Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter.

Merry Christmas To All!

Getting Closer

Once they were all seated and settled in Hugo handed them each a sheet of paper which he explained was a translated version of the letter he'd given them. He was also willing to keep a copy for them in his home safe, just in case they were worried about someone trying to steal it. Thanking him for the offer the two quickly turned their attention to reading the letter, which unfortunately didn't do much more than confirm what they had already suspected. Apparently the politician had heard through the grapevine that the vigilante group known as 'The Protectors' had been restarted by the original group's descendants. McIntyre, it turned out, had some Spanish roots and had had four ancestors serving in various government positions during the corrupt period that had caused the once legal group to act outside the law. As a result of the rumors and remembering well the group's habit of going after the families of their enemies McIntyre had created the letter so as to point law enforcement officials in the right direction should he meet a seemingly normal but premature death without prior warning. Reading between the lines both Aurors thought that another reason the man had written the letter but hadn't come to them for protection was that their victim hadn't wanted to admit that he was as corrupt as his ancestors. That if 'The Protectors' were indeed on the hunt again he would be just the sort they would come after.

"If he'd been smart he would have come to us and asked us to look into things regardless." Albus murmured when he'd finished reading, continuing to look down at piece of parchment in his hands. "But he probably hoped he was just being paranoid. Typical."

If he had a galleon for every case he'd investigated where the victim had thought it could never happen to him or her he'd be rolling in it.

"Well that and coming forward would mean spotlighting the fact that he comes from a line of dirty politicians and wouldn't the Daily Prophet eat that up if they got wind of it." Scorpius pointed out with a smirk. "He wouldn't have wanted us looking too deeply into what he was involved in either, now would he? Especially since your aunt was such a fierce opponent of his. He wouldn't have wanted any of this being mentioned to her unless he was too dead to care."

"I know that the tattoo isn't enough for you guys to call Santana into questioning, since it's now his family coat of arms and all, but if you'd like I could look into the genealogy of high ranking members of the Ministry. Anyone with Spanish heritage could potentially be a target, right?"

"Does our second victim have Spanish blood somewhere in his family tree?" Scorpius asked, eyes taking on a predator gleam when the other man nodded confirmation. That Hugo hadn't yet been able to find proof that any of the second victim's ancestors had run afoul of 'The Protectors' didn't mean anything given that they liked to make their kills look natural.

If they could narrow down Santana's potential victims they could possible arrange to catch him red handed. Provided that they could figure out how the Spanish bastard was killing the politicians in the first place, Albus thought ruefully, still peeved about that. Even if they could put Santana at the scene of any of the crimes, or link him personally to one of the victims, that didn't change the fact that both deaths had come off as being from natural causes. The man was good, he'd give him that.

Sighing, Albus sat back in his seat, rubbing the back of his neck as he mulled over a possibility he really didn't like but had to be thrown out there. "This isn't going to be easy, especially since he'd supposed to be leaving soon. What if he was only aiming for the two? This one might be beyond us. Once he's back home it would be damn near impossible to touch him, especially given the connections he has there and the lack of physical evidence to submit to his government."

The glare Scorpius aimed in his partner's direction made it clear how he felt about that.

As far as the Slytherin was concerned he really could win them all and he intended to keep it that way.

Rolling his eyes Albus didn't have to ask the other man to know that they weren't going to be going back to his place for wild afternoon sex the way they'd planned to. They were going to be working even though it was their day off and they'd been ordered by his father to take the time off because they'd been working too much overtime, him especially since his dates with Santana had technically been work related. Still, the Gryffindor foresaw them spending the rest of the afternoon and possibly evening and night reading through family histories as they looked for possible targets. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but it was the job.

Oh well, it wasn't like they weren't used to being sexually frustrated around each other.

)

Flopping down onto his couch Louis pouted, crossing his arms in front of him as he silently fumed over his no good, very bad day. But how could it have been otherwise since he'd started it by waking up in that damn Slytherin's bed only to find that the man had up and left him there! The fact that the hulking jerk had left a note didn't change the fact that any man with manners would have woken him up. And then, when he'd gone out for lunch he'd ran into an ex of his who had been there with his latest boyfriend, poor sod. The new boyfriend, not the ex. The ex could burn in hell, the assehole. He'd heard the jackass tell the new guy that their breaking up was all his fault for being too high maintenance, the bastard hadn't even tried to keep his voice down.

HE WAS NOT HIGH MAINENTANCE.

And even if he was, just a little, he was worth any trouble he might cause.

