pale and clammy! Somebody get her some water! Move away! Let her breathe!"
Spencer, Byron and Ashford's panicked questions dulled out into low and slow-motioned baritone voices as Harry finally closed her eyes shut and stumbled in unexplainable exhaustion. She eventually fainted in a dead limp against Byron's outstretched arms.
"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy…"
"A pleasant morning to you, Mr. Malfoy…"
"You're looking handsome today, Mr. Malfoy…"
Draco smirked to himself in self-satisfaction as he strode arrogantly through the long, elegant hallways of Malfoy Multinational Conglomerates – a pack of his analysts, financial advisers and managers trailing obediently behind him and speaking all at once about his scheduled meetings and decisions for that particular afternoon.
A dozen flirtatious smiles and greetings followed him everywhere from all the different departments' secretaries as he made his way through the top floor of the building to his office. He nodded and smirked at several of his lower ranking managers every now and then, pausing for a couple of moments to side step another secretary aiming to 'accidentally' bump into him before continuing to converse with his head analyst – Matthew Anderson.
"The company's profits have been up by ten percent since yesterday…Also, you are scheduled with a meeting with your father's old business partners today…They should be arriving this morning from Shanghai and are eager to reestablish business relations."
Draco nodded and took all this into mind as he finally reached the large double doors leading to his office, pausing briefly to collect his messages from his own secretary at the very front.
"Very well…Confirm with them. I'll be having lunch with my former housemates this afternoon so schedule it after. Then, I'd like to—" Draco paused in mid-sentence and blinked in confusion at the curly blonde, attractive young woman who was now seated behind the desk of where his female, middle-aged secretary had once been.
At the sight of the handsome MMC president, she straightened up in her seat – purposely allowing Draco a view of her long white legs as exposed by the ridiculously short hemline of her skirt. Draco's eyes swept once over her in disdain before he turned to face Matthew's slightly nervous cringe.
"Where's Agnes? Who is this?" Draco asked bluntly, giving him and the rest of his advisers a mildly irritated glance for having not informed him of the obvious change. The blonde woman stood up from her seat and greeted him with a sultry smile, her long, curled eyelashes fluttering as her eyes swept once over Draco's lean form.
"I'm Natasha Richards, Mr. Malfoy…I'm your new secretary. Agnes has just retired yesterday so I'll be your secretary from now on. I'm looking forward to working…under you…" She drawled seductively, her coy, bright violet eyes never leaving Draco's uninterested, sneering face.
"I see."
Before she could respond, Draco turned sharply to Matthew and raised an eyebrow in question, causing the other man to wince at the anger he saw in those steely gray orbs. "You know I don't like surprises, Anderson. Who authorized Agnes' resignation and why didn't anyone tell me about it? And who hired this incompetent woman in her place without my knowledge?" He snarled out, causing his advisers to eye each other accusingly in question.
Mathew cleared his throat and spoke up first, wincing when Draco's eyes flashed angrily at him once more. "I—I did, sir. B—But I can assure you that Natasha is more than capable of being your secretary. She has agreed to the long hours you sometimes work and will be available at your beck and call." He assured him, causing Draco to sneer wider and eye Natasha in growing disgust.
"I'm sure she will…"
Undaunted, Natasha gave him another seductive smile and leaned her hands on her desk, purposely exposing her daring neckline – much to the roaming eyes of Draco's financial advisers behind him. Draco simply raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.
"I've organized all your schedules and paperwork for this afternoon, Mr. Malfoy. I placed them right on your desk. I've also organized and cleaned your office. Mr. Anderson thought it was unnecessary but I told him otherwise." She gave another low sexy chuckle and reached a hand up to teasingly pick an imaginary piece of lint off Draco's shoulder.
"If there's anything else I can do for you, Mr. Malfoy…Anything at all, don't hesitate to—"
She stopped midway and gasped in fear when Draco suddenly reached forward and pointed his wand directly at her throat.
He looked right into her surprised face and narrowed his eyes until they were very dangerous, angry slits. "If you had talked to Agnes once before agreeing to this job and thinking this would be the best way to sleep around with the 'boss', you would know that I expect only five things from my secretary every day." He began in a dangerous hiss, ignoring the quelling protests he was receiving from his shocked advisers behind him.
