Disclaimer: OCs are mine, crazy ideas are mine, everything else isn't mine.
Warning: Same as last time. Major amount of OCs.
A/N: Do you realize that Chapter 3 (July3rd) Had 12 reviews while all the other chapters have 3 or 4 per chapter? Let's aim for 12 again, shall we?
Also, please remember all Chinese puns/text/etc will be explained at the end and marked with an asterisk (*)
Chapter 5 — July 6th (Part Two)
"Merlin. What is with you people's outfits?"
"For the last time, we like to dress outrageously. They'll think you look incredibly hot in that, by the way."
Draco snorted in disbelief, glancing at the girl walking beside him. Avril was dressed as Phier once again, unnatural (or natural, one could argue, since it wasn't dyed) lime green hair and punk, lacy clothing. She was a great deal taller now, thanks to her lethal-looking stilettos. Draco wondered how anyone could stand those clothes.
Not that he was dressed any better, as a matter of fact. A ripped bottle green t-shirt with a v-neck and quite a few faded indistinguishable words stamped all over it in what Draco supposed was a "totally hip design" hung on his lithe body just half a size loose. He wore a bleach white vest with black thread and buttons, wrinkled as if he'd gotten into a tussle, draped on top. Black skinny jeans with chains hanging from the sides and a pair of white stylish oxfords finished the look. That was, of course, excluding the black punk-meets-motorcycle fingerless gloves he was forced into along with a black star earring (fake) and silver, emerald green hair streaks (he had stubbornly refused all other colors), and black eyeliner.
"This is it," Avril said, pulling him through a magical wall. "Most people would call this a disco, but my group owns this street and this club is a headquarters. There are a few people who don't follow Wyclyve's beck and call; we'll ask them what they know about his whereabouts."
"Phier!" A girl's voice called out, waving wildly before running up and continuing in Chinese, "Oh? Who's this?"
"My name is Dra—"
"He's Dragon," Avril cut Draco off, giving him a knowing look.
"Dragon?" The girl asked, twirling a short lock of her electric blue bob-cut around her finger. "Oh Phier, why do you always get the handsome ones?"
Avril raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you satisfied with your own boy toy?"
"Oh, he's definitely not as gorgeous as this one," The girl gushed. She stuck out a perfectly manicured hand and gave him a wicked grin. "Hi! I'm Hallah, by the way."
"Hello," replied Draco stiffly as he looked the girl over. She wore an outfit of a similar style to Avril's, only not quite as frilly and in an electric and navy blue.
"Ooo! He's a formal as well? You're such a lucky one, Phier," Hallah sighed, clasping her hands together.
"Hallah is a close friend of mine," Avril informed Draco, a knowing glint in her eye. "She knows all the gossip around here." The girl in question beamed. "Hallah, have you seen Robert recently?"
Hallah's face fell a little. "Still can't find him, I'm afraid. He did call me up a day or two ago to ask me if you were alright, since you refuse to answer his calls. He was really quite frantic, you know," she replied pointedly.
"He's been bothering me," Avril scowled. "I don't want to answer him if he's going to be a bother."
"Don't be so fussy, Phier," Hallah chastised.
"But Wy—" Avril gave Draco a glare, "Robert," Draco corrected, "is supposed to be back in Hong Kong, is he not? Why is it so hard to find him if you know him so well when he's in his own territory?"
"He doesn't live here anymore," Hallah replied, eyeing Draco curiously. "Don't you know? He's moved to England so he doesn't have to steal his dear Phier's customers."
"He shouldn't be doing this at all! He's left us all of these loose ends in the gamboling community!" Avril exclaimed.
"He's only off on business because he's trying to make himself better for you!" Hallah's tone leaked irritation, as if they had discussed this before.
"Well, it's not better!"
"Girls," Draco drawled. It was a wonder he could still do that while under a translation charm and not sound like blubbering idiot. "Could you please stop your bickering, and answer the question?"
"I already told you Robert left for England!"
Draco exchanged a look with Avril. The metamorphagus gave a tiny nod and turned back to Hallah. Hallah doesn't know. "Very well then. We must be on our way; there's so much I have to show Dragon."
"Robert's going to be jealous if he catches wind of this!" Hallah's giggly voice called after them.
"Gah. Now he'll bust my phone bill again," Avril complained, massaging her temples with her thumb and ring finger. "Why is it that he keeps calling me, but I can't reach him when I call?"
"Why don't you ask him where he is? He ought to tell you, if he cares so much."
"He knows I've gone to the Ministry. He's obsessed, but he's not stupid."
"I'm not quite familiar with muggle technology," said Draco, "but is there a way we could send a tracking spell through a call?"
"We could try a muggle tracking program," Avril mused. "It could work, since he's been living like a pureblood for a few years. He might not have taken precautions against muggle methods; he's fallen out of practice."
"We'll try that then, the next time he calls you," Draco approved, and then frowned. "Why did you call me Dragon?"
"I suppose your translation charm isn't perfect, so you don't get it. The name I called you, 啊龍, sounds like a nickname, to people like Hallah. But it's really a pun for your name: Draco — Dragon, get it?"