The rest of his day had been pretty boring, and then he'd heard through the family grapevine that Al and Malfoy had finally done the deed and used the L word which meant not only had his best friend not been the one to tell him but he hadn't gotten the damn pot either!

Why was life so unfair sometimes?

Brooding over that Louis was surprised when the sound of his doorbell going off distracted him from his thoughts. Automatically he turned his head to look at his clock, noting the time with interest. He wasn't expecting anyone and it was rather late for someone to just be dropping by without a reason.

Curiosity aroused the blonde headed for the door, seriously considering slamming said door in the other man's face when he saw who was standing at his flat's threshold. "What do you want?"

"I feel so welcome." Rorake drawled out, not taking offense. He'd figured that he would be on the blonde's shit list for not lying around in bed, waiting for him to wake him up. "Do you have a minute?"

"Why?"

In answer the Slytherin lifted the bag he held at his side to call the Gryffindor's attention to it. "I brought some of my mum's cake, as promised."

Cake. He liked cake. He liked it a lot more than he currently liked Rorake Goyle.

Unfortunately he was obviously going to have to let the other man into his place if he was going to get his hands on said cake.

Sighing in a way that suggested he was seriously being inconvenienced Louis moved off to the side, motioning for the other man to come in.

Wisely opting not to rub it in that he'd successfully bribed his way into the volatile creature's lair Rorake stepped in, following the Gryffindor out of the hallway and into the living room area. Eyes making a keep sweep of the place Rorake smiled just a little as he took in the décor. It suited the blonde.

"What?" Louis demanded defensively, quickly doing an eye sweep of his own to make sure that the place wasn't overly messy. He hadn't been expecting company after all, and if the Slytherin planned on making fun of his place he was going to pick up something heavy and bash the other man's head with it.

"It's colorful, both traditional and trendy, with a feeling of warmth and welcome. It suits you. And I like it."

Cheeks flushing, Louis couldn't help but preen a little even though he really didn't care what Rorake thought of his place. But he was apparently getting really good cake out of it so he decided to be a little more hospitable, especially since his maman had taught him to be a good host even when the guest was more than a little annoying most of the time.

"So we need plates then?"

"I just brought you a slice, I ate mine at dinner."

The Slytherin had come all the way to see him just to give him a slice of cake? Awwwwwwwwww.

Not quite sure what to make of the Gryffindor's change in expression Rorake wisely decided that it was in his best interests not to ask. So instead he reached into the bag and retrieved the container, holding it out to the blonde who took it from him with a hungry gleam in his bright blue eyes. "You'll just need a fork. Especially when it comes time for you to eat crow." He added, unable to stop himself.

Eyes narrowing as he recalled their former argument Louis immediately subtracted all the brownie points he'd mentally given the other man for bringing him cake.

Doing his best to hide his amusement at the looks he was getting now, which were what he was used to from the Gryffindor, Rorake followed the annoyed blonde and his undeniably pretty ass into the man's kitchen, watching as Louis retrieved a fork from one of the drawers. Leaning back against one of the cupboards the Slytherin watched as the other man removed the lid from the container, break off a piece of the slice with the fork and then scoop it up, bringing it to those oh so kissable lips.

Okay, it was really, really good, Louis admitted as he struggle to cut back on the yummy noises he couldn't help but making. It wasn't easy though, Rorake's mum was seriously skilled when it came to cake. That the Slytherin had only brought him this one piece was really mean of the smug bastard.

"Good, huh?"

Forcing himself not to look too eager as he scooped up his next bite Louis sniffed. "It's good. My maman's is still better though."

Lips twitching Rorake considered arguing with the man for the fun of it and then decided not to. He didn't take offense to the suggestion that the blonde's mother baked better than his own mum, people generally preferred and favored the foods they'd grown up with. Provided that whoever had made their meals could cook of course. And it had been a long day and he was ready to just kick back and relax, something he almost never did in the Gryffindor's presence.

"So do I owe you dinner still or are you just going to tell me you told me so?"

Louis blinked in surprise, a disgruntled look on his face. "You aren't going to argue with me that your mother's isn't better than my maman's cake?"

Rorake smirked. "Do you really think I'm mental enough to think you'd admit to being wrong even if you agreed with me?" And seeing that Louis had thought precisely that and was disappointed that he wasn't going to get to defend his decision the Slytherin's grin widened. "Anyway, do you want to transfer that piece to one of your plates so that I can head out?"

Now he was really starting to get pissed at the Slytherin. "What's your hurry, hot date?"

