A/N: This is the end. The final chapter. It is short and sweet. However! There is an epilogue. Stay tuned!

oOoOo

Lucius woke very early the next morning to find his beloved auror still wrapped around him, face angelic in repose. A pang lanced through his heart at the sight. He wanted nothing more than to kiss the young man awake but knew that he couldn't do that, not this morning. Gingerly he shifted out from under Harry's body, smiling just a little when Harry grumbled and burrowed into the warm spot Lucius left behind. Lucius made sure that the duvet was snugged up around the sleeping man before turning to the bathroom.

It didn't take him long to get ready, though his haste was tempered somewhat by his need to be quiet. Perhaps ten minutes passed before the elder wizard was dressed and standing once more at the bedside. Harry hadn't moved at all, though he had started snoring softly.

"I'll see you soon, Love," Lucius leaned down to place a brief kiss on one lightly stubbled cheek before adding in a whisper, "I hope." Then he turned to the fireplace before he could talk himself out of what he planned to do. There was a flash of green flame and then he was gone.

oOoOo

Harry was cold. He didn't know if that was what woke him or if it was something in his dreams but he lay there with his eyes closed, just listening. Silence greeted his ears. He didn't hear Lucius' slow, even breathing next to him, nor did he hear any movement that would have signaled the man's presence in the suite. At first Harry thought that maybe the other wizard had returned to the room that had been assigned to him but then he remembered that this was Lucius' room. When it became clear that he wasn't going to discover anything by listening, Harry opened his eyes and reached for his glasses.

The room was deserted, except for him. Fighting down a sense of unease, Harry reasoned that his partner might have gone down to breakfast or perhaps to the Headmistress' office. There was also the possibility that the elder wizard could have gone for a morning stroll. None of those things were very like him but Harry couldn't discount the possibilities without investigation.

To investigate, however, the auror required clothes. He swung his legs to the side of the bed and sat there for a minute, trying to shake the sleep out of his brain. Once he'd managed that sufficiently, the first order of business was to fish around in his pocket for the shrunken bag he'd packed the day before. After it was found and returned to its proper size, Harry went for a quick shower and shave, and then returned to the bedroom to don his fresh clothing.

He sat on the edge of the bed to tie his shoes and plan his course of action. The rooms he'd left would probably be the best place to start. Harry reshrunk his bag, stowed it into his pocket again and then draped his robes carelessly around his shoulders. He took the floo back to McGonagall's old quarters and, as expected, found them just as empty as he'd left them. The next stop then was the Great Hall. He walked briskly down hallways and stairs, having to take a detour twice when the moving staircases deposited him opposite where he actually wanted to go.

A fair number of students were heading down to breakfast and several of them greeted the auror with smiles or cheerful words. Harry did his best to hide his worry, returning their greetings in kind. One of the seventh year Hufflepuffs, having been a student when Harry was still at Hogwarts and a survivor of the battle, fell in step with the auror and chatted with him until they reached the door to the Great Hall. At that point the student – whose name Harry still couldn't recall – waved to him and strode over to the Hufflepuff table, wearing a big grin on his face.

The hall was abuzz with excited voices, no doubt intensified by Harry's presence in the room. Ignoring the stares that everyone was directing his way, the auror looked around the room. Lucius was nowhere to be seen, however Minerva was there in her customary spot so Harry made a beeline for the head table.

"Ah, good morning, Potter. I hope you found your rooms satisfactory?"

"The rooms were fine, Professor, only…I seem to have misplaced Lucius. He wasn't in his rooms this morning. Have you seen him?"

"No, in fact I haven't. Perhaps he returned home to collect something?" Harry must have let more of his feelings show than he intended because the Headmistress began to look concerned. "Surely you don't think that Mister Malfoy could be in some type of trouble just because he wasn't in his room."

"I hate to say it, Professor, but that's exactly what I think. If you'll excuse me?"

Harry didn't actually wait for her to nod, instead turning on his heel and almost running from the Hall once he'd finished speaking. The chatter only grew louder as he passed back into the entranceway. He didn't pay more than scant attention. His feelings of unease were almost snowballing into a panic as he shoved his way through the door and jogged down toward the school's gates. Once outside them, he apparated to the London flat.