Natasha managed a nervous smile and turned wide eyes to Draco's sneer, her face pale and her form visibly shaking as she eyed the wand he held pointed against her throat.
Draco's voice lowered into an ominous drawl. "One…I expect that when I get here every morning, she will hand me my cup of coffee. Black. No sugar. No cream. Two…She will hand me the financial reports, documents to be signed and scheduled meetings/itinerary for that day. Three…She will inform me when there are people waiting to see me and she will tell them when I am busy or unavailable…" He paused, waiting until his words sunk in before he continued.
"Four…She will NEVER set foot into my office without my permission and five…She will never…and I mean NEVER touch me. Is that understood?!" His voice ended in a dark, chilling tone and she caught every word as she nodded hastily, biting her lip to keep it from trembling.
"Y—Yes sir."
The former Slytherin smirked at her stuttered response and finally released her, shoving her back down into her cubicle until she fell back onto her seat. Breathing heavily, she looked up to meet the amused glances she was receiving from Draco's other advisers. The Malfoy Head turned back to Matthew and took the offered documents from his hand.
As soon as Draco entered through the elegant double doors of his office – followed by the rest of his advisers rushing in to follow him, Matthew Anderson stayed behind and gave Natasha a consoling and slightly reprimanding glance.
"I told you not to mess with his office. Although I must apologize, Ms. Richards…I should have warned you that Mr. Malfoy does not like being touched by anyone. You'd best remember that if you want to keep your job here." He told her firmly, patting the pale, stricken secretary's hand before strolling into Draco's majestic office and closing the huge double doors behind him.
He found the young Malfoy Head lounging lazily on his seat with his feet propped up onto his table. He was nodding and listening intently to the reports of the managers gathered around him about the plans of the company for the day. At the same time, he was also throwing an occasional dart at the dartboard several meters across his desk.
Matthew bit back a squeak of fear as one sharp dart zoomed right past his ear by mere inches and landed perfectly right on the dartboard's bull's eye. Draco smirked at his reaction and gestured lazily for the man to approach him and report what he had to say.
"Mr. Malfoy…We have several complaints from the new investment firm we have tied up with following the pull-out of the Winchesters. They say they require greater interest rates if they're going to continue business with us—"
Draco rolled his eyes, setting his feet back down from atop the table onto the floor.
"Have that idiotic secretary schedule a meeting with them tomorrow. I'll talk with them and hopefully we can arrange a compromise on the rates they want. Meanwhile, everything is sound at this point. Carry on all of you. Anderson, I expect those marketing reports on my desk before lunch." He added sternly, to which Matthew bowed to in acquiescence.
"As you wish, Mr. Malfoy…"
Draco inclined his head once as the entire group gathered all their papers and scrambled hurriedly out of his office, bowing to him several times as they closed the double doors once more. Once they were gone, he had managed to leaf through the folders they had given him regarding the company's financial status for about fifteen minutes before his magical intercom suddenly blared to life with Natasha's sultry voice.
"Mr. Malfoy…There's a Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Anton Malfoy here to see you."
Cringing to himself at the mention of 'Mrs. Weasley', Draco rolled his eyes and didn't bother hiding the annoyance in his voice as he answered.
"Let them in."
He couldn't hold back a chuckle when he heard Lorraine's indignant voice approaching just before the double doors to his office swung open and his two half-veela cousins – Lorraine and Anton Malfoy – walked in dressed respectively in aristocratic robes of pink and blue.
Lorraine was carrying a squirming Francesca – her adorable, red-haired daughter – in her arms as she walked in, earning a reluctant smile from Draco when he saw her. Anton, as usual, looked as handsome as ever and was currently giving Draco an impish grin.
"You never told me your new secretary was hot, Draco…" He greeted with a smirk, causing Draco to roll his eyes to himself as they sat down on the seats in front of his desk. Lorraine had a similar reaction to her brother's comment as she deposited Francesca on Draco's desk – earning a glare from her cousin when her daughter began reaching for his documents.