"Only an ass of epic proportions would be going on a date after spending the night before shagging another man's brains out."

"You did NOT shag my brains out, Rorake Goyle!"

A number of smart ass responses and dumb blonde jokes came to the Slytherin's mind, but Rorake decided not to use them since there were a lot of sharp, potentially lethal things in the room for Louis to throw at him.

So he just grinned knowingly and watched the blonde sputter his outrage adorably.

Plus there was just a little bit of cream sticking to the bottom of Louis's lip.

He was going to have to do something about that, Rorake decided as he licked his lips in anticipation.

No point in letting it go to waste after all.

)

Rolling his shoulders in what proved to be a futile attempt to work the kinks out Albus sighed and gave up. Again. Which meant a change of seating was necessary if he was going to forgo the fast working but awful smelling poultice he had for loosening cramped muscles. And since he wanted the Slytherin to be all over him as soon as possible Albus figured he better keep smelling like himself and not like something the dog dragged in from the trash. Not that he was going to get laid anytime soon, the Gryffindor ruefully admitted to himself as he collected three of the books from the table and then got up, instantly feeling a little better as the blood started to circulate better.

Looking up from his own book Scorpius gave him a questioning look.

"I'm going to read in bed. You can check on me periodically to make sure I haven't nodded off on you if you like."

And not waiting for an argument Albus headed out of his living room and down the hall to his bedroom. Letting himself in the Gryffindor lightly tossed his books onto the bed and then went to work stripping out of his clothing so that he would be comfortable when he did eventually fall asleep.

He'd removed his shirt and was undoing his belt when his partner stepped into the room.

Turning to face the doorway Albus grinned and raised an eyebrow as he pulled his belt from the trouser loops. "Come to check on me already?"

"I thought I'd join you so you wouldn't get lonely."

Amusement written all over his face the Gryffindor finished undressing, leaving his boxers on since he was still pretty sure he wasn't going to be getting lucky for a little while yet. Picking up after himself Albus put his clothes away and then got into bed, stacking the pillows up on both sides so that the headboard would be comfortable to lean back against. That done he retrieved his share of the books and went back to work, making a small sound of pleasure in the back of his throat when Scorpius got under the covers with him to do the same.

This wasn't the way Scorpius had intended to spend the evening either, but he'd figured that the apparently dumb as dirt politician would give them something better than what they currently had to go on. The clock was ticking and damn if he was going to let the son of a bitch Spaniard slip through his fingers. Nobody slipped through his fingers. Nobody.

But it was the thought of what he wanted to be doing in bed with the Gryffindor that had Scorpius turning his head and lowering it to place a quick kiss on the other man's bare shoulder.

Humming his pleasure Albus turned his head and smiled at the Slytherin. "Once we get this case taken care of you and I are going to have to put in for some time off. I think we both need a vacation."

They certainly had the time off coming as they weren't called workaholics for nothing. And as much as he loved his job and hated being idle…he had a feeling that Albus would find ways to keep him busy. Ways that were a hell of a lot more enjoyable then going through official records for hints as to the ancestry of Ministry workers.

"Where do you want to go?"

Leaning forward Albus nuzzled his face against the Slytherin's throat, placing a loving kiss on the pulse that beat there. "So long as I've got you and a bed I could care less where we end up."

"Likewise. Though I'm thinking that somewhere warm where we have to wear very little clothing would be good." Cupping the Gryffindor's cheek in one hand Scorpius pulled the other man in for a kiss, lips moving softly against the other man's.

Pulling back after taking a thorough taste of his partner's mouth Albus wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Sounds good to me. And you know, we've been working non stop since our very hastily consumed dinner. I think the world wouldn't end if we took a quick, twenty minute break. To recharge and get our blood flowing properly." To encourage the Slytherin to agree with him Albus moved so that he could straddle his partner, giving him a 'you know you want to' look.

"As the Slytherin I'm pretty sure that I'm supposed to be the bad influence, not you." Scorpius pointed out as he ran his hands over Albus's bare torso with obvious enjoyment.

"Being around you has corrupted me horribly."

Laughing at the mock solemnity of the Gryffindor's words Scorpius allowed himself to be thoroughly distracted, thinking that it would take a stronger man then him to be able to resist the half naked love of his life sitting on his lap. Besides, recharging did sound like a pretty good idea. "Have I mentioned today that I love the way you think?" He asked as he moved his hands to cup his partner's ass.

Albus grinned. "Nope. But you did mention you love me, which I like even better."

"Me too."