Lucius wasn't there either. Frustration bubbled to the surface and Harry slammed his fist against the kitchen counter. As one might expect, this brought pain blossoming through his hand and he shook it, turning just as angry at himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. There was only one thing to do.

He flooed to the ministry and went directly to the minister's office. Padma looked up as he stormed through the door to the outer office and tried to head him off before he could get to the inner one. "Harry, the minister's really busy right now."

"Padma, you need to get out of my way," Harry's voice was low and tight. He was barely managing to contain his fear and anger and he really didn't want to strike out at his former classmate.

"No, Harry." She grabbed his sleeve and he shrugged her off.

"I need to speak to Kingsley. Now. No excuses. I don't want to hurt you but I might be forced to if you don't get out of my way."

Padma sighed and took a step back, giving him clear access to the door. "Just…try to keep your head, okay? You're not going to accomplish anything by attacking the minister."

The words sunk in a little, though could not deter him from his purpose. He nodded to Padma, tried to take a deep breath and then stepped once more toward the door to the office beyond. He gripped the handle and turned it, moving without hesitation into the familiar room. Kingsley looked up, surprise flitting momentarily across his face before disappearing behind a scowl.

"Potter, I'm quite busy right now. I don't have time…"

"You sent Lucius to Bruges, didn't you?"

"I don't see how that…"

"It should have been me! I should be leading that mission!"

Kingsley sighed and rubbed at his temple as though he had a headache. "Malfoy volunteered. In fact, he woke me up before the sun rose to volunteer. He told me that you two were never going to make that map idea work and that he wanted to go as soon as possible so that Dolohov wouldn't have time to move his operation. I got the impression that he thought you'd wasted too much time already."

That was impossible. Lucius wouldn't have thought their work was a waste of time. Or would he? How do I know he wasn't just humouring me all along? The auror stood in thought for a moment and then shook his head. Malfoy hadn't wanted either of them to go back. "He's trying to protect me. That's the only reason he would have gone."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Shrewd eyes bored into him, measuring.

"Yes, it's a bad thing! Fighting dark wizards is my job! You of all people should know that."

"What I know is that Mister Malfoy is already in Belgium and the operation is underway. I haven't had any updates from their minister but I expect to hear something at any time. Why don't you go down to your office and I'll have Padma send word when we know more?"

"I'm going to go to Bruges. Surely they could use…"

"No,Harry. You're not to meddle in this and that's an order," Kingsley's tone had turned very stern, brooking no argument.

Harry had just opened his mouth to voice another angry retort when the door banged open. Lucius strode in, looking partly disgruntled but more than a little relieved. He pulled up short when he saw his lover standing there with a furious expression on his face. A guilty flicker passed through his eyes before he could school his features.

"Potter," he nodded in greeting and Harry just glared at him in return. "Minister."

"I didn't expect you back so soon, Mister Malfoy. Is everything all right?"

Lucius dropped into the chair across from the Minister's desk without asking permission, clearly refusing to look at Harry again. "It turns out that we were too late after all. Dolohov's operation has already vanished."

"I was afraid of that," Kingsley sighed. "There were no clues to where they've gone?"

"None that I spotted but the Belgians are working on it. Since they didn't really need me for that, I came back."

The minister nodded and looked from one man to the other. "Well then gentlemen, nothing more to do now but wait and see if any more leads surface. I thank you both for your efforts."

Lucius and Harry both nodded as well but nobody moved for a long moment. Finally Lucius put his hands on the arms of the chair and heaved himself out of it. "Good day then. I think I'll go catch up on sleep. It has been a long few days." His eyes flickered toward Harry but he didn't say anything more.

"Your rest is well deserved, Mister Malfoy. Thanks again."

"You're welcome, Minister." Lucius tipped his head in Kingsley's direction then turned on his heel and fled the room. Harry saw the rapid departure as fleeing, anyway. He'd better run. When I catch up with him…

The auror realized that Kingsley was staring at him again. "Why don't you take the day off too, Harry? You've been under a lot of stress recently and it shows. You'll be much more useful to the department if you don't have a breakdown."

Harry wanted to argue, purely out of spite, but he also didn't want to go to his office right now. If he did he would have to face Ron and the other aurors and in his current frame of mind, he couldn't be sure that he wouldn't snap at them for petty reasons. He growled out, "Yes, Minister," and turned to follow Lucius' path. Unseen by the young auror, Kingsley just shook his head and sighed.

