CleopatraIsMyName is still the best beta reader ever, thank you for fixing up the chapter!
-o-
Harry woke up in a good mood the next day. Today he was being relieved by Dean Thomas, his partner, which would make him able to go to a workplace where he was at least a little bit appreciated and do work he wasn't extremely over-qualified for - in contrast to hanging around with a snarky, mean bore who only wanted him gone. A good looking bore, but still - a bore.
But first of all, he was going home.
He met Dean in the doorway, wished him well and tried to ignore the annoyed look on his face.
"Why do we have to do this?" Dean said in a hushed voice. "We're the best they have!"
"You know why, if we always get all the good assignments the others will protest," Harry tried. "And also, I don't know if it's that bad. Don't you think it's important to stop hate crimes?"
"Of course, it's just that it's Malfoy you know."
"Yeah I know." Potter said, patting his partner on the shoulder and giving him a sympathetic glance before hurrying home.
-o-
He Apparated home to his two flat-mates who were completely occupied with snogging each other senseless.
"Good morning guys," he said, sitting down at the breakfast table, snatching some of the food his friends had served at the table.
Hermione smiled and sat down at the table with Harry. "Good morning, Harry."
"Morning, Mate, " Ron said, also sitting down. "So you're free from the Amazingly Arrogant Ferret then?"
"Yeah, for a while at least," Harry said with his mouth full of bread. "But I have to do a ton of paperwork all day, good thing Smith's working today - I'll need something good to look at."
"You're still seeing him then?" Ron said disgustedly, "You know, Ginny's coming home next week," He continued. "Why don't you two just settle down with each other?"
"Oh, settle down for what?" Harry countered, "One week of monogamous bliss — until the next game she has to be gone for? You know that the kind of relationship the two of you have would never work for us. Can't you just realise that? It would never work. And, by the way, I wouldn't want it to - our way is wickedly awesome. We're not like you two."
"He knows that, Harry," Hermione tried to meddle. "It's just that we're both not sure Smith's exactly the right one for you."
"Please, would you just shut it? You guys should hear yourselves! Do you not hear how homophobic you sound right now?"
"You know that's not what we mean!" Ron seemed genuinely upset. "It's not about him being a guy, it's about him being an awful human being."
"No, Ron, it's about two consenting adults who can do whatever the fuck they want with each other!" Harry stormed out of the room.
-o-
After short nap and a warm shower, Harry realised that he maybe had been somewhat childish towards his two best friends. So he dressed himself and went out to the kitchen where they were still drinking coffee in silence, and apologised.
"No we're sorry too, Harry."
-o-
As it was Monday, the trio greeted a full and hectic Ministry and Harry and Ron hurriedly said goodbye to Hermione who was heading to the fourth floor where the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was. They quickly continued to the Auror Office on the second floor.
Once they got in to the office, Neville said hi to Harry before he and Ron went to their cubicles to start working on the Egypt Affairs case and left Harry alone to start on the Malfoy case.
Harry sat down by his desk and started filing the much neglected paperwork mess on it.
At lunchtime, Zacharias Smith came by his desk. "You want to grab something to eat?" He said, leaning back against the cubical wall.
Harry looked over to where Ron and Neville was busy working on their case. "Yeah, sure, let's go."
-o-
It's not like he didn't get why his friends hated Smith, but he really wasn't that bad once you got to know him. He's maybe not the most trusting or friendly person in the world, but he's kind of smart and really good at his work. He really is!
And also, he's pretty good in bed. Decent, at least.
"Thanks again," Smith smiled as Harry cleaned them both up. "It's time to go back now."
-o-
When they came back to the Headquarters Robards called him to his office.
"Good Afternoon Potter," Robards said. "Sit down," he continued conjuring up a chair in front of his desk. "How is your case going?"
"Good, but slowly," Harry replied. "It's hard to work efficiently when your partner is occupied baby-sitting the victims."
"Yes of course, I know. It's been chaos in the department, as you know." Robards said looking through some papers. "But I think we'll be able to send some officers to help keep the Malfoys safe now," he continued looking up briefly. "I will tend to it immediately. You can go back to work and Thomas will most certainly be able to assist you within the hour."
"Good. Thank you, Robards!"
-o-
As promised, Dean showed up shortly afterwards and they started going through all of the hate letters sent to both Malfoy and his mother - even though the younger Malfoy hadn't really read any of the ones sent to him ("What, why would I read any letters from people I don't know? Do you think I'm mental? I'm a former Death Eater, hello? You think I get fluffy fan letters like you, or what?").
"Hey, Harry," Dean interrupted the silence. "Are you OK?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well we've been reading these for hours, and…" He continued slightly hesitantly. "They're pretty vile…and…about gay stuff - you know?"
"Gay stuff? You think because I like dudes I'm not able to do my work as an Auror?"
"Sorry, Harry, of course you can. Didn't mean it like that!"
Of course he didn't, they never did. But there actually was something unsettling about the letters, like he'd seen the writing before. Not these exact letters but it all just seemed familiar in some way.
"Do you know what they mean with 'stop dirtying our country with your filthy values again'? The Malfoys haven't done anything suspicious lately, right?" Dean asked. "What is this 'again' they're referring to?"
"I haven't the slightest idea."
-o-
They interviewed both the Malfoys the next day. None of them seemed to have done anything out of the ordinary that could have made them any new-born enemies.
Mrs Malfoy was living a quiet life, mostly staying at home in the Manor and in touch with just a few old friends, far away from most society. She offered some tea and biscuits when they came to visit but unfortunately had very little helpful information to share. She also seemed rather convinced that her son eventually would marry a woman named Astoria.
Draco Malfoy was working as an interpreter at the Ministry in the Department of International Magical Cooperation but knew almost no one there and was also keeping a rather low profile with, similar to his mother, just a few close friends. His office was just like him: tidy, obnoxious and kind of amusing. There were organised books and paper files all over the walls, a few notepads lined up in a row taking notes in different languages and an antique looking sculpture of a wizard bust making comments in Arabic, apparently to help him keep up to date with the language for his latest assignment.
The days passed by without any real progress with the case. They had interviewed all of the Malfoys' acquaintances and enemies, and then some. It had almost become routine to meet Malfoy for a morning coffee in his office and Mrs Malfoy for an afternoon tea in the Manor.
"You know what?" Dean said, out of the blue, one day as they were on their way back to the office after asking Malfoy some more questions. " I like him."
"You like who?"
"Malfoy, of course!" Dean exclaimed, as if he thought Harry was the stupidest man alive for not understanding that.
"What do you mean 'like'? You're gay for Malfoy now, of all people?"
"No, not like like him, like him as a person, dumbass. He's not that awful, you know."
"Huh," Harry hadn't thought about it that way, maybe Malfoy wasn't that awful after all. "I guess you're right."
-o-