"I didn't even know I had a new secretary till this morning, Anton…" Draco drawled in response, lazily pointing his wand to the doors to his office. Once they had closed, he turned and gave both his cousins a curious gaze.
"Well…What are you both doing here? You know how busy I am these days, I take it you just up and decided to pay me a little visit?" He asked them pointedly, earning a reproachful glare from Lorraine as she leaned back in her seat.
"Now don't be like that, Coco! We're your family, we just wanted to drop by and see how you were doing with the family business and all." She practically sang out in a cheerful voice, laughing when Francesca managed to grab hold of one of Draco's reports and put the piece of paper into her drooling mouth.
Draco shot up from his seat and snatched the paper away in panic, accidentally tearing it and leaving a small piece left in Francesca's mouth.
"Argh! Lorraine! Your daughter is drooling all over my reports! Ugh! Get her off the table!" He complained loudly, causing both Lorraine and Anton to smirk in amusement at him when Francesca simply looked up at the blonde and offered him an angelic smile.
"Goo…Ga!"
Francesca giggled, grabbed a nearby bottle of ink beside her and hurled it playfully at Draco, causing the former Slytherin to curse loudly in angry indignation when the bottle splashed instantly all over the front of his suit.
"GAAARGH! Lorraine, your daughter is a menace! Have you been allowing Weasley to teach her to DESPISE me?! She got black ink all over my suit!" Draco exploded in an angry shout as he shot up from his seat again and glared at Lorraine with an accusing look.
Before Lorraine could answer him, Francesca seemed not to have appreciated her Uncle raising his voice into a shout in front of her and she burst into tears, filling the walls of Draco's office with her high-pitched screams and sobbing.
Draco's anger immediately faded into a nervous cringe when Lorraine's face twisted into hostile veela form and she leveled him with a horrifyingly angry glare.
"DRACO! Now look what you did! You scared my daughter! I toldyou never to raise your voice when you're around her!" She growled at him as she picked Francesca up and cradled the baby to her chest in an attempt to placate her. Anton smirked at Draco's sheepish shrug and leaned back in his seat to watch them with a chuckle.
Draco grumbled and sat back down in frustration, grabbing his wand and trying to spell the ink off his clothes. "Ugh…You'd better hope this comes off with a simple cleaning spell, Lorraine." He complained loudly, at which he earned another fierce glare from the female veela as she leaned down and hit him hard on the head.
"OW! BLOODY HELL!"
To all three adults' surprise, Francesca saw this and her cries dissolved into adorable giggles, much to Draco's stunned dismay and Anton's immense amusement. Lorraine heard this and stopped as well, turning to give her daughter a quirky grin.
"You laughed, sweetheart? You want Mommy to hit your idiotic Uncle Draco again?" She cooed sweetly at the toddler, waiting until her daughter answered with another giggle before she turned back to smirk evilly at her older cousin.
Draco backed away instantly and leveled her with a warning glare.
"Lorraine, don't you dare hit me again or I swear I'll—OW! DAMN IT, ANTON! WHY DID YOU HIT ME?!" He growled out loudly, his silver eyes flashing dangerously in growing anger.
Francesca and Lorraine both dissolved into giggles this time while Anton gave Draco a pointed smirk and leaned back on his seat.
"Don't you dare curse in front of my goddaughter, Draco. You got her crying, it's only right it's at your expense she laughs again." He smirked wider at the death glare Draco shot at him and watched as the Malfoy Head simply muttered darkly under his breath.
Lorraine rolled her eyes at them and settled her daughter back on her lap, planting a kiss down onto the mane of red curls. "We didn't come here to pick on you, Draco. We actually really did just want to drop by for a visit. Francesca was getting a bit agitated staying at home all day so I asked Anton to show me inside MMC." She explained after awhile, watching in amusement as Draco fussed over trying to remove the ink stains from his shirt.
Draco looked up at her but before he could even utter a proper response, Francesca surprised them further when she looked up again – looking first at her mother before raising a hand and pointing it directly at Draco's form.
"Fewwet!"