Once outside the office, Harry paused to look around. It seemed that Lucius had not waited around for him either. Harry's annoyance grew. Coward! He was going to have some choice words for Lucius Bloody Malfoy when he caught up with him. The question was, where to begin looking: the cottage or the flat? Pondering what he knew of Lucius, he strode to the Ministry's entrance hall and flooed directly to the cottage.

His hunch had been correct. The white-haired wizard was there. He sat on the couch with a half-empty glass of firewhiskey and a leather-bound book, in which he was writing. Lucius closed the book at once when Harry stepped from the fireplace. "Before you start," Malfoy held up his hand to forestall anything his lover might say, "I want to explain."

"What is there to explain? You snuck off like a thief in the night to play the bloody hero instead of letting me do what I've been trained to do."

"You haven't had enough time to rest and recover from your last trip to Belgium."

"Oh bollocks!"

"Harry," Lucius scooted over and patted the space beside him, "come here. Sit down."

As tempting as it was, Harry stood his ground, still glaring down at his lover. He hadn't felt this level of anger in a long time. Lucius stared back, calmly waiting. Several minutes ticked by in silence and finding himself unable to just turn and leave, the auror moved to sit stiffly in the proffered spot. Lucius wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders and pulled him close, despite the young man's protests.

"Now then, Mister Potter, I didn't do this for glory. I didn't want to go to Belgium at all – as you well know – but I did it because I love you and I didn't want to see you in danger again so soon."

Harry bristled, trying to forget that he had been planning to do the same thing to Lucius in the morning. He justified it with the thought that at least he was going to inform Lucius of the matter before leaving. "So you wanted me to worry to death instead?"

"No…"

" And besides that, I'm an auror, Lucius. I am always going to be in danger! I shouldn't be left sitting on my hands waiting to hear if anything has happened to you."

"Be that as it may, I had this one opportunity to keep you safe and I had to take it."

"You are such a-" But Harry didn't get the chance to tell Lucius what he was because the older wizard pulled him into a kiss, effectively stopping the words. By the time the kiss ended, it seemed pointless to finish the thought. "You are not supposed to be brave and self-sacrificing," he grumbled instead.

"I promise that this was the one and only time it will happen."

"Good. I wouldn't want you to make a habit of going so far against your character."

"Very nice, Harry. Abuse me more, won't you?"

"It's really tempting."

"I've got a riding crop in the desk over there if you need it." Lucius nodded to the heavy piece of furniture on the other side of the room.

"Why do you have a riding crop in your desk?" And why didn't I know about it before? Harry frowned.

"I forgot to leave it at the stables last time I went to ride one of my thestrals."

"You have thestrals?" It dawned on Harry just how little he knew about Lucius' life, even after all this time.

"A pair of them and a half dozen regular horses."

"Why didn't I know that?"

The elder wizard gave a small shrug. "It never came up."

"Next thing you'll tell me is that you have a muggle aeroplane stashed somewhere."

"Don't be absurd."

"Guess not then," the auror snorted at the expression on his lover's face.

They lapsed back into silence. Harry wanted to stay mad at Lucius for a lot longer – because as he realized now, he had been scared that something terrible would happen to the man – but it was becoming really difficult. Malfoy was too charming and Harry was too fond of him to hold onto his anger. He tucked his head against Lucius' shoulder and heaved a deep sigh. "I never want you to leave me alone again."

"It's fortuitous then that I have no intention of going anywhere."

"Even if they find Dolohov?"

"They won't need me if they do. They just wanted a guide to the hideout, remember?"

"Yeah..."

"If Antonin is smart – and that may be giving him too much credit – he will be long gone. Were I him, I think I would have gone to Asia. Thriving trade in dark artifacts there," he spotted the frown that was settling on Harry's face and hastened to add, "or so I've been told."

"Lucius…" there was a warning note in Harry's tone and it drew a chuckle from the older man.

"I know, I know. I am to keep to the straight and narrow." Lucius stole a kiss. "But think of it this way, Mister Potter: if I should reestablish contact with some of the more unsavory parts of wizarding society, you could always…probe me for information."

Harry couldn't help it. He laughed out loud. "You're horrible."

"Horrible? Or very, very good?"

"Both and I love you more than I can say."