"Ugh." Draco glared at his guide. "Did you really have to do that?"
"It was all I could come up with," Avril sniffed, nose in the air. "You should be grateful for me thinking on the fly like that."
"And why didn't you correct your friend, when she mistook me for your boyfriend?"
"It's an easy way to explain who you are. They'll kill you if you let on that you're an Auror. We're here."
Draco blinked, taking in his surroundings. It seemed as if they'd gone into a room in the VIP section of the club. Rounded silver sectionals lined two of the four black walls with neon flowery designs. There was a strange ethereal sheen to all of the lights, the decorations. Magic, he realized with a sharp intake of breath. This is what she meant. They used magic to improve muggle lights in a club.
"Phier! Who's that?" The inhabitants of the room waved the two over.
"G-Man? Haven't seen you lately," Avril laughed, clapping a brunet on the shoulder while flopping onto a sectional next to him. "Really, it's been years."
"Your boyfriends are really annoying, sweetheart," G-man gave Draco the eye from under a blond (dyed, obviously) fringe as he grabbed an unopened butterbeer from the low table in front of the sectional. "Oh, right, I suppose it would be ex-boyfriends, now, wouldn't it."
"Don't be so rude, G-man," the bloke sitting next to G-man grinned. "Can't you see you'll scare the new kid away?"
"Who are you, anyway?" A girl with pink-streaked hair asked, hopping down from her perch on top of the sectional.
"Dragon," Draco replied, extending a hand to the girl. "A...friend...of Phier's."
The girl smirked at Draco's pause. "A friend, I'm sure. You may call me Heart."
"I'm LaBa," the bloke next to G-man lifted a hand in greeting. He was really too cheery for a human being, in Draco's opinion. "So what're you doing here?"
"Isn't it ob-vious?" G-man sneered. "Phier comes in with a new bloke, what do you expect?"
"Hey! I'm not —" Draco protested.
"A brave one too, I see. I wonder how long he'll last before you break him, Phier. You do like to make them run away."
"What's with you today?" Avril asked, an eyebrow rising delicately.
"He's been in a bad mood since the last time you saw him, Phier," Heart commented from her new perch next to Draco. "He's angry that you let Robert move away."
"I didn't have a say in the matter at the time." Avril's eyes narrowed. "You all know that."
"You could have called him back," G-man snapped. "He was our leader and yet he left everything for your sake."
"How was I supposed to know he would leave because of our break-up?" Avril exclaimed. "I didn't even think he was serious about the relationship!"
"How the fuck did you miss the fact that he loved you? It was there in every look, every gift; everyone could see it." Heart and LaBa nodded in agreement, wincing slightly at the glare Avril gave them. "He thought you were mocking him when you told him it was only a game for you!"
"I only spoke what I thought was the truth!"
"Phier, you did tell him you couldn't love," Heart interjected in a soft voice. "He told us. He told us you said you've never loved ever since you moved into your flat. I don't know why it's relevant, but..."
Something in Draco's mind clicked. Avril had only moved because she was disowned and lost her family. The girl must have been scarred by the incident. Draco knew that if it had been him, he wouldn't ever give anyone a chance to worm their way into his heart after that. He had been through a rough childhood and adolescence, but he always had his mother and father, no matter how prideful and arrogant they were. Sometimes Draco wondered how Harry could have lived and lived and lived without familial love as a child.
"Robert's back in Hong Kong." Avril's voice cut through Draco's reverie.
"Yes, I know," G-man said, his voice dangerously soft. "He asked me if there was a way for me to get Vivian's Lake for him. Didn't even ask about the rest of us or even the business, that prick!"
"You've seen him?" Draco cut in, all business.
"Yeah, what's it to you?" G-man sneered. "'Fraid that you have competition? Don't worry, Phier never dates anyone twice."
"That's enough, G-man!" Avril yelled, shooting to her feet. "I can't help what's already happened! So cut the crap and tell me where the fuck Robert is!"
"Don't be rash," Draco breathed into Avril's ear as he dragged her back down to her seat. "It won't do if Wyclyve gets wind of unnecessary rumors about your actions."
Avril took a deep breath and nodded before turning back to G-man, who had a pleased look on his face. "Well? Are you going to tell me what you know about Robert? I can't stop him if I don't know where he is, can I?"
"I met him street racing three nights ago," G-man replied, leaning and draping an elbow casually on the back of his seat. "We were just clearing out from a race when Robert came at me from behind. I was surprised to see him, naturally. Asked the man what he was doing there. He told me he needed Vivian's Lake, and it was vital. Asked me if I could get it from you, since you refuse to talk to him. I told him I don't do Dark Artifacts and I won't change that. He sighed like he knew that would be my answer, said exactly that, and then turned around and walked away. I asked him if he wanted to race, you know, a game between best mates, but he said 'No, this is too important. It's important for us.' and apparated out."
"Too important for you guys? What?" Draco cut in.
"He didn't say 'us'," G-man said, the ghost of a smirk curving his lips. "Oh no, he said 'us'. And there's only one 'us' Robert's interested in."