As Francesca dissolved into another fresh set of giggles – followed by Anton promptly choking with laughter – Lorraine looked up and gave a fuming red and practically seething Draco a helpless, mirthful smile.
"It was the first word she learned yesterday. I didn't understand what it meant at first until Ron explained it to me—" She tried to explain further but Draco interrupted her with an angry retort, along with him glaring menacingly at the toddler in Lorraine's lap.
"WEASLEY HAS TAUGHT THAT CHILD TO HATE ME!" He blurted out, causing Anton to cover his mouth with his hands as he desperately tried to prevent himself from laughing harder. Draco continued anyway and pointed an accusing finger at Francesca's happily cooing form.
"Look at her! Look at that evil smile! SHE'S MOCKING ME, I TELL YOU! She and her father are CONSPIRING against me—"
Draco's suspicious rant was cut short when Francesca gave him another adorable smile, grabbed the offered rattle in her mother's hand and hurled it right at his head. This time, even Lorraine couldn't help giggling when Draco cursed again and finally backed away from them, scowling darkly and rubbing his sore head as he sank down onto the large couch at the corner of his office.
At this point, Anton was barely able to contain his laughter as he took Francesca from Lorraine and rewarded his goddaughter with a kiss on her forehead. "I knew you were smart, Chessie… You knew all along that your Uncle Draco is a pompous, bigheaded prick didn't you? You were trying to deflate his head for him…" He drawled, looking up and smirking at his older cousin.
The Malfoy Head was just about ready to let out a rather interesting and creative stream of curse words already formed in his head when one death glare from Lorraine silenced him. Instead, he scowled further and glared darkly at them from where he sat.
"So…? What do you two want anyway? You've had your fun; you should leave now and let me work!" He snapped, raising his wand and summoning the stack of folders on his desk to him. Lorraine rolled her eyes again at this and offered him a smile.
"Oh don't be like that, Draco… Chessie was just playing around. You're being a bigger baby than she is." She teased, earning herself another glare from her cousin. She laughed and walked over to him, settling herself down on the couch beside him.
"We're actually here to talk to you about the party later. That's like…what…? Grandfather and Grandmother's 35th anniversary? Have you got everything covered?" She asked curiously as Anton stood up with Francesca and walked over to sit on the couch across them.
Draco nodded and scooted warily away from Francesca – much to Lorraine's exasperation and Anton's avid amusement. "Yes, everything's covered. The house-elves are preparing the manor for it as we speak. It should start exactly at 9pm so you two had better not be late. Especially you, Anton." Draco shot his cousin a dirty look, to which Anton returned with a noncommittal shrug.
"I'll be picking my date up from her office by 8:30 so don't worry." He told them with a sly smile, causing Lorraine to sigh loudly to herself. "What are you going to tell Ginny when she sees you going with another woman? Have you even told her yet?" She demanded but Anton answered her with a mildly irritated sigh of his own.
"Why do I even have to? Ginny is not my girlfriend, alright? We dated a couple of times and sure, I like her but I do not commit to anyone!" He snapped back, unaware of the bemused smirk on Draco's face as he listened to the interesting conversation between the two.
"She still deserves to know, Anton! You can't just play around with her feelings like that—"
"Why not?"
Draco and Anton both asked this out loud – the older Malfoy son with a smirk while Anton had a slightly confused frown on his face. Lorraine gave them both an exasperated look and focused her attention on her brother instead.
"Because she's not just some random girl you picked up from somewhere! She's my sister-in-law and I don't want you messing around with her like you do with other girls –"
Draco let his head drop down onto the glass coffee table in front of him with a loud 'thunk' and he began muttering darkly to himself loud enough for them to hear him.
"This never even would have happened if you two hadn't dated WEASLEYS…Ugh…More Weasley blood in my family…This is going to bring our demise somehow—"
"FEWWET!" Francesca cooed out again, interrupting through Draco's monologue with himself with a loud squeal and giggle. Draco lagged for about fifteen seconds at this, after which he chose to ignore her and continued to grumble to himself in growing, helpless misery.
"Bloody Weasleys…Too much of their blood going into the family already! It's horrifying! It's wrong! Next thing you know, Malfoys will start having red-hair! Oh Merlin, noooo!"
At his last thought, Draco's eyes widened in horror and he let out a strangled meep right before he thunked his forehead onto the table again.
Anton and Lorraine both ignored him and continued to argue with each other.
"I am not going to cancel my date tonight, Lorraine!"
"Well then at least call Ginny and explain to her that you'll be bringing a date!"
"I will not! Never in my entire life have I ever been considerate to a girl! Stop nagging me!"
"You're such a sleaze, Anton! When will you ever learn to grow up and settle down—"
Draco's muggle cellphone chose that exact moment to blare to life and almost immediately, Draco picked his head up from where he was bumping it on the coffee table, flicked the phone open against his ear and muttered in a low, dejected growl.
"Yeah, what do you want?"
"Draco…? Is that you?"
Blaise Zabini's amused voice sounded from the other line – much to Draco's immense relief as he shot up from his seat when he recognized the sound of his best friend's familiar drawl.
"Blaise! Thank Merlin!"
He looked back up at his two arguing cousins briefly – checking to make sure they were still bickering and unaware of his presence. With a smirk, he carefully slipped past Anton and Lorraine to the opposite corner of his large office and finally turned back to his cellphone.
"Don't tell Granger but I'm actually glad I let her convince us to use these muggle phone cells. They're faster and more convenient than owls when you need to talk without a fireplace." Draco mused briefly, earning an amused chuckle from Blaise.
"They're called cellphones, Draco. And I'm glad too, I don't have to send an owl to you every five minutes whenever I need to ask something. Although I still don't know how to use it that well—"
"Neither do I. So what do you want? You're saving me from an irritating argument here between Lorraine and Anton. They didn't even notice I slipped away with this phone cell—"
"Cellphone, Draco."
"—and they're still arguing. So anyway, what do you want? You'd better not tell me you're canceling lunch with the Slytherins later, otherwise I'm going to haul your arse out of your office." Draco threatened mildly, pausing to hear another laugh from Blaise when he answered.
"I'm not. I was actually just calling to ask where we'll be meeting Pansy and the others. Millicent is pregnant again, did you know? I heard from Daphne this morning." He told him, causing Draco to make a face to himself at the image.
"Doesn't Goyle ever let up from shagging Bulstrode all the time? Ugh…Wait…Bad mental image. Damn you, Zabini." Draco could sense that Blaise was smirking on the other line when the other former Slytherin spoke up again.
"With the exception of Malcolm who still isn't married, you're the only Slytherin who doesn't have a child yet. That's strange considering you were the one most eager to procreate. When is Potter going to pop out a kid?" Blaise asked smugly, causing Draco to roll his eyes in annoyance.
"You sound like my mother. She's just anxious about me giving her a grandchild. Don't rush me, Blaise. Believe me; I'm trying as best as I can." Draco smirked to himself as he remembered his little morning 'exercise' with his wife a couple of hours ago.
"I practically 'try' as many times as I can every damn night to the point of exhaustion—"
"Ugh…Too much information, Draco."
Blaise sounded disgusted as he said this, earning another chuckle from Draco as he finally paused and turned to look at his watch. "Anyway, I have to put down this phone cell—"
"CELLPHONE, Draco."
"Whatever. I have to go back to work. We'll be meeting at Posh Palace later – it's a French cuisine restaurant in London near Gringgotts. Pansy was the one who chose it." He explained, waiting until Blaise confirmed again.
"Near Gringgotts?"
"Just south of it, I think." Draco glanced back at his cousins again and smirked when he saw that Anton was now desperately concentrated on preventing Lorraine from sending one of Draco's office owls out the window to mail a letter to Ginny.
"Alright, I'll see you later then."
Draco flicked his cellphone shut and shoved it back into his pocket, pointedly ignoring his arguing cousins altogether as he walked back to his seat and began to go through the documents on his desk again. He was interrupted when a small hand shot out from beside him and tugged lightly at the sleeves of his coat.
Looking down, he found himself staring into the big, friendly blue eyes of a smiling Francesca looking up at him from where she stood on the floor beside his seat. She raised a small, chubby baby hand and pointed it directly at his face.