Draco glanced at Avril and back. G-man gave a minute nod, confirming Draco's suspicions. Wyclyve really was obsessed.
"Alright! That's enough serious talk! Let's give Dragon a tour!" Heart giggled excitedly, breaking the contemplative silence following G-man's words. She wrapped her arms around Draco's and pulled him out of the room, Avril and the two boys following behind.
Draco sighed and resigned himself to a long day.
xXxXxXx
Harry was pacing around the hotel room. He had assumed Draco would be back by now; it was nearly two-thirty in the morning! Surely Draco wasn't still pissed at him? Harry had a whole file of information about the cave on Lamma Island ready as a peace offering. Of course, there was also Draco's daily 'secret admire' gift, today's being a complete set of expensive and limited edition hair products that Draco adored, along with the usual rose. Harry had thought it was a bad idea at first to add to Draco's primping products (Merlin knew how vain Draco was about his appearance), but considering how much Draco loved his hair, and the fact that he felt kind of guilty for taking his frustration out on Draco that morning, he decided it was worth a little extra money and prepared himself for Draco to finish hogging the bathroom in the morning half an hour later than the usual time.
Two thirty-six. Where had Draco gone off to anyway? Shacklebolt would surly rip Harry a new one if their little fight got Draco hurt or killed. Damn it, where was the git? Harry's pacing increased in speed along with his agitation. Two thirty-seven.
Harry glanced at the file on the table. The table that Draco had mostly taken over in order to spread out his new picture puzzle. Draco had stayed up every night, a small crease between his eyebrows, trying to piece together the clue. Harry gave a small smile at the memory. The picture had been a wizarding one, which was why the puzzle was so hard; the people in the picture would keep moving around, causing the picture on each individual piece to change every time the people in the picture walked around. You really had to hand it to Draco, though. He adamantly refused to be defeated by a mere piece of colored cardboard and now he was nearly done. Harry couldn't wait to see how much Draco would catch from the picture once he finished. Harry had chosen a photo from one of the Ministry Galas, where all the Aurors had grouped together for a department picture. Quiet amusingly, most of the Aurors had been thoroughly pissed by the time the picture was taken and most of their coworkers were either stumbling around the picture or doing crazy thing that people did when they were drunk. It was both his and Draco's favorite picture of the department.
Harry cast another tempus. Two forty-two.
Click.
"Harry? Whyr you still up?" Draco stumbled into the room, his voice slightly slurred.
"Where were you?" Harry demanded, worry turning into anger once he saw that Draco was unharmed, just merely tipsy. He did not care one bit that he sounded like a worried spouse.
"Wizard sh-street racing," Draco yawned, flopping backwards onto the bed.
"You went street racing?" Harry yelled. Draco was out having fun while Harry was working? He was a lazy arse, if that was the case!
"Mmmhmm," Draco mumbled, snuggling into the blankets.
"Don't you sleep yet, you prat!"
"Hmm."
"Damn it, I can't talk to you like this." Pulling out his wand, Harry shot a sobriety spell straight at Draco's head.
"Yow! Potter! What the bloody hell was that for?" Draco yelped, clutching his skull. Sobriety spells were never pleasant. "Ungh. My head."
"Why the hell were you out street racing while I was working?"
Draco gave him a cold glare. "I was out interrogating Wyclyve's friends, you imbecile."
"And that requires drinking and street racing?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Yes, it does," Draco sneered. "Considering I had to work undercover so they wouldn't know I was interrogating them. Don't think it was easy downing twelve butterbeers and half a bottle of firewhiskey while trying not to let anything slip."
"Oh." Well, that made sense. Anger fell away as quickly as it had appeared. "I'm sorry about this morning."
"Don't worry about it. We've done worse before," Draco waved it off, reaching a hand up to his ear. "Damn, this earring hurts. I don't even know how women do it."
It was then Harry's mind finally registered Draco's appearance. "What are you wearing?"
Draco winced. "Don't tease me. Phier forced me to wear this."
"Tease...you...?" Harry stuttered stupidly, still ogling Draco. "Merlin, you look hot."
"Ugh. Not you too." Draco whined, getting up from the bed to take a shower, still clutching his head. "Ooo! Madame Gisele's Straightening Shampoo Potion! I love you, mystery gifter person!" Draco squealed — yes, squealed — from the bathroom. Harry rolled his eyes. Of course hair products would make Draco show his sweet side.
*Draco's name, 啊龍 is pronounced "Ah l-O-ng". The second character literally means "Dragon"
*Heart's name is really "啊心", in which the second word literally means "Heart", it is pronounced "Ah Sum"
*LaBa's name is really "喇叭", which literally means "Trumpet" or "Speaker" (as in music speakers) It is pronounced, "Laa Baa".
A/N: Please, Please, Please Review and tell me what you think of the Wyclyve Case so far. Just a "The case is good/bad" or "I'm confused about this part of the case..." will do. I'm really worried about the reaction, please let me know if I'm writing the action part well.
(If you don't tell me what you think of the Case, I'll deprive you of Fluff! [Kidding, of course...or am I?])