"FEWWET!"
"Harry?! Harry?! Are you alright? Can you stand? Spencer, get her a glass of water!"
Groaning loudly, Harry forced her eyes open and instantly regretted her decision when she was met with the bright, glaring lights of her office. Blinking and squinting, she waited until her vision refocused and she found herself lying on the carpeted floor of her office and staring up at the handsome face of one very concerned Byron Malfoy.
Blinking dazedly up at him in confusion, she flicked her eyes around in question and saw that a small group of her fellow Unspeakable agents – including Nicholas and Spencer – were gathered around her and were peering down at her in concern.
Another groan of pain escaped her lips as she tried to sit up – only to wince again when she felt her head recoil from the sudden movement. Byron saw this and helped her up into a seating position, taking the glass of water from Spencer's offered hand and handing it to her.
"Here, drink this…You look a little pale." He told her, waiting until she took it with a weak, grateful smile took a long, satisfying sip. Handing the glass back to Byron, she waited until her vision settled and her consciousness seeped back in before looking up into their questioning faces.
"Wh—What happened…?" She asked stupidly, causing Byron to exchange a look with Spencer as he helped her back up to her feet and led her slowly to the nearest chair. Once she sat back down, she looked up at him again to indicate for him to answer her question.
Byron gave her one last look to check her condition before he answered. "You fainted about twenty minutes ago. If you hadn't woken up sooner, we would have brought you to the infirmary downstairs…Are you alright? How are you feeling?" He asked, causing Harry's eyebrows to fuse together in confusion at his question.
"I'm fine now…I actually don't know what happened." She admitted thoughtfully, taking another long sip of water. Byron continued to look unconvinced so she turned and gave him – as well as everyone else behind him – a slightly sheepish smile.
"I—I'm sorry for worrying everyone. I suppose I'm just a little tired from lack of sleep…I'm okay now. I really am. Thank you for worrying." She reassured them, waiting until they gave her a slightly reluctant smile before returning to their own individual offices.
Byron and Spencer remained with her and continued to give her cautious looks as though they expected her to faint again – to which Harry laughed and waved their concern away. "Seriously, you two…I'm fine. I really was just tired and fatigued. I'll be okay once I get some food in my stomach." She kidded weakly and just to prove them wrong, she shot up out of her seat.
"See? I'm fine…No worries." She told them again and at this, Spencer walked over to her and hit her lightly on the head. "You git! You really scared us there for a minute! I thought Ashford had scared you into fainting or something!" He kidded and at this, Harry looked around in confusion.
"Where is Ashford anyway? I remember his voice fussing over me awhile ago." At her words, a slightly sour look crossed Byron's face and his hands tightened into fists. Harry noticed this and looked at Spencer in question, to which Spencer replied by chuckling and gesturing to Ashford's office.
"Ashford was fussing over you until about ten minutes ago when a dark-haired, sexy stranger came looking for him. He let the man in and they've been talking intimately in his office for some time now…" Spencer smirked and pointed to the office across the room. Through the semi-transparent walls, Harry could make out the suspiciously familiar back of the man talking to Ashford across his desk.
As Spencer had indicated, the conversation did look rather intimate and noting this, Harry cringed and turned to give a brooding Byron a consoling glance. Spencer ignored Byron's dark expression and watched Ashford and the man talking in growing interest.
"I reckon that man is Ashford's rumored 'someone'…He looked the part too. All smoldering and mysteriously sexy with that deep drawling voice…Mmm…I'd like to get a piece of him myself." Spencer thought out loud but Harry ignored him and leaned forward to pat Byron on the shoulder.
"If it's any consolation, Byron…Ashford's an arrogant jerk, anyway. I'm sure you can find someone else—" She was interrupted when Spencer exclaimed loudly and started jumping up and down like a kid, yanking impatiently on Harry's robe sleeves as he pointed to Ashford's office.
"Holy Merlin! I was right! Look, look! They're kissing! They're going to kiss! They're going to kiss!"
Sure enough, Harry looked back up and saw Ashford smirking and leaning forward briefly from behind his desk to plant a brief kiss on the other man's lips. Turning back to look at Byron, she bit her lip when she saw the crushed look on his face.
"Byron—"
"I—I'm glad you're okay, Harry…I think I need some fresh air. I'm going down to the Ministry lobby for awhile. I'll see you later." Byron interrupted coolly before she could say anything else, ignoring Spencer's excited squealing as he turned and walked briskly out of Harry's office towards the main department entrance.
Harry would have followed him out had Spencer not latched onto her shoulder again and redirected her attention to Ashford's office with his excitedly shaking finger. By now Ashford had pulled back and both he and his guest were rising from their seats and heading out the door.
"Look! Look! The man is turning around! Check him out, Harry! Byron! I want to show you how hot and smoldering he looks!" Spencer exclaimed excitedly. The Durmstrang graduate was clearly unaware that Byron was no longer there as his eyes were focused intently on the man turning around to face their direction.
Harry shrugged him off her shoulder in growing annoyance and turned to give him an irritated growl. "Spencer, stop jostling me! Besides, if you were paying attention, Byron just left! Ashford will get mad if you keep staring at his office like that so stop—"
"He's turned around, Harry! Look! Just turn around and look at him!" Spencer interrupted again, practically jumping up and down. With a heavy sigh, Harry rolled her eyes and finally turned around one last time, her green eyes riveting to the face of the man exiting Ashford's office and making his way across the hall.
"Doesn't he just smolder, Harry? Merlin, I wish I could get a piece of him! He may be the hottest thing I've seen walking this earth—"
But Harry was no longer listening and seemed to have gone into an absolute state of shock at this point – her green eyes widening in ridiculous proportions and her feet seemingly rooted on the spot. Her face had paled again and was now stuck in a half-grimace, half-silent-scream of horror.
She stood shaking as the man she was staring at seemed to stop in mid-stride when he passed her office and looked up to meet her gaze in equal surprise. Then, with the capacity of movement that had eluded a sputtering, gaping Harry altogether, the man's lips curled into a familiar sneer of dislike and he entered her office in one swooping motion.
"Harry Potter…Or is it Malfoy now…?"
Spencer looked from the man to Harry in shocked disbelief.
"You know him, Harry? Harry?! Harry! Are you alright? Oh Merlin, please don't faint again! Hello? Are you alright? Harry, snap out of it!"
Harry was deaf to Spencer's indignant protests and continued to stare up stupidly at the man in front of her with her eyes wide, her jaw hanging open and her face pale as a ghost – the only sounds escaping her those of strangled, incoherent and high-pitched squeaking.
Ashford walked in from behind the man and inadvertently answered Spencer's question for him, turning to give Harry a small smirk of amusement.
"Ah, Potter…I'm glad you've come to. I was a little worried. You remember Severus Snape…? I believe he was your Potions Professor back at Hogwarts…?"
Looking up, she was met with Snape's familiar dark eyes as he looked down at her with the same disdainful sneer she had seen so many times before back in Hogwarts.
"I wish I could say it's a delight to see you again…Potter."
Oh…Bugger.
Harry's wide green eyes finally rolled up to the back of her head and she fell backwards in yet another dead faint onto the floor with a loud, heavy 'thud'.
A/N: Mwahahahahaha! I'm so evil! :sinister laugh echoes somewhere far away in the distance: I'll bet none of you saw that coming, didn't you? Well if you did, then kudos to you! I have finally decided on the pairing I will give Byron thanks to all your lovely responses! I got a lot of good ideas about his love life too so thank you all so much! If you wish to know who he'll end up with, tell me in your review and I shall reply to you alright? I don't want to spoil it for the others who want to keep in suspense till the end. :wink:
Just a disclaimer: I do NOT find Snape sexy at all but I realize there are some of you who do so to please everyone, I will write him as such. (Trivia: I have never written him that way before so this is my first time. Weee!) We good, everyone? :wink:
Next Chapter: Lunch with the Slytherins, Lunch with the Gryffindors, Anniversary Party and a quick glimpse of Harry's undercover assignment
Till next time! Leave me a review alright? Cheers everyone! (Who's excited for the HP 6 movie? Woohoo!)